thenormalsquint | find a way to get to you;

[Next time, she'll throw some confetti for him. Maybe throw a party too.]

No, I'm good. We can keep going.

[And that, he'd just roll his eyes at. He's just only demonstrated it to Thomas, who idolizes him, and Hange who has a scientific interest.]

Alright then.

[He gets them to his district in a few more jumps, across rooftops, and one final one back down into an alley, where Vergil smooths his clothes and exhales.]

It's just over there. You alright?

[Biased parties. They're both biased parties.

She can only wonder what the people down below are thinking. Could they even see them skating across the roofs so fast? It's not something Angela's extremely interested in asking about, but it's a thought nonetheless.]

Actually, a little better. Not as dizzy as the first go round. How about you?

I'm fine.

[Those are both biased parties, it's very true, but it's still nice to feel like he's amazing to someone. As for the people below...well, there's a reason he starts and stops in alleys and uses rooftops. He doesn't like the stares, it reminds him of being home, of eyes always seeking him out.]

I'm...I'll be fine.

[He's amazing to her in other ways. Maybe she needs to tell him that out of all the people in this city, he's the only one she subs to. Enough to stroke his fragile ego?

She takes him at his word; after all, he's the one with the powers and the know how on using them, and goes back to holding on tight for the rest of the trip.]

[Oh, he would love to hear that, and if she ever chooses to tell him, it will stroke his ego for sure.

Once they arrive at the coffee shop, he takes hold of her hand and leads her to the cafe, heading inside and holding the door for her. His teleporting doesn't do anything to him - no discomfort. It's all about what he asked her out to avoid at home that's making him uncomfortable.]

Let's get a table. What would you like?

[Ducking inside she moves to grab them a table off to the side and out of the way. Nice for casual chatting without having to raise their voices to be heard over the din.]

Coffee, for now. Milk, six sugars.

[He heads after her, and settles down across from her, and when the waitress comes over, he orders her coffee and an americano of his own, as well as a piece of angel food cake with strawberry, before glancing over at Angela and raising a brow.]

Sure you don't want something else?

I'm sure. I'll just jack you for your strawberry when you're not looking.

[With their on and off again financial agreement, Angela is actually being honest about not wanting anything at this moment. Maybe later (when she doesn't really steal his garnish) she'll get one of their chocolate tarts with a ridiculous amount of whipped cream on top, but she just needs to be caffeinated above all else.

She holds up a hand, conceding any impression of pride she's giving off.]

I know, I know, but I'm not doing the nursing a drink thing again. I honestly just want the coffee right now.

It's fine. Whatever you want.

[When the drinks come, he picks his Americano up and takes a long sip, eyes half-closed, exhaling softly after he finishes, and looks down at his plate.

He isn't sure where to start. He doesn't usually have conversations about his feelings, but the truth is, he just wants distraction.]

Tell me, what've you been up to? You've moved up in the world?

[She can give him distraction, up until she catches a sniff that something is off with him.]

A little. [A quick stir of her own drink and she's taking a sip before continuing.] Only level three, so not much of a difference with anything right now except I get a small raise at a job I still hate and my phone turns on, but goes into pissy mode whenever I want to do more that look my contacts list. The new place belongs to Suzanne since she got to two before I did and she really wanted a roommate.

It's better though, at least?

[He ducks his head and offers her a little smile, sipping at his Americano again. He watches her, then stirs his own drink, fidgeting movements, trying to keep his hands busy.]

More will come with time.

Better but you know I have problems with patience. It's not so much the financial stuff anymore, I just want my pictures before I forget what my family looks like.

[She knows she's being dramatic so she laughs at herself, not in anyway serious. Homesickness is a thing, but she'd have to have a brain transplant to forget what her surrogate family looked like. Their faces are indelibly imprinted in her mind. Angela wouldn't mind hearing their voices on her voicemail though. That would be nice.]

What's been up with you, Mr. Workaholic?

[He makes a soft half-smile at that. Family. He misses Dante, abruptly, very much. Misses having someone from home who understands. Lady is close, but it isn't the same.]

I know that feeling. Thankfully I took a few photos of my brother before he left.

[An exhalation, and when she asks that, he delays by taking another sip of coffee.]

There's a new occupant in my house. That's why I wanted to leave.

[Ah, Dante. If she could bring him back for Vergil, she would. No one should have had to go through what he did.

Mid-sip, Angela tilts her head in confusion.]

Thomas?

No...

[He shakes his head, and exhales.]

Though he moved into my room, recently, from the apartment, that's not what I mean.

It's...complicated.

[So there's a third party in the house, somebody that rubs Vergil wrong, that much Angela can parse out. She can tell he wants to get a weight off his chest, but something's stopping him. The conversation could be dropped and forgotten here, but she wouldn't be Angela if she didn't push.

She sets her cup aside and leans him, voice gentle as she puts her hand on the back of his.]

You can talk to me, you know.

