ᴀʟᴛᴜs, ᴇɴᴄʜᴀɴᴛᴇʀ, ᴍᴀɢɪsᴛᴇʀ (tevene) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-10-11 14:23:00 |
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Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, ₴ inactive: dorian pavus, ₴ inactive: marina andrieski |
WHO: Dorian & Marina
WHAT: Talking about DATING (not each other, but Marina has a ~girlfriend~ now so she shares that info)
WHERE: Penthouse apartment
WHEN: Today
WARNINGS: Gasp, no!
STATUS: Complete
It had been a very Vallo time lately - and that meant things were odd, but honestly, when weren’t they? Dorian had simply learned to go with it though, to be the river on course for its destination rather than veering off someplace. He was still alive and here and life events were going as well as they could be - he’d just gotten back from taking Blackwall to the veterinarian (Onyx, specifically - there was no better vet than Steve who called himself Onyx), for a check-up and his next round of shots. The big baby (literal big baby) didn’t really care for needles though, so he’d whined and pouted and looked like a sad doggie clown for the whole trip there, from the moment he was weighed to the moment Dorian paid the bill and then vacated - but then to cheer the dog up, Dorian bought him ice cream (a small bit of vanilla, as that happened to be something he loved). He’d scarfed that in two seconds and still continued to look sad-eyed with his big eyes and big jowls and sigh. Such a ham. If only Blackwall could meet his namesake - they truly had so much in common, it was mind boggling. But since he was at the ice cream shop he decided to pick up something for Marina too - for the both of them, actually, two new pints. Her favorite and also his favorite which was date, rum, and pecan - a beautiful mix that this place did just right, this place with black and white checkered floors and red leather stools at the counter. He didn’t sit on one to stay, just was in and out and then returning with the poor dog who had a horrible life. Clearly. “Marina, my love,” he called as he entered the penthouse, juggling Blackwall’s leash and a paper bag with frozen pints, emitting a chill. The waypoints made for quick travel, at least - nothing would melt. The day prior had been a long and confusing, but at least it had involved kissing. She was still figuring her own brain out outside of not wanting to be a disappointment. Eleanor knew who she was and basically everything she’d done and then stuff she wouldn’t do because she was here. She’d seen her as a blonde and apparently still wanted to kiss her. She’d agreed to dating even if she did probably make some ridiculous boundaries, but she’d probably have to let go of some of them. But the idea of PDA still made her nose wrinkle. Even if she could probably tell people to fuck off if they had anything to say. At the sound of Blackwall and Dorian coming into the apartment, Marina quickly sat up instead of staying sprawled on the couch, one hand petting JG and the other fidgeting slightly with her shirt. She corrected her hair to look a little more presentable and was actually relieved that she hadn’t decided to change back into her pajamas early. “What’s in the bag?” She didn’t really wait for an answer before taking it and looking inside. “Boo. Nothing fun.” That didn’t stop her from taking the pint of cherry ice cream with pits of chocolate inside of it. “Thanks for the ice cream. Unless you have a hot date that suddenly likes my ice cream.” Dorian scoffed at that guess, because honestly. Honestly. He hadn’t experienced a ‘hot date’ in what felt like an eon - not since Atreus dumped him after almost a year together because he suddenly decided he’d rather sleep around. Moving on from that and picking up the shattered pieces wasn’t easy (especially not for someone who, deep down, kind of loathed himself anyway and lived so far into a state of emotional torment) but these days Dorian certainly felt ready - he’d already sowed his wild oats though, at a prior period in his life, so he wasn’t in the market for any old warm hole to put his dick into. Thus, ice cream was the name of the game. On the couch. With Marina. “I assure you I do not,” he said, getting up to grab them both spoons - they could be heathens and eat from the carton. “But you - do you have a hot date?” Please. Share all the details, dearest. Marina opened the ice cream and started eating. “You might. I’m sure your ass is still attractive enough to draw someone in.” But she felt her stomach sink when he asked if she had a hot date. “Uh.” She looked down, focusing for a moment on the ice cream. “I mean, not today?” She glanced up briefly, letting a hint of a smile show on her face before she rolled her eyes. She hadn’t really talked to anyone about it because it was basically brand new, but that was just one of those things. She was going to have to tell someone. Probably. If she didn’t, Eleanor would, so it was really only a matter of time. She wasn’t going to make their relationship a secret anyway. She wasn’t a total bitch. “It’s...I guess more like a hot girlfriend, but whatever. Don’t be weird about it.” Whaaaaaaat? A hot girlfriend? Dorian was flabbergasted, but in a good way. He was happy for Marina, he truly was - that happiness and pride bubbled up him in, feeling like sunshine on a summer’s day. Perhaps because he wanted the best for her and knew that she had Seen Some Shit, so to speak. Plus she’d been horribly mistreated by an ex-what-have-you of her own, and even if she’d hate him saying so - his heart hurt for her when she told him what the woman had done. She deserved much better, anyway. “I might be able to guess who it is - a certain lovely blonde, perhaps?” he mused, digging the spoon into the ice cream carton (usually he liked to eat the dates first, for some reason). “I promise to not be weird about it - though hopefully you won’t mind filling me in on some details. The ‘when did this happen?’ and all of that.” Marina rolled her eyes. “You’re already weird about it. But yes. It was Eleanor.” A beat. “Is Eleanor.” Yes. This was the present tense. “It was yesterday. I brought her her gift.” She could still remember the look on Eleanor’s stupid face. “I figured it was better to bring it earlier…” But that was mostly because she didn’t want to give her a gift in front of people...only now they’d definitely know she cared about Eleanor anyway cause they were dating. She’d just have to change tactics, she guessed and threaten peoples’ kneecaps or something. “Anyway, she gave me a hug cause I told her she could have like one freebie. Then it turned into some weird staring contest where we were both standing there and it was like one of those lame movie scenes where you’re waiting to see if someone’s going to kiss. So I basically asked if it was a staring contest or if she was going to kiss me, so she did. Kiss me, I mean.” It was still unexpected and she’d definitely been confused during it and the clarity set in a little late. She was still confused now. It didn’t make sense because they were opposites, which is fine when you’re friends and start off basically the same and then one of you is just nicer and more bubbly than the other. She hoped she wouldn’t regret it later. “And that’s most of what happened.” Oh, Marina - sweet-as-vinegar, stone-hearted Marina. Dorian appreciated the nuances of this story, he really did. “Did you hear that Blackwall?” he asked the dog, rhetorically. When he heard his name, the giant mastiff perked up from his Lump of Sadness state of being - perhaps hoping he’d have earned himself more treats or ice cream, but no such luck. Only a little sugar was advisable. “Mother had herself a kissing scene straight from a film.” At the very least, he didn’t need to do anything like give Eleanor the Stare of Judgment (he was very good at that), since he already knew her and knew that she was overall a delight. “You know we’re attracted to those who tend to be a bit opposite of us because they have some qualities we’re not all that fabulous at?” he mused, fishing for a pecan this time in a sea of ice cream. “I think you ought to balance each other nicely. And she recognizes your worth - how wonderful you are.” Unlike her last partner who - Maker. Definitely did not do that. “Why am I suddenly Mother? To the dog?” Marina made a face. Not that she really minded Blackwall. She’d even come to sort of like him a little, but he was a dog and she was still very much someone that understood cats better than dogs. They were so…happy. They weren’t even ever aloof and vaguely displeased that you walked into a room. What was that about? “Ugh. Don’t be gross.” How wonderful she was? She wasn’t sure anyone should look at her as wonderful. Gross. “I’m awesome, duh. But don’t be weird about it.” She’d been drunk as a skunk the last time Dorian referred to her as Blackwall’s loving mother - that sort of amused Dorian too, even if the circumstances had been depressing, post-Julia’s disappearance. But sober Marina took issue, it seemed. “Because that’s you, Mother to Dogs - and Ugly Cats, apparently,” he teased, and he knew he was going to get Marina all up in arms about the rather unfortunate appearances of FB and JG, but what could he say - they were friends (by now, even if admitting it made her face hurt) and he liked riling her up a little. It was something he did out of love, and he had much love for her too - not the ‘I want to rip your clothes off’ type of love, but affection and something pure and unconditional regardless. And he still looked at her as wonderful. He would not hear otherwise, thank you very much. “I’m not one to use a term like ‘awesome,’ but yes, I suppose you are,” he added. “Did you ever think that telling me not to be weird about it just, in fact, makes it weird?” “I accept the cats, but when did my dog parenting come into play? I thought you were a single parent on that front.” She sighed as she felt a wet nose pressing against her hands and she moved to pet Blackwall. “So needy.” She rolled her eyes at the question. “No. Cause you’re the one that did it.” She looked at Dorian for a moment. “And wonderful is basically an insult. I know I’m basically the best bitch out there, but I don’t want you to be all…whatever that is just cause I agreed to date someone who is weirdly blonde and cuddly.” And now Marina was petting Blackwall, so yes, she was officially Mother - or at least, Dorian was quite sure Blackwall thought of her as such because of the love and attention and affection bestowed upon him. He adored her and would gladly, goofily present himself for all of the pets and ‘behind the ear’ scritches. Ones on the behind too - he was especially fond of those. “I assure you that I won’t mention your blonde, cuddly girlfriend - at least not in the context of making it weird,” he promised, though it wasn’t like he suddenly knew