( closed ) tell me why the dark side just captures my eye

[geophile]

Who: steven ( geophile ) & rideaux ( pr159 )
When: IC 8/11
Where: a classy little bar in the pleasure district.
What: in an attempt to see if he has any basic social skills, rideaux has invited steven out for drinks. things escalate.
Rating/Warning: 14A for alcohol consumption, some heavy drunken flirting, and a morning after, but nothing worth locking.

---

[ it isn't that steven is nervous about this meeting in the slightest - when rideaux has asked him out for drinks, it was in a snarky, borderline malicious way that steven understood. this is nowhere near a date, and he intends to hold his own and prove the other man wrong about whatever silly assumptions he had made about him thus far.

still, he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't anticipating whatever interaction was going to come out of this. he can't say that he likes rideaux very much, but he seems like an interesting person. if he's the kind of drinker that finds himself to be loose-lipped upon having one too many, he might learn a thing or two.

of course it doesn't occur to him that he himself may be the first one to get tipsy, but that's a bridge that will be crossed later. for now he's sitting at the bar, finger swirling around his glass of whiskey (neat, no ice) as he waits for his "companion". ]

Comments

[pr159]

[ rideaux hadn't really expected steven to take him up on his invitation, but the fact that he did hardly disproved his assertions. this isn't some friendly night of fun, but an acceptance of a personal challenge (as trivial a challenge as it is), and they're both well aware of it. of course, for rideaux's part, he doesn't really care how this turns out. either steven confirms that he really doesn't have anything on his mind besides monsters and rocks, or he actually loosens up and offers some amusement. either way he'll get something to hold over his head the next day.

he arrives at the bar three minutes after the scheduled time -- fashionably late so as to make a better entrance, he'd say, though in actuality, he'd had to make a brief unplanned stop along the way to catch his breath. ]

I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long.

[ sliding into the seat next to steven, he gives a cool smile that, in contrast to his words, is not the least bit apologetic; then he waves down the bartender to order one of the house specialty cocktails by name -- one that he knows will match tonight's outfit perfectly -- without missing a beat.

what can he say, he spends a lot of time here. ]

[geophile]

[ steven knows how to pick his own battles, but this one did seem like it would be a harmless challenge to take up. it's not as if it would be difficult - he might have an occasional social misunderstanding, but one-on-one meetings are something he knows his way around.

it's difficult to not notice him come through the door, but he'll offer him an equally smooth smile of his own. clueless or not, he has a charm about him. ]

Not enough to test my patience, thankfully.

[ and upon hearing him call for his drink without a beat, he raises an eyebrow. ]

You're a regular.

[pr159]

[ he shrugs -- guilty as charged -- and sits back, crossing his legs and resting his arm on the back of his chair. ]

I like to take a little time to unwind after work.

[ it's more than a little time, if he's honest, but that's neither here nor there.

his gaze shifts downward to steven's drink, and he smirks. ]

And here I would have expected you to like your whiskey on the rocks.

[ it's said in jest, though; he's sure he's talking to the kind of person who only ever had top-shelf single malt stocked in the family liquor cabinet. ]

[geophile]

Clearly.

[ he can infer that much, but that's not something he can judge on. he'll just smile politely as he takes a sip of his drink. ]

Very funny. [ eye roll!! ] I don't rule it out, but it depends on how I'm feeling. I'd rather not dilute anything at the moment.

[ he sure is - though that collection is reserved for the stone family mansion and not his personal, humble abode. despite his pride in looks and proper actions, he tries not to flaunt much more than that. ]

[pr159]

[ that response sounds a little like judging, which he doesn't particularly appreciate, but while his eyes narrow ever so slightly, he chooses not to remark on it. he doesn't need to defend the way he lives his life to anyone. ]

A good decision.

[ though he says that, the drink that arrives for him a moment later is a near polar opposite in appearance -- acai liqueur mixed with sparkling wine in a champagne glass, with a twist of lime. he drinks things straight at home himself, but if he's going out, he often enjoys having something a little flashier and more colorful.

taking his glass by the stem, he raises it up. ]

Shall we make a toast?

[geophile]

[ good god, that drink looks sickeningly colourful. it's definitely not steven's style, but somehow it seems like fitting for the man next to him.

he looks at him with an amused look when he proposes the toast, but lifts his glass in response. ]

To what, exactly? A budding friendship?

[ yeah. right. ]

[pr159]

Oh? Whose?

[ ha. he shakes his head and brushes his hair back over his shoulder. ]

Let's keep it to something simple that we can both agree on. [ to how fucking good I am at coordinating my drinks with my outfits. ] To a -- hopefully -- uninterrupted happy hour.

[geophile]

I can drink to that much.

[ yep, that's what he thought. while optimism sure is nice, realism (and the fact that he himself doesn't particularly like rideaux) are triumphing over it all. he's here to prove a point and satisfy curiousity, not to be chummy.

he'll properly click his glass against the other's before taking a sip of his drink, meeting his eyes with an inquisitive smile. ]

You have me here, so I'll be properly sociable. I'll answer any question you have - within reason, of course.

[pr159]

Good.

[ he takes a sip of his own drink and smiles back, though as usual, there's nothing warm about it. "answer any question"... what does he think this is supposed to be, a game of truth or dare? ]

And what topics would you consider to be outside of the realm of reason?

