024 [cctv

[worksmart]

[This video feed seems to be coming from one of the Hospital's many security cameras, and my doesn't the place look festive. Garlands of evergreens twined with red ribbons and twinkling lights line the corridors, making it impossible for a busy doctor to notice anything out of place

Comments

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[caughtthebullet]

[Are you carrying any coffee, Chase? Because this man is coming around the corner and may be just fast enough to avoid a spill should they collide.]

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[worksmart]

[Chase is carrying a fresh cup and a slightly hunted expression as he rounds the corner himself, not taking what would be sound advice to stop and look both ways before making a move. The arm with the cup swings safely out to the side, though, emptying its contents into the gutter as Chase finds himself on tiptoe and pressed against somebody he hasn't even recognised yet.]

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[caughtthebullet]

[This requires one arm bracing Chase's torso, bringing him to a full halt while his other hand whips out to catch said cup, leaving perhaps a third of its contents safe.]

It's terrible for the environment.

[Spoken like a true American. Sort of. At least his suit stays spotless.]

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[worksmart]

[Chase will make sure to be grateful for the fraction of his money saved, although probably when he's pulled back, which that bracing arm makes it very difficult to do, and anyway his body seems determined to do the opposite and leans up to let him press a quick kiss to Adrian's lips.

...Call it gratitude.]

Not this one.

[Managed past the choke in his throat. If that arm could move now, please?]

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[caughtthebullet]

[How's that for something the smartest man in the world didn't see coming?]

You have a point.

[And now you also have a kiss in return, Dr. Chase. This one is open-mouthed, arm leaving his torso only so that his hand can grip the aussie by the jaw. The cup remains safe throughout.]

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[worksmart]

[That is just how Chase rolls. Except no he doesn't, as evidenced by the grand degree of squirming that goes on until he realises that is it probably not helping. At least they're half hidden from the street, because he's really not feeling like the man in this situation, grateful when the need for oxygen overwhelms the cursed plant and lets him drag gis head back to gasp for air.]

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[caughtthebullet]

[Fortunately that's when Adrian lets go too, of both Chase and the coffee cup. Unlike the squirming non-man, this man does not look fazed.]

Doctor.

[Is it a greeting? A farewell? Chase can decide.]

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[worksmart]

[HE SHOULD LOOK FAZED. Though Chase is doing his best, via a series of throat clearings and the removal of imaginary lint from his jacket, to achieve an outward appearance of the same. It's a greeting only because the step back gave him time to properly recognise who he's... talking to.]

Mr Veidt? [Or it probably did. In the City facial familiarity isn't a guarantee.]

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[caughtthebullet]

Adrian or Veidt.

["Mr. Veidt" just doesn't have the same ring to it coming from a mouth other than Dorian Gray's.]

A curse day, I imagine. No hard feelings.

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[worksmart]

Adrian.

[Chase nods his head, back to wary composure. Not that last names are a difficulty, but oddly it's the use of the given name that sounds more respectful. Despite the nature of that greeting.]

How long have you been back in the city?

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[caughtthebullet]

[That's what happens when you deal with guys like Blake. Now his hands slip into his own coat pockets.]

Thirty-six hours. Thirty-six hours of getting my bearings.

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[worksmart]

You might want to keep an eye out for the-- [He's gesturing upward, but the plant that had sprouted above them is withered and gone. Oh, but there's one further along the alley waiting for someone else unsuspecting, and Chase points to that instead.] the mistletoe. Unless there's someone you're really missed.

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[caughtthebullet]

[Adrian's smile says "I know." but what comes out of his mouth is less incriminating as green eyes glance down the alley then back to Chase.]

It's harmless.

[And he means that in the most basic sense. Has the mistletoe caused anyone's death? If kissing has well that's the kind of world that needs ethical correction.]

But we won't talk about what could be worse. Have you been here for as long as I've been gone?

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[worksmart]

[It's a great way to spread mono. Chase didn't miss the smile, but it just adds to not quite knowing what to make of Adrian Veidt. He hasn't forgotten that the man welcomes newcomers by discussing how to get blood off the surfaces.]

I haven't left. [He hedges, the question being a difficult one if you take time discrepancies into account.] It's over six months, now.

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[caughtthebullet]

[Say it aloud, Chase. It sounds like a job for Veidt Medical Industries.]

And you're still in good health.

["Sane." "Impressive." "Admirable." "Lucky you."]

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[worksmart]

I'm a doctor, we don't get sick.

[Said with a shrug and a smile. To be fair, Chase has spent more time laid up since being in the city than in most of the rest of his life, but it's been injury, not illness, to blame.]