Isabelle ♦ 015

[nolessthanseven]

Who Isabelle Lightwood and Desmond Miles
Where Desmond's club, L'Horizon
Style third okay with you, bb?
Status closed
Notes forward dated to Saturday night for all the truth shenanigans.

Comments

[failssassin]

Up until a few nights ago, Desmond had managed to stay locked up in his office when either of the girls were working the bar. But the holidays had brought more patrons and they quickly got overwhelmed, leading to him coming downstairs to help them.

There must have been something in the air, because the closer they got to Christmas, the merrier people were, always having a good thing to share or to say and soon enough Desmond had been caught in the cheerful atmosphere. His guards were still up, but he had smiled more often and had joked as well with the regulars. The Christmas cheer had even got to him to the point that the day before, he had done some shopping for his friends, and Isabelle's gift was on his desk, the wrapping elegantly done by the lady at the jewelery store.

Lifting his gaze up from the container of fruits he was pressing the lid on, he looked at the case of wine bottle in her arms:

"You can leave it on the counter, I'll put it away in a moment. Can you get the stools on the counter so I can clean the floors tomorrow morning, please?"

Yes, he was intending to work on Christmas day. There was nothing else for him to do anyway.

[nolessthanseven]

"Seriously, I can't even believe that you're planning on being here. That's ridiculous - who's going to come in?" She couldn't help but laugh, setting the case down where he told her to. It was relaxing, being there with him like that - he was talking to her again, smiling again, laughing even. Every time she saw or heard it, a little bit more of her worry and anxiety seemed to lift away.

Isabelle took a moment to lean against the counter, watching him thoughtfully before nodding and moving to put all the stools up. It was almost amazing how quiet the club could get when it was afterhours, when it was no one but them in the dimmed light. Well, she blamed Christmas for the fact that she was almost twirling around as she helped him clean up - something she didn't usually enjoy at the best of times - and couldn't stop smiling at least slightly.

"You're welcome to come by the mansion, if you want - no one can complain anyway, because it's Christmas, and I said so."

[failssassin]

The bartender shrugged as he put away the wine: "There were a few people last year. Beside, I don't think Altaïr celebrates Christmas, and any dinner with him and Lucy is going to end well before it's time to open the club. She's the in bed at six type."

Well, the blond was probably not that quiet, but she still had to show him that she knew how to have fun after all. Still, the smile on his lips took a light fondness to it before he watched Isabelle almost literally waltzing around the bar with the stools. He rolled his eyes in amusement at her energy despite them having to cover a long night, and despite the fact that the sun would rise soon enough outside. He shook his head at her invitation:

"Thanks, but I'd rather not spend more time than I have to with your brother. And I've cut enough on your time with Remus." Before she could even protest, Desmond felt compelled to add: "Don't think I've not notice you picking shifts that coincided with my own, Isabelle. He's going to think I'm trying to keep you away from him."

The novice's eyebrow twitched lightly as he realized what he had just said. It was the truth, yes, but usually Desmond was better at keeping his real thoughts in, brushing off invitations with a casual wave. Why hadn't he been able to do the same here?

[nolessthanseven]

Isabelle paused, leaning again against the counter as she abandoned cleaning for the time being. She couldn't deny that she was jealous that he was hanging out with Lucy - always Lucy - on Christmas, and she was just spending it with her brothers; no denying that she loved her brothers, but-

"He's...otherwise occupied this week, Des. I have all the time in the world right now," she finally replied, running her tongue over her lips, eyes dropped to almost avoid the obvious questions. "So he's not going to think anything. And if he does, it's because he's slightly neurotic and thinks that he's not as cute as all the other guys I surround myself with."

And no sooner had the words left her mouth, she gasped softly, clapping one hand over her mouth. "Don't tell him I said that."

[failssassin]

When he saw Isabelle pause in her cleaning, he raised an eyebrow, catching the look she gave him at the mention of Lucy. He wondered for a moment why she was acting like that: while he knew he cared about her more than just as a friend, or as a brother, he hadn't tell her and had no intentions to let her know. Even if there was some sort of truce between them since he woke up from his coma. He loved Lucy as well, and after what had happened in his world, he was starting to think that maybe he had been given a second shot at being with the blond. One he was struggling not to waste it, unlike with the brunette in front of him. Suddenly, he wondered if he had that same expression each time she was talking about Remus.

Speaking of the boy, the fact that he hadn't taken time with Isabelle made Desmond frown lightly: "He missed your birthday and he's going to miss Christmas?" It was clear that he wasn't happy to learn this and he would probably put the boy back into his place whenever he would get his hand on him. "Some boyfriend he is..." he muttered to himself, unable to keep in the words.

Lucky, Isabelle went on with her own tirade and he watched, amused as she clamp her hand over her mouth. "I won't tell him you said that" he said as he stifled a chuckle, completely missing the fact that the Shadowhunter had called him 'cute' as well.

[nolessthanseven]

Izzy barely even realised that the look had even crossed her face until she caught Desmond staring at her. She was so used to getting what she wanted - everything that she wanted, considering she had even dated Simon apparently - that having Desmond so close, yet so far (and knowing what he was like, too) made things a little bit frustrating, to say the least.

She sighed heavily, resting her chin in one hand. "It's not his fault, okay? He made a point of seeng me when he could, and he still gave me this totally gorgeous necklace. So whatever." Another heavy sigh, and Isabelle finally pushed off of the counter, returning to the task at hand.

"You'd better not; Haseo gave me a new staff for Christmas, and I'm dying to test it out on someone."

[failssassin]

It was clear that Desmond didn't believe her words one bit, but he still shrugged lightly:

"Right, not his fault. He still chose not to spend Christmas with you..." God, what was wrong with him? He couldn't stop himself from saying all what he was thinking. Though her next word made him frown lightly. "He gave you a necklace?"

