Detailed Roleplayers discussion
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TheCountess x Isis #2
"She sure looks like your cat," Karson said, ignoring the rest of the conversation. "And everyone knows that once you feed a cat they basically belong to you, or, rather, you belong to them." He started to dab the wet cloth at his leg wound once again. "As for me, I can cook for myself. I don't trust you to do it anyhow. Would you like anything?" He raised an eyebrow at the man. "If you will allow me to use your utensils, that is?"He finished cleaning off his leg, holding the rag in his hand. "Is there somewhere you would like me to dispose of this?" He was careful not to let the man see his blood as he did not want to make him squeamish all over again. "Or would you rather me wash it?"
"Nope, no, no, no!" Nathaniel cried out. "Just...mm...I don't know. I would have told you to put it in the dumpster but we wouldn't want to get you caught would we...?" he commented with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "Just dump it in the laundry. I'll deal with it later." he said shaking his head and wondering if he would actually deal with it later. He didn't want to see the blood. He gulped. "No, no, actually, wash it or whatever. I just don't want to see the blood." he said with his nose upturned and his brow furrowed wondering why in the world it had to be him in this sticky situation. He turned to the fridge and started looking for things to eat. "Why wouldn't you trust me to cook anyway?" he asked frowning but not looking at the man. "The person who shouldn't be trusting the other here, is me, not you." he closed the fridge roughly, sighed and then opened it again. He was frustrated, annoyed and completely confused by his situation. And he remembered in that moment he still had spy work that needed to get done before sleep, which was usually in the morning. He wasn't about to start cooking. Cooking bored him but he didn't want to admit it to this stranger, nor did he know why it mattered. He removed the milk again, deciding to make coffee.
Karson just tucked the bloody rag into his pocket to deal with later. He actually found the idea of this guy being so afraid of blood kind of sad, since, he himself was very found of it. Well, not blood the blood itself, but what the blood meant. It meant a job well done in most cases, for him. "Well, I can't trust you because you could try to poison me. Though, you obviously didn't think of that. I also don't know if you're a good cook. I'm a single man but I do not cook like the bachelor I am. I have taste. Give me a chance to show you and you'll be glad I stumbled into your house," Karson replied to him. He raised his eyebrows as if he were challenging the man.
"Oh," he said after a moment, "I don't know you're name. You don't have to tell me but it would make things much easier than me calling you whatever comes to mind. I'm thinking Cupcake." He once again raised his eyebrows in a challenging way. He didn't know he was doing it, really, but in a way he was making the man a challenge.
"He says stumbled like it was a good thing..." Nathaniel commented rolling his eyes at the man when he mentioned his entry into the house. "Besides, I don't just keep poison lying around waiting for someone to FORCE their way into my house, threaten me with a gun and go...hey, where was that bottle of poison again?" He fussed with the carton of milk, pulling it open and pouring it into a pot. He wanted to boil it.When the man said 'cupcake', Nathaniel's stomach jumped. He felt heat surround his face. He hadn't expected something so...sweet to come out of...he looked at the man, up and down, sizing his stance and his muscles and deathly eyes...that. Here was someone so rough and honestly, cupcake was not something he would associate with him. He groaned and rolled his eyes dramatically. "Things I didn't want to know about my kidnapper: that he's a bachelor and that he knows what cupcakes are." He was debating whether to tell the man his real name. First name alone, maybe, that wouldn't be too bad. "It's Nathaniel. Nate if you want, though I usually reserve that for friends and family; I guess we're not there yet," he said bitterly. "Fingers crossed. He added sarcastically, crossing his fingers for emphasis.
Karson shrugged. "I keep poison around my house so it wasn't really that far fetched an idea. Of course, I'm also not scared of my own blood. Not everyone is alike I guess. But, yes, I do know what cupcakes are. They're little pieces of heaven with frosting on top, except it can also be used a cute little nickname. I prefer the pieces of heaven, though." He leaned on the counter and looked at the man he was forcing to harbor him. "Nathaniel," he tried it out, then nodded. "Alright, Nathaniel, I'm Karson, like I said before. Also, I didn't kidnap you. You're in your own home with your own personal belongings with your own cat who doesn't belong to you. And you never know, you might actually like me one day." He laughed as if this was a very funny joke, because it really was. He walked into the kitchen with the other man, looking around. It was obvious, however, that he was prepared to take his gun back out at any second. He also made sure he analyzed where every utensil that could be used as a weapon was placed. "So what do you say?" he asked "I can cook up a mean batch of omelettes if you're interested. I forgot my poison back home so you don't have to worry about that this time." He went to elbow him playfully, remembered the situation, stopped, then cleared his throat awkwardly to cover what he had done.
