North and Adrienne

[x-adrienne.livejournal.com]

While helping North shop for a motorcycle, Adrienne asks an uncomfortable question regarding her relationship with Garrison.



"Are you sure you wouldn't rather have Summers here instead of me?" Adrienne asked North as she parked the mansion car at the Kawasaki dealer in the Bronx. "I mean, I am the shopping expert, and I have been doing a lot of research on motorcycles lately, but I'm still not really the motorcycle expert..."

“If I were not sure you would not be here,” David replied blithely, leaning briefly against the car before offering Adrienne his arm. “Summers came window shopping with me last year. He recommended a couple, but I was not quite ready to make up my mind.”

Adrienne took David's arm gratefully, always nervous about high heels and uneven sidewalks. "Ahh, I see. Well, if you've already had Summers to do the technical part of the window shopping, telling you about horsepower and cornering and turbo-somethings or whatever, I feel a little better about this shopping trip consisting of me telling you which one I think is the shiniest and which one makes you look sexiest."

“Now, I begin to reconsider my invitation,” he said with a mock sigh, pushing open the door and gesturing for her to precede him. The showroom was relatively empty and a salesman was quick to approach them. David directed Adrienne’s attention to him with a jerk of his chin. “But please, feel free to work your magic.” Goodness knew his abrasive personality and a salesperon’s general eager to please attitude never meshed well.

Giggling at the comment, Adrienne took North's cue and stepped forward. "Hi there!" she said cheerfully to the salesman. "My husband and I are looking for a new bike for him," she announced, speaking in a thick French accent for some unknown reason. "Little present for my man," she cooed, kissing North's cheek. "He's been in a bit of a mid-life crisis lately," she stage-whispered to the salesman, still smiling widely, "and he deserves a present. We were thinking about the Kawasaki Ninja?"

The salesman looked taken aback for a second by Adrienne's enthusiasm and honesty, but quickly recovered to put his sales face back on. "Of course... Madam. We have several Ninjas in stock currently. Right his way, please."

Adrienne would have had to be completely unaware to miss the glare David sent her way, but the man kept his silence as he allowed himself to be led through the showroom. He could not quite help the way his eyes roved the place, taking note of the exits and the room’s current occupants. Surprisingly, he found himself remembering bits and pieces of Summers’ excited chatter from their previous visit, having retained only some basic pieces of information.

“Ninja – that is the current model you are riding, ja?” A smirk curved his lips as David recalled a similar nickname bestowed on him by the blonde.

Grinning sweetly in response to North's glare, Adrienne threaded her arm through his as they followed the salesman. She also found it amusing that the type of bike was named after the nickname she'd given him. "Yep, I've got the 250R model," she nodded. "But I was thinking my honeybear might like the Zx6R or the 650? Or even the 1000?" she said to the salesman when they stopped at the Ninja area of the showroom. "Give him a little more... oomph," she teased, poking North in the ribs.

"Well, Madam, our Zx lines are in what we call our 'supersport' family, whereas the 250, 650, and the 1000 are varieties of our 'sport' family. Is the gentleman certain he wants a sport or a supersport, rather than a touring bike, such as one of our Vulcans?" the salesman inquired, gesturing to another area of the showroom.

“Insinuating that I’m old,” North commented gruffly, and perhaps a bit unfairly, as he led Adrienne ahead of the salesmen pointedly away from the indicated direction. Still, the German did not think the salesman really minded at the end of the day when they walked out of the showroom with the latest Zx14R model in Metallic Spark Black signed and paid for.

***

"So now that you've got the bike, can we go clothes shopping?" Adrienne asked as they were finishing a late lunch at a deli near the dealership. "Or do you have protective gear already? Cuz I gotta tell ya, I wouldn't mind getting some new stuff now that I've got the new bike Callisto's fixing up for me."

“I do not think—“ David paused mid-sentence, took a sip of coffee from his half-drunk mug and cocked his head at the brunette with an expression of polite curiosity. “I beg your pardon. Protective gear?”

"Uhh... yeah." Adrienne raised an eyebrow at him. "For riding. You've heard of protective gear, right? And no, I don't mean condoms or anything," she smirked. "I mean leather. With armour in it. I mean, it's not illegal if you ride around without it, but you really should have some, to keep you from being splattered all over the pavement if you ever get into an accident. Plus, it looks so much sexier than people who ride around in sweats and hoodies or whatever."

To his credit, David managed to both mirror her quirked brow and furrow the other at the same time as he considered it. “I had not even though of it. The chances of me ever being in an accident are somewhat low, after all. My usual wardrobe would suffice.”

"Everyone thinks their chances of getting into an accident are low," Adrienne said with a pointed look through a mouthful of the last of her salad. "Until they get into one. I know you're all future-seeing ninja badass, but wouldn't it be better to cover all your bases? I mean, do you really hate clothes shopping that much?" She waggled her eyebrows at him. "Besides, chicks dig the leather. Don't you want to impress chicks? Isn't that why you got the bike in the first place?" she teased.

The only response she received for a long moment was a cocked head and a thoughtful look. "Ja, you are right, Naked Lady," he agreed solemnly. "Are you impressed yet?"

"Always." Adrienne chuckled and cuffed him on the bicep. "Unfortunately, I've already got more man than I can handle with the G-Man." She tried to keep her tone light, but someone as skilled as North was might have detected the hint of... uneasiness in her tone.

