aphroditeredux | (no subject)

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.....hmph.

[Seraphina wheeled her chair away from her desk in a smooth practiced motion. It was well into the evening and she scowled at the clock. It mocked her with the knowledge she'd truly been hunkered down in the office since this morning. Her stomach rumbled, an inelegant sound but it certainly matched her dressed down appearance. She only took calls today, only came face to face with her most trusted prinny staff. Her nightgown that desperately needed to go through the wash, her hair pulled into an unkempt bun. Truly, she was a domestic goddess and no less gorgeous than any other day but some sides of herself were not meant for the public or bureaucratic. Especially her slippers with the butterfly wings. (Many a paparazzi had tried to get a glimpse of the rumored homebody princess overlord but none had survived.)

Scowling at the mess of files on her desk, she gathered them up and slide them into their cabinets without even blinking. It was all second nature to her, every ten days data management and review, e-mail council and report reading. She popped open her portable closet and changed accordingly, donning a cute pair of short shorts and heels to go with her halter top. Adjusting the last clip in her hair she stepped out of her office into the busy workplace of prinnies and ghosts scurrying carts through the halls.

"Patricia!"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"I have closed my office hours today."

"Very good, ma'am. First Gentleman Adell has left a message letting you know he is still at the Assembly, dood."

"What?!"

Seraphina felt hypoglycemic rage take her, a violent flash of pink energy expelling around her body before the fuchsia prinny expertly threw three bite size chocolates into her mouth.

"Would you like dinner brought to your corners, ma'am?"

"...ugh. No."

Seraphina chewed and swallowed her candy, the sugar melting her anger into tolerable annoyance. She pointed at some dates on their calendar instead, walking away to the Assembly that was keeping Adell from dinner and her arms.]

The vote should have been over by now! He was eighth in line, hmph, but if those Golems had a new amendment to a bill to introduce Hades knows they take their precious time. You'd think they would be worn away to mineral dust by now!

[Muttering under her breath, various staff avoided her without hesitation as she made her way through the castle, out to the streets that lead to various government buildings. She was tired. She was hungry. That Mothman Overlord's check bounced again and Adell was always volunteering to do something on her behalf. It was as sweet as it was infuriating. Adell, selfishly selfless, always being considerate of her position but... She pushed the door to the assembly with more power than necessary, nearly knocking the block off a puppet passing by.

She was lonely! She was tired of being responsible! This second time should have been easier, she knew what to expect, but there just never seemed to be enough time to just be. Huffy, she rubbed at her face, pushing away numbers flying through her head despite the files locked away, and headed to the auditorium.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Of course he'd seen right through her; the act was practiced, keen, and one of her favorite things to do. Sometimes he'd brush it off, others he'd call it out as ridiculous, and times like this, he indulged her. And hearing that quiet gasp and seeing her reaction of melting backward into the chair; that almost made the whole day worth it right then and there.

Adell carefully continued his work, bending down to one knee and reaching over to get a better angle as she relaxed. Unfortunately, his afterimages began to fade; an effect he felt was all too brief, but alas. For now, it served its purpose.

Admittedly, even his mind trailed toward how he could spoil her even more; several thoughts passed through the deeper recesses of his psyche. He was kneeling down and did have a wonderful view and great opportunity... but his conscious mind put a brake on most of those thoughts. He reasoned that as tired and hungry as Seraphina was, perhaps now wasn't the best time to try anything remotely daring. For now, he'd focus on indulging what he knew she wanted, and making sure to do a damn good job of it.

For several more moments, he indulged in her pleased noises and flushed face, adding a gentle heat to the tips of his fingers to work out just a little more tension if he could.]

Your shoulders next, Sera?

[♥]

My feet instead?

[Her tone was as pleasant as it'd been all day, his warm magic working its way into her skin. She teasingly wiggled her toes at him, smiling and sunken into the couch.]

No one else's thumbs will do.

[Adell's eyes shot right back over to hers, giving her a knowing stare. Not one of irritation or complaint, but one that clearly said you're bein' real greedy right now. It was playful, but the look was unmistakably a call-out.

His eyes then trailed down her legs, down to her feet and her dancing, waiting toes. Quiet for a long moment as he still massaged her temples, he then looked back up to her, and leaned in and planted a kiss on her forehead. The heat and gentle pressure ceased as he withdrew his hands, and then sat back down on the floor in front of her.]

All right, give 'em here.

[He pretended to sound a little put upon, but it was an obvious act, much like hers. Still, he was still very serious about making sure he did it right. Taking one of her feet into his hands, his strong fingers went to work, starting on her toes and working their way down into the balls of her feet, where he put more pressure and even some relaxing heat.

...Those high heels of hers had to play hell on the front of her foot.]

