Kawaii-Cherri: Correct! You get a cookie! Now, I made a boo boo, I said you'd enjoy chapter 25, and i meant the chapter 25 labelled in my laptop not on here! So we're very very close.
AnonGuest: Don't worry, I know it's been a roller coaster but this silly thing is coming to an end, don't worry. Brighter things on the horizon.
Chapter 26: Stay with me
Leon took the phone and began to watch. It started off reasonably calm, Sebastian telling Madison that his phone was recording so that they wouldn't lose any information about the ideas that they passed to one another. It was fairly standard as Leon could see that they began to work, Sebastian sitting at a respectable distance from the young woman while writing on a notepad and talking. Bottles of water were opened and drank, nothing out the ordinary. Then Madison stood up.
'Do you mind if I put on some music?' She asked as she walked over to his entertainment display. 'I hate having nothing on in the background, feels like a morgue,' she jokes. Sebastian shrugs a shoulder and continues to write down the idea that they had about an interface. She busies herself for a moment, choosing one of his CD's, before putting it in and on. It played at a reasonable level, nothing that would disturb. 'I love this band, don't you?' She smiles in Sebastian's direction.
Sebastian picked up his water bottle and took a sip, 'yeah, they're good,' he said simply. 'Now, about this interface, if we have it as a drop-down menu, it could become irritating as they tend to vanish if you move the cursor away, which could happen accidently if you're using a touchpad on a laptop,' he explained as he made a note.
'Ugh, are you still going on about that?' Madison said, annoyed as she crossed her arms.
He didn't seem to notice and continues to write. 'I think a side bar menu would work better though it would mean rearranging some of the layout,' he mused. 'Perhaps one that appears and disappears through a button option?'
'Seb!' Madison snapped making him look at her, a little annoyed. 'I'm bored,' she said in a playful whine. Moving over to the sofa, she sat down next to him, invading his boundaries as their legs touched, 'perhaps we can just relax for a bit?' She suggested as she places a hand on his knee.
He looked down at her hand and then stood up, 'I think it's getting late,' he said bluntly. 'I haven't sorted out what I'm having for dinner yet and Rina said she might be coming over,' Sebastian said as he walked towards his kitchen, near the front door. 'Perhaps we should just wrap this up and continue another day if you're not feeling it,' he adds. What he didn't realise was that Madison had followed him and when he turned around to face her, he found that she was right in front of him. Sebastian took a step back and found himself against the wall of his apartment.
'I can help you forget all about this, Rina,' Madison said coyly as she moves closer. 'Expand your definition of "everything".' Sebastian's body language screamed the fact that he was out of his depth and had no idea what to do without physically touching her to get her move.
'No need, I'm not interested in you or a more… casual, relationship, let's keep this professional,' Sebastian said bluntly, trying to be tactful. 'It's late Madison, I don't want you to have to travel home at a dangerous hour-' He attempted, his body flat against the wall and hands raised to create a barrier.
'I'll just stay over,' she says suggestively. Sebastian had started to speak when she pushes herself against him, pinning him to the wall as her mouth meets his in a kiss.
Leon frowns, he can see that Sebastian is tense and doesn't reciprocate. The kiss only lasts a moment as the video shows that Rina unlocks the door and walks in a few seconds later. Leon sighs and passed the phone back to Sebastian. 'Then your wife walks in and I'm assuming all hell is let loose?' He guesses.
'In a way,' Sebastian said quietly. 'She's not here if you can tell,' he points out. Mentally, he curses, he had forgotten that Leon thought that they were in a much more serious relationship. He'd had to be careful about how this was handled. 'I did grab Madison by the arm and then I dragged her out the apartment, but I have video on that too,' he adds. 'I'd rather not show you the bit with Rina, if that's okay?' He mumbles, not wanting to rewatch or relive it again. Leon nods and asks to see the footage. Sebastian skips past Rina's entrance and departure and shows him what happened afterwards.
'I see,' Leon sighs. 'Thankfully you have this evidence as Madison is currently on a warpath. Mr Elijhan is currently trying to quell that fire,' he explains. 'I was very concerned, it seemed totally out of character for you to do such a thing. Especially seeing as you adore your wife as you do,' he rubs his eyes. 'There aren't any problems between you two?' He asks, gently, but needing to know.
