Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Marry me."

Der Tod (touto_kaka) wrote in labyrinth_rpg,
@ 2009-07-19 14:31:00

WHO: Der Tod & Rudolf
WHAT: Dealing with the aftermath
WHEN: Evening, Day 15
WHERE: Rudolf's room
WARNINGS: PG-13
STATUS: Incomplete

Der Tod had knocked on Rudolf's door three separate times earlier today and received no response. Which infuriated him, because he knew the boy was in there. And he knew the boy was upset, though not about what. Not the he normally cared about the specifics. It could take very little to set the boy off into one of his sulks, and it was rarely worth the time to puzzle out the exact cause. But things were different here, and what could have set the boy off this much?

What was even more infuriating was that he couldn't just walk in. At the palace, anywhere really, there was no door, no lock that could keep him out. But here, these painfully simple door locks worked, and he couldn't just walk into the boy's room. Which was why he was standing in front of the door for the fourth time today. He allowed himself a low growl of frustration before taking a deep breath and composing his face into something more approaching concern. He lifted a hand, rapped twice on the door, and waited. No answer. He knocked again. Still no answer.

"Rudolf? I know you're in there. Open up" It stung his pride to even have to ask.

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touto_kaka
2009-07-30 03:14 am UTC (link)

It wasn't hard for Der Tod to find the wound site, though there was very little physical mark. Still, he lightly caressed the site with the very tips of his fingers. Metally he was running through exactly what he wished to subject Armand to when he found the man. The vampire thought he could not die? Oh, Der Tod would make him beg for death...

"There are... creatures here with abilities unknown in your, our world." He extracted his hand from Rudolf's grip and gently stroked the boy's hair. "That doesn't mean they should be allowed to hurt you"

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rudorufu
2009-07-30 09:16 pm UTC (link)

Rudolf leaned into the touch, letting his friend stroke his hair, as he'd done since the boy was ten. "Did he speak in your mind, too?" Rudolf asked. "Did he make you remember things you weren't thinking about while you spoke to him?" That was probably as close as Rudolf would get to admitting that Armand had stirred up memories of his friend while feeding.

Rudolf shifted in his chair, unconsciously moving closer to his friend. The more time he spent in the other man's company, the more sure he was that Armand had been only trying to hurt him with talk of a secret. He'd been trying to make Rudolf doubt his friend, most likely out of that petty jealousy that Armand had displayed just as he left. His friend would never keep anything important from him. "He told me a lie about you as well," Rudolf said, looking up at his friend.

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touto_kaka
2009-07-30 09:58 pm UTC (link)

Der Tod smirked slightly, remembering his initial meeting with the vampire, and that creature's attempts to pry into his mind. Still, mentioning that was more information than Rudolf needed. "No" he said with a slight shrug. "But he did not try to... hurt me. Perhaps..." He let the sentence dangle, trusting the boy to fill in the rest.

But the boy's next words made him stiffen slightly. Armand had told a lie about him? Hardly likely. Far more likely was that Armand had mentioned that one little fact he tried very hard to keep Rudolf from figuring out. Oh yes, he was going to have to have a long, long talk with Armand.

"What lie?" he asked, his tone one of idle interest, rather than the agitation he was truly feeling.

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rudorufu
2009-07-30 10:14 pm UTC (link)

Rudolf nodded in understanding. Armand had done it to enable himself to feed more easily. And he hadn't tried to bite Rudolf's friend. That, in Rudolf's mind, meant the vampire had been intimidated by his friend, and decided better than to try. If only he'd been smarter about going out in the morning, perhaps his own predicament wouldn't have happened!

Rudolf half-sighed, half-chuckled in response to his friend's question. He expected that they'd both have a good laugh over it in a few moments, as they did whenever they'd managed to outsmart Rudolf's tutors at the palace. "He said you were keeping a big secret from me," Rudolf said, shaking his head. Really, how foolish had he been to listen to the creature? "He found it very amusing that I didn't know something so important about you, but he never told me what it was." Because, of course, there had been nothing to tell.