"Of course you keep poison in your house," Nathaniel said rolling his eyes. He felt his stomach flip when he heard the man describe cupcakes and then the whole cute little nickname thing. It irritated him how relaxed this man seemed in his home. It wasn't like they were friends or on a date that had ended up as a night cap and now they were just hanging out. No, this was a man, who thought that he was 'just visiting' and could he, 'cook up a batch of omelets'. Was he hallucinating some sort of joke that Nathanil hadn't been clued into.Karson. That was his name. At least he could now stop chanting 'stranger danger' in his head constantly. He could put a name to the scary man's face, the cute but scary face. Why was he making jokes? As if everything was fine. Nathaniel was shaking from head to toe, using his sarcasm as a defense mechanism for how he was really feeling which was not so great. He took out the coffee and sauce pan. He mixed some coffee and some water in the saucepan and put it on the stove. He smirked even though Karson couldn't see it. "Do whatever you feel like. I'm having coffee and going to do my work." he said with a wave of his hand. This meant he had to go analyze but he was going to pretend he was grading papers or something else mundane.
Karson rolled his eyes. He really wished he hadn't chosen such a prudish, boring man as his harbor. This was going to get very old, very fast. The only thing that wasn't terrible about this situation was that the guy was cute. "Alright then, Nathaniel, you go do whatever you want. It is your house after all. I'll be watching though, so don't bother trying to pull a fast one on me. I think we both know that I'm much faster." After saying so he began to raid the man's fridge until he found everything that he wanted. This situation was hardly strange or new to Karson. He had done this before and he thought of almost every place as his home now. He so rarely saw his own house that it wasn't of any particular special interest to him. He often forgot, however, that other people like their privacy and loved their homes. He even forgot that people didn't like to make conversation with strangers or joke around. But, everyone was a stranger to him. Even the people he called his friends he hardly knew, he just had the same way of acting towards all of them.
All in all, Karson wasn't a man who was well adjusted to the normal life. He was a man who moved around constantly, shot people, and took orders from an agency that was currently off line. He was a man built to break necks, not learn to socialize or use manners. Holding someone hostage was easy, making them comfortable about it was not, thus, he just didn't do it.
Nathaniel finished making his coffee, and mixed everything in a big mug. He loved his coffee. He picked it up, feeling the warmth seep onto his hands. He looked at Karson, watched him raid the fridge. He heard his stomach grumble lightly as he saw everything that was laid out and took a gulp. He would not concede to the fact that maybe being cooked for was not such a bad idea. He looked at Cocktail and left the kitchen. Nathaniel decided he wasn't going to do anything. He wanted information that this man could help him get if only he was threatening enough to get it from him. He wasn't sure using power was going to help him, but maybe making him lower his defenses would make a difference. He grabbed his briefcase, went upstairs and got to his analysis room. He closed the door behind him and started to look through the data. There wasn't much going on. He checked in with his supervisor, a short phone call where he had to say a password and just report if there was anything of interest, which there rarely was, except of course he had an agent from the opposing side in his kitchen making omelets.
Nathaniel was struck with an idea. Once he smelled the food, he would go downstairs, maybe eat dinner with the man. He didn't have to like Karson, he just had to act like he did. He hoped it wouldn't take that much time to get Karson to at least spill something juicy.
Karson made two omlettes, just in case. If Nathaniel didn't want one he was hungry enough to make two. On second thought, he made three. The other he could put in the fridge if Nathaniel decided not to eat. It could really go either way by the face he had made at just the ingredients. The guy had a lot of self respect but everyone knew that the secret to a man's heart was through his stomach. It applied even in a situation such as this one. He plated the omelettes, humming softly as he did so. He was a tough guy, a murderer, a fugitive, and a sort of kidnapper, but he still liked to sing. He was also gay, so that could have made a difference in this particular situation, but one could never be sure. He sat a bar stool, still humming and started to cut up his two omelettes into pieces. He liked to have everything cut before hand rather than cut throughout the period. That was the worst and it took so much longer, or so it seemed.
Nathaniel smelled the eggs. He tried to stay up as long as possible but the smell finally got to him. He drifted downstairs with his coffee cup and found Karson in the kitchen with cut up pieces of egg on his plate. He frowned and shook his head. "I just came for more coffee." he said even though he started looking around for an egg. He frowned when he didn't immediately see one. He opened the fridge reluctantly and then when he saw the third omelet he smiled widely. "Oh, I'll have this." he said, pretending it was something casual. "I mean, if you're not saving it for later of course..." Nathaniel didn't care. He walked over to the utensil drawer and pulled out a fork and knife. Refilling his coffee cup, he went and sat down on the opposite side of Karson, setting down plate and cup. He started eating his egg slowly, keeping his omelet intact unlike the man in front of him. "You know, my grandma used to cut up my food like that when I was a little kid." he commented looking up at Karson with a raised eyebrow. He went back to eating his food. He didn't want to appear as if he liked the omelet but he did, he really did and he wasn't about to admit that.
