genessia | [Closed] A Bad Idea

Entry tags:

dove eden,
lea

[Closed] A Bad Idea

Who: Dove and select friends (Lea, Styxx, /instertMoreIfNeeded)
When: Feb 14-18
What: breaking a bird~
Music: A Bad Idea

Closed to Lea- Feb14

Despite her surprising lack of appearance on the network on such a sweet and lighthearted holiday, Dove had, at least, taken the time to send out personal gifts to her small circle of friends: sushi served in the shape of a heart for Namur, the freshest cuts of meat she could find for Li, a vast collection of chocolates and sweets for Lea, and so on. While her agent would likely chide her for her social media mis-step and it wasn't truly the holiday that had gotten under her skin, the angel had decided to lay low, having lunch with a friend (emotions masked throughout the majority of it) and then retreating to her new apartment, where she would stay for the remainder of the night.

....with a few bottles of wine.

...and an assortment of liquor.

----

Closed to Styxx(?)- Feb16(ish)

The past few days had not been the prettiest, but with a new business freshly launched and her modeling hiatus coming to an end in the upcoming week, she couldn't avoid it.

So, swathed in a gown of soft pink chiffon and tulle, she starts her video greeting, hair curled into romantic curls around her face, face glowing with the gentlest blush. Her eyes, however, while hooded in perfectly practiced allure, shimmer with perhaps a bit too much of that inner Light, giving the fantasy an edge she can't quite help.

"Hey everyone... I hope you all had an incredible Valentine's Day and made memories that will last a lifetime..."

Her greeting goes on, sweet, gentle, and notably short as she checks the task off the list, wrapping it up with a whimsical sigh and a kiss blown to whatever audience she's accrued as she signs off.

Unfortunately for the angel, she's in enough of a mood under all the glamour to have missed the button on her device that will cut the stream, and those watching will likely be more than a little confused when she sighs, this time in frustration and runs a hand over her face.

When her eyes open again, they're filled with dangerous Light, and she shudders, as if something inside is boiling toward the surface.

A moment later and she's standing, walking away from the camera and stripping off the gown none too carefully and discarding it on her polished floor. While it might be hard to see her now with the chiffon and lace now partially piled in front of the lens, it looks as though she might have been wearing tough leather leggings below the gown and is pulling her hair up as she strides for the large balcony behind her, golden swirls illuminating her bare back and arms.

She doesn't seem all that concerned about the night, or the cold, or the rain as she opens the doors and looses her wings...

...or that she's flying off in some kind of mood and leaving her device in an empty apartment.

----

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Lea hadn't expected to get a Valentine's gift, even from Dove. So when he returned home to find the box of chocolates and read the note identifying who it was from, he was both pleased and surprised.

Since he really hadn't given Valentine's day much thought when there wasn't any actual festival celebrating it, he didn't really have anything ready or any time to make anything for her in return. Fortunately though, he was able to find a flower shop that still had some roses left, and bought a half dozen yellow ones; yellow roses meant friendship, and it would likely be an amusing nod to the relatively recent incident with the plants too. After a few moments of consideration, he also stopped off at Geraldi's Pizzaria and picked up one of the heart-shaped calzones they'd been advertising for the holiday; she might not have had dinner yet, and it would likely make a good meal for the two of them.

Thus, flowers and food in hand, he headed over to Dove's apartment. Judging by the light coming from under the door, she seemed to be in, so he knocked on the door. "Dove?", he called. "It's Lea. OK if I come in?" This time he hadn't been invited, so it wouldn't do to assume.

She... definitely hadn't been expecting anyone, if the sudden (and somewhat continuous) growling of her houndoom gave any indication. She didn't think to stop it at first- didn't quite have the wits about her to do so, given the amount of liquor she had consumed and the sudden shock of it combined.

When the name finally clicked, she blinked, then pushed herself off the couch, quieting the pokemon's growl with a wave of her hand. Fortunately, she had been settled in the living room of the penthouse, watching the fire burn and letting the TV run in the background as she nursed yet... another...bottle of wine.