"Problem?" David asked, dryly solemn face relaxing into its usual neutral expression. Adrienne was hardly a person to be unnerved by a bit a bald-faced acting and he could give the woman enough credit that she would not have let slip her unease with so little provocation if it were not actually troubling her to some degree. Besides, talking about shopping was hardly up his alley.

"I... don't know," Adrienne admitted, sipping coffee. She hesitated, as if not sure whether to burden North with the issue or leave it be, but eventually she leaned forward, elbows on the table, and sighed. "Okay. Vanessa's usually my go-to guy expert, but since she's not here, you're my new guy. What with you being a guy and all. What's normal when it comes to sex for a guy?" she asked, tone even and businesslike, as if she'd just asked him how he liked his steak done. "Frequency-wise, I mean? What's normal? For someone you've been dating for a few months?"

North blinked, opened his mouth to form a word, closed it again and sighed softly, grabbing his coffee cup and downing its remains as he considered the question. Times like these, he really missed the blue-skinned woman.

"There is no right answer, I am afraid," he finally said with a helpless sort of shrug. "It depends on the people and their lifestyles and preferences. I would guess a couple of times a week is healthy enough. Kane is not putting out?"

Adrienne put her hands on the table and rapped her forehead against them, leaving her head there. "No, it's not that. Quite the opposite, in fact. I just..." She raised her head and winced at North before laying it against the table again, talking into her hands. "I'm not a prude, okay? I-I-I'm not... I'm not... against sex, or anything like that. I like sex. It's just... we have sex all the time. It's... and I don't want to... I'm not complaining, y'know? I'm just... I'm worried that this... I mean when you say a couple times a week is healthy, I worry this isn't healthy. I'm worried about him. I'm worried... that I'm making him like this. Because of... how I used to be. I'm worried that I'm bad for him."

He could not help it. David stared down at the head of sable curls, just shy of actually outwardly expressing his astonishment. Then he reached out and awkwardly patted her shoulder.

"So," he tried, stopping regain his composure under the guise of clearing his throat. "I assume this... Increase in frequency is fairly recent. Have you tried to say no?"
On second thought, David really did not want Garrison Kane knocking on his door to accuse him of cockblocking the Canadian.

"I... no," Adrienne admitted, North's question making her straighten up and look him in the eye. Wow, this had just gotten serious really fast. "No, it's... it's not like that. It's not that I don't want to have sex with him. It's not like it's against my will or anything. It's not," she assured him firmly. "Not at all. I'm never going back into that territory again. And one of the reasons I'm with him is because I know he would never do anything like that." She knew that no matter how lost Garrison admitted to feeling, that was one thing that would never change about him. "So if I said no, he'd... I think he might take it the wrong way. Get hurt by it. Think badly of himself. And I don't want that.

"It's just... when we were together a couple years ago," she continued, speaking with hand gestures as if that would help her process the can of worms she'd just subjected North to, "it was one thing, and then I ran away, and I came back, and he hated me, and then he went to Minnesota and all that awful shit went down, and then he helped me with the Hellfire Club, and then he wanted to get back together, and now we're together again but it's this other thing. This... increase in frequency. That's what we are now. And I guess I just don't know what's causing it. Because... something must be causing it, right? And is it me? Or is it him? He's told me before that he doesn't feel like he knows who he is anymore. So is this who he is? And am I supposed to be happy about it, or am I supposed to be worried about it?"

"I would say, personally, that if you are uncomfortable, then you are uncomfortable and that is not something to be happy about. Sex with a partner whom you care for deeply is very intimate. It is a private thing..." He offered her a wan smile, leaning forward and propping his chin up on a palm to watch her. "You should not have to convince yourself to be happy about it."

David shrugged. "Maybe Kane is not forcing you. But are you forcing yourself? Does he even know you are troubled?"

Adrienne blew out a wearied breath. "N...no...ooo. I guess not. I guess that's why I'm telling you," she pointed out, stabbing a finger at his shoulder. "Because I don't want to tell him. I want to fix it on my own. Without bothering him. Except..." she sighed again, eyes widening with the realization, "now that I say it out loud, I know that he'd kick my ass for even thinking of not including him in something that concerns our relationship. So I guess I gotta talk to him?"

"That would be wise, yes," David said drily, clearly teasing. He swatted her invading finger away and signaled to their waitress for the bill. "At least to ascertain if it is normal for him and whether there is a real problem that requires more detailed attention. I am no expert, but I have been told that a relationship involves two people."

"Well, this is the first healthy one I've ever been in, so I'll have to take your word on that," Adrienne mock-grumbled. "Alright. Enough with the girl talk. Let's go shopping!"

"My provision of concern and helpful advice has earned me at least a drink," David protested, forehead creased in a frown even as he accepted the bill from the waitress before she could. "Not another round of uncomfortable torture. In case it has escaped your notice, Princess, I am not one of your girlfriends."

"Aww, sweetie, don't say that! Of course you are! I don't judge my girlfriends based on how they look," Adrienne teased. getting to her feet and trying to pull him to his. "But yes, you're right. You have earned a drink. So, shopping first, then drink," she promised. "Multiple drinks. I'll even buy."

"..." The man sighed, unlocking his knees and allowing his companion to lead him out of the restaurant. Once outside, he slid on a pair of shades and eyed the slim woman with a good degree distrust - ignored far too easily by the brunette - from beneath the dark lenses. "We look only for whatever passes as protection for the road. Any detours or distractions and I will leave you there."

Maybe he should have asked Summers instead, after all.