[ there's not a lot of people thomas's age that watch as intently as he does, that study people while they stand still and breathe, like waiting for some small betrayal of intentions, some twitch of a muscle or crack in a lie. it's safe to say he's not actually going to trust all dudes with beards, because trust is a mythical unicorn and human beings are kind of garbage.

anyway, the man's easy natured enough to make this a little more comfortable, even if thomas doesn't really look comfortable, but let's be real, he rarely does. somehow the tea drinking is both reassuring and ominous. can't decide yet. ]

Culture-sharing. [ multidimensional medical miracle brain sharing but yeah sure, culture too. ] 'Kay.

[ shut up about semantics, thomas, he tells himself and only eyes the offered cushion with suspicion for a few seconds before clearing his throat and shuffling over. he should probably take his boots off, but he doesn't. should probably take his hands out of his pockets and try to relax a little more too, but that's not happening either. ]

There anything I should know before this starts? I'm not gonna wake up with a killer headache or blind or something, right?