[He's gotten stitches before; not a big deal, but he'll take Eddie any way he can get her. He looks over, damp curls swinging from the mostly defeated tail.] Cliche walking. [Regarding himself, nodding at her.] Ain't got nothing on you, though. So - no concussion. [It's not a question because he's taken a tour of this tent already a time or two in the last months and knows they know what they're doing.
And he knows what the doctor behind him is doing as gloves touch his back. Tommy breathes in, and out. This, is a known. This is steadying. There's no flinching as the sutures go into skin; Tommy's focused on Eddie.] I was a sniper in the Gulf War. Suppose yours are... self-expression?
[There's a curl to the corner of his lips; maybe it's him getting the last jab after all.]
[ Eddie considers whether or not she should bristle playfully at being obliquely called a cliche, but he's not wrong. She is a cliche, and she embraces it. There's nothing wrong with that, not really. She's mellowed out a lot about the concept of selling out and following trends and being authentic over the last few years. As long as you're happy, then that's what's important in her book.
She picks at a hole in her soaking wet jeans. ] Borderline. I'm to take it easy for the next few days. [ Which probably isn't going to happen, as everyone around here knows. Eddie's on stage nearly every night. There's no such thing as taking it easy when you're on tour, not when you're the talent.
Tommy keeps himself perfectly still and breathes with the focused rhythm of Stevie on her worst days, which is what prompts her to shift a little closer so their elbows are touching, a little point of contact he can easily lean into or lean away from, depending on how he's feeling. ]
My uncle served in Vietnam. [ Not the same thing, she knows that, but similar. Enough that she gets it, at least a little. ] And yes. My tattoos express the fact that I'm cool as fuck and have incredible taste.
[ She's obviously joking, her eyes twinkling as she smirks at him, inviting him in to join in the joke. ]
[The lean-in is accepted. Not leaned into or away - it just is. Tommy offers her a full grin for the first time.] Doesn't sound like a brag at all. [And then he winces, with a small mierda under his breath as a piece of glass is pulled from under his skin. He exhales.] Glad I didn't brain you.
[ Damn, that smile is dangerous. Eddie can suddenly see how this man probably cut a swath through the girls of Austin, Texas with a grin like that and curls like those, especially if he was in uniform.
Eddie has a very dim view of the American Military Industrial Complex, and even she's not immune to the power of a well-fitting uniform. ]
They also express that I'm super humble and down to earth.
[ Her little chuckle gets cut short as Tommy winces and swears softly, prompting her to press her arm against his a little more firmly, her brow creasing in sympathy as she keeps her eyes resolutely on his face and not on the blue hands behind him doing whatever it is they're doing. ]
Yeah, I'm pretty glad about that too. [ She shifts, reaching out and covering his hand with hers, slipping her fingers into his palm and squeezing briefly. ] Thank you.
[Yeah, you'd think that. Except he never could manage to get far enough away. From Joel, and Javier. Tommy grew up in two very long, cold shadows. At least his brother stuck around.
His hand is still for a moment in Eddie's; the stitches resume and finally Tommy shakes his head, his thumb skating a light line over her knuckle.] You're welcome. For not braining you. Is this the right time to admit I'm a big fan?
[ She's about to remove her hand when Tommy's fingers curl in response, his thumb brushing over her skin, and she relaxes into the press of her arm against his. ]
Are you really? [ She seems genuinely tickled by that admission, her dimple creasing her cheek and a soft wash of pink staining the bridge of her nose. ] I'm embarrassed to admit I haven't really heard any of your music. I'm going to fix that oversight tonight, I promise.
[It's easy to be down on Joel because Tommy loves him; his brother has never stopped him from living and in fact he'd done his damnedest to help fill in taking care of him whenever he could. Can't hate someone you don't love, not in the same way - and Tommy loves the hell out of his older brother.]
Only if you wanna.
[But hey, well. Joel's also the front man and main voice of the Miller Brothers. Joel is what carries out of the speakers as the front-man. Right now that doesn't feel like something he wants to love about Joel.] I'll still be a fan anyway. Get goosebumps every damn time I hear you sing 'Cassandra'."
