exsiliumlogs | [closed] nothing is crueler than children who come from good homes

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[closed] nothing is crueler than children who come from good homes

Date & Time: January 26th, sometime during the afternoon/evening
Location: The Initiative Library
Characters: Stephanie Brown, Vanadi
Summary: h e l p
Warnings: Vanadi comes with his own warning, right? AKA likely sexual content in some form or another.

[It hadn't taken her too long to reach the conclusion that this city was crazy. Between the kidnapping, the conscription, the randomly teleporting them back to the past, and the fact that half the Transport population suddenly changed ages and people are barely batting an eye, that tells her the whole thing is insane. In a totally mature response to the entire situation, Steph decides to hole up in the library as much as possible, so she doesn't have to deal with all this crap.

She's been there for almost five hours now, and is starting to have a little trouble focusing, which means it's time for coffee. It's the awful, sludge kind that comes from a machine, but it's cheap and better than nothing, so she makes do, warming her fingers around the styrofoam cup as she wanders the stacks to stretch her legs. After a few minutes she catches the attention of a staff member and asks about an encyclopaedia that had been referenced in a book she was reading, and gets pointed towards the back of the library, where the books are a little dusty and there are very few tables for people to sit. It doesn't really concern Steph, she tosses her now empty cup into a trashcan and goes to search for her book.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I've met three year olds with longer attention spans than you.

[Which doesn't stop her from taking the offered arm, though she does exchange a sort of 'I don't even know' glance with the librarian.

And she makes a note to get herself some friends who aren't overly flirtatious kitrites.]

Why, they must have been child prodigies. Tell me more about them, I beg.

[ That with a humoring smile, but there's no mistaking the flatly disinterested presentation. ]

Now, moving on— if you could do any one thing in this city that didn't involve a library, what do you suppose it would be?

[She shoots him an annoyed look, close to rolling her eyes at him, though she refrains for now.

The question does actually make her pause, since she... hasn't thought about what she wants to do in the city. She wants to know what's going on, she wants to know more about the Initiative and the United Earth. She wants to go home. But she also realizes that isn't even remotely what Vanadi's asking.]

I don't know. [She sounds a little confused, like she's actually trying to think about it, rather than the sort of "I don't know" that generally means "I don't care".] I think I've forgotten how to have fun.

What? [ He looks over, ears drawing back in a pretty good parody of alarm. ] Do you know how sad that is? My gods, let's go find an orgy right now.

[Anything else she was going to say is lost when the word orgy comes into play. At which point Steph kind of fumbles her thoughts for a moment before regaining her composure]

This may come as a shock, but an orgy isn't everyone's idea of a good time.

[NOPE.AVI at the idea of that many strangers touching her.]

[ sounding totally bored here: ] What, why, surely it isn't so, I simply can't believe that not everyone feels as I do.

[ He only perks a little when he shoots a glance over, tiny smile twisting in again. ]

You could stand to broaden your horizons a little, though.

My horizons are plenty broad, thank you very much. [She gives him a haughty look, as if offended] I'm just not interested in getting naked with a bunch of strangers.

Well, then why not get naked with just one whom you know decently well?

There's not anyone here I know decently well, stranger or otherwise.

[She knows exactly what he was implying, but it's more fun to pretend otherwise.]

Here, perhaps I can help — ask me anything.

[ He doesn't mind the coy act. It's all part of the familiar game, after all. ]

[Coy is not the word she would use.]

Is there any way you'll stop trying to get into my pants?

[what it's a question.]

[ without missing a beat: ] If you'd stop being so charming, I might consider it.

[Her reaction isn't quite violent, but she steps away sharply, crossing her arms over her chest, her posture defensive and a complete change from how she was acting a few seconds ago.]

So it's on me, then?

[She knows, logically, that isn't what he's trying to say, that he's trying to pay her a compliment, but all she can hear is it's your fault.]

[ That makes him pause, and a quick frown etches across his brow. He's heard this line of thinking before. It's never stopped being ridiculous and tedious. ]

Why, are you looking for a reason for it to be?

No, for-- [She cuts herself off, pinching the bridge of her nose as she forces down the initial reaction, no matter how visceral it was]

This is why I don't do this.

[The gesture she makes is a vague one, meant to encompass, well, boys.]

Mmhmm. [ His own arms are folded over his chest now, a brow arched. Steph, you'd been so cool, why are you being such a drag suddenly. Without much actual curiosity: ] Do what?

[That lack of curiosity doesn't escape her at all]

Like you actually care.

[Okay, she definitely needs friends who aren't him.]

[ Is this salvageable? He thinks it might be. Or at least, it's worth a shot. So, like a switch is flipped, he smiles. It's friendly as it ever was, and even his body language has made a return to being engaged and attentive, in the way his arms uncross and the slight lean toward her. ]

Come now. Are we friends, or are we friends? Of course I care.

We're not friends. [She doesn't sound angry anymore, for all her tone suggests, she might as well be commenting on the weather.]

You want to fuck me, and you'll play nice until you realize it's not going to happen, then you'll get bored and move on.

[She raises an eyebrow, challenging, even managing to fake a polite smile] Tell me I'm wrong.

You're [ absolutely right ] wrong. If that were the case, wouldn't I have gotten bored and moved on already?

[ His grin is familiar now, and the act is well practiced. ]

Please don't tell me you forgot the other night's adventure already! You certainly can't tell me it wasn't fun.

I never said it wasn't.

[And she'd be lying if she tried, she did have fun as long as she ignored all the flirting.]

You haven't gotten bored because you still think you've got a chance. God knows why it's worth the effort, maybe you just like a challenge.

I haven't gotten bored because you're not boring, and I enjoy your company.

[ well okay that's not an untruth. He cocks a brow, daring her to challenge it. ]

Your turn to tell me I'm wrong.

[She doesn't know if that's the truth or not, which just leaves her more frustrated more than anything]

I can tell you that I'm not going to sleep with you. No matter how charming you are, you're not gonna convince me to. I stopped doing all that when I was fifteen, it got boring.

[boring probably isn't the right word, but she can't be bothered to find the right one]

[ He smiles, moving back toward confident again. It does still seem that there's hope, here. Salvaging it was the right choice. ]

If you don't mind my saying, if you got bored of it, you weren't doing it with at all the right people.

I could've told you that. Teenage boys aren't known for being great in bed.

[She thinks Tim would've been different, but he - wasn't interested.]

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