A Little Thing Called Communication (Addison)

[Elloria]

Josk ran his right hand through his hair to pull it back slightly from his face. He'd left it unbound as usual because that was how he slept. It was a hold-over from his childhood when he and Niko sometimes shared a bed. They had found it strangely comforting to tangle their hands in each other's hair before drifting off to sleep. He had never considered sleeping with his hair bound to prevent it from becoming the tangled mess it inevitably did.

He rested his right elbow on the desk, hand still tangled in his hair as he slowly twirled the quill pen he held in his left hand. The letter was almost finished, but he wasn't quite sure how to wrap it up. So much had happened in such a remarkably short amount of time that his mind was having a hard time keeping up. It didn't help that he was a bit sleep-deprived as well. Perhaps he should have waited to respond to Niko. If he had waited, he could simply have scried his brother and spoken with him face-to-face instead of bringing Addison back. He cursed his lack of forethought on the matter.

A gentle scraping reached his ears. Josk glanced out of the corner of his eyes to see what Addison was doing. The quill paused in its twirling as Josk’s attention was caught. The courier had a blank bit of parchment from one of the piles Josk had made and a piece of charcoal in his hands. He seemed to be drawing something. This interested Josk immensely, for he enjoyed the process of making a work of art. He was more of a sculptor, when time permitted, or created fairths. Those were the only mediums he worked with, but he liked watching others work with different ones. He'd never seen a charcoal sketch before, so he closely watched what Addison was doing. As the image emerged, his eyes narrowed. It seemed the courier's impertinence knew no bounds. For it was Josk's own face that appeared to be emerging from the charcoal's passing over the parchment. “Do I really fascinate you so much?” he asked lightly.

[ladymoth]

» Addison had a glazed far off look in his eye. He was in his own head without thinking about the room or even the picture under his nose. He had just been mindlessly smudging and lifting and adding, smudging, lifting, adding, smudging, lifting, adding, in a trans like state that aloud him to dismiss the fact that he was sitting across from the ex-Josk.

So when Josk spoke it was about five seconds before Addison found a good time to exit his little head world and look at Josk. "Pardon?" He asked, then let the words catch up with him. Addison raised an eyebrow "as egotistical as before" he muttered under his breath and looked down at the picture. He snorted and held it up so that Josk could look at it right side up "it's a bird flying back to her nest, see the moon is in the sky behind her, how is this a picture of you?"

Addison turned the picture around to face him again and laughed "no.... no, don't be ridiculous, work on that letter" he said laughing while he spoke. Inside his head though he was swearing repeatedly, a sin he never usually committed, even in his own head "S**t, S**t, S**t, S**t, S**t." Josk had raided his subconscious and forced his hand.

[Elloria]

Josk smiled as Addison tried to claim the picture was a mother bird returning to her nest. The man was terrible at lying and there was something oddly endearing about it. His hand disentangled from his hair, leaving it slightly mussed, while the other gently laid the quill pen down. Gently, he reached out and plucked the drawing from Addison's grasp. He could sort of see how Addison could justify it as a bird in flight, but it too heavily resembled the pose Josk had just been in. Perhaps it was egotistical of him, but he'd never been the subject of someone's art before. It delighted him in a strange way. He looked up from the drawing and looked straight at Addison, his eyes glinting mischievously. He held the drawing up beside his face and tilted his head so that it was at the same angle as the drawing. “Perhaps I am egotistical. But you cannot deny it looks like me. Can you?”

He lowered the drawing after a moment and leaned forward to place it before Addison once more. This brought him quite close to the courier - close enough for his soft hair to brush gently against Addison's hand as Josk set the drawing down. He leaned back and picked up the quill once more. Bending over the letter, he began writing again. “It doesn’t matter to me one way or the other,” he said casually. “But I don’t see why you felt the need to deny it. It’s rather difficult to believe that my birthmark is shaped like the moon.”

[ladymoth]

» Addison made a small peep of surprise when Josk's hair brushed his hand, he felt as if he had been electrified. He slunk down into his chair, half hiding his face behind the rim of the desk. The half of the face that Josk could see, was glaring at him. "that's because it's not your birthmark" Addison said taking his hand and smudging it across the entire picture, blurring it almost to the point where it couldn't be recognized anymore.

"there, now it's a picture of fog, I suppose that looks like you to?" Addison said, becoming aware that he was being a tad over defensive. about the nature of the picture. He leaned back in the chair again and rubbed his eyes, forgetting that one was covered in charcoal dust and giving himself an instant black eye. "Can you please just get this letter down so that I can leave, this has been a very long and very disappointing day for me."

