Partially Open Log

[gettingawaywith]

WHO: Dexter Morgan (gettingawaywith), Mazikeen (daughterinexile), partially open to Kristoph Gavin (myscarsmiles) if he so chooses.
WHAT: Dexter makes a visit to Kristoph's teahouse in order to follow a possible kill, and encounters more than he'd anticipated.
WHERE: La Casa de Te, Kristoph Gavin's teahouse.
WHEN: Sometime rather late at night, a weeknight.

Comments

[myscarsmiles]

Perhaps, one day, if he was lucky, he would be able to find out all about the man behind his charade that sat in front of him and politely asked about tea. He would have liked to peel away layers, antagonizingly slow, pondering and thoroughly examining every last piece of his fellow's facade. One day, Kristoph, he thought to himself. He also added to his thoughts that if he could so clearly see himself int his man, perhaps this man saw himself in Kristoph.

It warranted more care and even more attention than usual.

He believed Dexter for exactly three seconds when the man said he came here to relax. True, Kristoph himself relaxed here, but it seemed unlikely that a cricket intelligent enough to craft such a charming mask would walk into a snake's den with intention to relax. There was a reason, but this was not the place to find out what it was.

"Yes... that is why I built this place. I personally find quiet and a cup of tea a cure for almost all of my ills. A long day like today, for example, or a poor business transaction. You are welcome to relax." This was true; his teahouse waa a neutral zone. He continued on, pausing only to compose his thoughts on the next subject.

"Imported from the corners of the world, you could say. Brazil, Thailand, Singapore....the sort of places that are still rebuilding and desperate for money, and sell incredible recipes at bargains. There's a particular one I"m fan of. Brazilian..violet, I think. But Earl Grey is very good too, has withstood the test of time. A classic, even."

[gettingawaywith]

The more Kristoph studied him with that neat, polite little smile, the more Dexter wanted to lean forward and examine precisely what it was that the Vescovo was hiding.

It wasn't often that he met someone whose darkness echoed back to him, so when he became aware of just how hard Kristoph was studying him, he straightened a little in his chair. The windows were open, and Dexter's Dark Passenger was creeping forward, peering out in lizard-like curiosity.

The scientist shrugged, and smiled. It looked natural, and attractive on his face, and he knew that it did. Long years of practice at being witty, charming, and likable would do that to you.

"It sounds pretty complicated for a coffee person like me, but.." He looked around, as if he were already fond of the place. "..so far, so good. Maybe next time I'll try one from Singapore."

[myscarsmiles]

There it was. Right behind his eyes, in the darkness of his pupils, he could see it, a little monstrous creature hidden behind the casual front Dexter wore. This cemented all of his thoughts, delighted him to his very-malevolent core, and satisfied him immensely. He calmed down the intensity of his examination, too, though he could still see the slight fakness in all his gestures. The sort that only a man accustomed to faking those gestures for years could see. Dexter was good at hiding, definitely, and probably had fooled everyone he knew into thinking he was perfectly normal. He liked this man.

"I would be personally honored to serve you," he said, folding his hands in front of him on the table. "Oh! Where are my manners. I sincerely apologize; my name is Kristoph Gavin, and I own this teahouse."

He offered a manicured hand to shake.

[gettingawaywith]

Despite himself, Dexter smiled.

Really smiled. Because in a moment that was like the soft, sliding sound of a knife's metal edge against one of his sharpening stones, Dexter saw exactly what he was dealing with in Kristoph.

The apparent satisfaction on the part of the other man was certainly better than suspicion, since things had already gone this far.

Dexter took Kristoph's extended hand, and then shook his head with a close-lipped smile.

"Nice to meet you; I'm Dexter Morgan."

Better to give his real name. Quarters were too close in Reggio Calabria to lie about a thing like that to someone he didn't plan on taking out.

[myscarsmiles]

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Morgan." He really meant it, too. It was every day you got to see someone so fascinating at first glance. For such well-taken-hair of hands, callousless and manicured, Kristoph had a good, strong handshake.

Dexter, hmm. He'd remember that name. He filed it in his head as another pet project, too. What could he do with this little cricket? So many things. He had to think about this man for a long time. He glanced away, and noticed Mazikeen slipping out. He smiled brilliantly at her, so pleased by how the day had turned around. Exhausting family business, yes, but now this. What a treasure!

"Mazikeen, my darling," He moved over, allowing her room to sit. "How has your day been?"

[daughterinexile]

Mazikeen padded back into the main room of the tea house, balancing a small tray of dark-stained wood on her arm. She had been distracted as she worked in the back room preparing the tea and was surprised when she emerged to find Gavin sitting with the stranger, engaged in what would be no doubt polite and thickly veiled conversation. As he turned to greet her, moving to indicate that she should join she beamed, truthfully, and from deep within. As rough as she had been when the guest had first arrived, it was impossible to be in a foul mood when Kristoph was near, and besides she knew that he would not take kindly to knowing that she had been rude to one of his guests. He was as immaculate as always, suit pressed and his hair done with its perfect twist. From the dark mirth she saw hidden behind the glimmering lenses of his glasses, no doubt Kristoph had uncovered some wonderful new thing in the man who sat smiling across from him. Surprising, considering the man's affiliation with the Commission, but Mazikeen didn't bother to think of it much longer. Whatever it was, if it was worth mentioning, Kristoph eventually would. "Kristoph, I did not hear you come in," she said warmly in response to her greeting. "Or else I would have greeted your sooner. The day has gone on far too slowly; perhaps now that you're here, that will change, hmm?"

