Yeah, you think he's so swell [active / closed]

[eba04]

Characters: Agent J, Agent Derek
Content: Derek decides to check up on J after Starr’s disappearance and do some cheering up
Location: Bryant Park Hotel, J’s room
Time: after this and this
Warnings: none at the moment but who knows with J and then whatever Derek comes up with

Comments

[eba02]

J was sitting on the bed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his head hanging loose. He'd forced himself back together as best he could, but he couldn't think what to do now that he had. Starr's room was down the hall, empty now, and he didn't want to walk by it and hear the silence. The idea of anyone coming to him was just as unappealing - the pillow on the floor was the one bit of evidence of his own personal little breakdown, and he hadn't been able to move himself to pick it up. At the moment, he wasn't too sure he wanted to see anybody anyway.

He heard a knock at the door and the tune behind it. Even if he didn't want company, evidently people wanted to see him. Plus, Derek was levelheaded, and J would rather talk with him right now than Chief or Rookie...

After a long pause, he looked up. "Come in." It was barely an answer, but it was there.

[eba04]

Good. J was going to let him come in. That made things a little easier. Derek opened the door and closed it behind him. "Hey."

He took a seat, only giving the pillow on the floor a quick glance from behind his shades. So, he threw a pillow too? "Thought you could use some company."

"Use some company" and "want some company" were two different things, after all.

[eba02]

"Hey." The greeting was returned automatically, and after that J fell silent again. He tried to think of something to say, to do - c'mon, when was he ever the speechless one? - but he just didn't have it in him. Not right now.

"Guess so," he agreed, not really thinking about what he was saying - it was another automatic response.

[eba04]

A quiet J. Distracted, lethargic, blank. As he thought, whatever Derek could say to try and comfort J probably wouldn't work. He wouldn't listen. But, that didn't mean Derek was going to let J sit in his room. Not without giving him something else to focus on at least.

And, one of the ways to make Derek talk was to stay silent. "Don't have to say anything. I can instead."

Derek closed his eyes and took a breath. Time to start. His own melody might be shaky at first, but he was positive J soon wouldn't be able to hear anything that suggested he was lying.

"I used to talk all the time. Rarely shut up."