"I'm sure I'll get used to it, but in the meantime ow my ears." She rubs over one, then snuggles up and presses her other ear against him, grumbling. 

"Wait, does that hurt?  Like, actually hurt?"

"A little bit, yes?" 

"Thaaaaaaaaat's why.  Usually I include my partner first, and the durability helps against loud noises.  Don't ask me to explain the physics behind it, I have no idea.  Er.  Sorry.  Again."  It doesn't really make sense to include her in his power but she can have a little trickle by way of apology, such a minor injury surely shouldn't take long ANYWAY, right?

It gets better pretty quickly, yeah. 

"Yes, my endurance doesn't really protect me from things like sound. It helps a little? But not much." 

Well.  Maybe Sara can be distracted with a boss battle?  He's pretty sure they're about to find an Anti-Tree MacGuffin.

It's pretty clear that Tim is slipping a little.  Sara can feel the backlash racking up pretty rapidly, and also his reflexes are faster, but not necessarily better.  He reacts quickly but he sometimes will execute the wrong command or waste ammunition on a jumpscare instead of a monster.

When they reach a lull in the action, Sara pauses the game and puts her controller down.

"Tim?" 

“Hmm?”

"Should I sit on you? Or, em, something? Your backlash is a lot."

“Mmmyeah.  Heavier load in the afternoon.  Since I keep guiding afterwards.”  If Sara ever wanted to check his backlash, this yawn is a good opportunity for it.

"Can I sit in your lap? You can nap, and I'll work on your hat." 

"Mmmyeah.  Can't nap, though."  Wait.  Wake the fuck up, Tim, what did she say.  "Er.  One sec."  Tim's backlash accumulation rate slows noticeably, he won't wake up instantly but at least he won't get worse at thinking.  After a moment, the backlash accumulation rate drops down to below the guiding rate. Am I okay with this?  It's more guiding than I get with most partners.  I do this with Charles, although I sit on his lap instead.  You just met her, point against, but she hasn't caused any problems, which is a point in favor.  She also is really sweet nice and said she'd respect your boundaries and also asked instead of just cozying up, which would have been easier if not actually better.

"Yeah, it's fine.  Put my hands where you want 'em.  I really can't nap, though, if I fall asleep poke me.  The power drops off if I fall all the way asleep, although I don't have to be...all the way awake, either."

"Oh, yes, that makes sense. Hm..." Her bag is in the cubbies... "I need to go get my bag. Can you walk with me?" 

"Er, yes.  One moment.  I'm about to be loud."  After pausing for Sara's preparations, he begins projecting for the little old ladies in the back few rows.  "We're going to take a three minute break, everyone!  If you have delicate manipulations you want to do, now's the time!"  Then, at a much more esper-friendly volume: "Alright.  Shall we?"

She covers her ears, which is enough with her own resilience to fix the problem.

"Mhm," she maneuvers her way off the pillow and offers him a hand up (with her other hand still on his arm). 

"You can lean on me, if you like. Wrap your arm around my shoulder," she will show him how she means, so he can rest some of his weight on her and get maximum skin contact while they walk. It doesn't impact her much, with her endurance notched up a little more. 

"Mmm.  Betcha you could carry me if you wanted to."  Tim does his best octopus impression, while making a modestly obscene amount of money per minute.  What a job.  Absolutely insane kind of world we live in, where I cuddle people and doze for a living.

She pauses, "Do you want me to? I could." 

Hmm.  Why not? "Sure!  Fireman's carry or piggyback?" Or bridal carry, but I don't know if she's got the muscle for it.

Fireman carry is probably the best option, but... 

"Piggyback," she decides, and she shifts them both around so he can climb on her back. Luckily she's actually fairly tall for a woman, though not necessarily an esper woman, so this won't look too silly. 

Hup!  Like a majestic cliff or tall tree, Sara has been Climbed.  Does she need a little bit of super-strength to bridge the gap?  Tim definitely doesn't fight the intrusive thought that he should be wrapping his arms around his opponents neck and applying a chokehold.

Either way, he settles in with his arms wrapped around Sara's shoulders, because she doesn't exist below the shoulders, and rests his feet on her hips.

The strength boost is appreciated but unnecessary. She takes hold under his legs, sets her muscles, and walks leisurely up to where the cubbies are. 

"Do you want anything from yours?" She pulls her bag out as she asks, collecting her knitting bag from within it. 

Mmm, guiding.  "No'm.  I'm all set."  Maybe he should have kicked off his boots and wrapped his legs around Sara's middle?  No, she'd think that's gross.  Would she?  I could ask if asking weren't fraught with peril.  Maybe it'll come up over time.

Sara is not wearing shoes, or socks, and hadn't noticed he was until just now. She supposes he did sleep in them... 

Well, back to the pillow with them! Sara will turn away so he can flop back onto the soft surface before reconnecting with one hand.

"So, lap? Yes?" 

Unbeknownst to Sara, Tim had simply thrown them back on after his hasty shower.  He's a creature of habit!

"Right.  I'll just.  Sit down?  And you can sit however you want."  You can be chill about this, she's just a potential business partner, and your job is cuddling because this world is just.  Some kind of way.

Tim sits and visibly pauses.  Shit, how do you do this - wait.  I sit on Charles while he crosses his legs, that's right.  Cross the legs.  "That okay?"

"Like that, or you can stretch your legs out if you want. I can sit on the pillow between them." 

However he ends up sitting, she will sit between his legs and thus make contact with them, while also leaning back against his chest so her head makes contact with his throat and chin. 

"And you can wrap your arms around my middle, if you are comfortable with that."