Friday 5/23/08
Who: Angel, Malakai When: Around 2pm Where: Malakai's Apartment What: They have tea and Angel spills her feelings to Mal 'cause he's her Gal Pal.
Hurrying to get dressed in a pair of skinny blue jeans--they were not that easy to get on--Angel scurried around her apartment. It was just about two in the afternoon and all of the excitement the blond had felt leading up to this day was bubbling over. She was more ready for learning to drive a motorcycle than she had anticipated. But first she had to show off her outfit. Malakai seemed to be wanting to humor her, even, and so he was the perfect subject.
She squat quickly to make sure her pants were on just right, the jeans tight and formfitting, and her hands passed over the blouse over her chest. It was a lovely shade of blue, more like cerulean, and really brought out her eyes. The low plunge was left as it was, low, and revealing a lacy blue bra underneath if she bent over just right. Fortunately, the white leather jacket she had purchased covered her completely. And she looked damn good.
In her flat boots the color of a thunderous sky, Angelina made her way upstairs to visit her older friend, Mal. He said the door was open so when she got there she knocked on the jamb before leaning in. "Hello?" she called. "Anyone home?"
Malakai had been in the kitchen, fixing tea once he told Angel to come on up. The woman really was too adorable. While some instinctive part of him really couldn't stand her and wanted to do nothing more than growl, he'd worked too hard over the years to blend in with the humans. Angel wasn't the first spawn he'd met, and he doubted she'd be the last.
At her call, he answered, "I'm in the kitchen, c'mon in." He was barefoot, as he preferred to be in his apartment. The denim he wore was soft and faded, nearly threadbare around the knees and frayed around his ankles, but he still loved them. He had a black tshirt stretched over his chest, fitting tightly. Malakai looked good, but casual and perfectly comfortable in the kitchen.
Reaching to the cabinet, he took down a couple mugs and set them on the table, pouring the steeped tea into the tea pot and bringing it to the table. Turning, he faced Angel with a wide smile. "Wow, you look good enough to eat. What's the occasion?"
Walking into the kitchen, looking Mal over as she caught sight of him. Nice. Angel smiled as he grinned back at her. She was more excited to see he was making tea--if that's what she smelled--and wondered if that mug was for her. She didn't see who else it could be for but she wasn't going to just invite herself to tea! It probably wasn't sweet tea, anyway. Not that she couldn't take tea.
"Eat? Oh, Ah hope you don' plan on eatin' me." Her white teeth continued to flash a smile. Her feet brought her up to the table where she set her purse down on the floor by one of the legs. "No occasion really. Learning somethin' new."
It wasn't a sweet tea. It was his personal blend, a type that he liked and enjoyed, and was willing to share. "Have a seat. The tea just finished so help yourself." Moving back to the cabinet, Malakai chuckled. "Nah, I wouldn't eat you, Moraki mou." He gave her one of the many Greek endearments he knew. "I'm pretty sure you'd taste delicious, but it's probably not worth the indigestion."
He glanced back over his shoulder with a smile, teasing her. Reaching into the cabinet, he came out with a tin of cookies and set those on the table, taking the chair across from her.
"Oh? And what're you learning?"
Unable to help herself, Angle stuck out her tongue. "Ah don' think Ah'd taste good at all!" she told him, taking a seat at the table and carefully pouring a cup of tea. Her eyes only glanced up at him in time to see the last moments of a teasing expression before he turned away and brought out cookies.
Was he trying to make her fat?! Gosh.
Still, she took a sip of the tea and hummed. It was good. "Mm, what is this?" she asked, curious. But no sooner had she done that than did she move into another topic. "Ah'm learnin' ta ride a motorcycle."
Malakai chuckled, leaning back into the chair with a biscuit in hand. Being a hellhound meant having an extraordinarliy high metabolism, so he was eating constantly just to maintain his body weight. All through the years women had hated him for it. He thought it was damned amusing. "I'm sure you would. Most angels would be pretty sweet, but I like my stomach as is."
Picking up his own mug, he poured himself some tea, loving the way the fragrance permeated the air, filling the apartment with its floral, sweet fragrance. "It's a home blend. Old recipe." Sniffing at the steam, he took a slow sip, letting the brew linger on his tongue.
"Motorcycle?" Malakai looked up with interested. He'd ridden several over the years, but the lesson explain Angel's getup. Or did it? "So who's teaching you?"
For a brief moment Angelina looked a bit shocked and thought that he had hopefully not eaten any angels. Though she was not so sure she could put it past him. He was a very old hellhound after all. He had probably eaten a lot of things. And yet....wouldn't the angel really upset him? They couldn't touch without having pain. Angel doubted he'd be able to eat her without suffering a great deal.
"Home blend...Hmm." She mulled that over for a moment. A blend of tea from Hell? They had tea in Hell? How strange. That would be seriously unexpected. Hell had never really had a definition to Angel, and she had never tried to think of what it was really like. Television had all sorts of ideas. To her, she imagined both Heaven and Hell were similar to Earth. People who had died lived on. Only Hell seemed like it might be more crowded. Maybe. One day she would have to ask for a clear description.
