Juliette Coulombe (clearyourmind) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-10-02 08:34:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !log, drake liu, juliette coulombe |
Who: Juliette and Drake
What: Caught in the act! (of delivering lunch)
Where: Drake’s office at Bahamut Hall
When: This afternoon
Rating: G because Juliette
Status: Complete!
Having her own kitchen made it easier -- in some ways -- to complete certain tasks. Alys still had not hired any staff (Juliette had to wonder at the oddity of it; certainly the house was small, but were they really expected to do the cooking and cleaning themselves forever? What happened once they ran out of clean clothing? Were they to bundle their clothing and carry it off to a laundress? Where did one even find a laundress?) and Juliette had taken over the cooking and visits to the grocer’s as best she could, though her repertoire was still quite limited, as was her free time with her training back at ordinary levels. But even if she hadn’t had much time for pleasure reading in weeks, she was managing, for now, and Alys seemed pleased enough. And when she threw together lunch for herself to take along to Bahamut Hall on hand-to-hand session days, it was little trouble to put together not only a plate for Alys but a box to take along for Councilor Liu. She couldn’t really say why she was still doing it (Morgayne’s voice at the back of her head called her a liar, but she steadfastly ignored this), but, well, he was a busy man and he needed to eat and she enjoyed the thought that she could do something for him, after all the things he had done for her over the years. And, well, she had been doing this off and on for weeks now; it would be too awkward to reveal herself at this point. Best to stay anonymous. So today was another typical day; she arrived at Bahamut Hall a little early and walked the familiar hallways to the council offices. He never locked his door during the day. She had to assume his drawers were locked instead -- he wouldn’t leave confidential paperwork accessible, he was not the type -- but she didn’t intend to take anything, only to leave it. She set the box on the table -- smoked salmon and chive roll-ups, sliced vegetable and apples rubbed with lemon to keep them white -- then turned to leave the room as quietly as she had come. Fortunately, there weren’t any early morning meetings or appointments that he needed to get to as soon as he walked into Bahamut, so he’d taken his time that morning and slept in a little. It was definitely nice to be able to stay in bed longer than he usually did during the week. And if he got to Bahamut a little later than usual, he doubted anyone would begrudge him. On his way to the office, he stopped at a street vendor and got a sweet bun and a bottle of milk. He was just finishing up his breakfast - pretty lackluster, really; he’d have to try to do better in the future - when he reached the door to his office, which was ajar. Drake frowned; he’d closed everything up before he’d left the night before. Had he forgotten a meeting? That would be just his luck, of course. The door was pushed open without a sound and he stepped into the room, only to see the back of a girl leaving something on his desk. When she twirled around, it took him a moment to recognize Juliette. “Juliette?” What was she doing here? “Did we have an appointment?” Oh no. Oh no. How had she misjudged so badly? Her mouth opened, but no words came out. She wished for a moment that she was better at lying -- not the sorts of white lies one told at noble functions (I would love to dance or I am having a lovely time or oh no, I was not hungry at all) but the sort of bold-faced lie that would save her here. Was considering lying a sin as much as lying itself? “No,” she finally managed, her face beet-red. “I am very sorry to disturb you. I… should let you focus on your work. Please excuse me.” And maybe, if she was very lucky, he would let her leave and that would be that. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask why she was there if she didn’t have a question for him, but then he saw the packed lunch on his desk, and suddenly the pieces clicked. Juliette had been making him the secret lunches. But why? Might as well ask. “Are you the one leaving me lunch?” Rip the bandaid off, because even if it looked like a duck and quacked like a duck, there was still the chance that it wasn’t that duck. Because the only reason he could think of to make lunch for someone you weren’t related to was that she had a crush on him. And that was just not something he’d be able to deal with. While he waited for her to speak, he closed the door behind him. Better to give them some privacy; if she did like him, no need for the entire Guild to know about it. That would just be embarrassing. Mostly for her. And then his own honor would be called into question because he did spend quite a bit of time with her for training when he was able to get free. The last thing he needed was Theo hunting him down to beat him down. She looked down at the floor, fidgeting, and wishing again that she could lie. It would be worth the penance, surely -- but what came out of her mouth was a quiet, “Yes,” followed by an even quieter, “you seemed to like the pasta.” There was Morgayne’s voice in the back of her mind again, so wildly unnecessary in this moment. Couldn’t she die from embarrassment without her reasons being called into question. “I…” she swallowed hard, continued, still looking down, “wanted to do something kind for you, since you are always… so kind to me. And I have been learning to cook, so…” Perhaps he might misconstrue himself as her test subject (liar, said that nagging little voice; you test your creations on Morgayne or lately Alys), which, while awkward in its own right, would at least excuse her from revealing the real reason for her attentions. Whatever that was. A perfectly logical explanation. Of course. Why hadn’t he thought of that? “Oh! Makes sense,” he replied, shuffling across the room to his desk, where the lunch sat. It was neatly wrapped and placed very carefully in the cleanest part of his workspace, untouched by paperwork and general debris that accumulated whenever he focused on signing things. “You should have told me sooner. I’ve been trying to figure out who to thank for these.” He sat down in his chair. “They’re really good. You’re a good cook, Juliette.” “Thank you, sir.” It occurred to her that few others would be so kind as to dismiss the issue like this, but Councilor Liu was… trusting of good intentions from guild members. Willing to believe the best of her. Generally a very kind person. And why that made her feel worse was an issue to be explored… sometime later. Not now. “I hope you enjoy it,” she said lamely. “I… have a class. Soon.” In half an hour. “May I be excused?” “I’m the one who should be thanking you,” he replied sincerely. Because of her, he hadn’t really had to buy or make his own lunch in over a month. “And yeah, sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you.” He grinned at her. “I’ll make sure to return the container to you. And thanks again. Good luck in class!” For some reason, she looked a little flustered, but she’d probably been training before stopping by. There really wasn’t any other reason for her to be flushed. After a second of thought, he fished out a bottle of water from his desk - he’d taken to filling a few containers and sipping them throughout the day to limit the amount of time he’d have to leave his office and risk things not getting done. He tossed it at her, trusting her to catch it. “Make sure to drink plenty of water, okay? I’ll see you around.” Reflexes ensured she caught the bottle before it clattered to the floor. It was fortunate that at least he was being nice about all of this. “Yes, sir.” Her face was never going to regain its normal color at this rate. “I will. Thank you for your… concern.” Oh Faram. A bow of her head, and then she opened the door and hurried towards the bathroom, where she intended to splash cold water on her face and give serious thought to drowning herself in the sink. |