[ witzend reg ] Scornful Egos (Gansey & Delphine)

[Nuxaz]

Location: Crimson Hotel

By the time they'd gotten back to the hotel, Gansey's mood was irritable at best.

His face ached, lip throbbing because the punches in the face had caused it to split, and worse off, his ego was bruised. It had been his first true venture into the mission fold and they had come back empty handed, worse for wear, and missing one of their counterparts.

He could hear Suri's beratement already. What did I say about distractions?

In his defense, he hadn't been distracted by the girls, but by other things. Still, losing was not something Gansey was accustomed to and he was irate because of it.

Still, he tried to put on the charm when he leaned into Delphine a bit. "Your room or mine?"

beejoux

 

[Nuxaz]

Gentlemanly, his hand found the small of her back and his fingertips pressed lightly against it in the guise of requesting permission. Gansey was confident that she'd appreciate the contact and perhaps encourage it, but the point was to make it seem like he was respectful.

"Mine it is," he replied, carefully guiding her down the hall to one of the rooms on the right. His wallet was fished out with his free hand, the man expertly taking out the key card before it was inserted and the wallet tucked away again.

Once the light went green, he pushed the door handle down to open the door, holding it for Delphine to enter first.

"You didn't take much damage did you?" He asked, because it was polite to make it about her before it was about him.

beejoux

 

[Nuxaz]

Her dismissal of injuries didn't stop him from letting his hazel-eyed gaze sweep across her. It wasn't outright lecherous, but slightly appreciative before he registered that she was checking out the room.

His suitcase was inside the closet, his clothing either neatly hung inside or tucked away in the dressers because it was easier than rifling through a bag whenever he needed things. His shoes were lined up neatly against the wall and the place was relatively spotless, considering he let housekeeping in, and his laptop sat on the side table. It was something he used to contact those back home when needed.

Delphine would find the ice bucket near the coffeemaker next to the flat screen on top of the dresser.

Gansey followed after her, pressing his fingertips against her back when he wet his lip to feel how swollen it was. "You don't mind playing nurse for me do you?"

beejoux

 

[Nuxaz]

At her urging, Gansey moved over to the single bed and sat down on the edge. In the time she was gone he had pulled off his boots and arranged them neatly at the foot of the bed. The sleeves of his shirt had been rolled up so they were out of the way and it was now visible that parts of his skin had been burned from the hearts that had lain waste to them.

"I should have known," he offered, complete with his most flattering smile, "you look like a woman who is well versed in things."

Her rank denoted experience, but he hadn't cared to look into how much she had or how long she'd been 'serving'. Those were boring professional questions and he looked over at her expectantly. Now that he was sitting they were nearly the same height.

Shifting, Gansey spread his legs apart and rested his hands on either knee with a brow raised. "Tell me what to do Nurse Delphine."

beejoux

 

[Nuxaz]

"They ache but nothing too terrible," he replied before reconsidering. "Well, that's being generous. Some of the magic burned through my coat. Along my shoulders and back." While almost every part of him was covered, the magic had still managed to do some damage.

Nothing was quite as bad as his split lip.

Still, he couldn't resist when he asked, "I could take my shirt off and let your expert eye take a gander?" Flattering and flirting were two things he was very good at.

His chin lifted as if it would help her and he did as she asked, sitting still as she applied the ice pack to his mouth. Gansey did, however hiss from the sudden cold against his sore mouth and reflexively reached out to steady himself by holding her hip.

beejoux

 

[Nuxaz]

"I'd say it's up to you Miss Nurse," Gansey replied, letting his hazel gaze drift to where he held her by the hip. Since she didn't seem bothered, he didn't move his hand, instead he squeezed slightly, watching the way she played demure and he wondered just how much coaxing he'd have to do to get what he thought he might want from her.

Suri's words echoed in the back of his head and he shoved them aside.

"Forgive me," he said with a weak smile, as best he could with the ice pressed against his lip. "I knew it was cold and it still managed to surprise me." If he seemed apologetic, perhaps she'd ignore how unsubtle he was being.

"A few months," he answered with a shrug, choosing now to let his hand drop and avert his gaze. "Still getting my feet wet but this stuff-- heh, should've been easier considering I'm a competitive hunter."

beejoux

 

[Nuxaz]

While her explanation made send, Gansey couldn't help but feel a little sore about how things had gone down. He wasn't used to failing, he was a man who excelled in almost every area of his life.

He had been born and bred for success. He was meant to be the best.

"Big game, mostly deer." Gansey thought for a moment, each word spoken slow and careful to not disturb the ice on his face. "Occasionally I'll participate in small game hunting, to keep my reflexes sharp." Hitting smaller targets proved to be their own type of challenge.

"And you? How long have you been serving?"

beejoux

 

[Nuxaz]

The mention of ballet had him gazing over her petite frame again, drifting down and lingering on what he could see of her legs. Her body certainly suited that of a dancer's, especially a ballerina's, and he was curious if he touched her thighs or her calves of how much muscle he would feel.

Fingers tapped against his knees to reign in the desire. While Delphine hadn't resisted any of his advances, she had hardly reacted to them at all. He could wait.

"Has it treated you well, all that time spent serving?" He asked, hazel eyes lifting back up as he cocked his head. He wondered how her superior guided her and how they differed from his own.

He and Suri got along well enough, though there was always an undercurrent of tension.

"What of your time away, did you fill it with just dance or lovers too?"

beejoux