adelle + laurent + valentin // the consequences of trolling
Who: Adelle, Laurent, and Valentin
When: Saturday before this Valentin/Damica log
Where: The Vaux household
Ratings/Warnings: PG-13 for violence! GASP!
All in all, Laurent would have considered the day a success. They had somehow managed to sneak out of the house without any of the guards catching them which Laurent considered an achievement in and of itself as he had never been particularly stealthy, wander to her favorite dressmaker's shop without incident (at least she had avoided the one gown with particularly awful embroidery), and sneaking back into the house had been just as easy as leaving it, though he did make a point of making sure no one was about before he allowed Adelle to follow him back inside.
Thus, today was most certainly a good day. Now, he just had to get Adelle back to her room without anybody noticing, as she was supposed to be sulking, and the day would be absolutely perfect. This, of course, would be better achieved if they were quiet as they wandered the halls, yet he couldn't help but look at her and smile. "Mission accomplished, I think."
Adelle was so glad to just get out of the house (no thanks to a certain jerk of a someone) that she failed to notice just how little resistance there was to their sneaking out and how little sneaking they had to do. High on the prospect of FRESH AIR that wasn't within the Vaux estate's vicinity, she wasn't suspicious at all. She was just pleased to go out, look at and order dresses, and just do things she normally did that she just didn't care to be as observant. A folly she'll make sure not to repeat in the future.
She beamed up at Laurent, the tears from last night almost a distant memory. "I think so! Thank you for today, cousin~ You are the best."
Unlike his relations, Valentin's day had been far from enjoyable. The 'highlight' of his day so far had been an argument with his father concerning Adelle's complete lack of ability to defend herself. But Gabriel Vaux was a traditional sort of man, and seemed convinced that such a thing would be improper. Nevermind that his daughter was nearly as wilful as his son, and just as likely to find herself in trouble, one way or another.
After a certain amount of shouting, Valentin had given up. As usual, there was no convincing the man. Perhaps he'd speak to Laurent about it later. He suspected Laurent would agree with him in this, at least.
Stalking down the hallways, still fuming from his father's foolishness, Valentin suddenly caught the sound of a pair of familiar voices.
If he were the sort of man to listen to the quiet voice of reason in the back of his head that advised him to avoid further arguments, he would have continued on his way.
But he was not that man.
Instead he stopped, and listened. They seemed to be approaching his location. Laurent was probably sneaking Adelle back to her room, in hopes that no one would have noticed the petulant noblewoman being 'missing' at all.
So instead, Valentin waited.
"Anything for my favorite cousin," he assured Adelle, giving her a little smile and a bit of a hug.
And to think all of this was Valentin's fault in the first place. There was only one thing he seemed to take responsibility for, his own sister, and, even then, when he wasn't playing hero for her, he seemed content to frustrate her and make the poor thing cry. If there was ever anything constant in this household, it was trusting that Valentin would find some way to mess something up, even when it came to his sister. Laurent shouldn't have been surprised, but he was all the same.
"Now, we really should get you back to your room..." If they found Adelle out here instead of sulking, there would be questions, he was sure. But, even so, he hadn't seen anybody. At this realization, he frowned and glanced up and down the hallway. No one, just as it had been earlier. No one to stop them or ask them anything. "Still, we really should have run into someone by now, don't you think?"
Her grin was blinding. "That better be true," she teased as she returned the slight hug. They had so many cousins that she wasn't even sure she knew them all...
She slowed her walk at the question, becoming thoughtful, and stopped in the middle of the hallway. Peering around curiously, she frowned. "You're right. This is strange, almost suspicious." She narrowed her eyes at the corner she didn't know Valentin was hiding around. "It's been almost too easy."
Adelle had the sneaking suspicion that her brother did something. She just wasn't sure what yet, or more precisely what motive.
Valentin supposed if there was ever going to be a cue for his entrance, that would be it.
He strolled around the corner, wearing a faint smile as he applauded the pair.
"Congratulations!" He looked at Adelle, and Laurent, in turn. "You have very cleverly escaped the searching eyes of guards who had absolutely no reason to pay you any mind whatsoever." His smile shifted just a little bit in the direction of a smirk. "Clearly you are both incredibly subtle."
Years of being surprised by people doing just as Valentin was had left Laurent immune to jumping when people seemed to appear out of nowhere and start speaking. At most, his hand moved to the hilt of the sword at his waist, more out of habit than anything else, though he did not move it when he realized who exactly it was.
Of course Valentin had done something like that and just conveniently not bothered to mention it to his own little sister. Of course he had to put her in hysterics first before he even bothered to do so. Of course Valentin had been so absolutely ridiculous to do something like this in the first place. Why he couldn't just be normal, Laurent didn't know, but it was absolutely infuriating.
"You might have seen fit to mention that earlier." There was, of course, the unspoken addition of "you idiot" hanging in the air, but whether the others called attention to it or not was their own affair. He certainly wasn't about to say it; Valentin knew full well what his own cousin thought about him after all.
Adelle loved her brother very, very much and if anyone tried to think otherwise, she would go for their (metaphorical) throat, but that didn't stop her from thinking vile, foul thoughts about him at that moment. It was too bad there weren't any real fan motions for you are a condescending, contemptible cad and I wish I could wipe that stupid smile off your face.
