multiversallogs | It's like paradise, spread out with a butter knife

Aimery got shuffled away from the bar by other patrons vying to access it, and ended up wandering over towards the pool tables near the start of his third beer. By then he'd relaxed into himself a bit, determined to not to spend he evening sober or somber, and had even loosened his tie and unbuttoned his jacket.

It was Lex's suit and shirt that got his attention, actually, and it was only after he stewed on his jealousy for a few moments that he recognized him; Aimery had never been able to pull off that kind of flashy combination, especially worn so casually, so it was always blue or gray suits with pale shirts and standard ties for him. He approached with a friendly smile, though when he glanced at the goings on of the table he was more than a little dubious.

"Mr. Luthor, wasn't it?"

"I have to commend your memory, Aimery," Lex says with a pleased smile. The truth is that Lex expects to be remembered. His name might not hold the same weight here as it did back home but he's confident that he makes enough of an impression on his own. "But call me Lex. It's a party after all."

He points to the other man's glass. "It looks like you've been doing well for yourself since we last spoke."

Aimery pursed his lips to lessen a smile and nodded at the correction; Ah yes, 'Mr. Luthor' was for business partners, 'Lex' for acquaintances who would be friends and parties, apparently.

"If you count being on the road to drunk as 'doing well for myself', then yes, I am doing quite well, thank you," he grinned and lifted his beer bottle in a slight salute in lieu of a handshake. "And you seem to be doing well, too, apart from choosing to stand near a poorly conceived table."

Lex lifts his martini glass toward Aimery in kind and takes a sip. "I'm just now getting to the road myself, I hope you'll allow me to catch up."

He glances back at the table before leaning against it, crossing his feet at the ankles. "It seems sturdy enough to me," Lex says with a teasing grin. He sets down his glass and retrieves the cue ball from a pocket, rolling it back and forth between his hands. "I'm guessing they didn't have these in either place where you used to reside."

"I'll try to sip slowly, then, so as not to leave you behind," Aimery said, bringing his free hand to his chest and putting on a concerned face, as if he were really concerned. Then the expression broke into a smile a moment later and he moved to lean one hip against the side of the pool table a polite distance away from Lex, but turned towards him so it would be easy to keep conversation.

"Perhaps there were some in Bete Noire, but I didn't spend much time in places like this, I was more of a wine at home type of fellow," he paused for a sip of his beer, then nodded towards the white ball in Lex's hand. "I assume it's some sort of game?"

Lex gives a chuckle at the slight ribbing and sets down the ball to take a long drink as if playing catch up.

"It is," he replies in answer to Aimery's question. "The game's called pool, or billiards if you're getting fancy. In the simplest terms, the object is to try to hit the ball into the pockets."

He inclines his head toward the rack of cues. "I could show you how to play if you're interested."

Pool. He supposed that explained why bars were sometimes called 'pool halls', even if it seemed like everyone there was drinking rather than pooling. At Lex's offer, Aimery gave a firm nod and sat down his own drink on the edge of the table before picking up the discarded ball, rolling it in his hands in subconscious imitation.

"Certainly, if you wouldn't mind. I assume those," he nodded towards the cues Lex had indicated, still sounding incredibly amused yet dubious, "are to bat at these? Like... indoor baseball for drunks, yes? With easier goals and presumably less running?"

Lex laughs, it's short and quiet but still a laugh. "Not at all." He arranges the balls into the triangle shape. "The object is to try to knock the balls into the pockets by hitting this first," he plucks the cue ball out of Aimery's hands and places it in front of the point.

"The first person to play breaks up all the balls in what is so aptly called a break." Lex leans onto the table and taps the cue ball forward with a well practiced motion. The balls spread and a solid ball drops into the corner. "The first person to hit a ball into a pocket then uses that same color pattern for the rest of the game. I have a solid, that means you have stripes. Normally you keep hitting until you don't score, but I think you should try it."

Lex chalks up his own pool cue and offers it to Aimery. "You were right about less running anyway."

Aimery watched closely as Lex demonstrated and explained the rules, though he had just enough alcohol in him that his attention wasn't entirely on the game.

