[IM log, ICly taking place on Dec. 9th]
Otto: Another day goes by, and there's no answer at Lorne's office door. Odd. Otto's no great expert at these things, but there's no sign that anyone's been here at all. Curious, he seeks out Lorne's room.
Narrator: Even more curious, since Lorne's particular about his me time, the door to his very own, private little off-work room is slightly ajar. Furthermore, there's no music on. Not even the tiniest little sound coming from inside.
Otto: That's... not good. He knocks at the door. "Lorne?" Knock knock. "Are you here?"
Narrator: No answer. The door hinges creak, but that's the only sound. Were Otto to look inside, he'd see nothing out of the ordinary but an unmade bed. But...it's Lorne. There being no record in the record player is far more out of the ordinary. Way out.
Otto: More than a little curious, Otto slips inside. He checks the bed at least, is it warm? ...No. No one's been here for a while.
Narrator: Common logic says something happened. Doesn't say what, though, and isn't that the worst part... The mind, imagination, so ready to envision the worst case scenario. But surely, a guy like Lorne never goes without his cell phone.
Otto: His cell phone... which is on the floor by the bed. Oh this is NOT helping the worst case scenario thing. Otto bends down and picks it up, sinking onto the bed. ...He fiddles with it for a moment to bring up the call log. When was the last time Lorne used it?
(Silly) Narrator: Friday, around noon. Dun dun dun.
Otto: Aaand it is now Monday. Oh no. Oh no oh no. Otto stands, casts about uselessly for another moment, and then heads for the door.
Olde Portraite: There's someone clearing their throat right outside. One of the portraits, nodding her head in a crooked, odd *come overe here, then* gesture.
Otto: Otto certainly looks like he could use guidance. "Lorne. You haff seen him? Vat happened?"
Olde Portraite: "He got himself out of there and into the medical wing, son. I've never seen him like that, I've not, no. I swear someone's plucked those red things right off his head, poor fellow." The old woman shrugs lopsidedly. She's a very old painting, of a very old woman. "Old General McIntyre tells me the English teacher helped him over by the staff bathroom. Popped him right over where he ought to be, the sweetie. But that was, oh, *days* ago. At least one day ago. Or two." Nod. Nod.
Otto: O__O "Sankyou!" Aaaand how fast /can/ a vampire run? ...Very fast, apparently.
Olde Portraite: Well, he's a *vampire*! Duh. The painting's left behind, muttering something about weird, incomprehensible accents and no running in the hallways. But he does reach the medical wing very fast-like. Though, there doesn't seem to be any familiar faces there. Just some guy dozing on that bed over there. >_>
Otto: Damn! Maybe they had him in a private room? Otto pokes around, getting more frantic. The guy in the bed isn't familiar... "Excuse me? Have you seen a very friendly green fellow in here?"
Otto: Er, Otto may actually still be holding Lorne's phone.
Lorne: The stranger-fellow slowly blinks his eyes open - dark brown, for the record - and promptly stares, mouth slightly open. "Aw, fudge, no!" This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen! This shouldn't be happening! He should've been turned back by now and no one need be any the wiser! Exclamation mark! "Don't look, okay, just forget you ever saw me like this, I'll be fine in a few days, I *swear*!" A beat, and a slight little cringe. "I'm sorry, pumpkin?" Crap! CRAP! PEAS and GODDAMNED *RICE*.
Otto: So here's the moment where Otto replies casually, putting Lorne's fears to rest with a smile. Aaand there goes the moment. And the next. The only sound coming from Otto's portion of the room is a clatter as Lorne's phone hits the floor. Speechless isn't a state Otto experiences often. Now, he's completely flabbergasted.
Lorne: His worst fears come true, with a great big bang, Lorne averts his eyes, just as speechless as Toto. Crossing his arms, he hugs himself oh-so-sneakily, and wishes he could sink through the bed and the floor and hide away until this passes; someplace dark and warm where no one can find him.
The longer the silence stretches out between them, the hotter he blushes from the embarrassment and distinct sensation of shame you only get when you *know* you should've known better. And just when his heart was quieting down, it goes into a roaring stampede Nerves got nothing on this. This is Lorne very silently panicking. "Please don't look at me like that. It's just a LOL. It'll pass."
Otto: "Are you alright?" He can HEAR Lorne's heart.
Lorne: "Oh, I'm *fine*. I'm super, thanks for asking." He wants to just hide under the blanket, but that would be too easy. He sighs, shaking his head. There's no escaping this. "I'm sorry."
Otto: Well. There's only one thing to do. Otto walks over to the side of the bed and wraps Lorne up in a tight hug. This might not be the best idea, but it's definitely the one thing they both really need right now.
"You...veren't in your office." Yes, Otto, obviously.
Lorne: Oh, it *is* the best idea. It's the best idea since *gospel*. Lorne clings to his friend, pressing his ear to his chest, where, blissfully, he can't hear a thing. To think the lack of a heartbeat could be soothing for anyone. But it is, for Lorne. "I didn't mean to scare you, Toto. I promise. I wanted it to be something I could waltz into your office come Monday and tell you all about over a cup of cocoa, have a laugh or three... I'm so sorry."
Otto: "Hush now, it's hardly your fault vat happened! I vas afraid you'd been snatched or somesing. Zey are keepink you in zer hospital?" Most of the LOLs the kids would get were inconvenient or silly, but nothing that would keep them bedridden. In his concern, Otto may try to glean information from Lorne's thoughts, just to be sure.
Lorne: Lorne relaxes, listening to nothing but the rustling of Toto's clothes. Should he lie? Even by omission? He closes his eyes with a sigh. "I'm free to go when I'm ready. Nurse Branigan wants me to check back in if it hasn't gone away in a few days."
So why is he here? Very simple. He's hiding, afraid of facing the people he cares about for fear of, well...hurting them. For fear of seeming weak. For fear of scaring people. Most of all, he's hiding from Otto. But now that he's here? Lorne hasn't got the faintest clue why he wanted to deal with this alone. His mind is an open book.
Otto: Not yet aware of what he's doing, Otto understands little more than that Lorne is alright. The sheepishness he can surely read in his friend's face and body language. "Ah, listen to you. You'd sink zat you looked terrible or somesing! Ve must get you a proper breakfast. Villiam never has his vits until he's had his egg."
Lorne: "Well, how am I supposed to feel after your grand entrance, Mister!" He chuckles, patting Toto's back. He hasn't moved away yet, however, and chances are he won't, unless prompted to let go. "You didn't even recognize me, did you?" In spite of this question, his heartrate's going down, comforted by Otto's close proximity.
Otto: "You'd be surprised zer difference zer color scheme makes!" To be pink all over, instead of green! Otto looks down in amazement...at the curve of Lorne's neck. Oh my. He steps back a bit abruptly, turning the motion into a swoop to pick up Lorne's phone before smiling again.
"Vy don't ve get you back to your room. Zen you can get tidied up a bit and I vill bring you breakfast?"
Lorne: Lorne tilts his head, quirking his eyebrows, the real, actual, dark brown eyebrows, and he can't help but beam. "Why, Toto. Are you offering to cook for me?" :3
But he does neaten his robe about him and nod. "Sounds like a mighty fine idea. Lemme just tell the good nurse I'm heading out." ...and as it turns out, walking is still a bit wobbly, if only because it just doesn't feel like *his* legs. Stupid Human anatomy.
Otto: "I am offerink to fetch for you. I do not zink zer House Elves vould let me, even if I had a skill for it." He takes Lorne's arm. Gah, still tall as a tree, this one!
"Vill you be able to get back on your own or should I valk vit you?"
Lorne: Tall as a very small tree, at any rate. Lorne pats his friends not quite so small hand with a smile. "You go on. It should give me time enough to freshen up before you join me, and believe you me, we'll both be much happier for it."
And Otto doesn't need to be there for any horrified screams coming from the bathroom. >_> There's a very good reason Lorne's avoided shaving for the past two days. Fear. Plain, simple fear of the unknown, the silly demon.
Otto: So Otto is short. Shush. He'll help Lorne along until their paths fork and he must go down toward the kitchen. "Be careful, yes?" And yes he sounds like a mother hen. He knows. HE IS CONCERNED!
And then it's off to the kitchen to charm wheedle and harangue (in the respective cases of Winken Blinkenne and Nodde) breakfast for one and coffee for two.
Lorne: Meanwhile, Lorne makes it back to his room, lays out a plain (boring) outfit that won't clash too horribly with his skintone, gets all his basic necessities, and once again heads for the staff bathroom, hoping it's unoccupied. Once there, he reassures the poor mirror he's fine, and goes about that...cleaning business. Which involves taking off clothes. Oh, dear. This isn't fun. At least once he's in the bath tub, he doesn't have to see *all* of himself for all the suds. His feet are too small, his knees too bony and-- Let's just skip *that* section entirely. Chest weird, ribcage weird, *nipples*, which he doesn't at all mind on others, but...yeah.
And once he's squeaky clean and dried off and somewhat decent, he's only got the worst part left. Shaving. Ugh.
...and the worst part of it? He doesn't look all that different. Not the way he thought he would.