It was telling that she wasn't even surprised when Valentin revealed himself. She just glared at him and crossed her arms. "Exactly," she chimed in after Laurent. Only her unspoken addition was 'you ass' instead of 'you idiot.' SHE TOTALLY LOVES YOU, VALENTIN. Really. "Why didn't you?" Ass. That she loves very much, but still an ass.
"If my darling sister," he gave a half-bow to the girl, "had deigned to come down for breakfast, I would have." He shrugged, holding out his hands in a helpless sort of gesture. "Instead, it seems she had made other arrangements. Which I didn't learn about until after the pair of you had already gone, of course."
The beauty of it was that it was all true. He had rescinded the orders after waking in the morning, and had intended to tell Adelle at breakfast. When she didn't appear, he thought it best to leave her alone for the time being, if she was that upset with him. The matter was completely out of his mind, until someone mentioned to him that his sister and cousin had left, acting rather strangely as they did so.
He looked to Laurent, still smiling. "It does warm my heart to see you so dedicated to the cause of keeping Adelle happy, cousin."
Of course he had. Because that was what a brother would do! Any sane person would have bothered to tell his sister "oh, by the way, you can leave safely now" as soon as the orders were lifted, not attempting to save it for some special meal and act as though they were doing the other person some great, fabulous favor out of the goodness of their heart. Valentin, however, was clearly not sane. Valentin seemed determined, constantly, to mess with everyone's heads and drive them all to the brink of madness.
Laurent had just about enough of that. He had been putting up with this for what felt like centuries now, and Valentin had shown no sign of improvement or making any effort to change whatsoever. He was frustrated, he was angry, and, mostly importantly, right now, his hatred for his cousin seemed to eclipse everything else. Nothing else seemed to matter, not that his hands were clenching into fists or the fact that he had apparently raised one of them and lashed out and was now hitting his cousin, the heir to the Vaux family name, in the jaw. It lacked any sort of form or finesse, and he missed his original target entirely (he vaguely recalled having a passing thought of attempting to blacken Valentin's eye), but even an untrained man could throw a punch once they had hit their breaking point. It was a miracle he hadn't reached this point sooner.
"What in Cita's name is wrong with you?!" he demanded as he pulled back, glaring at him all the while. "Do you enjoy playing games with the people who care about you? Is that it?"
Adelle's first reaction was to gasp in surprise, her hand flying to cover her mouth, eyes wide as her brother fell to the ground. Laurent had always been one about propriety - the right and proper way to do this, the right and proper way to do that - when it came to Valentin that she never expected her cousin to deck her brother. Next came short choked laughter from her, partly out of shock and partly out of actual amusement. She supposed this was probably the last straw for her cousin.
She lowered her hand to her side and started giggling a little before golf clapping clapping slowly and softly. "Good job, cousin," she said admiringly even as she walked over to kneel and check on her fallen brother.
"You deserved it," she told Valentin frankly, an amused smile on her lips, "but are you all right?" To her credit, she did look a little concerned.
Later, he would admit to himself that the punch was a long time coming. Maybe, later, he would laugh and applaud Laurent for finally doing something that he obviously had wanted to do for some time.
But now, fallen to the ground and clutching his jaw, still dizzy with the force of the blow, Valentin was feeling less than magnanimous.
He only acknowledged Adelle enough to wave her off, as he returned his cousin's glare with an equally poisonous look. He would rise to his feet on his own, thank you very much, as unsteady a stance as that might be.
"Don't--" Valentin paused, frowning, and took a handkerchief from his pocket, to spit bloody saliva into it. He let it fall to the floor then, which he followed by taking one unsteady step, and then another towards his cousin.
In the back of his mind, he wondered if Laurent was angry enough, or stupid enough, to pull out his blade.
Valentin's smile was decidedly unpleasant, further marred by the blood in his mouth, and the fact that it didn't reach his eyes.
"Don't be an idiot, cousin," he said, wincing as he spoke. For a man with hate in his eyes, Valentin's tone was surprisingly light. "But that might be asking too much of you." And like that, his smile disappeared. "I don't like you nearly enough to let you do things like this."
Fortunately, Laurent had enough sense to leave his sword in it's sheath. In the end, it wouldn't be worth it. He certainly wouldn't get any satisfaction out of it, and the thought of stabbing his cousin had never once appealed to him. If he was going draw his cousin's blood, he wanted it to be with his own hands. Using steel felt so impersonal for something like that. That, and there was a little matter of the blood that would stain the floors and the carpets and Cita only knew what else. He heard it was quite the pain to get out.
"What are you going to do?" he demanded, staring at Valentin with a look that could only be described as a cross between amusement and pure hatred. "Are you going to tell Uncle what a horrible person I am? Demand he kick me out?" Not that it would do his cousin much good, in the end. "Don't forget, dear cousin, Uncle loves me. If anything, he'll ask me why I didn't do it sooner." What would he do? Ah, well, the consequences didn't matter. He was almost happy he had done it. "So, go ahead. There's nothing you could do to me that you haven't all ready."
sdfsklfkjslfsdfjs CITA DAMN YOU BOTH most accurately described Adelle's feelings.
Adelle stared in shock at the exchange between Valentin and Laurent. A part of her told her she shouldn't be surprised, but she was. She honestly, truly was, and seeing the hate displayed between the two of them cut her deeply. What were they saying what were they doing what were they saying what were they doing what what what just what. Why did they have to be that way?
