March 25, 2008
Dorian was, actually, quite bored.
To the usual passerby, however, it would seem that he was very much the opposite. With a beautiful redhead seated in front of him, bar stool turned so she could lean on his shoulder as she laughed into his neck, it seemed like he had it made. How could any man be bored with THAT right in front of him?
Ah, well. ( Read more... )
But hey, whatever. He’d see this as a free pass for him to make it up to her in the future.
Dorian refused to play along and merely stared at her coldly, as if trying to challenge her to keep going. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke up, voice deep and threatening. “That’s funny, Adriana, as I seem to remember you thinking quite differently some time ago. By the way you said my name over and over and over again… well, perhaps I was mistaken.”
Ouch.
Dorian was probably going to get decapitated for bringing that up- in public, no less.
He sighed, exhausted with Adriana as she called after the retreating girl. He leaned forward, elbows on the bar, holding his forehead in his palm. He didn’t want to deal with her, yet… Dorian made no move to leave.
“Yes, well, it seems my track record in both cases is hardly admirable,” Dorian replied, shooting the blonde a quick glance as he added, “You are here, after all.”
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He was exhausted with her, already? My, she was getting better!
Adriana frowned slightly for a moment, watching Dorian at the bar, a bit disappointed that he wasn't giving more of a reaction. Not that she had expected one in particular, just... more than this.
"Am I supposed to know your whereabouts at all times?" she questioned, eyebrow cocking curiously, rolling her eyes at his annoyance with her being here. "This was purely ironic chance. I'm innocent... for once."
Rolling her eyes, then, Adriana couldn't entirely disagree that part of his track record wasn't that fantastic. "Yes, your reputation increases with me just standing here," she replied with a flash of a smirk, reaching into her purse to pull out some coins to pay for her drink. "But sadly not any longer; I have to deal with you during the week, and that's quite enough for me."
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She didn’t. He didn’t care.
Oh, she could exhaust him without opening her mouth. Years of dealing with Adriana had lowered his level of tolerance. It probably was supposed to have worked the opposite way, but Adriana never did go about things like normal people did, did she?
“I’m just a little fuzzy on what makes you think you have a right to bumble into my affairs at all,” Dorian returned bluntly. “We are co-workers, Miss Winters, nothing more. What I do with my time outside of work is none of your concern. I’d appreciate it if you got your big arse out of my business.”
Immature, but he didn’t care. Calling Adriana a big arse seemed like it would be an effective way of ticking her off just a bit more.
“That’s why you bothered me then, right?” he asked annoyingly, nodding up to her. “Well, at least help me pick out a replacement before you leave.”
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"One, Dorian, the previous comment was a lie - last I recall, you weren't the one I was shagging last night," she began casually, lips pursing thoughtfully. "Two, it is a tad interesting that you would assume that was my opinion on that night quite a while ago; have you gotten that response, before? Oh, and third, I unfortunately didn't know any better, I didn't have much to compare at the time in terms of experience." Like, none at all. But not like she'd get into that. She didn't even know if he knew.
"Merlin, it was a joke," she returned, waving her hand dismissively towards the door. "Where is that irritating sense of sarcasm that I despise so much?" Putting on a fake smile, Adriana took a step backwards, motioning as she talked to the now-empty bar stool. "Your 'business' was in the wide-open public, so I sincerely apologize that I thought even you could do better. If your shag for the evening couldn't take sarcasm, then she probably wouldn't have lasted the night with you."
Now this was more of the reaction she wasn't surprised to receive.
"You want me to choose someone for you?" Adriana asked slowly, stunned and slightly humoured. "Well, judging from the last choice, you won't have an issue finding that replacement on your own in a place like this." Reaching over to the counter, she dropped the money there before turning back to Dorian. "Or, if by some miracle, that fails, pick up something shiny and wave it around. You are bound to attract what you're looking for."
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A tiny part of him was offended she didn’t like it. He thought he was excellent, really.
And perhaps, some very small part of him was upset. But that part was quickly beaten and bound by the part that… wanted to punch her in the face, or something. That was a very large part, obviously.
He replied with a lame shrug, too stung to really think of something good to say. …Not that her opinion MATTERED, or anything.
“You’ll be pleased to know, then, that that was the most miserable night of my life. I’ve been tortured, been attacked, been beaten up- none of which combined even comes close to the torment that was shagging you.”
And that was only a huge lie.
“You love my irritating sarcasm, that’s why you work so hard to piss me off,” Dorian told her, taking another long sip of his wine.
It was true. He knew she liked fighting with him.
