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Vlad Drăgoi {Dracula} ([info]nobleblood) wrote in [info]bellumlogs,
@ 2010-04-07 17:27:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:beast, dracula

Who: Daniel and Vlad
What: Pre-dinner shenanigans.
Where: R1 to start.
When: Today, early evening.
Warnings: None?

At first he'd been completely opposed to Ella's idea of having dinner together, a sort of 'double date' which was probably one of the most unconventional of its kind, considering the fact that Helena was married and Daniel had barely left his apartment in an indeterminate amount of time. Ella herself was one of the last people he wanted to spend his time with, but it would be good to see Daniel in a normal social setting, and how could he refuse a chance to see Helena - especially without her husband there?

He could have made reservations at any restaurant in the city, but the last thing he wanted to do was make Daniel feel any more uncomfortable than he already did. There was a Thai restaurant nearby, Osha, a sort of in-between place that wasn't quite black tie nor a cheap little hole-in-the-wall. The reservations were hardly necessary but made regardless, and he let Ella know of the location and time beforehand.

Vlad decided that he would head up to R1 to make absolutely sure that the man was dressed at least somewhat appropriately and hadn't suddenly changed his mind, which was something he couldn't rule out. Clad in a dress shirt, pants, and a light jacket, he knocked on Daniel's door and waited.


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[info]labete
2010-04-08 01:47 am UTC (link)
Daniel pulled the door open seconds after Vlad's first knock. His eyes narrowed on the clean-cut attire and the expensive shoes. "This is a bad idea," he said, without preamble, pushing open the door and turning without bothering to see if Vlad caught it with a hand or his face. "This is the worst idea anybody's had in a long time." Daniel was wearing a dress shirt too, in a rich brown color that, miracle of miracles, was not wrinkled, dusty, or missing buttons. The pants were brown too, a sort of burnt sienna brown, and the whole set up made him look fifty times healthier, wealthier, and saner than we all know he is.

Of course, he was also missing socks and shoes, and judging from the state of the living room, he'd been looking for them for the past twenty minutes. "I don't see why we need to go out to discuss things. Why can't we just stay in?"

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[info]nobleblood
2010-04-08 02:05 am UTC (link)
Vlad knew he could not laugh, despite how amusing Daniel's objections might be. Of course dinner would seem like an ordinary occurrence to him, but it wasn't the same for his friend, and all he had to do was keep that in mind.

He barely had a chance to open his mouth before Daniel spoke first, leaving him to catch the door and enter the apartment after him. "It is not that bad of an idea, Daniel." At least he wasn't the only one who'd been less than thrilled by the prospect. He scrutinized the other man's attire, deeming it more than acceptable, although the addition of socks and shoes would make a big difference.

"We all need to get out of this building once in a while. The past few weeks have been utter chaos, and in order to keep our sanity, a break from the madness is a good idea." Vlad didn't know how true it was for anyone else, but he suspected the building had to be getting to them at least slightly. "Now, find your socks and shoes so we can be on our way."

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[info]labete
2010-04-08 02:29 am UTC (link)
"It only gets bad when we leave the apartment," Daniel muttered under his breath, stalking around and kicking pillows and stray items out of his way. The kitten had obviously found cover elsewhere, though there were pink stuffed mice and other cat toys that joined the flying debris. "The women just want to sit somewhere and cluck about the state of things, and then try to coordinate my life." He flashed a sharp, sardonic look at Vlad. "...our lives."

When he pointed out that Daniel still needed socks, he straightened up from where he'd been looking underneath the couch and gave Vlad a thundercloud of a look. "What exactly do you think I'm doing?"

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[info]nobleblood
2010-04-08 02:37 am UTC (link)
"Would you prefer to sit here while they attempt to coordinate our lives on their own? At least if we are there with them, we have the opportunity to have some kind of say." He raised his eyebrows, not particularly surprised nor impressed by Daniel's objection.

"I think you are looking for your socks," was his wry reply. "Can I ask why your socks would be in your living room? Do you not have more than one pair?"

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[info]labete
2010-04-08 02:57 am UTC (link)
"I have six black ones," Daniel said, sourly. "If that's how many come in the package. Maybe eight." He took off down the hallway towards his bedroom, still moving in that rather feline prowl that he used when he was particularly annoyed with something.

