Madison "GAYCHAR #3423 LS HAS TO TOLERATE" Taylor (ex_madmadiso898) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2010-01-03 18:53:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-06-28 |
Business And Pleasure
Who: Madison and Adrian
When: Sunday night
Where: Shimmer
Having spent a good deal of his day alone so far, Madison had finally decided to brave the outside world and head to check in on his and Misha's club. The ride to Shimmer was calming, Madison's music blaring in the car as he drove along, the sounds of The Dears pouring out through the open windows. His familiar rode on the headrest on the passenger side, chewing in earnest on a grape Madison had offered him at the start of their ride. Fruit was always the best way to keep him quiet.
In preparation for this venture, Madison had pulled his hair up into a bun, caked on the make-up and slid into his best leather pants. He had on his favorite tee-shirt, tightly fitted to his thin frame, bright red and covered in ridiculous patterning. It was obnoxious, but he loved it all the same and really -- Madison needed to get out of the house for a while. He was feeling cooped up, and that was never a good recipe for a pleasant evening.
He wasn't exactly in a sour mood, and fortunately for him the beat of the already raging club was enough to bring immediate life back to his body. His lungs filled with air as he stepped inside, standing tall above the crowd to scan the familiar and unfamiliar faces. A smile curled his lips upward, and as Madison headed for the bar he felt some of his normal spunk returning to him.
Adrian wasn't a stranger to the club scene, but he'd never set foot in this particular establishment before. He'd heard of it, here and there, but there were plenty of gay bars in the area, and he didn't have enough time for fun outside of work to get bored with any of his usual haunts.
This place, though... well, it wasn't your ordinary club, was it? It had been, at least as far as Adrian was aware, but now word of mouth was quite different, and it was more than enough to catch Adrian's interest. He sure as hell didn't know where else he was likely to find other witches, outside of his mother's knitting circle. If it meant he had to brave a few vampires and werewolves, so be it.
He wasn't used to looking so nervous in a place like this. The last thing he wanted was to seem naive or inexperienced, but he was here for answers, not sex. For the most part. He wouldn't say no to sex, he supposed, if the opportunity presented itself, but first things had to come first.
Madison perched on a bar stool as elegant as though he'd been carved out of stone, his chin on one hand as he surveyed the scene. There was a martini in front of him, but it was mostly untouched for the time being. He didn't really need it; he'd just asked for it as an exercise of power -- because he could. His bat companion climbed up his shirt, perching on his shoulder to watch the people dancing near the stage.
After a while Madison's eyes zeroed in on a figure in particular, a man he didn't recognize but appeared to be lost in the crowd. He watched him from where he sat, not hiding his interest in any way. Being bold was just part of who he was, bred and trained to be that way since his sudden and messy entrance into the world. He waited to see what this man would do, this stranger wandering through the crowded dance floor.
Adrian settled into a more comfortable rhythm after a minute or two, resolving to treat this like any other club, though he made sure to carefully avoid anyone who looked like they might have fangs.
He'd read about what to look for in other witches. Better ones, more practiced ones, had familiars--his mother had called him last week to gush about her cat, and he hadn't been able to get her off the phone for ages. He let himself relax, making his way out onto the floor and easing into the music, but he kept one eye open for anyone with an animal in tow.
It wasn't difficult to spot Madison, for any number of reasons. Even without the bat, the outfit was hard to miss, but Adrian focused instantly on the familiar. It was hardly an instant guarantee that this guy would know anything about the school of magic Adrian was trying to practice, or even that he was a witch at all. He could be an elemental, as Adrian vaguely recalled from his reading, or he could simply be the sort of eccentric weirdo who would bring a bat to a club just for the hell of it. But it was a starting point.
As the song ended, he wove his way through the crowd and headed for the bar.
Madison smirked, tilting his head upward slightly as the strange man approached the bar. It was a good sign for him, and it meant that finding a reason to talk to him had just become all that much easier. When he was within speaking distance Madison picked up his own drink, sipping it and then setting it down again in a swift and elegant movement. A dark red smudge was left behind on the glass, and Madison turned away from it entirely to glance the stranger over once more.
"You're a new face," he said, cocking his head to the side to catch the gaze as soon as it was directed toward him. "At least, new to me."
"Yeah, I'm new to everyone else, too." Adrian slid easily onto a stool and leaned one elbow on the bar, offering his other hand with a quirk of a smile. "I'm Adrian. Good to meet you. And, uh, you too." He glanced up at the bat. He wasn't sure how one would go about talking to a familiar, but he imagined any sentient being would prefer to be treated like a person.
