Isabel Lane Hemingway (isabellane) wrote in spinningcompass, @ 2018-09-25 01:57:00 |
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Isabel wandered down the hall toward her apartment. Whatever Nandita had given her had her feeling amazing. She really didn't care about anything. She furrowed her brow when she couldn't get into her apartment, though. It was her apartment, wasn't it? Why couldn't she get in? She was so out of it that she didn't think to use her magic to open the door. What was going on? ------- Rawdon had been drinking, reading and re-reading the letters that had magically appeared in his apartment after Isabel had visited last. He didn’t want to believe it, of course he didn’t, but could he really doubt the evidence in front of him? Well, he could doubt a lot of things on the station, but he wasn’t sure what good denial would do him other than contribute to liver damage. Then there was a scratching at the door, someone trying the handle, over and over- He pulled the door wide open quickly, as if expecting to find an intruder. He frowned when he saw who it was, and then pointed at her. “You! Back to play some more tricks, are you?” He was slurring just a little. He gave her a quick glance up and down, and realised something was off. “The hell’s happened to you? You’re fuddled.” ————- Isabel just stared at him for a minute. Her pupils were dilated to the point of almost having no visible iris. What was he doing in her apartment. “I don't play tricks. You play tricks.” She pointed at him. “Why are you in my apartment?” ---- “S’not your apartment, love,” he told her. He took her by the shoulders, turned her around and give her a friendly nudge in the right direction. But something wasn’t right - it was her eyes. Had she been taking opium or something? “...okay, we need to get you some coffee or something,” he told her. He was sure that she was in no position to put up a fight on the matter, so he simply put his arm around her shoulders properly and led her inside. ———— “Not my apartment?” She was so confused. And then he turned her around and she realized she'd been on the wrong side of the hall. “Oh.” She looked at him. “Coffee is good. I like coffee.” She nodded. “You need coffee too.” She giggled. -------- “Good. Yes, I will have coffee, too,” he told her. If she hadn’t dropped by, he’d probably have just kept drinking until he passed out, so she’d saved him from that at least. He led her into the living room and sat her down on the sofa. “I’m going to make the coffee. D’you want anything to eat?” he asked. ———- Isabel just let him direct her as needed, plopping down on the couch. “I am hungry. There's cake. I want the cake.” She nodded and then randomly giggled again. “S’it hot in here?” She looked around the apartment. “Coffee and cake sounds good.” ------ “Let them eat cake!” he joked, in his best Marie Antoinette impression. He disappeared into the kitchen, although he left the door open so that he could hear her if she suddenly started freaking out on him. He made a pot of coffee, and cut up some cake - a little unevenly given his own inebriation, but it was still cake - and before long he was placing a tray on a coffee table in front of her. “Here we go, then. Caffeine and sugar, just what you need.” ------ While Rawdon was in the kitchen Isabel decided that it was definitely hot in her apartment. She decided to remedy this by stripping down to her underwear, then sitting back on the couch as she waited. When he set the tray in front of her she picked up the piece of cake and took a big bite, not bothering with a plate. This, of course, caused crumbs to go down her bra which absolutely had to be retrieved immediately. ----- Rawdon had sat down next to her and then looked over as she picked up the cake. “Gads, that’s a bit forward, isn’t it?” he asked her, clearly very amused by this bizarre turn of events. He was chuckling away to himself as he picked up a piece of cake with about as much dignity as she had. “What the devil have you been taking anyway?” Whatever it was, it was some damn strong stuff. And he half wondered if she had any left. ------ “It's only forward if I'm hitting on you. I'm just hot.” She giggled and took another bite of cake before sipping her coffee. It tasted so much better than she remembered. Isabel shrugged at his question. “Nandita gave it to me. It's nice.” She grinned. Of course whatever she took would probably put Rawdon in a coma but that thought wasn't in her head at the moment. ------ “Have I skipped straight to very decidedly like a brother to you that you feel so perfectly safe just stripping off around me?” he moaned a little. “I’d better watch that,” he murmured teasingly. He ate his piece of cake, and turned a little to get a proper look at her. There was no harm in looking after all. “So, this is modern underwear, hmm?” Nandita. He had no idea who Nandita was, but at least he knew who to contact if she suddenly started convulsing or something. “Uh huh. I’ll bet it is.” ------- Isabel shook her head. “S’more of a tit for tat.” She giggled at herself. Tit was a funny word. “Saw you in your underwear so only fair, right?” She sipped her coffee, then set it down. At his question, she nodded. “Yup. Lots easier to get off and on.” She smiled. ----- Rawdon giggled with her, leaning back on the sofa lazily as she spoke. “Mm, but mine wasn’t nearly so revealing,” he admitted. He knew that he shouldn’t be such a cad; he should be insisting that she covered up, not just taking in the eyeful happily. If he was any sort of a gentleman he’d be getting her a robe or a blanket at least. “Well, isn’t that convenient?” he drawled. Okay, maybe he was flirting a little. But he wasn’t going to hurt her, and he was half-drunk himself. ------ Isabel laughed out loud and shook her head. “It's all cotton and you were sweaty. It was plenty revealing.” She giggled again and winked at him. “Real convenient. It's just a hook in the back.” She leaned forward and moved her hair out if the way. She reached back and was able to just barely touch the clasp, though she didn't try to undo