room 216 ; monday morning

[necroslacker]

Sometimes, Sam actually did sleep. Without classes to get him up, he'd fallen asleep early this morning and was still sleeping pretty soundly right now. That, of course, meant Sam's ghosts were out.

And no, these were not ghosts in a closet like skeletons in a closet. These were actual ghosts, visages of the dead floating around Sam's sleeping body, shrieking and moaning and keening. Sam's brow crinkled and he was tossing and turning a bit. Somewhere inside his sleeping mind, he knew what was happening but he hoped the ghosts would go away. What he once thought was a nightmare was now just a side effect of his powers.

The ghosts dipped lower, floating helplessly right above Sam's body. He curled up around a pillow and tried to block them out. The ghosts didn't go away. One screamed. Another whimpered.

Sam started looking a little restless.

[Door closed but post open! Seeing the ghosts is reserved for one person so anyone after her will just see Sam looking a little tired. And NFB on the ghosts, of course. Just looks like Sam's having a bad sleep.]

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[whenshewasnice]

Natalie was just looking to see if he was up, and would maybe want to walk into town for coffee or something. She knocked on the door, lightly, mostly as a warning, because she then opened it and peered inside.

Her heart skipped a beat.

And yes, the sensible thing to do here would probably have been to close teh door and walk away, because she knew the ghosts wouldn't actually hurt him or anything, but... Well, it didn't feel right. Not if she was intending to move in with Sam. And soon.

She did close the door, but not before she'd stepped inside the room. She wasn't blinking. Staring at the ghosts was clearly a better option.

[necroslacker]

The ghosts looked over at her for a second or two. Some even floated closer, hands outstretched like they might actually be able to touch her. They stared right back and they didn't blink either. The dead didn't need to blink. They'd win that staring contest every single time.

Sam continued looking restless, like he was trying to get the ghosts to go away without actually waking up. He wasn't having much success. Another few ghosts appeared, gliding above Sam's bed near the ceiling.

[whenshewasnice]

Miraculously, Natalie kept herself from flinching even as her primal senses were screaming at her to run. She had no intention to run. None. The shock on her face turned into hard determination as her brow dipped into a frown.

"Go away."

She wasn't exepecting it to work, to be honest, but she was willing to try before she'd brace herself to try and cross the room.

[necroslacker]

Oh, if only it was that easy. The ghosts moaned at her and keened at her, bony fingers reaching out to point at her accusingly. They turned their attention back to Sam though, moving to swoop and glide over his body since he was what was attracting them in the first place.

There was another loud scream, a piercing yell that made Sam's brow crinkle hard like it had actually hurt. They were dead, he couldn't feel their pain anymore but that had still hurt.

[whenshewasnice]

That was the most horrifying thing Natalie had heard in her life. Bad enough that she kind of wanted to scream too, just to clear the remnants of the sound from her ears.

Instead, she snapped, loudly, "Sam, wake up. Wake. Up."

[necroslacker]

Sam waved a hand towards the snapping, like he was trying to brush that away. He was coming out of the sleep state but he wasn't there yet. The ghosts were still there, almost converging down onto Sam all at once. The screams quieted only to turn into moans and guttural incoherent utterances.

Sam himself wasn't quite awake yet though. He was close.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie tried moving closer to the bed, though she was hesitant to get anywhere near the ghosts, incorporeal though they may have been.

"Sam," she tried again, this time with a softer tone if not that much more quietly.

[necroslacker]

Sam did finally wake up. For a second, he wasn't sure what was going on and why Natalie was in his room. When he blinked his eyes open and saw the ghosts above him, he swatted at them like they were flies. That didn't work so he actually used his powers to push and control and sent the ghosts away.

He hated doing that, controlling them but he hadn't expected Natalie to see them like that and he didn't want them hanging around for any longer than they needed to be. Soon, the screams and the moans quieted and it was only the two of them.

[whenshewasnice]

"Well," Natalie said, once she was sure they really were alone. And then she failed to follow it up with anything.

If he really paid attention, he could maybe see she was shaking, just the tiniest bit. She was good at keeping her body and mind in check, but, you know. Shock and surprise. She'd held it in when the ghosts had been there because there had been a task to focus on, but now? Not so much.

At least the emotional side wasn't bleeding out.

[necroslacker]

"I'm sorry," Sam said, pushing himself out of bed and reaching for her all in one smooth movement. "Natalie, I'm sorry that you saw that."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie allowed herself to be pulled in. It meant he was going to actually feel her shaking (it'd take a moment to get it under control), but then if this was going to be a part of their life, was there a point in hiding it?

She didn't say anything yet, though.

[necroslacker]

"Jesus, I'm sorry," he murmured into her hair. "I'll wear the pouch. I'll wear it, you won't have to see that again, I promise."

He wouldn't like it but he'd do it.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie wrapped her arms tightly around him and tried to breathe her way out of shaking.

"No," she muttered. "You shouldn't have to. You don't have."

Even as she said that, she knew he would sometimes have to, because she was going to ask him to.

[necroslacker]

"You're shaking, Natalie," Sam pointed out, trying to soothe her with his hands and a soft tone. "You want to live with me and that happens a lot and I'm not going to constantly scare you like this. I'm gonna wear it."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie sighed and leaned against him a little more heavily. 'Hold me closer, necromancer', indeed.

"Well," she said quietly, "it's your choice."

[necroslacker]

"I'm sorry," he said again and fell quiet. "I'm sorry, Natalie."

[whenshewasnice]

"I know," she sighed. At least the shaking seemed to be abating, if slowly. "Shh."

[necroslacker]

"Okay," he mumbled, going silent now. He was still holding her tightly but he'd closed his eyes to try and...not think about the fact that his powers could make her react this strongly.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie let the silence lengthen for a while, just feeling him around her and breathing in his scent.

Her words ended up being quiet as well. "Is it always like that?"

She was actually more curious for his sake.

[necroslacker]

"Sometimes it's...worse," he hedged very quietly. "That wasn't so bad."

Sad but true.

[whenshewasnice]

"Oh." Well, not the greatest thing to hear. But she'd deal. She wasn't backing away from anything. "Okay."

[necroslacker]

"Natalie," Sam said, sounding pained. He let go of her so he could lean his forehead against hers, breathe her in and close his eyes. "I'll wear the pouch when we sleep but -- but are you sure? I'm not doubting you, that's not what this is. I just know it's...scary."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie got her fingers into his shirt, to keep him close. Rather a more bordering-on-desperation approach to physical affection than her discrete little touches at his mother's house.

"I'm sure," she told him, quietly, nodding just slightly. "I'll learn to live with it."

[necroslacker]

"I haven't even learned to live with it," he whispered, exhaling quietly. "It's not something you learn to live with. You just...do your best."

[whenshewasnice]

"Well, then I'll do my best," she amended, giving his shirt a little tug. "We both will."