Otto: When Lorne emerges, he'll find a cup of coffee on his bedside table, with a note in Otto's quick, elegant hand: The rest is in your office.
Lorne: *Well*... That's so...so... Words fail, but there are smiles, big ones. He gets dressed, has some coffee, indulges just a little teeny bit in taking his time. Just because he doesn't look like himself, he wouldn't want to look anything but his best. If he says so, himself, the dark green shirt suits him just fine, even with the black pinstripes. Black slacks. Dark, red brown suspenders (because he's way ahead of the fashion trends; waaay ahead). Once he's done, he carefully folds the note, and slides it into his left chest pocket, patting it softly. Why not indulge in good ol' eccentricity while you're at it? For luck's sake.
Then, he sets off, heading to his office. Once there, he knocks on the door, because, well, you never know what Toto's up to. And besides, barging in is so *rude*. "It's me, sugar pie. Can I come in?"
Otto: "Into your own office! I should hope so! I vas startink to vonder if I vould haff to come up after you," Otto teases. He's sitting in his usual chair, and there's a silver tray on Lorne's desk, but stands as Lorne comes in.
"Now I am /certain/ zat it is you! You look vunderful." He lifts the lid to reveal eggs benedict, apple sauce and home fries. The elves apparently do not always agree about what should go into a meal.
Lorne: "Charmer," he says, faux reproachfully, only blushing just a little bit, but damn his complexion, it shows but too well. "Keep it up and you'll spoil me rotten before long."
He walks inside, coming to a slow stop beside his friend as he lays his hand on his arm and leans down (oh, not all that much, really), to give Otto a kiss on the temple. "Mmm, my favorite."
Otto: "Perhaps, but if so it is only right. Vun is alvays obliged to meet the level of vun's companion." He's got himself a mug of that delightful cocoa of Lorne's and is all in all radiating amused happiness.
"So tell me how it is that you've managed such a transformation?"
Lorne: How come the word 'companion' sounds so goddamn good, one might wonder. Maybe it's the way Otto says it, or the way he looks at Lorne that has the LOLed fellow smiling wider, taking a seat on the edge of the desk and picks up the plate. Tentatively, he tries one of the fries, just giving Otto a look at his silly little question. Not too bad.
"Either someone spiked my gin, or I spoke a magic word in front of the vanity, Friday night... Maybe it was just something in the air. I really don't know." The fries are actually quite good with the apple sauce. Strange, Human taste buds. "You know what the single most offensive thing about this entire thing is?" :3
Otto: "Oh I have an excellent guess, but I vant to hear you say it." Otto quirks an mischevious eyebrow at Lorne over the rim of his mug. He'd missed this. It had only been a few days, but he had.
Lorne: "You have such a dirty little mind, old man. I like it." He grins now, eyes all a-twinkle, waving one of the fries about like a teeny tiny extension of his already long finger.
"Here I always thought my fangs were a little something something worth the name, and *now* look at me. They're the one thing in this mess that hasn't changed one bit. And they look perfectly normal. They're not fangs. They're just *pointy teeth*. I'm a demon with pointy teeth. Only, you know...not so much *mon* to the *de* anymore. My male pride, it is wounded. Deeply." How he can point this fact out with a grin, no one knows. He just feels real good around Toto. He always does, now, but *now* it's sort of amplified, for some reason. It feels *real* nice to be around his very special friend.
Otto: Dirty little mind? Oh THAT makes Otto's eyebrows shoot up. "And here I thought it vas goink to be somesink about your vardrobe," he says mildly, placing his cup down on the desk with terrible dignity.
"Your male pride is vounded because your pointy teeth are somehow inherent to zer Lorne-ness that is Lorne?"
Lorne: "Well..." he drawls, shrugging. "It's silly, really. It's one of the few things I can't change to set myself apart, and I'd kind of started taking pride in them. Like my horns. I can't change those either, so I don't... and they're nice assets to have as a demon. I don't like the idea of looking like a Human with a lot of special effects make up on, you know."
Otto: "Vell most of zese LOLs last only a day or two. And for somevun who has been through so much to be just perfectly himself, I'm alarmed to hear zat you may have changed anysing! Vat is it that you vould change about yourself?"
Lorne: "I shave every morning, I get my hair cut on a regular basis, I find new and exciting ways to mix and match my outfits..." he shrugs, again, because it is silly, and it's just a bit awkward, trying to explain what goes on inside his head.
"I try every day to very subtly enhance what I do have," he gestures at his face, and my if the floor isn't looking more and more interesting. "To make myself look my best, smell my best, be my most witty, charming self, I...change myself every day, or I won't be *me*."
Whyyyy does he feel like apologizing? And for what? For not walking around looking like a hillbilly wearing armor and a load of furs from the beasts he's supposedly slain? ...yeah, pretty much.
Otto: "Lorne, do not be sorry," Otto says in a voice like a caress. "Zere is nothink to be ashamed of, vat you say makes sense. Ve cannot escape vat ve are, and yet zat is exactly vat ve know ve must do. Forced to be so self-conscious at all times I should not be surprised zat a different body vould be so jarrink, but... perhaps zis is your opportunity to really relax?"
Lorne: *Thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud* goes his heart, and for the first time since coming to live on planet earth does he *get* why people sometimes feel like loosening their collar. It's as if his heart's trying to migrate up his throat and his collar's in the way; it's getting warm in here, and Toto is all to blame. Lorne sets aside the plate, and the moment he's done so he wishes he hadn't, because what to do with his hands NOW?
"You're such a darling beau, I don't know what to do with myself." He chuckles, yes, self-consciously, feeling very much like sitting on his hands to just keep them from moving around. "And you're right, you're really, very right. If I just get through this awkward phase before it's over..." Ha-hah hah. Ahem.
Otto: The heartbeat thing is distracting in a good way. A bit restless, Otto stands and goes to the window. It's a bit more bright than he's really comfortable with, but a little sunlight is good for people. "Vat can ve do to get you comfortable again?"
Lorne: "I...don't know." He really doesn't, but he does know what he's missed all weekend, apart from Otto's lovely smile. Music. "Why don't I put something on, a record, something rockin'." And he does. Some Christmas music, courtesy of good, ol' Nat King Cole.
Otto: "Better already!" But Lorne's self-consciousness is still painful to see. "My friend," he says, putting a hand on Lorne's shoulder. "You look fine. You are still the wonderful person who's been keeping this place together, no matter what everyone gets up to."
Lorne: Lorne ducks his head, grinning, and turns to face his friend. Hesitantly, he lifts his hand to run his fingers through Otto's hair - it feels just as nice as he thought it would, even with not-his-hand.
"You know what I love about you?" The grin takes on an impish quality. "Your accent...and the way it's so closely linked to your happy self, the moment you go serious on me, it fades away..." <3 "Makes me think I get to see a side of you no one else does..."
Otto: More and more forward all the time! Otto stays still and smiles and closes his eyes. "Vell. You do."
Which is all well and good for a demon, but the reality of the current situation comes crashing down as Otto opens his eyes. And sees Lorne's wrist. Right there by his face. And for a second he can /see/ the veins just below the skin, almost taste the swift pounding that suddenly seems to be the only sound worth hearing.
He jerks back violently and takes a few long strides toward the door before pausing, panting.
Lorne: As violent as Otto's reaction is, Lorne's doesn't come close. He freezes, hand hanging shakily in the air as he stares at his friend. He has absolutely no idea what just happened. Oh, he has an *idea* or two, but it's one he'd rather not jump to, as bad, bad conclusions go. "Toto?"
He clears his throat, taking one or two steps forward as the sudden bout of shock wears off and he gets his wits back. Kinda. "I think I gotta work on my timing, because from where I'm standing, it keeps getting worse. You okay, poptart?"
Otto: "SIT DOWN!" ...That was /not/ a request, even with the "please" that comes after it. Oh gods and monsters, he's got to get out of here.
Lorne: Two jolts in one night, now, that's quite enough for Lorne. He more or less stumbles into one of the armchairs in his chatting corner, but the moment he's done it, his demeanor changes from shock to not-liking-this-one-bit-no-Sirree-Bubba. "Now, listen here, sweetcheeks, you don't get to tell me what to do in my own office! Now what the Hell is going on here?"
Say what you will about Lorne, but he won't back down from telling you what's what. Though, to be fair, he's still not completely on the clear what's happening. But...to be absolutely, positively honest, he'd probably have just as much balls and guts and whathaveyous if he knew exactly what was going on. He might even be flattered. Concerned, but flattered.
Otto: It starts before Lorne is even done talking: a strained, under-the-breath sort of singing. Something about not being a stupid sucker. Somewhat muffled due to the hand in his mouth. Gotta bite /something/.
"S-sorry. But I am not... you shouldn't be... not now. Vy is this happening /now/?"
Lorne: Okay, this is just...very Twilight Zone, for some reason. "Toto. Otto, look at me." Going from demanding to somewhat more placating, wanting to understand just as much as plain knowing what's up. "Tell me what's going on. This is me, here. Talk to me."
