recolle | closed;

closed;

WHO: Faolan & Laurent
WHERE: Their (Laurent's) swanky apartment
WHEN: Various dates throughout the month
WHAT: Several moments throughout the month between their trips to their respective team locations.
WARNINGS: Laurent's mouth is not PG and neither are the dubious consent implications in regains

WEEK ONE
It's been one hell of a day, Faolan thinks to himself as he stumbles down the street to the apartment that he shares with Laurent. His shirt and jacket are covered in blood and hanging off of his shoulder where the wolf had bitten him, though there are hardly any people out on the street and those that are apparently have seen enough trauma today themselves they are paying the sight of it little heed. Which is probably for the best. All he wants is to get back to the apartment and make certain that Laurent does too.

It's only once he's riding in the lift up to their door itself that he realizes he probably might have sent the other man a message checking in. But if he was in the middle of something he doesn't want to distract him and risk his life with a text. Who knows what Laurent had encountered down in the depths of those subways. Perhaps Laurent has made it back before him -- perhaps he will not make it back for a while yet. Faolan laments the fact that he will have to get used to not being able to perform his full duties, as he carefully sets the key in the lock in the front door and lets himself in.

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Princess. Faolan's eyes narrow at the thought of it, the thought of someone treating the other man that way. There is nothing he can do about a memory, of course. But the thought of Laurent suffering at the hands of such a man, if such a thing he did, sickens him. Even the possibility, the question of it, fills his stomach with rocks.

"Would you recognize him?" he asks. "I know you said you didn't recognize him then but. If you were to see him again, would you be able to?" It's something of a necessity for Laurent's personal safety that he does. He can't have the pair of them jumping at shadows, especially not with the rest of the madness going on in the city besides.

Laurent nods, drops his eyes to the water again.

"His face was distinctive. I'd recognise him."

Although, equally, Laurent hopes he never has to. He takes another sip of his water, as much for something to do as to buy himself time between answering question -- to give himself a reason not to look at Faolan again for a few moments longer.

Faolan press his lips together firmly and nods. "Then please," he says, gently because he recognizes he has been pressing Laurent rather firmly on what is again a somewhat delicate matter. "If you see him again, anywhere, at any time, or even if you think you see him, then let me know, yeah? It is my job to keep you safe, and I will be doing a very poor job at that if I were to allow this man to come near you again. Promise me, Laurent."

Although he hopes they never run into such a situation himself, he must ask. It is the one point he must press on, before he can allow himself to redirect their conversation. Allow himself to be there for him in a way that is more than bodyguard, for the way Laurent is looking down at the water glass in his hand, it seems as though he could use a friend as well.

He lifts his eyes at that finally, narrows them at Faolan as he weighs up his answer.

"I have no intention of letting that man lay his hands on me."

So yes, he will tell Faolan if he sees him -- or thinks he does. Laurent has no desire to be kidnapped or drugged, or whatever it is that happened in the hidden parts of his memories. Having a bodyguard here in his apartment -- having his brother's body guard here -- is something that Laurent all of a sudden immensely grateful for.

That's a yes then, or as close to a yes as he is going to get without dragging it out of the other man, so after a long moment of holding Laurent's gaze he nods in response to his words before letting it go.

"And I have no intention of letting him try," Faolan replies, his voice gentle but with a hard note to it as well. Firm, but as reassuring as he can be as well. "Alright? That much I promise you myself. I will give you nothing but my best." He cannot promise him his success, of course -- no one can, that would be foolish. But he can give him this.

Laurent gives a slow blink of acceptance, then drops his eyes to his drink again. After a moment he pushes to his feet, begins to pace through to the kitchen. Setting the glass of water aside he pulls down a pair of short, balloon glasses.

"Drink with me?"

He glances back over his shoulder, offers a muted smile.

"I bought cognac, since it was my assigned group name."

Faolan turns to watch the other man as he pads through the apartment and into the kitchen, regarding him curiously as he fetches a pair of glasses for them before pushing himself to stand and join him. Raising his eyebrows slightly at the mention that it is cognac, but not complaining at the choice of drink.

He does however speak up to comment, "I suppose it's for the best that I am the one in the group named after absinthe then. Otherwise this night might have taken a decidedly different turn."

Motioning towards the glass in Laurent's hand, he indicates that he would indeed care for a drink. Since Laurent is offering. His lips quirking slightly as he nods his agreement.

He lofts an eyebrow at that, shakes his head as he pours a measure of cognac into each other the glasses.

