Fic: Exhibitionist
Title: Exhibitionist
Author: Whuffle
Rating: K
Words: 525
Summary: Sometimes a single moment can have amazingly wide repercussions. Neither of them knew it at the time, but James Lester and Hadrian Stockbridge were having one of those moments right now.
Prompt 40: Exhibitionist
James Lester saw Hadrian Stockbridge coming across the crowded lobby and grimaced. It was a rare pleasure for him to have company for this sort of function, much less, a beautiful woman. He should have known that Amira’s presence would draw Hadrian to him like lodestone. Now as Lester dressed the other man down with a stream of achingly polite invectives, he was beginning to question the wisdom of having chosen to attend the event at all.
“... don’t care what you think, Hadrian, and never have. I tolerated your rudeness while I was still married to Stephanie, but now that the divorce is final, I’ve no reason to put up. And well, when it comes to vets, Miss Maitland has done a superlative job on her own for quite some time. I’m certain we could toss you back into that primordial pond you call home and ask the military to fish out some other qualified soul to assist at the ARC when needed.”
Smiling his dazzling best, Hadrian kept his outward composure, well aware that appearing to have been ruffled by the words of a petty Home Office bureaucrat like James Lester would certainly lose him any chance of leaving the opera benefit with company to share his bed for the night. Eyes narrowed, he finally caught what he’d been missing before, and pounced.
“Madam,” he said, stepping forward to extend his hand to the Mediterranean beauty who’d stood silently beside Lester watching the entire exchange. “I apologize for James’ incivility. We’ve old bones to haggle over, he and I. Now, I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Hadrian Stockbridge. And you are?”
“Amira Selkirk,” she replied in a melodious voice with a clipped accent that spoke of family abroad.
And then she squeezed his hand.
Hadrian was surprised as the tight grip pushed his knuckles together uncomfortably. And suddenly, he couldn’t help but notice the ornate sapphires and diamonds of her wedding band as they pressed into his fingers. Eyes flicking over to his rival’s hand, Hadrian noted the other man was still unmarried, making it all too likely that the woman’s husband would return shortly. Looking up into one of James Lester’s droll trademark smirks, Hadrian decided the time had come to retreat.
“It’s been a pleasure to have met you, Misses Selkirk. James, do let Abby know she’s welcome to call me if she’d like to come to that symposia next week on treating Dysplasia in reptiles. Now if you’ll both excuse me, I really must go catch up with that Emerson fellow and his lovely wife.”
Eyebrows raised, James Lester watched as Hadrian made his retreat. And he wasn’t the only one. Thanks to the lobby’s sardine packed crowd, James couldn’t help but hear the sound of muffled laughter behind him. Turning, he saw a man and a woman, both looking bemused. The woman appeared to be entirely incapable of keeping a straight expression once he’d turned to face her.
Shaking his head at his partner, the man stepped forward and offered his hand. “You’ll pardon my wife, but McKenna and I have both seen our fair share of Hadrian and his antics. I’m Kavan, or, that Emerson fellow, as Hadrian seems to believe I should be called...”
Author: Whuffle
Rating: K
Words: 525
Summary: Sometimes a single moment can have amazingly wide repercussions. Neither of them knew it at the time, but James Lester and Hadrian Stockbridge were having one of those moments right now.
Prompt 40: Exhibitionist
James Lester saw Hadrian Stockbridge coming across the crowded lobby and grimaced. It was a rare pleasure for him to have company for this sort of function, much less, a beautiful woman. He should have known that Amira’s presence would draw Hadrian to him like lodestone. Now as Lester dressed the other man down with a stream of achingly polite invectives, he was beginning to question the wisdom of having chosen to attend the event at all.
“... don’t care what you think, Hadrian, and never have. I tolerated your rudeness while I was still married to Stephanie, but now that the divorce is final, I’ve no reason to put up. And well, when it comes to vets, Miss Maitland has done a superlative job on her own for quite some time. I’m certain we could toss you back into that primordial pond you call home and ask the military to fish out some other qualified soul to assist at the ARC when needed.”
Smiling his dazzling best, Hadrian kept his outward composure, well aware that appearing to have been ruffled by the words of a petty Home Office bureaucrat like James Lester would certainly lose him any chance of leaving the opera benefit with company to share his bed for the night. Eyes narrowed, he finally caught what he’d been missing before, and pounced.
“Madam,” he said, stepping forward to extend his hand to the Mediterranean beauty who’d stood silently beside Lester watching the entire exchange. “I apologize for James’ incivility. We’ve old bones to haggle over, he and I. Now, I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Hadrian Stockbridge. And you are?”
“Amira Selkirk,” she replied in a melodious voice with a clipped accent that spoke of family abroad.
And then she squeezed his hand.
Hadrian was surprised as the tight grip pushed his knuckles together uncomfortably. And suddenly, he couldn’t help but notice the ornate sapphires and diamonds of her wedding band as they pressed into his fingers. Eyes flicking over to his rival’s hand, Hadrian noted the other man was still unmarried, making it all too likely that the woman’s husband would return shortly. Looking up into one of James Lester’s droll trademark smirks, Hadrian decided the time had come to retreat.
“It’s been a pleasure to have met you, Misses Selkirk. James, do let Abby know she’s welcome to call me if she’d like to come to that symposia next week on treating Dysplasia in reptiles. Now if you’ll both excuse me, I really must go catch up with that Emerson fellow and his lovely wife.”
Eyebrows raised, James Lester watched as Hadrian made his retreat. And he wasn’t the only one. Thanks to the lobby’s sardine packed crowd, James couldn’t help but hear the sound of muffled laughter behind him. Turning, he saw a man and a woman, both looking bemused. The woman appeared to be entirely incapable of keeping a straight expression once he’d turned to face her.
Shaking his head at his partner, the man stepped forward and offered his hand. “You’ll pardon my wife, but McKenna and I have both seen our fair share of Hadrian and his antics. I’m Kavan, or, that Emerson fellow, as Hadrian seems to believe I should be called...”