Otto: Otto moves back into the room, but not to approach Lorne or, despite the request, look at him. Instead he makes a beeline for his cocoa. Which is lukewarm at best now, damnit.
"You're /human/ now, Lorne. I guess...I forgot vat zat means. Heh. So stupid off me."
Lorne: Slowly, realization comes to him, in the visually telling shape of a whiter shade of pale. "Oh." He looks down at his hands on his knees, thinking it through. It's kind of disturbing, in a way, to begin with. But, and here's the thing, the more he thinks about it, the more torn he is between feeling guilty he's posing such a temptation to his friend, and being *flattered*. Told you so. For him to be so relaxed in Lorne's presence, he doesn't constantly obsess about keeping his instincts at bay (though that may have had something to do with Lorne being a demon, and therefor not a noteworthy dish on the smorgasbord), that's a big big thing. And the weirdest thing of all is, the thought doesn't scare him.
"Look at me, Otto." Oh, yes, he'll push the issue. "It's not your fault, honey. It's not my fault, it's not anyone's fault. We're just...unprepared. Saying that this," he gestures at himself. "caught us unawares is the biggest understatement of the year. It's *okay*. Now we deal with this."
Otto: This is the difference between home and Nexus. The thing that makes Lorne different from anyone else Otto knows. "You know, my friend, back home zere is a term for people who are not afraid of being... of being eaten." And finally he does turn and look at Lorne, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Zer term is 'crazy.'"
Lorne: There's a term for that kind of insanity, here in meta land, where things are sometimes spoken that have very little chance of ever being said otherwise. 'Trust'. Now, Lorne's fully aware trust can be mighty dangerous, but he's of that particular school of thought where trusting someone doesn't make you stupid. "Well...I guess that depends on what kind of semantics you prefer." Because you know there's eating, and then there's *eating*. "Just so we're clear, I am not, have never been, nor will I ever be into vore. But I'm not afraid, no. We're both fine, able-minded gentlemen. There's no doubt in my mind we can work this out."
Otto: Otto's eyes take on about ten more shades of concern. "...Zere is nothink to vork out. I am on zer vagon, you have nothing to fear from me. ...Now that I am not being such an idiot as to forget zat you might." ^__^;
"Thank you for beink so understanding. I vill never willingly hurt you."
Lorne: His eyebrows relax, and he smiles wryly, looking at Toto with all the affection in the world. "I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about the fact you're all the way over there and I'm over here, and I don't want to surprise you like that, catch you off guard because we're both used to a certain kind of stretching boundaries. And for the record, the vore comment? It was a very, very bad joke. I was *trying* to make you smile. Go me."
Otto: Oh Lorne. Talk about knowing what to say. And it's not even that the words were perfect, it was the honest understanding under them that was utterly disarming.
"All zer same," he says softly, holding his cup, "I vill just go get some fresh. Valk it off, you know?"
Lorne: "Go on, get some." He winks. "I won't be going anywhere." He stands up, but doesn't push it by moving closer. He just shoves his hands into his pockets, shuffling his feet.
"For the record, you'll always be the cuddliest vampire around. Don't go thinking this changes that." :3
Otto: "Vell I suppose there's somesink to be said for having such faith put in vun." Which is the verbal equivalent of :P
He'll be gone a few minutes. Cocoa and a little thunking of the head against the wall are necessary.
Lorne: Lorne watches him go, then does the exact opposite of what he said he'd do. He dashes back to his own room and changes into something a little bit different. Something he hopes might make Toto smile. A turtleneck. Dark blue, to go with the suspenders. Then he dashes right back, grabs his cup of coffee and sits back down. He's totally, COMPLETELY innocent, don't you know?
Otto: Lorne is a dirty cheat! Otto, meanwhile, does /exactly/ what he'd said he would do, and returns with cocoa, nice and hot... and promptly has to employ EVERY ATOM OF SELF CONTROL IN HIS BODY not to spit it out laughing at Lorne. CHEEKY CHEEKY DEMON! XDDD
Lorne: Lorne, meanwhile, is the PICTURE OF INNOCENCE. He looks up at Otto when he returns, and it doesn't take long before his eyes turn crescent shaped over the rim of his coffee cup and he's grinning. Poor Toto, to be friends with such a devious imp of a guy. This is exactly what he wanted though, for Toto to lighten up a bit and see the bright silver lining of it all.
"There. That's the guy I know." and wub. "Now come on, have a seat before you sprain something, Chuckles." :3
Otto: "You are lucky zat I like zis mug very much or I might haff to throw it at you, you veasel!" And yes, it's a much jauntier vampire who sits down in his usual chair at Lorne's desk. "Vat I do to deserve such cheek I don't know." <3
Lorne: "Ohh, I'm *so* scared." He grins, and it just keeps getting brighter. "This is better. It's nice. More like normal, hm?" Because isn't that what they need a little bit of, right now? Normalcy, in all its mundane glory.
Otto: "Vell if you are happy, darling, zat's the important thing." Again with the verbal equivalent of :P . "So I vas sinking, ve should set up a camera on your desk so zat ve can compile a schoolsfull of stunned expressions ven zey valk in and get a load of zer new you."
Lorne: Darling? 'Darling'? Lorne blinks, momentarily taken aback. Huh. Well, if that ain't new, nothing is, not even his flesh-toned new *visage*. People don't give him pet names, as a rule, but then...Otto's just the guy to break all of them, inn' he.
And then he just *goes there*, and Lorne has no choice but to crack up. "And you accuse *me* of being a cheeky devil! Oh! I like it!" XD
Otto: >__> >:3 "I vill go get a little vun and you can pull it out of your desk real fast and snap! Ve vill have a whole gallery of" silly looking bug-eyed faces like the one he's making right now. Drama's been chased away, and now it is goofy time!
Lorne: "Well, none of'em will ever compare to your face, Mister 'Excuse me have you seen this man, sir?'." Don't tempt him now, or he'll pounce. The urge to be impulsive just comes more and more often, and he can't help himself. He's already planning to somehow find himself and Toto accidentally standing under a twig of mistletoe come Christmas. It's just...one of those traditions he's always been...curious and intrigued by. "Look at us. Aren't we the odd couple."
Otto: We're not quite at pouncing-level of comfort yet. Otto has recovered from the near-incident moments ago, but it'll probably be another day before he's fully at ease again.
"Less odd now... and yet even more. Zen again I do not sink you could be conventional if you tried. Me eizer!"
Lorne: He can't help it. Otto's just..irresistible, that way, sometimes. But he'll play nice, even if he just wants to strut right on over and give him a hug. "Just the way I like it. Convention's so boring in my none too humble opinion. Why stick to the great gray masses when you can be a bucketful of color?" :P
Otto: He likes you too, Lorne. ;)
"You /vill/ keep trying to get me into one of your your highly-saturated ensembles. Zere is nossink wrong vit black and vite, mister! It's classic and alvays elegant. (Also I look even more vashed out ozzervise)." >__>
Lorne: "Oh, no, I *will* keep trying to get you to try out some fizzy vitamin supplement drinks," he sasses right back, only pausing to sip his now cold coffee. Those eggs benedict's starting to look real good, too. He drags the plate over, deciding to get his munch on.
But, just another quip before he does. "This monochromatic gig you got goin' suits you just fine. I'm talking subtle, colorful additions to your black-is-the-new-black, not *Rainbow Brite* bright."
Otto: "Yes mother." And now Lorne gets a :P for real. "Perhaps it vould be for zer best. Somesing to take zer edge off. I haff been told zat zere are many options for vampires in zer nexus, but... I feel my promise is too important. I must not slip, even a little, or zere vill alvays bee zer chance zat I vill not be able to resist ven ze time comes." Like with today!
"Keeping myself in such pleasant company as yours is top priority!"
Lorne: Well, :P right back, cheeky vamp! "Well... You know I respect your choice to go on the wagon. I just worry about you, friends' privilege and all. Forgive me for saying so, Bubba, but you're looking wearier every day."
He drags the plate closer, and starts in on one of the sandwiches. ...okay, this is *good* stuff. Omnomnomnevermindmybadtablemannersomnom.
Lone: "Maybe I should have gotten some sandwiches for myself," he answers dryly. (Not really. Wherever possible, Otto still prefers a liquid diet. Chewing with fangs is a lot less fun for some.)
Stretching a bit, he sits back and just watches Lorne. What? He likes looking at him.
Otto: (Well, since it's been established Lorne's fangs don't even go blip on the grr argh radar... Different fangs for different...gangs? >_>) He swallows - he does have some manners, even when hungry and in the company of the best of friends - and shrugs. "Or maybe you just need someone to take your mind off of it." Which is a perfectly innocent remark, and genuinely concerned, too. "Someone who doesn't continually bring it up like a track stuck on repeat."
Lorne: "Vell I have that already." Hmm, something to fiddle with. This pen'll do. "You know, I must mention zat you are zer only staff member whose office I've visited (who can be said to have one anyway) who has no iconographs or the like. Even the formiddable Snape has a picture of his wife."
