sixthiterationlogs | so take it in, don't hold your breath, the bottom's all i found.

He'd been waiting. Apparently getting Billy wrangled was a bigger task than Nida had anticipated. He'd managed to slip over to the inn, liberate some of Bull's beer and the vodka Sam made, and bring it all back, even all the way to his room. And still no knocking. HE did, though, end up hearing the steps on the stairs, and that got him moving. The limp means he's not quick enough to beat the knock, but there isn't more than one before Nida's opening the door for them.

"Hey," he greets once it's open. For half a moment the soft look he offers Billy is only for him, purely affectionate. Then it changes into something a bit sadder as he considers both of the twins.

"You know. I think this is the first time I've seen you two side by side. It's... really eerie."

Then he shook his head and pushed the door open further to let them past. "Billy, you know where my room is."

He'll need more time to get there, the injury wasn't even a full day ago, he's still limping pretty bad.

It wasn't so much that it was a bigger task so much as, well. Things take time. Undoubtedly Tommy had been uncertain what he was going to find when he opened Billy's door, and Billy's been exhausted enough from the shrine, the journey back, and the nightmares that won't stop that everything just takes a little longer to do.

When Nida opens the door, Billy offers the tiniest flicker of a smile, about all he can manage under the circumstances. Still, it's more than anyone but Tommy's managed to get. "Hey," he answers in return, and the softness in his voice is unmistakable.

The comment about the two of them makes Billy look over at his twin, considering. "Eerie? I mean, maybe. Most people don't really notice we're identical unless we're standing next to each other like this." He shrugs, because that's so low on his list of things to care about right now it's basically at the bottom.

Stepping inside, Billy's attention is entirely on the way Nida's moving, and that's definitely way up at the top of the list. "Yeah, and I thought you'd be in there resting. How bad is it?" For real, Nida, and don't just put a brave face on it.

Tommy laughs at Nida’s comment - notes his expression, but decides not to engage. “The only thing eerie about us together is how much you’re suddenly surrounded by so many good looks,” he says, grinning widely. “Like lookin’ straight at the sun, right?”

Yes, this is how Tommy is choosing to Not Deal with missing Wanda - stupid jokes. He won’t mention how he and Billy are identical except for hair and eye color, how he ended up taking after Pietro in so many ways while Billy resembled Wanda more in both appearance and abilities. It’s his job to bring the humor, fake like he’s untouchable, buoy the others with levity.

Tommy follows a few steps behind his twin, giving him space to say whatever he wants to say to Nida. He’s already expressed his concern for Nida’s injury, and the message hengot was that Nida is stubborn. Better let Billy take a crack at it.

"You're not wrong, Tommy. At all," Nida mumbles, mostly under his breath. He's allowed to be jealous of how good the guy he's got feelings for and said guy's twin brother look, right? Please tell him that's not taboo.

But he's not buying that Tommy's untouchable, and Tommy knows he isn't buying it thanks to the earlier conversation, so he doesn't get the point of the posturing. The twins are not okay, he doesn't believe they are okay, and they probably know that they aren't okay, so why pretend? Whatever, if it floats his boat, fine.

Of course he can't help but shaking his head and sigh at Billy's question. Really? This is happening again?

"Didn't you tell him I'm fine?" Nida asks Tommy, before turning his attention to Billy. "I am fine, really I am."

Of course he moves slowly as he is mostly forced to follow the twins. The limp means being a bit slower in his motions. And he's supposed to elevate it but... yeah, whatever. Let him bask in the pain for right now. He'll be responsible about it later. Sorry Dr. Crusher.

"Can we move this to my room so we don't bother the housemates much?"

Rinoa and Seifer had both come back in a funk that almost made Nida seem serene.

Looks are looks, and his thoughts might get a very different kind of Look from Billy, but honestly it wouldn't be the first time someone's thought it. He's got other concerns right now anyway, and so does Tommy, despite his joke. He knows how his twin copes.

