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 Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 8:26 pm
And Natalie wouldn't let anything happen to him, not if she could help it.
She put the noodles in and leaned against the counter, watching him. "Thank you. I'm going to start making clothing for the toddlers like Gavin - I haven't met the boy, but he has wings, right? It'll be better than cutting holes in shirts."
The noodles cooked up fast, and soon she was draining them and putting them in little bowls. She used up the last of the sauce Mictlan had made. He was definitely a much better cook - it was amazing, how good he'd gotten so quickly. Perhaps he'd found his niche.
She envied him for that - what was she supposed to do? Act? Sew? Be a single mother doing secretary work? Ah, it was so complicated. But she'd figure it out after this problem with Thorn was settled.
Bringing over two steaming bowls of noodles with forks, she handed one to Hadrian. "Eat up," she chirped. "There's still a bit left over, if you want seconds."
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 8:36 pm
"Yes."
From his position, leaning against the wall, Hadrian surveyed the room before turning his attention back to Natalie. "And...he has orange hair."
If she was making clothes, she'd probably want to get the colors right. Hadrian strove to absorb himself in something other then his work - since that obviously hadn't worked - to keep his mind off of Marc.
"Probably nothing expensive, either. He seems rambunctious...I babysat him and - Haki..."
Uhuh, perfect way to avoid thinking about Marc: mention his daughter. Why couldn't he avoid it? ...how was Haki reacting to this, for that matter? He remembered that time they fought, she'd found him and essentially dragged him back.
That wasn't going to work this time. And lord...if she tried it this time - he didn't think he could handle that, having to take her back to Marc. Marc probably wouldn't want him around Haki more then neccessary anymore, anyway.
Shaking his head slightly, he continued, "...I have a feeling he rips and stains his clothing quite a bit."
Accepting a bowl, he sat at the table to eat it. He doubted he would have an extra...he was eating more because he knew he had to, then because he wanted to. "Thank you."
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 8:49 pm
Natalie stayed on the couch, nibbling at her noodles. It was good.
"Orange hair, hm? Rough and tumble?" She pondered that. She'd have to design some good sturdy shirts. That were easy to fix, replace, and clean. Hmmm...
"I'll figure something out. Anybody else need special clothing? Yet?"
Natalie smiled over at him, glad to hear him talking and to see him eating. Progress, yes? She hoped.
"You're very welcome. After all you've done for me, it's the least I can do."
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 9:02 pm
"I didn't do very much. I organized. Dacian did everything else."
In other words, Dacian did what embaressed Hadrian so much, but what had made the night so entertaining. Without Dacian, he wouldn't have had the slightest idea of what to do. The night would have become awkward, fast.
His tone seemed somewhat absent minded; he was still brooding. But that wasn't likely to change, not while it was so soon after.
"Hmm..."
Haki - don't think of him, just don't - had her own designer, no doubt. Osha was relatively human...
"Inanna might. She's a wolf blend, has a tail and wolf ears."
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 9:07 pm
"No. You took the initiative to start things in motion. And you got me to face my fear of going to the theatre. And you were... well... there." She wondered if she had ever actually explained what had happened, Perhaps she'd hinted enough. Who knew.
"A tail would be interesting to work around. Ears... well, unless she wears hats..." A giggle. "Any other details about her, or should I seek out her... mother? Father? myself? I don't think I've ever met her caretaker..."
More noodles. The brooding tension was there, but it was easing, if not in its strength, then in its expression. Hopefully it would give Hadrian the respite he needed.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 9:14 pm
"Her mother is Arianna - she lives off the compound, and stops by here occasionally. If you want to send a note to her, I'll see that she gets it. Other then that, I'll speak with her next time I see her."
From what Hadrian could remember through their drunken escapades that night, Natalie had explained some of it. He didn't know the specifics of course - but he knew enough.
At least she'd gotten past that - he thought? It seemed like she had. But then, he hadn't known her for that long.
Eating a bit, he had admit that it did taste good, even if he wasn't particularly hungry.
"You're a good cook."
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 9:21 pm
"I didn't make the sauce," she said, taking her empty bowl to the sink. "But I'll tell Mict you liked it. He'll be proud."
Sink was running. She was thinking.
"That should work..." About Inanna. But her mind wasn't quite on that. Her mind... well. Was on what she'd be cooking Friday night.
She turned to Hadrian, looking worried all of a sudden. "Hadrian. What should... what should I do about Thorn? When he comes here? I don't... I don't know exactly what I should do. I don't want things to get to the point that they did with Michael, but forcing him away is the only practice I have in that sort of thing..."
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 9:29 pm
Shifting troubled eyes down to his food, Hadrian contemplated the question. What worked with Thorn?
