Day 40: Sun Room [Fourth Shift]

[clockmongler]

Well, that was... special. No wonder he was losing respect for this place--the fearful Martin Landel was coming undone, most probably with boredom. So scary. Even Nursey seemed a little exasperated, though that most likely had more to do with X's constant insistence to stay in the Sun Room rather than go inside the Greenhouse

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[deadlyjuliet]

[Hay bb]

His meal finished and his hunger sated, Grell straightened his uniform and smoothed out his hair. He had a meeting to go to and, as a butler, he had to look his best. Or however good he could make himself look wearing the goofy glasses and having his hair pulled straight back. No matter what he did, a few strands always pulled free of his tie, leaving him to chase them out of his face periodically.

"Mr. Burnett, you really should go outside sometime, you know," his nurse chided as she led him into the Sun Room. Grell ducked his head and nodded, fiddling with fingers together as he meekly followed her. "A little sun would do you wonders, you know."

"Yes, ma'am," he mumbled as he shuffled along behind her. They reached the Sun Room and the nurse left him to his own devices, allowing him to take a quick look around. Today, he was being much more careful to avoid that brat that he usually did, and it seemed to be paying off. Brainiac 5 wasn't in the room yet, and if his luck held out, the boy wouldn't appear at all.

Going over to Luxord, the death god bowed and took note of the black kitten in his lap. Sebastian? No, the eyes weren't the right color. Such a shame. "Salutations, Luxord."

[clockmongler]

"Good afternoon, Mr. Sutcliff," was X's response, nodding to the other whilst continuing to pet his kitten. There was no telling if that darling little "Tim" was in the room at the moment, so it would be wise to play as if he'd no clue to the lady's darker side, at least for now. Really, it was almost disconcerting to see the god acting as he was, but he had kindly warned X in advance that he was an actress (even if it were in passing. Luxord prided himself on recalling such details). He might have even believed the nervous airs being put up if he had not seen otherwise.

"Would you care to sit down? You must be careful not to stand so long in your condition, you know." Ever the gentleman.

[deadlyjuliet]

"Ah...thank you. You're most kind." Polite, prim and proper - it was how he had to be now that prying eyes had turned his way. The prim and proper part he didn't mind so much. That came with the territory when one was a lady. The polite part? Up to a certain point, he could tolerate it, but being someone's lackey had never sat well with Grell. He was, however, stuck in that role until such a time as he could figure out who 'Tim' was and destroy Brainiac 5's life.

Sitting down on the couch with a proper distance between him and Luxord so it wouldn't seem like they were overly friendly, but not unfriendly either, Grell looked down at his ankle. The stupid thing still hadn't healed up yet, meaning he'd have an uncomfortable time walking tonight if he kept his heels on. His hand was another annoying problem, too. The splint was keeping his finger steady and helping accelerate it's healing, no doubt, but it was a cumbersome thing and Grell just wanted to rip it off and get it over with.

"How is your head feeling today, sir?" Grell asked, raising his eyes while simultaneously pushing his glasses back up with one hand. "The tumble last night was a rather nasty one, wasn't it?"

[clockmongler]

How sickeningly adorable the god was when pretending to be the sad, pitiful butler with no chance of ever harming anything ever. X smiled kindly at him, pushing away the strange urge to simply force the other to make him tea and watch in amusement as he failed horrendously and apologized profusely all the while.

Perhaps another time.

Oh yes, Grell was talking, wasn't he? Something about... his head? After driving dear Scar to fits of murderous rage, Luxord had all but forgotten about the wound on his head before Grell thoughtfully mentioned it. The Gambler brought his hand up and gingerly touched the bandages there, almost as if testing to see if it would still hurt. It did.

Ugh. He made sure to cover up the wince with a laugh and went back to petting Tyche. "Indeed it was, though I believe I will be alright. I truly did try to keep you from slipping, though it seems I was no help as I was merely dragged down with you..." Dramatic sigh. "As it is, you've suffered the worst of it. I should be asking of your health."

