afraid of my heart that beats too slow

[puppydoctor]

WHO: George puppydoctor and Sarah coppelganger
WHERE: George's apartment in De Chima
WHEN: After the Soviet nightmare
WHAT: Pajamas and reality TV
WARNINGS: Will add if needed

Look, there's no way she's gonna choose Pedro. He's just one of those boneheaded jock types who freezes up the second someone tries to talk about emotions.

[George gestures at the screen, losing a couple of pieces of popcorn in the process. It's Wednesday night, which means The Real World: Terre Haute is on - a frequent point of contention in the O'Malley-Manning Post-Soviet-Hellscape Depression Nest™.]

And his neck is as wide as his head. I mean, am I the only one who's noticed that?

Comments

[coppelganger]

But Damien is too emotional. He always looks like he's two seconds away from crying on her.

[ Sarah is sitting against the arm of the couch with her legs draped over George's lap, which isn't helping the precarious popcorn situation he's in. She gives him a knowing look that might be bullshit or might not be. ]

Besides, you know what they say about guys with thick necks.

[puppydoctor]

[He reaches down to wiggle one of her toes, the other hand resting on her thigh.]

Yeah. [A Very Serious Look.] They need bigger scarves.

[coppelganger]

[ She laughs, and tries to pull her feet away, without putting much actual effort into the attempt. ]

Yeah, okay, fair point. But still, you shouldn't judge Pedro 'cause of the size of his neck. He can't help being built like Gaston.

[puppydoctor]

Hey. [He points a finger in her direction, and for a second it looks like he's about a make a very serious point.] No one's built like Gaston.

[coppelganger]

[ She laughs, and pretends to shove him off the couch. ]

Don't get that song stuck in my head.

[puppydoctor]

[He grabs her around the waist, under the guise of stopping his fall - and then he starts to tickle her (!!!) ]

[coppelganger]

[ OH YOU ASSHOLE

is what she would say, if she weren't too busy laughing and trying to squirm out of his grip. Finally, after she narrowly misses kicking him in the face (look, she's being tickled, it's not her fault) she manages to gasp out ] Okay, okay, you win! [ Win what, she's not exactly sure. ]

[puppydoctor]

[George manages to keep his grip on her against all odds, laughing right along until he can't focus on tickling, and dissolves into a goofy, gasping grin. Red-faced and joyful, he looks over at her with the fondest possible eyes.]

I love you. [They're getting more in the practice of saying it, this time around, but it still makes his heart pause.] ... Even more than Pedro loves protein shakes.