"So I'm assuming you're a regular?" he asked. It had occurred to him that given the dual nature of this place, he couldn't assume that everyone he encountered would be gay. He didn't mind, but it took a bit of mental adjustment.
"Adrian is a great name. It's strong." Madison was one for playing his cards right. He knew how flattery worked and when to use it, and held out a hand in greeting. "Madison. I'm a regular of sorts, I suppose." He shrugged, waiting to reveal his relation to the club at a later moment. It wasn't terribly important right off the bat, anyway.
I'm Jaxson, came another voice. The bat crawled down Madison's arm a little, clinging and sniffing the air. You smell funny. Do you have any fruit?
Madison rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers at the bartender. "Hey. Grab me a few strawberries, will you? This furry thing on my arm is starving, apparently." He looked to the small creature, lips pursed momentarily. "Like I never feed you, Jax. Don't embarrass me tonight, please?"
"Really? Most people think it's kinda girly." Adrian grinned, flattery working as intended. "It wouldn't be so bad if everyone and their grandmother didn't think they were the first person to come up with the 'Yo, Adrian!' joke."
He couldn't help but jolt a little at the feel of the familiar's voice inside his mind. He'd never felt anything quite like it before. "Sorry, man. I'd give you some if I had any."
He ordered his drink while the bartender was still paying attention, and pondered how best to broach the subject of the club's unusual nature. Was there really a polite way to ask someone what kind of nonhuman they were?
"So you were around before this place became a vampire hangout?" He meant that in the most complimentary fashion possible, really.
Madison laughed at the joke, shaking his head briefly side to side. "I was considering the joke myself, but I figured I'd spare you the likely embarrassment that would come with it." He hadn't even thought of it, though he wasn't going to say it aloud. It didn't matter; this was all a lot like foreplay in a way. Say the right things and your partner's interest will be returned.
"A vampire hangout?" Madison repeated, one brow raised. "Honey, this is much more than a place for fangs." There was a sort of predatory look in his eyes as he sipped his drink, but when he turned back to Adrian it was all pleasantries. "I've been here since the foundation was set in stone and the papers were signed. You might say I'm chained to the place."
"Oh." Adrian looked slightly taken-aback. He hadn't realized he was talking to the owner. He felt a sudden rush of relief that he hadn't said anything more insulting.
"Well," he said, quickly switching tacks, "it's really important to have a place where you know you'll be welcome if you're not..." To be honest, Adrian wasn't sure whether he still qualified as human or not. It had never occurred to him to think of himself as nonhuman just because he'd inherited the capacity for magic. But it didn't seem like he was the one who got to decide that anymore.
"I'm sorry. It's just weird actually talking about it. I don't know if there's an etiquette involved or what." He felt like he was making a hopeless idiot of himself.
"Exactly," Madison said, agreeing with Adrian all too easily. He glanced at Jax as the small bat climbed off of him onto the counter and skittered away, probably to explore the club. It didn't bother him, and it never really seemed to bother any of the clientel. It was probably better this way, as well. "Someplace to feel welcome, where you can just let go and have fun and not have to worry about what some jack-ass in the corner has to say about you."
He shrugged. "At least, not when it concerns your genetics or your fate."
Madison took yet another sip of his drink, watching as the bartender returned with the ordered one for Adrian. Turning more toward the other man, he crossed one leg over the other and leaned an arm against the counter. "An etiquette surrounding the idea of one being supernatural? Of course there is, Adrian, you know that. Not here, though. It doesn't matter. There's really no need to be afraid. I hate the bullshit surrounding it in the public eye, people debating whether or not we deserve the same rights. What makes us any less human than the people standing right next to us? Are we really that different?" Madison paused and then asked, "What about you? Hm? Obviously you must be something special. I can see it in your eyes."
Adrian had always been easily incited by fiery words, drawn in like a moth to a flame and made putty in the speaker's hands. And it was never unwelcome to hear that one was special. 'Special' was a much more pleasant way to put it than 'different,' or 'other,' or 'unusual.' He was hanging on Madison's every word. "No, we're not," he said, eyes bright. "And most of us aren't hurting anybody. I'm not. I wouldn't."
He glanced down into his neglected drink, but he was gaining momentum here. This wasn't so difficult to talk about, not with an opening like this. "I do magic. Just...minor stuff. I'm a witch. I get it from my mom, but she and I don't really see eye-to-eye on what to practice." He'd been about to complain about the uselessness of gray magic, but he'd caught himself. There was no sense in needlessly offending anyone. For all he knew, this guy could be a gray witch too.
