[FIN] Do you know your enemy? [Quinn/Vale]

[Kappawolf]

"So, Vale," Quinn began, "I have a serious business proposal for you." He paused.

"So, Vale," he repeated, "I can't get a job, so--" he sighed.

"So, Vale," he tried again, "I have this really cool idea. I think we should start a joint...venture...thing where we have our own coffee shop, because all the places here suck. I think it would be great if we could try to start our own. It would be a good way to get money, and I'm sure we'd get popular. And, I'm really bad at building things and handling money...and running businesses, so I'll handle all the cooking if you'll run the shop. I think that sounds like a great idea, right?"

He nodded firmly, stepped away from the lamppost he was talking to, waved goodbye to it, and walked briskly to catch up with Vale, who he spotted wearing his hoodie through commerce. He walked right up to Vale, reached out and grabbed his shoulder, suddenly blanking and resorting to the first thing that popped into his head.

"Oh god, my arms!" He let loose a bloodcurdling scream of pain. Onlookers seemed to think Vale had somehow caused his pain, and were looking sternly at the two of them.

"I was coming over here to tell you about how I was going to start a business all on my own without anyone's help at all, but suddenly my arms hurt so bad that I can't even lift them! I'm going to need someone to help me run my business! Someone who is educated in building and handling money. Who do I know like that? Oh, woe, my arms and my business are doomed! Someone call a paramedic for my broken dreams, and get me a cast for my soul. My arms do not hurt nearly as bad as my inner pain!"

Yeah. That should work.  

[Scroll]

Valeriu's senses vaguely acknowledged that Quinn was in the perimeter. He walked a little bit faster, away.

It did no good.

A hand grabbed his shoulder. He cringed, stopped, turned, ears instinctively laid back - and what a good choice that had been, because the scream that followed would've burst his eardrums. He weathered the storm, a bored, unimpressed look painted upon his face as he crossed his arms and waited for Quinn to finish, blithely tuning out the prattle.

And waited, and waited.

"No," he rumbled, immediately, as soon as Quinn's mouth had stopped moving. Then paused, thought it over, "V'ell-" A smile. "No, still no." Tossing an irate glance at the gawking onlookers, he hooked his arm through Quinn's, heartlessly wrenching the wounded man towards a lesser populated area.

"Is this how it alv'ays must go down, Quinn?" he growled. "Every time! You cannot ask me like a normal person, no. It alv'ays, alv'ays involves public humiliation." Privacy somewhat secured, he released the infernal rainbow.

"Now, v'hat the hell are you going on about?" he asked, slowly, as if Quinn was a very poor student and Valeriu was the teacher who he'd been inflicted upon.  

[Kappawolf]

Quinn whimpered dramatically when his arms were touched, moaning in pain as they were physically dragged away, his eyes filling with crocodile tears. As soon as they were no longer in a crowd of people, he immediately dropped the act and stood up, rubbing at his dragged behind.

"I can't get a job." He paused. "That's a lie. I can get a job, but I don't want to wear a banana suit and I can't handle whips, Vale, I can't handle whips!" The sentence built in intensity as it continued, until he was clutching Vale's hoodie and looking at him with a very serious, scared expression. He shook himself out of it.

"And making a show of it is the only way to get you to pay attention to me. My other idea was to shoot a flaming arrow with a letter on it from the roof of a nearby building at your feet, with a quest on the letter. But then I realized the fire would burn up the letter, and that plan was ruined. So I had to fake a severe injury." He nodded. "I'm sure you understand."

Quinn looked at the furry fringe of the hoodie and suppressed a giggle.

"I want to start my own coffee shop. And I want you to handle the businessy parts, because I just want to do the cooking. And that way we can make money and stuff. I think it's a wonderful plan."  

[Scroll]

Valeriu couldn't even pretend to know what Quinn was on about, staring in puzzled wariness as Quinn seemed to be on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Whips.

He didn't want to know.

I don't, either.

Good to see his god was still alive.

"No, I don't understand," he grumbled. "Is very easy to get me to pay attention to you. You say, Good afternoon, Valeriu, how has your day been?, and I say Quite v'ell, thank you. See? So very easy." Admittedly, Quinn would have to run fast enough to catch him, first.

Quinn's giggle resulted in a miffed look as Valeriu drew back to protect the fur-lined fringe of his newest piece of clothing.

"Don't judge me," he muttered, defensively, puffing up. "It is v'arm, and Oldpeka is cold, and it v'as a good price." He thought it was a very nice jacket, and that Quinn was just being a hater and hatin'.

"And v'hat about this do you think makes it a v'onderful plan?" His mouth crooked, dubiously, hands finding his pockets before he gave into the urge to slap some sense into Quinn. "Aside from the fact that I am actively attempting to leave society-" he reminded, as if Quinn had forgotten the important little fact that Valeriu wanted very little to do with the city or its people, "-I can only see this ending in ruin. Give me one good reason to throw caution, and money, to the v'ind and start a business v'ith you."  

[Kappawolf]

"You won't have to deal with people! I'll handle all the public relations. You just be behind the scenes. I'll even let you pick the name, but I'll have to approve it. It will not end in ruin!" He knew this, firmly.

"And...You should start a business with me, because I have a guarantee it won't end in ruin. I have a plan. A really good one. That I can't tell you about because--" You would be completely and absolutely against it. "--It's top secret. But it's a wonderful plan and you should trust me."