“Well, you seem intent on butting into my sex life,” Dorian replied, just to make her angry. Again. “I figure it would be best to avoid another embarrassment by shagging someone you think is worthy. Speaking of which, I’m flattered you care so deeply for me and the kind of woman I deserve.” He merely smiled at her, waiting a moment to reply to her last comment. “Well, I did get you, didn’t I? That tactic has worked in the past…”
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At the time, she figured that he was unsure about going through with sleeping together because of what it might do to their partnership, though it was strangely endearing that he bothered to make sure it was really what she wanted. You know, at the time.
She had wanted him, not even the smallest part of her didn't know that.
Similar to Dorian, she found herself upset, an offended kind of infuriation bubbling up in her stomach. She was angry, though she should have expected this in return. Her lips actually quirked up in a smile about half-way through as he went on. An entirely fake one, but a smile nonetheless. It took up until then to focus enough, but after that, it was easy to once again shove on a mask and show only what she wanted.
It was the look behind her eyes that always betrayed her.
"Interesting, Mr. Grace, seeing as I recall you initiated the fourth time... a rather creative way of asking me to stay, but another go all the same," she said, taking a quick lick at her lips and placing a hand on her hip. "I had no idea you enjoyed being tortured so much."
"I fight with you because you're irritating," she countered, head tilting towards him pointedly.
Pfft. Of course she loved bickering with him.
His final statement, and Adriana lost all self-control. Already standing within a foot from him, her hand had moved up to slap him before she could logically think through the rage that had seeped in.
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Though, it seemed like she did.
Dorian looked at her quietly for a moment, lifting his chin a little, blue eyes looking down his nose at Adriana for a moment, inspecting her. “You’re lying,” he said softly, not accusatory or mocking. It was said as if it was a simple fact, a comment on the weather.
But he could tell.
“There was no fourth time,” Dorian argued childishly, rolling his eyes at her. “You must be imagining it, as I’d never CHOOSE to put myself through such an pleasant situation. Am I to understand that you dream of sleeping with me?”
“You fight with me because I’m smart, not because I’m irritating,” Dorian corrected, truly believing what he was saying. Sure, he knew he was irritating as well, but whatever. “I keep up with you. I am your equal, if not, sometimes, better. You like fighting with me because I know exactly how to make you angry, and I know how far to push it. You love my sarcasm, and you love when I insult you. Its true, I know it is.”
Cocky bastard or not, Dorian did think he was right on that. He liked fighting with Adriana for all the same reasons! Plus, as she’d said to him, she was irritating as hell.
Dorian was used to Adriana being physically violent towards him, but this time it took
him by surprise. In his opinion, he hadn’t really done anything to merit such a violent reaction. His jaw dropped as a pinkish spot appeared on his cheek, covered by his hand after a moment. “You hit me!” Dorian exclaimed in disbelief, indignant and offend
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But yes, deep enough down, she remembered well enough that he was genuine in why he checked with her. And she had told him to shush and shag her, already.
Of course she regretted it! For bloody sake, she slept with a half-blood. How could she not be thoroughly disgusted? Adriana never would have even snogged him to begin with, if she had known. If the news that Dorian had been hiding all of that from her hadn't come out... well, that was a totally different story. She wouldn't have hated him.
"Excuse me?" she questioned, brows furrowing, taken aback by such a casual statement. Crossing her arms more firmly, Adriana stared back at Dorian puzzlingly, something unsettling about that assumption.
Adriana practically gaped at Dorian, her turn to roll her eyes. "If that's what you like to tell yourself," she said idly, really having no other comment. A thought crossed her head, then, that it wouldn't have been the first occasion where he wasn't entirely willing at first - but she wasn't going to speak that aloud.
"None of that erases the incontrovertible fact that you are irritating as hell." Brushing some hair behind her shoulder, Adriana stared knowingly at him, traces of a glare coming back. He had her on this round; there was nothing else she could counter about their bickering seeing as almost everything was true. Stupid ponce.
"Fantastic observation, Mr. Grace," Adriana answered sarcastically, fingers flexing as she brought her arm back to her side, taking a slow step backwards. She let out a low breath, forcing herself to stay calm enough. Honestly, she hadn't meant to do that, and wasn't entirely pleased with herself that Dorian made her lose control, yet again.
Watching him talk about them having slept together... she wasn't prepared for how angry it would make her. They had hardly spoken about that night, and now they were insulting each other over it. Adriana felt like retching and shutting Dorian up all at the same time.
"I'll do this commentary for you: this is me leaving." Tossing her bag further up under her arm, Adriana turned for the door.
