After Milliways

[balancingminds]

His door opened onto the street and when Charles tried his building door, he saw the lobby before him. He laughed and started humming as he went up to the flat, the song wasn't one he knew the words to but it had been stuck in someone's head in Milliways.

In his pocket, his notebook was full of hints to help him recall what happened as it all was somehow real.

Perhaps he needed to go talk to some of those physicists or read more science-fiction to know how best to consider what he might encounter the next time he found a door. Or he could simply trust his own instincts and see what happened.

Comments

[andproud]

She's flipped through the magazines on the table so many times that she's actually considering reading part of Charles' thesis to put herself to sleep - which, yawn.

Thankfully, she doesn't have to resort to such drastic measures before she hears the sound of the door opening, and glances up from where she's draped herself across the couch.

(She doesn't slip back to her normal skin until she knows for sure it's him.)

"Where have you been? Wait, don't tell me: re-search." She says it like him, too, accent and all.

[balancingminds]

"Mm, oh yes, definite research though I'll need to do more to make sense of what I found. I love when answers provide more questions,"

He smirks and heads towards his desk, all that he's found needs to be put together so he's prepared next time he finds a door.

[andproud]

"Okay, you are way too excited for it to be simple thesis stuff," she replies, uncoiling herself from the chair in one fluid motion to follow him.

"Come on. Spill."

[balancingminds]

"What do you mean? I get this excited about my thesis,"

Though Milliways is different and better along with being more confusing.

[andproud]

She peers at him, yellow eyes narrowing.

"This is a different kind of excited."

[balancingminds]

"Yes, it is. I've found the most amazing and confusing place,"

Now he needs to figure out how best to talk about it as there are multiple beginnings.

[andproud]

She leans against his desk, hip notching against the wood.

"Define 'amazing'."

[balancingminds]

He flips through his notebook as he starts listing,

"Another telepath who was even more, like fire contained who seemed to know me, an actual Goth from the year 552, a psychic older woman who's the Barman and I'm going to teach control to, a female constable from London, another woman from another world, an autistic boy and his father, a blue talking pony, a FBI agent, an elf and a man who calls himself a time tourist that had a talking dog and picked up on the fact that I'm a telepath. All of them in a pub that sits at the end of the universe."

[andproud]

She looks at him for a very long time. Unblinking. Unmoving.

And then she reaches out, placing her hand against his forehead.

"Are you feeling alright?"

[balancingminds]

Her stare is a little unnerving as it means he can't read her face, it's an expression that always makes him nervous,

"Yes, I am. Why would I lie about something like this? You know I don't lie that often."

It bothers him, he'll be careful of what he says and doesn't say but lying for the sake of lying he doesn't like.

[andproud]

"I know you don't, but - "

She pauses, slowly pulling her hand down.

" - you do know what you're saying could be cause for me to have you committed."

She's starting to smile, though, a tiny one edging in.

[balancingminds]

He sighs and looks at her,

"If you or anyone else was going to do that, it would have been years ago. I promise it's real and I'll show you. Just not tonight as I still need to do my editing."

[andproud]

"True."

She tilts her head, peering at him, and then shakes it off with a laugh.

"You would put off showing me a magical bar to work on your thesis."

[balancingminds]

"It's not putting it off for long. Anyway I haven't had dinner and you probably haven't either. I just didn't do any work while I was there and that way it won't be needing to be done,"

It's just simpler that way to have it as a place to explore on its own terms.

[andproud]

"Are we going out?"

She frowns slightly at the idea of changing.

"You know, I've been thinking of going brunette."

[balancingminds]

"Not if we don't have to. Don't we have some leftover curry?"

He rubs his temple when she says that and gets up to go investigate the kitchen.

[andproud]

She looks after him with a small pout.

"What, you don't agree?"

[balancingminds]

"Just as long as you're willing to explain it. Ha, knew we had some curry,"

It's not the best of meals but it's food and if they go out, he won't get any work done until even later.