Ephemeral Truths [Verity]

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

When Verity arrives for her daily shift, Schön's demeanor in answering the door suggests this might not be just another day at the office. "Ah, good morning. I wonder if you might feel like a small change in the routine?"

Comments

[brave_heart_verity]

He shouldn't do that. It always makes her blush. "With everything being afraid of me? Yeah. Quite a stir, especially when they throw me out."

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

He's just full of perils.

"Afraid of you?" he scoffs. "Why should they be afraid of you?"

[brave_heart_verity]

She doesn't answer right away. It's not an easy thing to put into words.

"Your fire is." That's the best way she knows how to explain it.

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"Ah." Nothing gets by her. It's a blessing and a curse. "Less so, now, than when we first met, I think. And there are things that can be done, to protect you from the Dreaming and the Dreaming from you."

[brave_heart_verity]

She always knows where she stands...

"You think so?" She's doubtful, but he's the expert. "Will I have to wear a hazmat suit?"

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"I know so," he answers firmly, before her question makes him laugh. "Nothing so gauche! Although on second thought, you might prefer the hazmat suit. Mortals who take a little bit of fairy magic into themselves can see the Dreaming and enter it without harming us or coming to harm."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Hmm." That's going to take some thought. "Can we table the discussion until I'm feeling better and can understand it fully?"

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"Of course. And speaking of tables," it's a convenient segue into his getting the door of a little Chinese restaurant for her.

[brave_heart_verity]

"Convenient." She'd totally believe the world rearranges itself for him to make these little things work out. There's something about the smell of frying oil and soy sauce that makes her happy. Once she's inside she has a quick look around to note the layout and spot the exits, then looks around again to take the people in. Then she turns to him again. "Perfect. Just the sort of place I was thinking of, thank you."

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

Oh, doesn't he just wish! "You're quite welcome." The restaurant is in the midst of its lunch rush, so while they can get a table, the place is going to be crowded and loud. If Verity would rather get take-out and go to a park, or back to the Nexus, they can easily do that.

[brave_heart_verity]

It's a tough call. Peking duck isn't really picnic food, and she wants so much tea right now. On the other hand, noise. On the other other hand, his office is full of work. Work the adult in her knows she should get to soon. Bah. Adulting sucks.

"Your office would probably be the best choice," she admits finally.

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"The office it is, then. And we can call this morning's efforts your full shift for the day." With a wry little smirk, he adds, "besides, field trips always eat up the whole day."

[brave_heart_verity]

That's a pleasant surprise, and the teasing gets a giggle. "If you're sure. You're the boss."

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

He grins again. "I'm sure." When it's their turn to order, he calls for Peking duck, won ton soup, bell peppers and beef, chef's fried rice, and looks to Verity to see if there's anything she'd like to add.

[brave_heart_verity]

"Crab rangoons, please, and a cup of egg drop soup." There's little chance she's going to eat the whole duck, but that's why leftovers were invented. Meanwhile, she's going to be drinking tea like it's going out of style. They may need another pot when their meal comes.

"I first had Peking duck on my thirteenth birthday. The j--the guy my mom was dating at the time talked her into them taking me out for my first 'grown up meal'. I can't say I was disappointed. What about you, when did you first have it?"

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"Mm, not until I was nineteen," he admits, "and in America on a student visa. One of my peers ordered one, and couldn't finish it himself."

[brave_heart_verity]

"You studied in America?" That gets a little smile into her teacup. "I didn't know that. Where did you study? And what? Or should I guess... San Fransisco, and you majored in... underwater basket weaving?"

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

He chuckles. "New York," he corrects, "and I was supposed to be studying politics."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Hmm. 'Supposed to be'? I take it you found other things more interesting?" C'mon, don't be a tease, there is a story here and she wants it. "Art, lovers, or fashion?"

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

He chuckles. "All of the above. New York was a very... eye-opening place. It was where I was able to come into my own."

[brave_heart_verity]

Schön.

Dude.

C'mon.

She's making that face now.

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

...he sighs. "Not remotely what I meant."

"I had awoken as myself some two or three years previous, but I didn't truly understand myself yet. I wasn't able to freely mingle with others like myself until I reached New York."

[brave_heart_verity]

That's not what she was thinking, Schön, and you damn well know it.

"There weren't any in...?" Nudge nudge prod. She told him a story!

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"Oh, there were, but I was the son of a wealthy, influential family. I went nowhere without bodyguards, spoke with no one who hadn't been vetted. The other local fae were kept at more than arm's length."

He tsks reproachfully at himself. "How vain I must sound, the poor little prince in his lovely gilded tower." His lips turn down, somewhat bitter, and he hides the expression briefly behind a sip of tea.

"In any event, my family held political power as well as wealth, and it was expected that I should bring the family more of both. I was able, through some very delicate finagling, to convince my teachers and parents that the best place for me to continue my education was a private college in New York, and that it had been their idea in the first place. In New York, alas, they didn't have the sort of connections that would let them maintain my body-guarded bubble, but I was a dutiful son with no ambitions beyond serving the family." No less bitter, his lips turn up into a smile.

[brave_heart_verity]

Her eyes go wide as he tells his story (and don't think she didn't notice he hasn't answered all her questions) until she finally looks down. As if her tea is going to be any sort of comfort right now.

"You don't sound vain. You sound like V, if he had any ambition to be his own person."