Sunday nights aren't the most frequent ones Felix goes out, even on a small moon, but last night was one of them nonetheless. One of the nights he doesn't show up again until after the sun has. In fact, the sun is well and truly up, now, and he still hasn't returned to the room.

Although Lilah had to work on Sunday, she's got a day off today, and in fact has slept in. Well, 'slept in' is relative, as it's 'only' about 10ish. But she stirs now, and scoots over as though to cuddle up closer to him in her half-asleep state. It's the cold that wakes her, more than the lack of a body near her, and she sits up on the mattress, rubbing her eyes blearily. Nope, no Felix here. She stands up, walking over to one of the bookshelves and retrieving a nightie. That nightie is donned slowly, and she makes her way toward the room's exit once she's also retrieved a towel. Shower, here we come.

Good timing, or possibly not, since once she opens the door she can probably hear Felix coming up the stairs, singing, "...cider drink. He sings the songs that remind him of the good times..." Drunkenly, which is a little unusual in itself. It's not all that often that he appears more than clearly tipsy. It is a day of unusualness, apparently, since he also looks a little less balanced than usual. He's got a cigarette in one hand as he appears from the staircase, and in the other a plastic fifth of cheap whiskey, at least three-quarters empty. One of the usual Coke bottles is in his jacket pocket, but the visible portion doesn't show any liquid.

Lilah blinks, and sets the towel aside, stepping out of their room and walking over toward the landing. She doesn't interrupt the singing, and instead just moves her hand in a little wave. He's given a curious but friendly enough smile, and waits for him to get closer, chewing on her lower lip. Her head's slightly tilted to the side, and she looks, most of all, curious.

"He sings the songs that remind him of the better times," Felix continues, and switches from the chantier bit to rather sweeter singing, despite his current state, "Oh, Danny Boy, Danny Boy, Danny Boy..." He trails off there, seeing Lilah as he steps onto the landing, and gives her a somewhat crooked smile. "Hey, doll. 'sup?"

Lilah gives him a smile right back, albeit less 'crooked' and more 'fond mixed with puzzled.' She leans back against the wall, watching him, and then her smile grows a bit. "Nah'much," she admits. "I ain't been up long. Slept in. 'sup with you?" It's not a pointed question, and she follows it up with leaning in to try and kiss him, lightly.

"Good. You should get to sleep in. Workin' all the time," Felix says, and steps a little closer when she leans in, wrapping his arm around her waist while he kisses her back. Unsurprisingly, he tastes rather strongly of whiskey and nicotine at the moment.

That fond look just grows fonder yet at his words, and she puts her all into that kiss, though it's more of an emotive kiss than a needy one. She doesn't seem to mind his whiskey-and-nicotine taste, but then she's probably somewhat used to it by now, if she even ever minded it in the first place. Her hand lifts up to stroke his cheek, and then both arms lift to wrap 'round his neck.

Felix is fairly emotive as well, though it gets hungrier without too much delay, possibly involving him thinking further about Lilah in relation to nightgowns and showers and such. When it breaks, he steals another, shorter one, and then kisses the side of her neck as well. "Hi."

When the kiss grows hungrier, Lilah returns it in kind, and she shivers just slightly at the kiss to the side of her neck. "Howdy," she replies, and presses her forehead to his shoulder. "'sup?" she asks, slightly more pointedly.

"Nothin'," Felix replies, and does in fact sound fairly unconcerned about anything just at present. He glances down, then, and there's the first brief flash of something like his usual grin, "...well, maybe not =nothin'=. But that's your fault. 'sup with you?"

Lilah nods to his response, perhaps taking him at his word and perhaps not. She does grin though at the additional comments, and kisses his shoulder before aiming another one at his lips. This one's brief if she has anything to say about it, and is followed by her replying, "I'll take the blame, if ya insist." Her tone is of course teasing.

Felix allows the briefness of the kiss, and gives a smaller smile at her comment. "Oh, I insist," he says earnestly, "I absolutely insist." He pulls back just far enough to take a drag off his cigarette, then eyes it while he exhales. He extinguishes it between finger and thumb and puts what's left into his pocket, freeing that hand up again. It decides to play with one of her curls.