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touto_kaka
2009-07-31 07:50 pm UTC (link)

Der Tod stood and moved so he was standing behind Rudolf, mostly to buy himself time to think. He did not, as a rule, lie. Usually he just redirected conversation to avoid topics he did not wish to discuss. But this, this was treading on dangerous ground. Granted, the boy had not out and out asked if he had any secrets, but there was enough of a question in the boy's tone to make Der Tod uncomfortable.

"I... think he likes to think he's important" Der Tod said, after a pause. "He would like us to think he knows everything"

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rudorufu
2009-08-01 02:49 am UTC (link)

Rudolf leaned back in his chair, looking up at his friend, so that the other man appeared upside-down to his vision. "Such behavior is insufferable," Rudolf said, relaxing even further. "It reminds me of those advisers in my father's employ." He grinned, all thoughts of his friend harboring some sort of horrible secret dismissed immediately, conveniently letting slide the fact that the other man had not precisely said there was no secret. "Which do you think he is more like? Heubner or Schwartzenberg?"

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touto_kaka
2009-08-01 10:46 pm UTC (link)

Der Tod gave a short laugh, the tension of the moment gone. Question avoided, and the boy already in a better mood. He set his hands on Rudolf's shoulders, squeezing gently.

"Oh, I'd say Hubner - always sneaking around trying to act like he knew everyone's secrets. Though..." he paused, pretending to consider it for a moment. "He does share Schwartzenberg's insufferable arrogance."

Not that Der Tod had cared much about any of the counselors past helping the boy outwit them.

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rudorufu
2009-08-02 02:32 am UTC (link)

Rudolf laughed as his friend started comparing Armand to both Heubner and Schwartzenberg. "He does, doesn't he?" Rudolf said, relaxing as he felt the pressure of his friend's hands on his shoulders. His eyes closed, and he smiled faintly.

"He seemed very upset when he left me this morning." There was trace concern in Rudolf's voice; nothing quite as worried as earlier, nothing near panic. It was a memory now, a memory of something horrible, but something he could face, thanks to his friend's calming presence. "He was upset because I did not think of him when he...drank...from me." His voice hitched on the word "drank" and his face twisted in mild disgust. He shook his head, the faint smile returning to his lips. "I believe he was jealous."

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touto_kaka
2009-08-04 02:14 am UTC (link)

Der Tod gave an ironic half smile at the comment about jealousy. He began a gentle massage of the boy's shoulders while he rolled that particularly delicious thought around in his mind. Armand was just the type of self-centered overgrown child to be jealous of Der Tod's hold over and influence on Rudolf. And just thinking about the vampire flouncing off made him laugh. Still he would have to have a talk with Armand. The anger he'd initially felt had been replaced mostly be amusement - after all, no harm had been done - but the vampire could set back years of careful cultivating with a misplaced comment.

Der Tod let his thumbs gently caress Rudolf's neck as he massaged, turning what had been a friendly gesture into something with hints of... something else. Not that he expected the boy to realize it. He never did.
"What did you think of?" he asked, casually. He knew the answer of course, but it was always fun to tease such answers out of the boy.

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rudorufu
2009-08-04 02:24 am UTC (link)

Now that he was completely removed from the situation, Rudolf also found Armand's comments as he left that morning amusing. Not near as amusing as his friend, since the memory was still tainted with the knowledge of what had happened before, but enough so that he didn't tense up again with worry at the thought. Instead, he relaxed further in his chair, his head dropping forward as he unconsciously gave his friend better access to the back of his neck.

"Hmmmm?" Rudolf asked almost lazily. "Oh, Mother, at first," he said when he realized what the question had been, "and then...you. All the fun times we've had playing pranks and things." The last was said in a bit of a rush, as Rudolf felt heat rising to his cheeks. Because that hadn't been all, but he found it hard to admit, and felt slightly uncomfortable about doing so. He was glad he'd leaned forward, so his friend couldn't see his face.

