Cupidity - chapter eight
Nov. 14th, 2007 10:21 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
louiselux.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
curious_spellsPrevious parts: Author notes, chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, chapter four, chapter five, chapter six, chapter seven
She stood up and walked closer, and Angel had to stop himself from backing away. Her gaze swept him up and down. She wore painfully high heels and her nail polish was a dark bronze against her skin. Every button and line and crease was crisp and perfect, like she'd just been ejected from the Armani shop for making the mannequins look shabby.
"How did you know I was sleeping?" he said, having a creepy little vision of her standing silently in Robin's room, watching him as he slept. She looked him up and down. Her gaze was hard, like the sharp and perfect lines of her face.
"I'm a good guesser. So, Angel. You're the new one." She looked him over, not bothering to hide it. Her mouth twisted into something that wasn't a smile. "You're certainly not the usual type he collects."
He had no idea what he was expected to say, if anything. "Oh. Uh. Right."
She drew her delicate brows together. "You know, Robin's never mentioned you. That pisses me off."
She looked at him like she was waiting for him to explain himself. Angel shrugged. It made her frown more, and he gave her the finger, at least in his head.
"We haven't been--I haven't been here long," he said.
She nodded, moving closer, and slid a hand over his arm. It was so cold he jerked back. "That's probably all it is, I'm sure," she said. "An oversight on his part. When he comes back, Angel, tell him that Rose was looking for him." Her gaze fixed on the tag around his neck and she narrowed her eyes. "He bought you that?" she said. Her voice got colder and as he watched she curled her fingers into fists, so briefly that he might've imagined it. She bared her teeth. "I can see he likes his new toy."
"I'll give him your message," he said, backing up for real now. He wanted to be as far away from her as he could manage. For a long time.
"You'd better."
She turned and walked away, fast long strides towards the elevator. Angel watched the doors close on her--she was still staring at him--and then collapsed back against the wall. His knees were shaking for no good reason. He still had no idea who she was. She might be some crazy person. Likely.
He sat in front of the windows and watched the city for a while, waiting for the sound of the elevator and dreading that she'd come back. He had his phone clutched in one hand. He could still hear her voice, like she hated him utterly and completely. He looked out at the glittering lights for a long time, thinking he could go anywhere, maybe just up and leave and not come back. He pressed Robin's number.
"Goodfellow."
"Hi. It's me. Angel."
"Oh. Hello," Robin said. He sounded pleased, almost. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, fine." It was kind of stupidly nice having someone ask that, even if he did lie about the answer. "You still having a tolerable time?"
"Yes," Robin said. "But it's more tolerable now."
Angel snorted out a laugh. "Okay. Right. Um, someone came to your place today. This chick called Rose." Silence. "She said to tell you she'd been, that's all."
"What else did she say?" Robin said. Even over the shaky connection, he could hear the tension.
"Nothing really. Just that, uh."
"What?"
"She said she was surprised you hadn't mentioned me."
"I see."
"Is she your sister or something?"
Robin's harsh laugh made the phone's speaker crackle. "No. No, she's not my sister."
"You look kind of alike is all."
"We all have our crosses to bear, I'm told. What else have you been doing besides enduring Rose?"
"Enduring Rose sounds like a movie title. Uh...not much, I guess. I found the local 7-Eleven."
"And stripped it of its manifold treasures?"
"Not all of them. I'd better go back."
Robin chuckled, a low warm sound that made Angel want to curl up around the phone. "You can get me some Poprocks when you do."
"Really?"
"Really. They're the closest thing this world has to magic, I think."
"They are pretty cool. Oh, and I made pasta! With your machine."
"I'm impressed. How did it turn out?"
"Uh, kinda lumpy. But it was still good."
"I'm sure it was."
"Have you ever used the pasta machine? Mrs Benoit said you never use the coffee maker."
"Ah. Well, I haven't had time to review the manuals."
"The pasta thing doesn't need a manual. You just turn the crank."
"Perhaps you can show me some time. And do let me know if you figure out the coffee maker. It's supposed to be very good."