Karson rolled his eyes as Nathaniel pretended he was coming to get more coffee. From the way he held the mug it was still mostly full and plenty hot. And then, there was the way his eyes looked all around like he was hunting something, which he found in the fridge. He decided not to comment on any of this however. He would let the man have this one little thing, that much he could do. "One of my grandmas died before I was born and the other was never in the picture. I learned this little trick all on my own," Karson responded, looking up at the other man with no expression. "I'm glad you're enjoying the food anyway though. I'd be happy to make you another if you're still hungry after that one. I left the ingredients out just in case. I'll put them away when we're finished." He was well on the way through the first egg and preparing to eat the bits of the other at this point. After a day of running and being shot at, he was starved. "Do you mind if I have some of your coffee? I will replace what I take, promise."
Nathaniel rolled his eyes. He was about to say how, it meant that Karson was a five year old when he told him about his lack of grandmothers and it made him sad and so he decided to keep his mouth shut. He watched Karson's face. It was blank, like the thought of never having a grandmother in his life didn't affect him in any way. The only relative Nathaniel really knew was his grandmother. He couldn't imagine life without her pinching his cheeks or pulling his ears. That was just his life.He nodded, pressing his lips together. "Yeah sure, have some, and I'm fine. I don't eat that much anyway." he said pushing the cup over then getting embarrassed because he wasn't sure if Karson had meant his cup or the pot. It didn't really matter, he'd already gestured now it was up to Karson. He prompted another revelation of Karson's life. "How about your parents? They weren't there to teach you?" he asked the man trying not to seem too interested. He also didn't like how polite Karson was being. It made him uncomfortable because it made him comfortable and theirs was not the kind of situation one should have been comfortable with.
Karson looked at the cup that was passed to him. A huge smile cracked on his face and he shook his head. "I didn't mean from your cup. Like you said earlier, we're not that close yet. If you tell me where the mugs are I can get my own from the pot. Plus, I don't know what dirty diseases you're carrying around in your mouth." He was joking, of course, his big grin giving it away. But, the grin was lost as soon as Nathaniel mentioned his parents. He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and turned away, deciding to look for the mugs himself as it would be a distraction. "They were murdered when I was three, by my uncle, though I didn't know that until about the twelfth year in of him raising me." He said it as if it weren't a big deal, but there was a very dark undertone to his words. "He's dead not too," he finished, "So now I have no living relatives." The part about his uncle was blatantly dark, but the tone had change back by the second half of the sentence.
Nathaniel frowned. He didn't like the jokes Karson made. Poison?...diseases? It seemed he had a a dark mind. "Ha. Ha. I don't have any diseases," he felt he had to explain. "I don't go out much and I haven't slept with that many people." he said feeling immediately dumb for even sinking to the level at which he needed to explain himself. He sighed and took back his cup, drinking a big gulp. He noticed instantly how Karson's face changed when he asked about his parents. When he told the story, Nathaniel stopped drinking mid sip and put his mug slowly on the table. He frowned, feeling sorry for the man who only hours ago had had a gun pointed to the back of his head. He could hear the sorrow in the man's words, something he had not expected from him. "I'm really sorry Karson." he said in a soft sympathetic voice. He fiddled with the edge of his plate and sighed, watching Karson search blindly for a mug. "Dishwasher." he said . "You can have some scotch if you prefer that over coffee." he suggested, deciding to be nice and not tactical for just a moment.
Karson shook his head. "No need to be sorry. That was a very long time ago and it's over with now. As for the scotch, I don't much drink. I want to, but once I start it's hard for me to stop. That much I know I inherited from my father." He paused, smiled a tiny bit and started toward the other version of himself, the joking one. "We're definitely not good enough friends that you'd want me to get drunk and try to kiss you, anyway." He laughed. He walked over to the dish washer, pulled a mug from it, then walked back over to the pot of coffee. He poured himself half a glass then sat back down to finish his food. He needed a little pick up but he sure didn't need to be awake for the next day and a half. "What about you? Parents? It's only fair that I get to hear your story if you got to hear mine. And that really was pretty much the whole story."