[geophile]

[ how else is he supposed to start a conversation??? geez, way to make this difficult from the get go. ]

Let's just say that you won't get much out of me if you try to get too personal.

[ for the most part, he's a fairly open book without too many deep, dark secrets. besides, he doubts that rideaux cares that much. ]

[pr159]

That's implying that you actually have personal details worth protecting.

[ of which he's a little skeptical, but if there actually are any, he might as well get to work on goading him into revealing them. ]

[geophile]

Of course I do. Everyone has something interesting about them - even you, I'm sure.

[ his aren't terribly interesting, but he's a private person to begin with. but his intuition says that the man sitting across from him has an intriguing story behind him. ]

[pr159]

[ even him? please. ]

Most things about me are interesting, actually. [ he takes another sip, and tilts his head slightly with an expression of mock disappointment. ] It's a shame that's not what we're here for.

[geophile]

I'm very sure about that.

[ he'll say it in disbelief as a little act of rebellion - he doesn't want to be a passive party in whatever this is. ]

I'm afraid you've lost me on why it is you invited me here at all, then. I'm starting to get a bit bored.

[pr159]

[ setting his drink down with a chuckle, he rests his cheek in his hand. ]

So in other words, even you find it boring when you're the subject of focus.

[geophile]

I never said I was an exciting person; I find it boring when a conversation seemingly has no point. You're not doing a very good job of keeping me interested.

[ he takes a sip of his own drink. don't make him regret saying yes to this more than he already does, rideaux. ]

[pr159]

I invited you out so that I could observe your human interactions in a casual social setting.

[ he didn't challenge you to not be bored, he challenged you to not be boring. ]

If you'll recall, I never actually said that those interactions had to be with me. Strike up a conversation with a stranger if you'd rather. Pick out an attractive woman and invite her back to your place.

Of course, if you're truly that eager for me to entertain you...

[geophile]

I wouldn't categorize myself as a social Beautifl- [ wait ] butterfly. Putting on some sort of performance for you would be just the kind of pointless conversation I just mentioned. My heart wouldn't be in it.

[ and he's not about to disrespect an unsuspecting woman just to prove a point. that's not to say that he couldn't - he's attractive enough that some eyes in the bar may have given him a double take already. ]

I know next to nothing about you, but I still know you better than anyone else here. Would it really be that repulsive of an idea to talk to me?

[pr159]

[ rideaux raises an eyebrow at that slip -- a social what? -- but he lets it go, assuming it's probably some monster crap he doesn't care about. "social butterfly" is a ridiculous enough image already given how aggressive those things in rieze maxia can be, but for him, maybe that's appropriate. ]

You know you're really not proving your case here if your idea of competence with personal interaction is sticking with someone you don't like who you claim is boring you because you don't want to talk to anyone else.

[ he raises his head, straightening back up a little. ]

But all right. How about this -- we can each ask each other anything we want, but then we have to answer the same question ourselves.

[ that way he can get at least a little of what he came here for, and there won't be any risk of the conversation getting boring because half of it will be about him. ]

[geophile]

I think that the marker of being adept at personal interaction would be the ability to change all of that. I just need a hook.

[ he's almost done his glass at this point, but won't hesitate to signal the bartender smoothly to order another round once he is. ]

That sounds fair.

[pr159]

Excellent.

[ he gives a bit of thought to his first question as he takes another drink, and deliberately settles on something pointed that can't actually be turned around on him while still qualifying as "the same question". ]

What was it like to grow up with all that money?

[geophile]

Unless you are from the same situation, I believe you're already breaking your own rule. But I'll still answer, if you're willing to ask something so specific.

[ he doesn't know about rideaux's past, but he has a feeling that he didn't have as affluent of a background as him. ]

It was comfortable in terms of having to not worry about things, but at the same time... isolating, I suppose. I was raised to be ready to take on my family business when I became of age; there wasn't much time for other things. I took refuge in my passions whenever I could.

[pr159]

[ he has to scoff at that answer. ah, yes, the classic story of the lonely rich kid. he can't find even an ounce of sympathy for that kind of thing. the "poor but happy or rich but lonely" dichotomy that the world always seems to latch onto is complete bullshit as far as he's concerned. ]

Oh, I can still answer it myself, so I'm not breaking any rules. My answer is just "What money?"

Your turn.

[geophile]

[ it's not something that he'll comment on. he knows that he was born into privilege, and he isn't asking for sympathy for it. he spent the majority of his time running away from his affluence when he could, be it through travelling or pokemon training. ]

I wouldn't be able to tell that from a glance. You've made quite an image for yourself.

[ he'll take the opportunity to give him a quick once over with his eyes. barring the weird feather boa, that suit isn't half bad. moving on... ]

You never struck me as a botanical researcher. Is that really what you did in your own world?

[pr159]

It's amazing what talent and hard work can get you.

[ and being taken in and given a job by the president of the most influential company in your world, but that part doesn't have any place in the story he likes to tell about himself. ]

I did research to develop medicines and medical devices, but no, I didn't focus on the potential for plants in that development like I'm doing now. [ he finishes the last of his drink, and sets the empty glass down with a sigh. ] Given the state of nature in my world that would have been a little difficult.

[ until the schism had been dispelled, anyway. of course, after that, he'd had other things to focus on. ]