"Well a least I had it a little bit right. Pool still doesn't seem terribly difficult, though," Aimery lied as he took the pool cue, his smile dimming a little. Swatting the balls into the holes would've been far easier than... poking them into it. "And I am to knock the striped ones about, yes?"

He didn't wait for explanation, but moved around to where it seemed like he had a good shot —since he assumed he wouldn't be allowed to move the balls— and copied Lex, leaning over and lining up the cue across his hand. Aimery didn't get it quite right though and the end of the stick glanced off the side of the cue ball, knocking it and the one he'd been trying to hit off in opposite directions. He grimaced, then grinned and lined back up for another shot, shooting Lex an amused look, "Let me go again, you didn't see that one."

"Didn't see a thing," Lex says with a completely straight face. He rounds the table to stand next to Aimery and grabs the cue ball, placing it in the same spot as before. He takes his own cue from the nearby rack and leans forward, demonstrating the hold and stance without making any further motion.

"The trick is to not be so rigid with it. Don't jab at the ball, instead keep one solid motion with your arm. To use the horrible sounding cliche: stroke, don't poke." He moves his arm into empty air in the manner described.

"Also, separate your fingers a little on your front hand. It'll help the motion go more smoothly." Feeling like the detail is a little too minute to be seen properly through mere demonstration, Lex leans his cue against the wall and takes the liberty to curl Aimery's hand and begin the process of correct muscle memory. He then steps away, watching Aimery as he finishes his drink. "Try again, if you're ready."

Good, Aimery was glad Lex was a good sport about letting him have a second turn- not like some other friends that were sticklers for the rules. It bode well. Aimery couldn't help but smirk at the cliche and give a tight-lipped nod, "I think I can manage that."

His smirk shifted a little when Lex leaned in and moved his hand, though Aimery didn't protest or comment further, merely raised an eyebrow and let his eyes trail appreciatively up the other man's arm before looking back where he was supposed to be looking, ie at the table. He took a deep breath, aimed, and 'stroked' as instructed. Alas, he apparently didn't do it hard enough; the cue ball hit the stripey one, but the latter stopped just short of the pocket. Aimery stood up and half-frowned, then shrugged and gestured at the table for Lex to go ahead, "Ah well. Would you show me again how it's done?"

Aimery was in a playful mood, though. He leaned his cue against the side of the table and picked his beer back up for a sip, but he kept one hand resting on the tabletop, just barely touching the felt as close to the cue ball as he could without being suspicious, and concentrated, choosing not to let anything but the table touch the white ball.

Lex catches the look and the eyebrow raise, returning the look with a casual smile as he gives Aimery room to shoot. He watches in appraisal of Aimery's shot among other things and finds the results to be satisfactory. "Don't sell yourself short. That's already a lot better."

Not one to turn down an invitation to show off a little, Lex picks up his own cue and sidesteps to the right for a better angle. He leans in, lines up the shot... and solidly hits the five ball, passing right through his intended target. He slowly pulls himself back up and holds the cue between both hands. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that minor incident, would you?"

"Hm?" Aimery lowered his beer when Lex spoke, eyebrows up and face a picture of blatantly false innocence, "Apologies, I was drinking. What incident?" He glanced at the table, then frowned sympathetically, "Oh, did you miss?"

He grabbed the errant five and put it right back where it was, then grabbed his cue and stepped clear of the table, giving a nod at it. He couldn't help the teasing in his voice as he added, "Didn't see a thing."

Meaning, Lex had given him a do-over, so he would do the same, and since Aimery was no longer interfering, normal physical rules would apply.

Lex shakes his head with the comment, giving Aimery a wry smile. He sees what you did there, and is admittedly impressed and intrigued by it, but he's not going to reveal as much, not yet.

He doesn't bother rearranging the balls and shoots from where he stands, easily dropping the intended ball into a pocket. He lines up again and doesn't miss for two more turns.

When his turn is over Lex promptly leaves without saying a word and returns with a brandy for himself and another beer for Aimery. He sets down his own drink and stands next to Aimery, lifting the beer to him as if in a toast, but not actually offering. "This is for after you tell me what you did to the ball."