Nathaniel narrowed his eyes at Karson, when he joked about getting him drunk. "I wouldn't kiss you if you had a gun to my head," Nathaniel said smirking at him and rolling his eyes. He turned back to his food with thoughts in his head now about kissing Karson and he groaned inwardly forcing himself to stop going there. On top of being held in his house against his will, he didn't want to go to fantasy land. He finished up his food and leaned back.Nathaniel sighed when he got asked about his parents. He didn't speak about it much but he also wasn't closed off about it. "Well, my father was killed at his job. Truck driver. Dangerous work line." he lied. Though his father was dead, he didn't think revealing that he worked for the opposing team would smooth out his relationship with Karson...or whatever theirs was. "My mother abandoned me at his doorsteps. I don't know anything about her. Since my father was away a lot, I grew up with my grandmother." he said shrugging lightly.
"I didn't say you'd let me kiss you; I said I would try," Karson pointed out before listening in silence about Nathaniel's parents and bit of childhood. "I'm sorry to hear about your father," he said after the other man was finished speaking. "I'm sure it was hard to lose him. At least you had your grandmother though. I've heard grandmother's are sweet and let you do pretty much anything because you're not actually their children. Is that true? I've never actually been around anyone elderly for more than a few minutes..." His brows furrowed at the thought of it, because it was true. He watched tv and he knew how most people functioned, so he had the general gist of what the elderly were like, but he didn't live a life where he saw them often. He saw more children, but even then he saw them rarely. Most of what he saw were big, burly men with attitudes similar to his own. He didn't even realize how much that little fact had shaped his life up until this point, but it had. He had even judged Nathaniel to be the same because of how he looked.
Nathaniel laughed when he heard what Karson said about grandmothers. He covered his mouth immediately after, feeling silly for getting like that because of the man. He shook his head and covered his mouth. "You haven't met my grandmother." he said shaking his head as he thought about her. "Eunice is a fireball. She raised me as her own and she never let me get away with anything. There was once I took it upon myself to kick down an anthill that was near her little garden and when she came and found me crashing the last of it, I was about seven by the way, she made me get on my knees and apologise to each of those little ants, the ones that had survived and then made me count and tell her how many ants I had said sorry to for ruining their home. I could barely count to a hundred, so I told her 99, give or take a few." he laughed gently as he thought of that day and how scared he was even though he knew his grandmother was in the kitchen laughing and telling her friends what he was doing.Nathaniel sat back sipping on his coffee. He was glad that Karson had said he didn't want any alcohol. He wasn't even sure he had that scotch anyway. He couldn't remember the last time he had drunk anyway. Usually he took a shot or two before a date but it had been a long time since he had been asked out or had asked anyone on a date. It seemed he hadn't been crossing paths with any men or women he liked enough. He usually drunk because he was nervous. "I wouldn't let you kiss me if you had a gun to my head." he added, remembering Karson's earlier statement and feeling determined to win.
Karson laughed at the story, actually quite amused by it. However, with Nathaniel's last statement, his laughter changed to a dark smirk. Challenge accepted. He pulled the gun from his pocket and walked slowly over to the other man. He placed the barrel on Nathaniel's temple and cocked it. "Kiss me, or you die," he purred into the man's ear, making sure that his breath slid slowly over the man's ear.
Sure, the guy was attractive and Karson wouldn't have minded being with him in another situation, but he really hadn't come here to kiss the man...until the challenge was put in front of him. He never passed up a challenge, especially if that challenge ended with him having some sort of gain.
Nathaniel's eyes widened with surprise when he saw Karson stand up and remove his gun. "What are you doing?" he asked, his voice sounding shaky. His question was quickly answered when the barrel was on his temple and Karson cocked it He felt the mans hot breath hit his ear, and the together with the words, the action sent shivers through his spine. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing but he knew it was something. He gulped. He didn't know what to do. On one hand, he would be kissed a guy, a cute guy but one who had threatened to kill him, his cat that did not belong to him and possibly the neighbour if he tried to bring over pie or something. On the other hand, he could also die. Nathaniel didn't think either option was a good idea. The only thing he knew about Karson was that he overreacted and elbowed people in the face and the story about his parents. He wanted to challenge him some more, see if he was really as horrible as he thought.
Gulping a little more, his heart beat rapid against his chest and clearly not thinking at all, Nathaniel put his hands around the gun, hating every minute of it and turned his head so that the barrel was on his forehead. "No," he whispered, wondering if he was losing his mind or if he had a secret death wish. It was probably the latter. His life had really reached an impasse. "Kiss me or kill me." he said smirking. He still didn't think the kissing was a good idea but at least it was better than the kill me option.
