[ AU // Closed thread with Kurt ]
Note: This is a vaguely-canon verse that was started before Furt aired, so we had no idea what the living situation was at the time. XD So, this is AU. Also, the lack of much formatting is due to the fact that this was partially being played by way of cell-phone texts. And we're going comment-spammy from here because we can. 8D
Things have been...actually pretty okay lately, which, for Finn, is a pleasant turn of events. Even though it's still a bit awkward, since he and his mom had in fact moved in with the Hummels, it isn't...bad. Hell, it isn't *bad* by a long shot. Sure, he and Kurt still have their (glaringly obvious) differences, but it turns out that Kurt is pretty cool when he's chilled out. Finn had guessed that the initial crazy-awkwardness had been because they'd *both* kind of been nervous.
But now, things are actually pretty good. It helps that he has his own room, but the truth is, lately he's been spending a lot of time in the basement just because it's a cool room (it's like its own apartment, practically), and he enjoys hanging out. They watch a lot of movies--a *lot* of movies, from a lot of different genres, because Kurt insists that they 'expand their horizons' or something like that--and Kurt even let Finn hook up his XBox to the flatscreen, so they play a lot of games too. (Well. Finn plays, mostly. Kurt watches, for the most part. But he usually seems entertained!)
Right now there's another movie on the agenda, a foreign one that Kurt says he's heard good things about, so Finn's in his usual place--on the comfy sofa, comfortably sunk-in and sloppily-arranged, remote next to him, ready to reach up and turn the lamp beside the couch off. "Don't forget the popcorn, dude," he calls to Kurt with a grin, because, well. What the hell good's a movie without popcorn, right?
It's true that after spending so much time together, the initial nervousness has pretty much worn off. It was a little surprising, even to Kurt, how well they get along now. Finn can be genuinely entertaining. Even watching the other teen play his video games can be amusing, Kurt's found. And watching movies together has proven to be much more fun than watching them alone. Well, except for the fact Finn always insists on popcorn. It's a small price to pay, though. Kurt pops the DVD in before carrying the bowl of calorie-rich buttery death kernels over to the sofa. "Yes, yes, I've got the popcorn," he says, sitting and placing the bowl beside him. He hands the remote to Finn, as he learned early on that the taller boy liked to be in charge of it (he really is such a boy, not that Kurt particularly minds). "Remember to turn the subtitles on," he reminds him, shifting to get comfortable on the couch. He's hoping Finn will enjoy this movie, it's fairly heavy on the romance, which will be new for them. So far they'd been remaining in the safer movie genres: horror, comedy, action, etc. He's aware that he's taking a risk with this, that it could lead to a return of... awkwardness. But it's a risk he's willing to take.
"Oh, right," Finn says, lifting the remote to hit the menu button and get everything all set up--one prior foreign movie they'd attempted to just put on the English audio track, but it was so badly done that the movie just ended up funny instead of whatever it was actually supposed to be--leaving the audio track where it is and putting on English subtitles. (He's stopped bitching about having to read while watching the movie, too, good for him!)
Maybe fortunately, Finn's already gathered that this one's a little different from the usual ones they watch; the cover portrays a young couple, and the text is all in flowing script (not that Finn would be able to read it anyway, since it's in French or Italian or something), but it wouldn't be the first girly movie he'd had to watch. His mom? Huge fan of this sort of stuff. So Finn sort of has a tolerance to it at this point. (Potential awkwardness of watching something like that with *Kurt*...honestly hasn't occurred to him yet.) Besides, Kurt had pretty decent taste in movies most of the time.
So when it starts, he flicks that lamp off, so that the only light in the basement is coming from the TV. (That had been awkward at first too, sitting in the dark like this with Kurt, but...basically once they started on the horror movies, which were *necessary* to watch in the dark, Finn had gotten over it.) "So this one isn't going to be like, super-depressing like the last one, is it?" he asks with a grin, glancing over at the other boy, "No little girls getting shot or anything?"