"As someone who says he's fine the most when he's actually not, I think you can guess how much I buy that," Billy says, eyeing Nida with mingled exasperation and concern, but he keeps his voice low. Don't want to bug Seifer or Rinoa. And it's pretty clear to him Nida isn't going to listen, so their options are stand in the foyer arguing, or move to Nida's room. Billy turns to his brother, gesturing with his chin. "This way," he says, and leads the way to Nida's room, clearly a path he's walked before.

"So, what's the plan? Drinks, some marginally bad life choices?" Because honestly, he's pretty game for that right now.

Tommy shrugs at Nida, a kind of nonverbal Billy's gonna Billy, you know him. He did warn Nida that Billy would fuss over him, after all. And yeah, maybe a twisted ankle isn't as bad as breaking a bone, but it's still nothing to ignore. Pain exists for a reason - it's a signal from your body to slow the hell down, and ignoring it will only serve to make things worse.

He follows his twin to the bedroom, a little curious but not inclined to ask why he's so well-acquainted and comfortable with Nida's room as to lead the way. Tommy knows they're close, knows Nida kissed Billy, and assumes they've spent time together here. He can pester Billy about it when Nida's not around, if the topic's still holding his interest by then.

"Hey now, as long as you don't overdo it, drinks aren't a bad life choice," he protests.

Hilariously, Nida's never even been in his bedroom with Billy before, tonight will be a first, which is something of an amusement. He does hobble past them to the bed and sits on the floor by it. Look, he's even got a pillow under his ankle, and a nice selection of drinks on a nearby table. So well prepared.

"They are. I've seen people do a lot of stupid things under the influence. People drinking always made my old job easier," he tells them both as he settles in. "But tonight... is definitely a night to make an exception for. Not sure what other bad life choices we're going to make other than drinking. Unless you two are going to cuddle. Is that a bad life choice? Wait... what counts as bad life choices with you two?"

He's actually only been in Nida's room once before, with Rinoa back at the young adult club gathering, when it had been used as a quiet room. Never with Nida, although Nida had been in his room a few times. But he's still been over to visit a couple times, and so it's a familiar enough path.

The drinks on the table aren't a totally unwelcome sight. He doesn't party nearly as much as his twin, but some days are worth the headache the next morning, and this definitely feels like one of those. "Your definition of overdoing it and mine don't always match," he tells Tommy, shooting him a look, tolerant and faintly amused.

Turning to Nida, Billy's about to tell him he doesn't have to sit on the floor, especially with his ankle, when Nida makes his comment about the twins cuddling, and what comes out instead is a laugh, almost surprised. "I'm a hugger whether I've been drinking or not, don't make it weird," he says, still grinning, and while the expression feels rusty it also feels good. It's good to laugh. It feels like it's been forever. "I'm probably going to end up hugging both of you by the time the night's over. You're probably already resigned to it--" here he points at Tommy-- "and you might as well make your peace with it, too," he finishes, pointing at Nida as he takes a seat on the bed. "Tommy, pour the first round?"

Cuddling.

Tommy's eyes go wide and his expression contorts in horror at the suggestion. Hugging Billy in private because he's having a bad time of things and that's what he needs to feel better is one thing ... cuddling is something else entirely. Something that sets Tommy's skin crawling. Nope. No thank you.

He shakes off the suggestion and beelines for the drinks instead.

"Hey, I learned my lesson at New Year's," Tommy protests, setting to work pouring drinks as requested. "My metabolism's all off here. That was the worst hangover of my life." Drinks poured, he hands one to Billy, then one to Nida.

"So ... what are we drinking to tonight?"

"Yes, I seem to remember rather forward offers of teaching me to dance," Nida smirks at Tommy as he settles back against the wall, letting his eyes drop a bit closed. "The vodka is Sam's make, the beer comes from the Boss. I may have pilfered both supplies, so this stays between the three of us. And... I guess we drink to life."

