Fitz wouldn't say that he's depressed to wake up without as much of a hangover as he could have had, but it's definitely proof that he could've had a far more wild New Year's than he did. He even was sober enough to hang up his suit (the trousers are hanging off the back of the chair where he tosses his clothes and the shirt has slipped onto the floor: it's basically one step away from having dried cleaned them or whatever you do with tuxedos). He mentally pours one out to the drinks he didn't pour enough of, as he goes to sit up.
At least it's still more of a 'fall out of bed' than a 'stand up without problem' situation, so his party days clearly aren't fully erased.
"Just a minute," he says, waving the hand that he failed to cover his yawn with in Ethan's direction. He still hasn't fully opened his eyes, but he doesn't need to see to know. He has to wash his face. "Tea," he waves just a vaguely, but Ethan knows where he keeps the kettle. It's vital for return to full consciousness.
Ethan doesn't exactly want to make tea, but he supposes that's the price he pays for being best friends with a British man, and he's already awake unlike Fitz. He sighs, rolling out of under the covers to fill and start the kettle.
"I didn't think you'd be up for a bit. You could sleep in, you know?" Though really, Ethan says so just because he isn't sure he's done processing and walking himself through what just happened. Whether he'd said enough, whether he'd proved he was worth the risk of hurt- he bites his lip, trying to forcibly change course of his thought process.
He's not going to cry, and working himself up about it helps nothing.
Even if he'd gone to bed stone cold sober, Fitz requires tea for the final spark of life. He doesn't like to think you can never escape your heritage, but he's not so against it that he's going to switch over to coffee outside of desperate situations.
He decides not to risk shaving before tea, but washing his face and mouth does mean that he's more alert, and definitely more alert than he looks as he still has barely opened his eyes. He doesn't need them to navigate the room, nor does he need to look at Ethan to be able to put together that something happened for him to end up in Fitz's bed, considering where he was heading the last time he saw him.
"Get the extra sugar." He slouches on the bed, as he puts together a picture. "New Year's day?" Really, Norton? What a sense of timing.
He doesn't think Fitz is an idiot even if he does idiotic things sometimes, glancing back at him as he grabs a cup, hesitating a moment before that turns to cups. He isn't about to not indulge with some sugar, nothing on this ship could keep him from it.
But, turning around to finally face him while he waits for the water to heat, he can see that Fitz is catching on. He's even washed his hair already, not a lipstick mark to be seen on his fair skin, "Why do all the men I love have to think about it after they've hurt me so they can decide whether I'm worth keeping or not?"
He thinks it's a fair question, but he doubts he'll get a real answer. Perhaps he should just blame himself for having a taste for that kind of man, but he really can't help it.
As more than one person has found out, Fitz is surprisingly clever considering just how dumb some of the things he does are. There have been people (Fitz could name names, but chooses not to) who say that that makes it a lot worse. Actually, sometimes Fitz is one of those people. But that's generally when he's taking on physical danger. Being able to understand people isn't always less risky, but it's probably safer than the alternative.
"You're too empathetic to their fear of certain types of intimacy to ditch them before they hit being so afraid they might like like you that they have to flee leaving only the wreckage of their attempts to prove themselves right behind?"
"He was trying to break up with me and I told him 'don't let it have so much power over you'," He says miserably, burying his face in his hands before running them up into his hair.
"Who does that? Am I too nice? I- I just..." He just wants an honest conversation to not leave someone in tears. "He finally says, 'we should talk', and it's to explain that I guessed wrong about what he wanted when he never tells me what he wants."
"I mean, maybe. But as someone who really needed someone who was too nice too ditch me even when I was a real dick back in the day, I appreciate you guys are out there. It was pretty successful, too. I mean, if we'd been shagging I definitely wouldn't have broken up with her over it so I can say Norton is dumb as hell." He does think 'don't let it have so much power over you' is the sort of thing a weirdo would say, but Ethan's his friend and has his full support on this.
"Though niceness and his bad choices aside, saying 'we should talk' is code for I'm about to break up with you." Ethan didn't have a chance to learn these things, so he can imagine how it would leave him even more unbalanced. "I guess that sort of invites two questions: were your guesses really wrong, and either way do you still want to deal with all that?"
Ethan's upset is disrupted momentarily by the tiniest quirk of a smile, "he's not dumb, he's just been through a lot." He likes that Fitz can say so in his defense though.