"Not insofar as I know. And to be fair, I didn't know that was coming, either. I'd heard it had a sad ending, of course, but I tend to avoid spoiling myself before I've actually gotten to watch the movie." A pause, as the studio name and such comes on screen. "I also feel the need to remind you it's *my* first time seeing this movie as well, so any questions you feel the need to interrupt dialogue with will only be responded to with shushes or possibly an elbow to your ribcage," he informs Finn, goodnaturedly, maybe a little teasingly. Finn isn't as bad about that as he was in the beginning, when he'd ask those questions such as "Where's she going now?" or "Why is he looking at (insert object or person) like that? Has he got a plan?" To which Kurt would usually respond with a simple "Just watch." This routine of theirs has gotten fairly comfortable; Kurt still gets a tiny bit anxious, sitting with Finn in the dark. After all, his feelings for the other boy haven't gone away... If anything,they've grown. But concentrating on the movie usually helps calm the initial nervousness. Although considering today's movie choice, this might not be the case this time, he realizes, acutely aware of their close proximity in the darkened room as the first mildly sappy scene begins to play out.
"Hey, I've gotten better about that," he protests, but he's still grinning; the comment's mostly in jest. But, it is pretty funny to see Kurt's face scrunch up in annoyance as he tries to quiet Finn down when he does get too noisy, shushing and shoving lightly at him, even smacking him on the arm with a pillow. It's a side of Kurt that Finn kind of likes seeing, to be honest--not the irritation itself exactly, but the fact that it's something that not many people get to see. (It doesn't strike him how intimate that is; it's more that Finn feels like Kurt can be more real when he's relaxed like this...and that's awesome, right?)
And man, the movie was pretty quick to jump into the romantic stuff, wasn't it? Truthfully, Finn sort of zones out a little at that point, since it's not exactly up his usual alley, but he stays attached enough to follow the story. It's sort of a historical fiction thing as far as Finn can tell; the guy's rich and the girl's not, it's forbidden or something like that. And there's a bunch of people trying to keep them apart or marry them off to other people.
At the risk of getting smacked, Finn voices his thoughts, almost a little absently...like he doesn't quite realize he's saying it. "They should just let them be together, you know? Who cares that they're different, that's a stupid reason."
Hearing Finn's words, Kurt feels a light flush spread over his cheeks. "I had a feeling you were a romantic at heart," he says, only half teasing. The fact that what Finn has said could, in Kurt's mind, be very easily applied to *them*, lingers in his thoughts as the movie progresses. He keeps having to shift the popcorn bowl. The smell is heavenly, which is absurd for something drowning in butter that threatens to clog your arteries just by looking at it. It's tempting him, and Kurt can't have that. However, he also will not allow Finn to hold the bowl, as the larger teen has been known to empty it's entire contents in two minutes, and having to constantly pause the movie for popcorn refills gets very, very tedious. Where the popcorn is concerned, there just really is no easy solution. "I agree, though. Peoples' hearts want who they want. Forcing them apart from the one they love, for any reason, is just outright torture."
Finn can hear the bowl being shifted further away, and he can't help but grin a little, because the battles over popcorn during movies had been fairly epic, and finally the compromise had been made that they could have one bowl, but it would be under Kurt's control, because no amount of Finn's whining would get him more and, well. He'd certainly raise a stink, and then Kurt would get pissed off because he'd be missing the movie. So this works out for the most part; whenever Finn wants some of the popcorn, he just asks for a handful, and Kurt hands the bowl over for long enough before taking it back.
Which he is sort of thinking about, but he's actually kind of paying attention to the movie now. It's gotten kind of interesting despite all the mushy stuff--but he does notice that Kurt's pretty close to him on the couch, maybe a little closer than usual. But maybe he's imagining that. So instead of dwelling on it, since that's making him feel a little weird, Finn focuses back on the movie again...
...which seems to be rapidly moving into a much more, uh. S-sexual scene. The couple on-screen is kissing passionately and clothes are starting to come off, which Finn would usually be totally all for, but...he's usually not around other people when scenes like this come on. The feeling can almost be described as embarrassment (he can even feel his face heating a little, but he's not sure why), and after a moment, Finn's looking for an excuse to look anywhere but the screen. Talking, though, also seems kind of impossible; what can be said that isn't even more awkward?
So instead he...decides to go for the popcorn, casual as anything. He moves, turning, looking for the bowl as he leans over the other boy. In his search, he has no real idea of how *close* he is to Kurt, but vaguely--very, very vaguely--Finn realizes that he can feel Kurt's body heat even from here.
