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 Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 4:31 pm
For one reason or another, either because he was bored or because he actually needed something (he really didn’t know which, though it was likely the be the former rather than the latter since he could never really think of anything he absolutely needed these days), one recently made Paris LeFay Gallo, formerly just Paris LeFay, found himself wandering around one of Destiny City’s many department stores one day following a morning of classes and a vigorous round of ballet practice that afternoon.
In general, he didn’t mind department stores. Sometimes they had good sales (though he never really bothered with such tedious things as coupons), and he hadn’t quite been assimilated enough into the Gallo fold that he lost all manner of frugalness. Just because he’d married into money didn’t mean he had to shop like he had, or that he had to go around spending it all without any concern for the difference between wants and needs. He told himself this as he wandered the isles, picking up this and that and inevitably putting it back when he decided he really didn’t need another cardigan, despite the bright, pretty colors that happened to be in season.
Then he happened upon the shoe department.
Shoes were Paris’s weakness. It didn’t matter how many pairs he happened to own already, when he came across a shoe store or the aforementioned shoe department and he saw even one pair he took a liking to, he had to stop and try them on.
It was an addiction, like booze or cigarettes only not as bad.
It certainly didn’t help matters that in looking around for someone to assist him in finding a pair of floral printed flats in his size, he happened to recognize one of the associates.
“Hey, Bills,” Paris chirped, ambling his way over with a broad grin on his face, slipping into a taunting tune just for the hell of it, “Can you pay my bills? Can you pay my telephone bills? Do you pay my automo’ bills?”
And because it amused him.
Greatly.
So stood the newly made Paris LeFay Gallo, dressed in a pink dress smattered with white polka dots and belted to show off his tiny waist, a pair of lace-trimmed Brogues on his feet and a pair of hipster glasses perched upon his nose, blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail while his bangs fell free.
“I can always sense the tragic despair of someone who’s missed me,” he said, his voice as gratingly obnoxious as it’d likely always been.F a y t h - x SEE I MADE A START. 8D <3
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Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 4:55 pm
The shoe department had to be a forgotten circle of hell, Billy had decided. It was his least favorite department, save for childrens, to work in, and a large part of that had to do with feet and ladders. Billy hated feet. It didn't matter how clean or fresh out of the shower, he hated them. Socks were mandatory, in his mind. Add to that going up and down ladders god knows how many times a day to retrieve shoes for people who seemed to have no clue their appropriate size despite the foot-sizer left out for customer convenience...
Then he heard a familiar voice call his name and he promptly dropped a box of shoes he had been fumbling with, trying to fit them back in the box, while carrying them back to their display.
Definitely a forgotten circle of hell.
With the shoes and box on the floor, he gave Paris a smile, one that could be assumed to be used for every customer, kicked the shoes under the counter, and offered a greeting, "Fancy seeing you here. I honestly didn't know I was so desperately lonely. Is there something I can help you with?"
One couldn't say that the store worker dress-code was any different from Billy's usual style in clothing - slacks, dress shirt, nice shoes. He even had his hair slicked back in a very Vergil-esque fashion... If one were familiar with the half-demon spawn from a certain Capcom game, anyway. Not the gay a** NEW Vergil, but the old awesome one from a particular third installment of a rather popular game series. Pity it was likely in neither of their line of interests. He also wore a rather tired expression that had little do do with Paris, and more to do with the fact that his daily schedule sucked about as much as the coffee in the break room.
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Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 2:14 pm
“Oh my God,” Paris began, and tried to make himself sound hurt when he was really anything but, “I invite you to my wedding so you and Lady can get ideas into your pretty little heads, and then I go away for a week on the most amazing honeymoon to Disneyworld ever with the sweetest most wonderful guy in existence—Did you see the pictures I posted on Facebook? Oh, wait, I don’t even think we’re friends on Facebook. Okay, well, oh well.— and all you’ve got for me when I come back is your ‘hi, how can I help you?’ smile? Billy, I am insulted.”
Propping his hands onto his hips, Paris endeavored to put an expression of extreme disappointment on his face, but it probably ended up looking terribly exaggerated.
“What, no hug? Don’t want to fait la bise?” he asked, miming a kiss to each cheek. “Jeez, Bills, if I didn’t know any better I’d start to think you weren’t even happy to see me.”
Hardly even bothering to wait for a response, Paris turned to grab the pair of flats he’d been considering only moments ago, prancing right back to Billy to shove them into his hands. Then he sat himself in a nearby chair as he said, “Then again, I don’t think you’ve been happy to see me since that one time I took my clothes off for you.”
