(no subject)

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly's given her staff a day off and is lounging on the couch under the pretense of doing work, but really hiding from her children. There is paperwork and a drink nearby, but... well. She's hardly in danger of overdoing it.

Comments

[gavemea_45]

When he shows up at the brothel door, Sam looks incredibly awkward, but still determined.

"Um. Lilly? You around?"

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly blinks. That is not a voice she expected to hear at this door.

"Sam? I'm over on the brothel side."

[gavemea_45]

"Of course," Sam mutters, more to himself than anyone else. "The brothel side, right."

He steps in and glances around.

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly smiles at him.

"So, Sam. What can I do for you? Or, well. Who can I get for you to do?"

[gavemea_45]

"No! No, that's not-- that's okay, really," he says, hastily.

Very hastily.

"I was looking for you."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly's eyebrows go up.

"Well, I'm not really on the menu. And while it's flattering that you thought you only had a shot if you paid me, you could try buying me a drink sometime instead. I make no promises, but everyone's prettier after tequila."

[gavemea_45]

"... yeah, okay, that's not why. Sorry."

Sam's looking now even more like he'd really rather be somewhere else, but instead he lets out a short, sharp breath, looks down at the floor, then back up at her.

"I wanted to say thanks, first. And then to ask you something."

[awesome_lilly]

"You're welcome? Why are you than- ohhh."

She smiles a little crookedly at him.

"For playing interdimensional telephone. Hey, no worries. It was fun. We should totally not do it again some time."

[gavemea_45]

"Yeah, that. It, um."

Silence. He's not exactly meeting her eyes.

"It helped. I don't know, maybe-- it could be that-- if you hadn't--"



"Anyway, I owe you. A lot."

[awesome_lilly]

"Oh."

Lilly's not looking at him either.

"Well, I have a brother too."

Somewhere.

"So, you know. We're cool."

[gavemea_45]

He darts a quick look at her, and whatever he sees is evidently enough for him to leave it at that.

"Okay."

A beat, and then,

"You know, as long as you don't take it as solicitation or whatever, I could buy you that drink after all."

[awesome_lilly]

"You could, but up here it's all my booze anyway."

Lilly shrugs.

"If you want, grab us both something from the bar. Not having to get up is worth like, half a drink, so you'll owe me a shot downstairs sometime and we'll be even."

[gavemea_45]

"Fair."

He looks around and spots the bar, then heads over, calling back over his shoulder,

"What do you want?"

[awesome_lilly]

"Magrathean Iced Tea," Lilly replies. "There should be a pitcher left from the party."

Magrathean Iced Teas are stronger than Long Island Iced teas in the same way that Magrathea is bigger than Long Island.

That's why there's still a full pitcher left.

[gavemea_45]

"... right."

It doesn't take him long to find the pitcher, the ice, and two glasses. Sam walks back and hands one to Lilly, then takes a drink of his own--

--and promptly makes an odd face.

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly has taken a very delicate sip of hers.

"Yeah, they can be an acquired taste."

She doesn't think Sam's here just to have a drink and soak up the atmosphere, though.

"So. You wanted to ask me something?"

[gavemea_45]

"Yeah. Um. About that."

Sam goes silent for a second.

Several seconds, in fact.




"I, um. Hear you have some sort of thing with dreams."

[awesome_lilly]

"... you make it sound like I'm secretly dating them. Which, no. But I do 'have a thing.'"

Lilly takes another small sip of her drink.

"Dean told you, huh?"

[gavemea_45]

"Yeah, Dean told me."

Unconsciously, he squares his shoulders as if bracing for a blow, then meets her eyes.

"He said he told you a few things, too."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly nods.

"He did. So."

Sadly, filling in awkward pauses by sipping her drink is not a long-term solution when it is a Magrathean Iced Tea.

"I'm trying to figure out if there's any way for me to bring up wandering into your dreams that doesn't sound creepy, perverted, or like that one stupid song with the 'get out of my car, get into my dreams' chorus but I really don't think there is."

[gavemea_45]

"Stick with creepy," Sam advises.

A beat.

"It's close enough."

[awesome_lilly]

"I'm comfortable with creepy," Lilly says, smiling a little wryly.

"It's familiar, at least. But I'm guessing you'd like it to be less familar?"

[gavemea_45]

The look he gives her is more than a little guarded.

"Yeah."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly sets her drink down and meets Sam's gaze.

"Trust me, I get how weird this whole someone else in your head thing must be for you. I really, really do."

(You can- you can see what I'm thinking?)

"And it's not like I can make any promises about fixing anything, or whatever, but I told Dean I'd help if I could and that's a standing offer."

[gavemea_45]

By the time she finishes, Sam's shaking his head.

"See, no, I don't think you do."

There's no animosity in his tone, although there is frustration, and something else.

Something a lot like despair.

He grits out, "This wasn't -- you know what, I shouldn't have come. Sorry to bother you."

Sam turns away and takes two steps before stopping. He's staring at the floor; there's tension in the line of his shoulders, as though he's struggling with himself.

A few seconds pass.



"It's not just dreams, Lilly. That's the thing."

Slowly, Sam turns back around and forces himself to meet her eyes again.

"It's more than that." A beat. "Dean won't admit it, but there's something wrong with me."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly's eyebrows are getting acquainted with her hairline.

"Okay," she says slowly. "I'm guessing this is not like, failure to properly appreciate AC/DC, so. Something to do with dreams? Or?"

[gavemea_45]

"Yeah."

It's a little too level. Sam's standing very still, watching her steadily.

"They got in the way... my plans for you, Sammy. You, and all the children like you."

"Dreams. Nightmares. Visions."

A beat.

"Sometimes they come true."

[awesome_lilly]

"Ohh, prophetic dreams? Bummer."

Lilly smiles wryly.

"Had one of those once, and yeah. Not fun. But I'm guessing it's even less fun when they're a regular occurrence."

[gavemea_45]

Strangely enough, the tension around him eases up on hearing this.

"... yeah. Yeah, it is."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly takes another small sip of her Magrathean Iced Tea.

"So. I can- well, I have no idea what all I can actually do. This is so not an exact science, but the most helpful thing I can probably do, if you want, is uh. See what's happening while it's happening from, you know, an outside perspective or whatever."

She's looking at her drink.

"I know it can be kinda hard to analyze these things while you're in them."

[gavemea_45]

"I've gotta say, I don't know how it'd work either. But ... I'm not going to turn down the help, if you want."

There's a very wry twist to Sam's sudden small smile.

"That's, um. Kinda why Dean and I started trying to get back to this place again after our first few times here, a while ago."

[awesome_lilly]

"And here I thought it was for the beer."

Lilly smiles back, small but sincere.

"So, now we only need to find a way to make this fun and relaxing and totally not creepy. Uh, do you get the nightmare vision things in the bar, too? Or just in your world?"

These are clearly both fun AND relaxing questions.

[gavemea_45]

"I haven't here yet, come to think of it."

He looks a little surprised at this realization.

"Nightmares, yeah, but not -- not the other."

[awesome_lilly]

"Hey, that's good. Or, uh. Not?"

Lilly laughs.

"Maybe the best way to go about this is for me to just keep an eye out for you. I'm going to be spending a lot of time looking for nightmares anyway, but I'll put you on top of the list."

[gavemea_45]

"It's something, anyway."

Sam gives her a little grin.

"Thanks."