For a moment, she hesitated at the door, frowning to herself and willing her Light in her blood to burn what it could of the alcohol in her system. Even despite her friendship with Lea, or maybe because of it, she couldn't be seen like this.

Even still, she couldn't just leave him in the hallway, especially once a quick check through her door camera confirmed it was him... with flowers.

So, clad in sleep shorts and a rather oversized rock band shirt below her large fluffy blanket, she opened the door. "Lea? Hey..."

Lea heard the Pokémon growling behind the door, and knew he'd been heard when it quieted down; the Houndoom wasn't likely to settle unless Dove told it to. Thus, when the door opened, he was ready. Really, he liked seeing Dove in casual clothes; whenever he saw her on posters or the like it was always in expensive looking gowns or something similarly fancy, but- while he couldn't deny they looked good on her- they almost seemed to take something away from her rather than adding anything. In his opinion at least, she looked best when she was just being Dove.

He could tell that something was a bit off tonight though that had nothing to do with her choice of clothes. "Hey, Dove" he said. "I got those chocolates you made me, and I just wanted to come over and say thanks. I didn't really have time for anything as fancy as that, but I figured..." He indicated the flowers and the box containing the calzone with a bit of a sheepish smile. "I uh... hope I didn't pick a bad time or anything though..."

The houndoom only paced in the apartment, keeping a wary eye on his mistress. While he seemed content with Lea's presence, something else was surely amiss...

Dove only shook her head and wrapped the blanket tighter around herself, smiling a bit at his explanation. "No, no, you're fine...I just kind of expected everyone else to have plans," she explained somewhat sheepishly, shrugging a bit. Hopefully he wouldn't see too much through her little white lie. "And I really can't take that much credit... I sort of had them made, but I'm glad you liked them."

She paused, taking a half second to bolster her smile. "Is that pizza?" From the sound of it, she might be willing to let him in if it is. At least, that's how she hopes she sounds.

"Nah," Lea said. "Last year there was that festival thing, but without something like that? I don't usually have a lot to do on Valentine's day."

"And you're close," he said. "It's a calzone. One of those heart-shaped ones Geraldi's has been advertising. Wasn't sure if you'd have had dinner yet, and I figured one should be enough for the two of us to split. If you're interested, that is." He'd caught the tone of interest in the food and was glad that his gift got the reception he'd hoped for. Still... something seemed off. Dove's Houndoom was watching her warily, as if he was concerned, and Lea knew how perceptive animals could be...

She shook her head up at him, giving him that playfully disbelieving look. It still completely perplexed her that he hadn't somehow been snatched up by someone, and for him to be spending this particular holiday alone...

Then again, she was alone, wasn't she? Even with all her effortless glamour and romance, she was practically swimming in drink and wilting away in her own massive, empty apartment-

Maybe she just really needed another drink.

The offer brought a smile to her face and she nodded, stepping back to let him into the airy penthouse. "A thousand percent interested," she confirmed, grinning a bit as she turned, blanket cape sweeping behind her.

She froze, though, the second they reached the living room, surveying the disaster she had created in the usually tidy living room. "Ah... maybe the kitchen would be better..." It would be a pity to leave the fire burning alone on the large stone hearth for too long, but there's likely a lot more space on the kitchen bar than there was on the marble coffee table and a lot fewer empty bottles and dog eared books to move...

It likely helped that Lea hadn't actively been pursuing any sort of romantic relationship. And if anyone had attempted to do so with him, it was likely he hadn't noticed; Lea was somewhat oblivious when it came to matters of romance, and anyone who did manage to clue him in would see a new level of awkward from him.

Lea gladly followed Dove inside, but stopped along with her when he saw the mess in the living room, his smile fading a bit. Not that he was the world's greatest housekeeper, but the number of empty wine bottles was concerning for someone who lived there alone. "Yeah... there's probably more room there," he said.