Gritting his teeth, he thought of the wrapped locket in his office. Mentally cursing, he couldn't believe how unlucky he really was with Isabelle. Of course, her boyfriend had to pick up something very similar to what he had intended to give her, and before he was able to do so as well.

Desmond wiped the counter with a little more vigor than needed, but he somehow needed to spend his frustration somewhere.

[nolessthanseven]

"He didn't choose one way or another," Isabelle replied, perhaps a bit harshly, her hand moving to where the locket Remus had given her hung beneath her shirt, a constant reminder of the two of them together in what she still found amazing - a moving picture. "Yeah, he did. Why? He's not allowed to give me things now?"

She felt another pang of frustration, and a flicker of jealousy, ignoring both as she huffed a sigh, going back to putting up chairs with a bit too much effort; just like Desmond, she needed a bit of an outlet. Even if it meant she accidentally pushed one clear off the counter, letting it tumble to the other side with a loud clatter.

"Oh my goodness!" She shrieked, jumping; she wasn't usually one to do that, to have her heart leap out of her chest, but her focus had been elsewhere, leaving her open and distracted.

[failssassin]

He watched as she raised her hand to touch the gift she was wearing around her neck and he couldn't keep doing so. Looking away, he let her words sting as they should before he shook his head:

"No...that's not what I meant. It was just a question." Well, there went his idea of offering her a pendant as well. It was too late to shop for something else and he was becoming frustrated with himself because now he had nothing to give to her on the eve of the holiday.

Having kept his gaze away from her as he had kept wiping the counter, he turned around quickly as the clatter of the stool falling off the counter. "Shit." He walked over to pick it up and well despite himself, he gave Isabelle a concerned look, the words leaving his mouth before he could think of them:

"Are you okay?"

[nolessthanseven]

She had her hand on her heart when he looked over at her again, trying to catch her breath. Even when he spoke, Isabelle refused to let herself glance up and back to him; instead, she busied herself hopping over the counter, making sure that she hadn't accidentally damaged anything. He'd be taking it out of her pay for sure.

Finally hefting a sigh, and lifting the chair back up, she looked at him with some combination of 'are you an idiot' and piteous sympathy - definitely a strange look. "Yeah. I'm fine. I dropped something."

[failssassin]

He wasn't that much concerned about things that might have been damaged: glasses and bottles could be replaced, but she couldn't. And he wouldn't have taken it out of her pay, the club's budget had some expenses for broken material.

It stung that she didn't look up at him, and that when she did, it was only to give him the strangest look. He couldn't stand the pity in her eyes and he turned his back on her, picking up the trash on his way.

"Go if you're tired. I can finish the rest by myself."

It wasn't pleasant to send her away, again, but perhaps it'd be the best for both of them.

[nolessthanseven]

"I'm not," she replied curtly, leaning against the counter to stare at him a few moments longer. She couldn't figure out what was up with him lately, why he was actually doing this, both to himself and to her - like telling her to just leave would make her listen, just like any other girl. And honestly, if it had worked on anyone else in Desmond's life, Isabelle would be sorely disappointed in the rest of them.

Well, more than she already was.

"So what's up with you?"

[failssassin]

Back in his world, back when he was a nameless citizen of the Big Apple, pushing people away like this had actually worked. But then again, he had made a point of never forging bounds heavier than being a simple acquaintance to people, the usual bartender that did more listening than talking about himself. After all, it was what people wanted, no? To find someone who would listen to their woes and nothing else. And so it had become a habit, one he had lost after meeting Lucy. One he knew now he should have kept.

Walking over to the back door of the club, he threw the trash in the dumpster before walking back in, shivering lightly from the cold air of the night. He was back in time to catch her question and all of himself wanted to answer that nothing was 'up' with him. But for some reason, the lie would pass his lips and instead Desmond chose to evade the question.

"I don't know what you mean" he said as he climbed the stairs to get back to his office. Cleaning was done in the club, he only had to drop their earnings in the small vault and lock the bar.

[nolessthanseven]

And then again, Isabelle was just as much a New Yorker, and knew exactly how to deal with finicky people like that. Add to that that she was just forceful enough to make sure that he stayed in her life, even if he didn't like it, and you got this conversation right here. Her dark, charcoaled eyes were locked on him as he moved, evading her question like he was evading her, keeping up their dance of avoidance until he clearly couldn't any longer.

She fully intended to beat around the bush a little bit more than she was; something was enticing her to be that much more forward: "I think you do. But I mean, hey - if you want to think I'm not onto it, feel free."

A light sigh escaped her, and she watched him for a moment longer, dropping behind the counter to tidy up what little had been shifted by the chair's fall. "I'm always here to listen though, even if you don't think I am."

[failssassin]

Desmond stopped in the middle of the stairs as she spoke back to him. Eyes locked in front of him, he listened to what she had to say, and wasn't entirely surprised by how she knew he was evading her question. His grip on the rail tightened and he closed his eyes a bit in defeat.

"I know you are" he muttered before turning his head to look at her. "I never thought you weren't." But just because she was willing to listen, it didn't meant that he could talk either. He couldn't pull her into his world. Even with all the skills in the world, skills Lucy had as well, she couldn't be protected from him. Or from his enemies, which he had no doubt would use her to get to him.

[nolessthanseven]

His admission made her feel a little bit better, at least. But then again, it meant that he knew she was there, and was just ignoring that.

So Isabelle stepped out from behind the bar, moving closer to him with an almost pleading stare. "What's happening here, Des? We used to be close, and now I can't even get you to talk to me." She cursed herself for being such a girl, for putting her feelings out there for him to step on, but she had even more lingering just on the tip of her tongue that she was barely able to resist saying.