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Post by Adrian Veidt on Sept 2, 2009 20:36:19 GMT -5
"Mr. Veidt?"
Adrian winced without opening his eyes.
"Not now."
But the owner of the voice persisted, saying "Mr. Veidt?" again in the same polite, somewhat deferent tone, and this time adding a small shake to the shoulder. "Mr. Veidt, it is nearly ten o'clock. Are you feeling well?"
This time, Adrian did open his eyes abruptly.
"Ten o'clock?" "Yes, Mr. Veidt. I have never known you to oversleep to this extent," Tranh said, his brow wrinkling in concern as he took a respectful step backward to stand about three feet from the edge of the bed. He folded his arms behind his back and continued regarding his employer with mild-eyed worry. "I do hope you aren't ill. Even Miss Micaela has arisen by now."
Adrian's first instinct was to get out of bed as quickly as possible, but there was an unexpected weight on one side that, upon further inspection, turned out to be Adrien, still asleep and looking like something an old master might have painted.
Adrian Veidt was getting really, really sick of this whole "being startled" thing.
He looked between Tranh and the sleeping Adrien in something very close to horror, not knowing if Tranh would question these entirely too questionable circumstances, and tried to pull his arm out from under Adrien without waking the boy.
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Post by Adrien Baillon on Sept 2, 2009 20:40:04 GMT -5
It didn't work, and his heavy eyelids crinkled, his lashes batting as he opened them, trying to adjust to the light from the drawn curtains. He immediately curled a little closer to Adrian and then noticed the third person in the room and scooted back suddenly in mortification, staring at him for a matter of seconds before looking at Adrian as though he expected Adrian to be angry at him for this.
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Sept 2, 2009 20:45:43 GMT -5
Adrian sat up and pushed his hair from his eyes. If all else failed, he still had charm to fall back on.
"Tranh. Adrien. I believe you've met."
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Post by Adrien Baillon on Sept 2, 2009 20:47:55 GMT -5
It worked on Adrien, anyway.
"It's hard to forget," he said, almost apologetically, not sure if he should hold out his hand for the other man to shake it, and lifting it to comb through his hair instead.
Micaela would know he was in Veidt's room by this point. Remembering what he'd told her the other day, this was excruciatingly embarrassing. To no one in particular, and out loud, accidentally, he said, "Oh god, I bet everyone at Karnak knows..."
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Sept 2, 2009 20:52:05 GMT -5
"We have no reason to share anything of Mr. Veidt's with the outside world," Tranh answered promptly. "We are always very careful when journalists are here to tell them that he is not one of your rock-and-roll stars. He does not abuse drugs or-" "Or carry on with young women," Adrian said at the same time with a note of dark irony in his voice and a sidelong look at the nearly nude boy in his bed.
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Post by Adrien Baillon on Sept 3, 2009 8:52:52 GMT -5
Adrien slid his nearly nude body further under the sheets, blushing further. His clothes were in a crumpled pile on the side of the bed and he wanted to wait until Tranh had left before he slipped out, put them on, and crept out to his room to change into something clean.
He was, however, paying enough attention to vaguely repeat the words, "Rock-and-roll...?"
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Sept 3, 2009 9:54:00 GMT -5
"Popular music," Adrian said automatically.
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Post by Adrien Baillon on Sept 3, 2009 10:02:43 GMT -5
"Oh. Like Piaf, you mean?"
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Sept 3, 2009 10:07:31 GMT -5
Adrian paused.
"...sort of."
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Post by Adrien Baillon on Sept 3, 2009 10:21:24 GMT -5
"Oh," said Adrien brightly, as though this cleared up everything magnificently.
And he really had awoken in a splendid mood, although he was still a bit self-conscious despite Tranh's having left. He did not immediately recall the details of the previous night, but knew for some reason or other how close he felt to Adrian, and even as he moved to put his clothes on, he smiled at him over his shoulder, looking back at him specifically to do so.
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Sept 3, 2009 10:25:49 GMT -5
Adrian looked like someone who had just made it out of a car accident alive.
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Post by Adrien Baillon on Sept 3, 2009 10:27:39 GMT -5
Adrien frowned slightly, fabric of his shirt falling out of his fingers without his noticing it, and moved back up to sit beside him upon the bed, looking at him as though contemplating what to do to make it better, or offering. "Mm, what's wrong?" And then, automatically, as though this was meant to cheer him up, or be a reminder, or even a surprise for some reason, "You're going to see Micaela today."
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Sept 3, 2009 19:06:21 GMT -5
"Yes, naturally."
Almost as an afterthought:
"We are going to have to be more careful in the future."
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Post by Adrien Baillon on Sept 3, 2009 19:12:42 GMT -5
"Yes, I'm sorry," he said contritely, leaning on his shoulder with one of his moony looks (because broody was not and would never be a word one could apply to even this adolescent murderer). "I suppose I sort of forgot. Neither of us was thinking straight last night..."
He trailed off, thinking of the irony that one of Adrian's servants had found them in bed together after a night in which they hadn't had sex, compared to all those nights they had and had never been caught.
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Sept 3, 2009 19:26:40 GMT -5
"At least it happened here," he conceded. "In Paris, there may have been journalists called in..."
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