I'm half way there (nowhere) [closed/incomplete]

[patronofmatches]

Characters: Raphael (Patronofmatches) & Agrat Bat Mahlat (bawdystrumpet)
Date/Time: Wednesday lunchtime (13th July 2011)
Location: A fairly fancy Italian restaurant
Rating: TBD
Warnings: TBD
Summary: Raphael just likes trying to take care of people, is that such a sin? (Well, not compared to his lack of common sense...)

Comments

[patronofmatches]

Raphael, today, has… Just got up and gone to work, really. What he said to Loki was true: he doesn’t have a life, and he’s pretty sure that he’d screw it up if he did. At the moment he finds it safer to just go to work, go home and pray an awful lot. Everybody is still apparently convinced he’ll fall, of course, but with his lack of a life it’s sometimes hard to see how exactly he’ll fall.

…Well, apart from talking to certain fallen angels and meeting certain people that his brothers may or may not have heart attacks at.

But, in his mind, Agrat is not at all bad. And so he’s able to look up and greet her with a smile. He notices that she’s extremely attractive, of course, but he doesn’t gawk and he doesn’t make appreciative noises. He tends to believe that a woman is more than a sack of meat fit only for male gratification - and he’s quite firmly sticking to that view no matter what anybody has to say about it.

“No, I’ve honestly only been here a few minutes,” he sets the menu aside, nods politely at her as she sits down, “have you been having a alright day so far?”

[bawdystrumpet]

Agrat took a moment to study the archangel sitting across from her, taking in the openness of his face and the slight hint of worry in his posture, deciding on the spot that he could definitely benefit from having a friendly succubi in his life. Lucky for him that she was one, and that thanks to their earlier conversation she had a multitude of reasons to be invested in his welfare. Part of her was still slightly miffed about earlier; she wished she hadn't put off finding someone to look at her finances but other things had come up; but the other part was willing to play the 'exchanging pleasantries' game until he was comfortable enough to open up.

Honestly, if word got out about her being nice to Raphael at Samael's behest she'd be a bit embarrassed, but she benefitted more in befriending the semi-timid man than she would if she chose to ignore his overtures of friendship instead. That, and she was genuinely afraid of incurring Samael's wrath if she disobeyed or upset him.

"That's good, I'd hate to think I gave you reason to be cross with me," she murmured while looking over the menu. "My day? Oh… eventful to say the least. Started out well, though." Agrat offered him a bright smile as she reached up to smooth her hair behind her ears, the movement causing the smells of its owner lingering within to waft up to her nose. Something about it calmed her, reminding her in a way she was doing all this for him.

"I got kicked out of my apartment, and I haven't had a chance to have someone go over my financial situation yet because I've been busy catching up with… well you know all that." Her tone stayed light as she changed the subject. "What looks good here?"

[patronofmatches]

Oh, Raphael definitely needs somebody to talk to. He adores his brothers, can’t help but adore them, but there are certain things he can’t say without receiving a shocked expression and a spluttered snap at his behaviour. Sometimes he feels like he should just repress things instead of discussing them, to save the concern of his family, but… That isn’t healthy, that isn’t healthy at all.

Not that he’s exactly amiable to letting this all out at first push, of course. Some secrets are still closely guarded, even if he is trying to be honest, “don’t worry, I try not to get angry that easily.”

Worried, on the other hand…

Yes, he gets worried very easily. Which rather explains his faintly, just faintly, appalled expression when she reveals the loss of her apartment… Yes, he’s definitely a puppy. One who likes to please, one who never really likes so see somebody else in a painful position. “You got kicked out? Really? Why? Do you have any other place to live?”

He pauses for a second, considering, before he mutters a short, “the Insalata Greca looks good, but are you really alright?”

[bawdystrumpet]

Agrat would never tell anyone that it was unhealthy to keep things bottled up considering her own hesitancy in opening up to people, but that was because she had a long history of having any attempts to share her feelings backfire spectacularly. She was even wary about being completely open with her sisters and Samael - people who she would make every attempt not to lie to - but so far that hadn't come up. One day it might, and if so she'd figure out how much to tell them, but for now she didn't want to consider the likelihood of being judged and found lacking by yet another person she cared for.

That didn't stop her from feeling as though other people, like Raphael, shouldn't consider opening up to her. Despite her position as the bringer of deceit she was aces at keeping secrets for people. It was more fun being in the know and seeing the fallout than having to find out when everyone else did. "That's good, I'm usually more punctual." 'And better dressed.'

The flicker of concern from him baffled her.

Maybe it was because she couldn't determine why he would care, and so earnestly, but she didn't get why he needed to be assured of her ability to get through this. She opened her mouth as if to say something, closing it quickly as she nodded instead. "That's a lot of questions, darling." She paused, deciding on how to answer everything. "Yes, I was kicked out. The place belonged to a friend and his wife wasn't thrilled at how close we were. I was getting bored of him anyway." As for places to go... she'd worry about that later.