He watched, impressed in return, as Lex silently showed off just how good he was at the game, but frowned and looked distinctly disappointed for a good half second when he walked away. Aimery had thought it was a good joke, he didn't see the need to storm away, and he was just lining up another shot (half practice, half 'see how much I don't care that you just ditched our game') when Lex returned. And with a beer! Good, Aimery's was practically empty anyway.

"I didn't do anything to it," Aimery insisted as he straightened up and reached out to grasp the neck of the bottle with two fingers, but not actually taking it, "I simply made it so nothing else could do anything either." And with that, he chose not to let Lex touch the bottle and pulled it straight through his grasp, a much-too-pleased-with-himself grin on his face. He took a swig, then shrugged, "A talent I picked up in Bete Noire, though it's a bit of an involved story."

This time Lex sees the choosing much more clearly and he still can't help but be amazed. It takes a lot for his normal poker face to show a range of expression, but Aimery succeeds in getting Lex to show a mixture of both genuine surprise and amusement.

"If the story is involved, that only makes it more fascinating." He turns on his best charming smile and shifts his weight to lean just slightly closer to Aimery before picking up his glass and taking a sip, looking at the man half expectantly over the rim. "If you have the time and the inclination I'd like to hear it."

Lex is very much interested in the paranormal and is not above a little flattery to satisfy his curiosity.

That's a good thing because Aimery was extremely susceptible to flattery, even though he had every intention of explaining it even without. He still planned on keeping his ability secret for the most part, but (especially since he was tipsy) Lex seemed exactly the kind of person it would be useful to tell, one who knew the city and might appreciate all the possibilities of his gift. He nodded and leaned the cue against the table next to him, figuring pool could be set aside for the moment.

"Not long into my stay in Bete Noire, I befriended a man possessed by a spirit- I can't recall what kind, my memory is still cloudy when I think of people, but it drove him to violence and unpleasantness. I didn't know until after we became close, he treated me quite well and seemed to succumb only rarely, so I turned a blind eye to it." Aimery gave a little shrug, almost apologetic, as he knew that in retrospect was a terrible decision. He was also careful not to put a label on the kind of relationship he'd had with the man, though he figured it would be fairly obvious.

"One night, while the stars were falling from the sky and wishes literally came true, I accidentally wished to be like him. I became possessed by the same kind of spirit, gained all of it's thoughts and abilities, including that one." He'd been looking about as he spoke, occasionally giving slight gestures, but then he looked straight at Lex and lifted his beer for emphasis, "But I was never violent. He found that amusing."

It was an important note, at least to Aimery. He shrugged and relaxed again, continuing his story a bit more soberly, "It lasted two weeks before it left us both as normal men again. A few months later there was some kind of poisoning in the city's water, some kind of radiation that changed people. I regained the ability to choose and never lost it even when the radiation wore off and everyone else returned to normal."

Lex listens carefully, amazed at how much the man is opening up after how little he has known him. He finds it interesting that Aimery stresses how he was never violent, it wouldn't have made a difference to how Lex thought of him or his ability.

"Bete Noire sounds like quite the place," is all Lex will say regarding that. While he would definitely like to know more about the city, he can't see it for himself. What he can see is Aimery and that's who he intends to learn of and from.

"I assume you have other uses for your gift besides party tricks."

"It certainly was," Aimery said with a disappointed sigh before taking another long drink of his beer. He missed it already, and what's worse, he knew there were people there that he should miss, yet couldn't remember. But, like Lex, he realized it was better to focus on the now, on people there and not faces he couldn't place names to.

"And yes, I do. It was quite handy in my previous line of work. I could unlock doors when a key was lost and keep the whole place tidy and spotless in a fraction of the time it took before." As he spoke he lifted one arm and held it out in front of himself, then poured a little bit of his drink onto his sleeve and let it soak into the fabric. After putting the bottle down on the edge of the table, he brushed the beer out of his jacket and onto the floor with a flick of his hand, leaving both the fabric and his skin completely dry.

"It has more personal uses..." he casually turned his hand over and reached one finger through Lex's jacket to stroke his bicep for a brief moment —half demonstration, half flirt— then dropped his hand back to his beer and finished his sentence, "...and I suppose it might be beneficial to a thief as well."