"Then blame me all ya want," Lilah smiles, and watches his movements with the cigarette interestedly. When he looks back to her, he'll find her watching him already, and then she gives a small smile as he toys with her curl.

Felix leans in to kiss her again, and this time when it breaks, he moves a little further back, letting go of her to take a drink out of the bottle, which he then offers to her. "You got a towel," he observes, "Showerin'?" A virtual Sherlock Holmes!

It may be 10ish in the morning, but Lilah has no problem accepting that bottle and taking a swig. She passes it back, and then nods to his observation. "I was plannin' to, but it can wait. Unless if I smell," she teases, and reaches out to try and take his free hand with one of hers. She ends up chewing at her lower lip, and then taking a half-step forward to kiss his forehead.

"Mm, I dunno," Felix says, and leans in again, this time to brush his nose rather than lips against her neck, and take a somewhat exaggerated sniff. "...you smell good," he decides, and squeezes her hand when it takes his. "But I reckon prolly I could use one anyhow."

Lilah smiles as he leans in, running a fingernail lightly down his back, and then nods her head to what he's had to say. "Shower it is, then," she decides, and squeezes his hand right back. "Y'wanna get a towel? Or ya want me to grab ya one? An' how was yer night?"

Felix makes a slight face at the counter-squeeze, though he doesn't let go, and takes another drink from the returned bottle; if Lilah looks she may note a few scrapes and one smallish split on his knuckles, mostly on the hand she's holding. "Could share yours," he says, "or just drip. Or... we could get mine." He offers her the bottle again, instead of actually heading usefully towelward. "....pretty good night. Fun. How was yours?"

Lilah chews at her lower lip when he makes that face, and she does look down at his hand. "You got in a fight," she surmises, and seems amused rather than upset. His hand's brought up to her lips, and she gently kisses some bit of his hand that's *not* injured. "We'll share," she decides, and accepts the bottle, having a slightly smaller swig than her last one. "An' my night was fine. Caught up on m'readin' some."

Felix looks at his hand as if it's the first time he's seen it when Lilah lifts it for that kiss, and while there isn't a shrug in his shoulders after a moment of eyeing the minor damage, there is one in his expression. "What'd you read?" he asks, starting toward the bathroom, hand still in hers.

Lilah gives him a slight smile, and then replies, "I read this book o' science fiction an' fantasy stuff called Dark Matter 'n Dragons, or some'm like that. It weren't very good, but then I reread a better book to cleanse m'mind." Her smile has grown as she's talked about it, and she impulsively leans over to kiss his cheek. She pauses for a moment, and then chews at her lower lip as they reach the bathroom. "After you," she oh so graciously offers.

"What'd you read to cleanse it with? Onea the Gaimans?" Felix asks. The kiss gets a smile and a brief closing of his eyes, which is not ideal considering he's a) still walking and b) definitely drunk. He manages to trip over absolutely nothing right about as she starts to make that offer, and right into the doorjamb, with a small startled yelp that turns into a fleeting glare at the wood and then a... well, giggle is probably the fairest word, as much as he'd probably dispute it. The angle of travel was inward, sparing his nose from the impact, but his lower lip is split and bleeding.

"Yep. Onea the Gaimans," Lilah confirms with a warm smile, and then there's The Tripping, and she gasps, trying to steady him and not really doing that great a job of it. "I'm so sorry," she apologizes rather miserably, and chews at her lower lip. "Y'okay?" she then adds, and eyes the bathroom before trying to lead him *away* from it. "Yer prolly too far gone t'make slippery floors a good idea."

"Tch, I'm fiiiiine," Felix assures, rolling his eyes slightly. "...not as fine as you, though." The grin stretches the split, and he attempts -- briefly -- to look down at it, then just examines it with his tongue. This does not make it bleed any less. Despite the protest, he lets her redirect their path rather more docilely than he usually might.

Lilah looks concerned, mostly, but it'd be a stretch to say she's not a *little* bit charmed as well. She does indeed lead him back toward their room, and she's quiet on the way, glancing over at him from time to time and giving him reassuring looks. When they do reach the room, she'll direct him to the mattress.

