ssrsousa | Shakespeare in the ... apartment (Mid January)

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Shakespeare in the ... apartment (Mid January)

It'd taken awhile to actually get this set up. First Daniel had agreed to work a lot around Christmas so people with families didn't, then there was the usual excitement with New Year's Eve (and the extra staffing they had to have even if something didn't go wrong), then there was getting ready for the beginning of the semester at Barton for Tom. They'd rescheduled this enough times that Tom was starting to send Daniel texts about not having to do this if he really didn't want to.

And truthfully, right now, he didn't want to. He'd had a long day of tactical training yesterday that had made his leg sore and then today he'd had to go interview a little old lady who lived on the eighth floor of a building with an elevator that was out of order -- twice. Even the best prosthetic was gonna make his leg complain after thirty-two flights of stairs in one day, but she'd been a good witness, and with her help, they were probably going to be able to make some arrests after about two months of chasing bad leads.

He needed an Epsom bath, an ice pack, some strong painkillers, and a day of not wearing his leg, and he knew all of that. But Tom was also a friend, and it was important to spend time with friends while he could. He'd learned that the hard way in the war and this place was sort of the same. Tom might be gone tomorrow, or Daniel might be. So he took off his jacket, vest, shoulder holster, and tie, unbuttoned the first two buttons of his dress shirt, deleted the text asking for yet another rain check, took three acetaminophen, and went to the elevator with a four pack of beer in his right hand and his cane in his left.

And the elevator was out of order here, too. At least Tom was only on the third floor. He climbed the stairs more slowly than he would have if someone was watching and pushed the door open to Tom's floor. He took a moment to breathe through the feeling of his quadriceps knotting up, then walked down the hall to apartment 12 and knocked.

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Between the blanket and the heating pad, Tom couldn't see any detail even if he tried — and he wasn't trying, attention focused on first the remote, then the movie as it finally begins.

He'd settled on Much Ado About Nothing, because none of the video stores he'd checked had any Laurence Olivier versions, and this one was at least entertaining. He settles the popcorn between them and hands Daniel one of the beers.

"Cheers," he offers as the opening credits begin.

Daniel clinked his beer against Tom's and watched the credits for a few seconds. He didn't recognize any of the names, but why would he? All of these movies were way past his time, as evidenced by them being in color. They'd just started doing a lot of movies in color in the early 50s, but he'd been too busy with SHIELD to be watching a lot of those.

"Why this one?" he asked. Yeah, he was talking over the movie, but they could go back and watch anything important that they'd missed, right? And he was curious about what was in Tom's head. Also, he was feeling more relaxed now that his leg wasn't screaming at him. He adjusted the heating pillow to press more deeply against a different part of knot in his muscles.

"It's not typically what people think when they think 'Shakespeare', for starters," he reasons. "People typically know Shakespeare for his tragedies, or his sonnets. But this is a comedy. Everyone likes comedy, right?"

"I think I've only ever had to read the tragedies," Daniel agreed. "And maybe I was supposed to learn one of the sonnets, I think, but I don't remember it. I remember a couple poems I had to learn, but not that."

The play started with talking about a war, and that was something he knew about, but it wasn't really funny.

"Is this actually a comedy, or is it one those things that's a comedy but only if you compare it to things that are real serious?"

"Just keep watching," he scolds, but he's smiling as he says it. He doesn't mind that Daniel's asking questions — it's probably helping him stay engaged, actually — but he can't just tell him everything about the movie. He has to watch it, too.

That was a teacher thing to say, and Daniel looked at Tom skeptically, but he also kept watching.

Beatrice was funny, and kind of reminded him of Peggy in terms of her sharp tongue. He chuckled when she got in a particularly good one about Benedict.

"Now I know where my wife got it," he joked. "And she would have taken that as a compliment, too, so don't think I'm insulting her."

Tom laughs, quietly pleased that Daniel is starting to enjoy the movie — even if it does, for a brief moment, make him feel guilty that it's reminded Daniel of someone who is no longer here.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he assures. He watches him for a moment before returning to the movie, as well. It's been awhile since he's just enjoyed Much Ado, and doing so with Daniel is giving him a renewed appreciation of it.

Daniel looked over at Tom for a second when Tom wasn't looking at him, then looked back at the movie. He was mostly paying attention to Benedict - no, Benedick, Claudio had just said it - and Claudio and Don Pedro, but he was also thinking about how much Tom just cared again, and how much he appreciated it.

"I, uh, I'm sorry I was a little ... grumpy," he apologized quietly. "I'm not used to anyone really worrying about or even noticing if there's a problem with my leg."