[deadlyjuliet]

If only Luxord knew how right he was about Grell's skills in the kitchen. He'd never been one for domestics, believing that (should he ever marry the right man or woman) he'd be in such a position that housework would be beneath him. As the husband, he wouldn't be expected to do anything and as the wife? That's what maids were for. And deliciously hot butlers.

Luxord reached up and touched the bandage around his head and Grell peered up at him, as worried as he was curious. It seemed like it still hurt, which was unfortunate. "It was... my fault, sir. I should have been paying more attention to the stairs and less to the... darkness." Grell sighed and lowered his head. Playing this stupid routine when that Tim-whatever-his-name-was still hadn'T shown up was annoying. He wanted to drape over Luxord and kiss his wound better. And maybe press a thumb against the gash to make it bleed a little more. Just maybe. "I'm...quite alright. I'm sure it won't be long before I'm better! ...or that's what the nurses told me."

[no_ones_son]

Jason left lunch wondering if he was going to be hearing about his encounter with Asch from his roommate. He didn't much care either way but it would be entertaining to know he'd upset the man enough to complain to Luke. These thoughts were quickly shoved aside as his nurse started leading him towards the Greenhouse. He needed to go to the Sun Room first, to see if he couldn't find the bastards who attacked that kid. A little bit of wheedling and the nurse caved and agreed to take him to see if he couldn't find his 'friends' instead.

There were a few people sitting around in here but it was easy to spot the man with the black kitten on his lap. Short blond hair, beard and moustache, blue eyes. Check. That was Luxord and today Jason was actually in luck for once, as beside him was a man that fit the description he'd gotten for Grell.

Jason feigned looking over the bulletin board, to give him a chance to watch the two before he approached them. They were just sitting around making nice like he'd expected, acting all sweet and harmless until night fell. Grell in particular was obviously nervous, which fitted with the kid's story of him acting all harmless until he was ready to strike.

Now, how best to approach them? He'd have to play it carefully, he didn't want to give the whole game away before he'd even had a chance to get started. Not that they had any chance of escaping him even with a fair warning but it would be more fun if they thought they had him fooled. He'd have to explain his initial aggressive response over the bulletin board too, but that wouldn't be too hard to manage.

Turning and looking around the room he made a show of noticing Luxord and his friend, just in case someone had been watching him, and walked over stopping politely nearby. "Hi, Mr. Rould? Sorry to interrupt. I'm Tim, from the board, can we talk?"

[clockmongler]

It was sad to think that, were this to be night and this sad dilemma with ClockblockerBrainiac 5 was not at the forefront of the day, they could be having a different sort of fun with one another. X simply continued to smile at the redhead, tempted to lean in an- Oh, there he was.

Well.

Luxord looked up at the man, eying him carefully with a hint of annoyance. After all, he was not as Grell was when acting innocent; he was still himself, and this Tim already proved somewhat irritating just by that introduction. Besides, if 'Tim' did not enjoy his company as Scar so blatantly did not, fine. So long as he thought him innocent of his harmless little crime (and really, it did not register in Luxord's mind as anything more than that, so it was almost as if he did not even need to pretend he was innocent. To him, it was just a date). "I believe I've already agreed to this. Is there really such a need to ask again?"

And... as well as Grell could fade into the background, that was a little rude, wasn't it? "You could acknowledge Mr. Sutcliff as well. Spineless he may be, but he is not invisible."

[deadlyjuliet]

Someone suddenly approached and Grell jumped, startling like a kitten out of sleep or a very tiny dog when the wrong gust of air came by. Tim was huge. Huge in the way that 6 feet of muscle-bound man was huge - meaning he could probably crush a human's head if he felt like it. He wasn't bulky by any means, but when someone had that much power packed into them, they couldn't exactly be lean. He was, however, human and that little fact registered almost immediately with Grell. Humans, no matter how great their physical prowess, were no match for death gods.

