|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 2:49 pm
It was approaching nightfall. Or, well, there were still a few hours to go before it was properly night, but the sky was so overcast and heavy with looming stormclouds that it was a heck of a lot darker than it should have been. Jack didn't particularly mind - not like he was planning a picnic or anything. Duke didn't mind either, but Duke seemed content with just about everything, sitting in a pile of cookie crumbs in the passenger seat.
They were on their way to see the man in the white coat. The geek from the clock tower, the one who'd pissed him off to no end. Frankly, Jack wasn't looking forward to the meeting - but it was in his agreement with Duke, and how could you say no to a giant blueberry? He'd never bothered to take down the man's address or anything, but the other wasn't too hard to find. Noctis Farron. Lived just a few blocks away from the Scarlet Cat. Barely a fifteen minute drive away... five, if he hit the gas. Which he did. The bright red rolls-royce turned sharp corners in ways cars like it never should, whitewall tires screaming on the cobblestone. Beside him, Duke let out an odd-sounding purr of approval.
Minutes later, he was walking towards the identified doorway with a duffelbag slung from his shoulder, twirling his keys in his fingers. He had on a pair of slim-fitting black jeans, immaculate leather shoes, his usual silk shirt and a gunmetal vest with narrow green pinstripes. Nothing new, except in the sort-of daylight rather than the blackness of the tower you could see that he was slightly tanned and green-eyed, short black hair done up in a greasy faux-hawk.
He knocked on the door, checking a shiny silver wristwatch - new. The duffel bag squirmed a little under his arm.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 3:27 pm
The shift between night and day had vaguely registered within Noctis's mind, his attention solely concentrated on the mechanism in front of him. It was one of his nights off from the bar, the shift had been taken up by a female bartender, allowing him more time to work. He was dressed in a simple outfit, a white collared shirt with loose black jeans. He didn't need to wear his usual outfit as home, after all. His hands ran over the smooth metal of the gears, reaching out to take a cup full of iced soda. He took several sips, pulling his goggles over his eyes as he turned on one of his heating tools.
---Knock, knock!
What was that incessant racket? At least use the doorbell, Noctis thought, an acute scowl on his expression. He put his tool down, switching it off so that nothing in his workshop would be damaged. But it was likely, he would of had the same reaction to the doorbell as well. Anything that interrupted his work deserved to be stuffed in a trashcan for several hours. Preferably, a pungent one.
Seconds later, he opened the door, a bewildered expression crossing his face as he stared at his visitor. His red eye and yellow eye widened, The flamboyant man, accompanied with a dufflebag, stood in front of him. "Hm.. Name.. name.." He tapped a pencil to his head, as if sifting through an invisible book within his mind. He said it in such an infuriating manner, as if he couldn't be bothered to remember this man's name. ".. Pizzaboy." He finally decided, nodding, as if that was final.
"So, what brings you to my house? The better question is, how do you know it's my house?" He asked the other, the door opening wider, stepping inside to let the other in. Snobbish as he was, he was polite as the very least. He eyed the duffel bag.. was it .. moving? Was that.. the imp?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:54 am
"Jack." He corrected the man. "Jack Diamond. You're Noctis. People know where you live. Deal with it." A casual grin, and he stepped in through the doorway, not waiting for any further invitation. Besides the wriggling duffel bag, he was also carrying a pack of six beers, which he tossed onto the nearest couch-like surface before slumping into the seat. Hell, if anything was going to make this meeting more bearable, it was alcohol. ******** idiot didn't even remember his name. Jack hated when people didn't remember his name - it wasn't even a weird name or anything. And his name was Noctis. What the heck kind of name was that?
"I came because Duke wanted to see you. An' 'cause he needs a bath. Don't really have the right facilities at home, an' he doesn't like sinks. Here." He reached out to unzip the duffel bag, and immediately after a purple squinty-eyed face peeked through. This would be the first time Noctis would see Duke as a solid form rather than a drifting purple shadow, and Jack watched his reaction curiously. Duke seemed to have no trouble recognizing the guy - he wriggled out of the bag and shot through the air like a cannonball, flying headfirst into his chest.