Which was not an admission of guilt.

"Well. For a brief moment I considered offering another use for your abilities." He gives Aimery a look of appraisal, running a finger against Aimery's sleeve as if somehow hoping to replicate choosing for himself.

The touch quickly vanishes and Lex uses both hands to grip the tabletop and lean back. "But now with thievery in the picture I'm not so sure." If one were to overhear their conversation they would be absolutely certain Lex was serious, but the way he gives the slight tilt of the head puts that into doubt.

His eyebrows went up at that look and touch to his arm, and he briefly considered choosing to let Lex's finger through to touch him but then Lex pulled back and continued speaking. Aimery couldn't help the flicker of disappointment on his face before he mimicked tLex's head-tilt, then crossed his arms and leaned the side of his hip against the table.

"I said it would be beneficial to a thief, not that I was one," he protested, still not denying or confirming anything. He didn't want to have to lie, but he could skip around the truth, especially when he was getting the impression that Lex wasn't as bothered as he was trying to make it look. "What offer were you considering before you decided to make such offensive implications?"

He didn't manage to sound quite as serious about being offended as Lex had, and there was still a mischievously interested quirk to his lips, but he tried.

"Omission is the easiest way to hide the truth," Lex counters. He's not trying to corner Aimery in a lie and his voice is as casual as his stance, but he wants Aimery to know that he's not easily fooled.

"And you don't look too offended. I was thinking that if cleaning is as easy for you as you demonstrated you might be able to help me with my own. It would be quick and painless for you and I can promise a nice paycheck."

He glances to Aimery's hands and then his face. "But now I'm not so sure if I could trust you in my house." A bit of the serious facade purposefully slips away. He's offering Aimery a job, but he's certainly not done here if the other declines.

Aimery had thought Lex's distrust was on principle, but was he really concerned that Aimery would steal from him? Now that was offensive.

"And I'm not so sure I would want to work for someone who would rather assume I'm a petty burglar that would rob a friend and employer, instead of simply asking what I was alluding to. If you had asked, I would have explained how I used it to safely relieve a notorious gang of all their earnings, putting them out of business and providing for the future of my charity hostel." There were more minor omissions, like that he'd had help and that earnings didn't mean only money, but Aimery was annoyed enough that he didn't mind doing it if it might help prove him to be a, well, mostly honest man.

He sighed and tapped his drink on his arm idly, "Though I suppose I'd have assumed the same as well. What sort of cleaning?"

Edited 2011-08-18 19:07 (UTC)

It's common knowledge where Lex comes from that the young heir doesn't trust anybody. If he finds a fault in someone that is potentially dangerous to himself, he'll test them at length, preferring to protect himself rather than give the appearance of being nice.

However, this is also a party and he would rather not sour an opportunity. He will definitely continue to prod at Aimery, but now isn't the the time to bring up theft. Lex is very pleased that despite any annoyances, Aimery still managed to tell him information about himself, a step in the right direction.

"I apologize. I don't want to insult you. A kind of, butler type position occurred to me. I have a large house and if cleaning is easy and effective for you as you demonstrated I thought that the job might be a good fit."

Aimery can always say no and Lex would gracefully bow out, but he isn't going to count this one as over just yet.

The frequent flow of personal information was due to Aimery's propensity to brag when insecure and alcohol loosening his tongue; he was a good person, why hide the evidence of that? Even though it would have been harder to prove than other patches of his history.

"Apology accepted," Aimery said with a firm nod, his mild bristling dissipating just as quick as it came up, though there was still a little bit of annoyance evident in the stiffness of his posture. A job offer was much more interesting to focus on than a slight that he possibly might have deserved and wasn't intentioned. He knit his brows a moment, confused, before he realized 'butler's meaning had probably changed.

"What would my duties be besides cleaning and seeing to your wine? Is 'butler' like a... head servant?" Because that he could manage, especially if it paid well, and he doubted Lex could possibly be as high maintenance as Gundred had been.

It's like paradise, spread out with a butter knife :: [OPEN]

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