Mm~

[And yet she always got what she wanted. Hohohohoho. She relaxed again, sighing deep in her chest and watching Adell with barely cracked eyes. In truth, her shoulders were far sorer but seeing him on the floor crouched down for her was nice. Not in the way of her usual games, of men submitting to her power, bending their backs and exposes their blindsides to her.

No. It was Adell, who in recent months had been so tantalizingly close yet so far away. It's her nature, in these moments, to daydream and with each press of his fingers and thumb, her mind paints a tale she's very much interested in. Time passes, her gentle hums filling the space between the two of them. When He squeezes her heel she's in deep, picturing her toes walking up his stomach and chest, hooking her heel over his shoulder to trap him between her thighs, his face pressing into her stomach, it would be so easy to --]

DING DONG DING DONG DING

[At the sound of the doorbell Seraphina jumps, nearly whacking Adell in the face with her foot.]

They said they had fixed the volume by now...!

[But that smell--]

Ah, dinner, dinner! [And surprisingly, Seraphina is the one rushing to the door to receive the boxes of food, rather than asking Adell to do it. A creature ruled by her appetites indeed.]

[Seemingly oblivious to Sera's daydreaming, Adell was contented listening to her make satisfied noises as he worked on her feet. Of course, the only thing that stops him from getting a swift kick in the face is a quick jerk back when he sees it coming. Initially confused, he quickly realized the sound of the doorbell, and made ready to get up and answer it... but frankly, Seraphina was up in a flash and at the door before he could get any further.

Instead, he simply shrugged and got up, washed his hands quickly, and fetched some of the plates and napkins she had stashed away, taking them to a table, to make ready for the inevitable mountain of food heading their way.

Of course, the smell of the meal permeating through the area practically made his mouth water and his stomach loudly rumble again.]

Holy hell, that smells like ambrosia right now.

[It takes her a grand total of three trips to get all the food to the table and it creaks in warning when the last steaming box is placed on top of it, but who cares? Since her phone call, Seraphina has embraced that this is happening, no matter the fancy napkin drabbed across her lap and the nice fluted water glass. There are pounds of fast food sitting between them and they're going to eat like animals in front of each other in pure domestic bliss.

This sort of thing would have been unthinkable to her pride a year ago but now - Sera is digging in and gnawing on her bones for every last scrap of meat and cartilage to chew on.]

There's nothing like the snap of crispy fried skin~! Adell, I renounce my previous secret shame. There is only joy, euphoria, and facial cleanser, so much facial cleanser but that's my future self's problem!

[Indeed, this was happening. Once Adell sat down, he unbuttoned the wrists of his shirt and rolled them up over his elbows, removed his tie, and shoved a huge napkin in his collar to act as a bib for his nice shirt. A napkin covered his lap too, and he had barely finished taking all these precautions before his ravenous, demonic hunger took over.

He too loudly devoured and tore at the flesh of the fried chicken, frequently dipped deeply into the sauces provided, and practically inhaled the mozzarella sticks he'd ordered. There were a ton of them, but they were disappearing at a rate that would normally be alarming. But this was Adell, and his appetite could be infamous, especially when he hadn't eaten enough.

Sounds of relief escaped from the man as he ate, and cracked open the jug of cream soda, practically upending it into his mouth in a display of horrific table manners he would've considered unthinkable even a few months ago. But screw it. This was them cutting loose and enjoying some indulgence.]

Catharsis is a hell of a drug. And so is Cream Soda. God damn. That Bourbon Bomb sauce is just smokey delight made manifest, the deliverer of all chicken everywhere.

This is the actual best!

And the Boo Berry is as delightfully sweet as it is spicy! Ah ♥~ I don't even care about the six hundred forms I had to print out and sign today, the meat is in my blood, and it's only making me stronger!!

[Yeah, she's in sweet sweet food delirium. There's sauce all over her fingers and a splash on her cheek. A true hedonist, but the tell-tale sign of who he's dining with is apparent by how the cleaned off bones are thrown back into empty boxes, keeping her trash from soiling her nice furniture. She had made that careless mistake in her youth. Never again. Never again.]

And we have pie for breakfast... Truly, I am a visionary.

[Even moments in, shoveling food into his face rapidly, his stomach slowly began to quiet and move to a blissful state of completion. Of course, that didn't mean it wanted Adell to stop. So it just meant shoving more curly fries into his gob while nodding along with Seraphina's delirious rambling.]

A sweet, tantalizing way to start the day. Foresight at its strongest from the Oracle Princess Overlord!

[He might be changing his tune by morning, if all of this sits too heavily... he might up eating oatmeal or something equally tame if he wakes up feeling Regret for his culinary indulgence. He can only hope the salad helps take the edge off when he gets to it.

...Not to mention the time he's going to have to spend in the gym or training to burn all this excess energy off. Problems to deal with later, and at least it didn't involve enough facial cleanser to drown someone. Though that might be in his future too, he shouldn't fool himself.]