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touto_kaka
2009-08-06 12:28 am UTC (link)

"Me?" Der Tod asked, with mock surprise, internally laughing as he saw the slight tinge of a blush rising on the boy's neck. Oh now that was interesting. Maybe the incident was finally getting the boy to acknowledge, at least partially, those particular feelings.

"I would hardly think memories of pranking courtiers would cause jealousy..." He let his words trail off, continuing to massage the boy's shoulders and caress the back of his neck at the same time.

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rudorufu
2009-08-06 02:21 am UTC (link)

Rudolf felt the heat rise further in his cheeks and tensed slightly out of embarrassment. "Who else has given me cause to have any sort of happiness?" he asked. Well, mumbled. Definitely mumbled. Quietly. "You're the one who made me feel safe when I was young, who comforted me when I was upset. It's only natural I'd think of my best friend. Any fun I had growing up was had when you were around."

The young man couldn't stay tense with his friend working at the knots in his shoulders. It was impossible. He sighed, leaning back in the chair again, but not so far back as to prevent the older man from continuing his ministrations. "I suppose he was jealous because he never had a best friend," Rudolf said after several moments of careful thought. Yes. That must be it. Never mind that Rudolf had gotten the impression that Armand had not been referring to friendship, and that friendship was not where Rudolf's own mind had traveled first. That was most certainly not it. Not at all.

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touto_kaka
2009-08-06 05:23 pm UTC (link)

Der Tod shook his head slightly, smiling. Oh yes, the boy was starting to get an idea. And didn't that put a whole new flavor on the game? He eased off his massage and stepped back from the chair, but not before letting one hand run lightly up the back of Rudolf's neck.

"Of course" he said, voice slipping down into a sensual purr. "I'm sure he's just never had a..." The pause was brief, but deliberate. "Good friend"

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rudorufu
2009-08-06 06:16 pm UTC (link)

Rudolf shivered as his friend's hand trailed up his neck, then drifted away. Odd, because he didn't think the room was particularly chilly. In fact, it felt rather warm. He turned around just in time to catch the "good friend," part of the other man's comment.

"Exactly," he said, nodding, although there was a bit of uncertainty in his eyes. He had the oddest impression that the man wasn't exactly saying what he meant. Perhaps he was just tired, and misunderstanding things.

Rudolf rose from the chair and faced his friend, looking sheepish. "I'm sorry I hid away all day," he said, glancing at the floor and then back at his friend. "I heard you knock several times, and I should have opened the door, but...." He trailed off, unsure he could properly explain why he hadn't done just that. It seemed so foolish now to have shut the other man out all day. He chuckled, but it wasn't out of amusement. "I suppose I thought you might be angry with me," he continued, shaking his head, "for getting myself into trouble." It really did sound ridiculous, now that he said it out loud.

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touto_kaka
2009-08-07 12:21 am UTC (link)

And watch the boy retreat so fast from those thoughts. Der Tod sighed very slightly and gave Rudolf his best indulgent smile. "Why should I be mad?" he asked. "I was merely worried for you. And considering your... incident this morning, I can understand why you might wish to hide. I just wish you'd told me what had happened sooner. You know I only wish to help you."

All said with only friendly concern. Let the boy back off a bit, the seeds had been planted.

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rudorufu
2009-08-07 12:42 am UTC (link)

"I know," Rudolf said, sighing himself. "It's like at home, though, at the palace, when I was younger, and I didn't always want to show you the bruises my tutors had given me." He had always been sensitive about showing injuries because of his desire to be strong. It was much harder than it seemed, though, being strong, and he never quite felt he was doing it right. Even when arguing from a position of strength he felt at a disadvantage when talking to certain people, like his father.

He managed a sheepish grin for his friend. "And now, I think I need a proper night's rest," he said. "Will I see you tomorrow?" Rudolf reached out and took his friend's hand, hoping the other man would say yes.

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