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 Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 9:54 am
((Yeah, it's good XD))
In the mood that he was, the pet name that Thorn gave him was barely noticed - if he had been in another mood, that would have thrown him off. But right now, it was something that was noted, but of little importance.
Using the time Thorn took to rattle off about the dishes, Hadrian slowly calmed himself and prepared himself to talk; he needed to talk. Even if the only person available was one who wouldn't understand.
"Speaking of it with you...I think would only result in another argument."
Carrying out his usual nervous action, of removing his monocol and playing with it, he was looking anywhere but at Thorn.
"To put it bluntly, I finally learned exactly what it is that Marc does for a living. What I said wasn't exactly...approving of it. I imagine you understand why I..well, didn't feel like mentioning it to you, since you're his boss."
He wasn't sure what to expect, now.
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Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 10:01 am
Before reaching the noodles, Thorn paused. It wasn't abrupt as it was a trailing of the words, nodding as he withdrew the chopsticks he had been gesturing is.
"He hadn't told you before, then?" he sounded mildly surprised, and a little bit disappeared. "I had believed that the two of you were... intimate enough that he would have let you know."
With a delicate pause, he nodded his head. "Marc is for a better word, a business man. He sells weapons from a distributer to a consumer. Drugs from the developers to the needy. He is the representative of a research project that is producing biological discoveries that could change the face of mankind."
Maybe it wasn't a good idea to let the mage know just what kind. Or, that he had already sampled it. "So I'm afraid I don't understand why you don't want to mention it to me."
So he was taking the stupid road. It was something.
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Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 10:07 am
Sighing quietly, Hadrian strove to explain.
"I didn't want to mention it, because I already argued with Marc about it - I don't like the fact that he's in this sort of business. I think I was expecting you to defend it as much as he did."
Of course, he hadn't yet explained what exactly his views on it were. Just that he disapproved...for all he knew, Thorn could hold those same beliefs as Marc.
And if he didn't?
...it would be worse then Marc, then. Because at least Marc was trying to justify it to himself, even if he didn't agree with the man's reasoning. Trying to make it seem 'right'.
"And we, well...I guess there are a few things we've just never brought up."
Tonight had been a night he was hoping to actually talk with Marc, for once - talk about himself, learn about his lover...actually get to know the man's likes and dislikes, and not just what he had already picked up on.
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Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 10:11 am
Thorn nodded almost sympathetically. "The business we are in is vile and digusting. Exploiting those with addictions for their money, helping to create chaos and death... in affect, hurting others for our own selfish motivation." picking up his chopsticks again, he motioned for Hadrian to eat.
If only a little bit.
"I'm glad to know that you do not approve of what we do... but what choice do we have?" he shrugged his shoulders with the weight of a man who was finally letting go of the past.
"We are tainted men, Hadrian. And the clean do not want to mingle with the tainted."
Ah, so poetic.
It must be the coriander in the food.
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Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 10:16 am
Picking up his chopsticks, Hadrian wasn't exactly the hungriest of men at the moment. Some people ate food for comfort - but he was perhaps the complete opposite of that. Still...he had to eat something.
"...but someone who is tainted can eventually become clean, given the right opportunities. Chances."
In his mind, someone 'tainted' could still leave that sort of business behind, still live their lives without that taint. So long as they could bring themselves to leave the motivation that had spurred them there in the first place, behind.
Taking a bite, the mage's mind was far away from his food. Thinking back on Marc, their relationship -
And he was slowly realizing how strange a relationship it was. Revolving almost entirely around physical pleasure, and the two of them knowing so little about each other...
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Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 10:23 am
Thorn leaned forewords. "The way you have? Given him a chance?"
With a chuckle, he shook his head. "Darling Hadrian." he crooned. "You are a mage. You lead such an extensive project... but can you be so innocent?" he was delighted at the prospect of breaking someone like him in, and more than a little bit envious.
That Marc had gotten to him first.
"Hadrian." he said. "If you came across a talented man with no morals, an un scrupulous behavior and a reputation for blood lust and cold cunning, would you hire him to care for your Ames?"
Not nearly rhetorical enough.
--
((in the next post, can I have Marc arrive 'home' to pick Haki up?))