Wow, these curly fries live up to their name. Real heat, real flavor. Wonder what their secret is and what peppers they use...

Your praise is as satisfying as the pepper seasoned in this skin.

[In times of stress, her metabolism always seemed to catch on and carry her through. Thankfully, Adell hadn't been with her long enough to know about this particular habit. Once Seraphina broke out for delivery, it was a prelude to her stress peaking. At least Patricia hadn't exposed her down in the office.

But enough of that! They're relaxing! And Adell is cute and just the right amount of mess she's endeared rather than repulsed.]

Oh! They were bragging about them in their menu, a new pepper found in an obscure desert Netherworld... [Sera reaches over to one of her stands (after wiping down her hands) and grabs several sheets of paper. On top is the menu of the fried chicken restaurant, she passes it over to Adell without looking up - her attention caught by the sheet underneath. Heavier stock paper, stuck on top is a post-it note from Patricia indicating a few changes to her monthly schedule.

Wait a minute.]

Adell? Why are you in Court all week next week? I didn't ask you to.

[There's no bite to her tone. Merely confused. (For now.)]

[Adell took the menu as she passed it over, though he didn't get long to open it before he heard Sera ask a... more serious question. He looked back up to her. When he had volunteered to do that, that was before the legislative hazing he'd taken... so right now he might be having a bit of buyer's remorse about it. That said, he wasn't prepared to run from it either, but he figured the best thing to do would be honest.]

I heard how crazy next week was supposed to be for you.

[His tone was as it always was, simple and straightforward, though the fatigue of the day had seeped through somewhat.]

I figured I could handle it and if it saved you some headache, it'd be worth doing.

...

[Sera continues looking through the rest of her stack, documents filled with overviews and details - the proposed Assembly schedule and sees what exactly Adell will be attending. She frowns when she looks up at him.

If he's going to be straightforward about it, then so is she. She's never anything less when it comes to managing her Netherworld.]

You know none of the groups on the floor like you. Until they respect you even enough to amount to the smallest grain of sand they'll just halt everything to a snail's crawl. Imagine today Adell, but imagine it three times as long.

And this isn't even factoring preparing you beforehand for the Bill on Thursday!

[He listened to her intently, actually appreciating how frank she was about it. It wasn't pleasant to hear, but having it out there was important. And frankly, if anyone knew how it was going to go down, it was her.

He sighed, wiping his hands clean with a napkin before rubbing his right temple with his thumb.]

Yeah, I know I'm not exactly... popular. When I volunteered to go, I underestimated just how far they'd go to gridlock the whole damn thing up. And you're right, they're just going to try to eat me alive again on the floor if they can.

[And it pains him to admit it, having to swallow a lot of that pride of his, demonic or no. Back in Veldime, he was a big fish... and here, he could be, but he'd have to earn it first. But earning it was proving to be a much tougher prospect than he imagined so far. He hated backing down from anything, and Sera doubtlessly knew that about him, but... at the same time, he knew her assessment of next week was spot-on.]

...I'm honestly not sure what I should do. Preparing for the Thursday bill's going to be... well, impossible, really, if they jam up the entire process like today. Just not enough hours in the day to get it all done.

[Even if the will to do his best for her was there... time wasn't exactly something either of them could bend to their will. ...Yet.]

[She huffs, crossing her legs. Her brain overflowing with calendar dates and time commitments. Him being honest was good but. But.]

When you agreed to go, Patricia scheduled a meeting with a neighboring Netherworld in the middle of the week, and now I won't even be here.

You should have talked to me first! Because now we have to figure out how to pass this Bill before it gets swept into next month or WORSE. Adell! [And the stress finally snaps off of her tongue:] I know you're selfishly selfless but this could screw me over big time! You weren't prepared for this at all!

You're right. I should've.

[...Oh, wonderful. Things just got that much worse, huh? Well, you know what they say about the road to hell...

He took a long drag of soda, feeling some stress return back to his head. The wheels in his head visibly started to turn. After a moment, he set the bottle down, and then folded his hands on the table. Okay. This was now officially a mess and it needed to get addressed.

He didn't take the stressed statement personally, though. Because frankly, she was right. He got in over his head with good intentions and now they had to do something about it.]

I am sorry. ...But just an apology's not gonna cut it. So whatever it takes to get prepared for it, I'll do it. And I won't be doing something stupid like this again.

...thankfully I have an idea.

[Seraphina huffs loudly, gets up to go through one of her nearby bookcases. She pulls out a planner and flips through it, page after page until she finds what she's looking for.

She holds the planner out in front of her for Adell to read.]

This is Cayenne. [The page reveals a profile for a Maid. In particular, a high-level Maid working under the proper title of Governess.] Given the all too little time we have, I believe she's our best chance at getting the Bill passed on Thursday.

