Tat and Marius, May 1

[x-tatiana.livejournal.com]

Marius and Tat have a somewhat awkward conversation, the first after the energy drink mess.



"Tat? Oi, Tat? Pardon the intrusion, but your complexion is
edgin' a bit towards rosey."

"Mrrgh-" Tatiana rubbed her forearm over her eyes, blocking
out the slight amount of light that leaked in as she tried to
open her eyes.
"Don' wanna get up-" She didn't. Worse then didn't, really.
She just wanted
to stay here, under this nice shady tree-

Which wasn't shady anymore. She tried to open her eyes again,
but just saw someone silhouetted against the sun. "'S good."


Above her, sporting the barechested and sweaty look of one
nearing the completion of a successful exercise routine, stood
Marius.
Seeing she was awake he grinned down at Tatiana and plunged a
hand into his
damp curls to circulate air. "Apologies for the interruption,
but as I was
sayin', you appear a bit on the red side. I thought you might
prefer, if not
a return to the dreary indoors, then at least an opportunity to
turn
yourself over." He gestured amiably to her apparel. "I have seen
many
unfortunate yet deeply humourous examples of those who sunbathe
without
appropriate attention."

"Marius-" His name was blurted, even as she tried to stand up
and put clothes on but she didn't have any other then what she
was wearing
and her towel and she'd layed down in such a way that her leg
was

[Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<ientirely</i>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.]

<i>Marius and Tat have a somewhat awkward conversation, the first after the energy drink mess.</i>

<lj-cut text=
"Tat? Oi, Tat? Pardon the intrusion, but your complexion is
edgin' a bit towards rosey.">

"Tat? Oi, Tat? Pardon the intrusion, but your complexion is
edgin' a bit towards rosey."

"Mrrgh-" Tatiana rubbed her forearm over her eyes, blocking
out the slight amount of light that leaked in as she tried to
open her eyes.
"Don' wanna get up-" She didn't. Worse then didn't, really.
She just wanted
to stay here, under this nice shady tree-

Which wasn't shady anymore. She tried to open her eyes again,
but just saw someone silhouetted against the sun. "'S good."


Above her, sporting the barechested and sweaty look of one
nearing the completion of a successful exercise routine, stood
Marius.
Seeing she was awake he grinned down at Tatiana and plunged a
hand into his
damp curls to circulate air. "Apologies for the interruption,
but as I was
sayin', you appear a bit on the red side. I thought you might
prefer, if not
a return to the dreary indoors, then at least an opportunity to
turn
yourself over." He gestured amiably to her apparel. "I have seen
many
unfortunate yet deeply humourous examples of those who sunbathe
without
appropriate attention."

"Marius-" His name was blurted, even as she tried to stand up
and put clothes on but she didn't have any other then what she
was wearing
and her towel and she'd layed down in such a way that her leg
was
<ientirely</i asleep and the second she stood up down she went
and it felt
like a wet noodle, and <iGod-</i

"~I didn't even see you and I can't stand up and <ishit</i why
did it have to be you?~" The Spanish came quick and fast, more
to herself
then to Marius, even as she reached for him to try and stop
herself from
faceplanting into the grass because one of her legs was like a
dead fish.


The lack of comprehension ensured by the unfamiliar language was
cemented by the further distraction of the girl's sudden stumble;
Marius'
attention was whisked from the brief flurry of awkwardness faster
than his
hands stretched out to catch her. He caught her by the hand and
arm, the
contact creating the faint, familiar quiver in the muscles of his
hands.
Pushing it aside, he attempted to help Tatiana achieve the
vertical.

"Easy there," he chided in a mingling of amusement and concern.
"Not that Forge couldn't manage the replacement of any number of
bodyparts,
but there's just somethin' special about the original-issue."

She blushed to the roots of her hair - luckily not that visible
with the red undertones of her skin, at the moment. "M'Leg's
asleep. Sorry,"
she mumbled, hopping slightly as she balanced on the one that
wasn't. Oh,
that was going to hurt when the blood started circulating again.

"So. Uh. Other then saving damsels in distress, how's your day?"
Utterly and completely lame, but it was better then nothing.

"Oh, more've the same," Marius replied airily, running the odds
Tatiana would reasonably be able to keep her balance before
releasing her.
He flexed his fingers automatically, a motion which he transfered
into
wiping the back of his arm across his forehead. "It's been
business as
usual: sun, soliloquy, some of the more entertainin' sins.
Yourself? I've
not seen you for a bit."

<iSome of the more entertaining sins.</i It might have had
something to do with her age, or just that she had an overactive
imagination, but Tat's mouth opened and closed more then once
before she
actually managed to make some sort of sound. "R-right. Well. I-
I've been.
Uh. Kind of avoiding most of everyone. After the thing with the...
drink.
And all that. And uh. Just kind of getting back to normal. School.
P-" She
cut off before she let the word drop. <iProm</i.

She really didn't want to tell Marius, of all people, that she
didn't have a date. Or a dress. Or money for a dress. Or
<ianything</i.
"And working."



