[open]

[rainscented]

Characters: Rat, every Disney film ever, and YOU.
Setting: Floor 14
Format: Up to you.
Summary: Rat drowns out months-worth of his dead world by watching cartoons about talking animals.
Warnings: Dystopian angst and Lion King spoilers idek. Potentially boys kissing other boys if when Shion shows up.

[ He's been back for barely a day, and it's a nightmare. Eating is still off-limits, the idea of consuming anything more than a little soup makes him nauseated. He can't sleep, too jumpy to relax and too full of thoughts to close his eyes. He'll be forced back to his bed eventually, but he's resisting for as long as he can. So instead, he's reclined in a bean-bag chair on the media floor, watching an old film about lions. Animals are safe. He doesn't remember animal corpses.

And then a film about mice. Fairies. Dogs. Birds. Foxes. Cats. And then another about lions. He's never seen half of these animals in real life.

He's not going to move for a while. ]

Comments

[savedbyasong]

"I guessed that from the fact the main characters were lions." Shion blushed but didn't quite manage to turn back to the screen. "Are you alright? You're not hurt are you?"

[rainscented]

"No," he didn't roll his eyes, but it was a close call. "I'm tired, hungry, and I haven't seen a living human being for over a month, but I'm not hurt."

He turned to Shion, then, eyes narrowing. "But I wasn't in this damned tower. So the more relevant question is: are you hurt?"

[savedbyasong]

There were more ways to be hurt than just physical, if there was one thing Shion had learned in the tower it was this. Shion wondered if he should go and get food, not that Rat wasn't capable of fetching food himself, but for some reason he hadn't.

Shion had once been in his dead world for two weeks and that had been an awful long time, Rat had been there for more than twice as long.

He shook his head at the question, "Not at the moment."

[rainscented]

He bit back an angry comment about that 'at the moment'. As sensible as it was, it meant that Shion was living in a constant state of expecting pain or injury. He'd been trying to instill that state in the guy back in West Town, but now that he heard it so casually, it bit into him.

He settled on a gruff, "Good."

[savedbyasong]

Shion continued staring at him, still worried. "Do you want me to go get you some food?"

[rainscented]

Dammit, Shion. He wasn't Rat's nursemaid. The boy looked up again, eyes flashing.

"Drop it. If I could eat, I'd have done it by now. You're making me miss the film, so just sit quietly."

[savedbyasong]

He couldn't eat? That was worrying. Rat's anger didn't phase him, but his refusal to answer questions and his attempts at changing the subject did. Shion reached over and grabbed the remote, clicking off the TV. "Why can't you eat?"

[rainscented]

"I said drop it," he flared up, half-reaching for the remote. "It's not important. Just some stupid psychological thing. Turn it back on."

[savedbyasong]

"No." Shion held the controller behind his back. "It is important if you can't eat. Psychological illnesses can be as damaging as physical ones, sometimes more."

[rainscented]

"If I'm starving in a few days, I'll look into it." Was it worth it to reach in earnest? After a moment, he just rolled his eyes and got up to switch the TV back on at the source.

[savedbyasong]

Shion reached with his free hand to grab Rat's wrist. "Stop avoiding things, isn't that what you always tell me off for. Concentrate."

[rainscented]

"Pay attention, Shion," he didn't turn around, letting his arm be pulled back. "That's what I'm trying to do."

[savedbyasong]

"No you're trying to avoid things by watching Hamlet played out by singing lions." Shion tugged on his arm. "When was the last time you slept?"

[rainscented]

"There's anything better to do here?" He blinked at the question - the expression luckily unseen by Shion - and spent almost a second trying to answer before his irritation overcame his need to get the last word. He sank back down into his beanbag chair.

[savedbyasong]

"When did you last sleep?" Shion repeated the question, turning to face him properly now that Rat was sat down again. "How long have you been back?"

[rainscented]

"I got 'back' yesterday," as far as he remembered, anyway. It was hazy. He repeated his ignoring of Shion's question.

[savedbyasong]

"And have you eaten or slept since then?" He is not letting this drop Rat.

[rainscented]

"Of course, because you've never seen me go without food for a day before."

[savedbyasong]

"Not when there was food to eat." Shion countered. Because there had been plenty of times they had had no food in West Town but when they had they had eaten, because why waste food?

[rainscented]

Eating something only to throw it up again was the definition of wasting it, but Rat didn't feel like pointing that out to a guy who'd just spout something idealistic back at him.

"I don't want to eat or sleep right now," was his compromise. He didn't care if it was petulant. "Just accept that and watch with me."

[savedbyasong]

"If we finish this film will you come with me and get food?" Shion tried to compromise.

[rainscented]

The pause before Rat nodded was long enough that he felt his pride remained intact, and he extended one hand for the remote.

[savedbyasong]

Shion nodded slowly and handed it to him before flopping back next to him in the beanbag.

[rainscented]

[ AN ENTIRE FILM ABOUT SINGING LIONS LATER ]

He honestly hadn't been paying attention for the last quarter of the film, intent as he was with keeping his eyes open and fixed on the screen. By the time everything had been resolved and the credits were rolling, he was slumped bonelessly against the arm of the chair behind him.

[savedbyasong]

[Well that was not half as tragic enough to actually be Hamlet. Shion turned to say this to Rat to find him fast asleep against the chair. Shion was glad he was finally getting some rest but he couldn't stay here. Monsters were a danger and for true bed you needed to be in bed for some reason Shion didn't yet understand.

So he lifted Rat, still quietly amazed that he could do that now, and carried him up to the dormitory floors, finding Rat's room and guessing which bed was his.]