She took a deep breath, almost choking on her anger and hurt. Still kneeling on the floor, she shook, trying to contain her emotions. She cared and loved them both dearly, and they cared for her, too, she knew, so why was it so hard for them to like each other? They weren't her father and her brother, but this was too reminiscent of those fights to not dig up all her past and current hurts.
In quick succession, she whipped out her fan and threw it in between the two men with all the force she could muster, and she rose angrily to her feet, her skirts rustling noisily at the sudden movement. "Stop it!" she cried. "Stop it stop it stop it!" She wiped furiously at the tears gathering and falling from her eyes. "What are you two doing? What are you doing!" Her voice was bordering on shrill, if not hysterical. "Stop it right now! We're family." And that should matter.
She wasn't naive. She knew they didn't get along everyday most days, and she knew they weren't going to have happy love peace times, knew the Vaux were far from that and couldn't touch it, but she just could not take this vitriol. She just couldn't.
Valentin didn't hesitate to turn away from Laurent at his sister's outburst. Perhaps, were it someone else, that would be a mistake, but he was willing to take that risk with Laurent at this moment.
There would be plenty of time for threats and arguing with his cousin later.
All of Valentin's attention was for his sister now.
He moved to her side quickly. Perhaps placing himself between Adelle and Laurent was purposeful, and perhaps it was an unconscious reaction. Gingerly -- strange in a man who never seemed to feel the need to be cautious of anything -- he reached out to place his hands on Adelle's shoulders.
He opened his mouth to speak, and found he was at a loss for words. Another strangeness. In the back of his mind, harsh invective directed at his cousin, at his father, still swirled, but that would win him nothing here.
He couldn't bring himself to tell her that it would be alright, after all.
"Calm down." It was a command, yes, but it was as soft and gentle a one as could be asked for.
For one brief moment, Laurent almost wished Valentin had the opportunity to say something. But before he even knew what had happened, Adelle launched one of her fans at them and was on the verge of tears and the reality of what he had just done and said came crashing down around him all at once. He was hardly sorry he had punched Valentin; in fact, as far as he was concerned, Valentin deserved it. However, it wasn't something he would have done under normal circumstances.
And all of that was completely insignificant now that Adelle was in tears. What could he do or say that Valentin wasn't doing all right? He supposed he could have apologized, but Valentin would never have accepted it, especially not when they both knew Laurent wouldn't mean it in the first place. But he could apologize to her and it would still be all right, wouldn't it? After all, he had never meant to upset her of all people.
"Adelle, I---" He what? He hadn't meant for it to go this far? He hadn't meant to upset her. "I didn't---" How hard was it to just say something?! He had no problem being an idiot before! "Forgive me, please. I didn't mean for it to go this far." That much was true. He hadn't, but, then again, that seemed to be inevitable the longer he was around Valentin, didn't it... "I'm sure Valentin feels the same." Valentin did adore his sister, after all. Regardless of how ridiculous he could be, he wouldn't intentionally upset her, would he?
Her hands frantically and continuously swiped at her tears. Her face was turning red and blotchy even as she tried to keep her quiet sobs to a minimum. When her brother appeared blurry in front of her, she rubbed at her eyes more insistently.
"I don't want to calm down!" she snapped, her anger ruined somewhat by her sniffling. "You two- You two-- I love you both, and you two--" She was practically blubbering and was an unsightly mess, and it was undignified, and-- She made a noise, something in between a sob and frustrated whine.
She stepped away from Valentin's hands and maneuvered herself so she could see them both. Having given up wiping away her tears, she clutched her skirt tightly in both of her hands. "Do you really mean that?" she said, addressing Laurent's words. He better mean it. They better mean it. They had to mean it. "I-I mean, I know you two don't see eye to eye, b-but..." Can't you just not fight that way? Be more reasonable? Something? Anything that didn't mean her seeing her family disintegrate before her eyes.
Valentin took a step away as Adelle stepped around him, folded his hands behind his back, and turned to look to Laurent at his sister's question.
"I think, Adelle," he said quietly, still watching the other man, seeming almost wary, "that our cousin is sincere enough." After all, this couldn't be the first time Laurent had wanted to punch him, and he now had no doubt that it would happen again. Sooner or later.
Laurent, it seemed, did not half all the virtuous self-control that he seemed to.
"Of course we mean it." The moment the punch had been thrown, he had even forgotten she was there at all. If he had remembered or had been able to see through the blind rage, he never would have done it in the first place. "He might not say so, but I'm certain he feels the same." Valentin saying Laurent was sincere was probably the closest the other man would come to ever agreeing with him in the first place. He supposed he'd simply have to accept that.
Although, speaking of his cousin... Adelle would expect some sort of apology for Valentin next, but what exactly did one say when you knew the other wouldn't believe anything that came out of your mouth? He paused for a moment, considering carefully before turning to look at Valentin. "Valentin, I'm not sorry I hit you, and I'm not going to apologize for it." The other man would never believe him even if he did, and they both knew it. "However, this should never have happened in the first place. I am sorry about that, but nothing more."
She narrowed her eyes slightly at Valentin. Her crying had stopped, and she had a stronger hold on her mental faculties. She heard what her brother was saying and what he wasn't saying. CDIWAYLT
Letting out a small sigh, she released her hold on her skirt and not even daring to look down at the creases her grip caused. That apology from Laurent was also pretty circular. They were trying to appease her now, and she knew it and should be glad for it, but that didn't solve anything. Was this even something that could be solved? Both of them were stubborn and would not likely budge any time soon.
