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 Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 12:09 am
He had brought her here on instinct, wanting to get away from all that mess in the warehouse, all that mess that had haunted them all night. An incredible, crazy battle, and things he definitely wanted to explore more. And people he wanted to kick the hell out of.
All in all, a neat new way to spend a night, though he was certainly feeling it now. He was exhausted, and was sleeping against the bed, his back to it, head drooped forward.
He was out like a light, more unconscious than he was asleep, his body giving in after the intense fighting and the beating he had taken.
After leaving the warehouse, he had just carried her back here, climbed up the fire escape and plopped her on the bed. The rest was her problem, and he didn't even know why he had done it. He just saw Rosalind laying on the floor in the warehouse, unconscious, and he just picked her up.
Outside the room, Tony was resting, if it could be called that, on the couch. He was still recovering from his own adventure, though the dark bruising around his neck had lightened by now, and his breathing was much easier. It had very nearly crushed his neck, that youma.
In any case, he thought the bedroom was empty, or that maybe Nate had returned early in the morning as he was wont to do. He had no idea that there were actually two people behind the locked door.
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 4:00 pm
Opening her eyes, the sight she took in was truly horrendous. Craggy walls, a dirty window, dirty laundry strewn across the room, and a few random trinkets were all in the same room as Elegancia. Her first instinct was to scream, but when she opened her mouth, she was taken aback by the fact that Nathan was asleep next to her. Did he...? No, he couldn't have. He wouldn't have! Would he have? No, surely, he wouldn't have. He was disrespectful and lacked charm, but he certainly wasn't like that, was he? Sitting up, the young lady ran her hands through her hair and began to nudge Nate. "Hey. You. Wake up! Wake UP!!" Elegancia's soft nudge transitioned into harsh shaking.
"Where am I? What have you done with me?!" She sounded nervous. Obviously, the girl wasn't used to the more... Cozy lifestyle. As such, it wasn't unreasonable that Elegancia kept her arms at her sides at all times and daintily stepped around random messes. After all, she didn't want to catch a disease or two. Who knew what was hidden among the mess! Not waiting for a response, Elegancia let her anxiety get the best of her.
She made a break for the door, thrust it open with as much force as she could manage, then dashed into the livingroom. The sight that ensued almost scarred her-- a boxer-clad Tony jumped off of the couch, to which Elegancia shielded her eyes and pleaded, "Oh, God!! Make it go away!!!"
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 6:05 pm
Nathan groaned in pain as he was rattled, opening his eyes and looking at her in surprise. He had forgotten he had brought her. And certainly hadn't counted on her waking up to attack him after her went out of his way to gallantly bring her somewhere safe. His ears were ringing and his head pounding. Lifting his hands in protest, he swatted her away.
"What do you mean done with you?" he barked, echoing her cadence and looking thoroughly annoyed by her.
Outside, Tony was resting on his improvised bed in complete peace. Almost complete: it would have been better if he could actually rest, but he imagined he was just worried about Nate. As far as the older Darrow knew, Nate hadn't returned that night.
At the tremendous noise at the bedroom door, Tony leapt from the sofa, stumbling, his breath catching in his still healing neck. He looked at the girl who came out of the bedroom, seeing the state she was in, and then seeing the state he was in. With a yelp he tried to dive back behind the sofa, managing to fall haphazardly and drag himself out of sight.
Not his most graceful moment.
"What are you doing here?!" he cried as he peeked out from the safety of the sofa, only his forehead and eyes visible, recognizing her from a brief, but trying, ordeal at the library.
Nate followed Elegancia out of the bedroom, throwing his hands up in confusion.
"What the hell's your problem?! I brought you here to keep you safe and you go acting like I'm some monster?!"
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 9:05 pm
"Somewhere safe? Hah! I don't see that anywhere!! All I see is a sty. A filthy one, at that." Elegancia gingerly stepped about the apartment, noting Tony ungracefully fumbling about his own abode. "Oh. It's you," she said flatly, "what is he doing here?" Elegancia turned to Nathan, obviously much more comfortable with her surroundings. Enough to be nosy, at the very least. As she began to take everything in, noticing every little nook and cranny in the apartment, the auburn-haired heiress began to feel rather... well, she was famished.