"I...well, I can tell you what not to do. But I don't know how to get rid of him...if I did, things never would have gotten this messed up."
He wished he knew how. Maybe Thorn had lost interest in him? He hadn't been around since then...but it had only been two days. Too soon to hope.
"...I'd say don't let him get you alone, but if you're here, well..." That'd be kind of hard, unless she invited a neighbor to hand around, "Don't get drunk around him - if you do, you'll wind up regretting it later."
Two obvious things, but the mage couldn't seem to think of anything more to help her. Acting angrily towards Thorn only seemed to encourage him, and not knowing the intentions obviously didn't help either.
But maybe...
"...don't let him get too close to you. Fight, if neccessary," Thorn wouldn't take an unwilling partner, would he? Well. Unwilling as in fighting back. The man didn't seem to have any problem with emotional unwillingness, "...I'd honestly think it better to break it off before that night."
"But - just be careful. Don't trust him, and break it off after that night. Don't let him wrangle you into spending any more time with him, and be careful when you go places."
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her not to go anywhere alone - but surely that was a bit over protective? Thorn had already had a long-standing interest in him, but he hadn't known Natalie that long.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 9:44 pm
Natalie nodded slightly, wrapping her arms around herself for a moment. "I would have. I planned to. When I called him, I meant to break off the date... but somehow... I couldn't. It just...
"I don't know. I couldn't go through with it. I decided to put it off. Bad decision, I know. And now... well... it feels like it's a finality, that he'll be here. ... It doesn't matter. Forget I mentioned it. I can handle it, really.
"What matters now is getting you back on your feet." She smiled over at him. "I'll be fine, really. He hasn't actually tried anything with me. Really."
She walked over to him. "Is there anything else I can do? To help?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 9:53 pm
Finishing his food, Hadrian supposed that at least that was a relief. Thorn hadn't tried anything with Natalie...yet. Hopefully, he never would. Maybe he'd lose interest in her?
Anything Natalie could do?
...there was only one thing that he wanted. And that was something that nobody could give to him, except Marc. And that wasn't going to happen.
"I don't know."
He needed to get the nerve to go back to his apartment. Thank god he hadn't started to move his stuff into Marc's place yet - he couldn't have gone back for them. He wouldn't have been able to.
"Thank you, Natalie. This...I think it did some good to get me out of there."
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 9:58 pm
More of a smile, and she took his bowl from him.
"You're very welcome. I'll be here, whenever you need me. Just... don't come Friday evening. I don't... I don't want to put you in a situation where you're near him. Again. If I had known... that night at the theatre..."
Yes, that night. Now she knew why he had been so nervous.
Her and her stupid ideas. Sure, let's invite Hadrian, even though he seems so worried about going! Good job. Part of this was her fault, just as much as some of her problems were Hadrian's. They were locked into this together.
"Do you want me to walk back with you?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 10:05 pm
"I would have gone anyway. I didn't want to leave you alone with him, risk him taking advantage of you when you were so upset...and thank you, Natalie."
Contemplating the beer that he'd only drank half of - maybe he was subconciously trying to avoid getting drunk? - he the spoke up.
"But no, I...I think I'm going to try and stop by my apartment. Take a shower, get some rest."
Though if he saw Marc - well, he'd likely flee the other direction and hide in his office some more.
But his office was really going to start to stink if he didn't shower and change clothes, soon.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 10:10 pm
To protect her? His hatred for Thorn must be boundless, if he had been that willing to put himself in harm's way to protect a girl he barely knew. Wow. She'd never... really thought of it on those terms.
"All right." Natalie smiled and gave the man another hug. "Good luck with that. I'll be right here, and my phone's finally hooked up. Call me if you need anything. And I mean anything. Okay?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 10:19 pm
Standing, Hadrian managed another slight smile for the girl. "I will."
If he needed anything, he would call her. Well, it was more along the lines of if he needed anything and cared enough to ask for it; his mood felt a bit lightened by this, but that didn't fix everything right then.
Then, he turned and left the apartment, steeling himself to try and get home without running into Marc. Which honestly wasn't very likely - it was just that there was that slight chance, and that made him nervous.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:32 am
Marc scowled as he held the bags together. They were empty of course, but it was so bothersome, carrying the dark weight around. So he scowled at them, knowing he must look ridiculous to take his temper out onto bags.
But there was nothing else to do, and if he sulked home one more time... well. Haki was going to be FURIOUS.
So he headed straight towards the apartment, barely sparing a glance for anything. He didn't want to look up to see signs, reminders. He didn't want his mind to think about the lab, or the maze.
Oh. Especially the maze.
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