[ Eddie's cultivated something of a specific look, there's no denying it, but even when she was in high school and was prone to going on impassioned rants about conformity and The Man, she'd still listen to a far more varied selection of music than people would have believed just by looking at her.
She knows enough about the Miller Brothers to have a vague understanding of their musical style, or at least, she can make an educated guess, and now that she knows 50% of the band, she's going to give it an honest shot at listening and finding something to enjoy.
Especially if Tommy's going to keep complimenting her like that. You'd think she'd have gotten used to it by now, at this stage in her career, but you'd be wrong. ]
Stop it. [ That pink across her nose is staining her cheeks now, too. ] You don't have to keep buttering me up, papi, I already like you.
[At the snort, Tommy raises dark eyebrows at Eddie - see? - and shakes his head but it's all undermined by the continued presence of a smile. He reaches out and it might seem like he's gonna trace that flush that's crawling across her nose... until he flicks it instead, very lightly. No moving, Miller, the doctor mutters.
Tommy lowers his head just so toward Eddie, and his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.] People know me around here, chica. You're gonna ruin my reputation.
[ Eddie raises her eyebrows right back at him — worth it — and wrinkles her nose when he lifts his hand to flick it. The look she gives him should make it clear his side is spared from being gouged by her pointy elbow only because he's currently in the hands of medical professionals.
Eddie's been an only child all her life, but somehow she's still developed the same sparring urges siblings have, and she's never been able to turn down the opportunity to try and one-up someone, no matter how stupid and petty it may be.
She'll jab him later. ]
Tommy. [ She takes his hand again, exaggeratedly sympathetic. ] You've spent the past hour with me. The whole crew watched you dive across the stage just to pin me to the ground. That ship has already sailed.
[Makes you sound like a sex pest, papi. All done. The paramedic rolls the last bandaid on over the final two sutures as Tommy turns back over his shoulder, mouth open. The woman winks before peeling away gloves. Get outta here, both of you, we all want to be wrapping up. Munson, seriously. Take it easy. Headache that won't go away and you call one of us.
Tommy stands as she's talking and looks at the wet, bloody twist of his shirt for just a moment before the other paramedic is handing him something dry. Lost and Found, he says as he gets back to clearing down. 'Eddie and the Dead Girls' is the headliner of the acts listed on the back of the festival merch but hell if he and Joel ain't there too, down toward the bottom. Tommy glances at it before climbing carefully into the cotton. Handshakes are exchanged.]
Thanks, Doc. C'mon, Trouble.[Tommy pulls the tarp back for Eddie to pass through ahead of him.
Outside even the mist has moved on and while one couldn't call it a beautiful - too many clouds still to catch stars - it's not bad. The rain's pushed the humidity on through, leaving something like a warm, clean night behind. In his pocket, Tommy's phone buzzes. JOEL: Nobody committed murder, not yet anyway. I'm sat at the hotel bar for now. Back later. He tucks it away.] Suppose this is where... well. You should probably get some sleep.
[ Eddie likes these paramedics. She can't help crowing with laughter as they tease Tommy, her eyes crinkling shut and her mouth wide, and even them turning to admonish her doesn't dim her mirth much. ]
Yeah, yeah, I know the drill.
[ She'd have to, spending all her time with Stevie. If there's one thing you learn, being friends with Stevie Harrington, it's how to handle concussion symptoms. And also haircare. So two things.
Eddie yanks Chrissy's scrunchie out of her hair and reties the whole wet mess into another knot, hopelessly tangling her curls in a way that will probably get her yelled at later but at least keeps them from dripping down her neck in a way she hates. It also keeps her busy so she's not too obviously checking Tommy out while he gets redressed into something dry. She can't help smirk at the sight of her band name stretched out across his shoulders, though. The shirt's a little small on him and she is not complaining.
He holds the tent flap open for her and she ducks through it, stretching her back out once she's standing in the cooler night air, taking a deep breath and then letting it out slowly. Indiana is a shithole, but sometimes the weather is pretty good, and she's always loved the smell of the air after it rains.