"Oh really?" Madison asked, perking an eyebrow curiously. Now he was definitely interested. "What sort of magic do you practice?" He inched forward in his seat, eager to learn more about this stranger. "Black, white, blood? Please tell me you don't practice blood magic. I never could understand why people get into that. It seems so... well, disgusting." He made a face, shaking his head side to side several times. "You have to be pretty weird to be okay with that. You know, sacrifices and all that. I don't think I could do it. I practice white magic myself. My entire family does."
Adrian couldn't possibly be more thrilled. This was exactly why he'd come here, and the first person he encountered was precisely what he was looking for. Adrian was always wary of what seemed to be good luck, mostly because he knew that it wouldn't last long before one of his mother's spells evened the scales by making his life suck in some other way, but he was positively giddy about this.
"That's what I'm trying to do! I just didn't have the resources, you know, and I couldn't find a way to really advance, and all my mom knows is that hippy-dippy balance shit. We don't really talk about it in my family. I didn't even know I was a witch until I left home. But god, no, I'd never touch blood magic. I'm a doctor. It goes against everything I stand for." Inasmuch as Adrian stood for anything, anyway, which he rarely did.
He paused, taking a step back, trying to stop tripping over his words like an eager puppy in his excitement. "I only know the basics of white magic, but I'm dying to learn more. I could save so many more of my patients if I could just get far enough to learn some of the healing spells, but, I mean--where do you go to find that kind of stuff? It's not like you can take spellbooks out of the public library."
Madison grinned ear to ear, absolutely pleased with this development in his evening. "I'm always intrigued by like-minded witches. I've advanced further than most witches my age, Adrian, and it's because of my parents mostly. It's a family art. My siblings are all deeply into it as well, though a few have lost some interest with age. It's to be expected to some degree. Unfortunately, a lot of the learning comes from finding a mentor. Someone who can teach you what you need to know. My mentors were my parents. It's a pity yours didn't bring you up in a similar fashion." He shifted, glancing to his drink as though considering it. "You can't simply find spellbooks, of course. My advice: Get yourself a mentor and soak up everything you can."
Adrian took a sip of his drink, a slow grin spreading over his face. "Well, that's pretty much why I'm here," he says. It was time to ratchet up the charm, because Adrian didn't think he was going to get a more perfect opportunity than this.
"Where exactly would you recommend looking for a mentor? Those can't be easy to come by, either. Especially not ones with the specific expertise I'm looking for. Should I be drawing up some kind of magical resumé, here?" He quirked a teasing eyebrow.
Madison listened to Adrian, his mind moving faster than perhaps the other man realized. He thought he knew were this was going, what the other man was likely asking of him. It was a lot of beating around the bush though, and Madison wasn't one to make things easy on others. He raised his chin, thinking the matter over quietly. He stirred his drink with a swishing movement in his wrist, eyes scanning Adrian up and down briefly. Still silent, Madison considered offering, but then... how would he benefit if he chose to do so? It seemed like a lot of work, and for little pay-off. But who knew for sure...?
"I don't know, Adrian. You'll have to find a witch interested, or with the time to train someone. You'll probably have to prove yourself." Madison was good at the hard-to-get game.
Adrian wasn't giving up hope that easily. He was pretty sure he could tell the difference between whether he was being toyed-with or outright dismissed, and even in the event of the latter, he was capable of persistence when there was something like this on the line.
But asking a stranger to teach you something this complicated, out of the goodness of their heart... now that Adrian thought about it, it was pretty damn audacious, and he was a bit embarrassed. He'd have to sell himself hard.
"That much, I can do. I'm no idiot. I learn fast. I already have a solid grounding in magical theory, too, which I guess I should advertise, since nobody would want to have to waste time teaching that if they didn't have to. Compatible schedules would be the big thing, I'd have to find someone with flexible hours, since I don't have a lot of time outside of work. But on the upside, that would probably give them a lot of free time too, where I wouldn't be bothering them. I've got plenty of time for practicing and plenty of sick people to practice on, and I've never come to a lesson unprepared in my life."
He drummed his fingers on the bar, shifting casually in his seat. "Don't suppose you have any contacts you could recommend?"
Madison listened to Adrian as he defended himself, talking about what a good student he would be. He believed him too, only because the man sounded clever and with it enough to live up to his words. Madison didn't get the vibe he was being fucked with, at least not openly. It seemed that this other witch was being honest with him, that he was really seeking to better himself. There was something endearing in it. Still... Madison wasn't sure where he was seeing his own benefit coming out in the deal.
