tibetanmethod | (no subject)

(no subject)

When he wakes up, his head doesn't hurt. His first thought:

There was tequila. My head doesn't hurt. That's strange.

Cooper's head moves on the pillow. He sees wrappers scattered on the nightstand. When he looks the other way, he sees a blonde head.

His eyes close.

His second thought:

...oh, damn.

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Cooper averts his eyes, and covers

(Now I'm going to get the food, and you're going to get dressed)

up the movement by looking for his pants.

"Should be ready by the time you're..."

-- ah. Over there. In the corner.

"...out."

Lilly is waking up a little more and thus picking up on more of Cooper's discomfort. She's not, unfortunately, aware of why he's uncomfortable. If she were, it might make her a little more sensitive to his plight.

"Oh, you're not joining me? The coffee maker's automatic, you know."

But then again, maybe not.

"It'll take me some time to figure out the settings," Cooper says, quietly. "You go ahead."

Getting out of bed and getting dressed will hopefully forestall argument; Cooper stands and heads pantsward.

"Your loss," Lilly says through a yawn, heading off to the bathroom without further delay.

She wanders out to the kitchen some time later with damp hair and a short robe belted snugly around her waist.

"Mmmm, coffee. Thanks, Coop."

"You're welcome." He's leaning against the counter, hands around his cup. Only the top button of his shirt is undone.

Cooper has no idea what happened to his tie.

Something else he has no idea about: what to say next.

Because -- think about it. How do you convey this was a bad idea without it being really offensive?

Well, when all else fails, you can say it with body language.

"So, the weird thing is, I don't know how I'm going to tell my brother," Lilly says casually, breaking the silence.

Cooper looks up. "...is this something I should be asking for clarification about?"

"Well, he's probably going to ask you," Lilly says thoughtfully. "I mean, he'll want to know how we met and fell in love and all that before the wedding."

She smiles at him and has another sip of coffee.

In another situation, Cooper might actually get that this is supposed to be a joke.

He's...fairly certain it is.

But not certain enough not to react with slightly raised eyebrows, and a mild "Oh?"

"Yes, of course," Lilly replies with amused exasperation. "Because we had sex once- okay, more than once, clearly what has to happen next is marriage. Otherwise you've taken my virtue and left me with nothing but remembering that my virtue was pretty much non-existent before we ever met."

She rolls her eyes at him.

"I thought you were from roughly my century, Coop. Last night was fun, sure, but given that you've gone all silent and somber I'm guessing that you don't want a repeat, and that's fine."

It's harder for her to keep solemn this time.

"Besides, we should probably save our next time for the wedding night. Do you think I can still wear white? Maybe I'll just go for cream and dim lighting."

...good. She's not being serious.

Cooper takes a sip of coffee. Puts the mug down on the counter.

Says, simply, "Lilly, that's not the issue. I'm not opposed to a one-night stand. And as for your virtue -- that's none of my business. You're more than capable of making your own decisions, and in situations like this, that's all that matters."

"Exactly," Lilly says cheerfully.

She has another sip of the coffee. It's damn good. And hot.

Kinda like Cooper himself, last night.

"So why are you all weird this morning then?"

There's...not really a good way to put it. And he's aware of how it would sound:

I wouldn't have done this under other circumstances -- only I'm not sure what circumstances happened in order to have me agree to this.

Finally, Cooper says, "I shouldn't have agreed, last night, and ordinarily I wouldn't have. Things look different this morning than they did yesterday evening. I can't explain how, or why, because I don't know. Which isn't to say that I didn't enjoy myself, because I did. Very much. But it wouldn't be a good idea to do it again."

"If you say so."

Lilly shrugs.

"It was an unexpected move from you, yeah, so I get that. I'm not offended."

Also pretty likely to get laid again shortly by someone else, so.

"And I'll always be able to treasure the memory of the face you make when you're, you know. Thinking of Tibet."

"Lilly," Cooper says, "Tibet was the last thing on my mind."

He's so literal.

"Cooper? I knew that."

"Oh." His expression clears. "That's an interesting choice of euphemism."

"All my choices are interesting."

She pauses.

"I suppose it's not really fair of me to use that look if you're not going to get to have sex with me again. Sorry, Coop."

He half shrugs, comfortably, and picks up his cup of coffee again. "There's no need to apologize, Lilly." And sips.

And wonders to himself how he can resist come-ons again, and what made last night different.

(It'll come to him, eventually.)

"But I do feel a bit sorry for you," Lilly points out. "That was only the sampler platter, really."

She grins, taking another sip of her coffee.

"It's your life, though. Just don't get all stiff and weird now though."

She pauses.

"Uh. Stiff manner."

Cooper just looks at her for a moment.

And then says, calmly, "I'll do my best, Lilly."

It'd be better, somehow, if she didn't joke about it. More...adult. But she is joking about it.

And that just brings it home, doesn't it.

It might, for Cooper. Whether Lilly is nineteen or ninety, she'll always be joking.

Especially when to her, this doesn't look like something she particularly needs to be serious about.

"Shiny. Then we're good, Coop. No worries."

Lilly's the dead girl, not the federal agent.

But he smiles, a little, and says, "Good to hear."

He drains his cup of coffee. "Think I ought to head back. I'll see you around, Lilly."

Though maybe not for a few days.

"See you later, Coop. Thanks for the coffee."

It's in deference to the fact that he really does look a little distressed that she waits to add "and the orgasms" until he's shut the door behind him.

It had to be said, though. Lilly is all about being polite to her one-stands.

His tie is on the floor by the bar. He picks it up on his way out the door.

Once he's back in his apartment, he picks up the phone.

"Yes. I'd like to leave a message for Miss Horne, please."

"Tell her that Dale Cooper can't make the appointment this afternoon, and I send my apologies."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

He could take this to Harry. He might. But there's Josie to consider, and --

"Damn," Cooper says aloud to the empty apartment, and goes to take a shower before heading to the station.

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