Tommy's face is lit up with the blue glow of his phone, and she half wants to ask what the message was, but it's none of her business. ]
Yeah, maybe. Think I'm still a little too wired for sleep, though. [ She pulls at the hem of her shirt, grimacing a little as it sticks to her skin — maybe she should have asked the medics for a shirt, too — as they start to walk back. ] Think I'm gonna go back to my room and light up, since I'm not allowed alcohol tonight. [ The paramedic hadn't said that, but Eddie knows what she can and can't do while monitoring a concussion. ] You're, uh. You're welcome to come with, if you like. If you got nowhere to be.
[Tommy stares at her for a moment too long before laughing, making a production of shoving his hands in his pockets so that he can get himself to stop looking.] So alcohol's off the table but you can smoke? [He arches an eyebrow, but... he isn't going to try and control her, she's a grown damn woman and wouldn't it be safer if he was there too?
[ Tommy shoving his hands in his pockets like that just draws attention to his arms and shoulders, and he may be trying not to look, but Eddie doesn't stop herself. ]
Stevie's doctors say that THC helps with managing concussion symptoms. [ She sounds like she's quoting someone, her voice taking on a slightly different timbre, a little higher and more nasally.
She drops the act when he agrees, though, beaming at him as they begin their slog back through the mud to get to their transport away from the festival grounds. ]
Learn somethin' new everyday, I guess. [As for the rest - his mouth twists and he shakes his head, curls tapping his jaw, but Tommy doesn't say anything for that damn word and takes some time as they cross the field to redo his own hair.
A show this size takes time to break down; staff will be working well into the night and the hotel is buzzing, all of them like-minded, still too wired to want to sleep. They know they can nap on the road tomorrow. They don't go anywhere near the bar but Tommy starts to question his decision to follow Eddie, bonly they're at her door before he can change his mind.]
[ For a moment she considers swinging by the green rooms behind the stage, but she's not totally sure why. To see if Tommy wants to get another shirt? What if he doesn't keep spare clothes in his green room? Eddie always does, but that's because Eddie's kind of a klutz and she's practically frenetic on stage, always working up a sweat no matter the weather, and having something to change into when she's done for the day is always a plus.
Whatever. They're about the same height. If worst comes to worst she can give him something of hers to wear.
The hotel is small, small enough that nearly the entire clientele is part of the tour, but they don't run into anyone who'd stop them for long enough than a quick "hey, how are you, great show." For a moment, Eddie thinks Tommy might be looking for someone, but he doesn't dawdle and he doesn't try to peel away from her once they get inside, so she doesn't question it, just forges ahead until they can make their way through the halls to where her room is.
She hasn't even fished her room key out of her pocket before the door next to hers is swung wide open and Stevie Harrington is suddenly standing in the hall.
Eddie jumps. ] Jesus fucking Christ!
[ Stevie just stares at her. ] What did the paramedics say?
[ Still clutching her chest, halfway leaning into Tommy like she had when they were walking to the medics tent, Eddie shakes her head. Recounting her prognosis takes half a second, and when Stevie's eyes shift from Eddie to the man beside her, she dutifully tells her what Tommy's diagnosis was, too. HIPAA who? It seems to soften her a little, her stance shifting so she looks less like she's about to brace herself for an attack and more like she's going to cock her hip and toss her hair. ]
Hm. Alright, then. [ She holds up one finger, disappears into her room for a moment, and then comes back to toss something at Eddie that she barely manages not to fumble. ] Be safe. Don't do anything I wouldn't do.
[ And then her door slams shut behind her and they're left alone again. Eddie looks down at the projectile she caught and can't help the way her ears turn red. Condoms. She threw a pack of condoms at Eddie's head, all while the hot guy she's been hitting on all night is standing right next to her. ]
She seems... helpful. [He's not sure what else to say about Eddie's drummer, good hell. Is the third member of their crew just as insane as the other two? Tommy stares at the door that was slammed closed behind Stevie for a moment before dropping his eyes at what Eddie's holding and
He really hopes that his messy hair hides the way the tips of his own ears go a little red.] Hey I don't - listen, this isn't something I would normally... I mean. [Tommy rubs a hand over his face and considers the merits of backing away slowly until he's out of sight. He knows they're both consenting adults but getting condoms chucked at you like a teenager will have you reconsidering and the fact that he's been crushing on her since that first show two months ago that he stumbled across doesn't help none.] I didn't tag along expecting anything is all I'm trying to say.