He thinks that is dumb though, truly, "what are you supposed to say when you're wanting to have a productive conversation then?" He'd been completely clueless and bright eyed this morning when Norton had started it the way anyone else would have read as 'this is going to suck'.
"Honestly I couldnt tell you if they were or if that was just an excuse..." he frowns down at the floor as he says, "I would, if he still wanted to. It isnt like I should be surprised, Im just disappointed."
Fitz points a finger in his direction. "See? That's what I mean." In his mental conversation about the problems with properly insulting someone's ex when they're willing to take them back. "Anyway, it can definitely be both."
He gives him a look. "No comment on Norton deciding that it's time to have a productive conversation. Reefer back to comments on dumb shit. But if you did you might say something like, 'hey, I was just thinking about the future' or 'if you refer to yourself in the third person I'm allowed to suffocate you with a pillow' or 'we're going to have a productive conversation'." Is the last one weird? Yeah. But Ethan can be weird that way and someone who want to be in a relationship with him should probably be somewhere on the scale of dealing with it.
"See, if you were into sexy teacher role play you could use that line and temporarily fix the problems that come with having a geriatric boyfriend. What is it that he does or doesn't want?"
Ethan had been following along even if he didnt exactly look like it, concentrating on frowning down at the floor as Fitz talks.
He'd been nodding slowly, taking in each bit but he pauses when Fitz gets to 'geriatric' and a bubble of a laugh interrupts his depressive contemplation.
"Fitz!" Does he feel mean for laughing? Maybe a little bit, but not enough to stop, "I'm trying to be upset and you're ruining it."
"You should be upset. You can't let knowing that dating someone who's nearly fifty would come with a certain type of baggage, but that's not an excuse. Really, at fifty-five you have less excuse to have not dealt with your shit."
Ethan covers his face as if that will change the fact that he's laughing behind them. The kettle goes, and he's still laughing, trying to focus on making tea.
He does think he remembers Norton say something about being stuck in a time loop for sixty years, but he doesn't think his body is that age.
"You know, I actually do know his birthday. I cheated to find out," He still is a little proud of himself for being sneaky in that game, but as he shakes his head, still softly laughing, he starts pouring Fitz a cup, familiar with how he takes it, "But he has to be at least in the mid-eighties, right?"
"Now, I know Norton is being dumb as fuck, but there's no need to be unfair." He waves a finger at Ethan. "You know he's only eighty-two, which doesn't count as mid-eighties yet. I'm not saying you need to be sensitive to his weird hangups, but since for some god forsaken reason you're willing to write out invitations for his birthday celebrations if he decides not to run away from open conversation, you gotta know what sort of dumb invitation phrase to use."
He shakes his head. "I was gonna said I'd break up with him, but since I mentioned fairness, we'd never date."
Ethan finishes preparing his cup, walking over to offer it to Fitz. He does his best to keep it steady as he tries to stifle some of that laughter, "Oh my god...if he doesn't make up his mind, I could certainly threaten to send out invitations. Make up a number, though I feel like that's just asking for him to actually break up with me without a second thought."
Or, he'd be impressed with his resourcefulness? Who knew.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-06 03:59 am (UTC)At least it's still more of a 'fall out of bed' than a 'stand up without problem' situation, so his party days clearly aren't fully erased.
"Just a minute," he says, waving the hand that he failed to cover his yawn with in Ethan's direction. He still hasn't fully opened his eyes, but he doesn't need to see to know. He has to wash his face. "Tea," he waves just a vaguely, but Ethan knows where he keeps the kettle. It's vital for return to full consciousness.
Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-06 04:11 am (UTC)"I didn't think you'd be up for a bit. You could sleep in, you know?" Though really, Ethan says so just because he isn't sure he's done processing and walking himself through what just happened. Whether he'd said enough, whether he'd proved he was worth the risk of hurt- he bites his lip, trying to forcibly change course of his thought process.
He's not going to cry, and working himself up about it helps nothing.
Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-06 04:19 am (UTC)He decides not to risk shaving before tea, but washing his face and mouth does mean that he's more alert, and definitely more alert than he looks as he still has barely opened his eyes. He doesn't need them to navigate the room, nor does he need to look at Ethan to be able to put together that something happened for him to end up in Fitz's bed, considering where he was heading the last time he saw him.