Otto: "I know zat your relatives are not vorth mentioning, but such a sveet man should have his friends around him. Do I need to follow you home vun day vit a camera?" ;)
Lorne: Oh, the tease of a vampire! Why does he have to ask that kind of question, now? Lorne ducks his head with an awkward smile, willing himself not to scratch his head, or his cheek, or any other place what might show just how awkward he feels. "Headmaster Snape's wife is a stunner in a whole range of ways; I'd be telling him a thing or two if he didn't have her picture up." He gets up, moving to his cupboard of fixings, and starts up some tea. Mostly because cold coffee isn't on his List of Tasty Treats, and because this way, he can pretend to be busy when answering Toto's question.
Otto: "Very true. Beautiful, but absent more zan present. Her picture is zerefore all zer more precious."
Lorne: "Yeah..." 'Sweet man'. It would take someone like Toto to say that to his face, the darling. "Well, I hardly ever go back to LA these days. You wanna follow me home, you'll follow me all the way to my room." He says it with a smile, and a teasing note to his voice. But Toto's an observant fellow. Damn him.
"I have all the friends I need right here, at the institute."
Otto: "Zen clearly it is my fault for falling down on zer job!" Otto laughs a bit. "How is everyvun?"
Lorne: "I think the spirit of the season's rubbing off on the kiddies enough it's permeating the entire building." He grins, because it's so easy to distract others with - characteristic, hyooge grin for the win. Teateatea, fixing tea. "I tried coaxing Luke to come join me in the winter wonderland outside later, but he's...got a thing against snow. What you say, buddy? You an' me, out there, getting up to snow good?" :P
Otto: "Really? How odd! And I am going to ignore zat pun, for zer sake of your social circle." If Lorne wants to go out and play, you know Otto'll come too. He'll make snow-bats. "Vell you tell Luke he'd better come to the staff party. I vunder if it vill be Captain Hornblower or Harkness who comes."
Lorne: Oh, crabbuckit. He takes this moment to stare resolutely at the little tin container of his vanilla pineapple blend. "I'll drag him over there, if I have to. Boy's gotta learn to allow himself some r n' r every now and then."
What? What's that you said about captains? Like most people do, Lorne chooses to hear only what he wants to, right this moment.
Otto: "He'd better. If it's the latter, a little emotional support might be in order." Oh no, Lorne. You're not getting away so easy.
Lorne: Like he just thought; crabbuckit. Be bop a loser. "Toto, don't." Tea done, he still lingers over here, where he doesn't have to face anyone. Except his own, weird reflection in the tea pot.
Otto: "I'm afraid I already do. I vill not stop worrying, or noticing, or caring. You are vun of my most cherished friends."
Lorne: Tea and vodka it is! He isn't sure why it matters Toto knows, or that he notices, or that he just plain cares enough to do either. It just matters, and it makes his neck itch, makes him want to squirm and tell Otto he shouldn't bring it up because it's wrong. But how to explain such a thing when he doesn't even know why. "Oh, Toto. Why can't you be a heartless brute?"
He does walk over to sit down beside his friend. Still keeping a distance, still no touching. He's just...there.
Otto: Tea and vodka indeed. Otto is not so uptight as to object to Lorne willingly loosening his own tongue when he wants the once-and-future-demon to talk to him. "Because you hate heartless brutes."
Lorne: Not so much willingly loosening anything, thank you very much. This is fortification in a lilac tea cup! He shrugs, looking at the vampire just a tad sheepishly. "I misunderstood a lot of things, and then I made it worse. We haven't talked since."
Otto: "Mmm it seems zat nosink can be simple vere zat man is concerned." Otto sits back, cradling his mug. The warmth feels nice. "Vorse how?"
He sighs. "I'm sorry, I should stop. Somesink in me just hates seeink you, you of all people, get all shut up in zere. It vould be like hearing Villiam tell a lie. Zer man's whole life is dedicated to zer truth."
Lorne: "No, no, it's okay. You *care*, you got a right to poke me about potentially sore subjects." He smiles a small, soft little smile. It's still his smile, the one constant left in his new face, and it does that same turning down at the corners thing when he's reproaching himself without words. "I'm supposed to help, right? He's in a bad place after the four month disappearing act he pulled, and he comes to see me. And I'm supposed to help, and... I didn't."
He takes a good, long look into his spiked tea. "I didn't help him."
Otto: "I do, and I thank you for zer trust." And Otto smiles a little bit in return, trying to be reassuring. "Didn't or couldn't?
Lorne: "I don't know." He glances at his friend. "I was like some giant larwoth demon spewing bile all over the place and I couldn't stop myself, and I can't *believe* I did that."
He brings one hand up to rub at that place between his horns, only to realize they're not there anymore. He twists his wrist in a why bother way and lets it fall back to curl around his cup.
"You think I felt stupid a few months back? Guess how I feel *now*." Torn. Hurt. Still as confused as ever. Angry. Wondering what crawled up his ass and beat his heart into a vindictive mess.
Otto: "Vell... I know I'm not zer vun who sits on ze other side of this here desk but it sounds like you can't help him until you move past vat happened for yourself. Yesterday's headline zat may be, but it's amazing how many people flip right to zer funny pages."
Lorne: "I know." He shrugs, sipping his hot drink, promptly making a face at the taste. No, his tastebuds aren't doing their job, dammit. "I just don't know how." Truth be told, his main problem is being angry at himself for a number of reasons. "And even if I did, I'm not sure he wants my help anymore."
Otto: Yeah not a lot of people put vodka in tea. Otto's taste buds ain't nothing like human, though, so he wouldn't really know. "Just for you, zen. ...So part of me is sayink zat every time you two are alone together it's trouble, but perhaps zat is zer little jealous devil inside." Okay so he's not COMPLETELY a saint!
Lorne: Yeah, he'll just put the tea way now. Ugh. "Toto!" XD Okay, now he's done it. Lorne *grins*. "Jealous devil? In you? *Please*." Oh, he knows a jealous devil who'd wanna get in his pant-- But we're not going there. No, not going there, or anywhere that might kick up the pulse. Come on. "You're just too cute sometimes, you know. And my self discipline isn't top notch.
"So," subject change, on the go! Only kind of a little wee bit. "The staff party. I might as well warn you up front, you find yourself under a mistletoe with *moi*, you can expect to be getting some lovin'. Just so we're clear." O :3
Otto: "Vell. I don't like seeink you so haunted. And...mistletoe vat?" Mistletoe, as far as Otto knows, is a poisonous berry found up high in trees. ...DO YOU CARE TO EDUCATE HIM AT THIS TIME, O LORNE?
Lorne: WHY NATURALLY. HE IS THE HOST...The, uh, COUNSELOR. The charmingest demon around! "It's a harmless, yet perplexing human tradition. You take a twig of mistletoe, and hang it up high in conveniently placed locations, indoors, and when two people happen to bump into each other beneath the twig of inedible plantlife, they exchange a kiss. Or a hug. Or a peck," he taps his chin thoughtfully. "You know, I've never actually participated in a traditional Christmas. I'm just a pop culture encyclopedia." Ahem.
Otto: Otto's initial rebuttal dies unborn as the thing that Lorne said BEFORE the lesson in holiday follies pokes itself to the forefront of the vampire's mind. The result is something like this: O__O due to the internal error which follows: ++?????++ Out of Cheese Error. Redo From Start.
Lorne: No lovin'? Fine by him. He raises his hands with a small smile and a shrug, picking up his cup of coffee. He leans back, crossing his leg at the knees. "Fine. We'll hang at the refreshments table and watch everyone else have fun." ;3
Otto: "...You did catch the part vere I nearly-" Okay, breathe. "Lorne, for the most emotionally observant person in the castle, you /really/ worry me sometimes." Aand now seems like a pertinent time to leave.
Lorne: "Otto!" Time to get his stern voice on. "I'm not planning on staying like this forever, okay? And the staff shindig is what? Two weeks away?" You try telling him otherwise, Mister THNMY. "If you're gonna be avoiding me until this thing goes poof gone, I'm not gonna be a very happy camper." B|
Otto: For someone who was hell-bent on avoiding OTTO up until this morning, that's a fine way to talk! Otto sighs, and just...looks his age. "Alright, Lorne. If you are your old verdant self again, I vill stand under zer mistletoe. But until zat time, no I am afraid I vill not be very much fun."
Lorne: That was different, obviously. Lorne had a Very Good Reason(tm), and Toto doesn't. He's just being silly. And sweet and, and, and Lorne knows he's being a pest but now that Otto knows what happened and it wasn't all that big a deal up until just minutes ago, he just doesn't want him to leave, because he feels like himself even with the weird pink hands.
"I'm sorry. I'm giving you a hard time. Maybe we should just get off our tushes and get to work." He really really doesn't like that look on the vampire's face.
Otto: Human beings always make Otto feel kinda old. Smiles all around notwithstanding, perhaps it's a bigger change for /both/ of them than Otto had realized. After all, the LOL wasn't affecting HIM or anything!
"Yes, probably. Good day. And I am sorry also."
Well. Things HAD been looking up?
Lorne: They had. And then they tripped and fell over. And then there was no more looking up. He nods, standing up, for once in his life wishing he didn't have such a big mouth. Damn LOL. Damn mistletoe-related ideas.