Adelle huffed in irritation and crossed her arms. "Okay, you're forgiven." Was she speaking to one of them? Both of them? She'd let them decide. It wouldn't be good to drag this out anyway. "But only if you give a hug and kiss."
She waited a long beat or two before smiling slyly and slowly holding out her arms. "For me."
Dear Adelle, stop cockblocking the hawt hawt boylovin'. No love, nonexistant crack fandom
Any response Valentin could think to give to his cousin's psuedo-apology would only aggravate the situation further. He supposed he should appreciate that Laurent wasn't outright lying, at the very least.
Adelle seemed to be the crux of the matter now, and so her calming down somewhat was a welcome bit of relief. The sooner this was done with, the sooner he could leave the house altogether. If truth were to be told Valentin doubted the sincerity of her forgiveness, and suspected she simply wanted out of the situation as soon as possible as well.
Perhaps later he would apologize properly to his sister.
For now, he would humour her.
"We'll talk more later," he told her quietly as he pulled her into a hug, and kissed her lightly on the forehead. He winced a bit. The adrenaline had faded, and suddenly his jaw was hurting quite a bit more than it had been. Best to get out of here before too long.
She forgave them, so she said. Laurent wasn't entirely certain he believed that just as he was certain Valentin didn't completely believe the words that had come out of his own mouth. However, Adelle seemed appeased, at least. Valentin would have to accept that, and if he chose to confront him about it later, so be it, though he doubted he would in the first place. If he knew Valentin, the other man would attempt to avoid him after this, and Laurent was completely intending to do the same.
He waited for Valentin to move before he gave Adelle a little squeeze and a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry I upset you." That much was true, at least, and he would be apologizing for that for days after the fact.
They were mostly right; Adelle hadn't truly forgiven them yet. She was just tired of the tension and wanted it to diffuse.
Accepting the hug and kiss from each of them graciously (not like she didn't practically order it), she gave them a dazzling smile. "Will we have dinner together tonight?"
Forget that she just had her hissy fit and skipped going down for breakfast earlier that day. That was besides the point, and she felt her actions justified. Asking them to have dinner together would be part of her punishment for them while she acted normal and sweet and smiled at them as if she had razor sharp teeth. If they avoided or declined, she would just have to find other ways to make them regret it.
"I'm afraid," Valentin said slowly, wary of upsetting his sister further, "that I'm not feeling well enough for dinner this evening." He rubbed at his jaw, doing his best to look apologetic. At any other time he would have sat through the dinner as she had all but commanded, but for now his best options would be lying down and a glass of wine, he felt. "I am sorry, Adelle."
Let her force him and Laurent to play nice together another day. He didn't think his patience would win out in this state, and could only imagine things getting worse over dinner. "Another evening, I promise."
It was funny how things worked out sometimes, especially when he had been almost certain Valentin would accept Adelle's dinner invitation if only to caution her away from his apparently volatile cousin. Not that Laurent would have blamed him after what had just transpired, but the fact that Valentin was all but running away from the sister he claimed to adore was a bit amusing.
"If that's what you'd like, Adelle." Far be it for him to deny Adelle this, especially when it was such a simple request. Besides which, he almost feared what she would do to them both if they refused. Such was this family, he supposed.
Ohhhhhh, Valentin, way to make your sister like Laurent more than you today.
To say that there was fire or lasers coming from her eyes at Valentin's response would not be wrong. She wasn't even trying to hide her extreme displeasure at her brother. "Fine!" she snapped, sounding every bit the fierce, spiteful teenage girl that she was. "Be that way!"
She tried to shake her outrage off, abruptly rolling her shoulders. She turned to giver her sweetest smile to Laurent. "Thank you, cousin. I knew could count on you~"
There was really no outcome, as far as Valentin could tell, where Adelle would ever like him more than she liked Laurent today. At least, not one that didn't involve Laurent punching him in the face again.
He would rather make it up to her later when she was less out of sorts, than spend an awkward dinner with the pair tonight, wondering what next he would say to make his cousin leap over the table at him with a steak knife in hand.
He resisted the urge to respond to his sister's antics. If she didn't understand that he was, for once in his life, trying to avoid further trouble, there was nothing really to be done for that.
He turned, and began walking away, retreating to his own rooms. "Good evening Adelle, Laurent. I do hope you enjoy your dinner together."
If Laurent knew exactly what his cousin had been thinking, he would have been absolutely horrified. The fact that he had hit him was bad enough, but the idea of just lunging at him with a knife... he would have to talk to someone, anyone, once the possibility of that occurred to him.
For now, however, he drew an arm around Adelle's shoulders and started to lead her off. No need to dwell on the horrible things now, not when the main antagonist of the night was off doing Cita only knew what. Whatever it was, however, Laurent didn't care. "Don't worry about him, Adelle. I'm sure he'll be fine" Never mind that she'd probably worry about him the whole night. He'd just have to take her mind off that. "Let's ask the kitchen staff to make us something nice tonight, hmm? What do you think?"
Adelle was too selfish and shortsighted to think beyond the fact that the dinner would have been more pain for the two men at first. Watching Valentin walk off, her expression could only be described as a glower.
She let Laurent lead her away, furious thoughts running across her mind. Before recently, she could hardly remember that many times where her brother had refused any of her requests outright. But now... She did not like this at all.
Though she barely registered what Laurent was saying, she nodded. "Yes, of course. That sounds good." What also sounded good, she determined, was plotting her brother's misery.