Well, Duke was all head, so neither of them had much choice in that respect.
"COAT MAN!" The imp yelled once he'd knocked Noctis solidly off the ground - onto the floor or into the wall or whatever worked. "COAT MAN COAT MAN COAT MAN." Back on the couch, Jack rolled his eyes, checked his rolex just because he liked looking at it, and popped open a can of beer. Had to admit this was kinda funny. He'd avoided showing Duke to anyone else, seeing that some people weren't particularly on good terms with forces of darkness... so it was nice to see him have someone else's house to run around in and wreck things. Duke liked wrecking things.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 10:15 am
Jack Diamond. Hell, if the name didn't sound like it was pulled from a hat. He did wonder how Jack knew where he lived. Where did he go around asking? What did he ask? It wasn't as if Jack knew his last name.
As he heard Jack's words, he knew that there had to be another reason for why Jack came here. After all, they weren't friends enough for the two to see each other for simply no reason. He wouldnt come for just a visit with Duke. It wasn't as if Noctis sought out Jack's company either. The bag opened to reveal a curious pair of eyes. It was Noctis's first time seeing the imp, eyes widening at his solid form slightly. He made no words however. That was all the time he had to react before Duke made his next move.
"Whoa---!" Noctis tried to catch the imp but he was literally blown off his feet anyways onto the ground. He winced, a strained grin on his face. Who knew that the imp could hurt so much? "Yep, it's coat man. I missed you too, Duke." He said the words through gritted teeth, hands holding the wiggling demon with a wider grin. He looked at it for a moment before wrapping it in a fierce hug.
" GODDAMNIT. You're so cute." Temptation took over as he squeezed the demon lightly in the fierce hug. Who couldn't squeeze when they had a round ball of a demon before them? Looking over Duke's head, Noctis pointed towards the door behind Jack, making a closing motion. Apparently, the possibility of Duke wrecking his lab occurred to him as well. The man better do it if he wanted to stay in the house.
Duke wrecking his lab.. well.. That might be the only thing that Duke might not be forgiven for.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 12:47 pm
Duke seemed quite content to be squeezed, for the time being at least. Jack wasn't much for hugs... although he did use the imp as a pillow from time to time. Either way, he was happy to see Noctis, and happy to have a larger space in which to rocket around. Jack rolled his eyes and watched - for a mad scientist, dork, or rogue mechanic or whatever it was Noctis was (he had heard a lot of rumors) he was oddly susceptible to a little bit of demonic cuteness. Maybe he was desperate. Desperately lonely. Ha - looser.
He did catch the man's gesture at the open doorway, and glanced at it lazily. Sort of wanted to know what was there... but he was sitting down already, and couldn't be bothered to get up until Duke calmed down enough to herd into the bathroom. "Uuuugh. Duke? Hey, Duke. Shut this door here, will you? I'll give you a beer."
The purple imp considered this for a moment. Beer wasn't his favorite snack in the world, being neither crunchy nor sour enough for his liking, but it was an easy job and he got to headbutt more things, which he liked. So soon enough he wriggled out of Noctis' grasp and torpedoed for the doorway - fortunatly for Noctis, hitting his mark this time and slamming the door shut before bouncing backwards into the room with a sort of dazed look on his face. Jack, used to watching Duke knock himself out, reached down to scoop him off the ground and set him down on the couch beside him before turning his attention back to the other man.
"Have a beer. How's life? You know, you ain't so bad-looking now that I can see you. What's with the eyes, though? Looking a little creepy there."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 2:05 pm
Most of the rumors about Noctis was likely to be true since he didn't seem to specialize in anything but everything.If Noctis knew what Jack was thinking, he would have probably stuffed Jack's face into Duke's bathwater.
One could see his relief as the door closed without any loud sounds of anything crashing. As Jack scooped Duke up onto the couch, Noctis worked on getting up, brushing his pants and shirts free of dust. He ran a hand through his messy hair, looked a little concerned over Duke for a moment. But he seemed fine.