And Finn won't have long to dwell on that realization, really. Kurt's very focused on the movie, but at the same time he's keenly aware of Finn's proximity to him, and the words he'd said earlier, and... The poor boy's mind is creating patterns where no real patterns probably *are*. And, for this reason, as Finn starts to lean over him to reach for the bowl of popcorn on the other side, with the rather intense scene playing out on the flat screen, Kurt completely misinterprets Finn's intentions. The other teen's body is leaning towards him and his eyes are cast down almost shyly (in reality, probably focused on the bowl of popcorn), and Kurt feels his stomach flip and his heart leap and before he can think twice about it, he's leaning forward to meet Finn halfway, and is pressing his mouth to the other boy's, his eyes half-shut, tingles of delightful anticipation traveling over his body and jumping from nerve to nerve. It seems like a dream, almost unbelievable, that something as simple as a romantic movie could make Finn realize... Unfortunately, he doesn't linger on that thought process for very long, instead falling headfirst into the kiss, every cell in his brain focused on the way Finn's lips feel against his own, on the body heat he can feel washing over him, practically smothering him (quite nicely) even though their bodies are still several inches apart. He's very aware of how *large* the body is that heat is emenating from, and he can't control the slight shiver of pleasure that awareness forces from him.
Finn, meanwhile, has no idea what just happened. One second he's reaching a hand out to grab some popcorn, and the next, he--well, he can't see the bowl anymore, because Kurt's face has filled his vision, and he's...they're kissing. Finn's pretty sure he's being kissed by Kurt Hummel.
For a long moment, there's no response at all. There *can't* be one. There's way, way too much crashing around inside of him, and it more or less makes his brain shut completely down. Vaguely he thinks he should be angry, that they've been *over* this, that it's just not--Kurt knows, he *knows* Finn doesn't feel the same way, and still he's...
...but the anger doesn't hit; right now it's just confusion. Confusion as to how exactly this had happened, and confusion that he's not yanking away, that he's...not really moving at all, actually. Kurt's lips remain against his own, and...Finn's a little horrified to realize that he's noticing how soft they are (like, *really* soft, easily softer than any girl he's kissed before, which makes exactly zero sense to him), and noticing the heat radiating from Kurt's body into his own, and that amidst all that confusion, there's a sliver-thin desire to adjust to make it a better kiss.
Which is about where the freakout occurs, but to Finn's credit, he doesn't overreact. He does pull back, quickly, mouth breaking from Kurt's with an audible pop--his face feels way too damn hot now, and he's both confused and mildly off-put that his lips are still tingling. His eyes are wide as he stares at the other boy; no words are coming to him just yet.
When Finn pulls away, Kurt's own eyes open fully so he can take in the other boy's expression. And it..isn't one he'd been expecting. He blinks several times, his own face heating, flushing, and he notices then how Finn's arm is positioned... going directly for the popcorn. Realization hits him like a full-speed train and his eyes widen significantly. He swallows, glances at the TV, at the floor, at the stairs, before finally giving a very sheepish glance to Finn. "I," he manages to squeak out. He clears his throat, tries again, his voice sounding surprisingly small. "I'm sorry, I thought..." He stops there. What he thought is obvious. He doesn't need to embarrass them both further by saying it out loud. After another second of stunned silence, Kurt actually picks up the bowl of popcorn and hands it to Finn, his face practically glowing pink. "Here..."
Finn can't quite seem to decide where to look once Kurt breaks eye contact; the TV's no good, that scene seems to have only become more intense and--oh, oh god, did Kurt think that he'd seen the couple onscreen and just like, needed to get some play himself or something?
Finn's face flushes deeper, eyes focusing on the bowl for now, and he takes it when it's handed to him...their fingers accidentally brushing around the sides of it, which makes Finn jerk back a little bit, awkward and completely nervous. He kind of feels like he's being a jerk, but he also doesn't know how else to *react*. Kurt had just kissed him. Hell, it seems like Kurt had thought that Finn had been specifically leaning in *to* kiss him.
He does mumble a bit of a thanks after he gets the popcorn, but then he just sort of stares at it in his lap for a second. God, why won't his lips stop tingling? I mean, okay, maybe that hadn't been a bad kiss, whatever, but this is *Kurt*, and Finn isn't *gay*, and...oh god, it's so confusing. Either to prevent himself from saying something too stupid, or maybe just as an excuse to not say anything *period*, Finn quickly grabs a handful of popcorn and eats it, chewing a little slowly. He still can't really think very well. He still feels like he's about to jump out of his skin. God, what do they do *now*?
