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 Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 4:49 pm
Herensuge was not a man of the world in most ways. As a member of a nomadic tribe, the whole concept of living in one place was foreign to him, and the idea of shopping for one was just...he wasn't even sure. And he got the sneaking suspicion that Adrian really didn't know much more than he did. But they would figure it out, he supposed. After all, a small apartment in a not-entirely-great part of town was not a place to raise even one child, though Zachriel was adapting surprisingly well. But now that there were another two on the way....
He flipped idly through the binder, regarding all the identical white houses and reading information that he honestly couldn't put together into something coherent. Househunting was not something he understood and not something he wanted to do, but it was something that needed to be done. He shook his head and wondered idly if Adrian had any more of a clue than he did.
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 7:22 pm
Houses were not Ace's thing. One only had to look at the state of Ace's apartment (before Heren invaded and cleaned and scrubbed and painting) to understand this fact. He lived in the same apartment he grew up in and the house was certainly starting to show its wear. It had even started to house cockroaches and other undesirable nasties before Zach came. And Heren. The dragon could not stand dirt of any kind.
"I'm not living in a white house, Heren. Or a house at all." Adrian couldn't handle that much space. (Maybe the fact that he was having twins didn't occur to him. Twins needed space.) But the redhead liked small areas, it was easier to find things, and people, and cost much less to furnish, and there wasn't a yard to deal with. Adrian was born and bred in the city, even if he was a desert people, he wasn't much of a fan of the great outdoors. "Just an apartment in a nicer part of town."
....as if their city had a nice part.
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:14 am
"Are there going to be apartments of the proper size?" Heren asked, looking up at Adrian and tilting his head. "We need three bedrooms," he added, rubbing the back of his neck and growling softly to himself as he closed and replaced the binder. "And more than one bathroom would be preferable." And honestly, Heren wanted a yard, but he knew Adrian well. Adrian would probably have the exact opposite of a claustrophobic panic attack were he to be put in a house with more than five rooms.
Then again, the amount of space he and Adrian could afford was just as important. Heren had fled his tribe with none of the inheritance owed him, and had lost it in accepting exile....and Adrian wasn't currently making six figures a year...or anything even remotely close to that.
"I guess it comes down to what we can afford," he said quietly, walking over to his mate and taking his arm gently. "But we do need space for the twins." Twins. New twins. His twins. The words still sounded foreign to him, and Heren couldn't help but smile. He hadn't been sure of the idea at first, but now it was thrilling.
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 7:56 pm
"Is there a 'proper size' for raising a family?" Ace scoffed, tossing his head to one side. He could think of plenty of families worse off than they were, all sharing a single room. Now, what was he doing again? (Other than scolding Heren, of course.) The redhead was sure he wandered into the kitchen for a reason. It dawned on him only a moment later that he had ventured into the kitchen because he was on a great quest. A quest of the most dangerous type, actually.
Zach had requested a (not-burnt) grilled cheese from Ace. Normally, the boy knew better, and asked anything culinary of Heren, but his (step-father?) looked busy with the binder, so Zachriel asked his father instead. Fatal choice number one, Zachriel Igen.
Fatal mistake number two? Telling Ace he liked it buttery.
"M'not poor, Heren," Ace muttered, pulling out the frying pan. "Stuff ain' that nice, but m'not poor." Of course, Ace might still not be factoring in the twins. Two was a very hard concept to grasp. The readhead wiggled out of his mate's grasp and began to slice into the pan, which was set on high, incidentally. Ace was not a patient man.
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:11 pm
"I....don't know," Heren answered honestly, frowning at the binder and then looking at Adrian and sighing. "And I know you're not poor. But real estate is expensive. ...Extremely so," he murmured, paging through the binder with one hand and still half-leaning against Adrian. "We're going to need more space," he added patiently. "Not just something nicer. There are going to be two more children, Adrian. Two."
There were times when the man just didn't seem to wrap his head around concepts, and this was going to prove to be one of them. As Heren opened his mouth to inform Adrian of this, he realized that his mate was about to commit another of the sins he had attempted to keep him from achieving. On the subject of concepts that were completely foreign to Adrian, no matter how many times they were explained...
"Adrian, you can't put that on high!" he said, but he was pretty sure it was too late. This was going to ruin the butter and possibly the pan and then the smoke detector would go off and nobody would be able to eat and... "You're going to burn the butter!"
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:35 pm
It was far too late, Heren, far too late. No sooner had the dragon scolded his mate than the butter burst into flames. Ace shrieked (he would later claim it was a more like a pained yowl) and whipped backwards, leaving fiery attempt at lunch to burn away, the switch still on high. The redhead made a beeline for the sink, shoving his hand under cold water as he watched the flames lick at the low kitchen ceiling. "s**t, man."
Zach had since wandered into the kitchen, though the child stayed safely behind the wall dividing kitchen and living/dining/TV room, watching the blaze with wide eyes. "Sh-should I call nine one one?" the auburn haired boy asked, looking around for the telephone. "Is dad on fire?" He swallowed nervously.
Ace grunted and pulled his arm out of the water. "M'just singed, Zach. Go into the other room."