"You know as well as I do we don't have any say when they decide something. We don't have a say now. Why would we have a say in some restaurant?"

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[info]nobleblood
2010-04-08 03:09 am UTC (link)
He wisely chose not to ask how Daniel could have managed to lose six pairs of black socks, shaking his head at the living room's sorry state before following him down the hallway. He paused outside the bedroom and leaned against the doorframe, content to observe his search.

"Forgive me, I was under the impression that it was our lives, not theirs." Vlad didn't particularly like being treated like he was a dog that had bitten someone and now needed to be discussed, and he wasn't going to let Ella and Helena decide what would be best for him without his input. "Stop arguing with me. You are coming, because I know you want to see Ella just as much as I want to see Helena."

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[info]labete
2010-04-08 04:48 am UTC (link)
Daniel paused in his search, which had moved sporadically from place to place around the room as he thought of different places the socks might be hiding, and straightened with one hand on the end of his bed for balance. His sleeves weren't buttoned and they hung loose around his wrist, where the ends of the newest round of bandages showed through, grim and white. "God help us both, then. Especially if I'm in as deep with Ella as you are with Helena." Daniel didn't know where his head was at when it came to any women in general, especially Ella, and he didn't know how much of it was the Beast and how much of it was him. That part scared him.

He looked away, pointedly not asking where Helena's husband was going to be in all this, and started throwing blankets off the bed.

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[info]nobleblood
2010-04-08 05:00 am UTC (link)
Vlad rolled his eyes in response, wondering what Daniel would think if he told him about just how deep in he really was. Helena had told Ella about their connection, after all; so it wasn't as if he would be breaking any sort of rules by doing the same. For now, however, he decided against it. "I am so glad you have not lost your optimism, Daniel." It was rather hypocritical, coming from him, but he pushed that aside.

"In any case, I would like you to finally meet her in person." He doubted that Daniel would end up disliking Helena as much as he disliked Ella, but his opinion did matter and if he and Helena could get along - well, it would make things at least a bit easier.

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[info]labete
2010-04-08 05:08 am UTC (link)
Daniel brushed past Vlad on his way into the bathroom, but paused again in the doorway to look over his shoulder at him, trying to read something in his expression that wasn't immediately obvious. Whatever he was looking for, however, he seemed to find it, and said, "Yeah. She seems like a nice woman on the forums. Refined, in a way. It's nice she's not carrying a torch--uh--pitchfork for you like the others." He flashed Vlad a grin, and pulled open the cupboard under the bathroom sink. Retrieving a grocery bag, he pulled out a clear package of socks, still untouched. "Oh, here they are."

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[info]nobleblood
2010-04-08 05:40 am UTC (link)
His laugh was clearly sarcastic, although the anonymous death threat did cross his mind. Still, it wasn't anything he hadn't received before, and thus it didn't particularly bother him. "Very nice indeed."

Vlad simply shook his head, although the normality of the situation - compared to what he'd become accustomed to - was oddly comforting. "Only you would have socks under your bathroom sink, Daniel. Now that you can complete your outfit, would you like to know where we are meeting Helena and Ella, or should I let it be a surprise?"

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[info]labete
2010-04-08 05:45 am UTC (link)
Daniel tried to straighten too quickly, banged his knee on the bathroom cupboard, and Vlad had to endure a string of multilingual swearing as he limped out of the smaller room and into the bedroom so he could sit on the bed and wrestle the socks out of their package. "Where are we going?" He gave Vlad a furtive sideways look from under his eyebrows. He sincerely hoped it wasn't going to be anywhere with vaulted ceilings and huge crowds. The thought made his head go a little light. Scowling at his own psychology, Daniel pulled at the plastic, which obligingly stretched but would not rip.

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[info]nobleblood
2010-04-08 05:53 am UTC (link)
"You can stop looking at me like that, you know. We are not going anywhere that would require you to wear a tie." He flashed a quick smirk before continuing. "It is a Thai restaurant nearby, Osha or something like that - a happy medium between a deserted little diner and a ridiculously expensive restaurant. The way you are dressed will be just fine, rest assured." Vlad normally would have chosen somewhere much different, but perhaps a change of scenery wouldn't prove to be such a bad thing.

