Pet's room.

::Petunius groggily walks in and closes the door behind himself before taking off his clothes and climbing into bed in just his boxers and a t-shirt. He resumes his trip to sleepville pretty much straight away.::

:: Remaining at the threshold, Lirie make out his silhouette on the bed, and makes a face. She was hoping he wasn't asleep just yet. ::

(Well, fine, Puddle. Try to call him, but if he doesn't wake up, leave.)

:: Mentally nodding her agreement, she takes a tentative step in, whispering his name not that loudly. ::

"Petunius... Pet!"

::He's fast asleep, yo. Though he doesn't look very restful. In fact he's tossing and turning lightly every now and again, clearly in the middle of a dream. He mumbles something incoherently, but Lirie would only be able to make out--::

"No...Phoebe...don't go..."

::--before mumbling some more.::

:: Lirie stops her attempts, her expression slightly stunned. She had never seen Petunius upset enough to be troubled in his sleep, and the sight unnerves her a little. She is about to leave, letting him deal with his dreaming woes, but she pauses. If she was having bad dreams, she would like to be woken, even if it is to only fall back asleep.

She pulls a face, grimacing slightly. She doesn't want to walk in uninvited, knowing that in grumpy mood Petunius might actually kick her out, literally, but she does so anyway. Walking over quietly, she pauses right over him, hesitating only for a moment before lightly resting a hand on his shoulder. ::

"Pet... Petunius, wake up... it's just a bad dream, Pet..."

::Because she hasn't seen him asleep in a very long time...if ever, cos the idea of someone just sitting there staring at someone while they're asleep is just...creepy. Unless they're sleeping in the same bed. Innyway, Petunius tosses and thrashes some more before sitting upright with a gasp. He stares at Lirie with wide eyes, not fully awake yet.::

:: Lirie eeks loudly, jumping away. She stays frozen for a moment, then raises her hand to wave in front of him. ::

"You here yet?"

::Petunius just stares some more before realisation dawns upon him. It's not Phoebe in front of him, but Lirie. The disappointment shows on his face almost instantly, but he quickly covers it up with a frown.::

"Lirie? What're you doing here? Something wrong?"

:: Disappointment?! Lirie notices that and freezes up mentally. She came to the door, wanting to be calmed down; walked in, wanting to calm him down; and now, all she wanted was to get out. She stands there awkwardly, an entire foot away from the bed, her hands clasped at her back. ::

"I... no, nothing. I just-- heard you from the hallways, you were talking in your sleep. Came to see if everything was fine."

:: Yes, she lies, but damned she'll be if he knows the truth. ::

::Petunius rubs his eyes, trying to get rid of the vague remnants of the dream still lingering in his awareness with the act. He looks at Lirie again and sighs, hoping he hadn't said anything coherent. So, he too lies cos this isn't something he talks about. Ever.::

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just...a bad dream."

"I've noticed."

:: Lirie glances at the still open door, knowing she could make her getaway now. She realizes she should leave, because Petunius just had a bad dream and she is definitely not on his list of people to talk to, but she stands still, just bouncing a bit on her toes. She knows what she wants to ask, but figures that just as always, she might picked the wrong time. So, she sighs instead, looking back at him. ::

"You dream about her often?"

::The list of people to talk to adds up to a grand total of zero, so Lirie doesn't have anything to feel bad about. He grimaces at the question, feeling a little annoyed that someone's picked up on the topic of his dream.::

"No. Yeah. Sometimes..."

(Every night.)

"Every night?"

:: Lirie asks knowingly. Oh, she knows. She knows. She also knows that he doesn't want to talk about it - emotionally constipated bastard - so she decides to change the subject. ::

"Pet, can I sleep with you?"

"What?"

::Petunius narrows his eyes, mostly out of confusion at what he sees as this random invasion of his personal space. He doesn't have the omg amazing ability to know how people are feeling like Lirie seems to and doesn't pick up on any of her issues.::

"Lirie, there are perfectly good spare rooms in the mansion."

"Yes, but there are monsters in the closet."

:: Lirie knows it's the wrong thing to say. He would just get annoyed even more in a second and bark at her to leave. But she can't talk to him, she can't tell him anything. ::

"Lirie, please just go."

:: Lirie looks away, closing her eyes and swallowing hard. She knew this was coming, but it still bites. She sighs, taking a step back, and chews on her lip. She doesn't take another step, though, and simply remains standing there. ::

"I don't want to."

:: Her usual tone of voice is gone. Her tone is laden and her expression is placid, and if he'd only look he would see that something is wrong. Even her posture changed, no longer slouched, but straight and solid, like soldier's. ::

::Petunius sighs, all traces of sleep now completely gone. He's perfectly aware of the girl now and her tone instantly reminds him of the little psychic insight Azura had treated him to. He sighs again and gets out of bed before walking over to her and taking a good look at her face for a while, as if really seeing her for the first time since she came back. He then purses his lips, as if considering something before gently closing the door.::

"Sit down."