'No,' Sebastian, 'apart from this, which I hope will be cleared up when I show her the video,' he says honestly. 'I love Rina, with all my heart and I hate the idea that she thinks I've hurt her like this,' he reveals sincerely, surprising himself with how easy it was to admit that he loved her, to an almost complete stranger.
Leon nods, 'do you want to take this to court? HR? How would you like to proceed?' He asks simply.
'I just want it all to be over. Call it a misunderstanding, I don't care. I have no interest in Madison and I can be professional if she can. If she continues to harp on about how she's the victim though, I will want to take it through official channels,' Sebastian said. 'I haven't got the greatest social skills and maybe she thought I was 'playing hard to get,' or something,' he said as he leaned back on his sofa and covered his face with his hands.
'Don't do that! You told her point blank that you weren't interested. She just didn't listen. I'll respect your choice in what happens now but if she does continue, I'll have to take it into my own hands as your employer,' Leon snapped, angry that Sebastian was giving Madison an excuse for her behaviour. 'When you're able to talk to Rina, please, give her my apologies that this happened. I'll limit the contact that Madison has with you and demand that all work-related meetings are to happen in work hours at the office,' he assures.
'Thanks… Mr Davies, for allowing me to explain,' Sebastian said as the man stood up and brushed himself down. 'I can only hope Rina allows me to do the same.'
Leon chuckles and adjusts his scarf, 'don't worry, Sebastian, I'm sure she will. It's clear that she loves you just as much as you love her. She probably just needs a bit of time to cool her head, it's a lot,' he said with a soft smile. 'Try and get some sleep. Don't worry about all of this, tomorrow it will just be a bad dream. Don't come into work, take the day and try to sort things out,' he assures. Sebastian sees him to the front door and says a goodbye before taking his advice and going to bed. The sooner tomorrow came, the sooner he could talk to Rina.
-x-
In order to distract herself from what had happened the previous night, Rina was attempting to min-max the stipulations that her grandfather had left in his will. She was annoyed at herself for not checking it, of course there were bound to be clauses, just to make sure that she was trying to succeed. Her grandfather was stern but fair. She was also angry at herself for being distracted by Sebastian, her one goal here was to succeed and prosper but she had let things slide with personal attachments. Now, she could risk all of it because she hadn't been taken things seriously. It was late afternoon and the one time she had attempted to call Sebastian; the call wouldn't connect. Which meant that he was more than likely working or in a meeting. So, she had left it at that and instead of pining about the situation, she pulled on her big girl knickers and was determined to figure out her own impending trouble.
Rina was in a world of her own when there was a knock at the front door. With a raised brow, she tore herself from the printout and notebooks that she had on the table and went over to open it. She yanked it open with full intention of telling whoever it was to come back at a better time but found herself lost for words as she saw Sebastian, dressed in his motorbike leathers. 'Bastian?' She said, surprised at his arrival. 'What… what are you doing here?'
'I didn't want to talk over the phone,' he admitted as he pulled off his helmet. Rina tilted her head; he looked like he had barely slept. Of course, she understood how that felt having been up and down all night herself. His hair had only been teased with a brush and he had all his piercings in. Something she knew he did when he was feeling self-conscious or wanting a physical distraction from other's who would be looking at him. 'Can I come in?' He asks quietly, holding his helmet tightly.
Rina stepped to the side, 'sure, of course,' she nods, ignoring the bubble of happiness that appeared in her chest. It was tainted with a smaller bubble of sadness at the tension between them. Sebastian walked in and placed his helmet on the table before turning to face her. 'I didn't even hear your bike, I was… working on something,' she admitted, feeling guilty.
His shoulders fell and he looked at her with tears in his eyes. 'Can… I have a hug?' He whispers. Rina felt her heart pang, she nods and walks over to him, accepting the deep embrace that he wrapped around her. 'I'm so sorry,' he said through a choked voice. 'You have to understand that what happened yesterday….'
