Okay. I'd say it probably won't be too late, but judging by the performance I just witnessed with that pill, I have no idea how the rest of the night will pan out.
I'll text you first.
[ In case she's gone to bed. He doesn't want to disrupt her sleep, after all. ]
[ He's suspicious, but he's also on a deadline, so he lets the matter go. For now.
Since Matthew actually enjoys his job, and the work he does for it, it's not like getting ready for his presentation is a hardship. He just hasn't gotten around to actually writing any of his thoughts down, which is a hassle, but once he gets going, he manages to knock it out quickly and even nips down to the hotel's office suite to print out all his notes and various paperwork.
Then he has his time up on stage presenting his thoughts to a room full of like-minded educators, and then there's dinner after, and then drinks with some of his colleagues from other schools he hasn't seen since last year...
It's late, by the time he gets up to his room, and he's had just enough whiskey to make him feel loose-limbed and lethargic, but not enough to make him want to go to bed. So he picks up his phone, just like he said he would, and texts Daisy to see if she's still awake. ]
[ she's... not asleep, technically. she's dozing, head resting on a pile of pillows with his sweater draped over top, eyes half-shut as a movie plays on netflix on her laptop. she's not asleep, but she's not totally awake either.
which is why there's a few minutes delay before her mind actually registers that, yes, the tritone chime of her phone was a thing in the real world and not just in her dreams, and yes, she should get up and answer it. ]
[ He frowns suspiciously down at his phone when it finally chimes with a response, his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth, but doesn't immediately call her a liar. ]
[ Spitting and rinsing, Matt finishes brushing his teeth and then quickly swipes one of the hotel wash cloths over his face before turning back to his room and moving back to his bed so he can flop down on it and pull up Daisy's contact details on his phone.
Smiling at the photo he took of her for her little icon, he hits dial and waits for her to pick up. ]
I'm a child of the nineties, honey, I know what watching Bob Ross tutorials will do to you.
[ Actually, he's more of a child of the eighties, but whatever. He was young enough to watch PBS growing up, he knows what The Joy of Painting is good for. Nap time. ]
It was good. I got some interesting feedback from some colleagues of mine that I need to work into the final product. How's your code coming along?
[ she doesn't respond to that dig, but she doesn't have to. the soft little yawn she gives as she shifts to sit upright, sweatshirt pulled into her lap for her hands to rest in, does all the talking for her on that front. ]
I finished it about an hour ago. All done.
[ earlier than expected, but she'd figured out a better way to do it than what was detailed in the assignment packet. no surprise there; the database administration course was taught by an adjunct as old as time. he probably wrote the SOP back when DOS was the way of the world. ]
You sound good. [ relaxed. happy. she likes that on him. ] You have fun with your nerd friends?
[ He can't see her, but he can hear a faint rustling on her end, and since he knows how much she likes to wear his clothes, he can imagine how she looks wrapped up in something she's stolen from him, oversized and cozy and sleep-warm.
Wow. He misses her. A lot. ]
Good for you.
[ He doesn't understand what she does at all, but there's still that warm glow of pride in his voice when she tells him she's already finished the project she was working on. He doesn't have to be able to understand the specifics of coding or software or cyber security to know that she's brilliant at it, and she'll make waves in that world long before she graduates. He can feel it. ]
Yeah, I had fun. I mean, I could think of more fun ways to spend an evening, but it was nice to catch up with everyone again and complain about our course loads. [ And students, but Matt is feeling pretty charitable to his students at the moment, chiefly thanks to one particular student. ]
Mm, [ a soft hum of approval, quiet in her throat, as daisy pulls the sweatshirt on. it takes a minute to adjust, to pull the sleeves up and tuck the hood behind her; if she leaves it full out, she won't be able to type or see, and neither are great options. even if he is on speaker phone. ]
You didn't miss much. It's been rainy.
[ everyone panics in the rain, scurrying inside as soon as the water starts to fall; from inside her room, daisy watched the rain pound against the windows, careful eyes tracking the path of the lightning as it struck in the distance. ]
But I miss you.