It's probably fair to say Felix complies with Lilah's attempts to get him on the mattress more often than not, and this is in the 'often' category. In fact, when he gets there, he just turns around, spreads his arms to the sides like the crucifixion, and drops directly backward onto it as if it were his catcher in a trust fall. Luckily, it does indeed catch him, although he does lose a breath when he hits.

Lilah tilts her head as she watches him, and then sits onto the mattress beside him. After tucking one of her curls behind her ear, she lowers that hand to place it on his arm, without lying down just yet. She looks like she potentially has Things to say, maybe many somethings, but whatever she's thinking, she doesn't voice it. Instead, she simply caresses his arm without a word.

Felix laughs a couple times, breathlessly and silently, after that loss of air, and looks over to Lilah as he takes in the breath to replace it. Her hand gets a small smile, and then he looks to her face, studying it for a second before he rolls just enough toward her to raise his other hand and tap gently on her temple. "You're thinkin' again."

Lilah leans her head toward his tapping hand, and gives a small smile. "It's just one o' them bad habits o' mine, I reckon." She keeps stroking his arm as she talks, but then simply rests her hand there, still. "How 'bout you? You indulgin' in my bad habit, too?"

"Whaaaat are you thinkin'?" Felix asks instead of answering; it's hard to tell whether he didn't notice the question, isn't answering it on purpose, or maybe just forgot he was supposed to. He focus is very much on Lilah, though. "You always got so many thoughts. I like that."

"You first. What're you thinkin', and then I'll letcha pick m'brain all ya like." Lilah does, admittedly, blush at his compliment, but *her* focus is mostly on him. The hand on his arm begins stroking it again, just lightly.

"Ain't thinkin' nothin'," Felix replies, and gives her an almost beatific smile, bloody lip and all, "That's the point." A tiny pause. "Maybe. Didn't I..." He lifts his head a few inches, glancing around with a slightly furrowed brow. "Where'd my drink go? That's what I'm thinkin' now."

Lilah sets the bottle down just out of his reach, which appears to be intentional, given the fact that it's *just* out of his reach. It's too calculated to be an accident. "What ain't you wantin' t'think about?" she asks gently, trying with her calm tone not to draw attention to the fact that she still looks concerned about him, even though it's been a few since he was hurt. She's still stroking his arm lightly, all the while.

Felix shrugs, reaching out to try to pick up the bottle but giving up when his fingers don't quite reach; he glares at it for its traitorous behaviour. There's really not much left in it anymore. "If I think about that I'll be thinkin' about that," he points out reasonably, "If there is anythin'. Maybe I just don't feel like thinkin' in general."

"But why wouldn't ya wanna think, in gen'ral or otherwise?" Lilah asks softly, her voice hesitant. She lifts up his arm a bit and bends down to kiss it before sitting up again. She pauses before adding, "I like when ya think, too. The stuff you think. It's interestin'."

Felix closes his eyes, tilting his head back as far as it goes against the mattress. "I dunno," he answers, "I ain't thinkin' about it." His eyes open enough to glance over to her when she lifts and kisses his arm, and there's a faint upward curve to the corner of his mouth, just before he tries to catch her arm and pull her closer, where he might be able to get his arms around her.

Lilah chews at her lower lip at his answer, and her concerned expression grows more concerned yet. But she says nothing, allowing him to both catch her arm and pull her closer. With his arms wrapped around her, she finds it much easier to kiss his cheek now, and hopefully it won't lead to further mayhem.

Felix may be drunk, but he is not so drunk as to be able to easily hurt himself while lying down in one place, apparently. Or maybe he just lucks out. Either way, the kiss is a success. For the moment, he just pulls her in against him and nuzzles into her hair, getting blood in it. But hey, she was off to shower originally anyway, right? "Mm," he murmurs indistinctly, and sighs.

Lilah doesn't seem to mind the blood in her hair, or maybe she doesn't even realize. She smiles faintly at his 'mm' though the sigh makes that smile fade further. She doesn't ask any further questions, at least not at the moment, and instead simply keeps him close to her.