"Just a friend," replied Angel with a smile. "Ah have no idea why Ah'm doin' it! It wasn' ever somethin' Ah really thought I'd learn. But here Ah am!"
Actually, the home blend was a mix of Grecian herbs and tea leaves, since not much vegetation wise grew in Hell. At least, not that he saw and dealt with. Malakai had just lived on Earth for so long, that he considerd Greece to be "home" when talking to humans.
"Just a friend." Mal smirked and nodded. "Must be some friend, to teach you how to handle a piece of machinery like that."
Knowing Greece was his 'home' would have been a relief on her mind. But for now, until she asked, she would be wondering about it. Ah, Angel was such a silly woman.
Frowning at his smirk, Angel held up a hand to stop Mal from saying more. "He's a good friend," she told him. "And Ah trust him." Somehow, those words were not the ones she really expected to share. But she did trust Fox, more than she recognized. He had gotten close to her these past few days and when they spent time together she didn't regret it--even if she did have to sometimes run away from his pursuits.
Malakai had heard of Fox. It was kind of hard to ignore the rumors going around of the biker angel spawn. There weren't many people on the campus that had motorcycles, and of those that did, there were even fewer that Angel would be likely to spend time with. That Fox boy seemed a reasonable guess. He had a good soul, Mal shuddered inwardly, so it made sense that Angel would spend time with him.
Malakai nodded. "Good. If you didn't trust him, you shouldn't get on a bike with him." Not to mention other things.
Other things? Angel had no idea what Mal would have been talking about. She only gave a smile and looked down into her tea, spacing out for a moment. She did that sometimes and hated herself for it. Her lack of focus caught up to her in the end and bit her in that butt of hers. If she didn't trust him she wouldn't have gotten on the bike...Hm.
When her eyes blinked a few seconds later she looked up at Malakai and smiled, though her cheeks turned pink in embarrassment. "Ah'm so sorry! I spaced out, didn't I?"
Malakai leaned back comfortably in his chair, casually sipping his tea while Angel thought. He didn't mind the silence. There were plenty of other sounds and smells to pay attention to. He was still a hound at heart, though he thought he played at being human rather well.
Smiling, he reached for another cookie. "You're fine. You've got things on your mind. Anything you want to share?"
He played at being human very well. Angel often forgot, as he probably noticed, that he was of the dog-variety at all. Though she would probably forget less if the image of him as a hound were imprinted in her memory, even lightly. That said, Angel liked him as a human. He was very handsome.
A giggle. "Nothin' you would care to talk about!" she said, shaking her head before sipping her tea. Malakai was not her gal pal and she doubted very much he wanted to hear about her concerns over this weird relationship she had developed with Fox. Besides, there wasn't much to talk about! They were friends. Sort of. That, and men tended to not like talking about other men in such a regard. At least that was Angel's understanding. Just as she would have hated talking to Fox about some girl or another.
If Mal had known that she placed him in the same category as other flea bitten mongrels, he'd happily show her his true form, just to keep him separate. He didn't mind the canine label, that's what he was. But dog? Hell no!
"You sure about that?" While it was probably true that men didn't discuss other men, Malakai wasn't a man. Man implied being human. He thought as a hound. Granted, he understood humans a lot better after three thousand years, but he wasn't one. Why should he have the standards and morals society imprinted on men?
To the unintelligent like Angel, canines and dogs were the same to her. She didn't know the difference! Felines and cats were the same, weren't they? So why should canines and dogs be any different? At least that was her logic.
"Well...if ya want ta listen..." She looked at her phone quickly for the time and knew there was plenty to spare to chat. The things Angel said she had to do could wait. Having an ear and opinion would be more helpful than some papers she had to put away. "Ugh, where ta even start?" It wasn't that hard, really, but she felt like just jumping into it was what was difficult.
Malakai lifted his mug of tea to hide his smirk. This woman, as wonderful and sweet as she was, was so easy to manipulate. He wondered idly if she knew it. "Usually, the best place to start is the beginning. How about his name?"
Oh he was good. And, no. Angel really didn't notice that she was so easily manipulated. She accepted things for what they were most of the time and took what she got, gave as much as she could. Things always worked out in the end--at least up until she had started working here. The people at TJS were of a different sort, that was for sure.
"It's Fox. He's the one teachin' me to drive the bike." Well, that was easy. "I spilled coffee on him and so Ah cleaned it up. Ah got a skill with takin' stains outta stuff. While he was there he kissed me and Ah scolded him not ta do it! And then he came ta get his shirt from my office after class an' he kissed me again! So SOMEHOW we went out and had dinner at this great place he knew of--they had really good burgers. Ah bet you'd like 'em. And we had lots of time left so we went to a club some friends suggested. We had a lotta fun. He taught me ta play pool right! It's harder than it looks. But after we played pool we were dancing and Ah kissed him. Ah kissed him good...And now he's teachin' me ta ride a bike 'cause I said Ah couldn't."
Taking a deep breath with a sigh she shook her head and finished off her tea. "Ah'm a terrible person."
Malakai watched the play of emotions as they cross Angel's face. Everything from pure pleasure, to confusion, curiosity, exasperation and frustration among others. "Wow. Sounds like you two have quite the relationship going."
