Tea parties, simple things, pizza, and lentils

Chapter 22: Tea parties, simple things, pizza, and lentils
==Meta==
This one is for artificiallifecreator, whose brilliant suggestion in the comments on the last chapter gave rise to the opening section of this one and completely saved it. And then they saved it again by helping me clean up the pizza delivery section.
Reading curiumKingyo’s "Private Peace" before this will help the middle make a little more sense.
==Text==
His quarters are crowded, as they always are on those rare occasions friends visit. Sasha and Aleksis lounge on the bed, powerful limbs tangled lovingly around each other’s. Hermann watches them from his perch in his swivel chair, cup of tea prepared Russian style in his hand.
Aleksis jokes just as Sasha sips from her own cup and she nearly spits the hot liquid across the room. She swallows and the trio laugh even harder. Hermann wipes tears from his eyes even as his open wings continue to shake from the final giggles escaping him. The part of his mind watching the action from outside startles at the revelation, but the rest of him only pours more tea as the conversation flows.
On parting, they agree on a date for dinner in the city—Newt is invited, as well—and exchange farewells. The Russian couple embrace him, kiss both his cheeks, and gently run their strong hands along the edge of his wing before strolling out with wide smiles.
The room fades away, but the sensation of fingers against his feathers continues. He recognizes the touch as Newt’s and slowly opens his eyes.
"That must’ve been a great dream," Newt says "You were nearly purring, dude."
Hermann hums and blinks a few more times to better focus his vision. His voice creaks with sleep, but his eyes are bright as he answers, "Some old friends dropped by for tea."
"That was enough, huh?"
"What can I say? I am a man of simple pleasures," Hermann replies.
"Oh, really," Newt says and raises an inquisitive eyebrow. "Want to discuss them further over breakfast?"
"I believe I’d rather allow you to figure them out on your own," Hermann answers.
"Heh," Newt laughs. "Challenge accepted, Hermann."
With a snort, the winged man pushes himself up and out of bed to get ready for the day. He turns his back as he limps to the bathroom so he misses Newt’s roguish grin.
In an increasingly common mutual agreement, the two leave breakfast and return to the lab to continue packing. Hermann looks over his neatly organized side and smiles. This will take no time at all, he thinks. Some constructive procrastination may be in order.
He fills his kettle with water and sets it to boil on the hot plate. As he retrieves the box of teas from his desk, he tries to remember the last time he bothered to make a cup for himself. Another habit I need to re-establish. We finally have time again, he thinks as he drops a sachet of Earl Grey into one of the porcelain cups he’s carried from posting to posting over the last decade.
Maybe this next move will be the last. A home, friends nearby, and a … companion would be a marvelous way to spend … time. Hermann shakes the wistful smile from his face and sets about emptying desk drawers between sips of tea, half-listening to Newt flail his disorganized way around his half of the room.
He finishes his second cup and empties three drawers before Newt interrupts his thoughts, materializing far enough inside Hermann’s personal space to make him jump in surprise.
"Dude. You realize, after we move, we can’t have pizza delivered anymore?" he asks, eyes wide in realization and worry.
"We don’t often have pizza delivered now. For which my digestive system is thankful and yours should be," Hermann retorts.
"But there won’t even be the opportunity! It-it’s like we’ll be cut off from civilization!" Newt cries and gestures wildly.
Hermann rolls his eyes and says sarcastically, "Because the possibility of greasy slabs of ‘food’ arriving in response to your request is a marker of true civilization."
"Stop being a spoilsport," Newt says as he fishes his phone from a pocket. He finishes the order and looks up with a mischievous smile. "Want to make this a picnic? Same place as last time?"
Hermann’s eyes widen and he sits up a little straighter. "There is only a skeleton crew left … . The roof should be empty and I believe the weather today is supposed to be lovely," Hermann answers slowly, carefully choosing his words.
"I’ll go check with the security office and pick up the alarm system if you take care of collecting the food," Newt volunteers.
"Any excuse to stick me with the tab," Hermann grumps through a smile.
"You’ve uncovered my cunning plan," Newt says with a dramatic flair.
Hermann sighs. "Best get going, then. By my watch you have twenty minutes."
Newt snaps a sloppy salute and all but skips out of the lab to collect the materials needed for their rooftop picnic and check the security cameras still possess a blind spot. If the gap remains, Hermann will be able to safely release his wings and feel the wind and sun on his feathers.
The pizza arrives at the lab on time—the restaurant having long ago been granted GPS directions to every work area of the Shatterdome to save time and the effort required to guide the food to the proper location—and before Newt returns.
"Where would you like these?" the deliveryperson asks.
"On the desk, please," Hermann answers.
The visitor casts a wary eye around the lab, lingering on Newt's side of the room. "Uh, are you sure you want to eat in here? With those?" he inquires.
"We—my partner and I—will be taking them outside. He should be back soon, but thank you for the offer of help," Hermann answers.