[ She's still contemplating murdering her, though, if only because Stevie might be able to bring a guy home — back to her hotel room, whatever — and be cool about it, but Eddie doesn't exactly have her same womanly wizard powers, so having Stevie show up to cockblock her really isn't helping.
Oh well. No way out but through, and all that. Eddie just prays her face isn't too terribly red. She's supposed to be a cool and worldly rockstar and shit, and the combination of Stevie giving her condoms and a guy she'd definitely let pin her down to the ground in a way more fun way than they've managed before is making her feel like she's back in high school. Not that she ever ran into a situation like this in high school. ] Relax. [ She shoves the condoms into his chest so that she can get her key out of her wet jeans. ] We can just smoke up.
[ She shoves her door open and leads the way in, knowing there's no chance she can do a frantic tidy-up and desperately wishing she could, anyway. She makes an immediate beeline to her suitcase so she can rummage through it and pull out a pair of sweats. ] You want?
Inside the room, Tommy tosses the box onto the nearest flat surface and looks around. Eddie's room looks more like Joel's, where various objects are being used as clothes hangers and last night's take out is still on the table. His own room, in contrast, looks like it's ready for the next guests - complete with hospital corners on the bed.
He turns at her offer.] I ain't gonna fit in your pants. [But he has noticed that his own are... damp. Wet. He'd maybe say soaked but they're not dripping, just clinging to his thighs and calves and are much less comfortable than they were while he was actively working and not, well, doing whatever this is.]
[ Her room is... okay, it's not great, but it's fine. You can see the floor, and both beds are serviceably tidy. He's right about the clothes, though. Eddie unpacks by apparently dropping a bomb in her suitcase, which leaves articles of clothing draped over nearly every surface. It makes it easier for her to find things!
She makes a point to look him over when he turns down her offer, her eyes lingering on his damp jeans, but she just tilts her head in an accepting kind of nod before returning to her luggage to grab herself a shirt. ]
Well, I'm gonna change. You know how to pack this or do you want some pre-rolls?
[ This being the pipe she pulled out from a pocket somewhere, along with a little baggy. ]
[At that, Tommy laughs. He reaches out to take the offered pipe and bud.] Yeah, I know how to pack this. [And does, while Eddie changes in the bathroom. He's not gonna smoke without her - her stash her start, and he likes to think he's enough of a gentleman - but he gets everything ready.
When your dad's a hard-ass cop, there's something in a kid that wants to rail against it. Tommy did for a long time. Funny, considering that he ended up in the Army - or maybe not, guess it depends on how you look at it. Either way, he's never lost the skills that he picked up trying to dissociate as a teenager.] How long y'all been playing together? [he asks through the door as he sits at the desk in Eddie's room, pulling his pocketknife from his pocket. Flipping it open he cleans the bowl of the pipe with a few shallow strokes of the blade.]
[ She decides against the sweats and leaves them draped over the luggage rack, choosing instead a pair of shorts that might have been Stevie's at one point and a well-loved Iron Maiden tee with holes in the seams that she refuses to get rid of no matter how much cajoling she gets about it.
Retreating to the bathroom, she leaves the door cracked a little so she can still hear him as she whips off her wet clothes and leaves them in a heap on the floor while she changes. ]
We all went to high school together, [ she calls through the crack, ripping her bra off with a relieved sigh and adding it to the pile. She uses a wash cloth to clean her face as she continues, wiping away the old sweat and smeared makeup and splatters of dirt that have made a home on her skin. ] But the Dead Girls didn't start until well after graduation. I was playing with a different band in school, buncha guys, but that all fell apart and we went our separate ways, you know how it is.