"Take care, Toto."
Narrator: Even more curious, since Lorne's particular about his me time, the door to his very own, private little off-work room is slightly ajar. Furthermore, there's no music on. Not even the tiniest little sound coming from inside.
Otto: That's... not good. He knocks at the door. "Lorne?" Knock knock. "Are you here?"
Narrator: No answer. The door hinges creak, but that's the only sound. Were Otto to look inside, he'd see nothing out of the ordinary but an unmade bed. But...it's Lorne. There being no record in the record player is far more out of the ordinary. Way out.
Otto: More than a little curious, Otto slips inside. He checks the bed at least, is it warm? ...No. No one's been here for a while.
Narrator: Common logic says something happened. Doesn't say what, though, and isn't that the worst part... The mind, imagination, so ready to envision the worst case scenario. But surely, a guy like Lorne never goes without his cell phone.
Otto: His cell phone... which is on the floor by the bed. Oh this is NOT helping the worst case scenario thing. Otto bends down and picks it up, sinking onto the bed. ...He fiddles with it for a moment to bring up the call log. When was the last time Lorne used it?
(Silly) Narrator: Friday, around noon. Dun dun dun.
Otto: Aaand it is now Monday. Oh no. Oh no oh no. Otto stands, casts about uselessly for another moment, and then heads for the door.
Olde Portraite: There's someone clearing their throat right outside. One of the portraits, nodding her head in a crooked, odd *come overe here, then* gesture.
Otto: Otto certainly looks like he could use guidance. "Lorne. You haff seen him? Vat happened?"
Olde Portraite: "He got himself out of there and into the medical wing, son. I've never seen him like that, I've not, no. I swear someone's plucked those red things right off his head, poor fellow." The old woman shrugs lopsidedly. She's a very old painting, of a very old woman. "Old General McIntyre tells me the English teacher helped him over by the staff bathroom. Popped him right over where he ought to be, the sweetie. But that was, oh, *days* ago. At least one day ago. Or two." Nod. Nod.
Otto: O__O "Sankyou!" Aaaand how fast /can/ a vampire run? ...Very fast, apparently.
Olde Portraite: Well, he's a *vampire*! Duh. The painting's left behind, muttering something about weird, incomprehensible accents and no running in the hallways. But he does reach the medical wing very fast-like. Though, there doesn't seem to be any familiar faces there. Just some guy dozing on that bed over there. >_>
Otto: Damn! Maybe they had him in a private room? Otto pokes around, getting more frantic. The guy in the bed isn't familiar... "Excuse me? Have you seen a very friendly green fellow in here?"
Otto: Er, Otto may actually still be holding Lorne's phone.
Lorne: The stranger-fellow slowly blinks his eyes open - dark brown, for the record - and promptly stares, mouth slightly open. "Aw, fudge, no!" This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen! This shouldn't be happening! He should've been turned back by now and no one need be any the wiser! Exclamation mark! "Don't look, okay, just forget you ever saw me like this, I'll be fine in a few days, I *swear*!" A beat, and a slight little cringe. "I'm sorry, pumpkin?" Crap! CRAP! PEAS and GODDAMNED *RICE*.
Otto: So here's the moment where Otto replies casually, putting Lorne's fears to rest with a smile. Aaand there goes the moment. And the next. The only sound coming from Otto's portion of the room is a clatter as Lorne's phone hits the floor. Speechless isn't a state Otto experiences often. Now, he's completely flabbergasted.
Lorne: His worst fears come true, with a great big bang, Lorne averts his eyes, just as speechless as Toto. Crossing his arms, he hugs himself oh-so-sneakily, and wishes he could sink through the bed and the floor and hide away until this passes; someplace dark and warm where no one can find him.
The longer the silence stretches out between them, the hotter he blushes from the embarrassment and distinct sensation of shame you only get when you *know* you should've known better. And just when his heart was quieting down, it goes into a roaring stampede Nerves got nothing on this. This is Lorne very silently panicking. "Please don't look at me like that. It's just a LOL. It'll pass."
Otto: "Are you alright?" He can HEAR Lorne's heart.
Lorne: "Oh, I'm *fine*. I'm super, thanks for asking." He wants to just hide under the blanket, but that would be too easy. He sighs, shaking his head. There's no escaping this. "I'm sorry."
Otto: Well. There's only one thing to do. Otto walks over to the side of the bed and wraps Lorne up in a tight hug. This might not be the best idea, but it's definitely the one thing they both really need right now.
"You...veren't in your office." Yes, Otto, obviously.
Lorne: Oh, it *is* the best idea. It's the best idea since *gospel*. Lorne clings to his friend, pressing his ear to his chest, where, blissfully, he can't hear a thing. To think the lack of a heartbeat could be soothing for anyone. But it is, for Lorne. "I didn't mean to scare you, Toto. I promise. I wanted it to be something I could waltz into your office come Monday and tell you all about over a cup of cocoa, have a laugh or three... I'm so sorry."
Otto: "Hush now, it's hardly your fault vat happened! I vas afraid you'd been snatched or somesing. Zey are keepink you in zer hospital?" Most of the LOLs the kids would get were inconvenient or silly, but nothing that would keep them bedridden. In his concern, Otto may try to glean information from Lorne's thoughts, just to be sure.
Lorne: Lorne relaxes, listening to nothing but the rustling of Toto's clothes. Should he lie? Even by omission? He closes his eyes with a sigh. "I'm free to go when I'm ready. Nurse Branigan wants me to check back in if it hasn't gone away in a few days."
So why is he here? Very simple. He's hiding, afraid of facing the people he cares about for fear of, well...hurting them. For fear of seeming weak. For fear of scaring people. Most of all, he's hiding from Otto. But now that he's here? Lorne hasn't got the faintest clue why he wanted to deal with this alone. His mind is an open book.
Otto: Not yet aware of what he's doing, Otto understands little more than that Lorne is alright. The sheepishness he can surely read in his friend's face and body language. "Ah, listen to you. You'd sink zat you looked terrible or somesing! Ve must get you a proper breakfast. Villiam never has his vits until he's had his egg."
Lorne: "Well, how am I supposed to feel after your grand entrance, Mister!" He chuckles, patting Toto's back. He hasn't moved away yet, however, and chances are he won't, unless prompted to let go. "You didn't even recognize me, did you?" In spite of this question, his heartrate's going down, comforted by Otto's close proximity.
Otto: "You'd be surprised zer difference zer color scheme makes!" To be pink all over, instead of green! Otto looks down in amazement...at the curve of Lorne's neck. Oh my. He steps back a bit abruptly, turning the motion into a swoop to pick up Lorne's phone before smiling again.
"Vy don't ve get you back to your room. Zen you can get tidied up a bit and I vill bring you breakfast?"
Lorne: Lorne tilts his head, quirking his eyebrows, the real, actual, dark brown eyebrows, and he can't help but beam. "Why, Toto. Are you offering to cook for me?" :3
But he does neaten his robe about him and nod. "Sounds like a mighty fine idea. Lemme just tell the good nurse I'm heading out." ...and as it turns out, walking is still a bit wobbly, if only because it just doesn't feel like *his* legs. Stupid Human anatomy.
Otto: "I am offerink to fetch for you. I do not zink zer House Elves vould let me, even if I had a skill for it." He takes Lorne's arm. Gah, still tall as a tree, this one!
"Vill you be able to get back on your own or should I valk vit you?"
Lorne: Tall as a very small tree, at any rate. Lorne pats his friends not quite so small hand with a smile. "You go on. It should give me time enough to freshen up before you join me, and believe you me, we'll both be much happier for it."
And Otto doesn't need to be there for any horrified screams coming from the bathroom. >_> There's a very good reason Lorne's avoided shaving for the past two days. Fear. Plain, simple fear of the unknown, the silly demon.
Otto: So Otto is short. Shush. He'll help Lorne along until their paths fork and he must go down toward the kitchen. "Be careful, yes?" And yes he sounds like a mother hen. He knows. HE IS CONCERNED!
And then it's off to the kitchen to charm wheedle and harangue (in the respective cases of Winken Blinkenne and Nodde) breakfast for one and coffee for two.
Lorne: Meanwhile, Lorne makes it back to his room, lays out a plain (boring) outfit that won't clash too horribly with his skintone, gets all his basic necessities, and once again heads for the staff bathroom, hoping it's unoccupied. Once there, he reassures the poor mirror he's fine, and goes about that...cleaning business. Which involves taking off clothes. Oh, dear. This isn't fun. At least once he's in the bath tub, he doesn't have to see *all* of himself for all the suds. His feet are too small, his knees too bony and-- Let's just skip *that* section entirely. Chest weird, ribcage weird, *nipples*, which he doesn't at all mind on others, but...yeah.
And once he's squeaky clean and dried off and somewhat decent, he's only got the worst part left. Shaving. Ugh.
...and the worst part of it? He doesn't look all that different. Not the way he thought he would.
Otto: When Lorne emerges, he'll find a cup of coffee on his bedside table, with a note in Otto's quick, elegant hand: The rest is in your office.