[There are a few other people in the house besides him and Thomas now - Harry, and Lady, but they didn't matter. He exhales, takes another sip of coffee, and avoids her gaze for a few moments before he glances up at her.]

I know.

[He exhales again.]

I didn't explain to you properly...what Thomas and I are. Did I?

You told me he was your pet.

[She drops her voice a level, just so his business isn't being splattered in the street, idly playing with a napkin she plucks from the tabletop holder.]

To be honest, I had feeling he was something more than just a pet when you explained him to me, but I didn't feel like it was my business to know? But I'm going to guess you are an official couple.

He is more than a pet. He's...

[He nods, after a moment, then sips at his coffee again, draining it to the halfway point.]

He's my partner. It's been a few months now. Someone he knows from home has arrived, though, and he doesn't understand homosexuality, or so Thomas assumes

[He frowns a little, glancing to the side.]

I'd just gotten to the point where I could freely admit what we were, and now I'm forced to hide it in my own home.

That's not right.

[She definitely feels where Vergil is coming from. Had somebody brought a new person into her home and decided that just because said person didn't like the way she lived her life she would need to tuck it back into the proverbial closet, shit would hit the fan and splatter everywhere. Nobody should have to hide what they do or who they're with in the home they pay for. It doesn't make sense to Angela and she wonders why Thomas would bring a person that idiotic to live in the house he shares with his boyfriend when everybody gets their own apartment to begin with anyway.]

If this guy is living in your house, eventually it's going to come out and he'll have no choice but to understand. Is Thomas not going to have sex with you there? What about the collar thing? He can't hide everything, not in this place. People talk here as much as they fuck. Why bring him into your home when he could have not only left the guy in his own place, giving you and him a nice little cushion of privacy, but not have to deal with either throwing the guy out onto the street or losing a friendship that quickly? Though, in my opinion, I wouldn't want to be friends with a person that bigoted to begin with, but it's not about me here.

Edited 2014-10-06 01:30 (UTC)

I know.

[For a moment, he's still - there's an instinctive desire to defend Thomas, of course, but at the same time it feels...nice to have someone be angry on his behalf. He just goes still and stirs a spoon of sugar into his coffee while she talks, considering what she's saying, and of course there are reasons. There would have to be or he never would have allowed it.

When she's done, he sits still and then glances down.]

It's a little more complicated than that. If it were someone simply bigoted of his own accord, I wouldn't have him in my home. But this man...

[He shakes his head.]

He's from a more primitive time, the same as Thomas. He's also recently blinded and depressed. Thomas is afraid he'll do something stupid.

[He frowns, glancing to the side.]

I understand the reasoning. I still don't like it.

[To be honest, she was wondering why Vergil allowed it, whether it was because everything was said and done behind his back and he just came home to a surprise fool on his couch with his feet up on the coffee table or if he allowed it because of his feelings for Thomas. She doesn't exactly blame Vergil for not wanting to rock the boat, even if she's the type of person who flip the boat if this happened to her.

And then Vergil says something that drags her out of a building rant into confusion and curiosity, making her set down her cup with a soft clank. Did he say blinded? Someone from a primitive time who is blind that just came to the city? It sounds too familiar to somebody she knows, another British man, for her to not pick up.]

Wait... would his name happen to be Edward?

[Sweet, overly polite Edward who was so excited to finally have access to coffee and properly made tea... yeah, she can see how his time could form those opinions, but she isn't backing down from defending Vergil's point of view since it's one she shares as a woman who plays both sides.]

[Part of it was done behind his back, but Thomas had offered to kick him out - still, he'd felt somewhat coerced, knowing the level of upset it would cause. He'd felt compelled to go along with it, and he's extremely uncomfortable with the whole situation still.

He isn't surprised when she asks about Edward's name, since he'd seen her reply to him on the network post he'd introduced himself in, and so he just nods.]

Yes, Edward Courtenay. From 1917. Served in World War 1. Blinded by mustard gas.

[He frowns a little, spearing a strawberry with his fork and putting it in his mouth, chewing absently while he glances out the window.]

Apparently one of Thomas' few friends and, I suspect, a crush of his.

Yeah, I know him. Found him on a street corner on his first day here.

[Okay, so maybe just kicking him out wouldn't be all that great considering his condition, though being stuck between a rock and a hard place isn't cool either. At the same time, she thinks Edward needs to know what the house rules are, not have them change around his presence, especially when it makes Vergil extremely uncomfortable after coming so far. She knows that it isn't easy for people to come out and it's not easy for people to publicly announce their other significant other. But all at the same time, Angela knows what's done in the dark will come to light and it's best that things are headed off before they grow too big to manage properly.]

Awkward, awkward, so very awkward. [She flops back into her chair, rubbing at the bridge of her nose.] I'm going to need a chocolate tart for this before I go on.

Edited 2014-10-06 02:17 (UTC)

(no subject)

brozoned - 2014-10-06 03:56 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

thenormalsquint - 2014-10-06 04:21 (UTC) - Expand