what that meant. Marina had her own language and while he was getting used to it, more time would have to pass before he was completely fluent. But that simply gave him a challenge. “I suppose I should also mention, in the interest of full disclosure regarding dating, I have submitted a profile for the ‘app’? The Tag one,” he said. “I am not very hopeful that anything will come of it, though I suppose it’s about time to try.” He had waited until his battered, bruised heart had healed a little (and let’s face it, being broken up with so suddenly and so harshly had a done a number on his self-esteem - he didn’t want to be friends and likely never would be, at least not until years had floated by) but felt ready enough now to want to get back out there. He’d never really been a quitter anyway, so there was that too. Marina just sort of pet the dog, hoping he wouldn’t drool too much or get it all over her clothes. It was usually a losing battle, but between her magic and the Harry Potter magic that she could do, she was basically fine to get stuff off her clothes in the end. It wouldn’t stop her from making every face she could in response to it. “Are you? Ready to put yourself into a situation where some mediocre white man can make your face get more wrinkled by sadness?” She didn’t know Atreus really when he and Dorian were dating, but she wasn’t open to knowing him now. She wouldn’t think about the fact that she’d probably throw hands (or a shovel, to be honest) if it came down to it and he needed to be put in his place. Someone would probably have a problem with it and there’d be more throwing hands, but she wasn’t that worried about it. “Just let me know if I have to play the part of overprotective roommate with the glaring. I’ve probably got a vague idea of a script if necessary.” Dorian chuckled over the ferocity of the tempting offer. He didn’t have any reason for Marina to get overprotective now, since he’d only just put up his profile (and Shaun helped him select the pictures to go on there; so difficult to choose, considering how utterly photogenic he was) - but he would certainly keep it in mind for later. “Hopefully next time I’ll have better taste than...mediocre white men taste,” he mused. That felt so odd to say, but he got her point. This was Marina showing concern in her own way and he very much appreciated it. “Though I promise you that if I ever do have a need for the script, I’ll let you know. Sadness in the face causes wrinkles and I’d rather avoid that if at all possible.” He didn’t want to think about how it seemed like he was destined to have bad luck in relationships - or how he felt like sitting forlornly by a window, gazing outside and wondering if his prince would ever come. Alas. The top of the ice cream was put back onto the carton for now - otherwise he’d depressingly eat this whole thing in one sitting. “Anyway, I ought to head to the shop to work on inventory,” he sighed. “Let me know if anything explodes while I’m gone.” You just could never tell around here sometimes. “One hopes so because wow.” She made a face to clearly express her displeasure. “That was a bust for sure.” She couldn’t really say anything, though, because she’d let Anna fuck her up emotionally pretty bad. Bad enough that she didn’t really trust actually dating someone entirely. But she was trying not to immediately assume it was going to go to shit. Even if she did kind of have a difficult time of it. Everything usually went to shit after all. “Good. Cause I will be excellent at side-eyeing and intimidation.” But he said he needed to go to the shop, so Marina closed her own ice cream as well, considering going to see Eleanor again while simultaneously feeling like it was a dumb idea. Ugh. Dating people was gross, but for some reason she just wanted to be around Eleanor and it was definitely the dumbest reaction she’d had. “Sounds boring. I hated inventory days when I ran the club.” “Quite boring,” Dorian concurred - but since it was just him and Shaun running the place, they had to make do. After Nesta disappeared they brought in a couple of locals to take shifts as well, but the bulk of the maintenance and upkeep fell on their shoulders. Sometimes Dorian wished that there were more than twenty-four hours in a day - that would honestly make life so much easier. He stuck the ice cream - his and Marina’s - into the freezer for later. “Certainly much more boring than you and your bubbly blonde lover - “ Oh, he said the word lover, was she going to have a conniption? “...but that’s alright. Do tell her I said hello, if you see her today.” Which he was quite certain she would. Ah, the intricacies and the blush of new, fresh, and budding affection - he missed that, but he would just live vicariously through Marina. And be happy for her. Even if she’d rather fling herself off a cliff than admit to even having those affections - to most people, anyway. At least she’d admitted it to him and he’d keep her secrets, always. “I will hurt you,” she said as he went to the kitchen, but she didn’t move to do so. Thinking of Eleanor as her lover was definitely weird, but probably no less unusual than knowing Eleanor would be referring to her as her hot girlfriend to people. “And I won’t tell her anything now.” Which was revealing that she might go see Eleanor. “If I go see her.” Yes, that saved it. Marina was pretty sure she was going to see her, though. Feelings were stupid. |