Right now, though, Grell had to pretend to be one of them. Cowering back when Tim addressed Luxord, the butler was more than content to just blend into the background and hopefully be forgotten by this whole mess. But it seemed Luxord was being a gentleman and bringing Tim's attention back to him. Looking to the Nobody with as indignant a stare as he could manage (which wasn't much, really, at all), Grell managed to stammer, "I-I'm not spineless! ...I swear, I'm not..."

The brave burst deflated and Grell went with it, looking down at his lap as he mumbled something that sounded like "I don't think I am, at least." Then, as if remembering he had yet to perform his civil duty, the death god looked up to Tim and bowed his head. Fumbling a little, Grell first stuck out his left hand, then remembered that was injured and stuck out his right. "M-my apologies, sir. The name is Grell Sutcliff - I believe we spoke on the board, too, yes?"

[no_ones_son]

Jason had already been relishing the thought of teaching these two a lesson since he first heard of their attack on that Brainiac kid. But when Luxord went and proved himself to be not only a psychopath but also an asshole he guaranteed that beating him was going to be something Jason would enjoy far more than he'd initially thought.

While he wanted to maintain the appearance of being no threat he had already proven he had a temper in his notes on the board so it was OK to let some of his irritation with the reply show. "I was trying to be polite and make sure now was a good time to talk. You two might have had something private to discuss."

Making a show of schooling his expression into something more friendly he turned to Grell, taking the offered hand and shaking it. "Sorry, guess I forgot my manners there. Tim Brown, pleased to meet you." He had to hand it to Grell, he was good. If Jason hadn't already been told about his little act and hadn't seen other, similarly convincing facades while living with Bruce he would've believed the man to be as helpless and pathetic as he appeared. As it was, he wasn't going to be fooled even though there was nothing about the man to suggest he was at all dangerous. Not that either of them looked like they'd be much trouble to take out anyway. It was almost a shame.

Taking a seat, Jason forced a smile as he said, "Look, I don't want to get off on the wrong foot here. I really just want to know why that kid would accuse you both of attacking him."

[clockmongler]

'Easy to take out?' If he could read minds, he would have been offended by that. Not that it wasn't true. As it was, Luxord said nothing at Tim's explanation for his pointless questioning, paying far more attention to Tyche than the conversation at hand. She was just so cute... He minded not that she was clawing his hand and nibbling the tips of his fingers. As far as he was concerned, something that adorable was legally permitted to get away with murder.

Speaking of cute, Grell was continuing to pout. The Gambler made sure to pat him on the shoulder with his free hand, as if being reassuring that it was perfectly fine to be a spineless coward. Truly, the god deserved some kind of award for his acting skills--he was as good as any Nobody!

When Tim decided to mention something substantial, however, Luxord made sure to give him the attention he deserved. Namely by raising an eyebrow and shrugging. "I'd only known him for a day. I hardly see a reason why he would point fingers at me." He removed his hand from Grell's shoulder and began gesturing, as if that would make his story easier to understand. "I'm well aware the two of us had our disagreements in what little discussion we had with one another, but that's a tad," he paused, searching for the word, "harsh, would you not agree? As for Mr. Sutclif..." Another pause, this time longer and he glanced at the obviously nervous man sitting besides him. "Well. Your guess is as good as mine."

[deadlyjuliet]

The irritation Tim showed was enough of an indication for Grell at what sort of temper the man had. He'd seen it on the bulletin board well enough, but this was just icing on the cake of suspicion Grell liked to think he was having. Tim was coming to see them with every bit of knowledge that they had attacked Brainiac 5. He was a friend to the robotic git, so that meant he was no friend of theirs. It also meant Grell had to be extremely careful not to slip in even the smallest way or he'd leave an opening the size of the British Empire.

Someone tapped his shoulder and Grell jumped again, his glasses nearly sliding off his nose. Luxord. Luxord being reassuring and playing along with his little act. Pushing his spectacles back up again, the butler looked down at his lap, sighing as if he didn't understand why bad things happened to insignificant people like him. He shook Tim's hand halfheartedly and then waited while he sat and both Tim and Luxord explained themselves.

