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 Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 1:13 pm
Another day gone by, another night to settle in, another dinner to bring.
She hadn't made an effort to talk to the Doctor about his request; she had, however, gone to the mall and spoken with the stylists there, but she didn't really listen to much of what they said. Once they started carrying on about her long hair and cutting it off, she'd pretty much gone glassy-eyed and left. Well. She'd at least FOUND a barber, and that's all he needed. Right? Right. Although the next note may ask for them to be delivered with a bow.
Alex halted her loud and obnoxious thoughts, realizing she was meandering slower and slower down the hallway, having paused by the man's door. It was automatic anymore - she'd been doing this for the better part of a year now - and it was a routine. What had started in concern had continued in that same vein, but she wasn't really sure what Kenth made of it all.
With a quiet sigh, she continued the routine, hooking the bag on the doorknob and knocking as she did every night. "Dinner's here," she said half-heartedly. Now she'd go on her way to her room, exercise, shower and write for a bit before sleeping. Life would just continue on until the wanderlust took her again.
Right?
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 1:28 pm
He had been waiting.
Ever since the boy returned to him and left a "delivery successful" comment, his mind stopped working on what he was supposed to do. For days he'd stare in front of the computer, fingers moving on their own, but thoughts far away from his works. He had been unreasonably nervous, even though nothing showed on his expression. It was on an impulse that he sent away the note. He regretted it, but now it was too late. The woman for certain had received the message, and for once in a lifetime he wondered how she would react. Even if just for a fleeting moment, that stream of thought lingered like some annoying spiderwebs, too small for eyes to see, but too large for him to feel its prescence.
The hall way was quiet, an ideal soundless environment for his senseive ears to detect any noises from outside. He was often away or had ignored any noises, but since after the note delivery he had been restless, ears perking up with any small sound. He was waiting, waiting for perhaps the woman to storm into his office and demand angrily at what was going on with his rapid temperature changes, but any response would do, if there was anything at all. Then he could get rid of this annoying spider web, and get on with his regular routine of life, or so he thought.
"Dinner's here."
The short comment was all he needed to spring up from his seat. There was no mistake that she had appeared, like every day, to bring him dinner. In a swift motion he approached the door and opened it (which made a rather loud noise due to the suddenness), only to stare at the delicately made meal and her dark hair as the woman was about to turn and take her leave.
Kenth's mouth opened slightly, blue eyes searched downward for her face.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 1:40 pm
Routine was what she had intended to follow, but it seemed she'd be taking a slight detour.
She heard the door open (in part because of the food smacking against it), turning, surprise writ over her sharp features. And damnit all to hell, but her stomach plummeted as her green eyes found his blue ones, seeing the man that plagued her dreams and nightmares. It was hard to stomach the swallow butterflies that were intent on strangling her where she stood.
One step turned her around, facing him, knuckles resting on her hip. Well, this was pleasantly awkward. He was staring at her and she wasn't wearing her turban so she couldn't read his mind. (Sarcasm was becoming more prevailant for her, it came with being a 'Professora,' she supposed.) "Hey," she finally broke the tense silence, not sure where the weight was coming from or why it existed at all. "Good evening."
The woman paused, reaching into her back pocket and slowly drawing out a crumpled piece of paper, the one that had two words written on it. "So, uh," her voice softened, bright eyes shifting between his perfectly neutral face and the hallway, "not sure what you wanted me to do about this, but I talked to some people in the mall." Awkward pause. "They'll see you whenever."
She could have sighed at the confession. What was she now, a secretary? ...yes, she was, and a helpless one at that.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 1:52 pm
Well, that was awkward. Impusive decisions always lead to awkward results, he had decided, but it must be done. Although now that he had done it, the impulse had faded away, leaving him numb and not able to think for a while. Kenth nodded mechanically at Alex's words, and then mechanically whispered a "good evening" to himself. Nothing came afterwards, and he stood where he was and started at the woman as she continued to talk, eyes shifting only slightly down at the dinner box as she finished talking. Slowly Kenth bent over and picked up the dinner box, held it with one hand, then switched to the other. His eyes remained on the woman's face, and it took what seemed to be a long time for him to realize that Alex had already finished speaking.