"Get the extra sugar." He slouches on the bed, as he puts together a picture. "New Year's day?" Really, Norton? What a sense of timing.
Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-06 04:29 am (UTC)But, turning around to finally face him while he waits for the water to heat, he can see that Fitz is catching on. He's even washed his hair already, not a lipstick mark to be seen on his fair skin, "Why do all the men I love have to think about it after they've hurt me so they can decide whether I'm worth keeping or not?"
He thinks it's a fair question, but he doubts he'll get a real answer. Perhaps he should just blame himself for having a taste for that kind of man, but he really can't help it.
Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-06 04:37 am (UTC)"You're too empathetic to their fear of certain types of intimacy to ditch them before they hit being so afraid they might like like you that they have to flee leaving only the wreckage of their attempts to prove themselves right behind?"
It's one possibility.
Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-06 04:45 am (UTC)"He was trying to break up with me and I told him 'don't let it have so much power over you'," He says miserably, burying his face in his hands before running them up into his hair.
"Who does that? Am I too nice? I- I just..." He just wants an honest conversation to not leave someone in tears. "He finally says, 'we should talk', and it's to explain that I guessed wrong about what he wanted when he never tells me what he wants."
Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-06 04:58 am (UTC)"I mean, maybe. But as someone who really needed someone who was too nice too ditch me even when I was a real dick back in the day, I appreciate you guys are out there. It was pretty successful, too. I mean, if we'd been shagging I definitely wouldn't have broken up with her over it so I can say Norton is dumb as hell." He does think 'don't let it have so much power over you' is the sort of thing a weirdo would say, but Ethan's his friend and has his full support on this.
"Though niceness and his bad choices aside, saying 'we should talk' is code for I'm about to break up with you." Ethan didn't have a chance to learn these things, so he can imagine how it would leave him even more unbalanced. "I guess that sort of invites two questions: were your guesses really wrong, and either way do you still want to deal with all that?"
Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-06 05:18 am (UTC)He thinks that is dumb though, truly, "what are you supposed to say when you're wanting to have a productive conversation then?" He'd been completely clueless and bright eyed this morning when Norton had started it the way anyone else would have read as 'this is going to suck'.
"Honestly I couldnt tell you if they were or if that was just an excuse..." he frowns down at the floor as he says, "I would, if he still wanted to. It isnt like I should be surprised, Im just disappointed."
Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-06 05:34 am (UTC)He gives him a look. "No comment on Norton deciding that it's time to have a productive conversation. Reefer back to comments on dumb shit. But if you did you might say something like, 'hey, I was just thinking about the future' or 'if you refer to yourself in the third person I'm allowed to suffocate you with a pillow' or 'we're going to have a productive conversation'." Is the last one weird? Yeah. But Ethan can be weird that way and someone who want to be in a relationship with him should probably be somewhere on the scale of dealing with it.
"See, if you were into sexy teacher role play you could use that line and temporarily fix the problems that come with having a geriatric boyfriend. What is it that he does or doesn't want?"
Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-06 02:30 pm (UTC)He'd been nodding slowly, taking in each bit but he pauses when Fitz gets to 'geriatric' and a bubble of a laugh interrupts his depressive contemplation.
"Fitz!" Does he feel mean for laughing? Maybe a little bit, but not enough to stop, "I'm trying to be upset and you're ruining it."
Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-06 04:42 pm (UTC)"You should be upset. You can't let knowing that dating someone who's nearly fifty would come with a certain type of baggage, but that's not an excuse. Really, at fifty-five you have less excuse to have not dealt with your shit."
Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-10 02:18 am (UTC)"How old is he now, Fitz?"
Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-10 02:25 am (UTC)Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-10 02:59 am (UTC)"You know, I actually do know his birthday. I cheated to find out," He still is a little proud of himself for being sneaky in that game, but as he shakes his head, still softly laughing, he starts pouring Fitz a cup, familiar with how he takes it, "But he has to be at least in the mid-eighties, right?"
Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-10 03:04 am (UTC)He shakes his head. "I was gonna said I'd break up with him, but since I mentioned fairness, we'd never date."
Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-10 03:14 am (UTC)Or, he'd be impressed with his resourcefulness? Who knew.
Re: After Schrodinger's breakup
Date: 2026-01-10 03:20 am (UTC)There are times when threats are far less threatening than open and honest communication.