"Ohhh, I don't know," Madison said, sighing as he set his drink down on the bar. Turning a little toward it, he propped his long arms up onto the smooth surface and began picking at his nails, as though he were bored. "I'll have to think it over... I mean, I know some white witches, but none of them are up to par with what I can do."
The problem was that there wouldn't be much benefit to Madison, if any. Adrian had never fully thought through how he would provide compensation for his magical training. He had a hard enough time scraping together money for rent and food as it was. If he had a less demanding job, perhaps he could offer to bartend for free, something like that, but that was completely out of the question.
He deflated, realizing that he'd hit a brick wall, that he had no business asking someone to help him like this for nothing in return. And there was no sense in keeping up the banter when he wouldn't be able to provide payment to any other witch Madison could hook him up with, either.
"What's the going price for witch mentorship?" he asked, all of his flirtatious spark gone for the time being. "Maybe I can hold off for a few years, until I start making better money."
Madison laughed, unable to help himself. He shook his head, letting his hands drop to the counter in his amusement. "Hey," he said, interrupting Adrian while turning back to face him. He put his feet on the rungs of the stool and rested his arms on his thighs, still chuckling to himself wickedly. "Payment doesn't necessarily always have to come in the form of paper." He shrugged, pursing his lips in a casual manner.
He leaned in closer though, grasping the edge of the counter to avoid falling. "Dance with me and I'll see what I can do."
Adrian had wondered if it would perhaps come to something like that. He wasn't vain enough to count on being able to use his looks to his advantage, and he didn't really make a habit of trying. But if the option was available, why the hell not?
Madison wasn't the type Adrian usually went for. He preferred people more like him--clean-cut and closeted. But there was no point in ruling anything out straight off the bat, he supposed. And where was the harm in a dance?
"Sure," he said, sliding off his barstool with a smile. "Show me what you got."
Madison bit his bottom lip and leapt from the stool to land gracefully on his feet, standing tall as he straightened up, a haughty expression taking over his face as he backed toward the bustling dance floor behind them. "Come on then, Adrian. Bring it to me." He laughed, enjoying himself -- really enjoying himself -- for perhaps the first time in weeks. Magic could be intensely frustrating at times, and downright depressing when it was being wasted on dreams that seemed so far out of reach.
As he hit the middle of the dance floor, Madison began to move, surprisingly effortlessly considering his large frame. Immediately he found the beat and blended into it; enjoying his own club was something he found all too easy to accomplish. He hooked a finger at Adrian and motioned for him to join him, eager to see what the other man could do. He definitely needed to loosen up a bit, at least in Madison's eyes.
Dancing wasn't Adrian's strong suit, but neither was it a weakness. What he lacked in flashy moves, he made up for with easy confidence, winding his way through the crowd as he nodded along to the beat and casually rolled his hips.
He wasn't shy about getting close to Madison, however unadventurous his dancing might otherwise be. If there was one thing he did know how to do, it was connect with someone. He'd follow Madison's lead, if the man had anything impressive to show off, but he had to at least prove himself willing to dive in without reservation.
Madison grinned as hard as he could, absolutely loving the attention and the company, even if he hardly knew the other man. Being with strangers wasn't something he'd ever struggled with, and he wasn't going to start now. Adrian was adorable, and relatively open about his supernatural side. Those were good things in Madison's books, reasons to consider the idea of teaching him about white magic. He'd never been particularly fond of sharing his abilities before, and not with people he didn't count as close friends. But... maybe this lull in his moving forward lately was some kind of sign? Maybe through teaching he could unlock his own potential, push himself further. The idea was thrilling.
After a while of dancing, Madison began to slow down, pulling closer to Adrian while watching him carefully, eyes slitted as his thoughts wound around themselves. "If you're really as interested as you say you are, I might be able to spare some of my time..." He paused, licking his lips to lean in closer. "Please don't make me regret it, Adrian. It would be a terrible waste of my time." There was a hint of playfulness to his tone, but it was sharp as well. Madison was not one to fuck around when it came to these things.
It wasn't difficult to drain Adrian's flimsy facade of confidence. Any conviction he'd had that he could really learn this rapidly began to evaporate, and his expression froze. Who the hell was he kidding? He'd had seven years to learn this and he'd never moved beyond the basics, and he could tell himself all he wanted that it was just because he hadn't known where to learn, but other witches managed it just fine. His mother had even mentioned friends who dabbled in more than one school of magic, and here the best Adrian could do was put a ward around the fridge to keep his roommate from eating his leftovers.
Stop it, he thought fiercely. For christ's sake, you're going to talk yourself out of this before you even give it a shot. Don't be a wuss.