[ Jeff went to college, Gareth got a job working for the Post Office, and Freik enlisted. She's only sort of kept in touch with them all, not because she doesn't care, but because they all got busy with their own lives. ]
[He does. He and Joel learned guitar together, more or less, but then in high school Joel played house with Jessie while Tommy played music with anyone he could find. Lots of guys in garages, taking breaks for football practice, trying to impress girls on and off the field. Who knows where those guys are now? Not Tommy.] That's kinda cool, though. Weird how things turn out.
[He separates the buds and packs the pipe with a methodical sort of focus, realizing while doing it that his nerves are settled, have been settled for a while. Huh.]
[ Eventually, Eddie emerges from the bathroom with her hair wrapped up in a towel, her face pink and clean, dwarfed in her t-shirt with her legs almost completely bare. She's still wearing all her jewelry, and there's the tattoos, of course, but she looks far more approachable than she does when she's up on stage, much closer to her actual age and the fact that she's really just a small-town Midwesterner who managed to get lucky.
She clambers up onto the end of one of the beds, crossing her legs, so she can watch Tommy pack the pipe. ]
Yeah. Not how I expected they'd go, but. Here we are. [ When the three of them were all lying in their hospital beds, convalescing as best they could, clinging to each other to make it through the nightmares, she knows they weren't dreaming of a life like this. ] I'll introduce you to Chrissy, later. She's sweet as pie, you'll like her.
And he covers it up like shit, too, jerking his attention back to what he was doing and nearly spilling the whole thing. She liked his ink? Her goddamn legs. And honestly he'd have never in life would have said that he'd find a woman covered in tattoos attractive but here they are; here she is, looking both fresh and wild, and here he is, struck mute by it. Tommy finishes packing the weed and finally, feeling a little more composed, turns to offer it to Eddie across the gap between desk chair and bed. He sits back.] Really? I can't image anyone sweet lasting five minutes stuck between you and Stevie.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2025-05-24 02:00 am (UTC)And he knows what the doctor behind him is doing as gloves touch his back. Tommy breathes in, and out. This, is a known. This is steadying. There's no flinching as the sutures go into skin; Tommy's focused on Eddie.] I was a sniper in the Gulf War. Suppose yours are... self-expression?
[There's a curl to the corner of his lips; maybe it's him getting the last jab after all.]
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Date: 2025-05-24 02:08 am (UTC)She picks at a hole in her soaking wet jeans. ] Borderline. I'm to take it easy for the next few days. [ Which probably isn't going to happen, as everyone around here knows. Eddie's on stage nearly every night. There's no such thing as taking it easy when you're on tour, not when you're the talent.
Tommy keeps himself perfectly still and breathes with the focused rhythm of Stevie on her worst days, which is what prompts her to shift a little closer so their elbows are touching, a little point of contact he can easily lean into or lean away from, depending on how he's feeling. ]
My uncle served in Vietnam. [ Not the same thing, she knows that, but similar. Enough that she gets it, at least a little. ] And yes. My tattoos express the fact that I'm cool as fuck and have incredible taste.
[ She's obviously joking, her eyes twinkling as she smirks at him, inviting him in to join in the joke. ]
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Date: 2025-05-24 02:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-05-24 02:19 am (UTC)Eddie has a very dim view of the American Military Industrial Complex, and even she's not immune to the power of a well-fitting uniform. ]
They also express that I'm super humble and down to earth.
[ Her little chuckle gets cut short as Tommy winces and swears softly, prompting her to press her arm against his a little more firmly, her brow creasing in sympathy as she keeps her eyes resolutely on his face and not on the blue hands behind him doing whatever it is they're doing. ]
Yeah, I'm pretty glad about that too. [ She shifts, reaching out and covering his hand with hers, slipping her fingers into his palm and squeezing briefly. ] Thank you.
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Date: 2025-05-24 02:25 am (UTC)His hand is still for a moment in Eddie's; the stitches resume and finally Tommy shakes his head, his thumb skating a light line over her knuckle.] You're welcome. For not braining you. Is this the right time to admit I'm a big fan?
