(Untitled)

[chairismine]

WHO: James Kirk; open
LOCATION: Slytherin common room
WEEK: 55
TIME: Saturday evening
WHAT: Some R&R in between fighting off nightmares and boggarts
RATING: PG? idk. If it gets any higher, say so in the comments

Comments

[battle_in_bloom]

Sakura had been deposited on one of the camp beds in the Slytherin Common Room the previous evening, and since then hadn't actually moved. Somewhere along the line she'd acquired a mug of hot cocoa, and she cradled it between her hands now, sipping every now and then as she quietly watched the goings on

[chairismine]

Jim's eyes were drooping when a sudden nudge made him jump back into awareness. He stared at Sakura for a few moments without seeing her, before shaking his head to clear some of the cobwebs aways.

"What? Oh, no. No." he muttered, his brain catching up to his ears. He looked her up and down, processing. She looked physically unhurt- but she had the same look everyone else had. Exhausted. Afraid. She must be hating this.

"Have a seat," he offered, nodding his head at the step next to him. Searching for something to say, he vaguely remembered seeing hot drinks somewhere in the common room. "You want a drink?"

[battle_in_bloom]

Sakura offered him a smile, fingers trembling against the mug she was cradling. Her eyebrows twitched into a frown, and she clenched her hands around the cup, stilling them. "How are you doing?" she asked softly. She'd down a lot of screaming the other day; her throat hurt, a little. "You look exhausted."

Her smile widened a little further as she took his offer of a seat, close enough that she could definitely feel that he was still warm, still there. "Oh - no, I already have one," she said, gesturing with the mug before taking another sip of cocoa. She blinked at it for a moment. "...Although I'm not sure I remember how I got it," she said with a small laugh.

[chairismine]

"Not too bad." It wasn't technically a lie, not if they both knew he was lying. "No sleep for two days does that to a guy," Jim managed, trying not to wince at the fact that he really hadn't slept that long. Merlin, no wonder he was so out of it.

As she dropped onto the stair next to him the cup she was holding finally registered, and he gave her a pained half-grin. "Magic." he teased.

[battle_in_bloom]

She gave him a wry smile that said it all, shaky at the edges. She knew he was bullshitting, but she wasn't about to call him on that. "Two days, Jim? Jesus." She shook her head, the symptoms of insomnia running through her mind. She reached for her wand, intending to do the same simple energy transfer she'd done with Sasuke weeks before. But her hand stopped halfway there, and she paused, before returning it to her mug as if nothing had happened. "You should try and get some rest," she said softly, clearing her throat to rid it of the sudden catch it had. "It's not good for you to be up so long."

Sakura stared down at the mug of hot chocolate. His comment registered, as did the teasing tone, but she couldn't summon the...right frame of mind to reply in kind. She swirled the drink a little, before finally looked up at him. "I have to apologise. About before. On the j - on the journals. And thank you, for being concerned."

[chairismine]

Jim couldn't help the grin at her response. It was good to see a little of the normal Sakura was still there. He tried to ignore the strange hand motion she made- checking herself.

"Yeah," he murmured non-commitaly. "I'll get to bed soon," Maybe. Jim wasn't too sure how sleeping with all the boggarts around would go. Maybe he'd just keep putting if off instead.

The silence was comforting, just sitting there with her. Not having to do anything, and not being alone. "It wasn't a problem- really." He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "I just hope someone'd do the same for me."

It was another moment before her tone of voice registered and Jim turned to look down at the Ravenclaw beside him. She was sitting a lot closer to him that he'd realised.

[battle_in_bloom]

The grin made her feel a little better. Dead people didn't smile. "Good," she said decisively, drumming her fingers against the cup again, tapping the nervous energy out. It didn't help any, but she could pretend it did.

She concentrated on breathing, on drawing in oxygen which was carried through the bloodstream to her brain, which stopped her from - dying. "I'd do the same," she said absently, taking another sip of hot chocolate. "You don't need to worry about hoping for that."

She stilled slightly, feeling his eyes on her before she turned her face up to look at him. He looked tired. So, so tired. The gaze that she had felt so clearly was exhausted, dull, almost like--

Without realising it, her hand reached out and grabbed his. With the ease of long practice, she placed two fingers over his wrist, checking for his pulse. It beat a tattoo against her fingertips, and she blew out a sigh of relief, leaning her forehead against his shoulder. "...Sorry," she whispered after a moment. She didn't even have the energy to be embarassed.