"What's a civet?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You have these coffee beans that talk about an Asian palm civet on the label. Is that some kind of palm flavored...I don't know what?"
"Ah. No. Kopi Luwak coffee is made from coffee beans that have been eaten and excreted by the civet. It's a kind of cat."
Angel frowned. "That's a joke, right?"
"It is not."
"Cat crap coffee."
"I'm afraid so. It's supposed to be excellent."
"But you haven't actually tried it."
"Not yet."
"Because you can't make your coffee machine work."
"Angel." There was a hint of warning in his voice, but also some amusement.
"Fine, whatever. Just don't expect me to drink it."
"I won't."
Angel looked up at the blank ceiling and listened to the nearly silent static hiss of the phone. "You really don't mind me calling you?"
"No. I really don't."
He sounded like he meant it. Chicago must be pretty dull, for a phone call to make him happy. He tried to imagine Robin out on the town or in a nightclub. The best he could come up with was Robin sitting in a fancy restaurant, looking faintly displeased at the food and the people. Maybe with some silent bimbo on his arm.
"Okay. So I'll see you Friday," he said, wondering if Robin had a silent bimbo right there with him, being silent.
"Yes, in the evening," said Robin.
"Right. Bye then."
"Goodbye, Angel. Wait. If Rose comes back-- "
"Yeah?"
"Don't agree to anything she says."
"Like what?"
"Just don't," he said, and rung off.
Rose didn't come back and make him any strange offers or anything.
He lay awake for a long time that night. It was hard to sleep in Robin's apartment. The silence creeped him out sometimes, especially at night. He was used to sleeping around other people, a lot of whom also didn't have a bed. He felt like if he moved or made a sound, something in this cavernous brittle silence might hear him, which was ridiculous because he was alone.
That made him think of that stupid painting and how he'd imagined faces peeping. He closed his eyes and burrowed down into the covers.
The woods were close. They were easy to find, just through the door. The trees drew him in, their dark arms holding him, stroking his hair with their sharp thin fingers. The leaves rustled. Something was moving ahead of him. He wasn't scared, although he had the definite feeling he should be. He pushed through the inky green depths until the trees fell away.
The sky was murky twilight, thunderstorm yellow and heavy with dark grey clouds. Light poured down into a clearing, and it fell on the skin of a woman. She was beautiful. She had a bow slung over her back. Its tips curved like stags horns and they were capped with gold. A young man knelt at her feet. He had scratches on his naked chest and back and his feet were bloody, like he'd been running fast over stones and sharp fallen branches. He looked over at Angel and whimpered.
"My sweet apple tree," she whispered, petting his head. He moaned and rocked forward. A hank of his blond hair hung from her fingertips.
She raised her head and looked his way. Her eyes were black. "Who are you, pretty stranger? Did he send you to me?"
"Who?" he said.
She can't hurt me, he thought, but he had the first queasy sensation of fear. He wanted to run, but instinct said that she'd catch him. She had long strong legs. This is a dream, he thought. He could almost taste the rich dark smell of rotted leaves and damp moss.
"My Robin Goodfellow," she said, smiling at him. "He's my darling."
She lifted the man with one arm and pulled him close to her chest, where he slumped and clung to her. From the trees figures emerged. More women, with wide eyes and dark clothes. She let the man fall into their arms, and walked forward.
"What's your name?" she said, feet treading carefully over the leaves. They didn't make a sound. "Tell me."
Her voice was soft and so persuasive that he didn't even think to not tell her. Her hair was silvery grey and fell down around her arms like it'd been brushed a hundred times, just like his mom used to brush her hair. Her skin had no wrinkles and was smooth and golden.
"Messiah Angel," he said.
"Well. You humans are odd."
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Eos," she said.
She was close enough to reach out and touch the tag at his throat. Her teeth bared for a second.
"What's this? Did he give you this, my Robin?"
"Uh." He shook. "Yes."
"How dare he. You'd better run, my brightness, because I'd like to take you from him."
