Princely Knowledge and Camaraderie

[littlerubyred]

Ruby wasn't sure whether or not it was hotel policy to give out the room numbers of their guests, but she was friendly enough with the clerk on the desk at her time of asking, and finding out where she could find Loki the most quickly and easily hadn't been too terribly hard. She wasn't sure whether or not she would be welcomed by Loki when she knocked on his door, as while he'd been unfailingly kind and gentlemanly to her when they'd interacted elsewhere in the hotel, that was a good deal different than being taken by surprise in his room. Still, she was hopeful.

She'd thought long and hard about who to approach with the two problems that were currently dominating her attention, and while she was friendly with many people in the Nexus, the idea of approaching them with things that were both private and frightening was a little unnerving. She'd almost spilled her guts to Fiona the night before after finishing up a shift, but had bit her tongue at the last moment for some unknown reason. She'd ultimately decided to go to Loki as she had to figure that being as otherworldly as he was, he might have a more substantial wealth of knowledge concerning the disturbing dreams she'd been having. And, being someone who presumably had a penis, he might have a little more insight on what the hell was going on with Graham as well.

She knocked on his door twice, both loud enough to be heard within, and waited. When the door swung open, she smiled brightly. "Hey handsome," she said. "Can I bother you for a minute?"

Comments

[thelostprince]

"How did he die?" As usual, Loki's questions were not phrased for gentleness. He supposed if the man had died and was now walking around upright here in the Nexus - as Loki himself was - then surely Ruby wasn't feeling personal about the loss anymore.

The nature of the death could be something. Maybe Ruby wasn't in the mindset to see a conspiracy, but Loki was.

[littlerubyred]

"Heart attack," she said after a moment of thought. "Or rather, I think that's what they determined the actual cause of death was. Something to do with the heart, anyway. He was with a girl at the time, and she said he just collapsed. No indication anything was wrong health-wise beforehand." She twisted her fingers together again, looking down at the knot they made in her lap as she continued to speak. "That's something else that's strange. He and I have known each other for a while, but when we were home he acted like he barely noticed me. Now that we're here, he claims that he's had all these feelings for forever and it's just that none of it feels right, you know? Not the stuff between he and I, but what he's telling me. It just doesn't make sense with how I remember things being between us."

[thelostprince]

"Maybe he's manipulating you," Loki suggested. "Or maybe he found out something right before he died. Or maybe both or none at all. Try not to get too attached, Ruby. Men are as ruinous as women, in my experience."

He knew he was not being particularly kind in that approach; but he liked Ruby well enough, and watching people he liked wander into disaster, while it was something he expected, wasn't what he relished. Still, he was also aware that if Ruby had known the man for a long time, he did think she was clever enough to at least notice if the man had some talent at dissembling.

"Just give it some time," he settled with. "Try not to get too distracted by his winning smile or whatever it is you like about him."

[littlerubyred]

It was harsh advice, but of the sort she would've given a friend who had come to her with a similar problem, so she could not find it within herself to be wounded by it. Ruby was admittedly naive, especially to the ways relationships worked between men and women, but she could read people well enough after working with them her whole life, and she didn't think Graham had an ulterior motive. Still, she could be wrong, and Loki's advice to not get too attached was good advice, which she was smart enough to take.

"Thank you," she said after a moment. "I realize that showing up in your hotel room in the middle of the day to rattle off my problems like you're some sort of therapist perhaps wasn't warranted, but I thank you for tolerating me all the same." She stood, then walked around the table to stand in front of him, gesturing with her hand. "Stand up, please."

[thelostprince]

Well, she didn't seem angry with him, so Loki was going to count that as a good sign. Most of the time people bristled, at the very least, at his words, which he honestly didn't see reason for - after all, if they wanted his advice and wisdom, why should they also expect it to be tailored in a way they wanted to hear? Was he not already doing them a courtesy in putting his mind to their problems in the first place?

"It's no trouble at all," he said, and mostly meant it. There was not much else he could have been doing with his time, after all, besides the deep and wandering thoughts he tended to indulge in when left to his own devices. He wouldn't ever readily choose to be burdened with someone else's problems, but he understood that was something he had to do for friendships, which were what he was ultimately cultivating, he supposed. At her request that he stand, though, he gave her a startled look, though he rose to his feet as suggested. She didn't seem to be one for formal leave taking. Unless she wished to embrace him? That would be odd, if only because the last person who really hugged him was his mother, and he wasn't used to it.

