Logs:Love Enough to Break a Heart

Love Enough to Break a Heart
Dramatis Personae Gaétan, Sera
In Absentia	2021-01-04 "Those are some of the best, though."
Location <PRV> Tessier Residence - Greenwich Village
Understated opulence claims this spacious and well-kept townhome, the decor throughout the whole of it of the highest quality and carefully chosen. The front door opens onto the entrance hall, a closet close at hand to receive coats and shoes -- the pale hardwood floors gleam underfoot, unsullied by tracked-in mess from outside. The living room beyond the entrance is all dark woods and pale earth tones, comfortable couches and armchairs and a thick soft rug laid down beneath. Two large and painstakingly aquascaped aquariums flank the entrance to the dining room, with several brightly coloured species of fish within. Most of the rest of the wall space, notably, is taken up with shelves -- shelves crammed with books of every subject and genre. A study branching off of the main hall is cozy, small, done in pale blues and lined with books as well around the large computer desk and smaller futon, though these rarer books are cased behind glass. Another securely locked door leads to the basement, and another to the full bathroom downstairs. The kitchen connects to the living room; in contrast, it is sleek and modern and well-appointed, stocked by someone who takes their cooking seriously. And takes their alcohol equally seriously -- to one side of the kitchen there is a fully-stocked bar. The back door to the kitchen looks out on a small well-kept garden. It's another gray if unseasonably mild January day, the first day back at work and school after a long weekend for many New Yorkers -- and even more time off for others. The streets of Greenwich feel and sound a bit empty at mid-day now, compared to the somewhat festive buzz of the last two weeks. The Tessier house is quiet, and Sera has been sitting on the couch alone for a little while now, her slightly incongruous mixture of anxiety, comfort, and curiosity rippling out into anyone who draws near. She's dressed to go out, in a rainbow plaid flannel and thick-waled gray corduroys, glittery stars dotting her dark blue socks. Her heavy green duffel coat lies across her lap and her iridescent purple backpack is tucked between her legs, one of which is bouncing up rapidly up and down. Her hands turn a book from the living room shelves over and over -- a much-worn hardback copy of I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett. A bump of two-at-a-time footsteps on the stairs signals Gaétan's arrival, backpack slung over one shoulder and guitar case in his other hand. He drops the former by the side of the couch, plucking a denim overshirt from where he'd left it draped on the back of an armchair to pull it on over his striped long-sleeved tee. He sets the guitar case down more carefully, propped against the arm of the armchair as he flops down into it. His reflexive discomfort in Sera's presence has settled the past weeks into only a mild twinge of melancholy, vague and distant and subsumed into a familiar comfort of his own as he glances to the book. "-- you liking that?" Sera looks up at the sound of the footfalls, the book stilling between her slender hands, her eyes following the guitar case for a moment before lifting to Gaétan. "I just started it, but -- yeah." The comfort harmonizing between them overtakes her anxiety somewhat, and her curiosity blossoms into a clear, bright excitement. She brushes her fingertips along the spine of the book. "I love this series, but we didn't have this one, back home." "What." For just a moment Gaétan blinks in confusion, looking at the book uncomprehendingly. "What Discworld did you have?" A moment later he shakes his head. "No, wait, you don't have to like. List every Discworld. Though I think Matt actually does have them memorized by now." He slouches back in his seat, throwing a quick glance to the shelves. "Those are some of the best, though." A beat. "And the Watch ones." Another beat. "And the Witches. Uh. I guess that's like. Half." A faint blush passes over Sera's cheeks, but the embarrassment is mild and fleeting. "Oh, I think they're mostly the same," she replies hastily. "Well. I don't have them all memorized, but the ones I liked all seem to be here. You just have more Discworld." She licks her lips, her sadness a quiet thing, old and gentle and at a remove. "Unseen Academicals was the last one we got. What's your favorite?" "Uhm --" Though this question does pull a strong and immediate flare of fondness from Gaétan, he just shrugs, noncommittal. "I dunno, I think that kind of. Changes with my mood. The political climate. Moon phase. Whatever." He glances to Sera's backpack, then over to Lucien's bedroom door. "You -- ready? I told my friends you were coming but I don't know if that makes it more weird or less weird." Sera lifts an eyebrow, but she's smiling anyway, her nod coming readily enough. She starts turning the book over again in her hands. Then stops. "Oh, yeah, I'm ready. I hope it's less weird? At least a little. There's probably not any way for this to...not be weird." There's a slow twist of guilt in her at that. Then the curiosity returns, sharper this time, if hesitant. "Are you a mutant?" she asks finally, blushing again. "Sorry if that's a dumb question. Obviously, you go to Xavier's, but I thought since -- Matt teaches there..." Her shrug is small, and the sudden sharp sorrow beneath it fades as she successfully pulls her power back in. This question stirs an immediate discomfort from Gaétan, something sharp and guilty twisting in him. "I got in on pure nepotism," his smile is just a little crooked. "I don't know if the school system in your world is just as much of a mess but trying to get into a decent high school in this New York is basically like winning the lottery." He presses his hands down against his knees, eyes dropping to his knuckles as his smile falls away. "Spence'll be there." Sera nods again, slower, the faint furrow of her brows thoughtful. "We have a literal lottery in New York, but. Well, I never had to deal with that." Her shoulders hunch minutely, and her careful gathering in of her power slips again, spilling loneliness and anguish and fear over Gaétan. She's breathing steadily and trying to subdue it again immediately, though with limited success. "But, you told him? And he's -- did he -- know her?" Her hands clutch the book, knuckles white. "Yeah. They were -- really close. He and I kind of only got to be friends after she -- I mean, we were both close to her but not really each other, till --" Gaétan shrugs, trying and failing to push back down the knot of pain that is clenching in him. "Just. Feels like you shouldn't. Get taken by surprise on that. He's not like a badass freedom fighter here, just a huge dork." His brows scrunch. "Guess yours was also a huge dork." "Thanks." Sera sniffles, a sort of numbness creeping into her grief even as she finally gets it under control again -- or, at least, pulls it back from dragging Gaétan along. "He wasn't a badass freedom fighter there, either. Until he had to be. He's just a kid and..." Her smile is small and dim, but however marred by her loss the love behind it glimmers untarnished as it escapes her control. "...yeah, a huge dork." Perhaps ironically, it's only now that the tears come, quiet and fond and hastily wiped away. "Sorry. I'll try not to make school awkward, too." She frowns, considering. "More awkward." Gaétan looks up at Sera and then back away. His smile is slower, faint and soon to vanish again. "Eh. Don't worry. Everyone over there's got all the awkwardnesss covered."