>>> You rolled 1 die at 10 diff (10): 1 success. <<<

Felix is very quiet for... well, an unusually long time; going on for five minutes, probably, and he's pretty still, too. He stays nuzzled into her hair, arms wrapped around her, and his breathing is slow and even enough that she might actually be starting to wonder if he's fallen asleep right around the time that he actually speaks again. It's another murmur, barely audible, with, indeed, a warm, drowsy quality to it, and it's just as muffled by her hair as the last, possibly difficult to be entirely certain of: "...love you."

Indeed, Lilah probably does think he's fallen asleep, but if so, she's not moving anyway. She's just still and comforting for that time, and says not a word, herself. That soft murmur is allowed to trail off, and then Lilah chews at her bottom lip before kissing whatever bit of him she can reach without dislodging him. "Love you, too," she whispers hesitantly back, and seems wary of disturbing his comfy, relaxed state.

Another little sigh, nearly silent, and then Felix really does seem to be asleep, without any change of position. Despite how long he's presumably been awake, it feels like a shallow sleep, though not fitful. At least not yet.

Lilah doesn't sleep when he does; on the contrary, it's a good two hours before she seems calm enough to relax, and going on three hours before she settles into a pretty deep sleep. While awake, she's careful not to disturb him, to the point of not kissing or caressing him, even gently.

Felix's sleep deepens, and he seems to sleep like the proverbial log for about four hours, long enough for Lilah to get thoroughly napping before he starts getting restless. It's a beam of light through the windows around 4pm that hits his face and breaks through the fitful doze he's reached. He makes an unhappy little whine of protest, burying his face further into Lilah's hair to try to get away from the sun, but it's no good, and after a few more minutes, he surfaces back to the real world. It seems to have been enough of a rest to pretty much fix up his hands and do some notable good for the wound to his lip, as well. It doesn't stop him making another quiet noise of complaint and unwinding an arm from Lilah to grope about and then make the required stretch to scrabble that abandoned bottle into his reach by the fingertips. Once he has it, he lifts his head and shoulders just enough to let him drain the last couple drinks worth from it in one go without drowning, and drops the empty plastic aside. The arm goes back around Lilah as he flops back down, and he tries to hide against her hair again, somewhat more consciously this time.

The sun, the movements, that quiet noise of complaint, do nothing to make Lilah stir even a little bit. She seems to be as out as she ever gets, at least until the sound of that empty plastic being dropped aside. She inhales a deep breath through her nostrils, and nuzzles in against him further. He's more than allowed to hide against her hair, and somewhere in there, she mumbles something nearly unintelligible: "Come back to bed." Nevermind that he's already there.

"Mm," Felix mumbles agreeably to her mumble, and returns nuzzle for nuzzle, shifting position to get more comfortably curled around her. He's still entirely clothed -- boots, jacket, everything -- but continues to ignore it. One hand rubs lightly along Lilah's side, now that that arm's around her again, and starts noticing her nightgown, toying idly with the fabric.

Lilah peeks one eye open, something that she immediately regrets. She yawns and stretches a bit, muscles shaking as she does so, and then tries that whole eye opening thing again. It goes better this time, judging by the fact that she can (mostly) keep both eyes open now. Without a word, she kisses the nearest bit of him that she can reach, running her hand down along his side. A moment or two passes like that, and then she buries her face against him, squeezing him tightly.

Felix does not try the eye opening thing again, not yet. She may, though, feel a small smile against her head when she runs her hand over him in return, and when she buries her face, he curls to still be able to nuzzle, kissing the top of her head sleepily.

Lilah doesn't move from her place, keeping her face buried, but that smile against her head, perhaps felt, seems to coincide with with a kiss to his chest. Thus buried, she murmurs a soft and difficult to make out, "How you feelin'?" Her hand keeps stroking along his side, up and down softly.

"...not so good as you," Felix murmurs back after a couple seconds, during which the hand along her side slips down all the way to the hem of her nightie, and starts its way up again along the skin, drawing the fabric before it as it finds its way over her thigh and to the curve of her rear. "Mm. ...'m a'right. 's all fine." Another moment before he adds, "'bout you?"

