voice » id: nightingale

[ettersberg]

Good day. ( nightingale's tone is pleasant and polite, his accent the kind you'd hear from a bbc newscaster. ) I seem to have acquired a pet. Does anyone know how to best care for a sugar glider? ( ordinarily, he'd ask john watson, not because of his medical expertise but because the man seems to have amassed a small army of animals, but john is — unavailable. in stasis.

nightingale isn't going to let himself linger on the loss. )

I would also be thankful for restaurant recommendations in Flona Cove.

Comments

[flashystyle]

Then you have a rather incorrect impression of me. If I'm outside within an hour, it most definitely isn't because I'm waiting for you.

[ettersberg]

I see. So I suppose I shouldn't go for a walk along the pier to find you.

[flashystyle]

Absolutely not. I most certainly won't have a table already reserved for us.

[ettersberg]

How fortunate that I am neither hungry nor interesting in sampling any wine.

[flashystyle]

Yes, because I'd absolutely detest your company doing something we both enjoy. Truly torture. Absolute travesty.

[ettersberg]

You make a strong case for staying indoors today.

[flashystyle]

Is the prospect of my presence your only motivator for leaving the house? I'm both concerned and flattered.

[ettersberg]

Quite.

( not really, of course. )

[flashystyle]

[Of course. But it delights him anyway.]

You best not stand me up, then.

[ettersberg]

I wouldn't dream of it.

( and that, at least, is wholly genuine. )

[flashystyle]

[There's a smile in his voice, at that.]

Make it half an hour, then. And dress casual. I don't want to be caught upstaged.

[ettersberg]

I'll wear the most casual outfit I brought with me.

( spoilers: he'll show up in chinos and a button down but without a jacket. it's warm enough to go without a jacket. yes, that is the height of casual in nightingale's view. polo shirts are exceedingly casual, too, but he hasn't acquired any here. )

[flashystyle]

[Which makes it especially awkward when Dorian spots him. Dorian, only dressed in his swimming trunks, sunglasses and sandals, soaking up the sun as he waits on Nightingale. As soon as he's within earshot, he lowers his phone with an incredulous look.]

That cannot be the most casual attire you own. You could conduct a bloody meeting in it!

[ettersberg]

( admittedly: the look suits dorian. nightingale's gaze lingers for a moment on the naked chest and the long legs before it fixes very firmly on dorian's face. they have been — flirting? is that what that is? — but there are still lines nightingale doesn't cross unprompted. admissions of want, however, subtle, included.

he looks down at himself. back at dorian. )

I could roll up the sleeves? ( he thinks he's being funny. look at the way the corners of his mouth curl a little. )

[flashystyle]

[Thankfully, subtly is one of the thing Dorian learned... then promptly threw out the nearest window when he had the chance. He folds his glasses and pockets them, then fixes Nightingale with a smirk as he approaches.]

You will roll up the sleeves, actually. [He says, like it's an inevitable fact of life. Then he starts undoing the top buttons of his shirt.] And this will have to come off later.

[Ah. Perhaps too strong. He clears his throat.] Unless you plan on wearing it into the ocean.

[ettersberg]

( ah.

too strong, perhaps — but not unwelcome despite that. the strong implication of his interest being reciprocated is enough to make nightingale's shoulders relax somewhat. he has never been ashamed of what he is and who he likes, but he has always been careful. that, and there really hadn't been much opportunity for anything before he'd woken up here. and then it had been near overwhelming at times.

now, with john gone, he's a little at a loss again. )

I suppose I may need to acquire bathing attire, if we're to go swimming.

[flashystyle]

If you thought this was going to end any other way after I saw the state of you, you were sorely mistaken.

[Now, with John gone, Dorian has all but abandoned his previous inhibitions. What's the point of dancing around one another, if the inevitably of ending up back in Stasis is chasing all of them? His chest aches at the thought, but it's a duller pain with company. He smiles at Nightingale like he's an old friend.

He leaves the bottommost buttons together, lest he push the envelope. Then he takes his arm to escort him through the entrance - just because he can, but also because it is tourist season. The place isn't particularly empty.]

I hope you knew what you were getting into, with the wine tasting.

[ettersberg]

( nightingale never got the chance to figure out what the unnamed thing between john and him was, what it could have been. friendship and sex, certainly, but beyond that — maybe more. now it won't be. john is still alive, if in stasis, so this is a loss more reminiscent to his fellow wizards breaking their staves than to those he had lost on the battlefield or to injury later. it is still a loss nonetheless.

but dorian is doing an excellent job of distracting him from it, and nightingale has always excelled at compartmentalisation. after a moment, he smiles back at dorian, though his own expression remains a little more reserved. outgoing simply is not part of his nature. )

I'm sure I'll be able to adapt.

( he hadn't known, no. he might have had an inkling, though, and he'd certainly possessed and still possesses the willingness to find out where this leads. following dorian into the crowded place is an easy first step to take, especially with dorian's hand on his arm. )