"I---" Kenth started, but stopped to clear his throat as the voice that came out sounded rather hoarse. He lowered his head briefly and coughed twice before looking back again. "I didn't ask the mall employees to do it."
Kenth drew in a sharp breath and breathed out heavily. Then he turned, returning to his office and put down the dinner box nearby his computer.
"Come in, and close the door behind you."
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 2:04 pm
Slender brows raised high beneath her side-swept bangs, keen eyes turning over the lithe man as he cleared his throat. And then coughed. Was he sick? She was about to ask when he finally did speak, and what he said left her lips parted, jaw slack with her surprise. Alex watched him take a breath and walk into the office, and the revelation struck her like a ton of bricks in the head: he's nervous!
Snapping her jaw shut, she did as he bid, stepping into the familiar office and closing the door behind her. Last time she'd done this...was it when she came back from her trial? Was it when he blurted, 'do you like me'? The days were suddenly meshed together and she couldn't tell yesterday from a year ago. With a soft intake of breath, she came up behind him, not close as she usually would be enough so to watch him carefully.
She found her eyes watching his long hair slide over the back of his jacket, the way his bangs fell around his face. Cut it? Why? The woman decided to cut to the chase, rules of engagement and polite conversation slipping beyond her. And more importantly...
"You want me to do it?" she asked quietly, not wanting to assume, but she was fairly at a loss. Alex didn't mean right this second, but she still wanted to know. More than that, she wanted to know why. Why me?
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 2:14 pm
Ah, smart woman, what he expected from her.
Kenth didn't turn. He sat back onto his chair and was silent for a moment. Of course Alex had the right answer, that was why he sent in the note in the first place. But Kenth wasn't sure why he did it in the first place. It was all on an act of impulse, the rest of which he didn't remember. Reasons and logic never co-existed with impulsive decisions. He understood it, there was no answer to the question of why. If anything, he wanted to send the note, simply because...he wanted to.
"...yes." He eventually whispered to answer Alex's question, paused, then added, "when you have time."
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 2:23 pm
Alex stared at the back of Kenth's head for a long while. She didn't understand what was happening in the room right then, but it seemed bigger than a hair cut. Was he, perhaps, shedding the past he had clung so tightly to...? No, that was stupid to assume. He wouldn't change, and she wouldn't want him to. They'd already had that arguement.
She walked behind him slowly, fingers extending and burying into those white locks, drawing through the length with slow reverence. Her gaze fell upon her hands, watching loose strands pool in her palm before she drew the scarred digits through the pristine river of snow again. Fingers eventually closed around the length at the nape of Kenth's neck, watching the make-shift tail form a singular line down his narrow back. It would be odd to not see it there anymore.
"Whenever you'd like," she replied quietly, not whispering but keeping her voice low. "My classes are easy to work around. Your work is far more important." The fist released and her fingers resumed to brush through his hair methodically. She only had half a mind of what she was doing, but he usually had that effect on her.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 4:21 pm
He shivered as soon as the woman laid her fingers on his hair. It wasn't because he was nervous, as he'd liked to believe, but rather because he had not been touched by anyone for so long. Kenth shifted uncomfortably at the beginning, but he knew he had to calm down. He was the one who started this whole thing, it would only be foolish of him to want to back out now.
Kenth raised his head up a little bit to take a deep breath. "Then do it now that you are here." The sound came out rather menacing, almost as if he was hissing out the words. Perhaps a better way of putting it was "do it now before I change my mind", but if he really said it that way, he was afraid that the idea of changing his mind would really stop him. Even though it was only an excuse, he thought, a haircut would be nice for a change...as far as he can recall the last haircut he had gotten was before he left home.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 4:29 pm
Her fingers froze at the hiss. No, some things never did change, did they? Letting her hands fall away, she sighed, "Sure. I need really sharp scissors, but I imagine you have some here. Just direct me." The woman's voice took on the indifferent tone she had adopted in the past few months, stepping back from the doctor and looking around his office for where the scissors in question might be.