Angel ran. Each step was slower than the last. Briars lashed round his waist, and he tore at them, not daring to look around. She was going to catch him, he knew. Behind him, he could hear the women baying as they chased him.
The trees closed in around him again, thick and dark and shutting out the light. The briars melted into shadows, but the shadows still clung to him, plucking at his ankles and the cuffs of his shirt until he wasn't sure whether his clothes were falling to tatters or whether it was only the striped flicker of light through branches.
The baying behind him was less, even though he couldn't seem to pick up speed. Everything was nightmare slow, and his feet ached. He could feel every stone under them, and the sharpness of broken twigs splintering into his skin.
He was only walking now, dragging his feet one after the other. The necklace was heavy around his neck, and the forest was silent except for one persistent cricket. A dark shaped moved in front of him. He stopped.
"You're out late," Robin said softly. "And you seem to have found the bad part of town."
"I'm sorry," Angel whispered. "I didn't mean to."
"She knows your name now. You'd better run." Robin grinned, almost a snarl. His teeth were sharp and white, and his canines seemed longer than they should be.
Angel turned and took off again without thinking, away from the path that he'd hoped would get him home. He felt Robin's hot breath at his neck, felt the cool brush of fingers down his spine. He shuddered and forced himself to move faster, and he was truly moving now. The sluggishness was gone, and he felt almost as if he could fly. Behind him, he heard Robin laugh, and almost wanted to laugh himself.
The trees blurred past. Vines and creepers whipped his skin into tiger stripes. He could see the end of the trees up ahead, light pouring down, making the leaves glow with silver. Just a little further.
He broke from the forest, Robin close on his heels. In front of him was a cliff. He skidded to a stop on the edge and looked over. There was mist down there, and no bottom that he could see.
Robin pressed up behind him, naked, pulling at the rags of Angel's clothing. He bit at Angel's neck. When Angel twisted around to look at him, there was blood on his lips. He said something Angel couldn't understand, put boths hands on his back, and pushed.
Angel woke a sharp breath tearing at his throat and hands that grabbed at the sheets and couldn't let go. He was shaking, and his cock was hard and leaking, little sticky strands of pre-come clinging to his stomach. He lunged for the lightswitch and backed up against the head of the bed.
The room was empty. He was alone.
Right. Of course. Because it had been a dream. Just a dream. He told himself that, even whispered it out loud, but he was too freaked to lie down again, or turn off the light, or even jerk off. He pulled the covers up around his chin and waited for dawn.
She stood up and walked closer, and Angel had to stop himself from backing away. Her gaze swept him up and down. She wore painfully high heels and her nail polish was a dark bronze against her skin. Every button and line and crease was crisp and perfect, like she'd just been ejected from the Armani shop for making the mannequins look shabby.
"How did you know I was sleeping?" he said, having a creepy little vision of her standing silently in Robin's room, watching him as he slept. She looked him up and down. Her gaze was hard, like the sharp and perfect lines of her face.
"I'm a good guesser. So, Angel. You're the new one." She looked him over, not bothering to hide it. Her mouth twisted into something that wasn't a smile. "You're certainly not the usual type he collects."
He had no idea what he was expected to say, if anything. "Oh. Uh. Right."
She drew her delicate brows together. "You know, Robin's never mentioned you. That pisses me off."
She looked at him like she was waiting for him to explain himself. Angel shrugged. It made her frown more, and he gave her the finger, at least in his head.
"We haven't been--I haven't been here long," he said.
She nodded, moving closer, and slid a hand over his arm. It was so cold he jerked back. "That's probably all it is, I'm sure," she said. "An oversight on his part. When he comes back, Angel, tell him that Rose was looking for him." Her gaze fixed on the tag around his neck and she narrowed her eyes. "He bought you that?" she said. Her voice got colder and as he watched she curled her fingers into fists, so briefly that he might've imagined it. She bared her teeth. "I can see he likes his new toy."
"I'll give him your message," he said, backing up for real now. He wanted to be as far away from her as he could manage. For a long time.