He headed that way so he could at least put the food and flowers down. "So... did you have people over earlier or something?", he said, not wanting to jump to conclusions. "That's an awful lot of empty bottles for one person."

Wine and what might appear to be hard liquor...

For a second, she just stood there, ashamed, anxious, and unsure how exactly to explain it without sounding horribly pathetic. She wore a flawless mask the majority of the time, and this...While it isn't exactly a common practice for her (or even rare at all), it's a fair contrast to the image she portrays to the public, nonetheless.

"Ah...no..." she admits quietly, "I'm burning it out of my system as we speak, though." A reassurance; definitely more for his sake, than her own, as she stepped once again toward the kitchen. Sure enough, there was a soft glow around her, but not the happy one he might be accustomed to, as if her Light were being sluggishly put to work. "Food will help."

At least the kitchen looks much better, if utterly untouched.

Lea nodded at the reassurance, though he still looked concerned. "Yeah, food ought to help," he said. "And getting something to drink without alcohol in it." Having dealt with Larxene's drinking habit while she'd been in the city, he knew the drill as far as that went.

He set the flowers aside for now; he'd have to find something to put them in before he left, but right then, food took precedence. He set the box containing the calzone down on the counter top and went to check and see what non-alcoholic offerings the fridge had. They'd need plates, glasses, napkins, and something to cut the calzone with, but he didn't know quite where those were. If Dove didn't take the initiative, he'd ask once he got them something to drink from the fridge.

Discussion of the elephant in the room could wait until they had food to distract them.

"Right..."

He'd fortunately find the fridge freshly (and beautifully) stocked with a wide assortment of drinks, fruits, and snacks, as if solely for entertaining the penthouse occupant's guests. While he sifted through those, she procured the essentials, setting them atop the island-table as she went and only fumbling with one plate...which Ace caught with surprising gentleness before it could hit the ground. She set it aside in the sink, before turning to see what else was needed.

"So ...how have you been?" she attempted, nearly cringing to herself as she dipped under a counter to find a vase.

After some consideration, he settled on a bottle of cranberry juice, as the tartness would be good with the fairly heavy calzone. Glad to see she'd gotten the glasses out, he proceeded to pour for both of them while she ducked under the counter.

And cringey as that particular line of small talk was, it was better than awkward silence, so he took it. "Been alright," he said. "Nothing too exciting on the work front, which is generally a good thing for the city." Given that Lea was a Deputy Guardian, and all. "Been working on a few artistic things on the side too; gonna try and see if I can make some extra money that way."

Vase carefully set atop the counter, she moved to perch on one of the tall barstools situated around the island and watched him pour for them both as she cracked open the calzone. Heart shaped. Adorable.

"Artistic things?" she questioned, studying the heart with an almost absent look. A few moments later and she sliced clean through it's center in one swift, sharp sweep of a knife.

Satisfying, the way the insides slowly leaked form it. Fitting, even, given her mood before he had arrived.

"Yeah," Lea said. "Figured out a while back that I could melt metal and glass with my fire magic, and then form it sort of like I would the fire itself. Been using it to make arts and crafts type things; jewelry, keychains stuff like that."

He put the bottle of juice back in the fridge, then joined her on one of the stools, carefully plating his half of the calzone so as not to lose the delicious filling. Serious issues to deal with or not, Geraldi's calzones were too good to waste any of them. He took a bite of it to allow Dove a moment to similarly plate hers, then when his mouth was free again spoke up.

"So...", he said. "Now that we've got food to distract us... well, I'm not gonna ask if you're OK, since the answer there seems pretty obvious, but well, can I ask why you seemed to be trying to see how much booze it took to get an angel black-out drunk? Cause that's... really not like you."

She thought she might venture further into the topic of artistic talents and future business opportunities... but then, he was far too observant for his own good. A part of her regretted it; a much larger part of her heart stung with gratefulness for having a friend like Lea.