She rolled her startlingly bright blue eyes. "Maaaaaaaaal...." Angel would have slumped in her seat if it were acceptable. Instead, she just shook her head before leaning it back, eyes on the ceiling with a finger twisting around her hair. She did that when she was upset, she noticed. Or felt any emotion other than happiness, really. "Ah don' even know what it is. It's not like he's asked me out, and I ain't askin' him out. That is not how it's done!"
He cocked his head to one side. If he were a hound, one ear would have been lifted, a sign of confusion. "Why not? Besides, you and I have a relationship, though it's not more than friends. Why balk at the idea of one with him?"
Angel shook her head, putting the mug down. "It ain't the same! 'sides, he's a student. He ain't even really legal. Ah mean, he is 'cause eighteen is legal but that ain't the point." Hands lifting and threading through her hair, locking together behind her head, the woman blinked back at Malakai. "Ah have no idea what ta do. Ah like him, but Ah can't just go breakin' the rules 'cause of that. Ah bet he don't even like me the same way."
Malakai didn't alter the angle of his head. Somehow, he always thought better this way. "He's legally an adult. Other teachers have been dating, marrying students with no repercussions. Perhaps the rules are overrated." Of course, he was a demon; it was natural for him to think that.
"Have you asked him how he feels to know?"
"Well, you are right 'bout that..." Angel sighed. The rules were put in places for reasons and yet no one seemed to follow them. It made no sense! How could the teachers expect the students to follow their rules if they didn't even follow them? Hello! Systematical breakdown.
And this was way it was easier to work with elementary students. They threw a cookie across the room, you told them to sit in the corner for five minutes, and they never threw a cookie again. Problem solved.
"No. Do ya think Ah should?"
Malakai refrained from answering her question for a minute, instead taking the time to sip his tea and nibble on yet another cookie. He didn't know this Wiley character well, at least, he hadn't spoken to him except briefly in the hallway. "The worst he'd say is no, right? So what have you got to lose?"
What did she have to lose? For a moment she pondered that. Diginty. Tradition. Self esteem. Trust. Friendship.
Oh, losing those couldn't be so bad!
Angelina sighed again, eating half of a cookie and glad for it's comfort. "I dunno. Ah guess you're right. But aren't things awkward after that if he said no? How do Ah teach a kid Ah was rejected by? How do Ah teach a kid Ah'm dating?" Mentally she prayed for help.
Malakai nodded. "Things are only as awkward as you let them be. If you think to yourself that it's perfectly natural to be teaching a student you date, then it is. And if you're asking his feelings, which he's likely not to tell you straight out, then it's not really a rejection. He's just telling you how he feels." He couldn't see what was so complicated about it all, but he and his species did think about it differently.
He was right, but Angel hated to admit it. It all sounded so complicated! Surely she was just making it more stressful than it really was? Though another thought poked at her. What if it was too soon? Could it be too soon? Feelings didn't just wait, after all, but it wasn't like they had gone out a lot. Still...Angel felt like there was so much more to Fox than he let on. When he kissed her it was different somehow.
"Fine, fine." Angel threw one of her hands up in defeat. Adora probably would have said the same thing. "Thanks. Yer pretty smart," she teased. "Oh, by the way...." Well, she was in good spirits now. But it was probably time for her to be heading out. Slowly she got to her feet and took the mug into the kitchen, putting it in the sink. Angel was half tempted to clean it because she hated just leaving dishes for people even if that person knew, obviously, that they would have to clean it. "I was barking at ya. In the journal." She tried very hard not to giggle but failed and was glad her back was to him for the moment. Changed status to Available (10:44:01)
Of course he was right. He'd spent a long time studying people. Granted, he didn't know Fox all that well so he couldn't say how the young man felt about the professor here, but it looked as if Angel fancied herself half in love with the boy. And it probably scared her witless.
Smiling into his mug, he drank his tea, listening as she maneuvered around the kitchen to set the mug down. She didn't have to do anything with the dish, that's what the dishwasher was for. One of the many marvels of the modern age.
Amused at her comment, Malakai turned his head to face her. "You were barking at me? That's so sweet."
Looking at her friend, she shrugged. "Ah thought ya'd understand. I think I did pretty good!" She grinned on her way back to the living area where Mal sat, bending over to pick up her purse from the floor. "Well, anyway. Ah should probably go. We're meetin' soon and Ah don' wanna be late."
Malakai nodded, setting his mug down on the table. The lease he could do is walk her to the door. "I wonder if your tongue could actually wrap around hellhound, but I may teach you something one day." He came to his feet smoothly, walking to the door with Angel. "You should stop by more often. And let me know how things go with Fox."
She shot him a look, but it wasn't a bad one. "Ah'd like that," said the angel. If anything she could say 'hi' right? That would be interesting. Learning an extremely foreign language sounded kind of fun, if not a bit hard. But what else did she have to do in the days? Very little.
"Ah will. Thanks for havin' me. The tea was good." She smiled and raised a hand to wave goodbye. In a normal situation she would have hugged him, but these were no longer normal situations.