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Date: 2025-05-24 02:28 am (UTC)Are you really? [ She seems genuinely tickled by that admission, her dimple creasing her cheek and a soft wash of pink staining the bridge of her nose. ] I'm embarrassed to admit I haven't really heard any of your music. I'm going to fix that oversight tonight, I promise.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-24 11:17 am (UTC)Only if you wanna.
[But hey, well. Joel's also the front man and main voice of the Miller Brothers. Joel is what carries out of the speakers as the front-man. Right now that doesn't feel like something he wants to love about Joel.] I'll still be a fan anyway. Get goosebumps every damn time I hear you sing 'Cassandra'."
no subject
Date: 2025-05-24 11:52 am (UTC)[ Eddie's cultivated something of a specific look, there's no denying it, but even when she was in high school and was prone to going on impassioned rants about conformity and The Man, she'd still listen to a far more varied selection of music than people would have believed just by looking at her.
She knows enough about the Miller Brothers to have a vague understanding of their musical style, or at least, she can make an educated guess, and now that she knows 50% of the band, she's going to give it an honest shot at listening and finding something to enjoy.
Especially if Tommy's going to keep complimenting her like that. You'd think she'd have gotten used to it by now, at this stage in her career, but you'd be wrong. ]
Stop it. [ That pink across her nose is staining her cheeks now, too. ] You don't have to keep buttering me up, papi, I already like you.
[ The paramedic behind them snorts. ]
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Date: 2025-05-24 12:17 pm (UTC)Tommy lowers his head just so toward Eddie, and his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.] People know me around here, chica. You're gonna ruin my reputation.
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Date: 2025-05-24 12:23 pm (UTC)Eddie's been an only child all her life, but somehow she's still developed the same sparring urges siblings have, and she's never been able to turn down the opportunity to try and one-up someone, no matter how stupid and petty it may be.
She'll jab him later. ]
Tommy. [ She takes his hand again, exaggeratedly sympathetic. ] You've spent the past hour with me. The whole crew watched you dive across the stage just to pin me to the ground. That ship has already sailed.
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Date: 2025-05-24 12:48 pm (UTC)Tommy stands as she's talking and looks at the wet, bloody twist of his shirt for just a moment before the other paramedic is handing him something dry. Lost and Found, he says as he gets back to clearing down. 'Eddie and the Dead Girls' is the headliner of the acts listed on the back of the festival merch but hell if he and Joel ain't there too, down toward the bottom. Tommy glances at it before climbing carefully into the cotton. Handshakes are exchanged.]
Thanks, Doc. C'mon, Trouble.[Tommy pulls the tarp back for Eddie to pass through ahead of him.
Outside even the mist has moved on and while one couldn't call it a beautiful - too many clouds still to catch stars - it's not bad. The rain's pushed the humidity on through, leaving something like a warm, clean night behind. In his pocket, Tommy's phone buzzes. JOEL: Nobody committed murder, not yet anyway. I'm sat at the hotel bar for now. Back later. He tucks it away.] Suppose this is where... well. You should probably get some sleep.
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Date: 2025-05-24 01:09 pm (UTC)Yeah, yeah, I know the drill.
[ She'd have to, spending all her time with Stevie. If there's one thing you learn, being friends with Stevie Harrington, it's how to handle concussion symptoms. And also haircare. So two things.
Eddie yanks Chrissy's scrunchie out of her hair and reties the whole wet mess into another knot, hopelessly tangling her curls in a way that will probably get her yelled at later but at least keeps them from dripping down her neck in a way she hates. It also keeps her busy so she's not too obviously checking Tommy out while he gets redressed into something dry. She can't help smirk at the sight of her band name stretched out across his shoulders, though. The shirt's a little small on him and she is not complaining.
He holds the tent flap open for her and she ducks through it, stretching her back out once she's standing in the cooler night air, taking a deep breath and then letting it out slowly. Indiana is a shithole, but sometimes the weather is pretty good, and she's always loved the smell of the air after it rains.