Bowing her head slightly in sudden respect for their guest, Mazikeen set the tray down on the table and went about arranging cups and saucers and small porcelain bowls in front of him. When she was done, she leaned over towards Kristoph, her dark hair spilling over her shoulder to obscure part of her face. She pressed her mouth close to the shell of his ear and whispered. "Shall I bring you anything, mein lieb?" she asked, her voice breathy and sweet against his cheek.

[gettingawaywith]

All Dexter could really do as he watched these two interact was blink, and then cheerfully lapse into silence.

When the woman (now much more at ease, much more pleasant) placed the cups and plates on the table, he thanked her. Politely. Confused, but polite.

He inclined his head in response to her silent greeting, and then proceeded to watch their exchange with slightly lifted brows and a small smile.

A bystander to physical closeness that he really didn't understand about people.

[myscarsmiles]

"Please, Mazikeen, just join us, mm? I've only barely seen you today, and I need to spend more time looking at your beautiful face." He rested his hand on her leg under the table as he watched Dexter, curious about his confusion but deciding against asking. "Mazikeen, this is Dexter Morgan, my new friend. Mr. Morgan, this is Mazikeen. Has she treated you well, Mr. Morgan? Mazikeen can be a bit hot-tempered, but she means well."

[daughterinexile]

Mazikeen blushed at Kristoph's attention, though she knew there was a layer to it that was mostly just veneer for his beautiful facade. She bowed her head coyly and regarded them both from behind a thin veil of her hair; it was if some switch had been suddenly thrown on inside her, and instead of the vicious snarling guard dog Dexter had seen before, she was now just a butterfly alighted delicately on Kristoph's arm. A moth fluttering dangerously close to his flame, delighting in the prospect of being consumed by it.

She reached out and offered a strong hand to Dexter in greeting, adding sheepishly: "I apologize if I was a bit terse before, Mr. Morgan. As Kristoph says, I can be a bit eager, but any friend of Kristoph's is certainly a friend of mine." She smiled wolfishly at him, as if she intended to gobble him up.

[gettingawaywith]

Dexter answered Kristoph with a slight shake of the head and a smile, indicating that Mazikeen hadn't done a thing to offend him. Better to keep things as far away from tense as possible. And then--Ah.

Suddenly, everything made sense to him, as he watched the progression of speech and action between Kristoph and Mazikeen: The woman wasn't just a waitress, she was one of Kristoph's more protective underlings.

Dexter took the greeting that she (a waitress bodyguard, he presumed?) offered, grasping her fingers in a warm, slightly calloused and tan hand. He nodded at her.

"You weren't terse, just serving tea. It's nice to meet you."

As for Kristoph, Dex turned his head to look at him. You again, now you get my attention, because you're a horrible man, and I can tell by just looking at you. He held no disdain for Kristoph, just a sort of curiosity, which he turned into friendliness. The man picked up a teacup full of his Earl Grey, examining it carefully, and then sending one of his slightly large-eyed "I'm assessing this" looks over the rest of the plates and whatnot.

"So... this isn't a mug." He'd never actually seen so much fuss made about tea since he saw that documentary a year ago on the History Channel.

Then Dexter grinned at both of them. Might as well be taught about all of this while he was stuck interacting. Besides, no one knew why he was really here, and that was all he was actually concerned about.

[myscarsmiles]

True, he didn't think Dexter was a tea person; he seemed more like your general sort of 9-5 coffee, donut, and occasional murder on the side sort of fellow. Kristoph glanced from Dexter, to the teacup, to back to Dexter, and chuckled a little.

"Those are incredible powers of observation you have there; I surely hope you put them to good use with whatever you do with yourself. No, it is not a mug. It's a teacup. And it is for drinking tea."

[gettingawaywith]

He smiled at the man's joking tone, lifting the cup of tea to his mouth and taking a drink of it.

It was tea, alright. The best tea he'd probably ever had, because anything he'd been exposed to was out of a bag (and even then, he almost never drank tea).

Dexter blinked, lifted his eyes to the two people in front of him, and nodded as he swallowed.

"This...is really good. I don't know too much about tea, but I like this."

[myscarsmiles]

"Earl Grey is most famous for the bergamot orange used in it....named after a man in the eighteen-hundreds." He sat back, calm and cheerful, his early disgruntledness at the day all but faded away. "It's a very old, very traditional tea in teahouses."

It's always nice to know things, especially things others don't. "A staple, you might stay."

He does curiously wonder why Dexter is here, though. Perhaps he'll find out later....hmm.

[gettingawaywith]

Dexter blinked, and then widened his eyes a little.

Earl Grey. A real person. Who'd have thought?

The man nodded, slowly, as if he were thinking about that little fact, before he lifted his eyes and set the tea down.

"So..if you don't mind my asking, how long has this teahouse been open? I only heard about it recently, but it looks like you're doing really well here." He looked genuinely impressed, looking around the place, and taking it in anew.

[myscarsmiles]

"It's strange, how people and things come and go and are remembered in little ways," he mused, watching Dexter's face look around, wondering what he was thinking. Attempting to slip his fingers between the real and the fake expression. "As for this establishment...It's been around for a couple of months, though it caters to the sort of niche market that makes advertising unnecessary and can be reached entirely by word of mouth."

He looks around and smiles fondly, thinking of his hard work. "I have loyal customers. This is the only traditional tea house in Reggio Calabria."

[gettingawaywith]

Dexter looked down at all of the dishes, finally, before he glanced at Kristoph.

"Word of mouth is how I heard of it." The man lifted his eyebrows. This wordless conversation was much more treacherous than the verbal kind, as he couldn't even be sure what was being said under the words.

As far as anyone outside of Dexter's head was concerned, the scientist was a large, blank wall with a smiley face painted on it.

Plain, normal, and so charming that it usually threw anyone off the course of trying to scale it.