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Post by Adrien Baillon on Jul 28, 2009 17:45:39 GMT -5
Adrien bit his lip, but nodded. After a slightly constricted intake of breath, trying to steady himself, he reached out to touch him again, hesitantly, beginning tentatively to smile again.
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Jul 28, 2009 18:15:21 GMT -5
"Do you not want to? Pity, I assumed you would have wanted to-"
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Post by Adrien Baillon on Jul 28, 2009 18:35:49 GMT -5
The smile wavered. Without even realizing it he pulled his hand back to tuck hair behind his ear, glancing away, looking thoughtful. His posture was both contemplative and somewhat nerve-wracked.
"I - yes. But - "
He bit his lip and stayed silent. He hadn't thought about it. When Adrian had mentioned Karnak he wouldn't have even asked himself whether or not he wanted to go there; he had never thought about it. Even saying yes now was his first time thinking about it. He could never have thought he'd be going there, and trying to expand his worldview to include going to Karnak in it was mind-boggling and frightening.
Of course, even if he had been able to articulate this, he wouldn't have done so. Certainly Adrian Veidt would hate nothing like narrow-mindedness. But Adrien was not trying to be narrow-minded. The world was just so big, and Adrien... wasn't.
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Jul 28, 2009 19:07:45 GMT -5
The upper part of the costume finally yielded, and he was able to peel it away.
"No, the belt is only for decoration," he chided, pushing Adrien's hands away. "Unfastening it won't do a thing."
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Post by Adrien Baillon on Jul 28, 2009 19:24:29 GMT -5
Adrien pulled away dutifully, gazing at Veidt distantly. Was this really normal for him? The prelude to love-making punctuated by intimidation and then going back to what was expected without anything in between?
Adrien shook his head, not to turn anything down but to try and clear it, and slipped off of the bed, pushing his fingers through his hair. He paced and then turned back abruptly to face Veidt. "Oh, God, Veidt, why do you want me in Karnak?" The effect was not at all unlike a cat with a twitching tail, except that Adrian was more stressed than upset.
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Jul 28, 2009 19:36:24 GMT -5
Veidt looked almost affronted.
"I happen," he said stiffly, "to enjoy your company. If this is an impediment to you in any way, then don't let me detain you..."
He waved his hand idly, without looking at the boy.
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Post by Adrien Baillon on Jul 28, 2009 19:39:13 GMT -5
Adrien stared at him.
"Are you sure?" he said, his throat a little thick. He looked at Veidt as though Veidt were torturing him, and he was trying to figure out why.
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Jul 28, 2009 19:43:43 GMT -5
"As Micaela will be going, it also seems expedient that you come along and tend to her there as well," Veidt continued as he pulled off the last of the costume and made his way to the bathroom, where a change of clothes was waiting. "You act as though I am making some absurd and arbitrary demand..."
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Post by Adrien Baillon on Jul 28, 2009 19:54:19 GMT -5
Adrien sank back onto the bed, glancing over at Veidt both contemplatively and apprehensively. He could not compass this. He could not figure out what was so wrong with it, nor what was so upsetting, and logic found no reason for him to be upset; that did not make him feel any better, though, because he clearly was.
"But it's... in Antarctica," he said, not as though that were final, but because he was trying to work out in words what was bothering him and couldn't put his finger on it, which only made him more anxious. "I'm sorry, I know that doesn't make any sense. I just thought..."
He continued trying to work everything out, glancing down at his tie and his vest on the floor. For a moment, he couldn't understand what they were doing there. Then he recalled he'd taken them off. He couldn't bring himself to reach down and put them on again. "...that...you...didn't....really.... That the... job was really..."
He looked up at him, something starting to make sense, agonizingly slowly. "Casual," he finished. "Temporary. Karnak is really..." He gestured futilely, frustrated with himself.
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Jul 29, 2009 17:13:18 GMT -5
"You are an employee first and foremost, and if I say you're going to Karnak, you're going to Karnak."
He carried the change of clothes back into the room without putting them on. It was another one of his inexplicable gifts, being able to be this commanding even while in a state of complete undress.
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Post by Adrien Baillon on Jul 29, 2009 17:16:12 GMT -5
Adrien, unsure of himself, nonetheless started to smile a little in impossible gratitude, the depth of which he did not know how to communicate.
"Thanks," he said softly.
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Jul 29, 2009 17:34:47 GMT -5
"You're welcome."
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Post by Adrien Baillon on Jul 29, 2009 17:56:36 GMT -5
Man, Divine and Seck were going to take his job a little more seriously when he disappeared to Karnak for a week or something.
He fingered the shirt Veidt had brought out. "So... what're you doing? It's kind of late."
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Jul 30, 2009 15:09:29 GMT -5
"I thought it was entirely obvious what we're doing."
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Post by Adrien Baillon on Jul 30, 2009 15:22:08 GMT -5
Adrien smiled again, with the same sense of gratitude - that Veidt was letting the matter of his moment of anxiety drop without another word - whether it was warranted or not. If Veidt was simply continuing on because he thought no interruption had ever been necessary, Adrien was ignorant to it. He automatically assumed his feelings were transparent to Veidt, and that if Veidt was disregarding them it was for his benefit.
He moved to unbutton his shirt.
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