"I'm not a fan of absinthe. The taste, the smell or the effect."

Picking up one of the glasses he slides it closer to Faolan -- retrieves the other with one hand and the bottle with the other to cross back toward the living area. The bottle he sets on the low table, then Laurent curls himself onto the couch and cradles the glass of cognac in one hand to let it slowly warm.

"Lucas likes it. I think mostly he enjoys the way it looked, the presentation, the drama. The thrill."

Faolan accepts the glass of cognac that Laurent offers him and crosses back into the living area with it in hand, trailing after the other man and wondering whether Laurent would appreciate it more if he joined him on the couch this time or if he would rather him take his own chair.

"Lucas?" he asks, taking a sip of his cognac as he decides to perch on the other end of the couch with him, for the moment at least. "I suppose that it does have a certain appeal. The whole thing has always seemed rather too complicated for a drink for me though."

He shifts to lean so he's face Faolan a little more as he joins him on the coach, one leg drawn up onto it -- arm resting languidly across it as he slowly circles the glass.

"Lucas and I lived together while I was attending HEC. He liked complication. Absinthe bars, underground clubs, rebellion, questioning the nature of humanity while having to shout to be heard over deep bass music."

Laurent shrugs slightly, swaps the glass to his other hand so he can shove curls out of his face again.

"I liked to study."

Faolan tries not to watch too closely as Laurent folds himself further into the couch beside him, as he runs his hand through his hair to keep his curls out of his face and he plays with the glass of alcohol in his other hand. Suddenly he has to wonder how Laurent bought it. After all, this is America. Technically in this country Laurent isn't old enough to be purchasing the stuff yet. Maybe he charmed his way into it.

"Quite the rebel indeed. It hardly sounds like the ideal living arrangement," Faolan comments, raising his eyebrows at the other man as he raises his glass to take another sip from it. "Seems to me like you could have done with a better roommate." Laurent had been home quite a lot during his time at school, maybe it had been as much to visit with his brother as to escape from that?

Laurent lofts an eyebrow at that, considers it.

"Not ideal, no. We didn't have much in common beyond both wanting to fuck each other, but that felt like enough at the time. He was very charismatic."

That, and perhaps Laurent had wanted to be wanted. Wanted Lucas to like him, above all people, when Lucas himself tended to always travel in a crowd of enthusiastic followers. He supposes it was a lesson in knowing what you need as apposed to what you think you want.

Faolan practically inhales the sip of cognac he had taken and can't help but choking a little as the alcohol burns it way down pipes of his throat and nose that the drink should never be. He isn't certain whether it's the surprise of realizing Laurent had been talking about his previous -- well, boyfriend, he supposes -- or the crass way he had revealed it that had caught him off guard, but off guard he had been.

"Ah," he says, after a moment to collect himself, feeling even more self-conscious than before of everything, really. The fact that he finds Laurent attractive. The fact that he is sitting beside him on the couch and he is still mostly undressed. The fact that he has confirmation now that Laurent's proclivities might swing in at least the direction of his gender, if not in his direction itself. The fact that he knows that such thoughts are entirely inappropriate, especially given their current situation.

He takes another sip of his drink, trying to collect himself further, trying to think of something else to say to fill the silence and distract himself from the churning in his gut. "You... Went to school together...?"

He studies Faolan with mild amusement for a moment, the way that he struggles to collect himself.

"Yes, but not at HEC if that's what you're wondering."

Lucas is not exactly the kind of candidate HEC has in mind, nor is he particularly interested in business law or management. He shifts to sit up a little more, folding his leg down so he can study Faolan a little more closely.

"You're struggling to imagine it?"

Edited 2017-08-30 16:08 (UTC)

Not at HEC. No, he doesn't suppose that someone so anti-establishment would be pursuing quite so professional a degree. He wonders why Laurent is pursuing it in that moment, for that matter. Whether it is really where his passions lie or whether it is simply because of what his family does. The degree, the school, it will all certainly aid in making him succeed. Not that Faolan has any doubts in Laurent's ability to do that all on his own.

"A little," he admits, which is honest at least in part. He is certainly struggling alright. "It just doesn't sound..." Like something he would imagine the Laurent he knows to do. Not that he knows Laurent all that well, he supposes. He tries not to follow the motion of Laurent's pale legs too closely as he continues to shift them about in front of him, and instead focuses his attention on that look of amusement on the other man's face as he studies him. "I'm just surprised," he admits.

"Did you think me a blushing virgin? Or just someone who only dates accountants, behind closed doors with the lights closed."

