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 Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2015 4:55 pm
█║ WHO: Brad, Anastacia, Zeke maybe??
█║ WHEN: Shortly after Zeke`s blessing and the events in the jungle. (BACKLOG, GO!)
█║ WHERE: Zeke and Anya's place
█║ WEATHER: Dismally hot.
Brad wasn't sure the last time he'd been this anxious - maybe it was when he'd first found Altair and thought the pup was going to die. Maybe it was the first mystical date with Zeke? Maybe it was all the times he'd had to meet Alessa in the hospital, like just recently --
Biting back the encroaching sense of paternal panic, he made his way down the hallway to Anya's room. Yes, he was worried, oh god was he worried, but he also knew that the Spider Queen wasn't one who would be coddled, let alone accept something as troublesome as worry. The architect bit the inside of his lip, considering as he hovered outside her door. She was far more mature than the Raevans he knew of, and though he'd considered the many ways to talk to her about what he'd discussed with Zeke, he'd come to the conclusion that his first idea was the best one: to seek her permission and understanding, to not tell her like a child. She deserved more than that.
Exhaling softly, he lifted a hand and gently tapped his knuckles against her door, casting a brief glance towards the living room where he'd parted ways with Zeke. He had to talk to her himself. "Ana?" he called softly, though he was certain she'd already know it was him. Spider senses. "Ana, it's Brad. Can I talk to you for a moment?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2015 5:25 pm
Spider senses. Perhaps. Anya didn't think of them as such only because she didn't think of herself as a spider. Regardless, a wing left to touch the floor was enough to allow for her to 'see' when someone or something was coming her way and thus she knew it was Brad long before the man got near enough to touch the door. The architect had heavier steps than Zeke and usually a slower, more surefooted gait. Of course, 'usually' was the keyword here.
She rose from the bed before Brad had knocked, putting down the needles and yarn she had seldom let go since a certain Stag had visited. Despite the nerves his steps betrayed, the architect had picked a good time for this. Things were not nearly so dark as they once had been. She only hid herself now because the fans in the other room were on far too high for her liking and noisier by half.
The door opened slowly and the spider queen made herself visible in the inches-wide space between door and wall. All six eyes were on the tall, dark-haired man on the other side but despite the interruption her face did not show any trace of displeasure or unease. She was pensive in face with a little curiosity in her eyes at what she considered to be a curious sight. Usually where one man went, the other followed. Zeke had remained in the other room. That alone was...odd to say the least.
"Yes, Brad?" With those two words the door was opened just that much more. "Is something wrong?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2015 5:37 pm
The door cracking open was the close of his options. She was there, and he couldn't change his mind now. Not that he thought he would, but - the weight of finality was something he understood very well.
The Italian cracked a faint smile, his off-colored eyes meeting the largest of her many. "Nothing is wrong," he assured her, holding up a hand as if to stop the very thought of it. "I wanted to talk to you for a moment, if you're not busy." I can come back if you're busy hung unsaid between them, but he was usually pretty good about giving her the consideration of time alone. He just didn't want to give either of them an out, vocally. "I promise I'll make it quick," he added, as if it might entice her to allow him in. He wasn't sure how well she was feeling after all that had transpired, and - worry worry worry - he was trying to be considerate of the space she might need.
To be fair, he thought with a slightly warmer smile to the Frei, I'm trying to give her a hell of a lot more space.
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Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2015 6:02 pm
She watched him. His hand, the way he shifted on his feet, the way his smile turned to words and back again. She had not forgotten how to wait, not really, but it was one of many somethings she was having to relearn. In doing so now, she found she could see the words Brad left unspoken in the traces of his being that were so utterly nervous.
Not that she would draw attention to it. Not this Anya. Not at this time.
"I'm not busy." A slight shake of the head accompanied the words, rippling through the loose ponytail she had made of her curtain of lavender hair. Brad then said he'd make whatever it was he had to say quick. She could believe that - she knew him to be a precise sort of man not only in action but in words.
She drew back from the door and guided it inward so the knob wouldn't hit the wall behind it. If it wasn't a bad thing he had brought with him then that alone was something that fed curiosity when anxiety was not present.
"Come in?" The Widow supposed that was the right thing to say. At least she could say it was the right thing to do in any case. One could not have a conversation with another between a cracked door; at least not comfortably.
She waited for him to pass through before leaving her post herself. She left the door open, floating at a distance she felt was comfortable not only for herself but for the Italian as well. He was a big man and needed much more room to turn than she did.
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Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2015 6:17 pm
"Thank you." He tipped his head and entered the opened door, biting back a grin at the sight of Zeke in the corner of his eyes; he couldn't be certain without looking, but he was pretty sure he was giving him a big thumbs up.