She's been a part of my family's Homecare and Domestic Disputes unit since I was a child. She has intimate knowledge of all the parties who work on the Assembly floor and is psychologically incapable of leaving a location until her task is done. It means she is quick, efficient, and terrifying at problem-solving. She will attend court with you every day, and advise you on what battles are worth picking and when to concede.

I will give her these two goals!

One; my Bill will be Passed!

Two; Adell's popularity will not go down!

[However, when she takes a seat there's a grimness to her expression.]

There's just one problem.

[Adell watches her as she gets up, and then dutifully reads the planner she holds out to him as she explains, his expression serious, even dour. The title of "Governess" for a Maid definitely was unusual, and it meant taking her very seriously before Seraphina even got to the part of her being as good as she was.

Silent until Seraphina took a seat again, he frowned a bit himself.]

That the presence of an advisor might make me look like a target of opportunity? That the Senators might smell blood in the water with your absence? That Cayenne might demand a very high price in return for her help? Or... what?

Edited 2019-01-03 20:48 (UTC)

What? No, of course not!

Cayenne is a peach if that peach were found rotting in one lobe of its brain. She can't speak and is absolutely illiterate, so she communicates solely in charades.

[Yep.]

[That... wasn't what he expected to hear at all. He wasn't sure what he expected, but it wasn't that.]

...Charades. [He sounds almost incredulous, but knows she's not pulling his chain. This is too important.] Well, I better get in some practice before I meet her, and then try to figure out her tells and tendencies.

[Fortunately he's no slouch at charades, having played it more than a few times with his siblings...]

I can work with that.

She can understand you just fine but if you think practicing will allow you to read her better, be my guest. You will meet her first thing tomorrow morning and you will start going over how to operate as a team while still being the face and representative of the Overlord.

Thankfully I'm a master coordinator and can easily set this up.

Well, go on. [She crosses her arms expectantly.] What do you have to say to that?

[Welp. Despite her frustration and stress pinching her mouth tight, she puffs, as humble as a peacock walking down a runway - fully expecting praise and maybe, just maybe, a grain of awareness about what else is bothering Seraphina. Her schedule only has so many gaps that can fit in Adell when it comes to their relationship and with Adell taking on more responsibilities, Sera traveling, those gaps just keep disappearing.

He wants to help and support her, but still - he isn't asking her anything at all! She's an Overlord first, so of course, she has to get this matter settled but if she's a partner second, it's time to be agitated by something else.

Sigh.]

I'm in. I won't let you down again. Your ability to improvise never ceases to amaze.

[Oh, this is how he knew this was a trap. Well, not a trap, per se, but this was her definitely showing that there was more at play here than just getting this sorted. If this was the only problem on her mind, her demeanor wouldn't be so... tense.

And of course, all the news she dropped on him, that unexpected new appointment Patricia set up... that was all stuff he hadn't anticipated when he made the offer. Talk about stepping in it.]

...I'm sorry, Sera. I didn't think trying to get you some breathing room would just get you scheduled to go on a trip instead. ...I thought that if I'd bought you some extra time, we might actually have a little more together.

[.........

She takes a deep breath in.]

[And it comes out in a hot rush:]

I know you're sorry but I'm still pissed off!! You still don't know how everything works, you're still learning, and I want to be understanding but I'm still as selfish a woman as I've ever been. But I don't have time to tell you everything I want, because I'm not a Seer and can't anticipate all these accidents!

Ugh.

And you never ask me! You just get into your little goody two shoes head that everything will work out and it drives me crazy! I want to spend time with you, I deserve to spend time with you, and I'm mad that what you did got in the way of that.

I hate being patient, I don't want to be patient, I just want to do what I want!!

And right now I'm so stressed I want to shoot down half the chandeliers in Gorgeous!!!

[It's clear this has been building, with how red in the face she gets, when she goes from sitting to standing without even realizing it.

Whoops.]

[And there it is. Frankly, he knew he deserved getting it, so he simply sat and let her vent it out. She needed to let that get said, clearly, and it meant he needed to hear it, and then do something about it.

He'd already apologized and did feel remorse for absolutely screwing this one up, so saying more about that wasn't going to help matters. All that mattered now was what to do about making it right, and clearly the message got sent about not just gung-ho-ing his way through political problems trying to be nice to her.

...So that's not what needed to be said either.]

[After she finished, standing up and looking down toward him while he still sat, he just looked right back into her eyes. While some might be cowed by her temper, he wasn't afraid or even deterred. He felt lousy for upsetting her, of course, but he had listened to what she said, and frankly, it just meant that he needed to be a better partner to her.

So instead of getting upset or defensive himself, he simply kept his tone as level and even as possible.]

...Then what would you like to do tonight? We might not have much time now, but... how do you want to spend it?

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