Laurent would imagine the latter, but he's curious to see how Faolan reacts to the question regardless. To see how much he can continue to fluster him. He circles the cognac between his hands a last time before taking a small sip, letting the warmth of it begin to settle the last of his nerves.

Edited 2017-08-30 17:42 (UTC)

Faolan raises his eyebrows slightly at the question, averting his gaze away from the other man for a moment and down into his glass lest Laurent see more in his expression than he finds himself comfortable with sharing. Did he think Laurent a blushing virgin? No, no he did not. Given his age and his behavior in general, he certainly had not assumed Laurent to be sleeping around, but he did not think him virginal either. But as to where his tastes might lie... In truth, Faolan had wondered, and then spent a lot of time trying not to wonder any further on the subject at all.

"You are making assumptions for me," Faolan hedges in reply.

"I'm asking you a question. You've clearly already made some assumptions, and I'd like to know what they are."

It seems only fair, after all. Laurent tilts his head, then moves himself closer to Faolan -- close enough that as he folds one leg under himself it brushes against Faolan's.

"If we're going to live together we should understand each other better, don't you think?"

Faolan glances aside at the other man, quirking something of a hesitant smile at him in return to the question. He's a little too aware of how close they are, a little too aware that there is bare skin touching bare skin, and though it's not an intimate gesture there's something that feels intimate about it, given everything.

"Fair enough," he replies. He swirls his drink in his glass, fiddling with it for a moment before he makes his response. "I suppose it's just that. I wouldn't strike you as the sort to associate yourself with anyone you didn't want to. Nor would I think that--..." He trails off for a moment, measuring his words. Be careful, Faolan, you're on dangerous ground here. "I wouldn't think that you'd be wanting for choices. Lucas might have been in it with you only for the sex. But I guarantee you that there are certainly other people who would appreciate you for the other aspects of yourself. And not just for your pretty face or how deep your family's pockets may be."

Edited 2017-08-30 23:10 (UTC)

"'Other people'?"

Like you? Laurent takes another sip of his drink, leans himself more onto the back of the couch as he watches Faolan.

"But it's good to know you think my face pretty."

Although he's quite sure he already knew that fact.

Faolan cannot help but flush in response to that, no matter how much he tries to keep himself from reacting otherwise. He knows he's said too much. He knows he has been caught out, and he isn't certain what he can say or do to pull himself back from this precipice. If pull himself back he even wants to do.

"You're an attractive person," he replies, with a shrug, doing his best to aim for nonchalance. "Of course I've noticed. I think I would have to be blind not to."

"People tell me so all the time."

That he's handsome, that other people must have noticed that he is handsome. He gives a half-shrug, reaches out hiss free hand to trail fingers along Faoaln's glass.

"Drink," he prompts, since Faolan has barely touched his drink since the snorting of it a few moments ago.

Faolan ducks his head slightly, his fingers fussing with the glass as Laurent trails his fingers around the edge of it. "I. I'm sure they do," he manages. "But I didn't mean it like that, I..."

He trails off after a moment. What did he mean it like. What exactly is he trying to say here. He pauses, glancing up at the other man before raising his glass to do as he is told and take a sip. It buys him a moment to gather his thoughts again, in the attempt to give Laurent a better answer than he has done so far.

"I just. There's more to you than that. That's all."

It's really rather sweet. Laurent isn't entirely sure Faolan knows quite enough about him to make such a judgement, but then again he hasn't really been hiding himself. Perhaps Faolan is just observant.

"More to me?" he prompts, and takes another sip of his cognac. "Like?"

Which, perhaps, sounds terribly like Laurent is fishing for compliments -- but really, he's just curious what Faolan would pick. It's fairly obvious, in his own opinion, that he is more than just good looks. Yet what has Faolan particularly noticed? Laurent has, after all, been deliberately making life difficult for Faolan. There are plenty less than flattery personality traits he has displayed. What pleasant ones, then, have stood out?

He supposes he should have known to expect this prompting, but it catches him off guard nonetheless, especially because he knows that he will have to supply the other man with a response now. And something that is not half-assed besides. Laurent deserves that much, to know that he is not just saying so to try and make him feel better but that he really means it as well. But what to say without saying too much...

"You're intelligent," he offers. "I don't just mean because you study -- anyone can do that. But today, with the ropes, the problem-solving you did. That was clever. Not only that, but it was a plan to help not only yourself get across that space, but your partner as well." He flicks a little smile at the other man, a little embarrassed with himself but not entirely regretting his answer either.

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