He didn't take his time to look around save for a sweep of his eyes, less out of polite curiosity and more to make sure he wasn't going to step on one of Anya's spiders or projects. Brad clasped his hands behind his back, coming to a pause not far from the door but not so into Anya's space that he felt ... well, in a web. It was a strange dance, but a man of his size having to deal with his work of small places and many people gave him a gait and presence of mind of where to stand to give the most projection. And now, he needed that to his benefit since his nerves were in play.
Indigo eyes returned to Anya's face, gaze flickering through her many eyes. He never felt like he didn't know where to look -- it was more respect, acknowledging there was more to her than the human normalcy. "I know this is sudden, and that the timing is...perhaps not the best." The man's lips ticked to one side, as if lightly chiding himself. Time was of the essence when it came to house building and escrow, however; putting it off wouldn't make it any easier. "But, I've thought of you as my family. I have since you were born." After the initial shock, anyway, but she didn't need to know what the role of the Fel Virus had played on Alessa and Zul. "So, what I want to talk about - your opinion is important to me, paramount, in fact."
Nodding once - the words were under way, the dam was free - he fixed her with a solemn gaze. "The first part is straight forward, and the rest depends on the answer - so, I'd like to know what you'd think of I were to live with you and Zeke, permanently." And there, Brad became still. It was the source of his nerves - this yay or nay response - and he knew she was more aware of his stature than he was just then.
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Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2015 7:08 pm
She waited for him to make the first move after she allowed him entrance. Being forward was something she had not yet regained as a part of her repertoire. Perhaps it was also out of that curiosity that only seemed to grow now that Brad had entered, threaded with politeness that had been born in the aftermath of everything since past.
Despite the certainty there was nothing wrong or bad in what Brad had to say her crown still widened enough to be visible, the legs and sharpened points a halo around her face when he faced her. At that moment a million and more topics crisscrossed each other in her mind. A few were decidedly outrageous but most were mundane, in the vein of 'what do you say we all go out tonight, hm?'. A couple could even be considered 'bad news' even though the assurance was there. Some things just couldn't be helped.
When Brad started to speak his piece all those thoughts stopped where they were and fell into the abyss. Some things couldn't be helped indeed - her nerves suddenly started to jitter. She clasped her hands in front of her in response. He spoke of familial feelings and how her opinion mattered to him, before nodding suddenly which Anya did not quite understand why he would. Regardless, it seemed what he had to say was right around the corner and in spite of everything she steeled herself for it.
What he had to say wasn't all that surprising, let alone 'shocking', 'phenomenal', or even 'outrageous'. The jitters died off without fanfare and a moment passed with the not-quite-a-question hanging in the air. Anya just stared at the man. A second came and went, and she considered the man at a slight angle - unavoidable when one's head slowly slipped to one side. The pensive look was traded in for the very barest of frowns.
Was he expecting her to say something against the idea? Was that it?
"That's fine with me? I mean, if you want to." Tucking a stray lock of hair behind one tapered ear, the spider queen fixed her posture and even gave a small shrug. She would have left it there but Brad had said he wanted her opinion on the matter:
"I think it's more surprising that you don't live here permanently already, actually..."
She had known Brad since birth and since even before then he and Zeke had been together, but had kept separate households. It hadn't been too much of a thing for her to wonder, but after three years and more than one occasion of one person or another making a comment - on top of various media depictions of what couples were "supposed" to do - Anastacia supposed it did seem rather odd. Besides, the two men were obviously mad for one another and it wasn't like Brad didn't stay over more often than not anyway. She saw no problem in this idea.
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Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2015 7:20 pm
When she spoke, he felt as though all his nerves just fell out of his body in a very confused heap.
Brad's stare was usually a serious and no nonsense thing, and now was no exception - save for the fact his brows kept alternating between lofting high into his short hair to make him looked young and startled and skewing crookedly back over the indigo orbs in his more severe expression. Very obviously, that was not the response he anticipated. Trying to gather his thoughts, he glanced to the side - nope, no sense of things there - and then back to Anya.
"Forgive me, I didn't realize...you had that idea." Clearly, he'd been around Zul too long. It seemed the architect had forgotten that most of the Raevans were of more a human mindset and didn't find something different from what they'd known all their lives to be all that different, really. "You know, with Zul staying with me, I suppose -- I'd narrow-mindedly forgotten there were other points of view."