Paris was pleased when he actually managed to sound completely unconcerned by it, and then even more so by the fact that he actually wasn’t all that concerned about it beneath the teasing tone of his voice. For once it was almost like there hadn’t ever been such a large amount of animosity between them, except for the fact that Paris was lightly mocking him instead of casually reminiscing.
“I need to try those in a seven. Mind finding them for me?”
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Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 2:49 pm
Billy could only blankly Paris' comments with a look that said, 'I am not even mentally here right now, I am the walking dead. Where is my nap?' He'd worked the closing shift last night, and was now working the opening today. Add in extracurricular night time activity of the alter-ego kind, and...well today just simply did not start off nice. Honestly, Paris wasn't even a drop in the 'it could always get worse' bucket.
"Forgive me if this job doesn't just suck the enthusiasm right out of you," and that was a completely serious comment.
Indeed, it was a job with practically beans for pay, and here he was being inadvertently reminded of the things he couldn't provide for Ladon. Wonderful. Granted he didn't think is was intentional, Billy was just a bit sensitive in the money area of things.
"The wedding was lovely though. Nice to year you had a good time. I'll have your belated gift done as soon as I get the time and paint," he said, examining the shoes so he'd know just what he was fetching....
...like a dog...
...Damn it.
Walking in to the dark abyss of the shoe kingdom, Billy located the shoes, checked to make sure that he did, indeed, have the right ones, and returned to hand the box over to his esteemed customer.
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Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 3:20 pm
“You’re so sweet,” Paris teased, and then sat back and relaxed in his temporary throne as he waited for Billy to return with the appropriate size.
Indeed, he had not meant to push any of Billy’s buttons or make him feel in any way inadequate about anything, particularly about anything financial since Paris didn’t generally put that much importance on money except that it was a necessity for survival. Then again, he wasn’t even all that aware of Billy’s feelings on the matter; had he been, Paris might not have been so careless with his teasing, since that was kind of a shitty thing to mock someone about, in his opinion.
Instead, Paris remained innocently unaware, crossing and uncrossing his legs as he waited, examining his nails for imperfections, and generally acting like a complete snot just because he could.
“Still need to work on your people skills, I see,” he observed, setting the box in his lap while he reached over to pull off the shoes he was already wearing.
Paris’s feet were a sight to behold. To someone who didn’t like feet—and perhaps even to someone who did—Paris’s feet probably seemed pretty grotesque. Red and blistered, dry, bruised, mildly misshapen (though he was told his arches were quite enviable to other dancers), Paris’s feet looked as if they’d spent many hours confined in some sort of torture device.
And they did often. Said device was simply covered in satin and looked quite pretty and delicate to people who didn’t understand that in using them he was essentially forcing his body to do things it was never meant to do.
“Oh, do you have any of those feet cover things?” he asked, not wanting to just shove his gross foot into a pristine new shoe he didn’t even own. “I don’t know what they’re called. I’d’ve brought socks if I knew I’d be trying stuff on. Ugh, my feet look gross, don’t they? Now you know why I never wear peep-toes.”
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Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 3:40 pm
Billy didn't like feet and did his damnedest to be doing something else where his eyes could be occupied with other things while people tried on shoes. "I probably shouldn't be giving you any ammunition to use against me, but honestly I find feet to be the most disgusting part of the human body. It is only by divine punishment I'm working in this department," He said, holding out the box of foot covers and he flipped through the department store's catalog, wishing perhaps that he hadn't said anything, for fear that Paris might now shove his foot in his face. "As for my people skills, that is supposed to be my co-worker's thing. And she went on break.... God damn it, an hour, hour and a half ago?" there was an unspoken 'I hate that b***h,' in there. Her shook his head, exasperated at his co-worker's antics. "I just fetch things, since she can't be assed to wear proper shoes or bottoms for climbing the ladder." Poor Ladon had been privy to more than his share of ranting when it came to co-worker issues. Granted some of the issues he had with his co-workers stemmed from his own 'I am better than all you fools' attitude at times... Something he worked on keeping in check, but other times... Well, he was still Billy, and some things would not change. At least he could bring himself to drop any hostility towards the presence of Paris. Heck, he found any antagonism they threw at each other to be simply how their association-ship worked. It was expected. A requirement, almost!
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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 3:30 pm
Paris gratefully took the box of foot covers and pulled one out with a flourish, making a big show of slipping it onto his foot.
“You mean to tell me you don’t give Lady foot rubs?” he said, and feigned a gasp of surprise.
Under previous circumstances he wouldn’t have cared to hear about anything regarding Billy’s relationship with his best friend.