When: Saturday before this Valentin/Damica log
Where: The Vaux household
Ratings/Warnings: PG-13 for violence! GASP!
All in all, Laurent would have considered the day a success. They had somehow managed to sneak out of the house without any of the guards catching them which Laurent considered an achievement in and of itself as he had never been particularly stealthy, wander to her favorite dressmaker's shop without incident (at least she had avoided the one gown with particularly awful embroidery), and sneaking back into the house had been just as easy as leaving it, though he did make a point of making sure no one was about before he allowed Adelle to follow him back inside.
Thus, today was most certainly a good day. Now, he just had to get Adelle back to her room without anybody noticing, as she was supposed to be sulking, and the day would be absolutely perfect. This, of course, would be better achieved if they were quiet as they wandered the halls, yet he couldn't help but look at her and smile. "Mission accomplished, I think."
Adelle was so glad to just get out of the house (no thanks to a certain jerk of a someone) that she failed to notice just how little resistance there was to their sneaking out and how little sneaking they had to do. High on the prospect of FRESH AIR that wasn't within the Vaux estate's vicinity, she wasn't suspicious at all. She was just pleased to go out, look at and order dresses, and just do things she normally did that she just didn't care to be as observant. A folly she'll make sure not to repeat in the future.
She beamed up at Laurent, the tears from last night almost a distant memory. "I think so! Thank you for today, cousin~ You are the best."
Unlike his relations, Valentin's day had been far from enjoyable. The 'highlight' of his day so far had been an argument with his father concerning Adelle's complete lack of ability to defend herself. But Gabriel Vaux was a traditional sort of man, and seemed convinced that such a thing would be improper. Nevermind that his daughter was nearly as wilful as his son, and just as likely to find herself in trouble, one way or another.
After a certain amount of shouting, Valentin had given up. As usual, there was no convincing the man. Perhaps he'd speak to Laurent about it later. He suspected Laurent would agree with him in this, at least.
Stalking down the hallways, still fuming from his father's foolishness, Valentin suddenly caught the sound of a pair of familiar voices.
If he were the sort of man to listen to the quiet voice of reason in the back of his head that advised him to avoid further arguments, he would have continued on his way.
But he was not that man.
Instead he stopped, and listened. They seemed to be approaching his location. Laurent was probably sneaking Adelle back to her room, in hopes that no one would have noticed the petulant noblewoman being 'missing' at all.
So instead, Valentin waited.
"Anything for my favorite cousin," he assured Adelle, giving her a little smile and a bit of a hug.
And to think all of this was Valentin's fault in the first place. There was only one thing he seemed to take responsibility for, his own sister, and, even then, when he wasn't playing hero for her, he seemed content to frustrate her and make the poor thing cry. If there was ever anything constant in this household, it was trusting that Valentin would find some way to mess something up, even when it came to his sister. Laurent shouldn't have been surprised, but he was all the same.
"Now, we really should get you back to your room..." If they found Adelle out here instead of sulking, there would be questions, he was sure. But, even so, he hadn't seen anybody. At this realization, he frowned and glanced up and down the hallway. No one, just as it had been earlier. No one to stop them or ask them anything. "Still, we really should have run into someone by now, don't you think?"
Her grin was blinding. "That better be true," she teased as she returned the slight hug. They had so many cousins that she wasn't even sure she knew them all...
She slowed her walk at the question, becoming thoughtful, and stopped in the middle of the hallway. Peering around curiously, she frowned. "You're right. This is strange, almost suspicious." She narrowed her eyes at the corner she didn't know Valentin was hiding around. "It's been almost too easy."
Adelle had the sneaking suspicion that her brother did something. She just wasn't sure what yet, or more precisely what motive.
Valentin supposed if there was ever going to be a cue for his entrance, that would be it.
He strolled around the corner, wearing a faint smile as he applauded the pair.
"Congratulations!" He looked at Adelle, and Laurent, in turn. "You have very cleverly escaped the searching eyes of guards who had absolutely no reason to pay you any mind whatsoever." His smile shifted just a little bit in the direction of a smirk. "Clearly you are both incredibly subtle."
Years of being surprised by people doing just as Valentin was had left Laurent immune to jumping when people seemed to appear out of nowhere and start speaking. At most, his hand moved to the hilt of the sword at his waist, more out of habit than anything else, though he did not move it when he realized who exactly it was.
Of course Valentin had done something like that and just conveniently not bothered to mention it to his own little sister. Of course he had to put her in hysterics first before he even bothered to do so. Of course Valentin had been so absolutely ridiculous to do something like this in the first place. Why he couldn't just be normal, Laurent didn't know, but it was absolutely infuriating.
"You might have seen fit to mention that earlier." There was, of course, the unspoken addition of "you idiot" hanging in the air, but whether the others called attention to it or not was their own affair. He certainly wasn't about to say it; Valentin knew full well what his own cousin thought about him after all.
Adelle loved her brother very, very much and if anyone tried to think otherwise, she would go for their (metaphorical) throat, but that didn't stop her from thinking vile, foul thoughts about him at that moment. It was too bad there weren't any real fan motions for you are a condescending, contemptible cad and I wish I could wipe that stupid smile off your face.
It was telling that she wasn't even surprised when Valentin revealed himself. She just glared at him and crossed her arms. "Exactly," she chimed in after Laurent. Only her unspoken addition was 'you ass' instead of 'you idiot.' SHE TOTALLY LOVES YOU, VALENTIN. Really. "Why didn't you?" Ass. That she loves very much, but still an ass.
