InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Not on Rex Manning Day."

fond_affections (fond_affections) wrote in bellumlogs,
@ 2010-01-02 16:28:00

Current mood:	curious
Entry tags:	beauty

Who: Ed and Ella
Where: 905
When: Right about now.
Warnings:None. Really now--they're just meeting!

He smoothed his slacks as he rose from the floor. His laptop was temporarily living on top of box of books near the only power outlet that wasn't buried behind other boxes. After running his fingers through his hair and pulling on his shoes, he grabbed his overcoat and wallet. This was a neighborly visit, after all, and it wouldn't be appropriate to turn up without a token gift. He eyed the elevator with suspicion for a moment and then decided to take the stairs--loping down them with the easy stride of an active, but not athletic man.

Since he didn't actually know Ella he couldn't shop with any specificity--but he dashed out to a bakery two blocks down and emerged minutes later with a selection of treats tied up in the requisite pink box-with-string style that was all the style among bakers these days. Back up the stairs he went--this time keeping to a slower pace so as not to arrive at the door of #905 out of breath. Another quick run of fingers through his hair and he knocked rapidly and firmly on the door. Rap. Rap. Rap.

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fond_affections
2010-01-03 10:00 pm UTC (link)

"Of course I would... you asked me to, remember? And I am, after all, at your service..." His reply was low and the tone darkly sweet, gravity pulling every syllable from his lips like drop of honey.

But then he reached out and lightly brushed a finger against the tip of her nose-the first touch he had initiated and it was a gesture of playful, friendliness. Safety was written all over his movements as he rose to his feet and went back to shelving books. "Perhaps my charm is actually just a highly refined form of cruelty? What would that suggest about my character?" He didn't comment on the topic of tragedy--he wasn't sure he wanted to know just how tragic she perceived him as being.

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	bookshelved 2010-01-03 10:05 pm UTC (link)
	"You're dangerous," she said softly as he stood, not unaffected by his actions; it was an awed sentence, as if a dangerous man was something she'd never encountered and couldn't fathom actually existing off the page. "Does it work often?" she asked, even knowing the answer, because of course it did. She rephrased. "Have you meant it ever?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

fond_affections
2010-01-03 10:24 pm UTC (link)

He turned at smiled at her--a cheshire cat smile that made him look more youthful and less dangerous than he was. "Funny, I've been thinking that you are dangerous... I guess we have that in common..." He winked.

He cocked his head as he considered her question... well questions. "What is "it" exactly? The charm...or the cruelty? No matter. The answers with regard to both are Yes. And..." he paused lost in a fraction of a second of regret..."...Yes."

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bookshelved
2010-01-03 10:29 pm UTC (link)

She shook her head. "No, not that. Have you ever meant the feelings you brought about in others?" She corrected again. "No, in women?" She stood, and she went over to him, to the books he was shelving and she looked at him closely, making her own determination. "Mmmm. Yes, I think. Somewhere, deep down. Somewhere an appropriate heroine could find, perhaps. But she'd have to be something very special, wouldn't she?" It was an open appraisal and an equally open question.

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fond_affections
2010-01-03 10:47 pm UTC (link)

He stopped shelving and turned to face her as she studied him. He stood still, wide open for her contemplation.

"It's an odd question, that one. Meaning the feelings that I evoke in another person? Their feelings are their own. As are mine. If I am true to my dangerous nature I would have to say that it isn't within my province to mean of those feelings...or not..."

He leaned one shoulder against the bookcase he had been filling. Shifting his stance from being studied to studying. He seemed to be measuring her--not physically, not like that. But still. "Yes, she would have to be something very...very special indeed. She might even have to be a bit dangerous herself, come to think of it."

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bookshelved
2010-01-03 10:54 pm UTC (link)

She laughed softly, because compliments came easy to him, and she knew a charmer when she saw one. "You mean to evoke feelings. It's intentional; a well thought-out thing based on a logical choice, not a run of emotions that controls you and demands it," she suggested. It was a theory, of course, but Ella knew he would disabuse her of the notion if he felt outraged by it. She wasn't worried about making incorrect conclusions aloud, as they generally led to the path of the correct ones.

"I'm supposed to make the connection that you think I'm dangerous?" she asked without shyness.

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fond_affections
2010-01-03 11:07 pm UTC (link)

"Ah yes, I mean to evoke them...but how can I be held to account for whether or not they are given meaning by the other person? " His face was serious, almost steely around the eyes, a hint of hardness in him that almost belied his usual charm.

But then the look faded and he leaned closer to her--not close enough for her to feel his breath, but close enough that he could feel her warmth. "Ella if you didn't make that connection I'd be seriously disappointed."

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bookshelved
2010-01-04 01:54 am UTC (link)

She was going to chide him for being intentionally obtuse, when he moved close. She could feel the warmth off his body, even if he wasn't touching her anywhere at all, and her eyes drifted closed briefly when he spoke. "Mmmm. No, definitely not Heathcliff either," she said, opening eyes that were twinkling with intelligence, entertained, even as she was affected. "You're Willoughby," she finally decided, "but older and more experienced. Willoughby, had Austen given him time to mature into what he could have become before marrying him off."

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	fond_affections 2010-01-04 02:01 am UTC (link)
	He didn't move away from her, letting the distance remain as it was until she decided to change it. But while he could maintain physical distance, he couldn't control the chuckling cough that erupted from his chest. "Willoughby?" he rasped. "Really?" he was still chuckling as he cocked his head. "I think I'd like to hear that one explained..." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bookshelved
2010-01-04 02:18 am UTC (link)

She smiled at the reaction, as if causing it was a triumph of sorts, realizing he was at least moderately well read. "Do you prefer Valmont?" she asked, motioning him back to the books and returning to the work herself with a grin. "Willoughy charms girls cruelly for his own enjoyment, and in the end he, himself, falls. He isn't redeemed, though, is he? Do you think redemption is within your grasp? Or are you more like Wickham?" She considered carefully, shelving another book. "No, Valmont. Beware your Marquise de Merteuil, monsieur."

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fond_affections
2010-01-04 02:32 am UTC (link)

He got back to work, turning toward the shelf and resuming his task with more efficiency than one might have expected. He continued the conversation in an academic tone.

"Willoughby did indeed charm young girls, but that is sort of his limit--isn't it? I mean there's not much range to his charm. Or his cruelty. Now Valmont is much more interesting, really. Particularly when it comes to redemption."

He shelved in silence for a moment and then added. "The Marquise wasn't Valmont's undoing, merely the instrument that put his ultimate redemption in play. It was Madame de Torvel that was his undoing..." his musings trailed off as he pondered a stack of books without really seeing them.

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	bookshelved 2010-01-04 02:35 am UTC (link)
	She looked over at him, a soft laugh on her lips and shake of her head mussing her already mussed hair. "Why did he reject her then, if she was his undoing?" she asked, her smile saying it was a question with a decided answer, and she would know if he'd entered into this discussion without appropriate ammunition. (Reply to this) (Parent)

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