Clothes shopping was a need of his. The smith god inevitability would burn or tear a significant amount of fabric from his shirts. Hence why he went to the store. The good thing about this particular store is that no one frequents it. That was until he felt another hand reach for the shirt.
“I touched the shirt fi-” He looked up again. “Oh if it isn’t Mr. Big Apple? Didn’t think you’d frequent a place like this.”
Okay I’m in a pickle. Cookie totes knows about me and the photographer I had shipped off to Uzbekistan. And she’s like, now getting sad because she can’t tell her family about our family. What do I do, because I’m totes not about going to prison for life--have you seen those jumpsuits? And I don’t think threatening the lives of Cookie’s family members is conducive to a wedding.
Lysander was a knight, and as such as still continued training. There was nothing that scared him as he bagan to practice his attack strokes. As long as he protected his loved ones, there was a feeling of security. Little did Lysander know he was only scratching the surface when it came to OEA. There are those who are bloodthirsty.
Lysander paused when he felt a prescence near by.There was a shiver down his spine as he talked.
"Whoever it may be please come out." he pleaded. He didn't want to accidentally get someone hurt like Billie did. The knight put his sword down for good meaure.
Who: Angel Vitello & Eli Sutherland
Where: Grocery Store
When: September 9, 2018
@troubled-eli
Eli was walking through the grocery store, trying to pick up some things for his house. He was trying to get settled back into the swing of things here in Verona, and a lot had taken place since he left. But one thing was for sure, it was still a beautiful city. He did miss all the old buildings, the pars, and the waterfront, so he was hoping to get to take a stroll soon. For now, he was going to get his new house set up, and ease back into the social scene. He didn't want to run into too many people right now, some more than others. But of course, fate would be so very cruel. The one person he didn't want to run into, as soon as he turned the corner, he was standing right there. It was no way to avoid each other now. So he straightened up, and walked up to him, noticing the change in him, and it worried him greatly. "Um...hello."
Angel had only needed a few things. Some frozen meals, beer, cigarettes, and some cans of dog food. It was just a quick run after he left work and he hadn’t even bothered to change out of his oil greased clothing. Maybe he should have just gone home, but he was out of cigarettes and a little desperate. When he heard the voice, he’d been grabbing a can of dog food before he dropped it suddenly. The voice was eeriely familiar and it freaked him out a little bit. He hadn’t expected to see Eli, but as he looked up he found him face to face with someone he hadn’t seen in years. He felt like his heart was caught in his throat. Had he ignored his needs so much he’d begun hallucinating? “I... uh...”
Eli was so shocked to see Angel there, and looking the way he looked. This was certainly not the man he was with all those years ago, but obviously a lot had changed since then. He could see that he was obviously surprised to see him, and he couldn't blame him, this was a lot. He felt as if he didn't say anything, then they would just stand there and stare at each other. "So....um...you seem shocked to see me, but I am here in Verona to stay." He cleared his throat, "So, I guess we'll be seeing more of each other." He dropped his head, then took a breath, "So, how's it going? You doing...well?"
Eli was different so he had to be imagining it all. He was softer spoken and not as rigid as he had once known him. But it could all be some sort of cruel trick that either Eli or his brain was playing on him. He felt himself wanting to crawl into himself and just disappear. It was hard enough living with the memories but now he was faced with the idea of the man being around more now. The little things he’d gotten the courage to do over the years seemed scary again. He even worked in the same shop, the man would know where to find him. Angel looked at the dropped can and wondered why Eli wasn’t correcting him and telling him to pick it up. “Y-Yes, sir...” he managed to stutter out.
Eli hated seeing Angel like that, and he knew he was all to blame for it. He was cruel to him, and he knew it. But he was trying to change, and that was why he came back, because he was ready to face the world he left behind. And more importantly the people he hurt along the way. He was a selfish bastard back then and he knew it, but now he was trying to change, and be a better person, not just for others, but for himself. He looked down at the can that Angel dropped, and he picked it up, and handed it to him, "So you got a dog now, you always wanted a dog." He smiled, "I'm glad you are finally getting what you wanted. So what's the dogs name?"
Angel was even more confused as the man passed him the can and he couldn’t make himself thank the man. He wasn’t sure if the man would retort or put it back on him. He couldn’t handle it if he did. He took the can gingerly and set it down inside his cart. He nodded his head, glad he at least had ranger to go home to. The dog no doubt would be there when it all came setting in. He swallowed before answer softly, feeling like he couldn’t not answer the man. That would be blantant disrespect and he didn’t want to be punished. He hated that. “R-Ranger...”
