Bright Eyes [Apotheosis/Chimera/Wolf]

Posts : 85 Join date : 2023-08-21 Location : Newton, MA

Better on his back. In Amsterdam. They're words that crawl down her back. Things that sicken her down to her core, really, because he's... offering up the man she loves like a piece of meat. She looks at him in shock, because she can't hide it, couldn't dream of hiding it. She's not an actor. She's not a liar. She's...

"How much."

The words fall out of her like a lead weight. She has to swallow the lump in her throat. "I want to buy out his contract. Whatever agreement you have with him--I want to buy it out. Consider it a contractor-to-employee conversion for a client. Like a contracting agency. I can sponsor him for a citizenship and everything."

She doesn't want that life for him in Amsterdam. Doesn't want him used like that in Amsterdam. If she can save him from that life, keep him from that fate, she'll have done something good for him. She'll have saved the man who saved her from her own darkness. She wants him. She needs him in her life.

Posts : 18 Join date : 2023-08-21

Chimera blinks mildly. Allowing a trace of his surprise to show on his features. His ears flicker and he looks at this woman before him. She’s pretty, but in an unassuming sort of way - at least to his perspective. She doesn’t look like someone that could afford to sponsor the citizenship of another person. Who’d have the means to bring them from Russia to what - by her accent - he’s guessing is America. The very intensity and yet casualness of her offer tells him that this is something that she believes she can do. A kind of casualness that bespeaks wealth.

Only someone with a lot of money to their name believed so fully that the world would bend to their whim.

“It’s a lot of money.” He says casually, as though he doesn’t understand fully that she probably has the funds - and more - to buy out Wolf’s contract. However, he was not willing to let go of a golden goose so easily. “And I would need to discuss the matter with Wolf himself. He might not wish to go to… Where are you exactly? I would need to know of course, if I’m going to sign his contract over to you.”

He smiles.

Posts : 85 Join date : 2023-08-21 Location : Newton, MA

"I live in America, in Massachusetts. I am a United States citizen," Apotheosis replies smoothly. "But I'd like to have Wolf present when we go over the details and sign over the contract. I'm aware that transactions like this can fall afoul of international regulations regarding human labor and trafficking." It was part of why she hadn't gushed about Zalgiman at the Passport Office. They could have denied her application if they suspected that she was about to go overseas and end up being a victim of a trafficking scheme herself.

She tries to draw on how she remembers her mother behaving when she was conducting a business deal. Stern. Professional. Blunt and matter-of-fact. "I can have the money wired to an account of your choosing by the end of the business day once the contract is signed over and acknowledged by all parties." She's aware her financial advisors are probably going to have a heart attack when she requests a large withdrawal of funds from one of the accounts, but she's never asked for a single withdrawal. Hasn't done anything besides cash in the checks she's been cut for dividends for the last few years since she became of age and no longer had her lawyer acting as her legal guardian.

Posts : 18 Join date : 2023-08-21

He was right. She was an American. He smiles at her warmly. If she’s from the right place in Massachusetts then she’s likely as well off as she seems certain that she is. She doesn’t even ask how much the contract is. The thought dances through his mind like a warmth that makes his smile a real thing. No need to fake the expression this time.

“You’re quite right. You should have your attorney contact mine. Just so that we can get things rolling in the right direction.” He pulls a card out of his inventory and hastily writes on it before slipping it to her discretely. This time his hand lingers on hers. “He will inform your attorney of the fee, and if you place half of that into the proper account, I will guarantee that Wolf will be on a plane to you inside a week. For a visit of course. Vacation is important for those who work hard.”

He smiles again and his ear flickers. “In fact, here comes Wolf now. Would you like to speak to him on the matter, or will you trust it to me?” He’s slipping out of the booth and waving over Wolf who is at the back of the host club. No sign of anyone with him at all.

“Wolf! There’s a good boy.” His words are so warm and friendly to the other man, and he waits for Wolf to draw toward them a little bit before saying anything else. “I was just talking to this good friend of yours. Come join us!”