Lorne: *Well*... That's so...so... Words fail, but there are smiles, big ones. He gets dressed, has some coffee, indulges just a little teeny bit in taking his time. Just because he doesn't look like himself, he wouldn't want to look anything but his best. If he says so, himself, the dark green shirt suits him just fine, even with the black pinstripes. Black slacks. Dark, red brown suspenders (because he's way ahead of the fashion trends; waaay ahead). Once he's done, he carefully folds the note, and slides it into his left chest pocket, patting it softly. Why not indulge in good ol' eccentricity while you're at it? For luck's sake.
Then, he sets off, heading to his office. Once there, he knocks on the door, because, well, you never know what Toto's up to. And besides, barging in is so *rude*. "It's me, sugar pie. Can I come in?"
Otto: "Into your own office! I should hope so! I vas startink to vonder if I vould haff to come up after you," Otto teases. He's sitting in his usual chair, and there's a silver tray on Lorne's desk, but stands as Lorne comes in.
"Now I am /certain/ zat it is you! You look vunderful." He lifts the lid to reveal eggs benedict, apple sauce and home fries. The elves apparently do not always agree about what should go into a meal.
Lorne: "Charmer," he says, faux reproachfully, only blushing just a little bit, but damn his complexion, it shows but too well. "Keep it up and you'll spoil me rotten before long."
He walks inside, coming to a slow stop beside his friend as he lays his hand on his arm and leans down (oh, not all that much, really), to give Otto a kiss on the temple. "Mmm, my favorite."
Otto: "Perhaps, but if so it is only right. Vun is alvays obliged to meet the level of vun's companion." He's got himself a mug of that delightful cocoa of Lorne's and is all in all radiating amused happiness.
"So tell me how it is that you've managed such a transformation?"
Lorne: How come the word 'companion' sounds so goddamn good, one might wonder. Maybe it's the way Otto says it, or the way he looks at Lorne that has the LOLed fellow smiling wider, taking a seat on the edge of the desk and picks up the plate. Tentatively, he tries one of the fries, just giving Otto a look at his silly little question. Not too bad.
"Either someone spiked my gin, or I spoke a magic word in front of the vanity, Friday night... Maybe it was just something in the air. I really don't know." The fries are actually quite good with the apple sauce. Strange, Human taste buds. "You know what the single most offensive thing about this entire thing is?" :3
Otto: "Oh I have an excellent guess, but I vant to hear you say it." Otto quirks an mischevious eyebrow at Lorne over the rim of his mug. He'd missed this. It had only been a few days, but he had.
Lorne: "You have such a dirty little mind, old man. I like it." He grins now, eyes all a-twinkle, waving one of the fries about like a teeny tiny extension of his already long finger.
"Here I always thought my fangs were a little something something worth the name, and *now* look at me. They're the one thing in this mess that hasn't changed one bit. And they look perfectly normal. They're not fangs. They're just *pointy teeth*. I'm a demon with pointy teeth. Only, you know...not so much *mon* to the *de* anymore. My male pride, it is wounded. Deeply." How he can point this fact out with a grin, no one knows. He just feels real good around Toto. He always does, now, but *now* it's sort of amplified, for some reason. It feels *real* nice to be around his very special friend.
Otto: Dirty little mind? Oh THAT makes Otto's eyebrows shoot up. "And here I thought it vas goink to be somesink about your vardrobe," he says mildly, placing his cup down on the desk with terrible dignity.
"Your male pride is vounded because your pointy teeth are somehow inherent to zer Lorne-ness that is Lorne?"
Lorne: "Well..." he drawls, shrugging. "It's silly, really. It's one of the few things I can't change to set myself apart, and I'd kind of started taking pride in them. Like my horns. I can't change those either, so I don't... and they're nice assets to have as a demon. I don't like the idea of looking like a Human with a lot of special effects make up on, you know."
Otto: "Vell most of zese LOLs last only a day or two. And for somevun who has been through so much to be just perfectly himself, I'm alarmed to hear zat you may have changed anysing! Vat is it that you vould change about yourself?"
Lorne: "I shave every morning, I get my hair cut on a regular basis, I find new and exciting ways to mix and match my outfits..." he shrugs, again, because it is silly, and it's just a bit awkward, trying to explain what goes on inside his head.
"I try every day to very subtly enhance what I do have," he gestures at his face, and my if the floor isn't looking more and more interesting. "To make myself look my best, smell my best, be my most witty, charming self, I...change myself every day, or I won't be *me*."
Whyyyy does he feel like apologizing? And for what? For not walking around looking like a hillbilly wearing armor and a load of furs from the beasts he's supposedly slain? ...yeah, pretty much.
Otto: "Lorne, do not be sorry," Otto says in a voice like a caress. "Zere is nothink to be ashamed of, vat you say makes sense. Ve cannot escape vat ve are, and yet zat is exactly vat ve know ve must do. Forced to be so self-conscious at all times I should not be surprised zat a different body vould be so jarrink, but... perhaps zis is your opportunity to really relax?"
Lorne: *Thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud* goes his heart, and for the first time since coming to live on planet earth does he *get* why people sometimes feel like loosening their collar. It's as if his heart's trying to migrate up his throat and his collar's in the way; it's getting warm in here, and Toto is all to blame. Lorne sets aside the plate, and the moment he's done so he wishes he hadn't, because what to do with his hands NOW?
"You're such a darling beau, I don't know what to do with myself." He chuckles, yes, self-consciously, feeling very much like sitting on his hands to just keep them from moving around. "And you're right, you're really, very right. If I just get through this awkward phase before it's over..." Ha-hah hah. Ahem.
Otto: The heartbeat thing is distracting in a good way. A bit restless, Otto stands and goes to the window. It's a bit more bright than he's really comfortable with, but a little sunlight is good for people. "Vat can ve do to get you comfortable again?"
Lorne: "I...don't know." He really doesn't, but he does know what he's missed all weekend, apart from Otto's lovely smile. Music. "Why don't I put something on, a record, something rockin'." And he does. Some Christmas music, courtesy of good, ol' Nat King Cole.
Otto: "Better already!" But Lorne's self-consciousness is still painful to see. "My friend," he says, putting a hand on Lorne's shoulder. "You look fine. You are still the wonderful person who's been keeping this place together, no matter what everyone gets up to."
Lorne: Lorne ducks his head, grinning, and turns to face his friend. Hesitantly, he lifts his hand to run his fingers through Otto's hair - it feels just as nice as he thought it would, even with not-his-hand.
"You know what I love about you?" The grin takes on an impish quality. "Your accent...and the way it's so closely linked to your happy self, the moment you go serious on me, it fades away..." <3 "Makes me think I get to see a side of you no one else does..."
Otto: More and more forward all the time! Otto stays still and smiles and closes his eyes. "Vell. You do."
Which is all well and good for a demon, but the reality of the current situation comes crashing down as Otto opens his eyes. And sees Lorne's wrist. Right there by his face. And for a second he can /see/ the veins just below the skin, almost taste the swift pounding that suddenly seems to be the only sound worth hearing.
He jerks back violently and takes a few long strides toward the door before pausing, panting.
Lorne: As violent as Otto's reaction is, Lorne's doesn't come close. He freezes, hand hanging shakily in the air as he stares at his friend. He has absolutely no idea what just happened. Oh, he has an *idea* or two, but it's one he'd rather not jump to, as bad, bad conclusions go. "Toto?"
He clears his throat, taking one or two steps forward as the sudden bout of shock wears off and he gets his wits back. Kinda. "I think I gotta work on my timing, because from where I'm standing, it keeps getting worse. You okay, poptart?"
Otto: "SIT DOWN!" ...That was /not/ a request, even with the "please" that comes after it. Oh gods and monsters, he's got to get out of here.
Lorne: Two jolts in one night, now, that's quite enough for Lorne. He more or less stumbles into one of the armchairs in his chatting corner, but the moment he's done it, his demeanor changes from shock to not-liking-this-one-bit-no-Sirree-Bubba. "Now, listen here, sweetcheeks, you don't get to tell me what to do in my own office! Now what the Hell is going on here?"
Say what you will about Lorne, but he won't back down from telling you what's what. Though, to be fair, he's still not completely on the clear what's happening. But...to be absolutely, positively honest, he'd probably have just as much balls and guts and whathaveyous if he knew exactly what was going on. He might even be flattered. Concerned, but flattered.
Otto: It starts before Lorne is even done talking: a strained, under-the-breath sort of singing. Something about not being a stupid sucker. Somewhat muffled due to the hand in his mouth. Gotta bite /something/.
"S-sorry. But I am not... you shouldn't be... not now. Vy is this happening /now/?"
Lorne: Okay, this is just...very Twilight Zone, for some reason. "Toto. Otto, look at me." Going from demanding to somewhat more placating, wanting to understand just as much as plain knowing what's up. "Tell me what's going on. This is me, here. Talk to me."
Otto: Otto moves back into the room, but not to approach Lorne or, despite the request, look at him. Instead he makes a beeline for his cocoa. Which is lukewarm at best now, damnit.