"I wonder how the Cesare is…" she mused out loud, meeting his eyes with an unconcerned grin. "I'll be fine, I always land on my feet. I'm sure I've got the money for a place of my own, somewhere."

[patronofmatches]

“I’m sure you are,” he attempts a smile, it seems the polite thing to do. And he’s always been a polite boy, for all his other faults - even when screaming down somebody (not that that situation has ever really come up) he’ll still remember to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ And all the other words used my nice young men.

For he is a nice young man - and being a nice young man means that he’s naturally concerned about people. If he can manage a little bit of concern (as ill founded as that may be) for a horseman then he can certainly manage something for Agrat, who apparently has nowhere to live.

“I’m sorry, I don’t usually ask so many. But…” He hesitates, bites his lip for a second as he thinks things over. Don’t worry, he’s always been naturally concerned like this - it’s just a part of his nature, “And I suppose that’s something, maybe.”

Not really.

“I’m sure it’s lovely,” he continues to mutter, still unable to stop looking so concerned, “but can you get to that money at the moment?”

[bawdystrumpet]

"You'll see if we end up spending time together again," she offers as a response, faintly amused by how polite he's being. It's something she appreciates, when people show they know how to behave properly in social situations. She always comports herself well.

She raises her eyebrows as she watches him continue to struggle between wanting to help and to respect her privacy. She'd laugh, but it's nice to have someone concerned about her odd as it might seem.

"You're curious, I get it. I don't mind, it's just not good lunch conversation." She purses her lips slightly as a waitress approaches and asks for their orders. As she's placing hers Agrat's phone rings. Checking the caller id she sighs visibly. "I need to take this." Getting up, she walks away slightly, engaging in a rather hushed conversation in Japanese. From the look on her face it's clearly not a good call, but she comes back all happy smiles nonetheless. "Sorry, that was about my living situation."

She felt vaguely discomfitted lying to him.

"I hope it is, considering the price," she pointed out, rubbing her forehead. She could feel a headache coming on and didn't want Raphael to think it was his fault. "And I'm not sure, my accountant was arrested for embezzlement but as far as I know my money wasn't affected. Regardless, I have a meeting after this to get everything straightened out."

[patronofmatches]

“I hope we do,” he smiles, still polite… And also a little honest. So far she really doesn’t seem likely to rip open his throat or grind him down into a pit of sin. Out of the list of friends he’s not allowed to have, and it’s apparently a extremely long list, he can understand why he shouldn’t have her the least.

He nods politely, though still with a bit of worry, and watches her take the call as he places his own order. The worry on her face is hard not to catch as she sits down, and he struggles between the two options (story of his life) for a moment more before deciding… Well, to screw it. Privacy is wonderful, he doesn’t want to dive too far into the parts that people don’t want others to see, but taking care of people will always come first to him.

“It wasn’t good news, was it?” he says carefully, going mainly on that momentary look on her face before she returned “…Look, I don’t want to spoil our lunch either but I also don’t want you tossed out on the street. I could probably give you a place to stay until everything is sorted out, if you wanted?”

…A little odd, offering a home after only a few words of conversation.

But it’s really, to Raphael, the only possible way he can go. He assumes that she’ll tell him to fuck off if his offer isn’t appreciated but he has to at least make it. Sometimes, often if you take certain situations with certain horsemen into account, he’s just too nice for his own good.

[bawdystrumpet]

"So long as it doesn't cause trouble," she demurs in what could only be called a chaste tone. While she finds his ease in worrying over her as she's barely above a stranger to him, she also finds being in his company somewhat pleasant and needs friends here other than Samael, if she could call him a friend.

She had met a few others who she certainly got on well with, but the only one she really trusted was her closest connection. If trouble came about she'd go to Samael, albeit grudgingly because she knows he's got other things to deal with, though if she needed someone beat to a pulp she might consider contacting Ares since he seemed to enjoy and feed off aggression. That was neither here nor there, though.

"It wasn't bad news either," she starts, a look of pure deprecation coming over her face. "I had no idea he was married, and I actually think he lied in his message, but I won't know for certain unless I go to this meeting." She patently ignored the rest of what he said for the moment, trying to think of a polite way to ask him if he was lacking a few brain cells.

After a few seconds she chose to be blunt. "You're asking me to live with you?"

She laughed. It was a pleasant sound, soft and genuinely happy. "You do realize that I'm a succubi, demon, fallen angel, and generally not good people, yes?" It occurs to her this offer had to have been prompted by her connection to Samael, so she had to ask. "Is this because I happen to be Samael's concubine?"