So as you may have noticed, I decided to carry on... simply because the story is too fun to cope out with a less then proper ending.
Hope you all enjoy~
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A short while later, the pair could be found in the bathroom, Theo sat on the closed lid of the toilet as Isabel ran the sink tap, filling up the basin with some warm water so she could tend to his bandages.
"Can you take off your shirt, please?" Isabel asked, soaking a clean cloth in the gathered water.
Theo looked up at her, raising a eyebrow questioningly
Rolling her eyes "so I wash of the herbal mixture without staining your shirt" she justified, "honestly, your mind... I'm won't be ogling your chest, you can be sure of that"
"Why... can you not... summon up... enough enthusiasm... to appreciate my... manly assets?"
"Just take get it off, you damn fluff bucket!"
Theo just chuckled as he made a bit of a undoing his buttons, opening his shirt ever so slightly doing a bit of a wiggle before closing it again... and repeating the action, flashing a bit more of his toned chest, grinning widely. Well until he got a soggy cloth throw at him...
"Enough, you can practise your strip tease later... neither of us has all day so just got on with it!" she grumbled, retrieving the cloth
"Just trying to... make you laugh..." he muttered, pouting lightly as he simple slipped his shirt of his shoulders and laying it on the back of the toilet.
She sighed lightly "I know, I'm just not in much of a laughing mood..." she replied sadly, averting her eyes.
Reaching out and taking her hand, he gave it a reassuring squeeze "I can help you... if you need me... too... all you have to... do is ask" he assured her softly...
Isabel shook her head solemnly "I'll be okay... I've gotten extremely good at cleaning up my own messes... and this particular one was 6 months in the making" she uttered bitterly, lightly returning the squeeze.
"If you're sure?" he inquired gently "I'm here if... you ever need... to talk..."
She smiled softly at him, hugging his shoulders "Thank you Theo, you really are a great friend" she whispered, pressing her lips to his forehead.
Theo's eyes slowly slid closed... despite attempting to put forth his best intentions, he enjoyed the feel of her hands on his bare shoulders a little too much... his arms snaking round her waist innocently, trying to comfort her as a friend, while his mind betrayed him by wishing for more.
She dwelled there for a few more moments before setting to work, taking off his bandages putting it aside, rinsing out the cloth and gently cleaning off the excess. "you're lucky that you are an old fart, any younger and you would still be badly bruised up." she mused thoughtfully,
"That's rich... coming from you..." he chuckled softly,
"Oh I've gone way past old fart, to sodding ancient" she retorted, lightly smiled at she tentatively rubbed some diluted down mixture into the areas that where still slightly discoloured from the rapidly healing bruise, having added a touch of natural perfumed oil to lighten the rich, earthy smell of the remedy.
"Are you so... desperate to... get me off... your back... that you find... it necessary... to make me... smell overly... appealing... to the other... women folk of... the office?" he inquired, giving her a wounded look
"From what I heard floating round the place, you don't need any help in that department" Isabel corrected nonchalantly as she finished rubbing in the cream, moving to wash her hands.
"I do alright... for myself... I guess..." he shrugged lightly, looking down...
"Anyway Casanova, you need to take some time this afternoon to apply some more and it should be gone by this evening" she instructed softly, handing him a small jar.
"Can't I just... come back later... and get you... to rub it on... for me?" he chuckled teasingly
She smiled and shook her head "I rather if you didn't come back today..." she admitted, busying herself with tidying up a pretty none existent mess "I'm thankfully of everything you've done for me, but I need a little time to think... time to just be..."
His smile faded as he slowly nodded "Of course... take as long... as you need... m'dear..." he empathised, reaching out and stroking the back of her hand lightly with his fingertips.
Isabel grabbed his hand as quick as her recovering reflexes could muster, she lifted it to her face, pressing her cheek to the back of his hand "Thanks for understanding..."
Theo pulled her into a tight embrace "I only impose... myself when I... know I can... be of some... assistance. I know... you may have... been less then... appreciative... to my earlier... help... but it was … necessary to aid... you're recovery. You really need... to take better... care of yourself" he whispered, placing his cheek on the top of her head.
"It's not that I don't appreciate your help, I just find myself reluctant to surrender myself to a existence that isn't completely independent... I get rather antsy when I must relay on others too much... I hate feeling like a burden."
"Sounds like a load... of shit to me... even if that is part... of the reason... it's not all of it..."