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Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 10:29 am
Pushing some hair out of his eyes, Hadrian replaced his monocol.
"No...I probably wouldn't."
Quietly spoken, for he had a very strong feeling that Thorn was talking about Marc. Yet - he felt himself wanting to argue with that assessment. 'No morals'...well, his job would certainly make it seem like that. But something about the man had him wanting to insist that there was some form of morals, some caring, inside the man.
Afterall...he loved.
"But if someone can love, then I think they are capable of changing themselves."
Raising his eyes, he met Thorn's gaze. Whatever of his beliefs about Marc may have been shaken by the revelation - he still held a steadfast loyalty, a certainty, about the man.
((sure ^_^))
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:16 am
If Thorn had been human something inside him would have melted at that announcement. But he wasn't ready to melt yet, and so he held fast to the belief that this man was naive. Besides. Thorn was human... on the outside. Not the inside.
And that was what mattered.
"Darling Hadrian." placing down his chopsticks as if he had lost his appetite, he nodded his head. "Has he ever said that he loves you?" he looked at the face, searching for clues. "The actual words?"
"Because Marc is a superb liar. That is why he works for me."
Shoot, and goal! Maybe?
--
A little past the time when Haki drifted up on the couch, the door opened and Marc walked in, cranky and a little bit irritated. He was silent in his footsteps though as if he didn't want to let the world know that he back. Not yet.
"Thank you, Ismet." he said curtly. "And when Hadrian comes out, let him know I have Haki. I hope she wasn't too much trouble?" he moved towards the pink form to pick her up and take her.
"We'll be sleeping away from the compound, tonight." he stated.
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:24 am
"I-"
He faltered.
Hadrian had spoken the words, and Marc had responded - but he had said the exact words. A 'me too' was the response he had received...but he had never heard his lover actually say his feelings, or even make reference to them unless prompted.
"...he...he does."
That comment struck right to the heart of some of his own insecurities and doubts, some of his confusion over the strangeness of their relationship. Hadrian didn't sound nearly so sure of this, as he had before.
'A superb liar'. ...that certainly made sense, considering what he did for a living. Earlier that day, before he had learned of his profession, he would have been more confident of it; but it seemed that every day, every time he encountered Thorn, his confidence in Marc was shaken more and more.
--
Eyeing Marc with an expression that could only be termed as apathy, Ismet held his confusion inside. Well. This hadn't been what he had expected...
He'd half expected that he'd be stuck watching Haki all night, while the two men went upstairs. But - no Hadrian in sight, and Marc seemed angry.
Huh.
"She was no trouble."
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:35 am
Clucking his tongue, he looked at the food before them. Calling for the server who waited just discreetly out of ears, he ordered something else. Alcohol to save the day! Vietanmese alcohol, though. Just so that Hadrain wouldn't know. "With coconut." the server nodded, moving as slightly as he had arrived.
Which left Thorn alone with Hadrian, until things worked out. "I'm sure he does." he said. "Marc is a passionate man. He loves his work. He loves Haki." he paused. "Why, he even loves me. So he must love you."
But was this all the same? Sure, maybe with Haki. But was Hadrian no better than Marc's profession, or god forbid, THORN?!
--
Marc nodded. Lifting her up and gently placing her on his chest, he reached inside one of his pocket and pulled out a couple of neat bills. He had already readied the baby sitting money on the way over-- he was fighting with Hadrian. There was no way he expected the boy to take care of his girl, pro bono.
"Was Hadrian okay, when it arrived?" he asked nonchalantly.
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:45 am
When he arrived?
Fixing an odd look on Marc, Ismet explained.
"He hasn't arrived yet."
Which, to the snake boy, wasn't all that strange. Before Hadrian had met Marc, he spent most of his time at the labs - so Ismet just assumed the man chose to head over there rather then come home.
But...the mage hadn't done that since he'd gotten together with Marc.
--
Wrinkling his brow in dismay, Hadrian also made the connection that Thorn was attempting to make: That the other mans love for his work, and Thorn, was no better then his 'love' for Hadrian.
Which, to the mage, meant that it wasn't nearly what he had thought it was.