[Elloria]

Josk put the finishing touches to his letter as Addison snapped, “There, now it's a picture of fog, I suppose that looks like you too? Can you please just get this letter down so that I can leave, this has been a very long and very disappointing day for me.” He looked up to see Addison with a black eye. He almost laughed aloud at the image, but managed to resist the urge. He thought back on the courier's story from earlier - skating over the more unpleasant parts of it - and wondered why Addison had wanted to be his guardian. Was it really out of a desire to protect his innocence? Or was there something else? Because Addison was getting very flustered over something that was, to Josk, quite trivial. He set the matter aside for a moment as he rummaged around in the desk once more for wax and his seal. It didn't take long to find and he set them on the desk.

After a few more moments spent waiting for the ink to dry, he carefully folded the letter. He then picked up the piece of wax and held it just above the point where the folds of the letter intersected. “Brisingr.” A small flame leapt into being and began to soften and melt the wax. When a few large drops had fallen upon the letter, he extinguished the flame and murmured, “Adurna.” The wax he held instantly cooled and he placed it back in the drawer. He picked up his seal, pressed it into the wax on the letter, then put it away as well and closed the drawer. He let that wax cool on its own, letting silence fill the room.

When the wax had finally set, he picked it up and stood. He walked around the desk and stood before Addison. Leaning down, he deftly placed the letter in the courier's bag. Once he had, he shook the sleeve of his right arm down and clutched it in his hand. Shaking his hair out of his eyes, he placed his left hand on Addison’s face to keep him from moving. With the other, he reached up and gently wiped the charcoal dust off of Addison's eye. When he had finished, he dropped his hands away and just looked into Addison's eyes. He didn't say anything for a moment, then calmly asked, “What do I owe you for delivery of the letter?”

[ladymoth]

» Addison got up to receive the letter. He tensed when Josk whipped his eye and asked about the price "Hephembpheh.." Addison replied falling back into the chair with a loud sigh. He turned beat red and got up again in a hurry, turning to the other side of the chair and walking so that the chair was between him and Josk.

He looked worst than when Josk had yelled at him. Josk could feel the heat off his face from a foot away. "Charge, none, no,no, no charge, no money." Addison did his best to insist as he backed toward the door, his hand reached out behind him to turn the nob, which he just couldn't seem to locate without looking, but he refused to take his eyes of Josk.. no that wasn't the problem the problem was that he couldn't.

[Elloria]

Josk’s eyes brightened with mischievous delight as Addison stuttered and backed away. The angel was so red, he put beets to shame. Did Addison...like him? Well, wasn’t that interesting? Some ‘celestial’ being had the hots for a squalid elf such as himself. He almost laughed aloud at the thought. He didn’t follow Addison at first, choosing instead to lean against his desk. It was amusing watching the poor being scramble for solid footing when Josk wasn’t really doing anything at all. He instead let the courier scrabble his hands across the door for almost a minute, seeking a door knob that didn’t exist. He crossed his arms and tilted his head thoughtfully. “No charge at all?” His voice was innocent and lilting, but his gaze still held that mischievous glint.

Dropping his arms, he pushed off the desk and crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. He placed his hands upon the door on either side of Addison’s head and leaned down until their faces were only a few inches from one another. “That hardly seems fair. Everyone deserves compensation for their services.” His warm, sweet breath ghosted across Addison as he spoke. His eyes never left Addison’s as he grinned. “Is it because Niko is your friend and I his brother? Or do you wish to leave me so badly that you would receive no payment at all?”

[ladymoth]

Jan 31, 2011 0:43:11 GMT -5 @ladymoth said:

» Addison leaned his head back on his neck as far as it would go, it seemed to be the only part of his body he was, trepidatiously, able to move. The result was to give himself a second chin, not very attractive for a pretty boy like himself. Addison also whined with an increasing frequency, like a boiling kettle. The heat coming off of his face made him feel about as hot as one. "Both!" Addison shouted suddenly and ducked down rushing over to Josk's desk and leaning against it.

"Why are you so mean to me!" Addison whined scooting against the desk, and wishing that the desk wasn't between him and the opposite wall so that he could have a few more feet between himself and Josk, who was clearly enjoying rilling him up. And Addison, despite his best efforts was letting Josk get the better of him, which is why he insisted on putting as much distance between them as possible. "Josk stop it, please" he begged "open the door, or else."