Alex wasn't upset, persay, but disappointed. She had thought, maybe, that by asking her to do something so intimate as handling his hair would mean something...even if that something was just that he liked her a smidgen more than everyone else. Yet still, her very presence seemed to grate on his nerves, although in truth, she didn't blame him. Getting along with her was very difficult, she knew that well.
Her fingers drew over the cabinets and counter tops, not touching anything but the surface, searching. If the scissors weren't sharp, it would pull, and that would hurt; whether he believed it or not, the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. Green eyes rested on some disinfectant, which she extended her hands to, cleaning them before she handled his hair again.
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:28 am
"The sharpest scissors are in the drawer next to the ward." The doctor responded almost immediately, as if he was expecting the woman to ask such things. "They are quite small, however, so handle them with caution."
Kenth turned around just a little bit so his eyes could follow where Alex was going and if she was opening the right place. Admittedly, however, it was probably more convenient if he started moving himself, but for the moment Kenth had not gotten over the numbness over his body. Was he really that tense seeing the woman here after not seeing her for a long time? The awkward relationship between them seemed to not cease with time, and by contrast only increased to his opinion. Kenth had meant to use this day to resolve the awkwardness, but he was failing already. He knew what he had to do, what he had to say, but there was a barrier that he could not break.
Kenth stared at the woman as she searched around the office, not really looking at her, as his eyes started to blur from staring too much and thinking on other things at the same time.
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:17 am
A nod was her response to his directions, moving to the indicated drawer and opening it, carefully withdrawing the scissors within. She had cleaned his office before, and when she'd sorted the bottles with Nathaniel, she had learned her way around. She was, if lacking everything else, efficient. "Oh these will do just fine. Your hair is thick but it's silky, so these'll--" she turned, blinking at the man who was staring at her, "--do it well." Alex felt shy all of a sudden, to have the man paying attention to her, uncertain what had garnered such a reaction.
Holding the item carefully in her hands as though it were a holy relic, she approached Kenth, bright eyes flicking between the man's face and everything else. Stop being such a woman, she chided herself, taking a deep breath and forcing her bright green eyes to meet his bright blues. A soft smile curled her lips, pausing in front of him and kneeling down, looking up into his face. "I really don't mind. I kinda feel special that you asked me," she admitted in a light tone of voice, "so I'll be careful, I promise. No stitches today."
Holding the scissors against her palm in one hand, she lifted her other to pat his knee in reassurance. "We've been through a lot, you and I." She paused. "I can honestly say I didn't think cutting your hair would be a part of our quieter moments." Another smile, trying to relax herself and Kenth. Maybe if she started babbling like an idiot like she usually did, it would ease the strange tension in the air.
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 1:26 pm
He wasn't really looking at her anymore by the time she'd started talking. His eyes followed the voice, seeing the woman all of a sudden lower in position than normal. For a moment Kenth wondered if she was going to stab his knee with that pair of small yet extremely sharp scissors (as they were used in surgeries). Even though Alex reassured him, Kenth could not help but to mumble something sarcastic under his breath, aiming at the unprofessional way in which the woman handled the pair of dangerous tool in her hands.
"If there were going to be stitches, it better be only on one person, less work for me."
He paused, then wheeled around in his chair so his hair's in Alex's view. The woman was still talking though, and Kenth felt a little cold under his spine as Alex mentioned the "lot" of things they have been through, together. "...what do you mean." It was more of a comment than a question. Then the doctor sighed, his brain only a step too slow to stop his impulse from acting up again.
"Do excuse me for putting you through a lot of things."
His tone was cold, but at the same time it was quiet, so quiet that one can hardly realize the coldness within the words and could easily mistaken it as softness. For Kenth, it could be either one of two meanings: Alex didn't have to obey everything he said and could just leave him if she wanted, he'd be content if the woman did, which would leave both him and Alex at peace, but at the same time...