Things have been...actually pretty okay lately, which, for Finn, is a pleasant turn of events. Even though it's still a bit awkward, since he and his mom had in fact moved in with the Hummels, it isn't...bad. Hell, it isn't *bad* by a long shot. Sure, he and Kurt still have their (glaringly obvious) differences, but it turns out that Kurt is pretty cool when he's chilled out. Finn had guessed that the initial crazy-awkwardness had been because they'd *both* kind of been nervous.
But now, things are actually pretty good. It helps that he has his own room, but the truth is, lately he's been spending a lot of time in the basement just because it's a cool room (it's like its own apartment, practically), and he enjoys hanging out. They watch a lot of movies--a *lot* of movies, from a lot of different genres, because Kurt insists that they 'expand their horizons' or something like that--and Kurt even let Finn hook up his XBox to the flatscreen, so they play a lot of games too. (Well. Finn plays, mostly. Kurt watches, for the most part. But he usually seems entertained!)
Right now there's another movie on the agenda, a foreign one that Kurt says he's heard good things about, so Finn's in his usual place--on the comfy sofa, comfortably sunk-in and sloppily-arranged, remote next to him, ready to reach up and turn the lamp beside the couch off. "Don't forget the popcorn, dude," he calls to Kurt with a grin, because, well. What the hell good's a movie without popcorn, right?
It's true that after spending so much time together, the initial nervousness has pretty much worn off. It was a little surprising, even to Kurt, how well they get along now. Finn can be genuinely entertaining. Even watching the other teen play his video games can be amusing, Kurt's found. And watching movies together has proven to be much more fun than watching them alone. Well, except for the fact Finn always insists on popcorn. It's a small price to pay, though. Kurt pops the DVD in before carrying the bowl of calorie-rich buttery death kernels over to the sofa. "Yes, yes, I've got the popcorn," he says, sitting and placing the bowl beside him. He hands the remote to Finn, as he learned early on that the taller boy liked to be in charge of it (he really is such a boy, not that Kurt particularly minds). "Remember to turn the subtitles on," he reminds him, shifting to get comfortable on the couch. He's hoping Finn will enjoy this movie, it's fairly heavy on the romance, which will be new for them. So far they'd been remaining in the safer movie genres: horror, comedy, action, etc. He's aware that he's taking a risk with this, that it could lead to a return of... awkwardness. But it's a risk he's willing to take.
"Oh, right," Finn says, lifting the remote to hit the menu button and get everything all set up--one prior foreign movie they'd attempted to just put on the English audio track, but it was so badly done that the movie just ended up funny instead of whatever it was actually supposed to be--leaving the audio track where it is and putting on English subtitles. (He's stopped bitching about having to read while watching the movie, too, good for him!)
Maybe fortunately, Finn's already gathered that this one's a little different from the usual ones they watch; the cover portrays a young couple, and the text is all in flowing script (not that Finn would be able to read it anyway, since it's in French or Italian or something), but it wouldn't be the first girly movie he'd had to watch. His mom? Huge fan of this sort of stuff. So Finn sort of has a tolerance to it at this point. (Potential awkwardness of watching something like that with *Kurt*...honestly hasn't occurred to him yet.) Besides, Kurt had pretty decent taste in movies most of the time.
So when it starts, he flicks that lamp off, so that the only light in the basement is coming from the TV. (That had been awkward at first too, sitting in the dark like this with Kurt, but...basically once they started on the horror movies, which were *necessary* to watch in the dark, Finn had gotten over it.) "So this one isn't going to be like, super-depressing like the last one, is it?" he asks with a grin, glancing over at the other boy, "No little girls getting shot or anything?"
