A few hours later, as well as a few pots of coffee, the girls finally had a brief outline of the task at hand. Lucy and Niharika would teach Desmond a thing or two about a more romantic kind of dancing, not just the dirt that showed up at the bars he'd worked at, While Rebecca and Niharika would find a way to help loosen Shaun up. The thought of Shaun shaking his hips to the beat of American music left them smothering their laughter with pillows, it was just that ridiculous. Since music leads to dancing ('Vertical to Horizontal', as Rebecca put it.), Rebecca figured the surest and fastest way to get 'those two ignoramuses' to notice how head over heels in like, if not love, they were with each other was to find them something they could agree about.
Something that would lead to dancing. That something being music. That dancing leading to a functional relationship instead of elementary school level flirting that consisted of the boy shoving the girl's face in mud and making her eat it. It was a slippery slope, but at least no one had eaten mud yet ('The key word being yet.' Lucy had laughed, finally deciding to enjoy the action before making sure the other girls actually got some sleep.).
Desmond sighed, rolling over in his small bed in the corner of the animus room. It had been an exhausting day, that was for sure, especially since he'd finally admitted to liking Shaun. Before, the little thoughts and voices scurrying around in his mind could be dismissed as the little bubbles of insanity one got when one hadn't been laid in far to long. Telling someone as open and honest as Lucy made the little bubbles seem real, like a solid, unavoidable fact. He glanced over at Shaun's sulking form by the computer.
"Hey…" he murmured, trying to get the brit's attention. Shaun glanced over at him. He didn't really seem annoyed, just tired. "I, uh… goodnight, Shaun." He managed, turning back to hide his embarrassment as his face turned a tomato-like shade of scarlet.
Nice going, Desmond. That went smoothly.
Shaun fixed his gaze back on the screen in front of him, trying to think of what to say. He'd never really exchanged polite, meaningful words with anyone, and something this casual felt absolutely alien to him. I chewed his lower lip, trying to find an appropriate way to respond to the situation.
C'mon, Shaun, you're acting like such a git. Just be civil for once.
"Sleep well, Desmond."
Desmond's eyes widened, and a small smile crept on to his face.
"Thanks, mate."
The next day passed relatively uneventfully for Shaun. He was glad Rebecca didn't try to bring up the incidents of the night before, but he was pretty sure he could feel her gaze boring into the back of his skull when he snuck a few glances at a comatose Desmond as he lay in the Animus.
Around noon, the team noticed their pantry stock dwindling, and Rebecca dragged Shaun along to help her get groceries.
"This guy needs some exposure to the outside world, believe me." She reasoned. "Plus, I need someone to help me carry the bags. After they left, Lucy and Niharika laid way to their plan. Employing as much stealth as the rookie could manage, Niharika slunk into Shaun's room.
This place is like a museum! Very nice, very clean, and you can't touch anything.
Deciding that ninja-rolls weren't exactly the most efficient way to move around, Niharika stood up and took a look around. There were shelves of books arranged alphabetically everywhere, covering pretty much every topic in recorded history, From the fall of Greece to the Ottoman Empire. He didn't really spend much time decorating, and the walls where pretty much bare, save for a small board behind his desk covered in a few things of sentimental value. The desk itself was just as empty, with only a laptop and some pens, and a few drawers filled with files. She scowled.
"Why can't the dumb ass just leave his ipod out in the open like a normal person? It's not like he has anything to hide or something." Waltzing over to the bed, she ducked down and checked underneath it.
"Nobody here but us dust bunnies, huh?" Careful not to disturb the thin layer of dust, she reached in, feeling around on the floor. Something hanging from the underside of the bed brushed her arm. Giving it a tug, she found a small key attached to to piece of string hung from the bed boards. "Check and mate, Hastings." Sitting up, She brushed of her sweater and gave the room a once over. "If I were I grouchy British bookworm, where would i put a lock to match this key?" She straightened up and walked towards the bookshelf beside the cot. "Something easily accessible, but nothing another person would find suspicious?" Giving the shelf her best 'Shaun death glare', she ran her hands along the spines. "If i was a disgruntled 30 year old guy, I would hide it behind the books." Pushing all the texts back to the wall, she noticed the encyclopedia set wouldn't budge. Wheeling the chair from Shaun's desk, she shakily stood on it and removed the hefty volumes, being rewarded with a thin wooden box lying on its side with a keyhole latch in front of the lid. Niharika grinned with triumph. "Jackpot!" carefully getting of the chair, she opened the box. She felt kind of bad violating something the historian had clearly put a lot of effort into hiding, but the angel on her shoulder disappeared when she noticed that buried among letters and photos was a sleek, black ipod classic. Taking care to make sure everything got put back in it's right place. She sauntered over to where Lucy was waiting, head held high and prize in hand.
"You actually found it?" Lucy gasped. Niharika nodded.
"It wasn't easy, let me tell you! That place is like his own personal panic room. So, you ready to break the news to Des?"
"Ugh, no point in avoiding it any longer, i suppose." Lucy rolled her eyes.
"Aw, stop playing that card! we all know you want to get in on it, too!"
"Get in on what?" Desmond asked, peaking his head out from the kitchen. Lucy hesitated.
"Uhm…well…you know how you wanted help with…you know, Shaun?"
"You guys have an idea?" Lucy glanced at Niharika incredulously.
"Yeah. something like that."
"D-dance lessons?" Shaun stuttered, his jaw wide open. Rebecca picked up the cans of ravioli he'd dropped and loaded them into the cart.
"Don't be such a baby, Shaun! Dancing is a great way to loosen up and get into the zone, you know? Not like dirty dancing, but like classy jazz, with smooth beats and stuff. Its so what you need."
Shaun groaned, stuffing a few loaves of bread into the cart. "Alright, i'll trust you on this one, Rebecca. But I still think it's ridiculous."
A/N: hoooooooly crap what is this crap. I never played this game. any of the games. i have no clue whats going on half the time they may as well be in like student housing at university or something aaaaaaaaaaaaah. But thanks you guys for reading anyways, really you are all so awesome. oliveyu.
NINS OUT!
