BONER AU: DAY AFTER

[forkedroad]

Annabelle had always been a decent sleeper, but whenever she and the Tanners were due for some excitement, she often slept restlessly. The previous night had been different, despite her excitement; she'd pretty much fallen asleep the second she'd flopped onto their bed into a deep, hard sleep, soon drooling pretty ungracefully.

And the next day, they all awoke more or less frantically—or at least, Lauren and Annabelle certainly had. Lauren, out of anxiety, and Annabelle out of excitement. The three of them had done their thing, aiding the nice town they were in with their talents.

Now that all the excitement is over, the three of them have been paid for their efforts. They've been invited to a boundless meal, as well as wine and ale, in the evening, because the town, frankly, loves to party, and has a great reason to celebrate. But that invite, though accepted, doesn't help them soon enough, and so they've found themselves at a pub for some lunch.

They're seated at a communal bench table, and the brothers are sitting next to each other across from Annabelle. Annabelle has been desperately trying not to look at Lauren more than she would normally, which has made her realize she has no idea how often she does or doesn't do that kind of thing. Right now, her jaw is set against her palm, thin fingers curled into her dark, wild hair while her eyes are lid downcast at her food, which she's kind of just. stabbing relentlessly (but not so frantically so as to make a pub-wide scene) with her fork.

It's not that she's in a bad mood, or anything—she's been quite chipper, if somewhat stilted and odd. At the moment, she's just lost in reminiscence. She's trying to find what the hell had come over here the night before. She bites her lip, and the fork slips, causing an unpleasant squeak against the porcelain.

Comments

[mylastchance]

Lauren winces with ever clank of the fork, trying hard not to worry about what Annabelle is thinking. They hadn't talked at all about what had happened the night before, and as Anna's mood visibly worsened so did Lauren's anxieties. Did she regret it? Did she hate him for it? This and an immeasurable number of unrealistic worries bombard him, making it hard for him to enjoy their victory. While Lauren had been trying his best not to think about what had happened the previous night it was really hard for him not to worry when Annabelle was sullenly smacking her fork into her plate.

His whole body was tense, and he thought he might have been getting a headache. He hadn't slept much the night before, for various reasons, and now he was physically tired from the fight, as well as mentally fatigued from Anna acting like a fucking weirdo.

"Um... S'a nice town..." He tries to give Anna a look that mentally communicates calm the fuck down without Susan noticing.

After Lunch

[mylastchance]

It's only a brief moment later that Lauren finds himself following Annabelle's footsteps up the stairs. He didn't like this awkward feeling that sat between them, or the way he'd argued with her at the lunch table. He didn't exactly understand what was wrong, whether it was him or her or both of them perhaps, but he wanted to get it sorted. Though he rarely admitted it and hardly spoke words of affection to her, Annabelle was someone special to him. He valued her friendship, if nothing else, and he didn't like knowing he might have done something to upset her. He doesn't understand Annabelle as much as he'd like, but he feels pretty confident saying there's something going on that he doesn't understand here.

He knocks softly on the door to their shared room. "Anna?"