Part of that was because he tried to not let anyone notice, obviously. He didn't need their pity or their well-meaning attempts to help. Tom had done it right. He'd asked Daniel what he needed, and he'd been stubborn about it.

The apology obviously surprises Tom, as his eyebrows tick up fractionally and he looks away from the movie and over at Daniel.

"What? No, Daniel, you don't, you don't have to apologize for anything," he assures." It's not like he'd lost is temper, or stormed out. Maybe he'd put up a fight, and maybe it was partly out of pride, but Tom is far from holding that against him.

Daniel raised a skeptical eyebrow at Tom, because he thought he did need to apologize, or he wouldn't have done it.

"You can ask questions about it, if you want. I won't guarantee I'll answer them all, or even that I can answer them all, but you can ask."

There weren't a lot of people he'd offer that to, and most of them weren't in Darrow anymore. It was just something in his gut that said Tom was safe to offer that to, and he trusted his gut.

Tom is quiet for a moment, watching Daniel levelly. "Thank you," he says. His expression is soft and he's visibly touched by the offer, but he adds, "I don't think I need to." It's probably good for Daniel to talk about it, to be transparent with someone, but it isn't his business, really — and all of the questions he might have wanted to ask are, with the offer, completely evaporated.

He meant the offer, and he wasn't going to rescind it, but he also respected that Tom didn't want to ask any questions.

"Well, the offer stands. If we're in the middle of an attack by giant bunnies, I might ask you to let me answer another time, but the offer stands," he replied with a casual shrug.

He focused on the movie again after grabbing another handful of popcorn, and almost immediately frowned at Don John.

"I don't think I'm supposed to like that guy, and I don't."

Tom grins, but says nothing. He wants Daniel to form his own opinions about the story and the characters, even as he wants him to simply enjoy the story for what it is. If he can like or dislike characters, if he can engage with the plot, then he's proving Tom's point: he might like Shakespeare.

"Let me know if that heating pad needs a warm up," he adds as their attention begins turning back towards the screen.

He had actually been focused enough on the movie that he didn't notice that the heating pad was cooling off. There was still a little heat in it, though, and now that he knew Tom wasn't gonna make an issue of it, he adjusted it as casually as if he was just straightening his collar or his cuffs.

"It's still got some heat. Thanks, though."

The masks the characters were wearing at the party didn't disguise anyone since they were all still wearing their same clothes, but he tried to focus on the words and not on Tom watching the movie. Even though he was sure Tom had seen this at least a dozen times, he still seemed interested. Daniel got it, though. He could read The Maltese Falcon again and again.

Don John was still making trouble, and he shook his head.

"So he's Pedro's brother and isn't happy about it so he's stirring the pot just because he can? Am I getting that right?"

"Well, that's not the only reason," Tom points out, though he can certainly see why that one is the most obvious. "But, yes, 'because he can' works," he adds with a chuckle. He's glad that Daniel is at least enjoying it enough to care about the characters' motivations.

"I've known a few people like that in real life. I never really understood what would make a person decide to just start trouble, but that's probably a good thing. If I could understand, that might mean I was that kind of person, and I'd rather not be."

John and Borachio talked about their plan to ruin the wedding and he shook his head again.

"If Claudio's as good a guy as they keep talking like he is, he should know better than to believe any of that stuff they're planning. But if he doesn't believe it, it'll be a real short play, so he probably will."

Edited 2022-01-17 01:31 (UTC)

Tom laughs softly, enjoying Daniel's running commentary as much as he's enjoying the movie. He keeps quiet, though, more interested in letting Daniel actually experience the plot. More than once, he looks over at him with a small smile, taking in the expressions on his face.

Daniel's beer is gone, he realizes, and the movie's almost over, but he wants Daniel to relax a little longer, so he stands and grabs two more bottles from the fridge. The open floorplan of his apartment means he doesn't even really miss anything, either — though he's familiar enough with it that he'd be able to keep up if he had. He settles back down and offers the fresh bottle over to him.

Now that he knew Tom didn't care if he talked during the movie Daniel commented now and then on a few things, but mostly watched. The way everyone conspired to get Benedick and Beatrice to realize that opposites were attracting was funny, but the way that Claudio just believed that the woman he was supposedly going to marry would just go off and cheat on him wasn't, and he was frowning until Dogberry's scenes started. Then he was laughing, and he had to explain to Tom that he'd known some fresh, green LTs that gave orders just about like that.

The wedding scene went about as badly as John wanted it to, and the Friar's idea of pretending that Hero was dead seemed really complicated.