"Thanks-- I think. Could say the same to you if we don't look at your pizza stains." Noctis replied towards the compliment, taking a remote control from a desk to flick on the air conditioner. "Nasty chemical accident awhile back. Beer? You couldnt get anything more high-class than that? Sheesh." Noctis, his occupation as a bartender had him eyeing the beer with disgust. But it wasn't like he could bring out the heavy liquor in his fridge anyways. He took the beer away from Jack, placing it on the other side of the table.
"Didn't you come here to take a bath? Not to lounge around on my couch with a can of beer. You didn't expect me to take a bath of Duke by myself did you?" Noctis questioned, taking the goggles he had on earlier off. "Up. Bring Duke." He pointed his thumb towards the end of the hallway. It was a big house. One could assume it was a big bathroom as well.
"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 11:35 am
Jack let out a moan of protest as the beer was taken from him, waving his arm around after it. He didn't want to get up - he was tired. Not because he'd been up a long time, or anything, he was just... tired. The more active Duke got, the more tired he was. Had to be an explanation for it, but hell if he knew what it was. Didn't really care. Just sort of glared at Noctis for a little, then pulled himself upright, rubbing at his temples.
"Fine. Wouldn't suggest you wear anythin' priceless, though. 's gonna get wet." So, letting the imp lie beside him on the couch for the time being, he took off his his polished shoes, tucking his socks into them. The vest and the silk shirt followed, folded into a neat stack beside Duke. On top of that stack, he put his rolex - the glint off it's shiny hands was enough to rouse the imp from his daze, but Jack snatched him up before he could start chewing on the thing. And, shirtless with the purple creature in his hands, he followed Noctis through the doorway and into the bathroom. Good thing he'd worn a cheap pair of jeans instead of his nicer pants, or he'd be waddling around the guy's house in his boxers. Although, judging by the brand-name waistband peeking out over his jeans, they weren't exactly cheap boxers either, so...
Well.
He set the imp down in the tub and stretched across him to turn on the tap. Seeing the white stream of hissing water, of course, caught Duke's attention pretty fast, and he wriggled towards it, opening his mouth and attempting to bite it in half.
"WHARRGRBL."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:20 pm
"Do I look like I have anything priceless on me? --- Scratch that, don't answer it." Knowing Jack, he would likely have smart retort back. Noctis went as he was, passing by several large empty rooms on the way. One had to wonder what was in those rooms. But they were simply full of experiments that would give Jack more reason to raise Noctis's nerd level. Something Noctis didn't need.
He raised an eye as the imp rushed towards the water, rolling up his sleeves past his elbows. He also worked on rolling up his pants in well in case he actually had to get into the bath. Damn, if that imp wasn't a ball of curiosity and trouble. Duke plus his lab didn't mix well. Chances were, Duke would never be in there. If Noctis could help it anyways. As cute as Duke was, Noctis felt glad that Jack was the one to put up with him.
The bath could fit both grown men, the imp and a little more. "You can't eat water, Silly Duke." Noctis said aloud, chuckling as he pulled the imp away with one hand. While the water filled the tub, he took out several bottles of shampoo.
"I've got.. apple, regular and mint shampoo. Which one do you prefer? I don't think they make demon-proof shampoo. So .. we'll have to settle for these." He held the bottles up, away from Duke's range of attack. If the imp attacked the bottles, it was likely to fall into the bathwater.. by then, Duke could have a bubble bath instead. A very soapy one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 7:13 pm
This was a huge bath. It was a nice bath. Noctis had a nice house. Odd how it had taken Jack to take this long to come to this conclusion - but he'd been preoccupied with the fact that he was being forced to visit Noctis to begin with. Now... well, now he felt a pang of jealousy. Couldn't deny it, either. But why did this nerd get all these nice things while he, cool and fantastic as he was, got nothing except a blueberry-colored demon with a big mouth and a hard head?
Well. He supposed that wasn't a bad thing. He had Duke. Noctis had wanted Duke, but did he have him? Nope. Because Noctis was a dork and Duke was smart enough to stay away from freaks like him. Even if he was watching the man's movements intently right now, shiny black eyes aimed at the shampoo bottles curiously. Noctis' holding them up was largely useless, though, since the imp could fly - and so, nothing was really 'out of his reach'. Which, for a thief-to-be, was a good thing. Now if only Duke could keep his mouth shut. Jack could just imagine trying to break into someone's house, all stealthy-like, and then -
"APPLE. APPLE APPLE APPLE."