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“I’m fairly sure you heard me,” Dorian replied lazily, still staring right at her. Actually, he was positive she’d heard him; that was what the face was for. Instead of repeating himself, he mimicked her- crossing his arms over his chest, weight balanced evenly between both of his feet.
“Is it impossible for you to admit that I’m right?” he asked with a slightly amused laugh, cocking his head at her. Dorian found it funny, really that Adriana was THAT stubborn. Not surprising, though. She’d never liked to admit that he was correct sometimes.
“What the bloody hell was that for?!” Dorian demanded, still holding his cheek in shock.
He stomped after her, ignoring the bartender yelling about payment. Dorian had more important things to attend to! Like CRUCIOING Adriana right there on the street. “Wait!” Dorian commanded, grabbing a hold of her arm and spinning her around, right before they reached the door.
“Usually I’m the first to admit when I deserve something like that. This time, however, I don’t think I earned that one.”
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"Yes, I heard what you said," she snapped, clearly frustrated with him as she sent him another glare. "I'm referring to why you are so sure that I'm lying? Can you read my mind now, Mr. Grace?"
Ah, Adriana would always be the most stubborn person in the room. She didn't admit defeat well in any area, but with Dorian, it was even harder. She still wasn't used to having anyone as her equal - exactly what he certainly was. She grew up with people like Jaser Cross to usually yell at, she never knew what it was like to be matched.
"I'll let you know if the occasion arises where you are right on something," she replied shortly, not willing to budge an inch. She gave a bored sigh at his laughter, glancing around the room idly.
Adriana refused to give Dorian an answer; simply shook her head before walking away from him. Merlin, an idea had never back-fired so severely . She seriously could never understand why it was so difficult to leave at the beginning.
Her arm was tossed in front of her, fingers almost touching the door... and she was promptly yanked 180 degrees, back to facing Dorian again. Dammit.
Her breath caught in her throat momentarily as he grabbed her and pulled her back to him, taken aback at the move. If anything at all, Adriana expected Dorian to be glad to be rid of her. As much as she desperately wanted to walk away, he was stronger than her, and the initial resistance to get out of his grip did nothing. "I don't care what you think," she said in a low voice, forcing back a wince, not caring that several patrons were now watching them. "If you expect me to apologize, you're not going to get it. Let go."
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“Why I’m sure? I was expecting a more difficult question,” Dorian said, cocking his head at her again. “Well, for one, whether you like to acknowledge it or not, I have known you rather intimately for some years now. I know you and how you react to certain things, and, on some level, I can tell what you’re thinking by how you react. Aside from all of that, I’m good at my job. I’m supposed to get information from people, its sort of important to be able to tell when I’m not being told the truth. And you didn’t look directly at me. Not my eyes, at least. So, I’d say I’m sure you’re lying, yes. Unless you’d like to hear more of my reasoning?”
Bastard.
A snarky “That’s all I ask,” was all Dorian said in reply before taking another sip of his wine. She was such a bloody… ugh, absolutely infuriating. Why did he bother with her, again?
A back-fired idea? What the hell kind of an idea was that?! How did Adriana EXPECT him to react?
He would be glad to be rid of her, but he wasn’t going to let Adriana get away without an explanation. Dorian wasn’t going to let her think that she could do whatever she liked where he was concerned. There would be consequences, or something! She couldn’t just… no, he had a point to make here.
“I didn’t ask for an apology,” he staid in a firm voice. Dorian’s eyes still burrowed into her skull- he stared at her unforgivingly, completely focused on Adriana. She’d either turn around or he’d keep staring, he didn’t care which it was.
She knew what he wanted to know; she was just being obstinate.
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Then again, so had she. None of those past Hogwarts rumours were true, after all. The decision to sleep with Dorian actually meant a hell of a lot to her. She had known him for quite a while, yet she never cared to take things any further for over a year.
She simply sneered back at him as he rambled on, teeth grinding at the word 'intimate'. "Careful not to confuse ability with arrogance," she muttered dryly, face taking on a blank expression. She kept her arms firmly crossed, if not more to stop herself from punching him.
Adriana expected a damn well reaction from him -- what she didn't expect was her own. Or the fact that he wasn't leaving her alone, making it even more difficult to walk away.
She would have picked the option to turn around, though that wouldn't get her anywhere needed. It was either the door, directly behind her, or Dorian. And, as he was currently grasping her arm, that made actually opening the door and walking out a tad more difficult.
"And I asked you to take your hand off me," she snapped, looking back at him with a challenging glare, eyes darting to her arm before moving back to Dorian. "As you're so experienced with reading me, Mr. Grace..." pausing, she stopped resisting his grip, taking a step forward to lean in towards him, "so why don't you tell me."