Because that just the most logical thing to call for, right? After all the pain, the separation, the loss? Life seems the right choice. Unless someone else has another suggestion. The suggestion that Billy might hug him, though, has him shooting a quiet look at Billy. One that is almost as if to say 'if you need it, but only if you need it.' Seemed like Tommy wasn't going to be the only stubborn one on physical affection tonight. For a different reason of course.

Meanwhile he swirls the glass of alcohol in his hand and contemplates it. Should he even drink? Sorta not a thing he really does. Last time he did he sort of unloaded on that old guy Picard. Happy Birthday or whatever. That had been the night he met Tommy. The night he and Billy truly started down the road they were walking now. Not best life choices night.

"To life. To family. To friends."

Fuck it. He throws back a damn good swig.

"Said like you've ever had a hangover that lasted more than five minutes," he shoots back at Tommy, but it's affectionate complaining. Yeah, he's still recovering from that week of being gone, everything he'd seen on the mountain and the nightmares after, and he's sure once Wanda's absence fully settles in it's going to hurt, but he doesn't want to hurt right now. He's with his twin, and he's with Nida, and he doesn't want to feel bad. Nida shoots him that look, and Billy looks right back at him, not breaking the eye contact for a long moment. Of course he hasn't forgotten that day in the schoolhouse and what they decided, but this isn't about that. This is about reaffirming that two of the people he cares most about here are still here. That they're real. Maybe they could all use that reassurance.

"Life, family and friends. Pretty much the best things there are, right?" Billy lifts his own glass and takes a healthy swallow, warmth burning through his chest. He takes a deep breath, shakes his head, then eyes Tommy and Nida in turn. "So, what's this about you two dancing??" Because he'd definitely missed that at New Years.

"I'll drink to that," Tommy says, raising his glass in a toast, then takes a drink - which he ends up choking on as the surprise of Billy's question distracts him from swallowing properly. He coughs and splutters loudly against his arm, eyes watering, and sets his glass down again so as not to spill it. Another loud cough, a deep breath, and Tommy's able to speak again.

"Hey man, he started it," he answers, pointing to Nida. "Asked if I'd dance with him 'cause it was his birthday. Can't really refuse a guy a dance on his birthday, right?" That would just be rude.

"In my defense, it was my birthday, I used that line on everyone, and at the time..."

Nida trails off with a sigh, shaking his head a little. He didn't need to feel guilty then, and he refuses to feel guilty now. Not like him and Billy are anything yet, not like he and Tommy ever did anything more than dance, and not like he hadn't been too mindful of Billy even back then to let it be more than dancing.

"I even danced with Seifer, that turned into mostly being use trying to one up each other and it was aggressive as fuck," Nida explains with a sigh. "Tommy offered, I needed the distraction. May be my birthday, but that night always ends up making me think of my parents, and, well... you get why that's a problem, Billy."

Because Billy had seen it. Seen Nida getting to face his suppressed memories in a very immediate sense. The cause of his birthday grief laid out for people to see. For that, he takes another swig of his drink.

"That being said, having danced with both of you? Billy is better. Sorry Tommy, saying it straight to your face. I don't know what you were doing, but it isn't any sort of dancing I know."

Honestly, seeing Tommy choke and splutter like that...maybe he shouldn't laugh, and he does still ache over missing Wanda, but the look is still so comical that he can't help it, lifting a hand to cover his mouth as he grins. "I'm just sad I missed it, honestly," he says, still chuckling, though the look softens and fades as Nida mentions his parents. "But yeah. I know what you mean."

He'd seen what happened to Nida's parents, after all. He knew. But now wasn't a time for those memories. Now was a time to make new ones, to share things with people he cares about. "See, I keep telling you, Tommy, you definitely need to learn ballroom dancing," he teases his twin, leaning over with an elbow before picking up his drink again and taking a long swallow. The warmth it gives him is nice, but the warmth the company gives is even nicer. "It's not just for nerds, just look at Nida." And that warm smile is directed at Nida next, his look maybe a little softer than it should be.

so take it in, don't hold your breath, the bottom's all i found.

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