Fifth Floor Common Room, Sunday Morning

[doesnotkneel]

Waking up to a blaze of candles upon his head had been... worrisome was the correct term, Edward supposed. But neither his pillow nor his linens had gotten scorched, and when he pulled his shirt on, it had simply seemed to pass right through the flames. This, then, was simply another fit of the island to cope with or to tolerate.

Actually, in the early morning darkness, it was downright helpful.

When Edward had ascertained the candles would do no harm at all, he wandered out for his usual morning routine: collapsing on the couch in the common room with a full bowl of cereal, turning the television to the channel that occasionally talked about boats, and lowering the brightness to such a degree the images didn't do much harm to his head. Not too bad, all in all, though he had to test several times if he wasn't about to set fire to the couch.

[[ today posts half #2. open! ]]

Comments

[wildandbrave]

Someone with more of an inclination toward lengthy narrative prose could have gone about how Cosette looked like some kind of church painting with the candles on her head. But in this case it would have been somewhat exaggerated anyway, especially since the puffy winter coat and the bag of groceries in her arms would cancel out the effect, and to be realistic it was just a touch silly-looking.

"Don't you look quite festive," she said with a laugh, and set the bag down on the counter so she could pull her phone out. "I shouldn't mind recording that image for posterity."

[doesnotkneel]

"I feel more like a tavern fire waiting to happen," Edward admitted, poking gently at the construction atop his head.

[wildandbrave]

"Well, it hasn't happened yet, has it? I thought at first my hair was certain to catch on fire, if the wind should pick up," Cosette said, patting her own candle wreath lightly. "Luckily the island seems to have thought of that."

She glanced toward the TV while she pulled things out of the shopping bag. "Oh, is there anything interesting on? I've eggs and bacon here, if you'd care for some to go with your cereal -- once they're cooked, of course."

[doesnotkneel]

"Just some piece on sailing vessels of the 19th century," Edward said, "At least, that's how it appears to me."

His attention was drawn now from his cereal to her, however. "And I wouldn't turn down your eggs and bacon for the world, Cosette."

[wildandbrave]

"I'd have been on my own floor making breakfast if I hadn't been inclined to share, you know, so it's a good thing you accepted the offer or I might have had to be a bit upset," Cosette teased him, and came over from the kitchen to give him a proper greeting.

[doesnotkneel]

"Ah, you know I never like seeing you upset to any degree," Edward said, grinning up at her. "G'morning."

[wildandbrave]

Cosette beamed and leaned down to kiss his nose. "Mind saying things like that or I may use them to my advantage. I trust your day is going well so far, monsieur?"

[doesnotkneel]

"I've staggered out of me kip without setting anything on fire, and now a lovely lady's making me breakfast," Edward said, tilting his head up towards her. "Could do much worse, I'd say."

Though that didn't mean he wasn't trying to kiss her proper, here.

[wildandbrave]

Which also didn't mean Cosette wasn't going to let him. "Good, if I've done my part to ensure you're having a good day, then I'll consider my own a success," she told him. Then, with some reluctance, "Though to do that I ought to actually see that the food gets cooked. I'm hungry myself, besides."

[doesnotkneel]

Edward let out a theatrical sigh. "If you must leave me bereft," he said, "Then be swift about it, so it won't last too long."

[wildandbrave]

"A tragedy indeed, as I'll be all the way across the room," Cosette said in an exaggeratedly horrified tone. "I shall be as quick as I can about it, so try not to worry too much. I trust you can handle that?"

[doesnotkneel]

"Perhaps," Edward said. Never mind that he was grinning. "I cannot make promises, dearest Cosette."

[wildandbrave]

There was really no way Cosette was going to succeed at feigning genuine concern for longer than a couple of seconds, which didn't stop her from putting on her most serious expression when she said, "I've faith in your ability to try, at the least. If you do that, and I try my best to see that food is done quickly, I think that's fair, don't you?"

She should probably stop leaning over and go back to the kitchen first, though. Well. She'd partly accomplished that first bit.

[doesnotkneel]

Edward wasn't about to complain about her leaning one bit. None whatsoever, in fact.

"Very well," he said, and leaned over to give her a final kiss. "Don't tarry any longer."

[wildandbrave]

Cosette reached out to ruffle his hair lightly before heading back toward the kitchen. "I'll make the wait worthwhile, see if I won't," she said, and frowned at the pan she pulled out. "And should you waste away from hunger in the meantime, you'll have whoever didn't wash this properly to thank."

Because of course now she had to wash it again. Ew.

"Tell me if there's anything interesting on that television show?"

[doesnotkneel]

"Depends on how inclined you are to go seafarin', I wager," Edward said.

With the brightness down, he could just about turn his eyes back onto the screen without worrying overmuch about a headache.

[wildandbrave]

Cosette finally had the pan scrubbed out to her satisfaction, and set it on the stove to heat while she hunted down plates and utensils . . . and decided she might as well wash those, too. "Perhaps not so much as you are, I think. Short voyages, at least."

[doesnotkneel]

"Apparently ships've been getting faster for a long while," Edward said, curling up further on the sofa, oblivious to her struggles.

[wildandbrave]

Well, it was really only a struggle with trying not to be exasperated at other people, and given how high Cosette's tolerance level for people was, that was really not much of a struggle at all in the end.

Also, the smell of cooking bacon was probably starting to waft over toward the sofa.

"And at some point someone worked out how to make them large enough to house small cities," she added with a fond smile at the memory of that cruise. "But I doubt you'd rather one of those. It doesn't seem at all the same."

[doesnotkneel]

"Still takes you to interesting places, I reckon."

The smell was grand, in fact, and Edward stretched his legs out further, glancing briefly towards the kitchen. "But it does lack some of the romance of great sailing ships, aye."