[He lets Ricki have the cigarette, gets an arm around him, shifting until they can sit without Ricki's elbow digging into his ribs. He doesn't feel so settled, really, but he blanks out his mind for the moment and lets himself relax into it. It's good to have the warmth and weight of a man against him again, and he likes this one.
Too, too much, he's starting to realize.
He reaches out and takes the cigarette back, dragging deep, absently stroking Ricki's shoulder with the other hand. He holds the smoke in for a long beat before letting it out again. It helps curb the edge a little bit. Maybe not enough, though.
He smokes in silence for another moment, then says, quietly:]
Thinking we might be square on that little debt you owe.
[Shit, it's a good thing that Omar has the cigarette back, because Ricki startles, would probably have burned the both of them.
He turns his head, hard, clutching in a sharp, ungainly movement at him, because he's a fool, an easy mess when it comes to kindness, always.]
Omar. I haven't--?
[He's never brought it up, has worked hard not to let it stand between them, not to do anything remotely like pressuring him into this. He twists, glancing up at him, checking his expression closely.]
[It's not a kindness. It's selfish, and his expression stays unusually shuttered, eyes on the covers. He tenses where Ricki's fingers dig in.]
Me dragging all this outta y'all and everything.
[It's an imbalance; this is a way to correct it without having to reopen wounds that are already starting to tear at the edges. He takes another deep drag, the corner of his mouth quirking in a humorless smile as he lets it out again.]
Truth be told, I got a few skeletons I'd still like to keep in my closet.
[He says, and sits the rest of the way up, propping himself up on his arms and considering him closely.]
Well.
[It takes every bone in his body to say it, then, but;]
Then it's still yours. [Even though it's clearly a fight and a half to give it back, and leaves him a little red-faced, and feeling foolish.] I told you because I wanted to tell you, and with no expectation of anything in return. I have actual interrogation training, darling, if you wanted to drag something out of me you'd need the better part of two weeks and a skill set I don't think you have. I can't in good conscience pretend that this is anything close to fair, not when I just- wanted to let it out. You keep your skeletons, and you keep my IOU, and you just give me a kiss tonight and we'll be more than square.
[He seems oddly dissatisfied with that answer, or less relieved than he ought to, anyway. He does look back at Ricki, at least. Even with all Ricki's skill, though, and as well as he knows Omar now, there's no telling what's in his eyes beyond that. He's a closed book.
But he's asked for a kiss, and he can do that much -- even if that, too, is a little harder than it should be, a little bit of an edge in it, like a distant echo of Ricki's feverish panic from before. He curls his hand in Ricki's shirt and holds tight for a moment.]
[He almost explains, I'll never forgive myself, if I feel I got it out of you dishonestly, but shuts himself up and looks up at him instead as he's held, accepting the shut off look in his eyes with perfect stillness, returning the kiss and then waiting, soft and still, for any indication.
After a heartbeat, he rubs a delicate hand along Omar's side. Still watching his eyes. The kindest thing he can think to do is offer him two gracious choices, so Ricki takes the cigarette back and murmurs;]
I know it's early, but I was thinking of getting some sleep. You're welcome to keep me warm while I wind down, but if your schedule is later than this I'll understand perfectly.
[He should stay: he came here to be with Ricki, and it would feel like running to leave now. There's a large part of him that's tempted to anyway, to get a little distance between them for a minute. For a moment, panic and guilt war with pride and desire. It's really ego more than anything that wins in the end: Omar Little doesn't scare.
So he shakes his head and settles back again, pulling his shoes off to get comfortable on the bed.]
[He smiles, and gives his side another slow, familiar touch, before getting gingerly to his feet and stretching, heading for the bathroom.
Omar has a thing about not talking to people from other rooms, and anyways, Ricki needs a cup from the desk and a bottle of pills from the dresser, so he starts brushing his teeth, and reemerges to fetch both of those things with the spare hand, and a wink for Omar in passing. It feels a little ridiculous, letting him into this most quiet, domestic space, but of course he brushes his teeth at night, he only wishes he had a spare brush to lend him.]
[That's really a trust issue. Back when Ricki was still a mostly unknown quantity, Omar had preferred he stay in line of sight. Whatever is twisting around in Omar's gut tonight, that's not it, or he wouldn't be staying at all.
He has every intention of letting Ricki go without comment, but he notices the bottle. He hadn't before; it seems to almost suddenly materialize on the dresser just in time for Ricki to pick it up. Is that new? He doesn't remember seeing it before at all. He doesn't ask outright, though he gives it a curious squint as Ricki passes by on his way back into the bathroom, and again when he emerges. He's made himself comfortable in the meantime, stretched out on his back, the shared cigarette having found its way back into his hand.]
