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 Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 9:25 pm
Even under the shade of the red and white umbrella, sweat ran down his back. His t-shirt, smudged and dirty from the day's work, stuck uncomfortably to his skin as he shifted on the woven plastic seat attached to the table.
It was good luck to find an open table in such a bustling place, let alone one with a shady umbrella and off to the way-side, pressed up against the wall of a closed cafe and out of the way of the passers-by. It was a place where they could talk in peace, relax, without worrying about eavesdroppers.
That is, if Valeriu was willing to speak.
It was a hot day, but the ice cream stayed frozen from the chill of his frigid glare across the table-top. Cold and frosty and possibly contemplating all the ways he could kill Quinn with the little wooden spoon that was so thoughtfully provided with the cold treat.
"So. I spoke v'ith Seamus," he finally drawled in a way that resembled too much the dangerous tones of his god. He dug his spoon into the ice cream in a chopping motion.
"V'e had a nice, long talk." It wasn't so nice by the sound of his voice.
"He told me many things." Stab, stab, stab. The ice cream was slowly getting pulverized.
"Many things. Many, interesting things."
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 9:52 pm
As soon as he saw Vale, he knew he was screwed. He had been silent the whole walk over, and Quinn, for once, hadn't broken the silence.
The chill was making him wish he was wearing a shirt, despite the sweat.
With every bang of the spoon, Quinn winced. At this point, saying anything had the dangerous risk of incriminating him further. So he merely sat there, nibbling weakly at his mint chocolate chip.
"Go on," He muttered, taking a bite and crunching on a chip.
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:06 pm
Once his ice cream had been properly minced, he bit off a piece from the wooden spoon, glaring all the way. It was uncanny how cats did not need to blink, and evidently, Valeriu did not need to as well.
"A very interesting story, he told me," he said slowly, twisting the spoon between his fingers in an ever-tightening grasp. "About blackmail. About sexual harassment. About inappropriate comments and actions, for a victim who needs a constant supply of fixes until an antidote is found to even continue to function."
The spoon finally caved, splintering in his grasp.
"V'hat v'ere you thinking? I can understand biting, but toying v'ith him like this? He is my friend, my brother!"
If they weren't in public, Valeriu would've broken his suggestion that they not attack each other this time around. Would've leapt right over the table to rip Quinn a new one.
Not to mention the strangeness he felt, knowing his ex was walking around, kissing others. Like Writ, and Seamus. It was certainly not a happy feeling.
He frowned, and stabbed the destroyed remains of the spoon into the table.
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:20 pm
"Obviously," Quinn muttered, taking a bite. "I am the victim here." Another bite. "I enjoy men. I also enjoy kissing men. Given the opportunity, I cannot help myself. It is common sense that I shouldn't be given opportunities." Quinn nodded.
"So, Quetzalcoatl took advantage of this by giving me the opportunity." Another bite. It was good that he bought the largest bowl size.
"And, while I would love to not take advantage of Seamus," he paused.
"I am unable to resist at the moment."
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:28 pm
Valeriu saw red, and the ice cream bowl crumpled beneath the sudden spasming of his fingers pulling into a fist. Good thing it was a small size, or he'd have a lot more melted ice cream stuck to his palm at the minute.
"You can and you v'ill resist," he hissed, leaning forward to emphasize his point and tail lashing behind him unhappily. "Seamus is my friend. I am very sure that you are not supposed to try and rape my friends." He growled, leaned back, and carefully wiped the ice cream off his hand with a napkin. He'd taken a handful, offered by the ice cream vendor, and knew they would come in handy.
"V'hat you are doing is not okay. Seamus does not v'ant it, and you are abusing your power over him by forcing him into such participation." He frowned, angrily. He knew how ashamed Seamus was of himself. "He never v'anted to be addicted to anything. This is already a terrible experience for him. Let alone to be tricked into selling his body--"
He dabbed with the napkin. Furiously. Dab, dab, dab. So as to, furiously, not smear the ice cream in a larger mess.
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:33 pm
"'Kay. Fine. Chill," Quinn leaned back in his chair, and took another bite, regarding Vale with a blank stare.
"Honestly. It was just a kiss. 'Selling his body'? 'Rape'? It was a kiss, Vale. Calm down. If you don't want me to do it, I won't." He shrugged. "You kiss better, anyway." Bite.
"You're also saying it like it has happened on multiple occasions. Sounds to me like you're just blowing it out of proportion." He looked directly up at the sky, leaning his head back.
"Sorry," he said, matter-of-factly. "It won't happen again."
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:40 pm
He frowned at his palm in disgruntlement. He most certainly wasn't blowing it out of proportion! He'd known Seamus wasn't comfortable with that.
Still, his ego couldn't help but be soothed. Just a bit. He was a better kisser? Really?
It fluffed itself, even as Vale moodily folded the used napkin neatly and tidily.
"Alright. So long as it ends here," he agreed.
He blinked at his napkin, then at the sky-ward gazing Quinn, and then at the umbrella covering his already-burnt skin.
What to talk about now?
He could only think of the last time they'd gone to eat ice cream, that first day. Could only remember holding hands, the simple happiness and awe he'd felt at having a friend for the first time.
And now? Now he was back to embarrassment, awkwardly searching for something to say.
He held out a neatly folded, clean napkin. "V'ant one?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:59 pm
Quinn looked at the napkin with a vague air of suspicion. He had long ago perfected the art of making sure every last drop of food went into his mouth, and nowhere else. Napkins were unnecessary, at that point.
It was a foreign object. He glanced at it, but didn't touch it.