[littlerubyred]

Ruby couldn't help but grin at Loki's startled look, mostly because it was so entirely rare for him. He had always been gentlemanly and kind to her, but his approach had always been one more of cool, dry detachment than anything else. She was fond of him, and thought that the sentiment was at least somewhat returned in kind. Otherwise, she might've held off from what she was about to do

When he made his way to his feet, Ruby moved in to wrap her arms around his middle, pulling herself in for a tight, sincere hug. He was warm and solid, the material of his shirt surprisingly soft against her cheek where she tucked it against his chest. She could feel his surprise at her actions, which also made her smile. She didn't know whether people just didn't often offer to hug Loki or if he was the sort who just didn't welcome them, but she found she liked hugging him as she was just then, and hoped that if she tried again in the future he would not be too terribly upset.

"You're very smart," she told him as she hugged him. "So smart, and wonderful to boot. Thank you." She leaned away from the hug just enough to lean up to press a kiss to his cheek, then stepped back from him with a smile. "I've tainted your beauty," she said as she began to rub gently at the lip print she'd left on his cheek with her thumb. "Don't want anyone thinking I came in here and made ill use of my friend."

[thelostprince]

When she confirmed his suspicions and moved to hug him, he accepted it. He would not push her away, after all; he did not dislike her, and though he was a solitary person and unused to physical contact, it didn't exactly make him uncomfortable. It just put him on uneven ground, which, in some senses, he was more than comfortable with these days.

"You're too kind, Ruby," he said, and though he didn't think she would hear it as such, it was a double-edged phrase, for in his experience kindness could turn on its giver as quickly as an act of callousness. Still, if she was careful it could serve her well.

"I rather think a lip print would improve my countenance," he said, but allowed her to clean the lipstick off.

[littlerubyred]

"And you give wonderful hugs," Ruby said as she worked at wiping away the lip print she'd left behind. Much like her, his skin was so pale that almost every color stood out stark against it. It was often a problem she had when she smeared her own lipstick doing something or other, and while every tube of red lipstick she owned claimed it wouldn't kiss off, she hadn't found a single one that wouldn't yet.

At his words about the lip print improving his countenance, she laughed and dropped her hand to his shoulder for a gentle squeeze. "Remember that conversation we once had about girls getting jealous over me telling you how handsome you are? Imagine those same girls seeing me walk out of your room with red lipstick smeared all around. " She gave a dramatic shudder. "I would, however, be willing to risk their wrath if you'd like to go with me for lunch. I know you don't like to eat much, but I could buy you a few drinks while I eat. All friendly like, of course."

[thelostprince]

"Despite anything I say that may sound self-effacing, I assure you, you needn't keep complimenting me so zealously," he said. He put his hand on top of hers where it lay against his shoulder, but only for a moment. He felt that for the time being they'd indulged in enough contact.

"I'd be happy to go for lunch," he said. He might have considered changing back into something a bit more armoured, but he would only have done so had he made the long decision to leave his room of his own volition. Spur of the moment invitations didn't garner quite that much consideration.

[littlerubyred]

"I'm not complimenting you," she said, then amended, "well, at least not that last time. That was just a fact, young Loki-son. Tall guys with nice arms usually give super fabulous hugs, so I guess that's just your lot in life." She grinned at him and dropped her hands to slide them into the back pockets of her bright red shorts, feeling much better about things now that she'd at least spoken of them to someone else. She wasn't sure how much had been cleared up, exactly, but it was at least a bit more proper footing to continue on.

"Fabulous!" She said when he agreed to go with her for lunch. "Now that I've talked your ear off about my boring shit, you can tell me what's been up with you lately. If you'd like to, of course." Loki was private and tended to only speak of specific things if she asked specific questions, but he did have the sort of voice and thought processes that made listening to him fascinating.

[thelostprince]

"Well, if you say I'm good at it, I will trust your judgment," Loki replied. She was so boisterous, even after coming to him with her troubles. Was she just not someone to soak in her own emotions, or was this something indicative of her species? (And, after she had spoken to him of being a wolf, he had to wonder now what, exactly, her species was).

Still, it suggested a strength he liked. Loki did not like to be around fragile things, for a variety of reasons, simply because he could not figure out which reason was the real one. Did he not trust himself around them, or did they remind him of himself? Both? Neither? "We can talk about whatever you like," he said, with an idle smile, holding his arm out so that he may escort her, in that friendly, courtly way he had never been able to pull off with anyone back home. And he liked that about her, too.