"I..." She stared at the food on her plate, searching for words. To tell him everything... he didn't deserve to have that weight just dropped on him, but the concern she felt rolling from him just...

"Valentine's Day-" She shook her head and anxiously scooted a pepperoni around her plate with her fork. "This time of year in general is just... bad for me."

Even her agent had slowed down her work schedule in preparation for it, and to anyone who had spent any time with her aside from brief smiles and feigned celebrity greetings would likely see right through it.

Lea listened patiently, munching on a bite of calzone while waiting for Dove to find the right words. And when she had, he considered for a moment before responding himself.

"Something tells me there's more to it being a bad time than just the usual sort of issues some people have with being single on Valentine's Day," he said. "So I'm gonna guess... former relationship that ended badly, maybe? Or is it something else?"

"Badly is...putting it really lightly," she confirmed. "Catastrophic' might come a little closer, but he's not-." She shook her head. It wasn't just the sting of a bad ex and rotten dates. "My family was killed the weekend after Valentine's day, and he played a... pretty significant role in it all. Which... led to a lot of other things."

Not all of the story, but plenty of it for him to work with, if he really wanted to understand her mood and the reason for the half-empty liquor store in her living room. She just stared blankly at her plate, warring with herself; should she really put the burden of knowing the darker parts of her past on him? Would she lose a friend while giving him too much of a look into her vulnerability?

...Maybe she just needed a few more shots.

Lea winced in sympathy at that. He couldn't imagine that sort of thing happening. Not the level of violence- that he was all too familiar with- but that level of betrayal by someone so close... Even in the worst case scenario, Isa being with Xehanort's new Organization wasn't nearly that bad.

"OK, that was... way worse than I was expecting," he said. "Don't imagine it does much good now, but, man, I'm so sorry."

"Who's the creep who did this, so I know who to punch if he ever shows up here?", he said. "And if you don't mind telling me, what other awful crap did he do? I wanna be sure he knows why I'm knocking him flat." No one hurt his friends like that. Even if it was years ago.

She flinched at his response, once what exactly she had said fully settled over them. She hadn't told anyone that before. Not even Li or Styxx. Either the alcohol was still working its magic, or she really just felt that comfortable with Lea and desperately needed someone to help share the weight, regardless of how she felt about exposing herself.

She offered a small, weak smile and shook her head. "Thanks...but..." She shrugged. It wasn't his fault. Lea wasn't even from her world.

The next question made her pause, and she looked away, lightly spearing at pepperonis again. "His name was Damien," she sighed, rolling her eyes at the name. "Tall, dark, handsome... musician...demon." In more ways than one, from the way it seemed to taste as it rolled from her lips. "I should have known better, but... I was in love and he wanted me." A shrug, as if trying to dismiss it, though from the look on her face and the shape she was currently in, it obviously stung much deeper than she wanted to let on.

"I know," Lea said. "I know I didn't have anything to do with it and saying it doesn't help anyway. But I still am. Sorry, I mean. No one should ever have to go through something like that."

He poked at his own food as she continued. A demon. An actual demon. Yes, he knew Dove was an angel, but... somehow it was easier to accept that with her right in front of him than to accept the existence of an angel's evil counterpart. And he refused to accept the dismissive shrug.

"I know this guy was a demon, but even still, how could anyone do something like that to somebody they claimed to love?", he said. "Or if he didn't love you, what was he doing? Was he just some kind of... spiritual gold-digger or something?"

Lea sighed. "Look... all my desire to punch this creep's face in aside, I can tell how much this is bothering you," he said. "I know it might not be exactly my business, but... well, you're my friend. And since maybe it'll help, at least a little if you talk about it with someone... well, I'm all ears. If you want me to be."

In a strange way, though, it... did help, even years later, even from someone uninvolved. She just wasn't entirely sure how to process it just yet.