It took a beat longer than it should have for Grell to realize that he should probably talk, too, but that was intentional. A clutz of a butler and a dimwitted (if polite) nothing of a man - that was the sort of person he'd been hoping to portray. The sort that blended in and disappeared and no one would miss. "..." He blinked owlishly from Tim to Luxord twice before he seemed to catch up with the fact that he should explain himself. "Oh! Oh, um...Mr. Brainiac and I met, ah...when I first arrived and he said he'd help me find some way to defend myself. I was supposed to go with him that night, but I got scared and by the time I made it to the meeting spot..." The death god sighed and fiddled with the splint on his finger. "He was gone. The next morning he said I attacked him."

As if that very statement helped Grell grow a spine, the butler clenched both fists as much as he could and shook his head vehemently. "But I swear I didn't! I never even saw him that night! And he keeps saying things that I can't refute because..." And here, he deflated again. "...because I rarely leave my room anymore. Last night when Mr. Luxord invited me out was one of the first times I've gone much past my own hall and... well, you can see where I got us. ...I don't know why Mr. Brainiac hates me so, but I wish... Maybe you could talk to him? Let him know that I truly mean him no harm?"

[no_ones_son]

Jason nodded along with Grell and Luxord's explanations as though he believed every word out of their mouths. "So you two were travelling together all of last night? Do you think there's anyone else who would've seen you about who could confirm your story? Just for my own peace of mind." Not that he expected there to be anyone, even if these two had been wandering about it would be easy to say no one had seen them since it wasn't like anyone would pay much attention to who was going past in the darkness at night. But he didn't want to appear to accept their story too easily, that would make them suspicious.

Smiling reassuringly at Grell, he continued, "I find it hard to believe you could hurt anyone, let alone set out to torture some kid for no real reason but I'm trying to be impartial here and get hard proof that you're no threat. At least, not to anyone but yourself," he finished teasingly.

"But when I do have some sort of proof I'd be happy to try talking some sense into the kid. I don't want someone making more trouble for us all than we already have just being here."

[clockmongler]

"Not all of it, no," Luxord answered with a shake of his head. He had gotten used to stinging convincing lies together at the drop of a hat, and this was no different. He was thankful that Grell seemed just as skilled in this regard, lest this conversion be completely embarrassing for the both of them. Not that he was falling for Tim's convinced routine, not one bit. "We returned to my room after a particularly nasty tumble down the stairs in order to recuperate. As such incidents hardly go unnoticed, it would be safe to assume someone has seen us, though it would not surprise me if it just so happened to go ignored. This is a busy institute, it would seem, nightshift doubly so."

Really, if push came to shove, he could always get II to cover for them. That would not be too difficult. Whatever the case, the show needed to go on, Luxord never pausing from his dramatics to ensure it never seemed as though he were stopping to think before each new lie.

He gave an exasperated sigh and began the process of massaging his temples, trying to sooth an oncoming migraine (faked, of course, though it may as well be real from that nasty damage to his skull). "I understand your need to find the true villains to this crime and I cannot blame you. The owners of such twisted works are obviously not only cowardly in harming a defenseless child, but for tarnishing the names of innocent people, as disliked as we may be for various reasons." Feigned cowardice, trying to cut others into ribbons, being a bit of an ass... "We are not as physically capable as to be useful in this facility, Mr. Brown, and we certainly are not the most," he stopped, looking over to Grell's flustered movements and the splint on his hand before patting the poor man on the shoulder again, this time with a sense of comfort behind the gesture, "coordinated of pairs, but I trust you can see being dishonest is not on our list of faults. Anything you could do to convince that poor child that we would never, ever wish to commit such a horrible atrocity on his head would be much appreciated."