Tommy's face is lit up with the blue glow of his phone, and she half wants to ask what the message was, but it's none of her business. ]
Yeah, maybe. Think I'm still a little too wired for sleep, though. [ She pulls at the hem of her shirt, grimacing a little as it sticks to her skin — maybe she should have asked the medics for a shirt, too — as they start to walk back. ] Think I'm gonna go back to my room and light up, since I'm not allowed alcohol tonight. [ The paramedic hadn't said that, but Eddie knows what she can and can't do while monitoring a concussion. ] You're, uh. You're welcome to come with, if you like. If you got nowhere to be.
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Date: 2025-05-24 06:32 pm (UTC)Just in case.] My schedule's clear, anyhow.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-24 06:39 pm (UTC)Stevie's doctors say that THC helps with managing concussion symptoms. [ She sounds like she's quoting someone, her voice taking on a slightly different timbre, a little higher and more nasally.
She drops the act when he agrees, though, beaming at him as they begin their slog back through the mud to get to their transport away from the festival grounds. ]
Don't worry, papi. I'll take good care of you.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-24 06:57 pm (UTC)A show this size takes time to break down; staff will be working well into the night and the hotel is buzzing, all of them like-minded, still too wired to want to sleep. They know they can nap on the road tomorrow. They don't go anywhere near the bar but Tommy starts to question his decision to follow Eddie, bonly they're at her door before he can change his mind.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-24 07:09 pm (UTC)Whatever. They're about the same height. If worst comes to worst she can give him something of hers to wear.
The hotel is small, small enough that nearly the entire clientele is part of the tour, but they don't run into anyone who'd stop them for long enough than a quick "hey, how are you, great show." For a moment, Eddie thinks Tommy might be looking for someone, but he doesn't dawdle and he doesn't try to peel away from her once they get inside, so she doesn't question it, just forges ahead until they can make their way through the halls to where her room is.
She hasn't even fished her room key out of her pocket before the door next to hers is swung wide open and Stevie Harrington is suddenly standing in the hall.
Eddie jumps. ] Jesus fucking Christ!
[ Stevie just stares at her. ] What did the paramedics say?
[ Still clutching her chest, halfway leaning into Tommy like she had when they were walking to the medics tent, Eddie shakes her head. Recounting her prognosis takes half a second, and when Stevie's eyes shift from Eddie to the man beside her, she dutifully tells her what Tommy's diagnosis was, too. HIPAA who? It seems to soften her a little, her stance shifting so she looks less like she's about to brace herself for an attack and more like she's going to cock her hip and toss her hair. ]
Hm. Alright, then. [ She holds up one finger, disappears into her room for a moment, and then comes back to toss something at Eddie that she barely manages not to fumble. ] Be safe. Don't do anything I wouldn't do.
[ And then her door slams shut behind her and they're left alone again. Eddie looks down at the projectile she caught and can't help the way her ears turn red. Condoms. She threw a pack of condoms at Eddie's head, all while the hot guy she's been hitting on all night is standing right next to her. ]
I'm going to smother her in her sleep.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-24 07:24 pm (UTC)He really hopes that his messy hair hides the way the tips of his own ears go a little red.] Hey I don't - listen, this isn't something I would normally... I mean. [Tommy rubs a hand over his face and considers the merits of backing away slowly until he's out of sight. He knows they're both consenting adults but getting condoms chucked at you like a teenager will have you reconsidering and the fact that he's been crushing on her since that first show two months ago that he stumbled across doesn't help none.] I didn't tag along expecting anything is all I'm trying to say.
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Date: 2025-05-24 07:38 pm (UTC)[ She's still contemplating murdering her, though, if only because Stevie might be able to bring a guy home — back to her hotel room, whatever — and be cool about it, but Eddie doesn't exactly have her same womanly wizard powers, so having Stevie show up to cockblock her really isn't helping.
Oh well. No way out but through, and all that. Eddie just prays her face isn't too terribly red. She's supposed to be a cool and worldly rockstar and shit, and the combination of Stevie giving her condoms and a guy she'd definitely let pin her down to the ground in a way more fun way than they've managed before is making her feel like she's back in high school. Not that she ever ran into a situation like this in high school. ] Relax. [ She shoves the condoms into his chest so that she can get her key out of her wet jeans. ] We can just smoke up.