[He tucks it away, and goes to his dresser, stripping off his shirt to find a clean tee, and without looking at him, admits;]
Doc here wants me on something for anxiety. I said no, and he settled for a nighttime sedative. If you need anything in the night, you might not be able to wake me. Please be very sure the door is locked behind you if you have to go.
[He doesn't think he really needs to ask why Ricki might have trouble sleeping without them, or what he has to feel anxious about. Hell, if he hadn't been anxious before, the Barge's warm welcoming embrace could have given him that in spades. Whatever the pills are, Omar has no interest in touching them, but the concept itself isn't exactly a mystery.
There's a voice in him that says he should talk Ricki out of taking them -- that Ricki shouldn't leave himself susceptible like that, that he should harden up against it instead -- but he quells it for the time being. There's a lot behind that impulse, and a lot of it falls into the same too much that has his back up right now. His mouth twitches distastefully, but he just leans over to stub the cigarette out, no commentary.]
[He shrugs; nothing he sees from Omar, he doesn't feel about himself in spades. He tosses the bottle back onto the desk, sips his water, and moves to slide to the other side of the bed, to fetch up against the wall, so that Omar can make his escape if he needs.
Tired, defeated, he drags one of the pillows down and falls into it, lying on his stomach, breathing out softly through his nose.]
I'm off them in a week. I just have the seven, to reset, and no one's gladder about that than me.
[He echoes it curiously, glancing over at Ricki with a raised brow as he settles in on his back. That makes it sound like something recent, but while he obviously knows Ricki has been a whole lot more keyed up lately, he hadn't thought of there being some kind of specific inciting incident. The breach? Or is it really just the fallout from the concession that was knitting circle?
He lets his hand fall between them, idly stroking the backs of his fingers along Ricki's arm.]
Didn't realize your-- what is it, you know, your rhythms was thrown all that much.
[He admits, rolling his head to the side, turning to Omar, even though he doesn't try to open his eyes yet. He settles subtly down at the touch.]
Got into a spot of trouble, trying to train in the Enclosure after a really rough night. Slipped up and ended up trying to breathe in some water. Shook me up into trying to do something about it. I was getting four hours a night, on nights I could shut my eyes, and I often pushed through, just reading, or messing around on the network.
[There are a few answers to that. Yes, Omar does help, in that he's a considerable source of strength and balance to Ricki. No, he hadn't helped, in that there had been some turmoil there that he'd tossed and turned over. Furthermore, no, in that he was one of his most frequent late night chatters.
[He's thinking mostly of the latter, the most physical hindrance: all those calls continuing long after Omar would typically switch off the network, all those visits stretching into the quiet hours of the night. He lets out a quiet sound not so much of amusement but of good humor, a little warmth creeping back into him.]
I ain't trying to do the same tonight, though.
[He pulls away, going to find the light to switch it off before slipping back into the bed next to him.]
[Ricki murmurs, and shifts closer. He's already warm and sleepy, and glad that some of the pressure of learning how to fall asleep around another man has been lifted. He's not going to get a choice either way.]
[Tired though he truly is, he's not really sleepy at all, but he closes his eyes anyway and tries to settle. In the dark, with Ricki's warmth next to him, he will fall asleep eventually. He has something of a choice -- he could still go, back to his own room or out to roam the halls -- but he's already made his for tonight, and he stays quiet and rooted where he is.
Until sleep takes him, then, he'll just try to keep his mind blank and clear and his heart at ease; he'll try not to let his own turmoils overtake him.]
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Too, too much, he's starting to realize.
He reaches out and takes the cigarette back, dragging deep, absently stroking Ricki's shoulder with the other hand. He holds the smoke in for a long beat before letting it out again. It helps curb the edge a little bit. Maybe not enough, though.
He smokes in silence for another moment, then says, quietly:]
Thinking we might be square on that little debt you owe.
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He turns his head, hard, clutching in a sharp, ungainly movement at him, because he's a fool, an easy mess when it comes to kindness, always.]
Omar. I haven't--?
[He's never brought it up, has worked hard not to let it stand between them, not to do anything remotely like pressuring him into this. He twists, glancing up at him, checking his expression closely.]
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Me dragging all this outta y'all and everything.
[It's an imbalance; this is a way to correct it without having to reopen wounds that are already starting to tear at the edges. He takes another deep drag, the corner of his mouth quirking in a humorless smile as he lets it out again.]
Truth be told, I got a few skeletons I'd still like to keep in my closet.
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[He says, and sits the rest of the way up, propping himself up on his arms and considering him closely.]
Well.
[It takes every bone in his body to say it, then, but;]
Then it's still yours. [Even though it's clearly a fight and a half to give it back, and leaves him a little red-faced, and feeling foolish.] I told you because I wanted to tell you, and with no expectation of anything in return. I have actual interrogation training, darling, if you wanted to drag something out of me you'd need the better part of two weeks and a skill set I don't think you have. I can't in good conscience pretend that this is anything close to fair, not when I just- wanted to let it out. You keep your skeletons, and you keep my IOU, and you just give me a kiss tonight and we'll be more than square.