He'd feel bitter. One less person to think about, and perhaps afterward he wouldn't have to think about anyone...and in return nobody would probably think about him.
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 2:33 pm
She watched his face become the back of his chair, so suddenly turned on, and she did have half a mind to stab the man in the back with the scissors. Alex was simply trying to complete a request from the doctor, and somehow he was making it seem like she was a bafoon and shouldn't be in his office. Stabbing sounded good. It would have made her feel better, anyway.
Standing, she sighed, drawing her fingers through his hair again, although it wasn't to play with it this time. Setting the scissors down, she gathered the bulk of it, undoing her own hair to use the clip to fashion a large ponytail holder, set just at the nape of his neck. "So am I cutting it all off, or just giving you a trim?" she asked, looking at the long locks. Alex was vaguely aware she had assumed he meant cutting it all off, for what other purpose would he have requested her presence like this? It also made her aware of her own long hair, and that she might want to consider a trim at some point.
The woman was silent for a moment before replying to his previous statement. "We've been through a lot, I mean...life and death twice together, three on my own. Through China, and here - " Which YOU invited me to, she added inwardly with a twinge of annoyance, " - talking and what not. I guess cutting hair isn't as glamorous and trying to die on your behalf. You should know by now that I wouldn't have changed any of it for anything."
The words came out a little softer than she intended and less joking. Picking up the scissors again, she awaited for him to instruct her on how much to cut, green eyes gliding over the long grey stream.
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Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 8:40 am
He sighed, the woman was always so frustrating to him. Kenth didn't know why, but there was an thick and heavy air above him that threatened to fall down and crush on the doctor at any time. Although for a brief moment, he seemed to understand where it came from. Logic, restraint, the same thing he did often to act as educated as possible without being influenced by emotions. The woman was perhaps learning his way of speaking and handling conversations; whether that was a good thing or not, Kenth wasn't sure, but it certainly did not feel comfortable.
"Don't force yourself." By that he meant on anything, everything, both coming to school and cutting his hair. The bitterness was obvious in his tone. Did he do something wrong? Did he make decisions that made other people unhappy? Since when did he cared about other people's well being anyway? Then there was the memory of what happened between him and his brother. Was it guilt that made him change? Then what was it that made him the way he was now? He could have ignored everything, ignored her, and kept the quiet but awkward relationship going until it died by itself. He was becoming impatient, moody, impulsive, anything that he could not ever imagine of becoming before he came and before she appeared and he reappeared in his life.
"Do whatever you want." Kenth whispered, his voice hoarse and dark, sounding almost angry--frustrated by both her and himself. Do something, anything, even stabbing him in the back, so long as he can stop this stream of abhorred emotions that haunted him since that incident. They wouldn't stop by themselves, so someone's got to put a stop to them.
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Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 8:55 am
Ooooh, she wanted to stab him.
"I'm going to cut your hair," she responded in a cold voice to match his own, although the threat of heat followed her next words, "and then I'm going to walk out of here and pretend you aren't being a raging deficiente when I'm playing your game and doing what you want. It's never good enough, is it?" The last sentence was punctuated by a seizing of his hair - bangs and all - with a snip of scissors, her hands working before her mind could simmer and cool down. One scarred hand grasped the clip in his hair, cutting above it, her index finger pressed against the back of his neck for length. She had trimmed her own hair before and wasn't half bad at keeping straight, but she was angry now, the sharp utensil in her hand somewhat dangerous.
It took several snips, but it was done; the long locks fell to the ground, the clip clattering in its wake. Burning green eyes seared into his back where his hair used to be, that familiar warmth in her chest that she associated with Kenth, both unrequited affection and fury. "There. You're cut, no stitches involved. Guess I'm not worthless after all!" The scissors were heaved into his desk, the sharp edges puncturing the wood and standing upright. Yes, stabbing would have been nice.
Alex turned on her heel, leaving the mess, marching towards the door.
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