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Post by Armand on Feb 5, 2009 8:04:13 GMT -5
After a few seconds in which Nicolas did not follow him in, Armand began to wander the store, running a weighty eye over the clothing for what might fit the other and regarding the sales rather dubiously. The same glossy posters and stiff mannequins that Nicolas had admired out front were arranged prominently around the small, heavily decorated space, and Armand stared at the posters as through trying to pull the depth out of them until Nicolas came in.
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Post by Nicolas de Lenfent on Feb 5, 2009 13:00:28 GMT -5
Nicolas took a moment to find Armand, and the momentarily divorce from his company had left him more cautious and - well, vulnerable. He moved in a manner that would attract no attention from any mortals in the store, having long since discarded the need to move inhumanly, and doubtless Armand knew he was there even before he gently stepped up to Armand's side and kissed his temple like a child asking forgiveness from a mother he's just driven to terrible migraines by his insolence.
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Post by Armand on Feb 5, 2009 16:25:30 GMT -5
Armand's eyes flickered sideways as the other vampire stepped up beside him. He took a graceful step away, turning as he did so to face Nicolas and to spread one hand towards the clothing display in a wordless reminder. Nicolas' clothing now looked like an absent college student's. The baggy pants and flimsy sweater were comfortable, no doubt, but Armand wanted to take Nicolas and brush the dust off of him, to give him nice clothing and to comb out his hair. It was a compulsion he didn't even try to resist. At least he was not picking out Nicolas' clothes for him. Yet.
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Post by Nicolas de Lenfent on Feb 5, 2009 18:26:48 GMT -5
Nicolas had not noticed the clothing aspects of the shop - he'd been too wrapped up in trying to find Armand, which had pressed on his brain most urgently. Now that Armand had been found, and had himself made his unassuming - almost ghostly - gesture towards the racks, Nicolas found himself staring. Perhaps astonishment was too mild a word? His smile was getting into the realms of the grotesque, although at first it had been quite charming. Full-on macabre was prevented by his abruptly going up to one of them and running his fingers down a thin silk sleeve, then passing onto the next. Some of this... he did not suppose he'd warn much like it for centuries.
He looked back at Armand in terrible excitement, looked back to whatever he was gazing upon at that moment, moved onto the next, glanced back at Armand, then shot towards another thing. Any moment now, a salesperson's eyes would head his way. He did look out of place in such a sophisticated locale, with his washing machine-abused clothing and his dusty hair.
"Armand," he said, too softly to be heard by any nearby mortal; but then, he wasn't addressing one. He failed to finish the sentence, however, no words able, really, to express the delight he was feeling. He wanted to express thanks, or ask an opinion; but so far he was too overwhelmed to even consider what to wear on his own. It had not yet occurred to him, even, that he might purchase any of this. Pret-a-porter was rather beyond him, anyway. And he had already forgotten why they were in here, particularly as it had been Armand's idea and he liked the clothes he had. "Oh, Armand."
((More Imogen Heap soon! ^_^))
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Post by Armand on Feb 5, 2009 21:22:20 GMT -5
Armand began to laugh, low and delighted, at Nicolas' reaction. Surely he himself hadn't been like that his first time in a clothing store, had he? Not his first time in one of these sort, these new world, modern day mass markets, filled with colorful and cheaply made luxuries, no, only Nicolas. The stricken, enchanted look in Nicolas' eyes only made him laugh harder, obviously at him, but the alluring rarity of the sound struck it inoffensive.
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Post by Nicolas de Lenfent on Feb 6, 2009 13:19:07 GMT -5
Not only was Nicolas not offended, but he became even fonder of Armand, glowing with affection as he glanced back at him suddenly, very warmly, before returning to his excited gazing. It was reassuring, that Armand was still there - and beyond that, Nicolas did not even have his reason right. He thought that sweet laughter meant that Armand was touched by Nicolas' repetition of his name. Noticing something in the other side of the room, he went towards that like moth to flame, but caught Armand in a kiss on his way over, inspecting absolutely every pair of designer jeans regardless or size or cut, and taking his time doing it, too.