Posts : 77 Join date : 2023-08-21

After a long day of work, all that Wolf really wants to do is log off and take some time for himself, but he knows that before he can go ‘home’ that he needs to check in with Chimera to let the man know that he completed his work for the day. Thankfully the woman he’d been escorting had logged off at their date location, so he was able to come into the host club through the secret back door.

(There are actually two back doors, a secret one and a not-so-secret one.)

He changes clothes in the back, and heads out through the host club past the others who are hard at work schmoozing their dates. He watches them distantly, wishing it was as easy for him as it was for them. If it were, maybe he’d have more clients and then Chimera wouldn’t be so disappointed in him…

Chimera… The other man was so much harsher online than he was offline. Wolf didn’t like interacting with him here. But… The date had gone well and the woman had given him a tip so… Maybe this time Chimera wouldn’t be so mad at him. Maybe he’d earned himself a reward.

It was that slender thread of hope that pushed him through the host club and toward the entrance where Chimera usually was. If he wasn’t busy with a client or a host. He spotted the large wolfish head and headed toward it and smiled when the other man got to his feet and seemed so pleased to see him.

“Wolf! There’s a good boy. I was just talking to this good friend of yours. Come join us!”

Good boy. Those words sent a thrill through him and he felt heat rising toward his cheeks. Chimera called him a good boy only when he was especially pleased. He couldn’t imagine what had the man in a good mood but… A good friend of his? He didn’t have any…

His thoughts came to a dead stop when he saw Lana - Apotheosis sitting there. Of all people she was the last person he was expecting. He offered her a smile, thoughts swirling as he approached the pair. “Hey. Did we have an appointment I forgot Apotheosis?”

It’s the only thing he can think of.

Posts : 85 Join date : 2023-08-21 Location : Newton, MA

"I'll have mine contact yours as soon as I log off for the day," Apotheosis replies, "when I'm done with everything I had on my agenda." She can do this. She can negotiate. She can be savvy. Her parents did it all the time, so surely she can, too.

But when Chimera points out that Wolf is coming over, she can't help but lose the thread on the person that her mother was when she was making a deal. The moment she sets eyes on Wolf, her violet eyes become warm and soft, so joyed and pleased to see him. It'd be clear to anyone, and certainly the perceptive Chimera, she's not just fond of Wolf. She is smitten like a teenage girl with her first crush. Someone who's never known the crushing heartbreak of romantic rejection.

Her eyes are entirely on his face and how colored his cheeks are. It's the first time she's ever seen him blush so openly. It's because he loves her, of course. She can't wait to see his reaction.

"I actually came by to give you a little gift," she says. "And then Chimera was gracious enough to pass the time with me while I waited for you. Come sit with me. I think you'll be really happy with what we decided on." She flashes him a wide and bright smile. Her heart's in her eyes as she looks at him--her sweet and adorable Wolf, who pales in comparison to his real life self. Her Zalgiman.

Posts : 18 Join date : 2023-08-21

The moment that Chimera sees the expression of soft adoration on the woman’s face he knows that she’s hooked. That he could in fact, probably ask anything of her, and she would give it if it meant Wolf in her hands, her heart, her life. It’s just as easy to read the confusion on Wolf’s features. They had no idea what they were to one another, no idea what they could do to one another. The harm, the joy.

A small secretive smile plays on the wolf-head that Chimera wears.

“Yes, come and sit down Wolf.” Chimera’s voice purrs the other man’s name, and he slips back into the booth beside the woman. Forcing Wolf to take the seat across. Though all of the booths here are half-circles so she could easily scoot around to the other side if she so chose.

“I agree, you should be very pleased, it seems like you’ll not be moving to Amsterdam after all.” He smiles and talks again before Wolf can protest - he always protests - and smiles at the other man warmly, rubbing a foot up and down his leg in a calming manner. “But I’ll let your dear friend here explain the details, a gentleman doesn’t reveal a lady's secrets after all."

He wraps his arm over and around her shoulders, to prevent her from doing what he suspects that she wants - which is moving closer to Wolf. It’s the way bosom friends might act, or at the very least a pair of people with exciting news to share. He squeezes her shoulder to encourage her to talk; to stay at his side.