He'd almost forgotten his food, his chopsticks laying discarded beside the plate. The alcohol would likely be a good ploy of Thorn's, since he was more likely to take occasional sips of something then to take bites occasionally. Especially when he was upset.
Not responding to Thorns comment, he simply gazed down at his food...the silence alone was a sign that the other man was getting to him.
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:52 am
Marc stiffened, causing Haki to protest as her pillow went harder. Relaxing by force if only because he didn't want Haki to cry, (and this wasn't out of concern either. The nosiest thing in the world must be a crying girl) he frowned. "Then where is he?"
Useless to take his anger out on a little boy. And the thought kind of entered his mind. "I sorry. I meant. Where is he?" he managed the words with more control. He was good at this.
Maybe he had decided to go to the labs, to avoid Marc entirely. He must have known that the man would come by to pick Haki up. Yes. That must be it. Or maybe he had gone to talk to Dacian.
Or that ahneta lady.
--
Thorn paused. Nodding his head, when the waiter walked in with a slim white bottle and two tiny shot glass like cups, he motioned for the man to pour. The liquid was milky because of the coconut milk. And while it was easy to discern the taste of alcohol, it was hidden well under the layers of fat and sugar.
Thorn knew his drinks, if he knew anything.
"A toast." he said, lifting his own glass carefully to his lips. The server stepped back, but didn't leave this time. Someone would have to refill the tiny glasses. "To understanding."
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:57 am
"He used to spend most nights at the labs."
With a shrug, Ismet left that open to interpretation, about whether Hadrian had gone there or not. The man wasn't likely to talk to go talk to Ahneta, and Dacian certainly wouldn't have understood - the labs were the most logical conclusion.
The snake child wasn't worried...Hadrian could take care of himself. If he had known of Thorn, this opinion may have changed - but for now, he wasn't concerned.
--
"To understanding."
Quiet, but at least Hadrian toasted as well. Taking a drink of his own, even if he didn't recognize what the drink was, he didn't believe it was alcohol...it didn't have that flavour he had come to associate with alcoholic drinks. It seemed rather sweet, actually.
Not bad.
Though his mind wasn't focused so much on the flavour, really. It was with an almost absentminded tone that he shared his thoughts,
"You and Marc...it's difficult to imagine."
That they had once been together, he meant.
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 11:09 am
Marc frowned. "Do you have some kind of intercom, security system?" he asked. "So I can see if he's down there or not?" he adjusted his grip on Haki, feeling a little bit tired.
Not physically, but as if the rest of his energy was moving somewhere else. To worry. To indignation that Hadrian hadn't come home immediatly either. So what if Marc had been a little bit late?
"Some kind of security guard?" he stopped, bewildered.
Hadrian was here... right?
--
As soon as he finished a little bit, the server came forewords and poured a little bit more. Always a little bit, so that the glass would always appear to be full. When he moved to do the same to Thorn, the man shifted his hand over the glass, a silent message.
Not for me. For him.
The server didn't blink an eye, but he shifted, letting the man know that his message had been understood.
"That we were once together?" he smiled, warming up. Reaching for the food again, he nodded his head. "We were, but it is a long time ago. He moved on after a passionate tryst and I have still retained my love for women."
HAH.
"It was explosive. But it was never meant to last."
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 11:17 am
"There's a room on the ground floor...there are security cameras almost everywhere in the building, except for a few rooms. And the intercom is in there as well."
Ismet was a bit confused, now - if Marc was so angry at Hadrian, why was he wanting to know all of that? Well...maybe he was looking to make up with him.
"If he's in the labs, he'll either be in his office or checking on some of the new Souls; all of those rooms have camera's."
Some empty rooms, store rooms and such didn't have cameras - but that wasn't important. Either Hadrian was doing paperwork, checking on Souls, brooding, or sleeping on that cot he kept in his office.
--
Hadrian failed to notice when the server stopped refilling Thorn's drink, and instead was only refilling his own. And in his somewhat upset state, he barely noticed that his own drink was remaining full. And taking the occasional drink...
Well, it wouldn't take him long to get tipsy, or drunk.
"It's probably just that lately, he seems to be belligerent towards you, that makes it so hard to imagine."
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