"No," He began, and tried to take another bite, and realized it was empty. "I'm okay." He smirked at Vale with an arched eyebrow. "Not all of us exploded our bowls all over everywhere."
He braced his hands on the table and pushed his chair back, standing up.
"Let's walk. After the way this last conversation went, we need to bond. Or something. And be happy."
"Hey, can we go see Sydni? I'd like to visit with her, now that she's awake and I'm not passed out."
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 11:08 pm
"I did not explode my bowl," he muttered under his breath, tossing the offending evidence into the nearest trash can and stretching under the heat of the day.
Made him sleepy. Very sleepy.
He shook off the inherent laziness that came with a sunny day, hesitating briefly. It was about time to pick Sydni up from what he'd come to call the Moms' Club. Once a week the mothers would hoist their children off on a single babysitter or two in a mass-effect playdate to foster socialization and friendship when they couldn't afford to send their children to nursery school.
He was not sure if he wanted Quinn to know that he was a member of the Moms' Club. He might never live it down.
"Sure," he decided, slinging his dusty workbag over his shoulder. It was the newest addition to his daily accessories. It carried his lunch, a canteen, and all the draft paper, pencils, pens, T-squares, French curves, and rulers that Valeriu, as inept at drawing as he was, needed in order to design his buildings. "This v'ay." He nodded down one sunny, wide street, and began the trek to pick up his sister and heartlessly tear her away from the best friend she had made that day in order to take her home.
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Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 11:40 am
"Sure you didn't. Never happened, not even once." Quinn rolled his eyes as Vale threw the trash away.
Quinn grinned, and trotted along next to Vale. Crisis averted! "Where is she, today? I've always kind of wondered where she goes, besides with the babysitter." He glanced over at Vale. then his grinn morphed into a mischievous smile. He slowed down slightly so he was a step behind Vale, then leapt onto him, grabbing ahold of his shoulders and waist.
"Onwards, Catnip!"
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Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 11:47 am
"V'ell, I'm part of a group that gets together to help their kids make friends--" he started, before cutting off with a yelped "Aagh!" of consternation and confusion and surprise as a sudden, large, and heavy weight flung itself onto his back. He flailed a bit, struggling not to capsize, before steadying himself, attempting the impossible feet of twisting his head around to try and glare at Quinn.
"V'hat are you doing? I am not a bike!" In reality, he was more surprised that Quinn was even in contact with him. He'd been pretty sure the other man was terrified of coming that close.
Valeriu had obviously had that wrong.
And oh, how his healing ribs ached.
Now it was just a matter of getting the other off. A shimmy here, a sidestep there, staggering around like a drunken bull attempting to toss its rider off, all the while unhappy murmurs of "MRRR, MRRR" filling the air.
"Quinn!"
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Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 11:57 am
"No, you're not a bike. If you were a bike I'd have to pedal! Onwards!" he tapped his heels against Valeriu's thighs. Vale's attempts to knock him off caused him a bit of a struggle, but most of that struggle was taken out on Vale's neck, as he clung for dear life on the only hold available.
He would not be tossed off! Never! He could hold this for days. Hours, even. Minutes.
"Yes, dearest?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 12:11 pm
He finally gave up, winded and ribs aching for dear life, huffing and puffing through his nose and scowling up a storm. He slapped ineffectively at Quinn's heels, but nevertheless began the long journey forward.
"You're heavy," he muttered sulkily, sounding like a wounded soldier. "And hot. It is already a hot day outside, and you go and climb me like this. I v'ill collapse from heat exhaustion, and then v'here v'ill you be? Stuck v'ithout a ride."
In reality, the baby-watcher's home was only about two more blocks down the road. And Valeriu really had no trouble walking with a monkey on his back. He'd carried far heavier, without even slouching. His was a back meant to shoulder the weight of the world.
And a few hundred pounds of cement.
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Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 12:21 pm
"I am not heavy, thank you, I dunno I rather like the temperature, and I'll be fine. I'd have no ride if I was walking, wouldn't I? Either way, I'd have to walk at some point. This way, some point is later." He nodded. "And besides. We have to make sure I don't overexert myself and faint. Because, I faint all the time anyway and you've had to save me. And you'd have to carry me if I fainted, and we'd end up in the same position anyway."
He paused.
"So, really, the best choice is for me to be on your back."
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Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 12:35 pm
That was all well and good, but Valeriu still did not like the resulting increase of sweat trickling down his back. It was ticklish.
He grunted at Quinn's utterly fallible logic, but said no more on the subject. It was surreal enough actually having Quinn so close. It made that day seem all the farther away, like a strange and hazy nightmare, rather than the reality it had been. The reality it continued to be.
Upon arriving at his destination, he bumped (and by bumped, really, it meant he took a fist and knocked, quite firmly) at Quinn's knees for the other to get down. The house was unassuming - but on the plus side, it was a house. A house that sounded like it had a stampede inside. A stampede of tiny midgets, running around and shrieking in delight.
He contemplated the doorway for a moment, scratched his chin, took a deep breath, and walked in.
Now, Valeriu was quite popular with the Moms' Club. Not only was he a favorite among the many children who appeared there each week, he was also a single male in a herd of usually-single women. So it wasn't surprising that the moment the children got wind that he'd walked through the door he'd been bowled over by at least three of the little monsters. It also wasn't surprising that the mothers, there to pick up their kids and chat, had fluttered to his side to greet him all too warmly, despite (or probably because) of his fearsome looks.
Really, Valeriu would stay and talk more often, but for some reason their conversations always turned to marriage. And it was then that they looked at him with strange glints in their eyes, and hands upon his arms, and he turned tail and fled with Sydni in tow.
But really, they were nice ladies.
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