Re: [The Capital Mall: Atticus & Janus]
Janus' inner demon wasn't anything that went shopping for fripperies. No, that wasn't the inner demon at all, the one that dealt in the cold measuring and seductive bargaining. Yet Janus smiled, knowing Atticus meant mischief and 'devilish' rather than really demonic. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, lowering his tone to something flat, with a soft edge. Janus, alert and watchful, noticed when Atticus' attention moved away to an empty corner. He jerked his head quickly to look at the girl he couldn't see, then looked back. His thoughts were visible when he decided not to ask.
Janus took the sweater and folded it neatly, as if it was worth the hundreds that all the rest of the mess in this store was. He put it on a little shelf to one side, and let his eyes rove down Atticus' body. Janus smiled. "One for you, one for me. Sounds fair." And Janus was always about fair.
"I haven't asked him yet," Janus replied readily. "You think he'd like it?"
Janus reached out and slapped playfully at Atticus' hand. "You don't scratch your belly like that, it looks sloppy. Rub if you've got an itch. Like Santa." Janus set the tip of his tongue over the top of his teeth, playfully. He folded the undershirt and put it on the pile too. Janus held one of Ricardo's offerings up to Atticus body and ticket his tongue across his teeth again. "Now, isn't this fun?"