[Log] Tired of Sleeping (open, one closed prompt)

[henchgal]

Who: Meredith and Y'all
When: Early half of October
Where: Apartment B1, ADI Offices, a cafe in town
Summary: Meredith dealing with sleepy-song related brain-fog, getting frustrated with herself
Warnings: Minor memory loss/brain fog, may lead into discussion of self-esteem, perfectionism and disability issues.


1. The Bird on the String is Hanging (Closed, B1)
Meredith left three, almost four hours ago to go do the groceries. Any attempts to text her while she's out may lead to the discovery that she left her phone near the french press, which she failed to clean out this morning. It's not like her, really it's not.

And now she's finally back, but what she lays out on the kitchen counter are hardly really groceries. To wit: a tub of caramel popcorn, a bag of Halloween candy, one whole frozen turkey and a single box of cereal. Even she seems confused by what's sitting there before her, staring at the turkey as if it'll explain itself.


2. Clean, Quilted Heart (Open, ADI Offices)
It's slowly getting worse, the slip-ups, the moments when her mind stutters and exhaustion makes the decisions for her. Perhaps the worst incident comes on a workday, when Meredith shows up to the ADI office not only without makeup, but still in her pajamas. She looks...sloppy. It's not like her, given her usual attention to appearances, her need to be just so.

But she's torn between going home to change and just riding out the day. "Perhaps I need to just keep an emergency change of clothes here at the office."

It's a lighthearted comment, but she feels almost as bad as if she'd walked out without any pants on.


3. I Wonder When I'll Be Waking (Open, Cafe in Town)
Coffee solves a lot of ills, right? Meredith's at a cafe out in town, trying to deal with her exhaustion in the way that tastes best. But she's been staring blearily at the menu, holding up the line for several minutes. Perhaps she might need a rescue or someone to just say 'a coffee, please' on her behalf, because between the frappe-machi-mocha-cinos, she's totally lost the plot.


X. I Just Can't Hear What He's Saying (Wildcard)
Please hit me at darkersolstice or darkersolstice#9463 to discuss, but all wildcards are welcome!

Comments

1.

[abrightboy]

The french press is clean when she gets home. It’s not like her to miss it, but it’s not beyond Malcolm to do it.

He wanders over as she’s staring at the haul.

“This looks like my pantry at home.”

[henchgal]

"If I didn't know you better, I'd think you were just saying that to make me feel better about my failure to do groceries."

Meredith sighs, rubbing sleepy eyes, and begins putting away what can be put away. "I'll have to try again tomorrow after work or something. This won't feed us for a week."

[abrightboy]

“Speak for yourself,” he teases, already unwrapping one candy and putting it in his mouth. “Is the turkey for injuries or do you want it to thaw?”

He’s really asking.

[henchgal]

"I don't know. Shit, is turkey something you'll eat? If not...I don't know what I'm going to feed you this week. Well...maybe the carcass can become soup later. If I can manage to cook it without setting the kitchen on fire."

That's...less of a joke than it ought to be. Meredith knows something's going completely tits-up here.

[abrightboy]

“I can eat turkey. And candy. It’s like I went shopping. What happened?” he asks gently.

3

[aelwyn_aberration]

[Well. That's Meredith. Clearly having an exhaustion induced moment.

She places a hand on Meredith's shoulder as the line gets increasingly irritated with her.]

She'll just have a cortado. Make that two cortados thanks. [She'll gently lead Meredith away from the angry mob and give her a concerned look. The bags under her own eyes are pronounced but she doesn't seem quite as out of it as Meredith is yet.]

[henchgal]

...yeah, that.

[Meredith manages to focus the bulk of her attention on Aelwyn.]

Sorry, I didn't mean to cause any trouble for you.

[aelwyn_aberration]

Oh believe me, honey, you didn't. You just gave me a chance to cut the line.

[She smiles deviously before leading Meredith over to a table relatively cut off from anyone else.]

Feeling okay? I think the exhaustion's starting to get to all of us.

[henchgal]

I'll be fine. I'm always fine.

[That's complete and utter defensive bullshit rather than an answer to the question.]

[aelwyn_aberration]

We've had this conversation, if you'll recall.

Nobody's "always fine."

[ployboy]

He knew it. He knew it was coming, that it was inevitable in any relationship. Tim just hadn't thought it would happen so soon, or that he would be so unprepared. That's all on him, that's all his fault.

This is a test is the grim thought in his head as he stares at the frozen turkey.

Maybe he's supposed to create something moderately palatable out of all of the ingredients before him in this kitchen counter.

Ingredients is used loosely, of course. Very loosely.

He stares at Meredith and swears he doesn't mean to stare, exactly.

It's the anxiety.

"Uh. Did you have something in mind for today? I don't think... the turkey will thaw."

He can find a flamethrower.

[henchgal]

It is absolutely not a test. She flinches at the question, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry. I tried to do the groceries, but my head was in a fog. I know this isn't right, and I'm sorry. We can order grubhub or something tonight, and I'll try again tomorrow. I'm sorry."

[ployboy]

It's a test. It's always a test.

Pinterest will have the answers.

But that flinch isn't as normal as being tested, and Tim's eyes widen at his mistake. He grabs his?? turkey and moves to chuck it in the freezer. "You said Sorry three times. I promise it's not that bad. But I vote for that cheap Thai place on Main."