"If my darling sister," he gave a half-bow to the girl, "had deigned to come down for breakfast, I would have." He shrugged, holding out his hands in a helpless sort of gesture. "Instead, it seems she had made other arrangements. Which I didn't learn about until after the pair of you had already gone, of course."
The beauty of it was that it was all true. He had rescinded the orders after waking in the morning, and had intended to tell Adelle at breakfast. When she didn't appear, he thought it best to leave her alone for the time being, if she was that upset with him. The matter was completely out of his mind, until someone mentioned to him that his sister and cousin had left, acting rather strangely as they did so.
He looked to Laurent, still smiling. "It does warm my heart to see you so dedicated to the cause of keeping Adelle happy, cousin."
Of course he had. Because that was what a brother would do! Any sane person would have bothered to tell his sister "oh, by the way, you can leave safely now" as soon as the orders were lifted, not attempting to save it for some special meal and act as though they were doing the other person some great, fabulous favor out of the goodness of their heart. Valentin, however, was clearly not sane. Valentin seemed determined, constantly, to mess with everyone's heads and drive them all to the brink of madness.
Laurent had just about enough of that. He had been putting up with this for what felt like centuries now, and Valentin had shown no sign of improvement or making any effort to change whatsoever. He was frustrated, he was angry, and, mostly importantly, right now, his hatred for his cousin seemed to eclipse everything else. Nothing else seemed to matter, not that his hands were clenching into fists or the fact that he had apparently raised one of them and lashed out and was now hitting his cousin, the heir to the Vaux family name, in the jaw. It lacked any sort of form or finesse, and he missed his original target entirely (he vaguely recalled having a passing thought of attempting to blacken Valentin's eye), but even an untrained man could throw a punch once they had hit their breaking point. It was a miracle he hadn't reached this point sooner.
"What in Cita's name is wrong with you?!" he demanded as he pulled back, glaring at him all the while. "Do you enjoy playing games with the people who care about you? Is that it?"
Adelle's first reaction was to gasp in surprise, her hand flying to cover her mouth, eyes wide as her brother fell to the ground. Laurent had always been one about propriety - the right and proper way to do this, the right and proper way to do that - when it came to Valentin that she never expected her cousin to deck her brother. Next came short choked laughter from her, partly out of shock and partly out of actual amusement. She supposed this was probably the last straw for her cousin.
She lowered her hand to her side and started giggling a little before golf clapping clapping slowly and softly. "Good job, cousin," she said admiringly even as she walked over to kneel and check on her fallen brother.
"You deserved it," she told Valentin frankly, an amused smile on her lips, "but are you all right?" To her credit, she did look a little concerned.
Later, he would admit to himself that the punch was a long time coming. Maybe, later, he would laugh and applaud Laurent for finally doing something that he obviously had wanted to do for some time.
But now, fallen to the ground and clutching his jaw, still dizzy with the force of the blow, Valentin was feeling less than magnanimous.
He only acknowledged Adelle enough to wave her off, as he returned his cousin's glare with an equally poisonous look. He would rise to his feet on his own, thank you very much, as unsteady a stance as that might be.
"Don't--" Valentin paused, frowning, and took a handkerchief from his pocket, to spit bloody saliva into it. He let it fall to the floor then, which he followed by taking one unsteady step, and then another towards his cousin.
In the back of his mind, he wondered if Laurent was angry enough, or stupid enough, to pull out his blade.
Valentin's smile was decidedly unpleasant, further marred by the blood in his mouth, and the fact that it didn't reach his eyes.
"Don't be an idiot, cousin," he said, wincing as he spoke. For a man with hate in his eyes, Valentin's tone was surprisingly light. "But that might be asking too much of you." And like that, his smile disappeared. "I don't like you nearly enough to let you do things like this."
Fortunately, Laurent had enough sense to leave his sword in it's sheath. In the end, it wouldn't be worth it. He certainly wouldn't get any satisfaction out of it, and the thought of stabbing his cousin had never once appealed to him. If he was going draw his cousin's blood, he wanted it to be with his own hands. Using steel felt so impersonal for something like that. That, and there was a little matter of the blood that would stain the floors and the carpets and Cita only knew what else. He heard it was quite the pain to get out.
"What are you going to do?" he demanded, staring at Valentin with a look that could only be described as a cross between amusement and pure hatred. "Are you going to tell Uncle what a horrible person I am? Demand he kick me out?" Not that it would do his cousin much good, in the end. "Don't forget, dear cousin, Uncle loves me. If anything, he'll ask me why I didn't do it sooner." What would he do? Ah, well, the consequences didn't matter. He was almost happy he had done it. "So, go ahead. There's nothing you could do to me that you haven't all ready."
sdfsklfkjslfsdfjs CITA DAMN YOU BOTH most accurately described Adelle's feelings.
Adelle stared in shock at the exchange between Valentin and Laurent. A part of her told her she shouldn't be surprised, but she was. She honestly, truly was, and seeing the hate displayed between the two of them cut her deeply. What were they saying what were they doing what were they saying what were they doing what what what just what. Why did they have to be that way?
She took a deep breath, almost choking on her anger and hurt. Still kneeling on the floor, she shook, trying to contain her emotions. She cared and loved them both dearly, and they cared for her, too, she knew, so why was it so hard for them to like each other? They weren't her father and her brother, but this was too reminiscent of those fights to not dig up all her past and current hurts.