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Post by Armand on Feb 6, 2009 13:40:41 GMT -5
Nicolas' tendency to easy affection was disconcerting, but Armand did not mind terribly much, not yet. He did not hover behind Nicolas at all times as he shopped, but stayed standing where he was. There was a little seating area nearby, all low leather chairs and a little table, presumably for those waiting for the fitting rooms or who were simply and suddenly exhausted by all the shopping, but Armand didn't want to sit at the moment.
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Post by Nicolas de Lenfent on Feb 6, 2009 13:46:23 GMT -5
Nicolas continued to look at every shelf that there was in the store, logging each detail into memory, as delighted by the designer tags and labels and how they differed as he was by anything - the stitching, the individual buttons, the drape of the fabric, subconsciously endeavoring to look at every individual item in the store (even peeking into people's shopping carts and getting things snatched away from him before he moved onto something else). He was approached once by a salesgirl - pretty enough for it to be semi-obvious she was meant to be a sales tool herself - but he said he did not need assistance, and she stepped back, hesitantly, eyes following him, body frozen.
This all continues for paragraphs and paragraphs of unwritten text, at least until Armand realizes that Nicolas is not looking for new clothes, just looking at clothes. Or, if he doesn't, it lasts until Nicolas finishes looking at every item in the store, which will take an hour or more, and goes back to Armand with a sheepish, happy, exhausted smile.
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Post by Armand on Feb 6, 2009 14:07:28 GMT -5
(( All right, all right, I get it. Nicolas must be stopped. ^_^ ))
After a while, it became very apparent that Nicolas had completely forgotten the reason they'd come here, and while Armand had understood some of that fascination at first after half an hour of waiting on the violinist he felt compelled to interfere.
"Nicolas," Armand said, having walked slowly and completely like a mortal to his side, "Have you seen any clothing that you would like for yourself? To wear?"
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Post by Nicolas de Lenfent on Feb 6, 2009 14:12:09 GMT -5
Nicolas looked rather surprised, looking up from a (much too large) shirt he'd taken off of a shelf in the plus-sizes section which he had dove into about five minutes ago. "Hm? What would I...? I've got clothes," he said, with an almost endearingly oblivious, dismissive hand gesture towards the shrunken, fabric-softener-softened sweater.
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Post by Armand on Feb 6, 2009 14:43:17 GMT -5
"Do you have any other clothes than the ones that you're wearing?" Armand was patient and only a little patronizing, as he tried to guide Nicolas' mind to the logical conclusion.
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Post by Nicolas de Lenfent on Feb 6, 2009 15:04:30 GMT -5
Nicolas gently shook his head, failing to grasp the point, as, as a vampire, he didn't see any need to change his clothes. And he had gotten these from an unfortunate victim, and so could change clothes at some time in the future if he felt he needed to.
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Post by Armand on Feb 6, 2009 15:16:00 GMT -5
"Then I would like you to allow me to buy some for you."
Armand phrased this very deliberately.
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Post by Nicolas de Lenfent on Feb 6, 2009 15:26:59 GMT -5
There was a noticeable pause between the time Nicolas heard this, wearing his same attentive but unknowing expression, and the time he understood it, and, absolutely guilelessly, what he suddenly understood had nothing to do with the knowledge that they'd come in for that very purpose, which he had entirely forgotten, absolutely.
He was smiling again, although the excitement was more subdued by far, and he glanced sidelong at the rack he'd gotten the shirt he held from, then very smoothly hung it up.
"If you would like."
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Post by Armand on Feb 6, 2009 15:50:57 GMT -5
"Yes. That is what I would like." It was like dealing with a child, Armand thought to himself with a trace of exasperation, but it was hard to be truly annoyed when it was the first night in a series of many that he'd seen the other vampire. "Come." Armand led him to the right section, watching him closely to see if, upon understanding now what it was they were there to do, Nicolas would actually look at any of the clothes for himself.
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