"I'm hungry," she stated, "do either of you doofuses know how to cook a proper meal, or do I need to call something delicious in?" Although she had more than enough money to pay for herself, she nodded at Tony (he seemed like such an easy target) and added, "but you'll pay, of course." She then proceeded to daintily sit upon the sofa where Tony once was, dusting it off of any stray germs before doing so.
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 11:04 am
Tony, from his hiding place behind the sofa, looking a little offended. Or maybe it was hurt. He did his best to keep the apartment clean, even with a teenage dump truck living in the space, leaving his garbage all over the place.
Of course, there were lots of other things the librarian should have been focusing on.
"I... I live here," he said quietly, not wanting to incur her wrath with that piece of information. As if he had no right to be there, and was suddenly very aware of it.
Nate shook his head.
"You're not getting any of my food," he said, though Tony was the one who paid for everything. Nathan was like a cat: once it was in the place he lived, it became his.
"I-I wouldn't mind pay..."
"Shut up, Tony," Nate sighed, shaking his head. The older man fled into the bedroom when he had the chance, as Ele made to sit on the sofa. He closed the door behind him, breathing heavily as he leaned back on it. What was going on? Why was his life always so crazy?
"Look, if you don't want to be appreciative that's fine but you can still get the hell out. You're not invited for dinner. And don't bully my dad." Only he got to do that.
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 2:11 pm
"Your... your dad?" Elegancia absent-mindedly stared in the direction that Tony had shut the door, beginning to smile sinisterly. "That man is your father?! Ohohohohohoho!!!! What a peach of a situation this has turned out to be! I get a meal and a show? Fabulous!" Elegancia flipped her hair behind her shoulder and crossed her legs, satisfied by what she had said. After all the teasing and humiliation that Nate had inflicted over the past few months, Elegancia finally had ammunition against the awful young man. He lived in a dinky little apartment (compared to her standards, of course) with a pathetic excuse of a man. A librarian who lacked virility and confidence! "Anyway," she continued, "what shall you order for me? I never said anything about eating what was in here. Why would I want that? There could be rat droppings in everything for all I know!"
Picking herself up, Elegancia opened a pair of blinds and let sunshine fill the room. "Certainly a little sunshine wouldn't hurt," she said with a smile, "unless your skin will burn in it, or something? I can never be so sure with you. You're just full of funny little surprises like that, huh?" And still-- not a thank you from Elegancia had been spoken.
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 1:30 pm
Nate frowned at Ele, his face not reflecting his usual amusement. Generally, he shifted to mocking things instead of getting huffy about them, but his relationship with his father was a very touchy subject. He didn't like talking about his dad, and certainly didn't like someone like Ele knowing about it, and using it as fodder for jokes.
Sometimes he wished he had never sought Tony out, now that he knew who he was and what kind of a loser he had become. Even more so than the kind of loser who would ditch someone he knocked up. Now he was a librarian.
Was that worse?
"I'm not ordering you anything. You can't stay here: you have to go. If you're not dying or hurt or whatever then I don't have to waste my time on you. I'll remember next time not to bother doing anything to help. That always gets me in goddamn trouble, and it's not worth the effort."
He should have left her to wake up on the dirty, cold floor. That would have been better suited for her, surely.
Glaring at her, he pointed to the door. He didn't want her to spend any more time in this embarrassing apartment, with his embarrassing father, than absolutely necessary. This was his life, and it was not something other people were supposed to see. He worked hard to avoid connecting his home life and his 'real' one.
"You need to go."
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 9:35 pm
"No," she said sternly, "I'm your guest, and I'm made to feel welcome." Elegancia settled herself once more, as if to rub Nate's nose in the situation. It wasn't so much that she wanted to upset him, it really was becoming more of a matter of hospitality. Even though the apartment was definitely not up to her standards, Nate needed to strive to make his guest happy. "The way I see it is that if you didn't want me here, you wouldn't have brought me back. Obviously there's something in your mind that wants me." Did she blame him? Of course not.