Quizzical, he subtly shook his head. The rest wouldn't be easy, persay, but it'd be easier. He hoped. "I wont be here permanently, if you agree, Ana. In fact, over the past year, I had been working on a client's requests but decided the place rather felt like home to me." He paused. "Like a home for a family." Another pause. "Basically, Ana, I've built us a home and I'd like to know if you'd perhaps like to move somewhere quieter, with a room for your bed and another for your crafts, where you can entertain others easier, if you so wished." A faint flicker of a smile appeared again. "It's a lot to take in suddenly - at least, it is for humans. The answer seems simple to us, but when I was young, I remember the horror of the idea of moving. I wish this to be an agreeable arrangement for all of us."
Lifting his chin, he exhaled softly. "I'd be happy to give you a tour first, if you'd prefer. Some finishing touches are still being done but it is mostly ready for us, if we're ready for it." We, a family.
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Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2015 8:17 pm
Now it was his turn to be confused, although her response seemed reasonable to her. Perhaps if she explained:
"You spend a lot of time here already. When Zeke does laundry, your things are in there with his. When you come by you don't knock; you just let yourself in and when you do that, Zeke will say 'welcome home' sometimes." She shrugged again. "You cook here, you spend time with us here, you do work here...When you aren't here, you and Zeke are on the phone for hours every night."
And it was literal hours. She had even seen their conversations fall into silence with neither man giving up the ghost.
When he spoke of Zul and that the other Raevan had a differing point of view, Anastacia kept mum. They were 'cousins' at Zeke often put it, but she didn't know the Baphomet well enough to say one way or another. But that was him and this was her, and Brad had gotten her two cents on the matter, which was now turning to a second.
A home? For a family, he said. With a bedroom and another room all for her, if she wanted. Now this was something that could be considered 'shocking'.
"Does Zeke know?" The words tumbled out and as soon as they did she shook her head. That was dumb; of course he knew. There was a plan involved between the two men that Brad was here asking her himself sans raver. "I mean..."
She wasn't sure what to mean or if she meant anything at all. Her gaze flitted around her room, one small part of the only place she had known for three years of life. Beyond it, hall outside and the rooms along and at the end of it, each one she could remember perfectly clear in her head. The idea of not living here anymore was almost inconceivable. But on another hand there was something intriguing about it even still, even if she couldn't put her finger on why.
"I'm not sure but...I'd like to see it, yes."
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 1:15 pm
Anastacia's reaction to the news about the rooms was as reasonable a thing in Brad's head as she'd been about them moving in together. The Italian cracked a smile and a soft chuckle under his breath, nodding a little and casting a glance towards the door. "Oh, he knows, and I think he's more excited about it than he's letting on." He had half a notion to put his hand out the door and reach to the side to see if he could grab Zeke, assuming the man was there. But, this was about the Raevan, and that she was comfortable with all the going-on's.
He smiled when she showed interest - not just turning him down or shutting him down, but putting a thoughtful sort of terms into giving him a chance. It was all Brad really needed. "If you're not busy - I know I said it wouldn't take long, but we can go see it now. Assuming Zeke isn't already in the car with it warmed up and ready." The vet might be a little less inclined to accept 'no' for an answer at this point -- goodness knows Brad had put off a tour long enough, wanting to wait until Anastacia had time to digest the information.Ravina Loki HI SORRY SO LATE, AGAIN, but we can wrap up on your post or mine after? ovo And then Zul/Ana in the new place while they're all moving still?
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 2:13 pm
"That's...kind of impressive for him." Zeke was the type of man who shared with the world how he was feeling so for this to have been in the works without her knowing about it? That sure was something. When Brad glanced toward her door, so did she, and like Brad Anastacia had the notion that perhaps the vet was lingering just out of view and privvy to everything that had just transpired. She had half a mind to cast a line and find out but was stopped from doing so with the Italian's next statement.
"Really?" She blinked at him with some awe, which was unavoidable given the circumstances. First he was asking if she was okay with him being around more, then he was giving her the choice of a new place to live, and now he was offering to take her to see it for herself. Anya opened her mouth to continue but closed it when she found she had no words for the moment. It was all happening so fast but perhaps...perhaps that was a good thing. For the best.
Why not?
"I'm not busy. My afternoon is free." She nodded as the words came and found comfort in saying them. Looking at Brad, her expression relaxed completely and perhaps, if one looked closely enough at her, they could see some slight traces of a smile at the corners of her mouth and in the position of her brows. "If you and Zeke are ready then I am too."
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2016 4:03 pm
Another chuckle met her words, his eyes half moons of contentment as he watched Ana. She was his family, and seeing her pause and consider, seeing that growth from her - it made him proud. "Alright, beautiful. We're ready. Probably been ready, one of us." Brad again glanced to the door with a hint of amusement in his off-colored eyes before he extended a hand in gesture. It was entirely that - not for her to take, though she could if she wanted to - simply making the motion of movement. It was time. It was long passed time.
It was time to visit their new prospective home.
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