"You heard the imp." He rolled his eyes, reaching up to take the bottle from the man's hand. "Apple shampoo. That's gay. Why does he need shampoo anyway? 's not like he's got hair." Jack himself didn't look like he'd used any shampoo in the last few months either - but Duke was his partner and he was going to take care of the little guy, so he squeezed the perfumed gel onto one of his hands (mostly to stop the imp from drinking it straight out the bottle) and rubbed it onto the creature's head. It looked silly - he couldn't help but laugh, rolling his eyes.
Of course, the moment he took his eyes off the purple blob, Duke shot up and grabbed the bottle from his hand. Jack swore, leaning over the tub to grab it back from the hovering, dripping imp - and, inevitably, fell facefirst into the water. Duke dove in after him, and soon enough the two of them were soaked, soapy, and apple-scented. Duke looked like he thought this was the best thing in the world, and Jack... well, Jack was glaring at Noctis as if the whole thing was his fault.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 8:06 pm
Duke's loud preferences drew more helpless laughter out of Noctis. His bubly soapy appearance drew even more laughter, taking out a towel as Jack started to scrub the demon.
It happened so fast before Noctis could react, Duke's mischievous actions causing Jack to fall over--- Well, that was a large splash. Oh. Duke went in again. Another splash. He would have to wipe his bathroom after this. His hand covered his mouth in an attempt to stop the burst of insane laughter from coming out but it didn't stop it one bit. The sight of a soapy Jack and Duke.. It was a sight he wished he had a camera for. He tried to keep his calm composure but it was nearly impossible with the situation.
"Don't look at me like it's my fault. I'm not the one who tried to grab the shampoo bottle from Duke." He said from a small distance from the bathtub. Make that, two towels. he grabbed two towels, putting it a safe (he guessed) distance away, hopefully they would still be dry later.
"On the bright side, you can take a better bath of Duke now?" He suggested with a wide grin, approaching the bath to hand Jack a bath sponge to scrub the imp. "Hell, I'll tell you, apple shampoo smells a heck of a lot better than that beer and pizza smell. Good job, Duke! Just dont drag me in there, alright?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:23 am
"You're a d**k." Jack grumbled, warm water streaking off his dark skin as he reached up to take the sponge. "My pants are wet." He informed Duke, rubbing the sponge over his head. The imp made another of his approving purrs, and for the time-being stayed still on the surface of the water. Jack didn't know why he liked baths so much. It wasn't like he was even all that dirty. Well - maybe covered in cookie crumbs and stuff, but you could just dust them off. No reason to start smelling like apples because of it.
Soon enough, Duke was sufficiently lathered to start trying to eat the bubbles floating infront of his face, which suggested to Jack that it was time to rinse him off before he started foaming from the mouth. He leaned forward, and with some fidgeting of shiny chrome knobs, managed to figure out how to drain the soapy water out of the tub. Turning the tap back on, he ran more clean water and held the imp under the stream. Maybe the hot water would put him to sleep - that would be nice. He could tuck him away into his bag and... oh, hijack Noctis' TV or something. Still had all that beer, after all.
"Hey, Noctis?" He was about to ask him about watching a movie when he figured out a more interesting question. "Know a guy named... Iclair? White hair, sort of pretty-looking. I know I've seen him before. Somewhere. Dunno where."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:23 pm
"I live to be one just for you." Noctis replied in a mockingly sweet manner. As Jack sponged Duke, Noctis disappeared for a moment to bring back an extra pair of pants and boxers that had yet to be opened, still in it's package. It wasn't the brand name Jack wore but unless he wanted to go out in wet boxers.. Well, his choice. Noctis wasnt going to stop him from walking out in wet boxers. As long as he didnt drip on anywhere that was important, after all.
He watched Duke, a silly grin on his face from the imp's ridiculous antics. Eating bubbles.. attacking Jack.. keeping this demon was certainly more than a handful. His chin in his hands as he sat by the bathtub, he glanced up at Jack's odd question. The towel and clothes were easily in reach so Noctis didnt need to bring it to them.
