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 Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:38 pm
Hadrian was wondering why he'd come back to his apartment tonight. He's imagined that he would come home and sleep - but he'd soon found that he couldn't. Insomnia wasn't something new to him, but lately it had been almost impossible to sleep without exhausting himself.
He was actually considering going back to the labs and doing some more work. At least he would have something to do then...
And then there was something that his mind kept drifting back to: Natalie and Thorn. Tonight was their 'date'. To be honest, he was worried about the girl.
And then, Marc..
He hadn't seen the man, not even once, since he'd asked for his things. While he supposed that should have relaxed him, instead it only made him feel worse.
After having aimlessly rolled around his apartment for a while, he had finally settled a bit, drinking coffee, curled up in one of the comfortable chairs.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:51 pm
Was it anger that propelled him, or just the need to torment the mage? Thorn couldn't identify the difference any more, because it both led to the same thing. Him, walking up the stairs to an apartment he was a stranger at. Had he ever been invited in?
Did it matter?
He was still dressed the same. The jacket hadn't been tugged off, the cuffs rolled up. He still looked smart, with none of those adjustments people seemed to make in order to become more comfortable. Thorn found comfort in looking smart, sharp.
And right now, he found comfort in what he was going to do next.
Confidently, he tried the door. Not because he expected it to be open, but because he would never knock first. That suggested the other person had power. No. He opened it, and when it gave under his hand, with a look of surprise he stepped inside.
In to Hadrian's den.
"Hadrian." his voice slipped out. Cool. Professional. "You've been talking."
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:59 pm
Hadrian's eyes fell on Thorn, and immediately he knew what this was about.
Natalie. At least it looked like she had chased Thorn away...though the man must have come straight to him afterwads.
The mage rose to his feet, his gaze going from surprised to wary in mere moments. And within that gaze, he also held anger - how dare Thorn just charge in here!
But the voice unnerved him.
So when he spoke, his voice was tight. With anger, with uncertainty.
Fear.
Because while this was familiar territory to him, it now just represented another place Thorn had invaded, when he already invaded every other safe refuge. And even seeing the man now, brought up a confused collection of shame and guilt, of pain and fear.
"Obviously. And it apparently kept her safe from you, so I'm glad for it."
He hoped it had kept her safe, anyway.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:04 am
Thorn smiled. His eyes were dark as he smiled, and he decided that maybe while he hadn't been very angry before... well, maybe he could make up for it now. Sometimes the mage infuriated him. He knew he could make the man beg, but at the same time, knew he would always see that anger in his eyes. In his movements.
Pity that Marc had gotten to him first. If only Thorn had...
"What makes you think she's safe, Hadrian?" he asked, taunting him deliberately. Had he hurt her yet? Of course not. But there was no way the mage would know. And to think that he had presumed...
No, that wasn't true. He had never presumed Hadrian would keep his mouth shut. Not if he was concerned about the safety of others. Still. It annoyed him. Irked him. This man who seemed to meet him at every step.
One of these days, he would own this compound, and this mage.
One of these days.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:09 am
"Because you wouldn't be here now, if she wasn't safe."
Simple, but Hadrian seemed strangely confident of this. Thorn confused him on so many levels, but this was something that he thought he understood about the man - thought he knew.
He could be wrong, of course.
And while his words were confident, his hand clenched around the coffee cup so hard that his knuckles were white -
Well, it made it clear that he wasn't as confident as he sounded. But he was attempting to call the bluff, if it was one.
The thought that Thorn had hurt someone else - it angered him, upset him. Worried him.
And he wanted the man gone. But, well...he'd already learned that trying to force the man out didn't work very well. So he'd wait, but he wasn't going to just let himself be pushed around.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:14 am
Thorn smiled. Wry. Well, this man had more edges than he had thought! So he nodded his head, slipping out of his jacket as he walked towards the counter.
"It's your fault, you know." he stated. "The moment I walk in she jumps like a rabbit, accused me of being a monster who rapes people for fun and then ends up crying at my feet, as if there's any way she can fix this between us." he gaved a hand between he and Hadrian as a way of showing he meant he and Natalie. "Quite a curious mix. At the most beautiful dress on as well."
Quiet, casual words. As if they were lovers speaking of their day (Hi honey, how has your day been?) instead of predator and prey talking in the night's progression.
"So not only do I lose a two hundred bottle wine, but I haven't had dinner either."
Acting as if he owned the place, he stood in front of the kitchen, staring at the fridge.
"Do you even have anything edible in here?"
He acted, as if everything was right between them. As if he didn't wear the bruises from something that had happened with Hadrian. As if he wasn't plotting ways to break him further. Because it was fun, this way.
Besides. Thorn was hungry.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:20 am
Hadrian's jaw was clenching hard, and he finally forced himself to relieve a bit of the pressure on the coffee cup. Wouldn't do to break it, after all...especially in front of Thorn. The last thing he wanted to do was show that sort of weakness.
But it was truly infuriating him that Thorn was wandering around as if he owned the place.
Following into the kitchen, the hard set of his eyes made it clear what he thought of this.
And his voice, well - frigid would be putting it nicely.
"Unless you like tv dinners, no."
For once, he was glda that all he ever kept in his fridge was that. Maybe the man would decide to go eat something real, and leave.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:25 am
"TV dinners?" Thorn opened the fridge and scowled. My god, was the mage poisoning himself? "No wonder you don't respond well to me. You work on fumes and chemical additives." it was something similar to what Marc would have said.