Wait, should he chuck the turkey into the fridge to defrost it instead? Brain fog? Never heard of it. Look, he's going to carry that frozen bird until he makes up his damn mind.

"Hard time sleeping?"

[henchgal]

"Fuck yeah. Thai. Tom kha soup would be absolutely perfect." She smiles exhaustedly, and then nods at Tim.

"Hard time sleeping. I think everyone's been going through it. It's just hitting me pretty bad because I'm already deficient at the best of times."

[ployboy]

The bird goes in the fridge.

Triumphant, Tim smirks and hops on the counter, evidently still working on those silly things called Manners. He swings his legs once, and then his phone's in his hand. "I'll cover it. It's fine. I'll text Malcolm for his order."

The smirk is gone, but there's something quiet and pensive and not unkind about him. "You're not usually so open about..." Her worries? Self perception? Utter lack of self esteem?

And then, because he is who he is and because they are where they are:

"Tell me I'm wearing a blue shirt."

It's some ugly mustard yellow colored thing draped over his bones.

2

[cacophonish]

After blacking out mid-set and losing his busking money more than once, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Which is to say that Jeff's gotten a job. Sort of. He's been hired part-time to help out in the Admin department, which really just means he goes out to fetch people's coffee (and boy do people want coffee now), or their lunch, or pick up this-and-that supply, and is otherwise tasked with making Halloween decorations for the upcoming party.

(It's the best use of his 'talents,' they learned, after he fucked up every other menial office task.)

He looks a mess, himself, as he stops by Meredith's desk and sets down a cup of coffee for her, but it's hard to say if Jeff's experiencing the same brain fog, or if he just rolled out of Bonnie's looking like this after partying all night or something. It's possible he's still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. He definitely smells like a bar.

But hey, he knows Meredith is always way more put together than this, and something must be way off for her to show up without any makeup, and still wearing her pjs.

"Heeey. Want me to pick something up for you?" he offers. You know, a change of clothes, her makeup... kit, more coffee, whatever. "It's kind of my job now."

[henchgal]

"I'd feel like a shit sending you home to fetch things for me."

She's just about curled in on herself defensively, though, afraid to be seen by most of the office as so vulnerable. Jeff's okay, though--not just because he's a mess, but because he's already seen her naked. It's hard to be more poorly dressed for the office than naked.

[cacophonish]

"Well..." Wait for it, Jeff's about to say something wise and profound here. "Don't."

Easier said than done, sure.

"I'm offering. Plus it's not like you're taking advantage of me." He shrugs, with a smile. "I'm pretty much the office bitch, so--"

Wait. Jeff lifts his brows and looks around, looking a tiiiiny bit sheepish for once.

"Shit. I'm not supposed to talk like that in the office." We don't call ourselves or others 'bitches,' Jeff. "Did you know that's offensive? I never really thought about it before."

Gosh, he's learning so much in this civilized environment.

[henchgal]

"Wait until you learn about complex concepts like reclaiming slurs. Nevermind, not important right now."

She picks up the coffee, taking a sip. "But seriously, if I hated my boss for making me do work outside the office like grabbing his dry cleaning and booking vacations, I'm not going to make you run home for clothes and lipstick for me."

[cacophonish]

While Jeff's at least practiced the art of reclaiming slurs in his own life, when it's worded like that, it sounds way too cerebral for him, and it's pretty clear by the way his brows furrow and he frowns a little in thought, as he tries to get what she's getting at.

Moving on before his brain fritzes out, definitely the right strategy here.

"I wouldn't hate you. But your boss does sound like a dick." Sure, Jeff doesn't mind leaving the office to run errands, but that's only because he's looking for any excuse to head out. Meredith actually has a real work ethic, he figures, which makes all the difference. "So, uh..." He drums his fingers on the corner of her desk. "Late night?"

2.

[worthallthis]

He blinks at her lightly, being on his way to start his patrol after breakfast in the canteen. and gives her outfit a little frown over the paper cup of coffee he's got. He's not sure entirely what's wrong with it, it looks comfortable, kind of cute. Not remotely useful for protection or warmth, not nearly enough layers, but comfortable for the standards of other people.

But she looks... tired. He understands; he's pretty tired, too, but he's also used to it. He goes without sleep on missions for days at a time.

He offers the coffee to her, instead. Apparently she needs it more than he does.

Re: 2.

[henchgal]

She glances up at Winter uncertainly, but accepts the cup with a wry little smile. "Thank you. I'm sorry, I haven't been sleeping well, recently, that's all."

Nor has anyone else, really. She's not special.

Re: 2.

[worthallthis]

"Why are you sorry." He doesn't honestly see anything for her to apologize for, here. It's not like she bumped him or anything. Maybe the gift? But why would you apologize for a gift? Especially something like cheap coffee.

Still, he offers, "I can always get more coffee."

[henchgal]

"I'm sorry for being out in public in a state in which I apparently need help."

Look, that's a her problem, not a him problem, really.

"But if you do go get more coffee, perhaps come back and sit here once you do? Let me know how things have been with you, lately."

[worthallthis]

He looks briefly like he might protest-- he's here to work, not talk, and he has nothing to say really, anyway-- but. Well. He is early. And there's still the issue that he can't quite put his finger on for why he wants to just look at Meredith, sometimes.

So he gives an awkward nod and vanishes for about five minutes, before drifting back to her desk with another cup of coffee and a plate of several donuts to share.