it. “See?” ---- “It’s linen, darling, what do you take me for?” he teased; cotton was quite a new material in his time, and more the reserve of the working classes. “Mm, fever sweat. How sensual for you,” he joked, laughing a little. He leaned in to see what she was showing him. His fingers ran lightly down her spine, and he very briefly touched what she was showing him, although he did not attempt to undo it. “I do see. This is invaluable information,” he smiled, pulling back again. “Drink some coffee,” he suggested. ------- “Oh yes, I apologize.” She chuckled softly. Isabel shivered as his fingers ran down her spine. It felt really good. Everything felt better now. She'd have to remember what it was Nandita gave her. “Are we already at the you giving me orders stage? That was fast.” She laughed and then leaned forward again to sip her coffee. That sip was enough that she could tell the coffee had cooled down to where she could just empty the mig without burning herself. Once her mug was empty, she sat back into the couch again. Isabel was quiet for a full minute, though it seemed like longer. She just stared at Rawdon, then reached up and lightly tugged at his curls. “You're very handsome.” She almost whispered. ------- “Well, you skipped straight to stripping, might as well continue being overly forward and direct,” he smiled at her. He was pleased that she consented to drink the coffee, though. He wasn’t sure it would make any difference to her current condition, but it was worth a try. He drank down about half his own cup as well. He still felt kind of loopy, but nowhere near as bad as she was. She was staring at him with a great deal of intensity, which was cute at first, and then unnerving as more time passed. “You think so? Why, thank you,” he told her. He was certain that if he just moved a little closer, leaned in a little… oh, it’d be so damn easy. And the perfect way to take his mind off of Becky. “You…. are very wasted,” he reminded her softly. Or perhaps reminded himself. ------ Isabel nodded. It was almost like his words weren't quite registering but she wasn't completely out of it. She ran her fingers through his hair and then slid her hand down to his cheek. “Yeah. Not as much, though.” She was starting to come down a bit but it was a gradual thing, not a hard crash like with some drugs. ---— At her sweet attention Rawdon felt his resolve weakening. It would have been different if they’d been drinking together or something, but this felt a little off even by his standards of debauchery. Plus, despite what he had read, he was still married, and he still loved her. Didn’t he? His head was all muddled up now. “D’you often do drugs, Isa?” he murmured, not actually moving back as he spoke. ——— Isabel shook her head. She let her hand drop to his shoulder. “Never. Usually only drink but I wanted to forget for a bit. And alcohol doesn't do that anymore.” She sighed. Getting drunk was so much easier. She kind of missed those days. ------ “Never?” he repeated, a little concerned because it seemed like she’d gone from ‘never’ to something really hard in one leap. That probably didn’t tend to happen without a reason. And then there was the reason. “What are you trying to forget?” he asked, ironically reminding her of whatever it was again. ———- Isabel slid her hand down his arm and then shifted closer to rest her head on his shoulder. She tried to get her head together enough to talk about it. “They just keep showing up.” She sighed. That seemed like a reasonable enough answer. And in her current state it explained everything. ------- Rawdon didn’t think he was particularly good for the whole shoulder to cry on deal, but he shifted awkwardly so that she could rest as she wanted against him. At least it’d be easy enough to lie her down if she ended up sleeping on him. “Who does?” he asked, after a moment wondering if he wanted to know. ——— “The women they really want to be with.” She closed her eyes for just a second and then sat up straight and looked at him. “You want your wife here? Just take me on a date and give it a week or so. Doesn't even have to be a real date. Last one was just a friend date. I'm getting better apparently.” She shook her head and leaned back into the couch again. ------- Rawdon frowned at her confession; he had no idea who she was talking about, of course, but he got the jist of it. Maybe it was another part of her power as a genie. That one definitely had to be rough. “Ah. Well, you’ll just need to find yourself a man who doesn’t want anybody else, then there will be no one to show up,” he said, although obviously she had thought of that one already. At the next part, he grimaced a little. Did he want that? He felt it sting as his heart was torn in two directions. “Hmm. Well. Maybe in that case I should be avoiding you completely,” he murmured. He needed time to cool off first, there was no saying how he would react to Becky’s face right now. ------ Isabel laughed and shook her head. “They always want somebody else. That's the way it is.” She shrugged. She shook her head again. “Just don't take me on a date.” She chuckled ----’ “All right, no dates. You’ve got a deal,” he nodded, a little amused but trying his best to be sensitive. “You should get some rest, sleep off… whatever the fuck this is.” ——- Isabel nodded. He was right. Sleep was sounding really good. And she was just out if it enough that the where didn't matter. She leaned her head back against the couch and sighed, closing her eyes. -------- Rawdon chuckled softly as she seemed content just to sleep where she sat. He got up and realising that she was nearly asleep, he put a pillow down and then repositioned her so she was properly lying down on the couch. He quietly looked around and eventually found a blanket. He draped it over her. He had been about to leave when he figured he should probably leave a note - he didn’t know how much of it she would remember in the morning after all. Isabel, When you find the man for you, it won’t matter who else shows up. Hope you don’t feel too tough today. Give me a shout and let me know you’re okay. Rawdon |