"You're /human/ now, Lorne. I guess...I forgot vat zat means. Heh. So stupid off me."
Lorne: Slowly, realization comes to him, in the visually telling shape of a whiter shade of pale. "Oh." He looks down at his hands on his knees, thinking it through. It's kind of disturbing, in a way, to begin with. But, and here's the thing, the more he thinks about it, the more torn he is between feeling guilty he's posing such a temptation to his friend, and being *flattered*. Told you so. For him to be so relaxed in Lorne's presence, he doesn't constantly obsess about keeping his instincts at bay (though that may have had something to do with Lorne being a demon, and therefor not a noteworthy dish on the smorgasbord), that's a big big thing. And the weirdest thing of all is, the thought doesn't scare him.
"Look at me, Otto." Oh, yes, he'll push the issue. "It's not your fault, honey. It's not my fault, it's not anyone's fault. We're just...unprepared. Saying that this," he gestures at himself. "caught us unawares is the biggest understatement of the year. It's *okay*. Now we deal with this."
Otto: This is the difference between home and Nexus. The thing that makes Lorne different from anyone else Otto knows. "You know, my friend, back home zere is a term for people who are not afraid of being... of being eaten." And finally he does turn and look at Lorne, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Zer term is 'crazy.'"
Lorne: There's a term for that kind of insanity, here in meta land, where things are sometimes spoken that have very little chance of ever being said otherwise. 'Trust'. Now, Lorne's fully aware trust can be mighty dangerous, but he's of that particular school of thought where trusting someone doesn't make you stupid. "Well...I guess that depends on what kind of semantics you prefer." Because you know there's eating, and then there's *eating*. "Just so we're clear, I am not, have never been, nor will I ever be into vore. But I'm not afraid, no. We're both fine, able-minded gentlemen. There's no doubt in my mind we can work this out."
Otto: Otto's eyes take on about ten more shades of concern. "...Zere is nothink to vork out. I am on zer vagon, you have nothing to fear from me. ...Now that I am not being such an idiot as to forget zat you might." ^__^;
"Thank you for beink so understanding. I vill never willingly hurt you."
Lorne: His eyebrows relax, and he smiles wryly, looking at Toto with all the affection in the world. "I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about the fact you're all the way over there and I'm over here, and I don't want to surprise you like that, catch you off guard because we're both used to a certain kind of stretching boundaries. And for the record, the vore comment? It was a very, very bad joke. I was *trying* to make you smile. Go me."
Otto: Oh Lorne. Talk about knowing what to say. And it's not even that the words were perfect, it was the honest understanding under them that was utterly disarming.
"All zer same," he says softly, holding his cup, "I vill just go get some fresh. Valk it off, you know?"
Lorne: "Go on, get some." He winks. "I won't be going anywhere." He stands up, but doesn't push it by moving closer. He just shoves his hands into his pockets, shuffling his feet.
"For the record, you'll always be the cuddliest vampire around. Don't go thinking this changes that." :3
Otto: "Vell I suppose there's somesink to be said for having such faith put in vun." Which is the verbal equivalent of :P
He'll be gone a few minutes. Cocoa and a little thunking of the head against the wall are necessary.
Lorne: Lorne watches him go, then does the exact opposite of what he said he'd do. He dashes back to his own room and changes into something a little bit different. Something he hopes might make Toto smile. A turtleneck. Dark blue, to go with the suspenders. Then he dashes right back, grabs his cup of coffee and sits back down. He's totally, COMPLETELY innocent, don't you know?
Otto: Lorne is a dirty cheat! Otto, meanwhile, does /exactly/ what he'd said he would do, and returns with cocoa, nice and hot... and promptly has to employ EVERY ATOM OF SELF CONTROL IN HIS BODY not to spit it out laughing at Lorne. CHEEKY CHEEKY DEMON! XDDD
Lorne: Lorne, meanwhile, is the PICTURE OF INNOCENCE. He looks up at Otto when he returns, and it doesn't take long before his eyes turn crescent shaped over the rim of his coffee cup and he's grinning. Poor Toto, to be friends with such a devious imp of a guy. This is exactly what he wanted though, for Toto to lighten up a bit and see the bright silver lining of it all.
"There. That's the guy I know." and wub. "Now come on, have a seat before you sprain something, Chuckles." :3
Otto: "You are lucky zat I like zis mug very much or I might haff to throw it at you, you veasel!" And yes, it's a much jauntier vampire who sits down in his usual chair at Lorne's desk. "Vat I do to deserve such cheek I don't know." <3
Lorne: "Ohh, I'm *so* scared." He grins, and it just keeps getting brighter. "This is better. It's nice. More like normal, hm?" Because isn't that what they need a little bit of, right now? Normalcy, in all its mundane glory.
Otto: "Vell if you are happy, darling, zat's the important thing." Again with the verbal equivalent of :P . "So I vas sinking, ve should set up a camera on your desk so zat ve can compile a schoolsfull of stunned expressions ven zey valk in and get a load of zer new you."
Lorne: Darling? 'Darling'? Lorne blinks, momentarily taken aback. Huh. Well, if that ain't new, nothing is, not even his flesh-toned new *visage*. People don't give him pet names, as a rule, but then...Otto's just the guy to break all of them, inn' he.
And then he just *goes there*, and Lorne has no choice but to crack up. "And you accuse *me* of being a cheeky devil! Oh! I like it!" XD
Otto: >__> >:3 "I vill go get a little vun and you can pull it out of your desk real fast and snap! Ve vill have a whole gallery of" silly looking bug-eyed faces like the one he's making right now. Drama's been chased away, and now it is goofy time!
Lorne: "Well, none of'em will ever compare to your face, Mister 'Excuse me have you seen this man, sir?'." Don't tempt him now, or he'll pounce. The urge to be impulsive just comes more and more often, and he can't help himself. He's already planning to somehow find himself and Toto accidentally standing under a twig of mistletoe come Christmas. It's just...one of those traditions he's always been...curious and intrigued by. "Look at us. Aren't we the odd couple."
Otto: We're not quite at pouncing-level of comfort yet. Otto has recovered from the near-incident moments ago, but it'll probably be another day before he's fully at ease again.
"Less odd now... and yet even more. Zen again I do not sink you could be conventional if you tried. Me eizer!"
Lorne: He can't help it. Otto's just..irresistible, that way, sometimes. But he'll play nice, even if he just wants to strut right on over and give him a hug. "Just the way I like it. Convention's so boring in my none too humble opinion. Why stick to the great gray masses when you can be a bucketful of color?" :P
Otto: He likes you too, Lorne. ;)
"You /vill/ keep trying to get me into one of your your highly-saturated ensembles. Zere is nossink wrong vit black and vite, mister! It's classic and alvays elegant. (Also I look even more vashed out ozzervise)." >__>
Lorne: "Oh, no, I *will* keep trying to get you to try out some fizzy vitamin supplement drinks," he sasses right back, only pausing to sip his now cold coffee. Those eggs benedict's starting to look real good, too. He drags the plate over, deciding to get his munch on.
But, just another quip before he does. "This monochromatic gig you got goin' suits you just fine. I'm talking subtle, colorful additions to your black-is-the-new-black, not *Rainbow Brite* bright."
Otto: "Yes mother." And now Lorne gets a :P for real. "Perhaps it vould be for zer best. Somesing to take zer edge off. I haff been told zat zere are many options for vampires in zer nexus, but... I feel my promise is too important. I must not slip, even a little, or zere vill alvays bee zer chance zat I vill not be able to resist ven ze time comes." Like with today!
"Keeping myself in such pleasant company as yours is top priority!"
Lorne: Well, :P right back, cheeky vamp! "Well... You know I respect your choice to go on the wagon. I just worry about you, friends' privilege and all. Forgive me for saying so, Bubba, but you're looking wearier every day."
He drags the plate closer, and starts in on one of the sandwiches. ...okay, this is *good* stuff. Omnomnomnevermindmybadtablemannersomnom.
Lone: "Maybe I should have gotten some sandwiches for myself," he answers dryly. (Not really. Wherever possible, Otto still prefers a liquid diet. Chewing with fangs is a lot less fun for some.)
Stretching a bit, he sits back and just watches Lorne. What? He likes looking at him.
Otto: (Well, since it's been established Lorne's fangs don't even go blip on the grr argh radar... Different fangs for different...gangs? >_>) He swallows - he does have some manners, even when hungry and in the company of the best of friends - and shrugs. "Or maybe you just need someone to take your mind off of it." Which is a perfectly innocent remark, and genuinely concerned, too. "Someone who doesn't continually bring it up like a track stuck on repeat."
Lorne: "Vell I have that already." Hmm, something to fiddle with. This pen'll do. "You know, I must mention zat you are zer only staff member whose office I've visited (who can be said to have one anyway) who has no iconographs or the like. Even the formiddable Snape has a picture of his wife."