[ she's too sleepy to bite her tongue, too warm and cozy to care. maybe that's stupid to say out loud when they're not anything specific to each other, but she does. and she wants to tell him, so she does. ]
[ He lies there in his sterile hotel bed and listens to Daisy hum, the continued rustling from her end making him imagine her getting nice and cozy, maybe pulling up a blanket or snuggling into the couch cushions. If she were here, she could be making those rustling noises right up against him instead, curling in against his side, her head a sleepy weight on his shoulder.
He probably shouldn't be imagining that. It seems...too intimate. ]
Yeah, it's been raining here too. I think it's the tail end of some tropical storm or something, we've been inside all day so I haven't really paid attention. [ Trapped in the hotel's conference center, he hasn't really been too concerned with what the weather is like outside. It's cool and comfortable inside in the air conditioning, and that's what matters.
He sighs quietly when she confesses that she misses him, something twisting in his chest. ]
[ he tells her he misses her, and the bed suddenly spills out around her, too much space even with pillows and electronics sprawled out around. she's drowning in it. he misses her, and in that moment, all she wants is to be right where he's at, to trade the warmth of his sweatshirt for the heat of his skin, to press her cheek against his chest and hear his heartbeat thumping underneath instead of just the low echo of his breathing through the phone.
she wants, and the sharpness of that wanting is an ache she doesn't know what to do with; in its wake, she blows out a breath, fingertips curling into the sleeve of the sweater, her voice a little tight when she finally pipes back up again. ]
[ It may be selfish, but she's not alone in her wanting.
He's had this conference booked for a whole year, the long weekend marked off in his calendar in green highlighter, and they've only been doing...this thing for a few weeks. Long enough to settle into a comfortable rhythm of meeting up regularly, their awkward little edges smoothed out through a growing familiarity, and he's stunned to realize that he does miss her, and not just in the idle way you might miss a close friend (or casual romantic partner).
He wants her here beside him, so he can turn to her and see the edge of her smile, so he can lean in and whisper something to her, so he can touch her wrist and smell her hair and feel her warm weight beside him in this horrible hotel bed. ]
I'm going to Chicago to talk at NIU at the beginning of December. If you're not busy with finals...
[ She could come with him. They could get her a plane ticket, and she could come to the city with him, where nobody knows who they are, and he could hold her hand if he wanted to, could take her to art galleries, or out for dinner, and they could play at being tourists in someone else's city for a little while. ]
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[ who needs porn when there's facetime and skype, huh ]
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I have last-minute work to do for the paper I'm presenting, duh.
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don't let me distract you from being a responsible adult
[ though... ]
i wish i could watch your presentation. i always like hearing you get excited
[ about poetry. and other things, too, she guesses. ]
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[ Daisy, that's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to him. ]
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[ and not even just to sit in the front row and distract him! what a sweetheart. ]
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[ It's a good thing she can't see him smiling all stupid down at his phone. ]
I'll give you the highlights when I get home.
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[ maybe she misses the sound of his voice. ]
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I'll text you first.
[ In case she's gone to bed. He doesn't want to disrupt her sleep, after all. ]
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[ she's gonna stay up on purpose now. ]
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[ He will not be moved from this, Daisy. ]
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[ she's... definitely gonna be something. maybe that something is startled awake by the buzz of her phone after she drops it on her face, though. ]
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[ He's suspicious, but he's also on a deadline, so he lets the matter go. For now.
Since Matthew actually enjoys his job, and the work he does for it, it's not like getting ready for his presentation is a hardship. He just hasn't gotten around to actually writing any of his thoughts down, which is a hassle, but once he gets going, he manages to knock it out quickly and even nips down to the hotel's office suite to print out all his notes and various paperwork.
Then he has his time up on stage presenting his thoughts to a room full of like-minded educators, and then there's dinner after, and then drinks with some of his colleagues from other schools he hasn't seen since last year...
It's late, by the time he gets up to his room, and he's had just enough whiskey to make him feel loose-limbed and lethargic, but not enough to make him want to go to bed. So he picks up his phone, just like he said he would, and texts Daisy to see if she's still awake. ]
Hey babe. You up?