'You don't need to explain,' Rina cut in as she selfishly buried her head into his shoulder. 'Like I said, I don't own you, you're not mine. You don't need to-'
She felt Sebastian sob as he held her tight and he used a hand to stroke her hair. 'She kissed me… Madison… kissed me, Pheebs. I didn't want her to. She just did it, pushed me against the wall and kissed me… I didn't know what to do. I just froze,' he said, feeling Rina's fingers grip his leathers, hard. 'Then you walked in and… Yoba… I feel like a fool. I've never been in that type of situation before. I didn't want her to kiss me, I didn't want to kiss her. I didn't want to hurt her by pushing her away, I would have shoved her too hard or something,' he babbled, unable to hold it back. 'Please, please understand. I wasn't hiding anything from you, there's nothing to hide.'
'Oh, Bastian,' Rina said feeling her own tears bubble up. 'No, I need to apologise, not you. I shouldn't have assumed that it was something consensual,' she admitted. 'I'm so sorry, I should have let you tell me then, not have forced you to come all this way.' It was clear that he was going through something and she let him hug her for as long as he needed. When he finally stepped back, she reached up and wiped his cheeks gently. 'Forgive me?' She asks, knowing that if he did, she didn't deserve it.
Sebastian held her hands against his face, 'there's nothing to forgive,' he said honestly. 'I just wish it hadn't escalated the way that it did. I was so worried about you. I'm glad you told me that you were at home, safe,' he says softly.
She nods and leads him to a chair at the table, 'admittedly, it was Penny who made me message you. I hadn't even thought about it, I was too busy-,' wallowing in self-pity, she thought, '-thinking about what a prat I had made out of myself,' she said instead of the truth. Sebastian pulled off his jacket and sat down as she made them both a cup of coffee. She took her original seat and looked at him, 'so, Madison kissed you?' She said, knowing what it was like to be on the end of unwanted physical attention.
He sighs and takes the mug in his hand, running another through his messy hair. 'It feels so stupid. It was just a kiss and yet it's really bothering me,' he said, the click of his lip piercing against his teeth was apparent as he moved it with his tongue in an unconscious habit. 'I thought I had made it clear that I wasn't interested in her and yet, now, I feel dirty. I've never really thought that such a small thing would make me feel so… gross,' he admits as he looks at the coffee instead of her. It was easier to talk this way. He told her all about what happened afterwards and how Leon came to visit. He even offered to show her the video but she refused, Rina didn't need to see it to believe him. 'Can we put this behind us?'
Rina looks over at him with a reassuring smile, 'Bastian, there's nothing to put behind us. Nothing to forgive, nothing to forget,' she says softly. 'Come on,' Rina said softly taking his hand and leading him towards the bedroom.
'Pheebs?' He said in a questioning tone of voice. 'I don't think that kinda of thing is going to make me feel better,' he said in a jokey way which Rina knew was his attempt at lightening and diffusing the situation and his emotions. Rina didn't say anything and simply pulled him to the bed where she laid down and motioned for him to come to her.
'You'll feel better,' she said softly, 'grounded,' she explains, feeling selfish. She needed this as much as he did. Sebastian kicked off his boots and then laid next to her; after Rina shimmied around, he ended up laying his head just above her chest, their arms entangled as she rested her cheek on his forehead and played with his hair. Sebastian could feel her breathing underneath him, hear her heart and smell the light scent of her soap.
All of which indeed feel grounding, to the point that he felt his eyes well up. He closed his eyes tightly and his grip tightened on her clothing. 'I'm such an idiot,' he mumbled, more to himself than anything. What Rina didn't realise is that he wasn't talking just about what happened with Madison. It was more of, everything to the moment they were in. Denying how he felt about Rina.
'Shhh, don't say that,' Rina said softly as she stroked his hair, enjoying the peace that swept over her. 'I'll always be here for you, no matter what happens,' she adds quietly. 'Though if I ever see her again, you'll have to forgive me when I rip out her hair extensions,' Rina said in dead pan.
Sebastian can't help but chuckle lightly and looks up at her, seeing her goofy grin. 'Never change, Pheebs,' he said softly, feeling better than he had done all the previous night. 'I don't know what I would do without you,' he adds.