[Elloria]

As Addison rushed to put distance between them once more, Josk chuckled quietly. Yes, he was quite certain that the courier was interested in him now. It was...appealing to think that he flustered someone without even trying. He didn't think he'd particularly flustered Jeralt. That creature was too fixated on carnal satisfaction to be flustered by much of anything. He straightened up and ran a hand through his hair. Perhaps it was time he let this go, then. Just one last little jab at the courier and he'd let the man go. He turned around slowly and smiled at Addison. It was a kind smile that reached his eyes this time. All hint of his earlier mischief had vanished from his demeanor. “I’m not trying to be mean. I just think you shouldn’t leave without payment.” He clapped his hands together. “So! I will open the door, but only if you agree to take some payment for ferrying my letter back to my brother. I will be most disappointed otherwise.” He looked at Addison entreatingly. “What do you say?”

[ladymoth]

» Addison sighed with relief, and nodded. It was all that he could do. The poor angel was quiet unnerved by the entire experience. He wanted Josk, a lot, but this wasn't the Josk that he had let down all those years ago. He had no idea who this Josk was or what motivated him. He hadn't been with anyone since his trial, and that burned him so horribly that he had avoided seeking anyone out since.

For what Addison and Josk were, one had to look hard to find romance because there were more people out looking to hang you than would reciprocate your advances, and sometimes even those overlapped. And so Josk was confusing him and smothering him, trying to force him to jump to some conclusion about the situation that he didn't want to get pigeon holed into. Addison had to put distance between them and think about this new Josk. Certainly he didn't want to be romantically entangled with the sort of person who would shout him into the corner like he did before. The long and short of it was that Josk had come out of this situation accomplishing something that many dreamed of doing but few ever achieved; shutting Addison up.

[Elloria]

Josk was surprised by the silence that greeted him. Addison hadn't struck him as the sort of individual to ever be quiet. Had he so flustered and upset the courier that he had driven him to muteness? For some reason, that bothered him. He felt no pride in achieving what was surely a remarkable and nigh impossible feat. No. It troubled him. A flustered and verbally raging Addison was one thing. This silent apparition before him was another entirely. With a heavy sigh, he pulled away from the door and approached his desk. Or rather, he approached Addison. He stopped very close to Addison once more. Then, leaving no time for the courier to escape, he placed his hand upon Addison's cheek, leaned forward and softly kissed him. It was brief, but long enough for Josk to note that Addison's lips were soft and warm. He pulled back and stepped away from Addison. As he moved around the desk and sat in his chair once more, he murmured, “Open.” The door slid open silently, offering Addison the escape he seemed to desire. “Be sure to deliver that to Niko with all haste. I would be greatly saddened if he didn’t receive it.” He pulled some documents to him and started going over them. “And...I apologize. For earlier today. I was not myself, I’m afraid.”

[ladymoth]

» Addison, not missing a beat, slapped Josk across the face angrily then threw his arms around his neck and kissed him wildly, his hands winding around Josk's long and loose black hair; a wave of pleasure coursing through him physicality moving him to press his body against Josk's. That kiss had been in him for a long time, not for a year, for about sixty-five years.

Addison slipped away after what length of time he couldn't say, looked into Josk's stormy eyes, then slapped him across the opposite cheek. Addison gasped and clutched his hand to his mouth, biting down on his sleeve as if it had been himself who had been slapped. He dashed out of the door suddenly. His fight of flight reaction had gone for fight first, then changed it's mind and switched to flight once more. "Sorry!" Addison called out as he headed for the nearest window he could open- or break through, which ever was needed, thankfully it was the former.

[Elloria]

If he had felt surprised before, it was nothing compared to the shock that swept through Josk when Addison slapped him before proceeding to kiss him. Fortunately - or unfortunately, he'd never be entirely certain of that afterwards - his body acted of its own accord. His arms wrapped around the courier, pulling him in closer until their bodies were almost flush against each other. He kissed back, just as wild and passionate. Some part of his now-muddled brain was flabbergasted that he was so enthralled by this kiss. This sort of reaction was reserved for Rensu alone, this wild elation that shot pleasure through his body like little jolts of lightning. The rest of him told that part to shut the hell up so this moment could be properly enjoyed.

He wasn't sure how long that kiss lasted, but it wasn't long enough - not by half. He looked into Addison's eyes, a slight daze darkening the bright silver to a stormy grey. For a brief moment, he was tempted to reach forward and pull the courier back into the kiss. But the temptation was shattered when Addison slapped him across his other cheek and took off with a yelled “Sorry!” His eyes widened as he reached up to touch where he'd been slapped. It stung, but even with all of Addison's strength he doubted it would leave a lasting mark. Physically anyway. My, but that courier was confusing. Still, he was certain that Addison had some sort of affection for him - why else return the kiss, in spite of the initial slap? He just didn't know how to deal with it. So be it. He'd let the man muddle through whatever he was feeling. They probably wouldn't be seeing each other for sometime anyway. In the meantime, he had other problems to attend to. Not all of them involved his business affairs and one of them was certainly more pressing than anything else.

END.