Eli tried to make Angel see that he had changed, but he could see that years of damage was not going to go away overnight. He took a deep breath, and remembered his teachings, "Ranger..." He smiled, "That's a great name for a dog." He wasn't expecting Angel to fall back in his arms, but seeing him this frazzled let Eli know that he truly hurt the man, and he felt awful. He wanted to fix it, but time was going to have to carry this journey. "Well, what else have you been doing since you got back?" He could see the look of fear on Angel's face, "Please Angel, you don't have to be scared of me, I am not the same man I was before, I promise. And I apologize for the way I hurt you, but I am going to make it right, I promise you." He felt he needed to say that, and hoped it brought some peace to the man before him.
Angel nodded his head. He loves ranger and was forever grateful to the person who’d had him trained for him. The dog was the only that got him out of bed sometimes and he often though that it was Ranger who cared for him and not the other way around. He took in a deep breath. “I just... Work.” He spoke honestly. He was a hermit, and he didn’t go outdoors as much as he used to like to. When the man began to speak about how he had changed, Angel wasn’t sure what he believed. He wanted to believe that maybe people could change like that, but he also knew it was because he was a bad submissive that the man had gotten so bad towards the end.
Eli didn't want to pry into Angel's life, because that could be mistaken as him wanting to get information on him. So he took his answer as is, "Oh okay, well it's good to work." He smiled and figured he should let him go, and not make him feel like he had to talk to him. "Well I know you probably have a lot to do, and um...Ranger to get back too." He chuckled a bit, "I'm just trying to get settled myself." He didn't know what else to say to Angel, although he had a million things he wanted to say. "So I am going to go, but it was nice running into you, and maybe we'll meet again. I would love to sit and talk, but only if you want. You certainly don't have too, but it would be nice if I can explain myself to you, and let you know where I am now in life." He wanted so badly to explain himself to Angel, and try to make a mends, but as his spiritual mentor told him, he can't force anything on anybody, he just has to deal with whatever comes his way, and hope for the best.
Angel was glad that the one constant he had in his life was his work. When he didn't want to think, he worked. It's what he did when he was feeling anxious. Angel was still in some state of shock as he stared at the man he had once loved with all of his heart. It seemed wrong, and he felt like maybe he'd finally lost it-- maybe he'd finally snapped. Angel wanted to scream, wanted to yell and ask the man why he was back; why he'd done that to him. Instead he could only stare, eyes more hollow than before. "I uh..." What was he supposed to say that? "O-Okay, sir." He looked down, submissive and altogether accepting of whatever fate he'd meet now.
Eli was not going to keep this going, it was obviously torturing Angel, and that was the last thing he wanted. "Okay, well...I'm going to go." He took his cart, and rolled around Angel. He stopped when he passed him, "It was nice seeing you again" He smiled and walked away. He made sure to go to the opposite side of the store, letting Angel go checkout, and get as far away from him as possible, because he knew he wanted too. After grabbing everything he needed, he went to checkout and head home.
Ajax was grinning as he returned to the table with his drink and a drink for Simone and Eli. He offered to buy the first round at the karaoke bar, he was just beaming to be here with both his friends and have some fun. They both didn’t know about the LA thing and he knew today wasn’t the day to bring it up but knew he had to eventually tell his two friends about what had happened. He had told Freya and it brought them closer together but he feared his friends may treat him differently - walk around on eggshells around him - or judge him - though he doubted that one.
“Simone,” Ajax said as he turned to the woman. “Important question to ask, big question to ask really. If you had to choose between Eli and my lovely self, who is your favorite? Or who is your best friend between the two of us? We have a bet going on,” Ajax said as he pointed to Eli. “I think knowing the bet may change your opinion so I’m not going to say it and I hope Eli won’t either.”
“Good Morning Sunshine!” Ajax shouted as he started to jump on the bed Eli was sleeping in. Ajax had totally believe this was the proper way to greet his best friend and if anyone said otherwise he would give them a look. Who didn’t like getting woken up like this before seven in the morning. He had worked overnight and hadn’t gone to bed yet but also wasn’t tired yet. “Time to wake up, Eli.”