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But he's asked for a kiss, and he can do that much -- even if that, too, is a little harder than it should be, a little bit of an edge in it, like a distant echo of Ricki's feverish panic from before. He curls his hand in Ricki's shirt and holds tight for a moment.]
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After a heartbeat, he rubs a delicate hand along Omar's side. Still watching his eyes. The kindest thing he can think to do is offer him two gracious choices, so Ricki takes the cigarette back and murmurs;]
I know it's early, but I was thinking of getting some sleep. You're welcome to keep me warm while I wind down, but if your schedule is later than this I'll understand perfectly.
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So he shakes his head and settles back again, pulling his shoes off to get comfortable on the bed.]
Might be a little tired out, myself.
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Omar has a thing about not talking to people from other rooms, and anyways, Ricki needs a cup from the desk and a bottle of pills from the dresser, so he starts brushing his teeth, and reemerges to fetch both of those things with the spare hand, and a wink for Omar in passing. It feels a little ridiculous, letting him into this most quiet, domestic space, but of course he brushes his teeth at night, he only wishes he had a spare brush to lend him.]
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He has every intention of letting Ricki go without comment, but he notices the bottle. He hadn't before; it seems to almost suddenly materialize on the dresser just in time for Ricki to pick it up. Is that new? He doesn't remember seeing it before at all. He doesn't ask outright, though he gives it a curious squint as Ricki passes by on his way back into the bathroom, and again when he emerges. He's made himself comfortable in the meantime, stretched out on his back, the shared cigarette having found its way back into his hand.]
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Doc here wants me on something for anxiety. I said no, and he settled for a nighttime sedative. If you need anything in the night, you might not be able to wake me. Please be very sure the door is locked behind you if you have to go.
[And talk about an issue of trust.]
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[He doesn't think he really needs to ask why Ricki might have trouble sleeping without them, or what he has to feel anxious about. Hell, if he hadn't been anxious before, the Barge's warm welcoming embrace could have given him that in spades. Whatever the pills are, Omar has no interest in touching them, but the concept itself isn't exactly a mystery.
There's a voice in him that says he should talk Ricki out of taking them -- that Ricki shouldn't leave himself susceptible like that, that he should harden up against it instead -- but he quells it for the time being. There's a lot behind that impulse, and a lot of it falls into the same too much that has his back up right now. His mouth twitches distastefully, but he just leans over to stub the cigarette out, no commentary.]
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Tired, defeated, he drags one of the pillows down and falls into it, lying on his stomach, breathing out softly through his nose.]
I'm off them in a week. I just have the seven, to reset, and no one's gladder about that than me.
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[He echoes it curiously, glancing over at Ricki with a raised brow as he settles in on his back. That makes it sound like something recent, but while he obviously knows Ricki has been a whole lot more keyed up lately, he hadn't thought of there being some kind of specific inciting incident. The breach? Or is it really just the fallout from the concession that was knitting circle?
He lets his hand fall between them, idly stroking the backs of his fingers along Ricki's arm.]
Didn't realize your-- what is it, you know, your rhythms was thrown all that much.
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[He admits, rolling his head to the side, turning to Omar, even though he doesn't try to open his eyes yet. He settles subtly down at the touch.]
Got into a spot of trouble, trying to train in the Enclosure after a really rough night. Slipped up and ended up trying to breathe in some water. Shook me up into trying to do something about it. I was getting four hours a night, on nights I could shut my eyes, and I often pushed through, just reading, or messing around on the network.
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[Despite himself and his own sharp edges tonight, he smiles a little.]
Don't suppose I been all that much help with that.
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[There are a few answers to that. Yes, Omar does help, in that he's a considerable source of strength and balance to Ricki. No, he hadn't helped, in that there had been some turmoil there that he'd tossed and turned over. Furthermore, no, in that he was one of his most frequent late night chatters.
He settles on a sly, sweet;]
Gave me some pleasant thoughts to stay up with.
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I ain't trying to do the same tonight, though.
[He pulls away, going to find the light to switch it off before slipping back into the bed next to him.]
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[Ricki murmurs, and shifts closer. He's already warm and sleepy, and glad that some of the pressure of learning how to fall asleep around another man has been lifted. He's not going to get a choice either way.]
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[Tired though he truly is, he's not really sleepy at all, but he closes his eyes anyway and tries to settle. In the dark, with Ricki's warmth next to him, he will fall asleep eventually. He has something of a choice -- he could still go, back to his own room or out to roam the halls -- but he's already made his for tonight, and he stays quiet and rooted where he is.
Until sleep takes him, then, he'll just try to keep his mind blank and clear and his heart at ease; he'll try not to let his own turmoils overtake him.]