Karson made as if to pull the trigger, but at the last second he leaned in and kissed the man full on the lips. It had been a challenge, after all, though he knew that was an excuse he couldn't use in this situation. He had kissed the man because he wanted to know what it was like. It was almost always the reason that he kissed people. He needed to know how their lips felt and he needed to know if they felt good. In most cases, they did not. In this case, it actually sort of did. Maybe he should have done this sooner, forced someone to harbor himself. When he pulled back, he smirked, pulling the gun from Nathaniel's head. He put it back in his holster. "I hope you know that you said 'I wouldn't let you kiss me if you had a gun to my head', because you so let me kiss you. I think you might have even liked it. Of course, I liked it too so I guess that's not really the point." He walked back over to the other side of the counter, picked up his plate, and put it in the kitchen. "Would you like me to wash the dishes? Or do you have a particular way of doing it?"
Nathaniel's watched Karson, afraid he was going to pull the trigger but when he blinked when he felt Karson's lips press against his. His eyes widened, still feeling the gun and his heart beat rose significantly. He felt heat rise to his face from embarrassment. He felt the softness of Karson's lips and the before he could return the kiss, based purely on instinct, Karson pulled back, frustrating Nathaniel. He tried to catch his breath as he watched Karson speak. He rolled his eyes. "In my defense, I didn't actually think you were going to threaten me," he said commenting on the declaration Nathaniel had made earlier. "I also didn't know that you were going to kiss me." he bit his lip and wondered if he should comment on whether or not he liked the kiss or the fact that Karson had commented on liking it. He watched the man silently before he answered his questions. "I'll do them, don't worry." he said standing up himself and going to the kitchen, holding his plate in his hands. "I just rinse them out and put them in the dishwasher. I only hand wash the pots and pans." He put the pot and pan they had each used into the sink and the plates on the side. He started to wash the pot and pan. He was doing his best to ignore the kiss, replaying in his head.
Karson shrugged his shoulders, then nodded. "Alright." He went over to the mug of coffee he had poured for himself and started to sip it slowly, just enjoying the warmth of it. "You make pretty good coffee," he commented after having a few moments. "That's the one thing I can never really get right in the kitchen." He glanced over at the other man, a permanent smirk on his lips since they had kissed. It was so obvious that Nathaniel was trying to avoid the subject, making Karson want to bring it up. "I've never kissed a black man until now," he mused, "It was different than I thought it would be. I honestly was being a little racist and thought it would be all lips. It wasn't, really." He sipped the rest of his coffee then brought the mug over to the sink to be washed with the rest of the dishes. "Of course, it wasn't the best kiss either. As a grown man, I've had a few amazing kisses in my time." He was going to keep talking until he cracked him.
"Mm...I take my coffee seriously," Nathaniel replied, focusing his attention on the pots. His heart was pounding and he felt something stirring inside him. He was trying really hard to forget that they had even had contact. He licked his lips unconsciously, listening to Karson talk. He wasn't even going to look at him lest he break. Despite that, he kept a list of what Karson was talking about in his head: First black guy kiss, all lips, and not that great of a kiss. He tried not to get offended by that last comment, recognising it as a dig into Nathaniel's ego. He wasn't that easy to break although the first thing that crossed his mind when heard that comment was to drop the pot, grab Karson with soapy hands and crash their lips together to prove his worth. He decided to speak instead as he rinsed out the pot. "You didn't give me the chance to kiss back...not that I wanted to." he said smirking himself, not allowing Karson to win.
Karson laughed. "I don't think that would have made a difference," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Sometimes you can tell how a man kisses even without him kissing back. I think you're doomed to be just alright for the rest of your life. Though, maybe with practice, who knows." He was just digging at him now for fun, though his voice didn't give him away. He sounded quite serious about everything that he was saying. It was true, in some cases, but he didn't think it was in this case. Had Nathaniel kisses back, things probably would have gone a different route. "So, I'm guessing you like men? At least in part?" Karson asked, "Because otherwise you wouldn't even be making that feeble attempt at trying to defend yourself. I guess that makes sense. All of my literature teachers and professors seemed to like men too. At least, I know my senior year, high school, lit teacher like men." He laughed to himself evilly.
Nathaniel gritted his teeth. Karson was acting all casual as if talking about being a bad kisser to someone was a day to day topic for him. Nathaniel was really trying to keep calm. He didn't want to do anything irrational. He took a deep breath and glanced at Karson. "And how did you know that your lit teacher liked men?" he asked narrowing his eyes and trying to figure out if Karson was really as daring as he seemed. From the way he was laughing Nathaniel suspected that that was a big yes.He looked at his hands, continuing his wash. "I like men but I like women more." he said. "I've never met any guy that could convince me otherwise." he said scrubbing and scrubbing. He wondered if that would get Karson's blood boiling. Karson had an ego and Nathaniel was willing to make cracks where he could.