"Some people are just really messed up, Lea..." she said, once again almost dismissive. Her gaze grew more distant. People. Not demons. She still believed there was good in everyone. Labels like 'angel' or 'demon' didn't mean much, aside from a description of their birthright.

“He really did want me, just… not in the gentlest way, if that makes sense. Even with my empath’s Gift, it still felt real… I guess it was more just the way you'd love your favorite car or something. Like... he didn't expect me to love him back the way I did."

The offer shook her to her core, and for a moment, she was unsure of whether she would even be able to tell him, or if she'd just burst into tears right then and there. Both seemed to be better options than what she had dealt herself earlier that evening.

"I've never really talked to anyone about him," she confessed, hesitantly. Beyond hesitantly; it was as if she were still afraid of him, of what it all meant, despite knowing she was safe in this world. "Not really, anyway. I guess I just got so used to defending him that actually talking out the hard stuff just sort of got... impossible." She paused. "And then there were more desperate things to consider than my love life like... surviving and trying to keep the High together with only me to rule it from the infirmary..."

As much as he disliked the somewhat dismissive tone of it, Lea couldn't exactly argue with the notion that some people were just messed up. His life and the lives of many of his friends were a testament to that. But it seemed that Dove's world liked to take it to the next level. Which, when he thought about it a moment, was probably to be expected, given angels and demons and all, but that didn't make it suck any less.

He took a bite of his food, as she explained the situation a little better, though he found he couldn't help but wince slightly. "Yeah, I know a bit about that... possessive kind of love," he said. "Or friendship, in my case. It always messes things up." It seemed right at the time, but looking back, he could see how selfish and toxic his original friendship with Xion and Roxas had been. He was just glad now that it hadn't ended quite as badly as what had happened to Dove.

He listened quietly to her hesitant confession, nodding his understanding. "I know a bit about that too, at least about the whole 'save the world now, talk later' part," he said. "That's kinda how things are back home, currently. Problem is, when you keep finding another 'later', well..." He gestured to Dove, indicating her current situation.

"If you really can't talk about it, I get it," he said. "And that's alright. I'm not gonna force you. We can finish our food, then sit down and watch a movie or just talk about stupid stuff the rest of the night. It's your call. But if you can... well, like I said, I'm all ears."

He opted to table any questions he had for now- most notably about her apparently ruling among other angels- in favor of listening. This would likely be hard enough for her without random interruptions.

“Love makes people do crazy things, for better or worse at times… and friendship’s just a type of love." Whatever it had been couldn’t have been Lea's fault, though she was sure it had to be far different than the way parts of her relationship with Damien hadn’t been entirely the demon’s fault either. Even still, despite his nature being painfully clear to most of those around her, she wasn’t sure how much of it had been Damien and how much of it had been her own youthful, stubborn stupidity-

“Well…” she sighed, shaking her head. "... most of my Council wasn’t exactly thrilled to have a demon sympathizer as their new Archangel even and 'I told you so’ just wasn’t appropriate at the start of it all, given they’d found me with my guts on the street.” That and… well. Her entire family facing death at the time and the threat of a major war brewing.

She winced herself at the memory. God, maybe slicing into that calzone the way she had at the start had been a bad idea. She hesitated again before taking a bite of it and considering her options.

“I guess there won’t ever really be a ‘good time’ to talk about any of it, but I just... don’t want to run anyone here off because of the choices I made in my own world,” she admitted quietly, studying her plate and once again refusing to make eye contact. “I mean… you brought me pizza and flowers,” she added, attempting to make the situation lighter, if not for his sake, then for her own. It hurt to think about even the possibility of spilling too much of herself and running Lea off… especially as he was one of the very, very few who had actually gotten this far.

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[Closed] A Bad Idea

Feb. 14

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Getting back in the groove!

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hahahaaaaaaaaaa /facefloor

Re: hahahaaaaaaaaaa /facefloor

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Sorry for the delay! Trying to get back to writing tags~