Lilah keeps running her hand up and down along his side, listening to what he has to say. She doesn't pull away, or try to stop his movements with her nightie. Her body is relaxed as she can make it, but that's the thing about making your body relaxed; there's always some residual tenseness. It's subtle, as is the fact that she's not actively responding to his hand, as she normally might. She kisses his chest, face still buried, and then her hand stills in its trail up and down his side. The moment stretches out, and then she says as calmly as she can, which is not as calmly as she'd like, "...didja mean it?" She doesn't clarify, but she does add, "I'll understand if ya didn't." A pause, then, "'m sorry."

You sense Lilah's apology is not an apology for a wrong, so much as an apology for asking the question in the first place.

It's pretty early in the 'morning' for Felix, now, and he's right about in the changeover zone between drunk and hungover, unless that drink helps stave it off. This is probably why he looks entirely blank at Lilah for a good second or so while trying to figure out what she's talking about. With her face still buried, it's probably an unexplained pause to her, and she won't see the blink when it hits him, either. She might hear the soft sound of his mouth opening, and then closing again. There's another pause. And then, quietly and carefully, "I know I meant it when I said it." Maybe not the best time for another silence, but if she were to look, the furrow of his brow might suggest he's still thinking; his other hand strokes one of her curls. She can feel him take a deeper breath, then. "...I ain't... I ain't sayin' I don't now. I dunno how-- if--" He gives up on whatever he was trying to say for the moment, with a small, frustrated exhalation. "But I wasn't lyin'." It's not, alas, the stuff of romantic legend, not a vehement declaration of true love eternal. But it's also determinedly not a no, and not without sincerity or effort, and he watches her as if there's nothing else in the world, right now.

Lilah stays very still as he pauses, and she doesn't look up at any point during, not even when he begins to reply. He may or may not feel her brow furrow at his oh so careful response, but she doesn't interrupt, doesn't say a word. She doesn't rub her head against his hand when he touches her curls, but neither does she pull away. She seems to be in some kind of holding pattern, perhaps afraid to over or under react. In the end, she kisses his chest, face still buried, and after a lengthy pause, finally murmurs against him, "...'fair 'nuff." Her voice is steady; it's unlikely she's crying, despite hiding her face away.

Felix's arm tightens around her, and his hand continues petting her curls. After another second or so of the quality of silence and tension from him that tends to result in him attempting to communicate via kissing instead, he suddenly asks, as if an impulse breaking free, "Did you?"

Of all the things that might seem upsetting to Lilah, one might've expected, 'I meant it when I said it,' or maybe the long pauses. But for whatever reason, that question makes her chew her bottom lip, body going a little stiff. She shuts her eyes tightly, never moving her face away from his chest, and indulges in a long silence of her own. When she speaks, it's hard to make out, especially since all she says is one word, quietly breathed out: "Yeah."

"No!" Felix says, when he feels the stiffness, and there's an almost desperate note in the word, "Fuck, no, I don't-- I didn't-- fuck. Lilah, I didn't--" The tension in his body leaps several levels, familiar yet not quite, that fight or flight spike that usually attends his Rage nearly breaking through his self-control... but without the 'fight', this time. This time the deep breath and the clench of his hands keep him where he is, instead of removing himself, and his voice is soft again but as intense as his gaze at her. "I lie, Lilah. I lie to people all the time. But I try not t--I don't wanna lie to you. 'specially not about that. An' I could an' it would be easier an', and maybe I could make you happy an' not hurt, but I wanna give you the truth, even if it's harder, and I dunno, maybe that means I love you? But I wasn't askin' 'cause I thought you didn't, I was askin' so, so I could ask you how you =know=. 'cause I don't-- ...'cause I don't know how to know. I can't work it out from other folks. I thought maybe I did once, but I-- didn't." The words get quicker and gradually louder as he goes, until the last one, which drops back down to the softness at which he started.