"Iclair? Can't say I have. What, you looking to sleep with him or something?" Noctis asked bluntly, eyebrows raising in a skeptical manner. "I'll keep an eye out for you if you want..?" He made this assumption from his knowledge of Jack. Jack only wanted to do three things in Noctis's opinion. That was eat, party and sleeping with someone. For Jack to be looking for someone.. well, there was only one section that this 'Iclair' fit into, in Noctis's mind.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 8:27 am
"Not really." Jack shrugged, not seeming particularly concerned for the assumption. It was a flawed one, of course - Jack looked for people for plenty other reasons. He'd had to look for Noctis, after all, with plans other than ******** his brains out. Plans like washing Duke. And not getting wet. So much for that. The imp wriggled in his hands, free of soapy suds now but still thoroughly wet. "Here - dry him off." Jack grinned, passing him over - dripping and purple and all - into Noctis' lap.
And back to the conversation. "I wouldn't have minded. Sleeping with him, that is - but he's a liar. Up to something. So that's not the point. I just... I know I've seen him somewhere, and I know he's not a hooker." He rubbed at his temples, still sitting in the tub with his jeans on. "Ride was there, too. The guy with the other imp. Don't think he trusted him either, but Ride's a jerk so I don't give a damn if he ******** him over. I came in to have a drink with the guy and he just ******** stared right though me. d**k. People are just dicks in general."
He stood up to wriggle out of his jeans - but it was hard to take them off without sliding his boxers halfway down his a**, so he turned back to Noctis with a shrug. "Gimme a minute here? Just keep Duke warm in a towel or something, and he'll fall asleep."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 4:32 pm
Ohshit. Wet Duke in his lap? He shot a dirty look at Jack, a scowl as he lifted the imp to stare eye-to-eye with it. Now his middle area was all wet. Way to go. Half-wet was worse than fully wet since you had to change clothes anyways. Just go get your entire body dunked if you're gonna change clothes.
"Well, that guy didn't seem like the most social guy, you know what I mean?" Noctis pointed out, making no comment on Iclair. This person.. Iclair wasn't his business after all. Jack just seemed more bothered by the thought of him.. Perhaps a little more bothered than usual. Weird. He assumed he was lumped in the 'd**k' category.
"Of course. I dont want to see you naked." Noctis grinned as he picked up Duke and one of the towels. He also took a blow dryer on the way out, closing the door behind him. He walked through the empty hall, settling on the couch.
He sat on the couch with a wiggling Duke in his lap, wrapping him in the towel with light hot air blowing towards the apple scented imp. "It's you and me, Duke. No funny stuff, okay?" He said sternly, waving the blow dryer around to shower the imp evenly with hot air.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 6:48 pm
By the time Jack returned to the living room, Duke was fast asleep on Noctis' lap. The imp had spent a few moments trying in vain to eat the warm air, but after a while he calmed down and let it stream over him until he stopped wriggling altogether. Jack nodded in approval, sort of glad the creature was out of the way for now. Not that he had any plans exactly... but until Noctis came after him with a butcher knife, he was going to make himself comfortable. And really, if Noctis did try the butcher knife thing, he'd just use sleeping Duke as a shield. Noctis wouldn't hurt Duke. Duke was adorable. Even more so when he was sleeping and not trying to knock the air out of your chest.
Dressed in the boxers and jeans Noctis had given him, he slid back onto the couch. Felt a little bit weird, but he wasn't sure if that was the pants or just him... he did smell of apples, after all. He picked his beer back up off the table and finished it off before opening a new one, waving his hand at the remaining four in the pack.
"Take one, seriously. You got anything to eat? I'd raid the kitchen but I'm lazy." He was a little tired - it was late, and the warm bath was having much the same effect on him that it had on Duke, albeit a little less extreme. "'m gonna stay here for a while. Don't wanna wake 'im up and... you know, stuff. So how's life? D'you have a girlfriend? Hell, do you even have a life? An' how come you've got such a big house. What the hell do you do here?" Kicking his feet up onto the coffee table, he downed half of the beer in a few gulps.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