Karson shrugged and smiled evilly. "I had a little crush on the teacher the whole school year, and on the last day of school, instead of moving on and getting over him, I got under him." He grinned. "It was probably the best sex I've ever had. Not my first, or my last, but definitely the best. He was Latino, accent and big muscles included. Half the school wanted him and I got him." He sighed, a softer smile on his lips now. "We actually dated for a while, but I got real into my career and he decided he didn't want to wait for me. Tragic love story, really."He looked over at Nathaniel and shrugged his shoulders. "You probably won't then. I personally like only men. Full homosexual. There is nothing a woman could offer me that I would enjoy. I know that's strange coming from a government spy who puts guns to peoples' heads, but it's true. And, I've managed just fine if I do say so myself."
Nathaniel's eyes widened at Karson's confession. He hadn't expected Karson to be so frank with him but then he shook his head and realised he was talking to a government spy who held a gun to his head and then kissed him. He should have expected Karson to have slept with his former teacher. He glanced at the man curiously when he said 'tragic love story'. He hadn't pictured Karson as the settle down with one person kind of guy. With a job like his, he understood why the Latino teacher had decided to just let it go and suddenly a little bit grateful he had. It struck him as odd that he actually was a little jealous of the Latino teacher."I don't find it strange that you don't like women, even though you're a government spy." Nathaniel said. He was disappointed that his comment had sparked something different in Karson than what he had wanted. He didn't comment any further especially on Karson's idea that he would not find someone to change his mind. He had lied. He liked women. He liked men. It didn't matter as long as he liked their personality. Karson's personality was rough around the edges but he didn't mind talking to him. He had to remind himself though that he had nothing to prove to him. He finished up the dishes and wiped his hands. "I think I'll go and read in the living room." he said.
Karson fidgeted. He didn't like the idea of being left to his boredom in the man's house. "What are you going to read? Do you have anything that I could read?" He looked at Nathaniel with somewhat desperate eyes. He knew he was a guy who was all over the place, but he couldn't help it. He liked to be in the action, surrounded by people, not a fugitive who had no one to talk to and nothing to do. Nathaniel wasn't even the talkative type, which made things that much worse. "I'll read anything you've got," he added, "I just don't want to have to sit there and stare at you.""Or, I dunno, maybe if you have a deck of cards or something? I'll play solitaire or build a house. Or, anything really. I'll even play with the cat if it'll let me touch it. I'm not picky, I just don't like having nothing to do. It's unproductive and it makes me crazy." Karson followed after him like a baby duck. Part of it was to keep an eye on the man, but the other part was to keep his mind from accepting the fact he was a fugitive.
Nathaniel laughed. "Wow," he said amused by Karson's change in demeanor. He couldn't have pictured the man with that look of desperation. "You just turned from scary spy man to a desperate twelve year old boy." he said laughing slightly. He looked at Karson and sighed. "I was going to read the assigned book I'm going to give my class next month but I don't have to." he said. "We can play cards instead. Or, I have a TV, you could watch that, a movie or something. Wouldn't want to bore the heck out of my kidnapper. no, no, no." he shook his finger like a scolding teacher. "Besides, I'd rather you didn't stare at me." he said.Nathaniel went to the living room with Karson following him. He popped open a drawer and removed a deck of cards along with the remotes for a TV he hadn't watched in a while. He set the three items on the table. Cocktail was camped out on the couch, licking her paws, getting herself all clean and ready for bed. She would be disappointed once they took over her spot. He glanced at Karson and cringed. "Also, maybe you should try and touch Cocktail. Let her come to you." he said with a decisive nod, knowing the odds of the happening were very slim. It had taken weeks for Cocktail to take a liking to Nathaniel even though he had been feeding her endlessly.
"I wasn't really going to touch her," Karson replied, "I have a cat and he hates everyone. No one touches him without his permission. Most cats are the same. If she wants my attention, she will come to me." He sat down on the floor next to the couch, not wanting to disturb the creature, and that way he was close to the coffee table so they could use it. "You don't have to do anything with me. I just don't want to sit by myself with nothing. I didn't exactly bring along a suitcase full of fun things for me to do. You can read if you want to."Karson straightened out his pants legs after sitting, though it was pointless with how ripped and dirty they were. They had been brand new when he put them on that morning and he was actually pretty sad to see them go, but it was all a part of the job. He wished his visit with Nathaniel wasn't part of the job, however, because it really wasn't a great time.