With a polite bow, the deliveryperson accepts Hermann's generous tip and leaves the lab. Newt bounces back minutes later armed with a backpack, pillows, and a blanket. His enthusiasm quickly infects Hermann and he offers a small smile as Newt helps him to his feet and passes him the supplies under his arm to carry. They set off for the roof side-by-side, Hermann’s smile growing with each step.
Gazing over the harbor, Hermann tries to soak every detail of the landscape into his memory, from the reconstruction work on Stonecutters Bridge to the skyline with the new gaps punched by Otachi and Gipsy Danger. A wave of regret washes over him that he never visited the roof while the city was intact—or at least as intact as it was after Reckoner. He shakes it off as Newt places a gentle hand on his shoulder. Hermann leans into the touch and lets Newt lead him to where he laid out the picnic.
He relaxes into his seat on a pillow and stretches his legs out in front of him. Hermann shrugs out of his leather coat, pulls his jumper (‘navy blue’) off over his head, and works on the buttons of his shirt (‘dusty purple’), while Newt flutters nearby. He treats Newt to a small smile as Newt reaches eagerly for the buckles of his binding. The garment falls away and Hermann teases Newt by opening his wings very slowly, watching with a smirk as the other man’s mouth drops open.
Hermann closes his eyes and basks in the warmth of the sunshine and the wind tickling his feathers. The wind whispers to him of rapidly approaching spring. It will be fall in New Zealand. This year will have two winters for us. Good thing I own so many jumpers. He snags a slice of pizza and munches contentedly, allowing the breeze to ruffle his feathers and his hair.
"Looking forward to the day we don’t have to sneak up here for a little peace?" Newt asks between mouthfuls.
"Very much so," Hermann says with certainty. "I also will not miss those final three flights of stairs."
"You still up for the movie tonight?" Newt prompts. "Tendo says he’s picked something special for Valentine’s Day. A foreign film, I guess." Hermann hums an assent.
They remain on the roof, undisturbed, for the rest of the afternoon. Hermann soaking in the sun, eyes closed, while Newt does little more than stare at him. The sun begins to set and the breeze dies down. Hermann sighs and reaches for his clothes, giving his wings one final stretch in the open air before dressing again.
He lets Newt guide him to a couch at the back of the darkened Shatterdome staff lounge to watch the movie Tendo chose.
Newt controls himself until the title graphic appears on screen, then fakes a yawn and stretches his arms over his head. Rather than returning his arm to his side, he drapes it across Hermann’s shoulders even though the odd angle caused by their height difference promises to cause an ache. Hermann rolls his eyes but doesn’t protest.
That changes when Newt begins stroking the feathers along the outer edge of Hermann’s folded wing, smoothing them along the bone through his clothes. Hermann shivers happily at the sensation before freezing in place. He hisses and Newt stills. After a short, sharp nod from Hermann, Newt leaves his hand in place for the rest of the movie.
"You ever do the lentil thing?" Newt asks as they stroll back to their quarters.
"Why do you ask?"
"You chuckled at it."
"Did I?" Hermann snorts. "Well, it is every bit as fascinating as Ms. Tautou made it seem." He studies his companion. "You should visit the market and try it for yourself."
"Maybe we should make a date out of it," Newt replies as he unlocks and opens the door.
"Wasn’t today enough ‘dates’ for you?"
"No such thing, dude. Besides, we’ve got to a pack a few in now, since we have that week apart at the end of the month," Newt says.
Hermann rolls his eyes and responds, "I’m sure we’ll survive being separated for seven days," as he undresses and climbs into bed.
"’Survive’? Of course, but you’ll probably be extra clingy when we’re reunited," Newt says with a wide smile.
"For your information, I do not ‘cling’; I keep hold of you so you don’t sneak out and do something idiotic during the night," Hermann huffs.
"Build one neural bridge from spare parts and they never let you live it down," Newt mumbles.
"It was garbage, Newt, don't bother saying otherwise."
Newt blows a raspberry, before continuing, "I hope your friends drop by for dream tea again tonight, Hermann, I think today was the happiest I’ve ever seen you."
Hermann pauses a moment in thought, then lays his head on Newt’s chest. "I’ll deny this later," he says, "but I think you may be right."
==Meta==
The pizza section is rewritten from a Tumblr prompt minifill I crafted for killerweasel
The rooftop picnic is a reference and a revisit of curiumKingyo’s "Private Peace". I like the concept so well I had to take a shot at it, too, although cK’s story completely puts mine to shame.
The movie is, of course, Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain.
==Navigation==
Athene Noctua: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33
Category:Ficlet
Category:Athene Noctua
Category:Hermann has wings
Category:Hermann
Category:Hermann (ficlet)
Category:Newt
Category:Newt (ficlet)
Category:Pages in need of tags
Category: Athene Noctua (navigation)