"You'd better."
She turned and walked away, fast long strides towards the elevator. Angel watched the doors close on her--she was still staring at him--and then collapsed back against the wall. His knees were shaking for no good reason. He still had no idea who she was. She might be some crazy person. Likely.
He sat in front of the windows and watched the city for a while, waiting for the sound of the elevator and dreading that she'd come back. He had his phone clutched in one hand. He could still hear her voice, like she hated him utterly and completely. He looked out at the glittering lights for a long time, thinking he could go anywhere, maybe just up and leave and not come back. He pressed Robin's number.
"Goodfellow."
"Hi. It's me. Angel."
"Oh. Hello," Robin said. He sounded pleased, almost. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, fine." It was kind of stupidly nice having someone ask that, even if he did lie about the answer. "You still having a tolerable time?"
"Yes," Robin said. "But it's more tolerable now."
Angel snorted out a laugh. "Okay. Right. Um, someone came to your place today. This chick called Rose." Silence. "She said to tell you she'd been, that's all."
"What else did she say?" Robin said. Even over the shaky connection, he could hear the tension.
"Nothing really. Just that, uh."
"What?"
"She said she was surprised you hadn't mentioned me."
"I see."
"Is she your sister or something?"
Robin's harsh laugh made the phone's speaker crackle. "No. No, she's not my sister."
"You look kind of alike is all."
"We all have our crosses to bear, I'm told. What else have you been doing besides enduring Rose?"
"Enduring Rose sounds like a movie title. Uh...not much, I guess. I found the local 7-Eleven."
"And stripped it of its manifold treasures?"
"Not all of them. I'd better go back."
Robin chuckled, a low warm sound that made Angel want to curl up around the phone. "You can get me some Poprocks when you do."
"Really?"
"Really. They're the closest thing this world has to magic, I think."
"They are pretty cool. Oh, and I made pasta! With your machine."
"I'm impressed. How did it turn out?"
"Uh, kinda lumpy. But it was still good."
"I'm sure it was."
"Have you ever used the pasta machine? Mrs Benoit said you never use the coffee maker."
"Ah. Well, I haven't had time to review the manuals."
"The pasta thing doesn't need a manual. You just turn the crank."
"Perhaps you can show me some time. And do let me know if you figure out the coffee maker. It's supposed to be very good."
"What's a civet?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You have these coffee beans that talk about an Asian palm civet on the label. Is that some kind of palm flavored...I don't know what?"
"Ah. No. Kopi Luwak coffee is made from coffee beans that have been eaten and excreted by the civet. It's a kind of cat."
Angel frowned. "That's a joke, right?"
"It is not."
"Cat crap coffee."
"I'm afraid so. It's supposed to be excellent."
"But you haven't actually tried it."
"Not yet."
"Because you can't make your coffee machine work."
"Angel." There was a hint of warning in his voice, but also some amusement.
"Fine, whatever. Just don't expect me to drink it."
"I won't."
Angel looked up at the blank ceiling and listened to the nearly silent static hiss of the phone. "You really don't mind me calling you?"
"No. I really don't."
He sounded like he meant it. Chicago must be pretty dull, for a phone call to make him happy. He tried to imagine Robin out on the town or in a nightclub. The best he could come up with was Robin sitting in a fancy restaurant, looking faintly displeased at the food and the people. Maybe with some silent bimbo on his arm.
"Okay. So I'll see you Friday," he said, wondering if Robin had a silent bimbo right there with him, being silent.
"Yes, in the evening," said Robin.
"Right. Bye then."
"Goodbye, Angel. Wait. If Rose comes back-- "
"Yeah?"
"Don't agree to anything she says."
"Like what?"
"Just don't," he said, and rung off.
Rose didn't come back and make him any strange offers or anything.
He lay awake for a long time that night. It was hard to sleep in Robin's apartment. The silence creeped him out sometimes, especially at night. He was used to sleeping around other people, a lot of whom also didn't have a bed. He felt like if he moved or made a sound, something in this cavernous brittle silence might hear him, which was ridiculous because he was alone.