Nathaniel rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure if Karson was serious about not wanting his company. He just thought that as a good host, he should at least sit with him, even though they were technically victim and fugitive. It seemed that they would just have to make the most of the night as it were. He sat down opposite Karson, avoiding looking at his leg in case there was blood. "I'll play cards with you. My grandmother raised me a gentleman." he said to him smirking as if to imply that yes, even in that situation, he could be chivalrous. Nathaniel picked up the deck of cards and removed them from their box. He started to shuffle them carefully going through different methods. "What do you want to play?" he asked Karson. He didn't play many card games, even though he had a deck. He just had it for the rare times he had friends over and they needed something to do. He pushed the shuffled deck to Karson's side and smiled, quickly wondering why that had seemed so natural.
Karson shrugged his shoulders up and down. "I don't really. The only card games I play are the ones that you can do by yourself. I don't exactly get out much socially, or have friends over to my house. Do you have any ideas?" He shuffled the cards easily, like he used them many times, though he really had not. He probably had spent more time shuffling in his life than he had actually playing any serious card games. He could build a house of cards almost six feet high, but he couldn't think of a single game to play.
"Okay," Nathaniel said thoughtfully. He smiled when he got an idea and grabbed the cards from Karson's hands, grazing his finger without noticing. He dealt the cards out, giving each of them five starting cards. "This game is called last card." he said to Karson with a wide smile. "It's fun because it's easy to teach and to learn and competitive." He explained all the rules to Karson, lively like something had sparked inside him. He thought that maybe he would have a one up on Karson. He may not have been brave enough to face blood but he was good at card games. "Basically the person who finishes the game, with their last card or cards, wins. Quite simple. I don't know if you want to add stakes or whatever." he said shrugging and staring at Karson.||It's a real game, but I'm assuming that doesn't matter... By the way, quick q, who's taller?||
((I think they ought to be right around the same height, maybe your guy is a few inches taller, but nothing major. That way all the gun holding and all makes sense.))Karson smiled softly to himself as he watched Nathaniel become suddenly animated and excited. He hadn't see a side of him like this before, which was understandable given the situation, but he still liked to know that this side existed. He listened thoroughly to the rules given him and he watched Nathaniel's hands quickly deal out the cards. He knew he likely wouldn't win at first, but he would try his best anyway, just to challenge the guy and try to keep him excited.
"I'm fine with stakes, but it has to be something I can actually provide. I don't have a whole lot of cash on me. Maybe fifty bucks in all. That's really is besides the clothes I'm currently wearing," Karson told him with a shrug. "So, you tell me what you want to do. I personally think everything is more fun when there are risks, but like I said, I'm a little low on cash."
||Haha. Hadn't even thought of that. Okey dokey...||Nathaniel shrugged. "I'm never usually this daring but..." he gulped. He wasn't sure this was a good idea but if he was going to be stuck in his house until Karson was gone then he would make the best of it. "If it's only the clothes on your back...we could play for them..." he looked up and smirked at Karson. "Unless you think you can't." he said grinning.
Nathaniel wasn't usually forward with people but somehow Karson was making him want to feel a little daring. He hadn't liked the moment when he had freaked out about the blood, or the gun-kiss me game or the whole him not being able to find someone who would make him forget about women altogether. He didn't want to seem boring to Karson and although this need to be accepted confused him, he was still determined to prove himself. "We won't start until you get a hang of the game."
Karson smirked. "The clothes on my back it is, but I hope you're prepared to see a lot of skin because I've never been very good at two-person games." He laughed, a devilish twinkle in his eyes."Alright, until I get the hang of it," he agreed before they started up the game. He was awful to begin with, as was to be expected. But after a few minutes he actually started to get the tricks and he started to do much better. It was going to be close when they started playing the strip version. Karson expected they would both be down to their underwear before one of them finally won and had to go bare.
Nathaniel tried not to bite his lip with with curiosity when Karson said 'see a lot of skin'. He wanted that. Hadn't had it in a long time. And what was wrong with seeing. He didn't have to touch. He just had to see and store in a file for later retrieval. He suspected Karson's body was ridiculously chiseled with all the running away and kidnapping he must do. He sighed. Compared to Nathaniel, he must have looked like a Greek god. Nathaniel was out of shape. His stomach was flat but he didn't work out, so that was it. He just had good metabolism keeping him thin."Phew," Nathaniel sighed, his heart beating against his chest as he thought Karson was going to win but he turned things around. "You got pretty good pretty fast. I'm supposed to be at this." He had thought for sure Karson would win that round and it had scared him senseless, to the point that he couldn't feel his toes and fingers because he was numb with anticipation. He sighed and grinned at Karson. "Do you want to start stripping now or should we actually play the game then wait for you to lose?" he laughing and stopping himself again from biting down on his lip in anticipation of the events to come.