[deadlyjuliet]

Luxord was lying like a professional, and Grell followed suit. It wasn't like telling lies big or small was new to him. He had masqueraded as people throughout the centuries, so telling a lie to get out of things was as natural as breathing air. Well, as natural as that was for humans. Tim was trying to pretend like he was convinced of his and Luxord's lies, but Grell knew there was something wrong. No matter how convincing they could be, the evidence was stacked against them.

Sighing as he lowered his head, Grell fiddled with the splint on his finger again, rubbing the bulky plastic like it was a worry stone. Glancing up when Luxord again patted him on the shoulder, he caught sight of Brainiac 5 across the room and quickly ducked his head in shame. Oh, he bet that little brat was enjoying the interrogation, but Grell wasn't about to break character just to frighten him. "I've been staying away from him because my presence makes him uncomfortable... I just met with Mr. Luxord yesterday and since I still hadn't made it far about the Institute, he offered to help me, but..." Grell's shoulders drooped as he seemed to remember the 'catastrophe' of the previous night. "I'm afraid I was more of a hindrance than a help. I don't know what sort of proof you need, sir, but I'm willing to do anything to assuage Mr. Brainiac's fears."

[no_ones_son]

Oh, they were good, Jason would give them that. Luxord's whole spiel about how terrible it was for a person to harm a helpless child and frame poor, innocent people like himself was almost enough to make Jason laugh out loud. Lucky then that he had better control than that. Nodding sympathetically, he replied "Sure, I'll do whatever I can to help. I can't imagine why anyone would try and frame either of you. It seems to me like there are plenty of better targets around here."

Following Grell's gaze as he looked up and just as quickly looked away, Jason caught sight of the kid in question sitting on the other side of the room watching them. He wasn't sure how Brainiac would take seeing him sitting over here chatting with his attackers but he'd understand when Jason finally got the chance to deal with them. Deliberately turning away he refocussed his attention on Grell and Luxord.

He needed to find out their room numbers or some other way to track them down at night without making them suspicious. 'Course, they had to be on guard already, the mere fact that he'd tracked them down like this showed that he suspected they were guilty in spite of their attempts to convince him otherwise. Too bad they were unlikely to decide to come after him and try to silence him, there was no way they could be stupid enough to think he'd be as much of a pushover as some scrawny little kid.

"Maybe we could meet up one night, find a way to clear your names together?" It was a pretty transparent attempt, true but Jason was hoping they'd underestimate him enough to take the bait. If they thought they could get the jump on him they might just decide to go for it.

[clockmongler]

Grell may have not caught his little slip-up with 'Mr. Rould's' name, but Luxord did. What was more interesting, however, was that dear Mr. Brown did not, meaning he had already known Luxord's name beforehand, despite the Nobody never mentioning it as anything other than Rould. Obviously, the man had already went digging for information about the two of them, making his innocent little gesture to have a meeting at night even more disconcerting.

Or he was just daft. It would be wise to stick with the former conclusion, though.

"Now, now, you were not completely at fault," he said to Grell, aiming for... ugh, nice. "It should have already been brought to my attention that that nuisance with a penchant for stalking me at night would have reared her head once more when I was with another. Had I recalled such vital information, perhaps you would not have been as surprised as you had, therefore avoiding that fall in an attempt to get away from her." Another sigh. He regretted that ghost's inability to speak; she would cover for him as well, if given the opportunity. Or he could command her to suck the air from Tim's lungs as she had with Mason. That did not seem as such a bad idea, actually. Hmmmm.

After that little show of kindness, X narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Tim, though a grin still grew on his face. This tiny battle of wits and lies was... almost entertaining, really. "I am afraid I will have to decline your offer, sir, at least if you desire night to be our setting. You will forgive me for not completely trusting your motivations, will you not?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Ms. Chere sitting alone with... was that a crown of roses on her head? He couldn't stop himself from smiling at that. How sweet for such a woman so cold. Perhaps he should speak with her later; he had not seen her so as of later and was beginning to desire her company once again.