Okay, actually, that wasn’t true. He liked hearing about it, but usually only from Ladon and usually only when it involved Billy not being nice which, unfortunately, he hadn’t heard much of recently. Well, perhaps it wasn’t quite as unfortunate as he made it out to be. Certainly Billy wasn’t as horrible as Paris used to assume. As far as he could tell Ladon seemed… he didn’t really know if he could say “happy,” since there was still something about Ladon that seemed rather sad, and had for quite some time now, but at least he seemed content with Billy, and as someone who had also found someone he was content with, Paris supposed he should start giving Billy the benefit of the doubt.
Just because Billy could be a douche didn’t automatically mean he had to be a terrible boyfriend.
“Chris rubs my feet all the time. And he paints my toenails, too,” Paris delightfully shared, pulling one of the shoes out of its box so that he could slip it on his foot and decide whether he wanted them or not.
Or whether or not they fit.
“You know, this actually feels a little loose,” he said, but tried the second one of the pair just to be on the safe side. “Do you have these in a half size down? I never really know what size I wear. It depends on the shoe, I guess. Between heels and flats I usually wear a larger size in heels. And sometimes my feet are just nasty and swollen, so. You think they look bad now? At least I have all my toenails,” he said, and smiled sweetly, arranging the shoes back in their box before returning it to Billy.
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Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 8:15 pm
"That would be last on the list of things I'd do for him. Right after death," Billy said, matter-of-factly as he took the box and went to retrieve another size for Paris to try. Like Ladon, Paris didn't need to know that he already had died once for him, and he was dodging that hospital bill like the plague. There had been more than one reason for using his middle name when the hospital asked for it. If a bill ever showed up in their mailbox, well.... Cameron Roadinger didn't live there. Ha....ha... Billy returned with the other box of shoes and handed them over. "So, seems you've put the little bee in Ladon's ear, do you think he's really expecting a proposal too?" Billy tried to make it seem casual, back to leaning on the counter, flipping through the catalog. "Because really...thinking about it..I'd rather he be the one to do it. I'd rather it be his idea and not...me trapping him." It seemed casual had turned a little more serious. Even though he wasn't looking at Paris, there was something distant in his eyes. Not doubts, but fears. Billy very much took the lead in the relationship, and he felt at times that maybe he was pushing Ladon, overwhelming him at times...because Billy was insecure, and dear lord was he ever prone to jealousy. A stranger just had to look at Ladon the wrong way and... Well, maybe Billy needed Ladon to take the lead from time to time. He needed that reassurance, and of course, Billy wasn't sure how to tell him that. He didn't want to put that kind of pressure on him when Ladon was supposed to be taking steps to restore his relationship with his mother, something he knew weighed heavily on Ladon's heart. "Because right now I'm an insecure little b***h and I'd do it just to have him bound to me, and the only thing stopping me is that I know that's the reason, and it's not right. I mean I know Ladon's not exactly bold or anything like that but...just once-" okay more often than once, "-I'd like to be metaphorically swept up and really doted by him. Sounds selfish, I know but..." And why did he just say all that? Because maybe Paris could drop a few hints to Ladon. Not that he really expected any favors...
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Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 11:20 am
“If I ever thought there’d be a day when you’d come to me for help, I’d have thought I was crazy,” Paris said.
He tried to be amused about it, but it suddenly didn’t seem as amusing as it might have a year or two ago, back when he felt nothing but contempt for Billy. He still wasn’t sure what he felt for him now aside from some vague annoyance and a tiny bit of lingering bitterness, but he thought there might be a little pity there beneath it all. He felt guilty. He’d been lucky to meet Chris, lucky to have kept him, and lucky now to benefit so much from Chris’s family. Most people didn’t have that sort of luck. He certainly hadn’t before, and if he’d never gone to that party, never strung Chris along, never developed feelings for him, if he’d not held on even when it’d seemed as if everything was continuously falling apart, he certainly wouldn’t be where he was now.
There had to be something said for stubbornness, for desperation, for that insatiable need he’d always felt for Chris, and he wondered if Billy felt anything like that for Ladon.
Paris tried to focus on the shoes, sliding the new pair onto his feet and standing up to try them out, but he couldn’t feel very pleased by their perfect fit when he was suddenly very distracted by the thought of Billy and Ladon.
“I don’t know if he’s expecting it,” he said honestly. “We talked about it. Or, actually, I teased him about it and he was obviously thinking about it, said you guys hadn’t talked about marriage at all and wondered if you should. You know, for someone whose parents are divorced he’s still remarkably idealistic about marriage.”
It was weird to Paris, who could not help but fear that he and Chris would end up like his mom and dad, whether or not they were like them at all.
“He’s doing his best, you know,” Paris said. He wasn’t sure if he should be revealing anything of what he and Ladon talked about to Billy, but it seemed kind of counterproductive not to. “I don’t know that he’s really the type to sweep anyone off their feet, or at least he probably doesn’t feel very confident about being able to. He’s more the type to, you know, lecture you about making out with someone in public, and then drag you home and give you a place to crash like you’re a stray out in the cold. But… I mean, I guess he’s thinking about it, or he’s thought about it since me and Chris. He did ask me how Chris and I knew we were ready, and… he’s worried about you.”