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which is why there's a few minutes delay before her mind actually registers that, yes, the tritone chime of her phone was a thing in the real world and not just in her dreams, and yes, she should get up and answer it. ]
hi 😊
[ totally drowsy, if nothing else ]
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Are you actually up or did I just wake you?
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[ she didn't go to bed, so technically, she's not lying. she was just in bed, and very comfortable, and daydreaming a little. night dreaming?
not asleep. that's her story, and she's sticking to it. ]
how was your presentation?
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Smiling at the photo he took of her for her little icon, he hits dial and waits for her to pick up. ]
I'm a child of the nineties, honey, I know what watching Bob Ross tutorials will do to you.
[ Actually, he's more of a child of the eighties, but whatever. He was young enough to watch PBS growing up, he knows what The Joy of Painting is good for. Nap time. ]
It was good. I got some interesting feedback from some colleagues of mine that I need to work into the final product. How's your code coming along?
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I finished it about an hour ago. All done.
[ earlier than expected, but she'd figured out a better way to do it than what was detailed in the assignment packet. no surprise there; the database administration course was taught by an adjunct as old as time. he probably wrote the SOP back when DOS was the way of the world. ]
You sound good. [ relaxed. happy. she likes that on him. ] You have fun with your nerd friends?
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Wow. He misses her. A lot. ]
Good for you.
[ He doesn't understand what she does at all, but there's still that warm glow of pride in his voice when she tells him she's already finished the project she was working on. He doesn't have to be able to understand the specifics of coding or software or cyber security to know that she's brilliant at it, and she'll make waves in that world long before she graduates. He can feel it. ]
Yeah, I had fun. I mean, I could think of more fun ways to spend an evening, but it was nice to catch up with everyone again and complain about our course loads. [ And students, but Matt is feeling pretty charitable to his students at the moment, chiefly thanks to one particular student. ]
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You didn't miss much. It's been rainy.
[ everyone panics in the rain, scurrying inside as soon as the water starts to fall; from inside her room, daisy watched the rain pound against the windows, careful eyes tracking the path of the lightning as it struck in the distance. ]
But I miss you.
[ she's too sleepy to bite her tongue, too warm and cozy to care. maybe that's stupid to say out loud when they're not anything specific to each other, but she does. and she wants to tell him, so she does. ]
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He probably shouldn't be imagining that. It seems...too intimate. ]
Yeah, it's been raining here too. I think it's the tail end of some tropical storm or something, we've been inside all day so I haven't really paid attention. [ Trapped in the hotel's conference center, he hasn't really been too concerned with what the weather is like outside. It's cool and comfortable inside in the air conditioning, and that's what matters.
He sighs quietly when she confesses that she misses him, something twisting in his chest. ]
I miss you too.
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she wants, and the sharpness of that wanting is an ache she doesn't know what to do with; in its wake, she blows out a breath, fingertips curling into the sleeve of the sweater, her voice a little tight when she finally pipes back up again. ]
I wish I could have come with you.
[ and that's selfish, and she knows it. ]
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He's had this conference booked for a whole year, the long weekend marked off in his calendar in green highlighter, and they've only been doing...this thing for a few weeks. Long enough to settle into a comfortable rhythm of meeting up regularly, their awkward little edges smoothed out through a growing familiarity, and he's stunned to realize that he does miss her, and not just in the idle way you might miss a close friend (or casual romantic partner).
He wants her here beside him, so he can turn to her and see the edge of her smile, so he can lean in and whisper something to her, so he can touch her wrist and smell her hair and feel her warm weight beside him in this horrible hotel bed. ]
I'm going to Chicago to talk at NIU at the beginning of December. If you're not busy with finals...
[ She could come with him. They could get her a plane ticket, and she could come to the city with him, where nobody knows who they are, and he could hold her hand if he wanted to, could take her to art galleries, or out for dinner, and they could play at being tourists in someone else's city for a little while. ]
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i use this icon so rarely, can you believe
i cannot believe she is so pretty
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