In quick succession, she whipped out her fan and threw it in between the two men with all the force she could muster, and she rose angrily to her feet, her skirts rustling noisily at the sudden movement. "Stop it!" she cried. "Stop it stop it stop it!" She wiped furiously at the tears gathering and falling from her eyes. "What are you two doing? What are you doing!" Her voice was bordering on shrill, if not hysterical. "Stop it right now! We're family." And that should matter.
She wasn't naive. She knew they didn't get along everyday most days, and she knew they weren't going to have happy love peace times, knew the Vaux were far from that and couldn't touch it, but she just could not take this vitriol. She just couldn't.
Valentin didn't hesitate to turn away from Laurent at his sister's outburst. Perhaps, were it someone else, that would be a mistake, but he was willing to take that risk with Laurent at this moment.
There would be plenty of time for threats and arguing with his cousin later.
All of Valentin's attention was for his sister now.
He moved to her side quickly. Perhaps placing himself between Adelle and Laurent was purposeful, and perhaps it was an unconscious reaction. Gingerly -- strange in a man who never seemed to feel the need to be cautious of anything -- he reached out to place his hands on Adelle's shoulders.
He opened his mouth to speak, and found he was at a loss for words. Another strangeness. In the back of his mind, harsh invective directed at his cousin, at his father, still swirled, but that would win him nothing here.
He couldn't bring himself to tell her that it would be alright, after all.
"Calm down." It was a command, yes, but it was as soft and gentle a one as could be asked for.
For one brief moment, Laurent almost wished Valentin had the opportunity to say something. But before he even knew what had happened, Adelle launched one of her fans at them and was on the verge of tears and the reality of what he had just done and said came crashing down around him all at once. He was hardly sorry he had punched Valentin; in fact, as far as he was concerned, Valentin deserved it. However, it wasn't something he would have done under normal circumstances.
And all of that was completely insignificant now that Adelle was in tears. What could he do or say that Valentin wasn't doing all right? He supposed he could have apologized, but Valentin would never have accepted it, especially not when they both knew Laurent wouldn't mean it in the first place. But he could apologize to her and it would still be all right, wouldn't it? After all, he had never meant to upset her of all people.
"Adelle, I---" He what? He hadn't meant for it to go this far? He hadn't meant to upset her. "I didn't---" How hard was it to just say something?! He had no problem being an idiot before! "Forgive me, please. I didn't mean for it to go this far." That much was true. He hadn't, but, then again, that seemed to be inevitable the longer he was around Valentin, didn't it... "I'm sure Valentin feels the same." Valentin did adore his sister, after all. Regardless of how ridiculous he could be, he wouldn't intentionally upset her, would he?
Her hands frantically and continuously swiped at her tears. Her face was turning red and blotchy even as she tried to keep her quiet sobs to a minimum. When her brother appeared blurry in front of her, she rubbed at her eyes more insistently.
"I don't want to calm down!" she snapped, her anger ruined somewhat by her sniffling. "You two- You two-- I love you both, and you two--" She was practically blubbering and was an unsightly mess, and it was undignified, and-- She made a noise, something in between a sob and frustrated whine.
She stepped away from Valentin's hands and maneuvered herself so she could see them both. Having given up wiping away her tears, she clutched her skirt tightly in both of her hands. "Do you really mean that?" she said, addressing Laurent's words. He better mean it. They better mean it. They had to mean it. "I-I mean, I know you two don't see eye to eye, b-but..." Can't you just not fight that way? Be more reasonable? Something? Anything that didn't mean her seeing her family disintegrate before her eyes.
Valentin took a step away as Adelle stepped around him, folded his hands behind his back, and turned to look to Laurent at his sister's question.
"I think, Adelle," he said quietly, still watching the other man, seeming almost wary, "that our cousin is sincere enough." After all, this couldn't be the first time Laurent had wanted to punch him, and he now had no doubt that it would happen again. Sooner or later.
Laurent, it seemed, did not half all the virtuous self-control that he seemed to.
"Of course we mean it." The moment the punch had been thrown, he had even forgotten she was there at all. If he had remembered or had been able to see through the blind rage, he never would have done it in the first place. "He might not say so, but I'm certain he feels the same." Valentin saying Laurent was sincere was probably the closest the other man would come to ever agreeing with him in the first place. He supposed he'd simply have to accept that.
Although, speaking of his cousin... Adelle would expect some sort of apology for Valentin next, but what exactly did one say when you knew the other wouldn't believe anything that came out of your mouth? He paused for a moment, considering carefully before turning to look at Valentin. "Valentin, I'm not sorry I hit you, and I'm not going to apologize for it." The other man would never believe him even if he did, and they both knew it. "However, this should never have happened in the first place. I am sorry about that, but nothing more."
She narrowed her eyes slightly at Valentin. Her crying had stopped, and she had a stronger hold on her mental faculties. She heard what her brother was saying and what he wasn't saying. CDIWAYLT
Letting out a small sigh, she released her hold on her skirt and not even daring to look down at the creases her grip caused. That apology from Laurent was also pretty circular. They were trying to appease her now, and she knew it and should be glad for it, but that didn't solve anything. Was this even something that could be solved? Both of them were stubborn and would not likely budge any time soon.