That made him think of that stupid painting and how he'd imagined faces peeping. He closed his eyes and burrowed down into the covers.
The woods were close. They were easy to find, just through the door. The trees drew him in, their dark arms holding him, stroking his hair with their sharp thin fingers. The leaves rustled. Something was moving ahead of him. He wasn't scared, although he had the definite feeling he should be. He pushed through the inky green depths until the trees fell away.
The sky was murky twilight, thunderstorm yellow and heavy with dark grey clouds. Light poured down into a clearing, and it fell on the skin of a woman. She was beautiful. She had a bow slung over her back. Its tips curved like stags horns and they were capped with gold. A young man knelt at her feet. He had scratches on his naked chest and back and his feet were bloody, like he'd been running fast over stones and sharp fallen branches. He looked over at Angel and whimpered.
"My sweet apple tree," she whispered, petting his head. He moaned and rocked forward. A hank of his blond hair hung from her fingertips.
She raised her head and looked his way. Her eyes were black. "Who are you, pretty stranger? Did he send you to me?"
"Who?" he said.
She can't hurt me, he thought, but he had the first queasy sensation of fear. He wanted to run, but instinct said that she'd catch him. She had long strong legs. This is a dream, he thought. He could almost taste the rich dark smell of rotted leaves and damp moss.
"My Robin Goodfellow," she said, smiling at him. "He's my darling."
She lifted the man with one arm and pulled him close to her chest, where he slumped and clung to her. From the trees figures emerged. More women, with wide eyes and dark clothes. She let the man fall into their arms, and walked forward.
"What's your name?" she said, feet treading carefully over the leaves. They didn't make a sound. "Tell me."
Her voice was soft and so persuasive that he didn't even think to not tell her. Her hair was silvery grey and fell down around her arms like it'd been brushed a hundred times, just like his mom used to brush her hair. Her skin had no wrinkles and was smooth and golden.
"Messiah Angel," he said.
"Well. You humans are odd."
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Eos," she said.
She was close enough to reach out and touch the tag at his throat. Her teeth bared for a second.
"What's this? Did he give you this, my Robin?"
"Uh." He shook. "Yes."
"How dare he. You'd better run, my brightness, because I'd like to take you from him."
Angel ran. Each step was slower than the last. Briars lashed round his waist, and he tore at them, not daring to look around. She was going to catch him, he knew. Behind him, he could hear the women baying as they chased him.
The trees closed in around him again, thick and dark and shutting out the light. The briars melted into shadows, but the shadows still clung to him, plucking at his ankles and the cuffs of his shirt until he wasn't sure whether his clothes were falling to tatters or whether it was only the striped flicker of light through branches.
The baying behind him was less, even though he couldn't seem to pick up speed. Everything was nightmare slow, and his feet ached. He could feel every stone under them, and the sharpness of broken twigs splintering into his skin.
He was only walking now, dragging his feet one after the other. The necklace was heavy around his neck, and the forest was silent except for one persistent cricket. A dark shaped moved in front of him. He stopped.
"You're out late," Robin said softly. "And you seem to have found the bad part of town."
"I'm sorry," Angel whispered. "I didn't mean to."
"She knows your name now. You'd better run." Robin grinned, almost a snarl. His teeth were sharp and white, and his canines seemed longer than they should be.
Angel turned and took off again without thinking, away from the path that he'd hoped would get him home. He felt Robin's hot breath at his neck, felt the cool brush of fingers down his spine. He shuddered and forced himself to move faster, and he was truly moving now. The sluggishness was gone, and he felt almost as if he could fly. Behind him, he heard Robin laugh, and almost wanted to laugh himself.
The trees blurred past. Vines and creepers whipped his skin into tiger stripes. He could see the end of the trees up ahead, light pouring down, making the leaves glow with silver. Just a little further.
He broke from the forest, Robin close on his heels. In front of him was a cliff. He skidded to a stop on the edge and looked over. There was mist down there, and no bottom that he could see.