She knew that he wanted to know why she felt the need to slap him, and she wasn't going to give it to him. It was more likely that he'd have to Crucio her.
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Well, perfection was in his line of work. He was good at being perfect.
She chose how she interpreted the word ‘intimate.’ It had several different meanings, the one she picked was on her head entirely.
“Don’t worry, I don’t,” Dorian replied with a congenial smile, rolling his shoulders back once, as if asserting himself. “I am not like you- I’m able to admit when I’ve made a mistake. This is something I know I can do. I’m not being arrogant; I’m telling the truth.”
As Adriana took a step towards him, Dorian challenged her by taking a step closer as well. He knew he was fox-trotting into dangerous territory here, but he couldn’t resist. He rarely backed down from a challenge, especially not a challenge from Adriana Winters. “Go to hell,” Dorian told her darkly, something he said to her quite often. And her response, as usual, would probably be ‘Meet you there,’ which would accomplish nothing.
… other than increase his desire to punch her in the face.
“We’re going outside,” Dorian told her dismissively, knowing she’d hate that. He spun Adriana around once more and marched to the battered wooden doorway, dragging her along with him to the dimly-lit, deserted street outside the pub.
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Considering the topic of late was their own night of shagging, yes, Adriana's mind lead Dorian's use of the word 'intimate' to meaning more than spending a lot of time around each other as associates.
An eyebrow cocked slowly, and Adriana watched him with a defiant look, curious how long they could just keep playing the game back and forth.
Indeed, Dorian had told her that quite a few times in the past. She had her usual snarky counter, though today she didn't feel like saying it. "Oh, look, you really can tell what I'm thinking," she said, head tilting slowly as she contrasted his dark expression with a slight smirk.
Adriana's mouth dropped as Dorian dragged her along onto the street, more shocked to object as she wanted to. Yes, she hated being ordered like that! Nevertheless, she still made it obvious in pulling that she wasn't going to follow him anywhere willingly (though, once again, he was stronger). "Well, as much as I enjoy a nice walk of fresh air," she commented sarcastically, inhaling sharply at the sudden temperature difference, while her free arm slipped inside her open jacket, fingers curling around her wand. "I'm not exactly in the mood for a stroll."
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Well, that was hardly his fault! Dorian hardly deserved a glare for her own… thought pattern. Sure, he’d chosen that word knowing she’d get angrier, but really, he could easily pretend to be completely innocent.
“That wasn’t an empty accusation, you know,” Dorian said after a moment, nodding at her. “I was expecting you to tell me the truth. You didn’t argue with me, either, so I know I caught you. But… I would know you were lying even if you DID argue. But regardless, I’m waiting for your version of the truth.” His blue eyes settled on her once again, trying to make her… uncomfortable, almost, with his gaze. “Please,” he said imploringly. It sounded odd coming from Dorian Grace’s lips.
Mission: accomplished. She was angry; he was happy.
“I’ll kiss you if you don’t start walking like a normal person, Miss Winters,” Dorian told her emotionlessly, carrying on as if her resistance didn’t bother him. “Goodness knows we don’t want that.”
Once outside, Dorian shoved her away from him angrily, eyes looking even brighter and colder in the dark. He instantly drew his wand, though he wasn’t sure if he even needed it or not.
“I’d like an explanation,” he said calmly, though he wondered why he was getting so upset over this whole this. It was entirely ridiculous, he knew that, yet he couldn’t back down.
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Well, he was succeeding in making her uncomfortable, along with several other words she could think of. His 'please' was the most disturbing of all; it shot her memory back to the only other time Dorian had ever said the word, and it wasn't one she cared to think about.
"No," she stated firmly, maintaining her spot.
Adriana did a slight double-take over at Dorian when he said he'd kiss her, looking confused for a moment before a glare took its place. She was slightly offended by the offer, and then she realized that she had stopped resisting. Err, Wait, she wasn't just going to surrender and listen to him! Threat for a snog OR NOT.
"Ha! I'd like to see you try," she huffed under her breath, needing to swallow a bit harder. She pulled her arm back even harder for good measure.
She was still fuming over the snog comment that she didn't expect Dorian to shove her away so fast, and she stumbled a few steps before righting herself as she reached the side-wall of the pub they just exited, wand forgotten in her pocket.
"Honestly, you act as though this is the first time I've hit you," she spat angrily at him, straightening out her jacket and collar carefully. "I'd have thought you'd be used to that kind of reaction when you speak like the presumptuous, unpleasant ponce that you are. Save us both some time and get over yourself, Dorian."
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