Otto: "I know zat your relatives are not vorth mentioning, but such a sveet man should have his friends around him. Do I need to follow you home vun day vit a camera?" ;)
Lorne: Oh, the tease of a vampire! Why does he have to ask that kind of question, now? Lorne ducks his head with an awkward smile, willing himself not to scratch his head, or his cheek, or any other place what might show just how awkward he feels. "Headmaster Snape's wife is a stunner in a whole range of ways; I'd be telling him a thing or two if he didn't have her picture up." He gets up, moving to his cupboard of fixings, and starts up some tea. Mostly because cold coffee isn't on his List of Tasty Treats, and because this way, he can pretend to be busy when answering Toto's question.
Otto: "Very true. Beautiful, but absent more zan present. Her picture is zerefore all zer more precious."
Lorne: "Yeah..." 'Sweet man'. It would take someone like Toto to say that to his face, the darling. "Well, I hardly ever go back to LA these days. You wanna follow me home, you'll follow me all the way to my room." He says it with a smile, and a teasing note to his voice. But Toto's an observant fellow. Damn him.
"I have all the friends I need right here, at the institute."
Otto: "Zen clearly it is my fault for falling down on zer job!" Otto laughs a bit. "How is everyvun?"
Lorne: "I think the spirit of the season's rubbing off on the kiddies enough it's permeating the entire building." He grins, because it's so easy to distract others with - characteristic, hyooge grin for the win. Teateatea, fixing tea. "I tried coaxing Luke to come join me in the winter wonderland outside later, but he's...got a thing against snow. What you say, buddy? You an' me, out there, getting up to snow good?" :P
Otto: "Really? How odd! And I am going to ignore zat pun, for zer sake of your social circle." If Lorne wants to go out and play, you know Otto'll come too. He'll make snow-bats. "Vell you tell Luke he'd better come to the staff party. I vunder if it vill be Captain Hornblower or Harkness who comes."
Lorne: Oh, crabbuckit. He takes this moment to stare resolutely at the little tin container of his vanilla pineapple blend. "I'll drag him over there, if I have to. Boy's gotta learn to allow himself some r n' r every now and then."
What? What's that you said about captains? Like most people do, Lorne chooses to hear only what he wants to, right this moment.
Otto: "He'd better. If it's the latter, a little emotional support might be in order." Oh no, Lorne. You're not getting away so easy.
Lorne: Like he just thought; crabbuckit. Be bop a loser. "Toto, don't." Tea done, he still lingers over here, where he doesn't have to face anyone. Except his own, weird reflection in the tea pot.
Otto: "I'm afraid I already do. I vill not stop worrying, or noticing, or caring. You are vun of my most cherished friends."
Lorne: Tea and vodka it is! He isn't sure why it matters Toto knows, or that he notices, or that he just plain cares enough to do either. It just matters, and it makes his neck itch, makes him want to squirm and tell Otto he shouldn't bring it up because it's wrong. But how to explain such a thing when he doesn't even know why. "Oh, Toto. Why can't you be a heartless brute?"
He does walk over to sit down beside his friend. Still keeping a distance, still no touching. He's just...there.
Otto: Tea and vodka indeed. Otto is not so uptight as to object to Lorne willingly loosening his own tongue when he wants the once-and-future-demon to talk to him. "Because you hate heartless brutes."
Lorne: Not so much willingly loosening anything, thank you very much. This is fortification in a lilac tea cup! He shrugs, looking at the vampire just a tad sheepishly. "I misunderstood a lot of things, and then I made it worse. We haven't talked since."
Otto: "Mmm it seems zat nosink can be simple vere zat man is concerned." Otto sits back, cradling his mug. The warmth feels nice. "Vorse how?"
He sighs. "I'm sorry, I should stop. Somesink in me just hates seeink you, you of all people, get all shut up in zere. It vould be like hearing Villiam tell a lie. Zer man's whole life is dedicated to zer truth."
Lorne: "No, no, it's okay. You *care*, you got a right to poke me about potentially sore subjects." He smiles a small, soft little smile. It's still his smile, the one constant left in his new face, and it does that same turning down at the corners thing when he's reproaching himself without words. "I'm supposed to help, right? He's in a bad place after the four month disappearing act he pulled, and he comes to see me. And I'm supposed to help, and... I didn't."
He takes a good, long look into his spiked tea. "I didn't help him."
Otto: "I do, and I thank you for zer trust." And Otto smiles a little bit in return, trying to be reassuring. "Didn't or couldn't?
Lorne: "I don't know." He glances at his friend. "I was like some giant larwoth demon spewing bile all over the place and I couldn't stop myself, and I can't *believe* I did that."
He brings one hand up to rub at that place between his horns, only to realize they're not there anymore. He twists his wrist in a why bother way and lets it fall back to curl around his cup.
"You think I felt stupid a few months back? Guess how I feel *now*." Torn. Hurt. Still as confused as ever. Angry. Wondering what crawled up his ass and beat his heart into a vindictive mess.
Otto: "Vell... I know I'm not zer vun who sits on ze other side of this here desk but it sounds like you can't help him until you move past vat happened for yourself. Yesterday's headline zat may be, but it's amazing how many people flip right to zer funny pages."
Lorne: "I know." He shrugs, sipping his hot drink, promptly making a face at the taste. No, his tastebuds aren't doing their job, dammit. "I just don't know how." Truth be told, his main problem is being angry at himself for a number of reasons. "And even if I did, I'm not sure he wants my help anymore."
Otto: Yeah not a lot of people put vodka in tea. Otto's taste buds ain't nothing like human, though, so he wouldn't really know. "Just for you, zen. ...So part of me is sayink zat every time you two are alone together it's trouble, but perhaps zat is zer little jealous devil inside." Okay so he's not COMPLETELY a saint!
Lorne: Yeah, he'll just put the tea way now. Ugh. "Toto!" XD Okay, now he's done it. Lorne *grins*. "Jealous devil? In you? *Please*." Oh, he knows a jealous devil who'd wanna get in his pant-- But we're not going there. No, not going there, or anywhere that might kick up the pulse. Come on. "You're just too cute sometimes, you know. And my self discipline isn't top notch.
"So," subject change, on the go! Only kind of a little wee bit. "The staff party. I might as well warn you up front, you find yourself under a mistletoe with *moi*, you can expect to be getting some lovin'. Just so we're clear." O :3
Otto: "Vell. I don't like seeink you so haunted. And...mistletoe vat?" Mistletoe, as far as Otto knows, is a poisonous berry found up high in trees. ...DO YOU CARE TO EDUCATE HIM AT THIS TIME, O LORNE?
Lorne: WHY NATURALLY. HE IS THE HOST...The, uh, COUNSELOR. The charmingest demon around! "It's a harmless, yet perplexing human tradition. You take a twig of mistletoe, and hang it up high in conveniently placed locations, indoors, and when two people happen to bump into each other beneath the twig of inedible plantlife, they exchange a kiss. Or a hug. Or a peck," he taps his chin thoughtfully. "You know, I've never actually participated in a traditional Christmas. I'm just a pop culture encyclopedia." Ahem.
Otto: Otto's initial rebuttal dies unborn as the thing that Lorne said BEFORE the lesson in holiday follies pokes itself to the forefront of the vampire's mind. The result is something like this: O__O due to the internal error which follows: ++?????++ Out of Cheese Error. Redo From Start.
Lorne: No lovin'? Fine by him. He raises his hands with a small smile and a shrug, picking up his cup of coffee. He leans back, crossing his leg at the knees. "Fine. We'll hang at the refreshments table and watch everyone else have fun." ;3
Otto: "...You did catch the part vere I nearly-" Okay, breathe. "Lorne, for the most emotionally observant person in the castle, you /really/ worry me sometimes." Aand now seems like a pertinent time to leave.
Lorne: "Otto!" Time to get his stern voice on. "I'm not planning on staying like this forever, okay? And the staff shindig is what? Two weeks away?" You try telling him otherwise, Mister THNMY. "If you're gonna be avoiding me until this thing goes poof gone, I'm not gonna be a very happy camper." B|
Otto: For someone who was hell-bent on avoiding OTTO up until this morning, that's a fine way to talk! Otto sighs, and just...looks his age. "Alright, Lorne. If you are your old verdant self again, I vill stand under zer mistletoe. But until zat time, no I am afraid I vill not be very much fun."
Lorne: That was different, obviously. Lorne had a Very Good Reason(tm), and Toto doesn't. He's just being silly. And sweet and, and, and Lorne knows he's being a pest but now that Otto knows what happened and it wasn't all that big a deal up until just minutes ago, he just doesn't want him to leave, because he feels like himself even with the weird pink hands.
"I'm sorry. I'm giving you a hard time. Maybe we should just get off our tushes and get to work." He really really doesn't like that look on the vampire's face.
Otto: Human beings always make Otto feel kinda old. Smiles all around notwithstanding, perhaps it's a bigger change for /both/ of them than Otto had realized. After all, the LOL wasn't affecting HIM or anything!
"Yes, probably. Good day. And I am sorry also."
Well. Things HAD been looking up?
Lorne: They had. And then they tripped and fell over. And then there was no more looking up. He nods, standing up, for once in his life wishing he didn't have such a big mouth. Damn LOL. Damn mistletoe-related ideas.
"Take care, Toto."