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:44 pm
Heren hadn't been quick enough to stop the ignition of the butter (butter should not burn...ever. How was Adrian that insanely anti-talented?), but he did know how to treat a grease fire, and while his concern for Adrian would win out momentarily, he had something else to deal with. Dropping the binder for the time-being, he slammed a pot lid atop the skillet and turned off the heat, hissing to himself as he yanked his own hand away from the former blaze. Shaking his hand and growling to himself, he watched Adrian and shook his head. "Zachriel, I think he'll be all right. But if you could get me the first-aid kit from the bathroom, that would be wonderful. It's underneath the sink," he said as he removed a cold pack from the freezer, still shaking his own burnt hand as he moved to Adrian's side once again.
"What have I told you about skillets, heat, and fats?" he chided gently, removing Ace's hand from the sink and pressing the ice pack into his palm. "What's the rule about flammable substances and high heat?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:52 pm
Ace scowled and gave Heren a dirty look. "I ain' five. An' I don' care about your damn cooking rules," he muttered unhappily, stealing his hand back to inspect the damage. Definitely going to leave a mark, but the man had seen worse, much worse, in days past working for the cooperation. His left arm was a brilliant example of some of the burns sustained while on the job. (To this day, he would swear the b*****d that did that to him was the fire god incarnate.)
He shook his hand and put it back on the ice, cringing a little at the sting. He straightened up and set his jaw as his child came trotting back in, little white box of band-aids in tow. Handing the box to Heren, Zachriel stepped back to observe. There was no doubt in his mind he needed to learn the techniques, whether he'd be patching up his father or the impending doom known as The Twins, there would surely be a day Herensuge would be absent from the house hold and clearly, all hell would break loose. Fortunately, Zach had confidence he could handle the situation.
Adrian, however, was not quite so impressed. "********, man! Be careful!"
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 9:00 pm
Heren just clicked his tongue and shook his head. "You know, if you just learned the basics of cooking, there would never be times like this," Heren said, nonetheless letting up on the pressure he was putting on the bandages as he wrapped Adrian's hand. "Also, with grease fires," he added, glancing over at Zachriel, "the first thing you should do is turn the heat off. Then get a lid on it, or a plate, or a cover of some sort. Don't ever put water on it." He secured the end of the bandage on Adrian's hand and shook his head at him, smiling wryly. Adrian would probably never learn, but at least Zachriel was a willing mind.
Inspecting his own hand, he tutted at the beginning of a blister on the side of his thumb and dug in the kit for medical tape. "You'll be able to change that to gauze in an hour; just let the salve go to work first," he remarked to Adrian as he spread the aloe lotion on his own thumb and then secured a gauze pad over it. That finished, he re-packed the kit and retrieved his binder.
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 9:20 pm
Ace rolled his eyes, still completely unimpressed with Heren's speech. He might have Zach enraptured with his myths about 'healthy eating', but damnit, Adrian Igen Sinclaire grew up on take out! And he grew up just fine! Takeout was cheap, fast and easy, and it never, ever struck back. Honestly, when was the last time an egg roll lit sleeve on fire, hmm?
The demon flexed his hand and winced. Herensuge was correct about the salve, at any rate. (Ace was secretly very glad he wasn't obligated to fight Heren on issues of health, and only food.) "Would you let that binder go, Heren?" the redhead muttered, slinking over to him nonetheless. "There's nothing worth looking at in there." Adrian Sinclaire was not going t live in a cute little house. End of story. He liked his shitty apartment and the only reason Heren had convinced him to move was because there really wasn't enough space for a pair of twins and Zachriel.
Speaking of.
"...um. Guys?" One small child still needed lunch.
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 9:28 pm
Heren opened his mouth to argue, then stifled a sigh and shook his head. Adrian just didn't understand, he assumed, but...he wasn't sure if he'd ever get him to. But...no matter what, he'd find something that pleased everyone in the best way possible. Adrian couldn't be a stubborn old codger forever. He wasn't even that old. "Stop acting like a crotchety old man," he teased gently, setting the binder aside and leaning in for a kiss before looking over at Zachriel. Smiling slightly, he nodded.
"I know. I'll rinse the pan and we can start over," he said. "Want to help?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 9:34 pm
Ace spluttered, ice blue eyes flashing as the man reeled with the indignation of being called old. It was fine if he called himself old, he knew that was just a joke, but Heren? That was absolutely one toe too many over the line. The red-haired demon huffed and promptly refused the kiss, making sure to shift plenty far away. "I am not old," Adrian spat, grabbing the white binder. He flipped it open and began to flick through the pages with renewed vigor. There had to be an apartment in there somewhere!
Meanwhile, Zach was ignoring his father in favor of the prospect of food. "Uh, yes please!" he responded to Heren's offer, trotting to the dragon's side to help prepare lunch. He was at the curious age that he wanted to get his hands into everything. Spicy foods? Try 'em. New places? Explore 'em. Electrical sockets? Stick a finger in 'em.
Yes, some of the adventures sucked a little. But it was the adventure that mattered! Learning experience!
"Herensuge. I found our new house."
Adrian's word was final.
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