Author: Regret
Rating: G
Story:
Radial: UnravelChallenge: FOTD: Pseudology
Word Count: 357
Summary: Milos asks Alex how to lie.
“How do you do it?” He stared down at the murky canal waters and watched a rusted shopping trolley drift past.
“Do what?” Alex’s voice was distant.
Milos turned to look at him as he flicked through several pages of notes, paying no attention to the alfa whatsoever. “Lie so convincingly.”
That made him pause, glancing up at Milos with one eyebrow raised.
Seeing that the expression was the only question he was getting, Milos plunged onwards. “I mean, you’re believable. People trust you.” Only because they didn’t stop long enough to look into his eyes, he was sure.
Alex didn’t immediately answer, looking from his notes to a passing couple with a thoughtful expression, obviously weighing up whether it was likely they had any information he could use. Dismissing them, he turned back to Milos. “You have to wrap your lie around a kernel of truth. That way, you’re not lying outright and you can have faith in what you’re saying. At least,” he smirked at the alfa, “that’s what I’ve heard helps idiots who start blushing when they lie.”
Milos growled deep in the back of his throat and glared back down at the canal. The trolley had snagged on a half-submerged tyre. He wished he could forcibly encourage Alex to join them, but that would be a fight he’d only end up losing. “I can’t help it,” he muttered.
“Then practice, and stop being a dead weight.” Alex’s voice became distant again, then changed to smooth, calm tones as he began to ask questions of a passer-by.
Milos grumbled an insult under his breath and amused himself by imagining an irate and saturated Alex dripping with filthy water for a few moments, then pushed himself away from the railing and towards an older couple ambling past, pulling an only slightly battered photograph from his pocket. “Excuse me, have you seen...” Alex might have elevated lying to an art and Milos would never be able to match that, but maybe one day a little practice would be just enough to help him get one over on his supposed partner.
Well, he could hope, at least...