"I'm not going to demand much. I am famished and want something to graze on before I leave. Until then I will stay here. I won't budge a single inch, I swear." Elegancia began to twirl a lock of hair in her fingers, her glossy strands shimmering in the sunlight. Truth be told, the snobby little heiress was as stubborn as she had stated-- it wasn't an exaggeration in the slightest. Elegancia would not leave until she deemed herself satisfied.
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 6:32 pm
Nate sighed.
"Well, if you want to stay here then go ahead, but you're not my guest. And don't think Tony's going to dote on you, either. We're not your hand servants, and this ain't a castle," he shook his head, offering her a shrug.
"If you want food, you serve yourself. Kitchen is just there," he pointed, as if it weren't obvious. The apartment wasn't exactly expansive. The living area was directly across from the kitchen space, separated by a counter top. The fridge and oven were visible, with storage shelves and cupboards around. Things were relatively neat, though as hard as Tony tried he was often at work, and Nate never helped.
Tony did not emerge from the bedroom.
Nate moved to the kitchen to get himself some food. He was feeling sore and just wanted to relax. He took some food back to the living room area and didn't offer her anything. Kicking his feet up, sprawled across the couch, he flicked the TV over and tilted his head.
He didn't talk to her, thinking now that if she didn't get any attention she would wander off. Like Dogby, really, who was always out for attention.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 11:19 pm
"You could have fooled me. This place totally reeks of royalty-- I thought it was a castle!" Elegancia picked herself up and dusted her skirt, making sure there were no offending pieces of stray trash stuck to her. "Fine. If you won't provide a meal for me then I'll just have to do something for myself." Unfortunately, Elegancia was getting ahead of herself. The poor girl had never made it a point of learning how to cook! It wasn't an issue when she was at home, where she had hired help, or at her dorm, where she made sure her roomies took care of meals. But alone? She'd probably starve.
Strutting over to the kitchen area, which was quite humble in size, Elegancia peered around the area, pretending as if she knew what she was doing. She opened a cabinet and accidentally knocked over a few pans, creating a rambunctious noise as they toppled over eachother. "Nathan, you should really give me a hand. As they say: teamwork is... something. I'm sure there's a phrase for it. Whatever. Come help me!!" Hopefully he'd get his stupid behind into gear and start cooking, otherwise Elegancia was about to have to learn. And quickly.
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:56 am
Nate looked up from the sofa and over his shoulder at her. This was something he wanted to see. Ele oozed the sense of being waited on hand and foot: there was no way she would know what to do when faced with a temperamental stove, a half broken toaster, or a microwave that made threatening sounds when run for more than three minutes.
He grinned at her.
"Well then, your highness, go ahead. I lift my ban of our food to you, just to see you prepare something for yourself. You'll have to do a bit of digging, though: I'm not telling you where anything is. And Tony's not allowed to help, either."
Tony, for his part, knew better than to go out into the living room, even if he was fully dressed now. He just had to sit it out by the door inside Nate's bedroom, which used to be his anyway, listening for the front door to open and close and signal he could safely return to his normally scheduled life.
Nate grinned when Ele gave up rather quickly on striking out on her own.
"I'm not helping. I don't do that. And don't make a mess. That's just rude."
He grinned at her, pointedly eating the food he had made for himself, keen eyes bright with teasing and delight in her current position of struggle. He liked it best when she was frustrated and he was the cause of it, for sure. In the back of his mind, he was sure she deserved it, for always looking down at him. So let her see what it was like to live among the paupers for a day. If she couldn't even make herself some food, he was going to feel very justified and never take any condescension from her again.
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Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 11:04 pm
When the words that Elegancia wanted to hear didn't fly out of Nate's mouth, Elegancia began to block his blabber out. Blah, blah, blah-- that's all it was, stupid chatter. "Whatever," she thought while exhaling out loud, "I'll just do this myself. I'll show this idiot how to make a meal." She had eaten enough, that was for sure! Maybe she could emulate all the gourmet food she had scarfed down before.