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[info]labete
2010-04-08 06:00 am UTC (link)
Daniel was so surprised that he stopped trying to wrestle a pair of socks from the others and dropped them into his lap so he could stare at Vlad. "You? Thai? In booths? With plastic chopsticks?" He blinked twice, and then grinned a huge grin. "Oh, she's going to love that." He picked up the socks again, and yanked a pair apart to separate it from the plastic.

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[info]nobleblood
2010-04-08 06:06 am UTC (link)
"Is that really so surprising? I can eat somewhere that does not cost a small fortune, thank you." He knew that places like those were somewhat foreign to Helena, and he doubted that Ella would have been accustomed to them - he hadn't seen a problem with his choice.

"What do you mean? Which she - Helena or Ella?" Vlad frowned, unsure if Daniel was simply joking or if he was serious.

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[info]labete
2010-04-08 06:14 am UTC (link)
"Helena," Daniel said, rolling back on his hips to pull the socks on and frowning when the cuts on his arms complained. "I'm withholding judgment until I actually eat the food, but it'll be interesting, at least. Thank you for not picking somewhere with crystal and engraved silver. I'd be running for the goddamn hills."

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[info]nobleblood
2010-04-08 06:24 am UTC (link)
"Why would she not--" Vlad cut himself off, sighing. "Never mind. It will be fine, and if not, well - you can choose the restaurant next time." He knew that even if it was a poor choice, Helena wasn't the sort of person to hold it against him, but the idea still wasn't very appealing.

"Do your arms still hurt?" He was quick enough to catch the frown, a slight scowl appearing when he thought of Shane and what he'd done.

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[info]labete
2010-04-08 06:38 am UTC (link)
"No, she will," Daniel reassured his friend. "Like you said, it will be a surprise. You'll see." He smiled at himself to see Vlad so ill at ease about a woman. He knew, of course, and heard, but it was different to see it. It made him a little more human, and that pleased Daniel.

"No," he replied to the question, stubbornly, looking back down at his other sock.

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[info]nobleblood
2010-04-08 03:38 pm UTC (link)
Vlad had been on countless dates in the past, but he'd never once worried about having to impress whatever woman he happened to be taking out at the time. He had money and influence, which meant that it was he who needed to be impressed, not the other way around. It shouldn't have surprised him, though - Helena wasn't like any other woman he'd been with, and since this was technically their first actual 'date', he wanted it to be as perfect as possible. He was even willing to put his feelings towards Ella aside for the night. "Not all surprises are good." He was doubtful now, even though he'd made sure the restaurant was decent before making the reservations. "At least you can blame it on me if it turns out to fall short of Ella's expectations."

It was times like these that made him wonder why he even bothered asking in the first place. "If you say so."

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[info]labete
2010-04-09 06:45 am UTC (link)
Fortunately, Daniel was focusing on the fact he was going to have to get back out the door of R1, and nobody had said the word "date" around him. He looked presentable, at least, for someone who had not taken trouble with his appearance for years. The shorter hair helped, since he did nothing with it and looked well enough anyway. "Ella doesn't have those kind of expectations," he said, with certainty. Then he paused, blinked, and stared at the ceiling. "I don't think."

He stood up on his feet, scowling at the shoes, which were still new and pinched. "I haven't gotten a coat yet," he said, absently, working at the buttons at his sleeves. "I've still got your coat. I found another one. I don't think the thread count is as high but at least I don't freeze. Why is it always so damn cold outside?" he trailed off, muttering, into the living room.

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[info]nobleblood
2010-04-09 07:10 am UTC (link)
"I am sure she does not," he said quickly, mentally berating himself for saying otherwise. He could be doubtful all he liked, it didn't matter - all he needed was for Daniel to be the same way and refuse to go entirely. "You know her better than I do, of course."

Vlad had forgotten almost entirely that he still had his coat, and he waved it away with a careless hand. "You can keep it. I think it suits you." At this rate they were never going to leave the apartment. "Get your coat, Daniel - we should go, or we may be late."

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[info]labete
2010-04-10 02:33 am UTC (link)
"I'm getting it, I'm getting it," Daniel muttered, flicking his hands in Vlad's direction as if he was just a clucking grandmother somewhere in the background. It took him a few more minutes to find it, of course, but he did, eventually, and Vlad was right: it suited him. He stood in the entry way for a little longer than absolutely necessary, but he still got out the door faster than he did the first time. "Fine." He said, squinting at the door. "Fine," he said again.

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