Lilah lifts her head up at that 'No!' and there's a look of surprise on her face, mixed with consternation. She's shaking her head as he talks to her, reassuringly, and *now* she looks like she might well cry. She listens to him closely, taking in every word, and when he stops, she's already taken a breath so she can reply. "I didn't-- I was afraid. I was afraid to tell ya, cuz it-- it hurts t'--" She brings her hands up to her face, wiping away what must be the beginnings of tears. "I was afraid," she says again, "...t' tell ya the truth. That's all. I wasn't mad. I wasn't angry atcha. I wasn't disappointed in ya or whatever ya think I was." Her hands lift up again, this time to cradle his cheeks gently, and without another word, she presses a kiss to his lips, replying in the only language they're mutually fluent in.

Felix returns the kiss, pulling her in as close to himself as he can currently manage. When that kiss breaks, there's a pause as if to speak -- but then he instead gives her another, much the same as the first. Including, it would seem, the communicative aspect. This time when he pulls back, he moves a finger to wipe away any remaining signs of tears beneath her eye, gently. It's still the sort of silence that seems as though there's something to say, but he still doesn't manage to say it, if so.

Both kisses are given wholeheartedly, saying whatever they're trying to say, and then Lilah meets his gaze. She doesn't pull away as he brushes away her tears, and when he doesn't speak... she doesn't, either, at least at first. Instead, she leans in to kiss his nose, sniffling a bit. She manages a wry smile, and then very softly, so quiet as to require straining to hear her even in this quiet room, she whispers, "I love you."

There's a smile at the nose-kiss, one of those small boyish ones rather than any of the more usual grins, and it widens at the whisper, a brief but brilliant thing, and Felix kisses her again. "I think maybe I love you too," he whispers back, and, "...I want to." His turn for the wry smile, there. "An' I still know for sure I like you more'n anyone."

Lilah relaxes slightly at that smile, but it's nothing compared to her reaction when he gives her that brief grin. She nibbles at her lower lip as he begins to whisper, and it results in a hesitant but very obviously happy smile. "I want you to, too," she readily admits, looking happier than he's probably seen her yet, and then repeats their often-said phrase: "More'n anyone." This requires a gentle kiss, but she pulls her lips away before it can really take hold. "It's okay if'n it takes time. I know things take time. But if you wanna know how I know? It's cuz I like you more'n anyone. It's cuz I'd... I'd go to the ends o' the Earth 'n back for ya. It's cuz I don't wanna be with nobody but you. An' it's... it's how I feel when I look atcha, the way I feel when we got quiet time t'just read together, an' the way I feel when ya kiss me. An' it's hurtin', too, sometimes." She waves a dismissive hand. "It's all that stuff, but it's more." She's blushing up quite a storm by the end, there, but it doesn't take away from her happiness. "Is it--" She inhales as though to speak further, and then pauses before she can phrase her words as best she can: "If ya'd rather I not say it 'til you're sure, too, that's okay, too." Not that she gives him much of a chance to respond, what with her lips moving to cover his.

Felix takes his time with this kiss, and his fingers twine in her curls. "...well, I like you more'n anyone," he reiterates consideringly afterward, "an' I'd try an' do just 'bout anythin' for you, if you asked. I know I like how I feel lookin' at you, readin' with you, kissin' you an' all. I dunno about hurtin', 'cept I'd rather you weren't. So...?" A faint shrug, still toying with one of the ringlets, though it's clearly not a shrug of apathy. "You can say, if you want. Ain't like I don't like the idea of you lovin' me."

Lilah smiles softly at him once that kiss breaks, resting a hand on his chest. "There ain't no pressure for you to say it back. Not 'til you're sure you wanna, 'til you're sure ya mean it," she murmurs, and she does seem to mean it. Another soft kiss, briefer this time, before she whispers a bit wonderingly, "I love you," with her forehead pressed to his.

It gets another of those small but brilliant smiles, and Felix pulls her in closer again, letting his forehead stay resting against hers. After a moment or so he closes his eyes, keeping that position silently. It's going on for a full minute or more before he half-reopens them and gives her another little smile, and a murmur: "My Lilah."

Lilah doesn't close her eyes, just watching him with a soft smile on her lips. She seems happy enough with the silence, letting it go on, though when he breaks it, she smiles a brilliant smile of her own. "Always," she whispers, rubbing her hand down his cheek.