[for Henshaw] but if you try sometimes

[piqued]

He was here for a Completely Unrelated Reason, but he's forgotten it now.

It's not something he doesn't Understand, really. He's got a Sense of why there are pages upon pages of writing on this desk, why there are familiar Names scattered through them and where the Impulse to craft a more perfect world comes from, although he himself had never been able to take pen to page about it.

But he's got his own Stories. He's got a whole Universe in his mind where Isaac and Urania have lived Happily Ever After in their very own Castle in the stars, where Victor and Zoë have their own beautiful Children, where his Father and Mother are Very Much in Love.

That doesn't make this tale involving himself and Zoë any more Sensible. That's why he's here puzzling over the pages rather than Whatever he came here to do, barely paying attention to the door.

Comments

[rumourhasit]

"Oh-- my." Nelly stops straight in the door, eyes wide as she takes in the scene in front of her. Declán Chives - reading her fanfiction - about him. Nelly Henshaw, don't faint.

"I--I'm very sorry, did you need something?"

[piqued]

There's no need to move with any particular haste. His attention stays down on the pages he's working his way through, gloved fingers lifting the edge of one slightly in advance of moving it aside to read the next.

"...will you close the door, please, Miss."

Not quite a Question.

[rumourhasit]

"... Yes, sir." She ducks her head, turning to close the door as her heart pounds loudly in her chest. "Um- I swear, I didn't mean for you to--"

[piqued]

"Then what did you mean them for, Miss?"

That's got to be a Reasonable enough question. His tone even manages to stay perfectly level, bland, the dry Affect his family is known for in all circumstances.

The sharp uptick of his eyes to meet hers, however, might be less Reasonable and more Disconcerting.

[rumourhasit]

"For... my own... writing skill and... Please, sir, I'll do anything, just-- just forget about it." She vainly tries to reach for the papers in his hand, looking away from him.

[piqued]

"Forget, Miss?" Reaching just gets her wrist close enough for him to catch proper Hold of, just a little tight for being a Card who isn't one of his own staff. "You'll understand I find it difficult to forget something like this."

Something about Zoë and, well, not Victor, himself divorced entirely.

[rumourhasit]

"I-- I said I was sorry- it's your own fault for poking around my things!" she protests stubbornly, trying to pull away as he catches hold of her wrist. "I wasn't going to show it to anyone."

[piqued]

He's spent a lot of time in his life being Restrained by the wrist. He knows what Works and what Doesn't. His grip isn't going anywhere, no matter how she tugs.

"But if you write it down, Miss, there's always someone who'll see it." Likely Minnie, which wouldn't have been the end of the world, but still. "Wouldn't it be better to write about what's true?"

[rumourhasit]

"I-- I won't apologize for writing what I want." She says, lifting her chin. "You should be apologizing for invading my privacy."

[piqued]

"You've written libel concerning myself and a person I care for very dearly--" Says the man who clearly knows very little about Shipping beyond his own garbled definition. "--and you want me to apologize?"

[rumourhasit]

"Yes. I wasn't planning on publishing my writing or telling people about it. You're the one who's insulting me and my work."

[piqued]

There's a snort as he twists her closer by the wrist, chin lifting a touch. "The writing isn't the question. It's the content that I find insulting."

[rumourhasit]

“Find it insulting. I don’t care what you think,” she says defiantly. "You don't scare me."

[piqued]

Well. She's certainly not taking to Utilizing herself to Correct uselessness. And she certainly is Still Talking.

His teeth find her ear briefly without seeming to have moved at all.

[rumourhasit]

She can't deny the nervous glance, the stunned little gasp. "Um-- Declán Chives, what are you...?"

[piqued]

"Shutting you up, I imagine," he tsks, lips brushing her temple as he pulls back.

[rumourhasit]

"I'm not-- asking for that," she says, but she's distracted by his lips still on her skin.

[piqued]

He'll stick close, then, let them trail along her forehead. "Are you asking me to stop?"

[rumourhasit]

"Not... I don't..." she trails off, fingers unconsciously moving to his arms. "I don't know."

[piqued]

She's not pushing him away. The body usually says it better than the words. His lips find the corner of her eyes. "Will you hush?"

[rumourhasit]

"No." She tugs him down sharply by the hair so that their eyes meet. Hers are absolutely challenging as she leans in for a proper kiss.

[piqued]

Well. He'll have to bite down hard on her lips in the kiss, then, as his hands move to take a firm grip on her hips.

[rumourhasit]

She's not overwhelmed at all. Who, her? No way. Her knees might be a little weak, but that's not important.

They do give her a reason to tighten her fingers' grip on his hair harshly.

[piqued]

Well. He'll have to help her up onto the desk, then, won't he. Can't be holding her up while he's kissing her hard, after all.

[rumourhasit]

The papers rumple under her as she shifts back, pulls him closer. It's so easy to forget about them in the heat of the moment.