Isabel stepped back, looking up at him, narrowing her eyes "oh and you know better, do you?" she retorted a little more sharply then she intended to.
His eyebrow rose at her tone, pausing for a few moments to careful pick his words knowing he was touching upon an particular tender wound "I saw what he... could do to you... the control he had... that is what truly... scares you... doesn't it? You're afraid that... if you allow anyone... get close to you... they will find... just the right... buttons to press... to make you submit."
"You dare assume to be able to understand a 200 year old relationship from the, what, 10 minutes you stood slinking around in the doorway... inserting your beak where it doesn't doesn't belong?" she growled animated, throwing her hands up in the air exasperatedly "you may be smart Theodore, but that is a feat that even your intellect can achieve" she added before storming out, and slamming her bedroom door.
Theo flinched as the door slammed, his brow knitting together in a deep frown... he really stepped in it there, but he wasn't exactly expecting that response... "200 years...?" he mumbled to himself disbelievingly. That kind of relationship was almost completely beyond his comprehension, being the king of short termed commitment, his longest entanglement lasting a mere decade.
Taking that as a cue to leave, he replaced his shirt, pocketing the cream she had given him and exiting her apartment and returning to his own, to get ready for work, his frown still in place.
Meanwhile in Isabel's room:
She flopped down on the bed, pressing her head into her pillow and screaming... banging her head into the mattress, working off her the extent of her built up frustration, which Theo words had brought to boiling point. Months upon months of compressed emotion hitting her in wave after submerging wave... very little of it being under Theo's influence, his input was just the single drop of water that broke the dam.
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Despite attempting to distract himself by throwing himself into the depths of the vast amounts of paperwork that towered around him, looming down at him from all sides, his mind kept wandering back to that happened this morning and more prominently last night.
He wasn't angry with her, not even in the slightest, it would foolish to even think that she could be so cruel, sure she could be sharp tongued... he had witness that during the whole William predicament... but sadistic seemed to far beyond her personality.
Besides, if that was truly her, why would she got to so much effort to take care of him... instead of simply killing while he was venerable? The creature he was faced with, her hand gripping his throat, hardly seemed like the lay and wait kind of assassin, so she must have gone back into hibernation after he snapped Isabel out of her possession like state.
Just what was that thing? And just how long was it going to stay hidden?
His frown deepened as his mind quite contemplated these questions, each new thought generated as disconcerting as the next... what if next time it comes out to play it is in a more public setting? Or witnessed by the worst possible observers, a superior or a member of the council?
Shaking his head, pushing the thoughts back into the deepest recesses of his mind, getting back to the pressing problem in hand... how was he going to get Isabel to forgive him?
Ideally before he drowns in the all consuming literary swamp that is threatening to consume every inch of available flat surface space in his office.
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Working into the late hours of the night to clear off his work load, he finally gave up as his pocket watch half way through the eleventh hour... flexing his wrist, his chair squeaking as he pushed it back and got to his feet, he grabbed his coat and left the office, locking up behind him.
He was practically itching to see Isabel, this being the first evening he hadn't seen her since they met... and he missed her...
His feet lead him to her apartment with no input from his brain... slipping inside, he was confronted with what was left of the living room, the sofa's had been slashed, the coffee table, side tables and cabinets had been reduced to twisted chucks of wood that was scattered across the floor along with shards of glass and porcelain.
Quickly moving through to her bedroom, fearful of her well being... he was relieved to find that she was safe and sound asleep in bed, an emotion that only lasted a moment until he realised she wasn't alone. Her head was resting on the chest of man, her arms was wrapped round his waist, as he held her to his side, the fingers of his right hand threaded through her dark hair.
The sight caused his heart to drop into his stomach... the feeling intensify when he found he recognised the man, his slightly wavy chin length dark brown hair, distinctive, mature facial features... it was Ezekiel... his creator and mentor, Ezekiel Young.
Turning away, he made a swift exit... 'god's I need a new lover... before I permanently wave goodbye to the last drags of my damn sanity.' he thought dejectedly...
Little did Theo know, Ezekiel was in fact only pretending to sleep when he felt Theo's presence enter the room, only giving up the façade as he heard the front door close.
"Silly, little apprentice..." he chuckled in hushed tones, returning to stroking Isabel's hair.
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Hehe~ another character for you...
What do you think? A potiential spanner in the works or just another playful twist?