Paris forced himself to look up at Billy, though he tried to conceal the sympathy since he wasn’t sure if it was wanted. “He says he hates seeing you tired all the time,” he admitted, “and he asked me if Chris and I could help. Before I don’t know if he ever would have accepted it. I know I wouldn’t have if I was in his place. I don’t know if that’s pride or stubbornness or whatever, but… he did ask, for you. And if he’s willing to do that for you, to sacrifice whatever it was that’s kept him from asking for so long, I figure he wants to be able to dote on you whether or not he really knows how. If he cares that much, then… well…”
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Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 1:14 pm
Billy felt a mix of things, nothing too strong to overtake the other, but mixing in a nauseous pit. He knew Ladon was trying, and that he wasn't very confident in himself. Billy tried to instill that missing confidence where he could through reassurance, appreciation, and compliments, maybe the unwarranted odd comment here and there, but was at times left wondering if he did enough. So he tried harder. Pushed. Then felt bad for maybe pushing too hard. He just wanted Ladon better mentally than he had been before the...the Blood Moon kidnapping. And he was afraid if Ladon didn't see him at least trying... Billy didn't want him to think that he didn't care, because he did. He most definitely did. And while Billy understood that he alone could not do all the work for Ladon, that Ladon also needed to help himself, it was still hard to just sit and watch. "From a psychological standpoint I understand our issue. I'm a planner, a plotter, and I'm not sure where to go next. It's driving me crazy. Maybe I just think too much. Control freak tendencies, need for control, blah blah. But at the base of it all I want Ladon happy, healthy, flourishing..." Billy sighed, tossing the catalog back where it belonged. "My knee-jerk reaction at hearing that he asked for help for me is '******** that s**t.' It leaves a bad taste to admit what I'm doing isn't getting us too far. But it's for him...and I do freaken hate retail. It's the best I can do right now though." Billy wanted to go back to school and major in psychology. That took time and money. Time, he was willing to do. He actually rather liked school. Money..it always came down to money. He had two semesters of community college before he'd come back to DC. that he'd floated on grants and vending machine junk for lunch and dinner. He still sometimes did the vending machine lunches, whenever he was saving for something special for Ladon. Like their little Christmas get-away. Maybe Billy was a little depressed that his own aspirations were so far from reach. All he had was Ladon. "Honestly I'm not sure what he thinks either of you can do to help. Maybe get them to stop scheduling me back-to back morning and night shifts. Working 5-9 one day, then 8-12 the next gets old."
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Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 4:16 pm
“Trust me, my therapist knows all about my control issues.”
Paris said nothing else on that topic—at least not in a way that related to him. It wasn't something he was too terribly interested in discussing with Billy, though he likely wouldn't have had such qualms had it been anyone else. It was, however, his habit to make a few random self-debracating comments about himself and his recent experiences, for no other reason than the shock factor that often came with comments about his therapist or topics related to self-induced puking.
Chris probably would have given him a look, some mix of sympathy and exaggeration, but it would never stop Paris from making light of it. Pretending as if things weren't as serious as they seemed was often the only way he knew how to deal with them.
“I don't really know what he was expecting either,” Paris admitted. “Chris's family has a lot of connections, though, but most of his relatives are, like, doctors and lawyers and politicians, or they have fancy titles like 'admiral.' I'm pretty sure his grandmother thinks she can control everyone and everything, and to be honest I wouldn't really be surprised if she could. So you could pretty much pick whatever you wanted to do and it's more than likely they'd have some sort of an in for you.”
He didn't usually like making promises like that, but in this case he was fairly certain he was not exaggerating. A certain power came with money, he'd noticed, and though it frequently made him uncomfortable, he was learning to... not make use of it, but accept it for what it was.
“Or you could go the more humble, home-grown route,” Paris continued, breaking eye-contact to examine his French tipped nails, trying not to feel awkward or out of place while being so nice to Billy. “You remember my dad's shop, don't you? After he... um... well, since last year it's more or less been mine. Actually, I think Mom technically owns it now, but I get income from it since she doesn't really need it. It's how I've been paying for college. We were gonna sell it off since neither of us really have the time for it, but...”
He trailed off and shrugged, plopping back down on the seat to slip the flats off and pretend to examine them a little more closely.
“I guess it's still technically retail, but... you know... not like this,” he added, waving a hand around to encompass the store. “Mellow... kind of slow... bunch of college students and hippies and crafty moms for customers... plenty of time to sit back and study at work...”
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