"Not insofar as I know. And to be fair, I didn't know that was coming, either. I'd heard it had a sad ending, of course, but I tend to avoid spoiling myself before I've actually gotten to watch the movie." A pause, as the studio name and such comes on screen. "I also feel the need to remind you it's *my* first time seeing this movie as well, so any questions you feel the need to interrupt dialogue with will only be responded to with shushes or possibly an elbow to your ribcage," he informs Finn, goodnaturedly, maybe a little teasingly. Finn isn't as bad about that as he was in the beginning, when he'd ask those questions such as "Where's she going now?" or "Why is he looking at (insert object or person) like that? Has he got a plan?" To which Kurt would usually respond with a simple "Just watch." This routine of theirs has gotten fairly comfortable; Kurt still gets a tiny bit anxious, sitting with Finn in the dark. After all, his feelings for the other boy haven't gone away... If anything,they've grown. But concentrating on the movie usually helps calm the initial nervousness. Although considering today's movie choice, this might not be the case this time, he realizes, acutely aware of their close proximity in the darkened room as the first mildly sappy scene begins to play out.
"Hey, I've gotten better about that," he protests, but he's still grinning; the comment's mostly in jest. But, it is pretty funny to see Kurt's face scrunch up in annoyance as he tries to quiet Finn down when he does get too noisy, shushing and shoving lightly at him, even smacking him on the arm with a pillow. It's a side of Kurt that Finn kind of likes seeing, to be honest--not the irritation itself exactly, but the fact that it's something that not many people get to see. (It doesn't strike him how intimate that is; it's more that Finn feels like Kurt can be more real when he's relaxed like this...and that's awesome, right?)
And man, the movie was pretty quick to jump into the romantic stuff, wasn't it? Truthfully, Finn sort of zones out a little at that point, since it's not exactly up his usual alley, but he stays attached enough to follow the story. It's sort of a historical fiction thing as far as Finn can tell; the guy's rich and the girl's not, it's forbidden or something like that. And there's a bunch of people trying to keep them apart or marry them off to other people.
At the risk of getting smacked, Finn voices his thoughts, almost a little absently...like he doesn't quite realize he's saying it. "They should just let them be together, you know? Who cares that they're different, that's a stupid reason."
Hearing Finn's words, Kurt feels a light flush spread over his cheeks. "I had a feeling you were a romantic at heart," he says, only half teasing. The fact that what Finn has said could, in Kurt's mind, be very easily applied to *them*, lingers in his thoughts as the movie progresses. He keeps having to shift the popcorn bowl. The smell is heavenly, which is absurd for something drowning in butter that threatens to clog your arteries just by looking at it. It's tempting him, and Kurt can't have that. However, he also will not allow Finn to hold the bowl, as the larger teen has been known to empty it's entire contents in two minutes, and having to constantly pause the movie for popcorn refills gets very, very tedious. Where the popcorn is concerned, there just really is no easy solution. "I agree, though. Peoples' hearts want who they want. Forcing them apart from the one they love, for any reason, is just outright torture."
Finn can hear the bowl being shifted further away, and he can't help but grin a little, because the battles over popcorn during movies had been fairly epic, and finally the compromise had been made that they could have one bowl, but it would be under Kurt's control, because no amount of Finn's whining would get him more and, well. He'd certainly raise a stink, and then Kurt would get pissed off because he'd be missing the movie. So this works out for the most part; whenever Finn wants some of the popcorn, he just asks for a handful, and Kurt hands the bowl over for long enough before taking it back.
Which he is sort of thinking about, but he's actually kind of paying attention to the movie now. It's gotten kind of interesting despite all the mushy stuff--but he does notice that Kurt's pretty close to him on the couch, maybe a little closer than usual. But maybe he's imagining that. So instead of dwelling on it, since that's making him feel a little weird, Finn focuses back on the movie again...
...which seems to be rapidly moving into a much more, uh. S-sexual scene. The couple on-screen is kissing passionately and clothes are starting to come off, which Finn would usually be totally all for, but...he's usually not around other people when scenes like this come on. The feeling can almost be described as embarrassment (he can even feel his face heating a little, but he's not sure why), and after a moment, Finn's looking for an excuse to look anywhere but the screen. Talking, though, also seems kind of impossible; what can be said that isn't even more awkward?
So instead he...decides to go for the popcorn, casual as anything. He moves, turning, looking for the bowl as he leans over the other boy. In his search, he has no real idea of how *close* he is to Kurt, but vaguely--very, very vaguely--Finn realizes that he can feel Kurt's body heat even from here.