Not that Thorn did it too deliberately.
"I guess it's okay. Don't you have any alcohol in here? All I got was half a glass of my wine..." he looked up, ironic. Insolent, at the teeth gritting and frigid tone.
My, who knew dinner could be so fun?
"Did you eat, then? You do look terrible since the day you broke up with Marc." was it a flip of names? Nouns? Maybe. But Thorn wasn't going to let Hadrian off the hook.
The last time, he had left the man with a blow to his pride. This time, it wasn't going to end there. Not really.
Hopefully not. It was on the tip of his tongue to invite the mage upstairs- he knew Marc's pass, and he knew the man must have decent food somewhere.
But that, that might be pushing things a bit.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:30 am
That phrase...it was a flash of pain that was caused there, by those words so similar to Marc's thoughts of the tv dinners.
...and at the next words, he actually felt himself glad that Marc had taken everything of his, already. Hadrian had given him the alcohol - it had all been his anyway.
"Not anymore."
Hadrian maintained the stiff voice, but Thorn had scored a few points against him in that round of exchanges. He hadn't been able to hold back a flinch at Marc's name, or the brief shift of emotion across his face before hiding it.
But his composure was regained, and he spoke again. Noticably, he didn't answer the question of whether he ate or not.
"If you're so hungry - leave. I'm sure you can find food and alcohol somewhere else."
He didn't think it would be that easy to get rid of Thorn...but it didn't hurt to try.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:34 am
Thorn laughed. "I think you're trying to get rid of me." talk about stating the obvious. He did so with a smile, looking back with an arch of a brow as he pulled out two TV dinners and placed them both in the microwave. Well, that would do.
Looking for two cups, he filled them with water. Decent, normal water, and nodded his head. "So brave of you to try."
His words were wry, and he looked the man over, wondering how long it would be until Natalie came running to him with angst. Or him to her. It was a deliberate thought that had him consider the option of playing them against each other.
But as quickly as the thought came, he dismissed it.
The beep of the microwave interrupted his thoughts, and he pulled them both out, carrying it through the heat deftly as he placed them both on the table. "Eat, Hadrian."
It was a command.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:38 am
Narrowing his eyes at Thorn, Hadrian wasn't going to put up with this...this acting as if he belonged. As if he was welcome there.
It frustrated him, that no matter how rude he was acting, the other man simply ignored it. It frustrated him that he couldn't seem to get a rise out o the other, couldn't get him to react with anything more then his infuriating typical behavoir.
"I ate earlier."
Not entirely a lie; he had eaten earlier. At noon, that is. And then it had only been a tv dinner he'd eaten in a hurry.
But he wasn't going to just sit there and eat dinner with the other man, as if everything was fine and dandy. If Thorn didn't want to leave, well...he was just going to make this as difficult on the other man as possible.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:42 am
Thorn smirked. "By earlier do you mean yesterday?" picking at his with a frown, he watched the mage, exasperated. Or so it seemed. "Are you so childish that you can't even eat in front of me?"
Deliberate goading, maybe. And as he unwrapped/undid everything that had to be unwrapped and undone on the silly little TV dinner, he slipped something in. Discreet, of course.
Hmm. That was another reason why he liked ot look smart and presentable. Long cuffs could hide tiny vials that just needed the right angle. Colorless, tasteless, he pushed the TV dinner to the other end.
"I don't be responsible for this project to go down because you sulk." he said, smirking. "What will Haki do?"
Mention the girl. The young ones. Unfortunatly, Haki was the only one he knew how to mention.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:48 am
If Hadrian had known of the existance of such a drug, that Hadrian had access to it - he would never take anything from the man. But he didn't.
Sitting down with an angry glare at Thorn, the mage had given in on this. He did need to eat, true. But it didn't mean he had to enjoy eating with the other man.
And after taking one bite, he spoke again. His voice this time was demanding, and still frustrated.
"Why are you here?"
Why couldn't Thorn just leave him alone?
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 8:21 am
"I told you." he watched, eyes intent as the man ate. It would make him easier, more suspectible. It was a drug to heighten the senses just up to everything being painful. It was, and Thorn knew because he had dabbled in it himself, quite erotic, but not only that. It seemed to make people believe that they were more in touch with their emotions. Something about everything being colder, hotter, bitterer, played with the mind until even the mind was easier to sway with words.
Are you hungry? A suggestion that could lead to a person believing that they were famished. Things like that. Thorn had bought it as an amusement, in case Natalie had proved to be boring.
Had he thought it would lead him to Hadrian... he might have bought more. Still, the amount he had should be enough.
"You told Natalie." he said, eating his own food. It was quite disgusting, but he was hungry. "I thought you should know that your... deed, has been successful."
His words were wry. Amused.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 8:27 am
Hadrian eyed Thorn with skepticism, but ate some more. He would have thought Thorn would only come here if he was looking for - certain recreation. Or just to torment him. Maybe the man was just trying to torment him by sticking around and not actually doing anything?
While perhaps the tv dinner wasn't the most tasty of foods, it was what he was used to; so he had no problems with eating it.
So it was a bit of surprise when the taste seemed to be growing stronger. He didn't count anything important on that, but he briefly wondered if they had changed the food a bit - and that it definintly wasn't for the better.
((Ahh, this'll be fun xd ))
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