Robin pressed up behind him, naked, pulling at the rags of Angel's clothing. He bit at Angel's neck. When Angel twisted around to look at him, there was blood on his lips. He said something Angel couldn't understand, put boths hands on his back, and pushed.
Angel woke a sharp breath tearing at his throat and hands that grabbed at the sheets and couldn't let go. He was shaking, and his cock was hard and leaking, little sticky strands of pre-come clinging to his stomach. He lunged for the lightswitch and backed up against the head of the bed.
The room was empty. He was alone.
Right. Of course. Because it had been a dream. Just a dream. He told himself that, even whispered it out loud, but he was too freaked to lie down again, or turn off the light, or even jerk off. He pulled the covers up around his chin and waited for dawn.
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no subject
Date: 2007-11-14 10:28 pm (UTC)This has just gone from beinga lovely Saiyuki AU to something *so* much more. I'm lost for words :)
(The dream reminded me of
no subject
Date: 2007-11-14 10:36 pm (UTC)Anyway, I look forward to 5pm or so every evening so I can start checking if you have posted!
no subject
Date: 2007-11-14 11:07 pm (UTC)Ohhhh, you just sent us into a dream along with Angel - really excellent. And man, that Eos is a whole portmanteau of protoypes - I was thinking mainly Artemis/Diana, with the bow and the hounds, but her name's wrong, and the women make me think of the Bacchae, and her choices of epithets when she speaks make me think of Celtic goddesses ... .
Lord, how is Angel going to survive until Robin comes home? So much loneliness and creepiness ... .
(Aww - Robin likes Poprocks!)
no subject
Date: 2007-11-14 11:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-14 11:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-15 01:07 am (UTC)Too awesome. You ladies rock.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-15 01:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-15 01:40 am (UTC)possessiveness, too.
if i had the complete work, this would be something i wouldnt put down
until i had finished reading.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-15 01:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-15 02:09 am (UTC)Curious and curiouser. Awesomeness...
So where do we go to stand in line for autographed copies. ^__^
no subject
Date: 2007-11-15 02:21 am (UTC)How I love surprises. ♥
no subject
Date: 2007-11-15 07:02 am (UTC)Now I am afraid to read next chapters.. oh, dear.
I always tend to expect Gojyo to be stronger and wiser than himself(I know I'm actually being cruel to Gojyo, but I can't help it! He's my favorite character!! Then, again.. how ironic), but I don't think I can expect that from Angel.
That leaves my hope with Robin.. isn't that worse somehow?
Oh, well, never mind.
All I wanted to say is you guys ROCK!!!
no subject
Date: 2007-11-15 09:47 am (UTC)is there any requirement to friend? ^^
i would comment on so many things but really, kopi luwak got me laughing so hard! i used to drink one steaming cup for less than a buck and look what globalisation did! ahaha...
can't wait for the next installment of the story~
no subject
Date: 2007-11-15 07:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-16 08:46 pm (UTC)Rose seems a very scary person indeed (thought I think the word sister scared me even more, for some reason)
This has been a rather dark story from the beginning (Robins name for one thing worried me), and the lighter parts only make the shadows darker.
Anyway, just wanted to say I love the dream in this chapter...so very vivid.
Thank you.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-17 01:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 01:59 am (UTC)Ever since Robin's name was mentioned in the first chapter, I'd been hoping for an element of high fantasy here. The dream sequence in this chapter went above and beyond all expectations. To say that it was an incredible piece of writing wouldn't do it justice. All the hints of power at work here have made me intensely curious, and it's hard to stop from filling in those tantalizing gaps with conjecture and backstory plot threads that might fit. I can't wait to see where you guys take things from here. ^^
no subject
Date: 2007-11-25 07:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-09 08:51 am (UTC)Seven-11 and all the junk food you could want dam i had to sopp reading and go get my doritos and eat some. And poprocks are really cool anytime of day/night. I love the name Eos reminded of a young lady'sname on my flist?