"What is it with Shakespeare and priests pretending people are dead?" he asked, only half-paying attention to Tom getting up and then coming back with another couple of beers. When Tom offered him one, Daniel smiled and took it.

He almost said something about Tom needing to escort him home if he drank more, and he didn't even know where that had come from. It was the kind of thing he'd maybe say to a woman if he was flirting with her. Why did he almost say it to Tom?

Edited 2022-01-19 01:45 (UTC)

"He didn't use that plot device in every play," he assures, smiling as he twists open his beer. He shakes the popcorn bowl up to settle the kernels to the bottom, though by now there's hardly anything left, anyway.

It's difficult not to be charmed by Daniel as he finds familiarity in the characters, as he reacts to the things on the screen. Tom's really glad they've done this.

Daniel had only read or seen three of Shakespeare's plays all the way through and a priest had pretended someone was dead in two of them, so he gave Tom a skeptical look, but only half-seriously. He knew there were a lot more plays, some of which Tom might already be planning to make him watch. He wouldn't mind that, though. This was nice, to sit and eat popcorn and drink a beer with Tom. He felt comfortable with him, comfortable enough to loosen his leg and unbutton the first button of his shirt. The combination of blanket and heating pad and maybe booze and painkillers had him feeling a little warm.

Dogberry reappeared and gave orders just as well as he had the first time, and Daniel laughed. The humor of Dogberry's "interrogation" got him through the next couple of scenes, although Daniel scoffed as soon as they said John had fled.

"Yeah, that doesn't seem guilty at all, to just leave like that. He's the one that needs to go talk to the priest about his choices, not anyone else."

Dogberry was back, though, and explaining things about as well as could be expected.

"That guy is my favorite character in the whole play. I'm probably supposed to pick someone else, aren't I?"

Edited 2022-01-20 03:32 (UTC)

"You're not supposed to do anything," he says, somehow both playful and reassuring. "I like that you had a favorite at all, honestly." He'd expected Daniel to consume the movie with him and, after it had ended, shed it from his thoughts for things more familiar or pleasing. The fact that he'd come out of it with a favorite among the cast is beyond anything Tom might've had in mind.

He hadn't expected to like the play this much either. He'd sort of thought he'd sit through it and make polite noises and then go home. He wasn't sure he was going to become a scholar or anything, and he was probably still going to watch any future plays for Tom's sake more than for the actual play, but he liked learning things, and this was more of that.

"That lieutenant that gave orders like Dogberry does got better at it eventually, but I don't think Dogberry's getting any better."

The stuff around Hero's tomb and the second wedding was a little weird, since Claudio had just been talking about how much he loved and would mourn Hero forever, but now he was willing to marry someone else. Daniel must have missed something.

"I'm picking the movie next time, and it's gonna involve astronauts," he warned Tom.

"Oh, really?" Tom asks, playful even as a small thrill chases through him at the idea that Daniel wants to repeat this.

Maybe that's silly, since he knows Daniel is straight, but there had still been a part of him that had worried Daniel wouldn't enjoy this — that maybe their myriad excuses and rescheduling up to this point had been subconsciously intentional, although that fear had been put to rest when Daniel had shown up despite the pain he was so clearly in. The fact that he enjoyed it enough to want a repeat is encouraging, and exciting, even on a platonic level.

"I suppose I could think of worse genres to pick than 'astronaut.'"

Going to space was still something that was a dream in his lifetime, even for someone who worked for SHIELD. SHIELD had a lot of great technology, but they hadn't gotten to space yet. Now people had, and Daniel just liked watching movies about all of that, about the science and the engineering and everything. He was glad Tom didn't mind that idea, and also that this was going to happen again, maybe. This whole setup was just comfortable, and he wasn't talking about not having his leg completely attached, either.

"I can too. War movies."

If they were too unrealistic, he spent the movie annoyed. And if they were too realistic, well, he could do without being reminded of being over there again when he was trying to have a good evening.

The play ended with everyone singing and dancing and being happy, and Daniel stifled a sigh. The popcorn was gone and the movie was over, so he'd need to readjust his leg and go back down the stairs. He pulled the heating pad out from under the blanket and draped it over the arm of the couch in preparation for doing that.

"I imagine war movies are a bit of a sore spot for a war vet," Tom reasons with a nod.

When Daniel begins shifting at the end of the movie, moving the heating pad and shifting a little in place, Tom has a brief internal debate before saying, "You know, you don't have to rush off just because the movie's over. Unless you have to use the bathroom, that is." If he needs to pee, after almost two beers, then Tom can't hold that against him, but he doesn't want Daniel to feel like he has to get up and go, now that what he's come here to do is done.

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