[ She shoves her door open and leads the way in, knowing there's no chance she can do a frantic tidy-up and desperately wishing she could, anyway. She makes an immediate beeline to her suitcase so she can rummage through it and pull out a pair of sweats. ] You want?
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Date: 2025-05-24 08:31 pm (UTC)Inside the room, Tommy tosses the box onto the nearest flat surface and looks around. Eddie's room looks more like Joel's, where various objects are being used as clothes hangers and last night's take out is still on the table. His own room, in contrast, looks like it's ready for the next guests - complete with hospital corners on the bed.
He turns at her offer.] I ain't gonna fit in your pants. [But he has noticed that his own are... damp. Wet. He'd maybe say soaked but they're not dripping, just clinging to his thighs and calves and are much less comfortable than they were while he was actively working and not, well, doing whatever this is.]
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Date: 2025-05-24 08:41 pm (UTC)She makes a point to look him over when he turns down her offer, her eyes lingering on his damp jeans, but she just tilts her head in an accepting kind of nod before returning to her luggage to grab herself a shirt. ]
Well, I'm gonna change. You know how to pack this or do you want some pre-rolls?
[ This being the pipe she pulled out from a pocket somewhere, along with a little baggy. ]
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Date: 2025-05-24 09:21 pm (UTC)When your dad's a hard-ass cop, there's something in a kid that wants to rail against it. Tommy did for a long time. Funny, considering that he ended up in the Army - or maybe not, guess it depends on how you look at it. Either way, he's never lost the skills that he picked up trying to dissociate as a teenager.] How long y'all been playing together? [he asks through the door as he sits at the desk in Eddie's room, pulling his pocketknife from his pocket. Flipping it open he cleans the bowl of the pipe with a few shallow strokes of the blade.]
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Date: 2025-05-24 09:29 pm (UTC)[ She decides against the sweats and leaves them draped over the luggage rack, choosing instead a pair of shorts that might have been Stevie's at one point and a well-loved Iron Maiden tee with holes in the seams that she refuses to get rid of no matter how much cajoling she gets about it.
Retreating to the bathroom, she leaves the door cracked a little so she can still hear him as she whips off her wet clothes and leaves them in a heap on the floor while she changes. ]
We all went to high school together, [ she calls through the crack, ripping her bra off with a relieved sigh and adding it to the pile. She uses a wash cloth to clean her face as she continues, wiping away the old sweat and smeared makeup and splatters of dirt that have made a home on her skin. ] But the Dead Girls didn't start until well after graduation. I was playing with a different band in school, buncha guys, but that all fell apart and we went our separate ways, you know how it is.
[ Jeff went to college, Gareth got a job working for the Post Office, and Freik enlisted. She's only sort of kept in touch with them all, not because she doesn't care, but because they all got busy with their own lives. ]
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Date: 2025-05-24 09:59 pm (UTC)[He separates the buds and packs the pipe with a methodical sort of focus, realizing while doing it that his nerves are settled, have been settled for a while. Huh.]
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Date: 2025-05-24 10:14 pm (UTC)She clambers up onto the end of one of the beds, crossing her legs, so she can watch Tommy pack the pipe. ]
Yeah. Not how I expected they'd go, but. Here we are. [ When the three of them were all lying in their hospital beds, convalescing as best they could, clinging to each other to make it through the nightmares, she knows they weren't dreaming of a life like this. ] I'll introduce you to Chrissy, later. She's sweet as pie, you'll like her.
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Date: 2025-05-24 11:07 pm (UTC)He does.
And he covers it up like shit, too, jerking his attention back to what he was doing and nearly spilling the whole thing. She liked his ink? Her goddamn legs. And honestly he'd have never in life would have said that he'd find a woman covered in tattoos attractive but here they are; here she is, looking both fresh and wild, and here he is, struck mute by it. Tommy finishes packing the weed and finally, feeling a little more composed, turns to offer it to Eddie across the gap between desk chair and bed. He sits back.] Really? I can't image anyone sweet lasting five minutes stuck between you and Stevie.
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