First, Elegancia flung the cabinets above the sink open. There were dishes-- plenty of them. They weren't very nice, either, and certainly not the china that the heiress was used to. She thought to pull out two plates, but decided upon one-- if she was going to cook, she was going to cook for herself. Not Nathan. Second, Elegancia peered into what appeared to be a pantry. There was nothing suitable for a meal. Lay's Potato Chips? Hogwash! Chips Ahoy? Who'd ever heard of such a ridiculous thing! Blueberry Pop-tarts? Obviously, the common people put the most strange things in their mouths.
Whatever-- if this was what they ate, she'd make it! Elegancia scooped all of the aforementioned foodstuffs and placed them on the counter delicately, trying to seem maternal. Like a mother would have! Should she have started to hum? No, no-- that would probably have been too much. Elegancia then checked the storage beneath the stove and found a wok. Well, it was obviously used for cooking, so she put it on a burner and turned the heat to maximum. It was then, as the burner heated up, that Elegancia began to unpackage the Pop-tarts and everything else, dumping them into the pan as she did so.
"I need something to stir with, yes, that'd be good," she thought, frantically checking each drawer as she felt the heat gather on the food. Unfortunately, Elegancia could only find a turkey baster-- but it'd have to do! She began to stir the junk food with haste, trying to prevent it from burning, as smoke began to rise and fill the apartment. "Nathan," she called, "I think it's almost ready!" But why was she telling him? It wasn't like she was going to give him any! "I think it needs something to help lubricate it, or something, to make it go down easier..."
Elegancia traipsed over to the pantry once more, leaving the high-heated burner and its contents on, while looking for cooking oil. It was then that the burner burst into flames, unbeknownst to the cooking-inept Elegancia.
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Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 1:48 pm
Nate felt like he was watching a brand new show with all his favorite things thrown in. An annoying host he delighted in mocking. A ridiculous premise that was destined to fail. A high chance of personal injury or extreme embarrassment for the host. It was all suddenly perfect.
Maybe bringing her back here hadn't been such a bad idea. After all, it was turning out rather promising now that he had been forced to deal with her.
Or rather, abandon her to her adventure in the kitchen.
Watching her gather the ingredients, he instantly had to wonder if she actually knew what junk food was. She had chips and cookies and poptarts, at least, there with her, and he couldn't fathom what she could possibly try to make with all that. Clearly, she had no idea what she was doing. But, as usual with her, she was trying to fake her way through it to spite him.
Awesome.
He grinned wickedly. "You're a really good cook, aren't you?" He called tauntingly from the sofa, turned completely so he could watch her. His food was forgotten on the coffee table. "I mean, clearly, your skills are unfathomable. So it's going to be, like, the most amazing thing I've ever eaten right? You've gotta share it with me, you know, because if I don't taste it then I'm just going to assume you made s**t and were too embarrassed to let me taste it."
After that, he let her 'cook', watching TV until he started to smell smoke. He looked over at her, blinking. Did she say lubricate? Missing the opportunity to make a great joke with that one, he spotted the flames as Ele continued to pretend she was Emeril Lagasse. "Whoa! The stove, you idiot! You're not supposed to cook that!"
Tony poked his head out from his bedroom, looking worried.
"Do I smell smoke?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:08 am
"Oh, don't worry, Nathan. You'll get this entire dish to yourself. And you're going to eat it all, because I forgot that I was dieting today-- so how lucky for you!!" She sang this all out along with a hum, like she had seen other cooks do while cooking-- maybe to pass the time? And then she smelled the smoke, too. Uh-oh... What was going to happen?
Her first instinct was to drop everything and say "I'll pay for it!!" but then she inspected the situation inside her head. Well, Nathan had forced her to do the cooking. He wouldn't order out for her, nor would he cook for her, so obviously, this entire situation was Nathan's fault. Yes, of course it was!
"Oh, Mister... Mister... uhm. Librarian, this isn't my fault," she called out, abandoning the stove for someone else to contend with, "I wanted takeout. But he didn't listen to me!!"
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