Adelle huffed in irritation and crossed her arms. "Okay, you're forgiven." Was she speaking to one of them? Both of them? She'd let them decide. It wouldn't be good to drag this out anyway. "But only if you give a hug and kiss."
She waited a long beat or two before smiling slyly and slowly holding out her arms. "For me."
Dear Adelle, stop cockblocking the hawt hawt boylovin'. No love, nonexistant crack fandom
Any response Valentin could think to give to his cousin's psuedo-apology would only aggravate the situation further. He supposed he should appreciate that Laurent wasn't outright lying, at the very least.
Adelle seemed to be the crux of the matter now, and so her calming down somewhat was a welcome bit of relief. The sooner this was done with, the sooner he could leave the house altogether. If truth were to be told Valentin doubted the sincerity of her forgiveness, and suspected she simply wanted out of the situation as soon as possible as well.
Perhaps later he would apologize properly to his sister.
For now, he would humour her.
"We'll talk more later," he told her quietly as he pulled her into a hug, and kissed her lightly on the forehead. He winced a bit. The adrenaline had faded, and suddenly his jaw was hurting quite a bit more than it had been. Best to get out of here before too long.
She forgave them, so she said. Laurent wasn't entirely certain he believed that just as he was certain Valentin didn't completely believe the words that had come out of his own mouth. However, Adelle seemed appeased, at least. Valentin would have to accept that, and if he chose to confront him about it later, so be it, though he doubted he would in the first place. If he knew Valentin, the other man would attempt to avoid him after this, and Laurent was completely intending to do the same.
He waited for Valentin to move before he gave Adelle a little squeeze and a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry I upset you." That much was true, at least, and he would be apologizing for that for days after the fact.
They were mostly right; Adelle hadn't truly forgiven them yet. She was just tired of the tension and wanted it to diffuse.
Accepting the hug and kiss from each of them graciously (not like she didn't practically order it), she gave them a dazzling smile. "Will we have dinner together tonight?"
Forget that she just had her hissy fit and skipped going down for breakfast earlier that day. That was besides the point, and she felt her actions justified. Asking them to have dinner together would be part of her punishment for them while she acted normal and sweet and smiled at them as if she had razor sharp teeth. If they avoided or declined, she would just have to find other ways to make them regret it.
"I'm afraid," Valentin said slowly, wary of upsetting his sister further, "that I'm not feeling well enough for dinner this evening." He rubbed at his jaw, doing his best to look apologetic. At any other time he would have sat through the dinner as she had all but commanded, but for now his best options would be lying down and a glass of wine, he felt. "I am sorry, Adelle."
Let her force him and Laurent to play nice together another day. He didn't think his patience would win out in this state, and could only imagine things getting worse over dinner. "Another evening, I promise."
It was funny how things worked out sometimes, especially when he had been almost certain Valentin would accept Adelle's dinner invitation if only to caution her away from his apparently volatile cousin. Not that Laurent would have blamed him after what had just transpired, but the fact that Valentin was all but running away from the sister he claimed to adore was a bit amusing.
"If that's what you'd like, Adelle." Far be it for him to deny Adelle this, especially when it was such a simple request. Besides which, he almost feared what she would do to them both if they refused. Such was this family, he supposed.
Ohhhhhh, Valentin, way to make your sister like Laurent more than you today.
To say that there was fire or lasers coming from her eyes at Valentin's response would not be wrong. She wasn't even trying to hide her extreme displeasure at her brother. "Fine!" she snapped, sounding every bit the fierce, spiteful teenage girl that she was. "Be that way!"
She tried to shake her outrage off, abruptly rolling her shoulders. She turned to giver her sweetest smile to Laurent. "Thank you, cousin. I knew could count on you~"
There was really no outcome, as far as Valentin could tell, where Adelle would ever like him more than she liked Laurent today. At least, not one that didn't involve Laurent punching him in the face again.
He would rather make it up to her later when she was less out of sorts, than spend an awkward dinner with the pair tonight, wondering what next he would say to make his cousin leap over the table at him with a steak knife in hand.
He resisted the urge to respond to his sister's antics. If she didn't understand that he was, for once in his life, trying to avoid further trouble, there was nothing really to be done for that.
He turned, and began walking away, retreating to his own rooms. "Good evening Adelle, Laurent. I do hope you enjoy your dinner together."
If Laurent knew exactly what his cousin had been thinking, he would have been absolutely horrified. The fact that he had hit him was bad enough, but the idea of just lunging at him with a knife... he would have to talk to someone, anyone, once the possibility of that occurred to him.
For now, however, he drew an arm around Adelle's shoulders and started to lead her off. No need to dwell on the horrible things now, not when the main antagonist of the night was off doing Cita only knew what. Whatever it was, however, Laurent didn't care. "Don't worry about him, Adelle. I'm sure he'll be fine" Never mind that she'd probably worry about him the whole night. He'd just have to take her mind off that. "Let's ask the kitchen staff to make us something nice tonight, hmm? What do you think?"
Adelle was too selfish and shortsighted to think beyond the fact that the dinner would have been more pain for the two men at first. Watching Valentin walk off, her expression could only be described as a glower.
She let Laurent lead her away, furious thoughts running across her mind. Before recently, she could hardly remember that many times where her brother had refused any of her requests outright. But now... She did not like this at all.
Though she barely registered what Laurent was saying, she nodded. "Yes, of course. That sounds good." What also sounded good, she determined, was plotting her brother's misery.