Posts : 77 Join date : 2023-08-21

Wolf looked between the pair, uncertainty chewing at his insides. His instincts - a part of him that he’s learned to trust over the years - tell him that somethings up. Something is wrong. He can’t explain what it is. Can’t put his finger on it. So he left the smile on his face and nodded. “Of course I’ll join you.”

He even managed to sound less uncertain than he felt, which was saying quite a lot given how he felt at the moment. He watches Chimera sit beside Apotheosis and squelches the feeling of disappointment that rises. Oddly, it’s a double-edged thing. He feels like he should be sitting beside Chimera, it’s where he belongs… But he also feels like he should be sitting next to Apotheosis.

Cheater, cheater, cheater.

The dark-haired man slips into the booth across from them and does his best to hide that stab of emotion. Chimera brings up Amsterdam again, and Wolf wants to growl at him. He’s not going to Amsterdam. Not now. Not ever! Not unless… He feels his stomach churning again. What he wants is never going to happen. How could he do what Chimera wanted him to? It’d be cheating. Real cheating. Worse it’d be… He bites his lip.

Silver eyes drift to Apotheosis and he doesn’t know what to say to her. Does she know about Amsterdam? Did Chimera say that he’d thought about going? Why? What he’d been offered to go? He’s never really believed in praying, but it feels like something that he’s been doing a lot lately.

If only there were anyone listening.

Posts : 85 Join date : 2023-08-21 Location : Newton, MA

She can't help but chafe a little inwardly when Chimera places himself between her and Wolf. She wanted to take his hand so she could squeeze it as she told him the wonderful news. She especially doesn't like it when Chimera wraps his arm around her. There's a little flicker of unease in her features that Wolf can read, or that she hopes he can read. She doesn't want Chimera to touch her. She's her Wolf's. She hopes, hopes, hopes that Wolf can read that the only man she wants to touch her at all is him by looking longingly at him from across the table.

But then Chimera urges her to explain, so she does. "Chimera told me he was going to send you to Amsterdam for... an assignment that I know you wouldn't like. And I like you far, far too much to see you go through something you don't want to do. So..."

She smiles brightly. "I'm buying out your contract from Chimera and sponsoring you for citizenship in America. You get to come be with me, Wolf!" Her excitement's so evident in her eyes and face. It's like when he promised her that dungeon dive for the ring. Except this time, she gets to return the favor. She gets to free him from escorting like he wanted. They get to be together. They can live in her house that's been far too empty for far too long, and she can hold him in her arms and hum to him as he falls asleep. She can wake up next to him every day for the rest of their lives. They can be happy.

Because he loves her for real. And she loves him just as much. She'd do anything for him, pay any price for him.

Posts : 18 Join date : 2023-08-21

Chimera can tell that Apotheosis is too excited to pay any attention to him. He knows now though, that he makes her uncomfortable. That she doesn’t really like him. That she’s all in on Wolf. He wonders idly if they’ve been talking in real life. How interesting that would make all of this. He smiles and watches Wolf. Watches the expression on his face so that he can read every minute moment of expression.

She might not know him well enough to read Wolf, but Chimera has known the man far longer. Knows him better than he knows himself sometimes.

He takes great joy in this moment. The words that she says seem to slow to Chimera’s hearing.

“Do you hear that dearest?” He says, his voice so smooth it’s like silk. “You were so unhappy with the thought of going to Amsterdam after all. Now you don’t have to! You can make this young woman happy just by being a good boy for her.”

He knows how much Wolf wants to hear those words, he twists them now like a knife. One that he wields with ease. He wants to see the pain they cause. This thing that gives Wolf such pleasure. “I’m so happy. To see two people happy gives me joy.”

He rubs his foot meaningfully up Wolf’s leg. A secret touch. “This is everything I’ve ever wanted for you Wolf.”

» The Darkening [Apotheosis & Chimera]
» Never Get There [Wolf & Apotheosis]
» Grimm Tail [Apotheosis & Wolf]
» On the streets of Seaguard (Cordelia, Kol, Red, Apotheosis)