::He gestures at a comfortable sofa by the window.::

:: Tempted to wise crack, Lirie bites her tongue and shuffles to the sofa. She takes a seat, hugging her knees tightly and resting her chin on them. She watches Petunius quietly, somewhat hesitant. Finding her own antics disturbing, she forces herself to speak. ::

"I really just wanted to sleep."

::Petunius nods. It's something he understands all too well. He slowly walks over to the bed and sits down to watch her for a while.::

"Sleeping pills. I've found they help immensely."

::It's a seemingly random and almost blasé statement, but it's actually how he's managed to stop himself from cracking up during the past six months. The only way he's managed to keep the worst part of the dreams at bay.::

"Sleeping pills..."

:: Lirie undertakes a slightly green complexion. ::

"Yeah, no, I tried those. They just kept me trapped."

:: In her dreams, she means, but this is all too silly to even discuss. She looks at him, feeling sad and yet calm at the same time, but not being able to stand the eye contact for too look, closes her eyes and moves to scratch her nose, scrunching it up. When her face is straight again, she stays silent for a moment, then reaches out and pokes Petunius in the nose, her expression solemn all the way. ::

"I wish it was easier to talk to you."

::Petunius smiles grimly at her, the physical contact reminding him of all the other similar ones in the past; the playful shoving, the poking, the affectionate ruffling of hair. All that feels like a lifetime ago. They're both the same people yet at the same time, they're not those two same people. Not anymore. He shrugs halfheartedly.::

"Yeah. I'm not exactly the chatty guy these days. Sorry."

"Well, you never were particularly chatty, actually. I was the one who did most of the talking. Most of the blabbering in any case."

:: She looks away, letting go on her knees and sitting crosslegged. ::

"Guess, I have to be the first to talk again."

"You don't have to. If... you don't want to."

"No, I want you."

:: Lirie slowly turns to look at him again, holding his gaze to the point of discomfort. ::

"All the better to guilt you with, my dear."

:: :) ::

::Petunius doesn't turn away and simply keeps looking at her, waiting. Start talking, yo.::

"Well, if you don't ask questions I'm just gonna spill everything and you know how I can go on and on and on and on and on and on--"

:: She facepalms herself, shaking her forehead. ::

"About stuff."

"Start at the beginning then, I guess."

::Petunius braces himself, knowing it wasn't going to be pretty.::

"I'm not going anywhere."

"You're not going to make it easy, are you? Fine, oh simpleton, listen to my sobstory."

:: Lirie can feel her heartbeat slowing down, becoming more sluggish. This time when she speaks about the woes of her past, she is calm, unlike her previous talk with Andrea. ::

"They sent me to a combat bootcamp as soon as I got off the plane. Since I was a renegade I was to be treated like one, and... well, they don't like renegades in the army. Apparently. I don't know how to go about it, seeing as there's so much, but... cliffnotes? I was sent to Lebanon, right during the war. I stopped using magic, because it was too much guilt to be dealt with. Father died a few months into my service, and he was my last blood relative in that country. Major bummer coming back after three straight weeks in hell into an empty filthy apartment. There's nothing much to tell besides that, actually. With father gone and all the friends I ever had married off or out of the country, I was mostly alone for these years. Well, except for David."

(Oh... tell? No tell? He'd think I'm lying. Or crazy. Or... I dunno.)

::Petunius listens attentively, leaning in a little with his arms resting on his thighs and his hands clasped together. That was a hell of a lot to process, even for a "cliffnotes" version. He decides not to hone in on any of the negatives, such as the lack of magical usage. Instead he goes for the obvious...::

"David?"

"Ahh... well, yes, that's his name."

:: Avoidy, avoidy, avoidy. ::

"Yes, I had gathered that with the 'David' bit. Who was he?"

::Stare stare stare.::

"Well, what exactly do you mean? Like in a biological way? He's human, I think. A male. In a physiological way or something more philosophical, because, honestly, Pet, who are we all?"

:: She grins sheepishly for a moment, then drops it, knowing it won't work. Making a face, she reaches under her shirt and pulls out a thin silver chain with a round object dangling off of it. It may or may not be a wedding band. ::

"My husband. Technically, still is."

::...::

(...)

"...Husband?"

::Stares.::

:: Lirie makes the =\ face, wondering if she could cause a stroke like that. ::

"Umm, yes? You know, when two people care about each other and they want to spend the rest of their lives together, they invite friends and family over and proclaim before them and god their undying love? Well, something like that. Only with huppah."

"Yes, I know what a husband is. Stop with the idiot act already. When did this...well, when did you get married?"

:: Lirie glances at her wrist, at the imaginary watch that has never been there, then glances up, pursing her lips in deep thought. ::

"Umm... today's march the 2nd, right? Then... 4 years. Give or take."

"But that'd mean you were married...before. Before you came to San Francisco."

::Petunius frowns at this. It's not something she'd ever mentioned during the whole time he's known her. He'd assumed that she got married while she was out in the army.::

"Wow..."

"Yeah."

:: Lirie's glad he didn't shoot down her confession immediately. ::

"Well, it's not like it changes anything. It's just... marriage."

:: Shrug. ::

"But...didn't you say he was the only one who..."

::Petunius trails off, not really wanting to have the horrors she'd been through verbalised again.::

"I don't get it."