Work Text:
Tape ain't gonna fix it, honey (except it couldn't possibly make it worse, right?)
Eleanor took a deep breath, grateful for one moment of “peace” throughout the shirtshow of Michael and Team Cockroach and all the Bad Place-ness. She considered her and Chidi’s conversation from earlier- “you know it’s more than that.” Groaning, she fell back on her bed, rubbing her eyes. She would probably (and by probably she meant, like, 100%) regret this. Rolling over, she rummaged through her bedside table, grabbing something before emerging once again.
Chidi was sitting on her couch, calmly reading one of his books- for probably the zillionth time, nerd- with his feet propped up on the coffee table. It took him a few moments to register her presence, which she was thankful for, because watching him read made her feel weird. He looked up at her expectantly. Now or never, Eleanor , she thought to herself- which definitely wasn’t technically true, due to the whole eternity thing. But then again, Michael was still Michael.
“So I’ve been working on this whole honesty thing,” Eleanor started, nervously.
“You have?” Chidi raised an eyebrow.
She held up a hand. “-over the past few minutes.”
“Ah,” he nodded.
“And I’ve come to the conclusion that um, leaving things unsaid is...bad. Almost as bad as lying, even!” She continued as Chidi nodded slowly along with her train of thought. “Which philosopher said that?”
“Um,” Chidi pursed his lips. “...most.”
“So, I’m gonna stop talking now, and just let you watch this. And I’m also gonna leave the room, because...yeah,” she spluttered, popping the tape- carefully set to play at the right time- into a VCR (that she’d made Janet bring her when they’d gotten back from Mindy’s, because fork it if she wasn’t a little curious about the entirety of the tape) and bolting from the room as if she’d just dropped a bomb.
Technically, she kind of had.
She lingered in her room for a bit, cradling her head in her hands. About five minutes passed.
“Are you alive?!” She called out from her side of the door.
She heard Chidi laugh. Weird. Kind of annoying, really.
“You can come out now, Eleanor,” he prompted.
Sighing for the billionth time that day, she came back out. Chidi looked...calm? Which definitely couldn’t be right because it’s Chidi after all.
“You’re calm,” she pointed an accusatory finger at him. “How? Why? What?!”
He just shrugged, laughing again. “I don’t know.”
“This is so unlike you that now I’m the one panicking,” she started pacing lightly.
Soon Chidi was at her side, stopping her like he’d done multiple times before. He placed a hand on either one of her shoulders and ran them down her arms until he was holding her wrists.
“Eleanor, relax.”
“I mean,” she shook her head. “You watched that tape, did ya not?”
“I did,” he nodded, simply.
“How is this chill with you?” She looked at him skeptically. “I mean, you’re...you!”
“Honestly, I don’t know,” he shook his head. “But watching that tape- aside from it being clearly filmed through a peephole?- didn’t make me feel weird or wrong. It kind of made sense in a literally-none-of-what’s-happening-to-us-makes-any-sense-at-all sorta way.”
“So then you... agree ?” She furrowed her brows.
“Eleanor,” Chidi sighed. “Full disclosure. I never had a soulmate on Earth- or anything close. And I guess I technically never had one in the afterlife, either, since Michael’s kind of killed that theory. But for whatever reason, I’ve been through 800 versions of this whole thing with you every time. I know a frustratingly little amount of what is going on, but it’s gotta mean something.”
"But what if it just all means nothing?" Eleanor prodded.
She didn't want it to mean nothing, she was just scared shirtless at the concept of loving another human being who couldn't execute a flawless suplex at will, so she needed to explore all possible options.
Chidi rolled his eyes. "Existential crises are so...earthly."
Eleanor sighed. “I hate when you make sense.”
He chuckled lightly. “And there are worse people I could be spending eternal damnation with.”
Eleanor wasn’t sure when his hands had moved from her wrists to clasp her own.
“Like who?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Like Schopenhaur,” Chidi rolled his eyes. “His philosophies were shaky at best .”
“Wow,” Eleanor cocked her head to the side. “We’re talking about being soulmate adjacent and you manage to bring up old, dead philosophers. Color me impressed.”
He laughed.
“So we’re in this thing?” Eleanor’s demeanor suddenly turned a bit more serious, more unsure.
“Thought that was obvious, what with the whole ‘deal with the devil’ thing,” Chidi shrugged.
“No I mean,” she released one of his hands to gesture wildly between the two of them. “This thing.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I think I am,” Chidi nodded.
“Wow, don’t sound too enthused,” Eleanor rolled her eyes.
Before she could behave any more like a petulant child, Chidi closed the short distance between them and softly covered her lips with his own. It wasn’t anything wild or x-rated, they’d literally only “known” each other for a week and some change (and by ‘change’ they mean, like, 800 years, but who’s really counting?), but it felt comfortable, safe.
“You better be,” Eleanor held up an accusatory finger at him. “I did sacrifice a simple life in the Medium Place for this.”
“I never realized you found life with a horny peeping Tom in the throes of a coke addiction so alluring.”
“Well you’ve clearly never met my mother,” she remarked, but she was laughing.
They stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes, regarding each other as if they were seeing the other in a new light. As if needing to confirm it out loud, Eleanor spoke first.
“Yeah,” she nodded. “I feel good about this.”
Chidi wasn’t sure if she was saying it to him or just to herself.
“We’ve got all of forever to figure it out, so,” he shrugged.
“Who knew you could be so chill?” Eleanor nudged his shoulder. “I kind of hate it.”
“Give it time. I will eventually have to pick a new shirt to wear tomorrow.”
Eleanor groaned. “Oh god. I take it back!”
She collapsed on the couch, suddenly exhausted from all this... feelings sharing . Chidi followed suit.
“Hey, wait,” he turned his head, casually slinging his arm around her shoulders.
“Hm?”
“What’s on the rest of the tape?”
“Oh that?” Eleanor laughed, shrugging. “Just us having sex.”
“Oh, okay...wait what?!” Chidi was turtling again.
“Yeah, I guess life with that perv probably wouldn’t have worked out,” Eleanor acknowledged.
Now it was Chidi’s turn to be taken aback by someone’s calmness. There were a few minutes of silence between them as the wheels in his brain turned.
“So should we, um…watch it?”
“Wait, seriously?” Eleanor turned to look at him immediately, incredulous.
Chidi shrugged. “I mean…”
“Oh my god!” Eleanor laughed. “You’re a perv, too!”
“Not a perv,” Chidi shook his head defensively. “Don’t tell me you’re not curious, too!”
Eleanor's eyes narrowed at him only for a second.
“Alright,” she shrugged. “Guess we’re watching this thing.”
She reached across the coffee table, fumbling with the remote.
“Warning, I may have to cover your virgin eyes if it gets too raunchy,” she pointed a finger at him.
“Eleanor,” Chidi rolled his eyes. “I’m not a virgin.”