But if nothing else, with an offer like this, he owed Madison honesty. And honesty was sometimes difficult to come by, with Adrian. "I can't promise I'm not gonna suck," he said, shoulders squaring, trying to regain some semblance of self-assurance. "But if I do, it won't be from lack of trying, I can guarantee that much."
Madison leaned his head back, laughing out loud toward the ceiling. "Oh honey," he said, eyes dropping back down to see Adrian's eyes. "I don't care if you suck. What I care about is that you try." He reached out to poke his finger into the other man's chest, not hard enough to hurt, but to make his point. "So really, as long as you make the effort..." Madison shrugged. If all else failed, this would at least give him something to focus on for a few weeks until Adrian gave up and wandered off, defeated. Who knew, though? Maybe he would prove to be better than he gave himself credit for... and Madison could perhaps gain a magical companion of sorts, someone to bounce ideas off of or ask for opinions from.
"Yeah, well, you say that now," he said, but he couldn't help but smile. "Okay. How are we going to do this? I mean, my schedule's not really consistent, so we can't really set up regular appointments or anything, but we can figure something out, right?"
He'd have to start practicing on patients again. He'd stopped for a while, fearful that it might be noticed now that people knew magic existed and might be looking for it, but the kind of spells he knew how to do weren't easily detected. And once he started getting into real healing magic... who was going to complain about unexplained patient improvement? Anything that could ease pain or keep someone holding on a little longer couldn't be unwelcome.
"How are we going to do this..." Madison repeated the words slowly, still moving a bit with the music as he thought. He allowed his eyes to drift over the crowd, taking in the scenary as more people began to fill it in. "I don't know. I suppose I'll tell you my schedule... and when you think you're going to have free time you can give me a call." Madison smiled, his lipstick covered mouth curling upward. "Generally I work here 'til late, though I don't necessarily have to be here all the time. In fact, I skip coming by on a fairly frequent basis." He snorted, recalling Misha complaining about it a while ago -- well, more whining than anything. "My mornings are fairly open, though. How does that sound?"
He'd have to kick his habit of sleeping in as long as humanly possible, but Adrian had been prepared to lose some sleep over this anyway. "Sounds like a deal. Here, hang on--" He fished his phone out of his pocket, wishing for a moment that he hadn't worn such tight jeans--although perhaps they'd worked in his favor, so he shouldn't complain. "Gimme your number. I'm pretty sure I'll be free Thursday morning, too, so we can start then?"
He'd be cutting it close, but Adrian was generally good at managing his time, and coming up with believable excuses for lateness when he wasn't.
Madison made no qualms about hiding the fact that he was watching Adrian pull his cell phone out of his jeans, a smirk set where there had been a wide grin moments ago. "Thursday morning sounds good," he answered, pausing in the middle of the dance floor to pull out his own cell. He flipped it open and brought up the contacts menu, typing in Adrian's name and pausing to hold his phone out. "Here, type your number in. I'll text you and then you'll have mine."
He was already looking forward to Thursday morning, not sure where they would begin or how to even start the series of teachings, but he assumed they would figure it out. Maybe their first meeting could be good for seeing what Adrian had accomplished already. They could get their bearings and push forward from there.
Adrian did so, letting his fingers brush Madison's as he handed the phone back, just second-nature flirting. He was fairly certain that he could come to like this guy a lot. He'd always been drawn to self-confidence, strong will, traits he didn't really have himself.
He'd just have to go home and practice the hell out of what little magic he knew, because he couldn't bear the thought of being a disappointment. Especially this early in the game. He found himself wanting badly to impress Madison, but he'd have to find something impressive about himself to show off.
"I'll see you then," he said, with a quirk of his lips. "Ten o'clock?"
Madison took the phone back with a strong smile, thrilled down to the bone at the touch and the way Adrian regarded him. There was something fascinating about the rush he experienced, the idea that he was taking on the role of teacher to this underinformed witch positively lifting his spirits for the time being. He hoped this would be a kick in the right direction, that through teaching Adrian he would find his own path again.
"You will absolutely see me then," he returned. "Ten it is, and please try not to be late. I'll text you my address later." He shot off a short text anyway, his name as the message so that Adrian would be sure to have his number saved.
"I'm never late," Adrian insisted, which was about half true. He stuck his phone back into his pocket, nearly lightheaded with excitement, and paused for an awkward moment before turning to leave. "Listen, man--thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me. I promise, I won't let you down."
With that, he made for the exit, palming his car keys with a giddy little grin. He had some preparing to do.