Marius waved a hand. "Ah, no worries about the drink. If legend is
to be believed, Xavier's hallowed halls have seen far worse things
than a
bit of spontaneous verse. I personally bear first-hand experience of
a
justifiable yet disturbing foray into group-crossdressing. Although,
in
fairness, the affected staff were by an' large quite fetching."

Oblivious to Tatiana's discomfort, he doubled over to set both his
palms on the lawn, stretching. Unfortunately, the lack of
observation that
so often worked to the favour of his conversational partners
occasionally
backfired. "So," he said as he walked forward on his hands, "lookin'
forward
to Prom?"


"I... I don't really know if I'm going, to be honest." She lifted her
chin as she looked behind her to sit again, hissing in a breath as she
started to get pins and needles in her leg. "Are you. Uh.
Chaperoning?" She
stared up at the leaves of the tree she'd been sitting under, vaguely
wishing for a random hole to open up in the ground and swallow her. It
would
be convenient.

Right. Because Marius? Not even a <istudent</i. Man, she needed to
get her head screwed on straight.



"I've been known to put in an appearance for the food an' the company,"
he replied as he straightened, then placed his hands on his hips to
stretch
backwards. "It's quite the easiest way to keep abreast of the grand
flowchart of mansion relationships. Once I started uni I finally
abandoned
the dream of keepin' it current. You should drop in for no other reason
than to see all manner of unlikely sorts in formalwear."


"I- I might have to work." Excuse. And a lie, thank goodness for the lack
of sports drinks. She was pretty sure that Monet wouldn't want her to work
when she was getting ready for prom anyway, but she could find something
to
do. An excuse. Her eyes flicked to him, then back up to the leaves. "I'm
not
really the prom type, anyway." Mostly because of the... issues. Nobody to
go
with. Nothing to wear. No money for things like makeup and shoes and- and
all that crap.




Marius cocked his head curiously. "Ah, well. True enough, the socializin'
isn't for everyone. Still, I do encourage at least the brief appearance --
for the experience if nothin' else. Additionally, you might get a bargain
deal on a makeover. A certain percentage of the female student body find
themselves in some sort of application-groove to the point you dare not
sit
down in their presence least you find yourself plied with rouge an'
eyeliner." He replayed a certain memory and added, "Males not exempted."

Tat's eyebrows shot up. "Well, were you very pretty, at least?" She was
teasing, still staring up at the tree, until her eyes flicked to him.
"<iI</i think you'd be absolutely beautiful, what with the eyeliner and
all. Bring out your eyes." Her mouth twisted into a smile, and she shook
her
head. "Who got a hold of you?"


"First time was Jen an' Angel. Beyond that I rather lose track. One
permissive moment in the name of good humour an' suddenly it's
'Marius, might I paint your toenails?' an' 'Marius, I need to know what
this
eyeshadow would look like on a Winter'." He flicked his head back,
jouncing
a curl from his eyes. "Fortunately, as holds for most of my family, it
takes
quite a lot to defeat my inherent fabulousness."

Tatiana laughed. "Oh, believe me, I know. Ever since I-" She stopped, and
thought for a moment to change the subject, but then realised he'd find
out
sooner or later. "Ever since I started working for Monet, I kind of got
that
idea." She changed the subject, knowing he probably wouldn't just let that
go. "So, how does that eyeshadow look on a Winter?"


"Depends on the shade. As for that particular instance, I deem it best
not to get into specifics beyond the fact we do not speak of orange."
Marius
cocked his head at Tatiana, eyebrows raised. "You work for Monet, eh? I
<Iam</I rather astonishingly out of touch. So, which passion are you
victim to: fashion or Elpis?"

Something about Tatiana's face hardened in that second, her chin rising
just enough as to be a challenge. "I clean for her." She did - washed her
laundry, vacuumed, and Monet paid her an obscene amount of money for it.
"I
work for Elpis, but it doesn't really have a lot to do with Monet." She
hadn't really told anyone what she did for Monet, but... it wasn't like it
was a secret, or anything.

Mostly.



Marius nodded amiably. "Ah, so? Good on you for rescuin' her from her
slovenly existence. There is, I admit, a certain zen to be found in
cleanin'. Or so I tell myself whilst on my janitorial rounds down in Medlab,
which is quite possibly the only local duty the recent crush of academia has
not hindered." He hesitated, then eyed her. "Here, just to be clear, you've
not been gently railroaded into said arrangement, correct? I quite like my
sister, and so I know that she, much like myself, has a personality that is,
shall we say, forward." It wasn't that he believed Monet would pressure the
girl into being a maid -- well, not anymore, at any rate -- but there was
always the slight chance that she may have missed the protests of someone
who was inclined to make them them as quietly as Tatiana seemed to.

"No, she's just paying me an astronomical amount," Tat said with a
shrug. "I mean, for 30 bucks an hour, I can clean." She paused, and
swallowed. "I really need the money, so it helps out a lot."</lj-cut>