And Finn won't have long to dwell on that realization, really. Kurt's very focused on the movie, but at the same time he's keenly aware of Finn's proximity to him, and the words he'd said earlier, and... The poor boy's mind is creating patterns where no real patterns probably *are*. And, for this reason, as Finn starts to lean over him to reach for the bowl of popcorn on the other side, with the rather intense scene playing out on the flat screen, Kurt completely misinterprets Finn's intentions. The other teen's body is leaning towards him and his eyes are cast down almost shyly (in reality, probably focused on the bowl of popcorn), and Kurt feels his stomach flip and his heart leap and before he can think twice about it, he's leaning forward to meet Finn halfway, and is pressing his mouth to the other boy's, his eyes half-shut, tingles of delightful anticipation traveling over his body and jumping from nerve to nerve. It seems like a dream, almost unbelievable, that something as simple as a romantic movie could make Finn realize... Unfortunately, he doesn't linger on that thought process for very long, instead falling headfirst into the kiss, every cell in his brain focused on the way Finn's lips feel against his own, on the body heat he can feel washing over him, practically smothering him (quite nicely) even though their bodies are still several inches apart. He's very aware of how *large* the body is that heat is emenating from, and he can't control the slight shiver of pleasure that awareness forces from him.
Finn, meanwhile, has no idea what just happened. One second he's reaching a hand out to grab some popcorn, and the next, he--well, he can't see the bowl anymore, because Kurt's face has filled his vision, and he's...they're kissing. Finn's pretty sure he's being kissed by Kurt Hummel.
For a long moment, there's no response at all. There *can't* be one. There's way, way too much crashing around inside of him, and it more or less makes his brain shut completely down. Vaguely he thinks he should be angry, that they've been *over* this, that it's just not--Kurt knows, he *knows* Finn doesn't feel the same way, and still he's...
...but the anger doesn't hit; right now it's just confusion. Confusion as to how exactly this had happened, and confusion that he's not yanking away, that he's...not really moving at all, actually. Kurt's lips remain against his own, and...Finn's a little horrified to realize that he's noticing how soft they are (like, *really* soft, easily softer than any girl he's kissed before, which makes exactly zero sense to him), and noticing the heat radiating from Kurt's body into his own, and that amidst all that confusion, there's a sliver-thin desire to adjust to make it a better kiss.
Which is about where the freakout occurs, but to Finn's credit, he doesn't overreact. He does pull back, quickly, mouth breaking from Kurt's with an audible pop--his face feels way too damn hot now, and he's both confused and mildly off-put that his lips are still tingling. His eyes are wide as he stares at the other boy; no words are coming to him just yet.
When Finn pulls away, Kurt's own eyes open fully so he can take in the other boy's expression. And it..isn't one he'd been expecting. He blinks several times, his own face heating, flushing, and he notices then how Finn's arm is positioned... going directly for the popcorn. Realization hits him like a full-speed train and his eyes widen significantly. He swallows, glances at the TV, at the floor, at the stairs, before finally giving a very sheepish glance to Finn. "I," he manages to squeak out. He clears his throat, tries again, his voice sounding surprisingly small. "I'm sorry, I thought..." He stops there. What he thought is obvious. He doesn't need to embarrass them both further by saying it out loud. After another second of stunned silence, Kurt actually picks up the bowl of popcorn and hands it to Finn, his face practically glowing pink. "Here..."
Finn can't quite seem to decide where to look once Kurt breaks eye contact; the TV's no good, that scene seems to have only become more intense and--oh, oh god, did Kurt think that he'd seen the couple onscreen and just like, needed to get some play himself or something?
Finn's face flushes deeper, eyes focusing on the bowl for now, and he takes it when it's handed to him...their fingers accidentally brushing around the sides of it, which makes Finn jerk back a little bit, awkward and completely nervous. He kind of feels like he's being a jerk, but he also doesn't know how else to *react*. Kurt had just kissed him. Hell, it seems like Kurt had thought that Finn had been specifically leaning in *to* kiss him.
He does mumble a bit of a thanks after he gets the popcorn, but then he just sort of stares at it in his lap for a second. God, why won't his lips stop tingling? I mean, okay, maybe that hadn't been a bad kiss, whatever, but this is *Kurt*, and Finn isn't *gay*, and...oh god, it's so confusing. Either to prevent himself from saying something too stupid, or maybe just as an excuse to not say anything *period*, Finn quickly grabs a handful of popcorn and eats it, chewing a little slowly. He still can't really think very well. He still feels like he's about to jump out of his skin. God, what do they do *now*?