"Please?" Quinn wrapped his wrists behind Vale's neck, looking at him with the best puppy-dog eyes he could muster. And, he focused very hard to generate the power he needed to say his next sentence. "But it's okay, because if you don't, I'll love you anyway."

He used the love word. With guilt. He wasn't used to using it, but the guilt made it worthwhile.

Feel the guilt, catboy.

Guuuuuuilt.  

[Scroll]

"It v'ill end in ruin," he resolutely rebuffed, though the contemplative light in his shadowed eyes said otherwise.

Valeriu knew he would still need a source of income. A little for himself, but mostly to pave the way for Sydni's future - her education, her social needs, anything she wanted (and deserved, Valeriu wasn't about to spoil her) he wanted to be able to get for her, even if he couldn't be actively raising her anymore. Whether or not he had it in him to totally withdraw from her life, he'd make sure she'd never want for anything.

And that meant money. Any legal job he could pick up would not only be dangerous, but also painful - it'd create social networks he never, ever wanted to really have in his life again. The thought of his old workplace family still brought up a wrenching, agonizing pain in his heart.

A business with Quinn was the ideal compromise, he acknowledged.

If only it wasn't with Quinn.

Quinn's arms twined around his neck, and it was all Valeriu could do to avoid the beseeching stare as he tried to think, rationally, over the decision.

I'll love you anyway.

He let out a long, slow breath, unaware that he'd been holding it the moment he'd heard the words. He couldn't quite define the emotions that flitted and merged across his face - surprise, annoyance, very-much-so-there-guilt - but he finally settled on a mix of exasperation and toleration.

The urge to lash out was there - some anger, because he knew Quinn had only said it to manipulate him, but Valeriu felt too old in the soul right now to really be roused to true irritation.

He huffed out another breath.

"Low blow," he muttered, turning his head away to hide the flush that had come from simply hearing the words. He knew the difference between loving and being in love, and he knew he and Quinn were firmly ensconced in the former as Benefits, Friendswith, but it was a warm thrill to hear it all the same.

"Fine, fine." He grumbled and growled, disentangling Quinn's arms from around his neck. "But so help me, if this fails, if you flake off from this responsibility-" And god, was it a huge responsibility. Valeriu's head was already reeling with all the preparations and work to be done. "-I can and v'ill kill you and replace you v'ith Seamus as my new biffle."  

[Kappawolf]

Quinn grinned from ear to ear, and pulled himself up to Vale, kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you so much! You're the best!" He jumped up and wrapped his legs around Vale's waist while he hugged him, holding himself up.

"We need to figure out a location, and I need to start working on recipes and a full menu. We'll have to figure out a great name, too." Quinn was incredibly excited, and his expression showed it. He hopped off of Vale.

"Once we decide on that stuff, you can get to work!" He nodded. "I think we need to definitely be somewhere really crowded, and not too ritzy. I don't know the city too well, yet, you have any good ideas?"  

[Scroll]

Quinn only liked him for his money, he grumbled to himself, tolerating the kiss and cling with more patience than he actually had. It was a good thing his body had long since learned to endure Quinn's jumps - a long-suffering grunt was all he uttered as he was made to bear Quinn's extreme shows of affection, arms automatically wrapping back around his hips so as to lessen the strain on his legs and back.

"There are a few empty buildings in Commerce," he suggested. "Near the more commercial areas. It v'ould get more traffic than the other side, but v'e v'ould have to compete v'ith more v'ell-known brand shops, like that Moondollars across the street."

He couldn't believe he was actually considering this - hell, he couldn't believe he'd agreed, but here it was. He'd said yes, and now he had to actually work.

"There is more to it than that," he warned, knowingly. "I v'orked in construction, remember? There are all sorts of applications to fill out, standards to comply to, inspections to arrange. Not just for the building, but for the menu."

The amount of work it took to get a simple, small business off the ground was outstanding, actually. He couldn't think of a more unfriendly field to start out in.

"V'e could start out v'ith an empty lot and v'ork from there, but I think it v'ill be easier to pick an empty building. That v'ay v'e v'on't have to mess with the piping or electrical regulations too much."

It was easier when everything was already pre-established.

The final bid would be the hardest, however. Valeriu was not a legal member of this city. Any attempts to purchase or rent land, or file paperwork, would be met with disaster.

It looked like he'd have to pay a visit to the Carnegies, and see what they could do for him and Quinn. He had a feeling they were not unfamiliar with identity fraud.  

[Kappawolf]

"I can handle advertising, though. That's something I can do." He hadn't done any good graffiti work in Central, anyway. He needed to make a name for himself here. "We get a name, I'll start spraying." He was more than excited. He would get to run his own shop! People would flock in from all over the city to get his delicious drinks.

He would make sure of that.

"Come to my apartment tomorrow, and we'll get to work. I need to buy some spray paint, and you need to get us set up with a location and stuff. Bright and early tomorrow, say, one o'clock? I won't go partying tonight, to make sure I can get up." His internal clock was messed up something fierce.  

[Scroll]

Valeriu wasn't sure whether or not graffiti counted as a legal method of advertisement, but whatever kept Quinn remotely invested in an idea worked.

"Alright." This was going to end, badly. "One o'clock v'orks for me." In flames, probably. "I'll gather the information for us for tomorrow."

There would be screaming and death. He didn't need Seamus here to predict that.

He set Quinn back on the ground, resigned to his fate.

"I v'ill see you then."