Karson rolled his eyes. "I'm not losing anything. Lets play the game and then we'll see who actually has to strip. I'm looking forward to see your bare ass." He smirked and winked at him. It was an interesting combination but he made it work somehow. It pretty much wrapped up his entire personality, after all. "Just because you're winning this crap round doesn't mean you're going to win anything when this starts for real."He could feel his competitive nature wanting to get the best of him, but more than that he was feeling the excitement bubbling. He wanted to take Nathaniel down, and not just to win, but to see the man naked. He wasn't planning on doing anything to him, of course, but there as nothing wrong with pleasure by sight.
Nathaniel nodded. "My, my, someone's confident." he said smirking right back at Karson. He shuffled the cards again and dealt them out. "Okay, let's see how well you do." he said and held onto his cards. He wasn't going to let Karson get the better of him. He was competitive even though he was better at indoor things. "If anyone's going to see anyone's bare ass it's me seeing yours. Start."Nathaniel was being nice. He let Karson start the game but with every move he could see that Karson had actually picked up some things, something he didn't like but he was certain he was going to win. He wasn't actually going to be kidnapped and forced to be naked happening in the same day. It just didn't make sense at all. How do you tell such a story at a party?
Karson shrugged his shoulders. "Either way, this is a winning situation for me. I get to take off these nasty clothes, or I get to see you naked. Who knows, your body might change my mind about your lips." He said this all with his usual cocky tone, but deep down he was kind of nervous. He didn't often lose and he didn't often strip in front of strangers. It was altogether a strange situation. He played as best as he could, using the few tricks he had picked up and picking up more along the way. He wasn't as good as Nathaniel, of course, but he was more or less surviving up until this point.
"Yes!" Nathaniel screamed ignoring Karson's comment about winning. He had won and he did a little victory dance. His voice startled Cocktail awake. The cat raised her angry tired at Nathaniel and then she closed them again, not bothering with the situation any longer. Nathaniel stuck out his tongue out at Karson. "Come on then. "whatever you want to remove first can go." he said with a victorious smile. His heart was pumping. He was quite excited and realised between school and his analytical job, he hadn't had fun in a while. He picked up the cards and started shuffling them for another round. If he continued like this he would have Karson naked in no time. He laughed.
Karson laughed and shook his head. "Calm down buddy," he joked, pulling his shirt off over his head and setting it to the side. He was a very chiseled man with hard muscle covering almost every inch of him, but along with the muscle were the scars. Taking off his shirt revealed one of his bullet wound scars. The entrance point had been his chest, just inches to right of his heart. The exit point, which was even larger than the entrance, was on his back. It had been a miracle he survived, and he had still gone out and gotten more scars. They littered his chest in various sizes and shapes. Burn scars, slice wounds, punctures, and any other type of injury that could be thought of, he had them.
Nathaniel gasped softly because of two things. One was the hard muscle that was Karson's chest. He had never seen anyone that ripped in his life before. It made him feel bad for not even doing one push up. He averted his eyes, dealing out the cards and trying not to stare to hard. He found himself, licking his lips anyway and biting down on the lower one.The second reason he was so surprised was the number of scars that Karson had littering his body. He should have expected them. After all the man was a spy. He'd seen his father come home, bleeding from old wounds that had been reopened. There was no more space for new ones. He thought about the bullet wound he noticed on Karson's chest and wondered how much it hurt. "Don't you get scared, going out there, when you know the pain?" he asked quietly trying not to sound too scared by the thought of being a field agent.
"No," Karson replied without stopping to think about it for even a second. "I love what I do and I could never be good at anything else. Sure, there are times when I get hurt, but it's worth it. I guess it's partly because I'm a man bent of revenge, but the other part is because I think I really am saving lives. One bullet wound is nothing compared to thousands dead. I'd just rather it be me I guess, with my high pain tolerance and all." He laughed lightly. He wouldn't even have that tolerance had it not been for his experiences, but that part didn't matter. "Anyway," he knocked on his chest, "It makes me tough. I'm like a rock." He reached out and took Nathaniel's hand before knocking it on his chest too, right were the scar was. "Does it feel like I know what pain is?" He let go of his hand and looked back to the cards. He actually felt just the slightest bit self conscious now, but he refused to show it.
Nathaniel listened to Karson explain himself. He could hear the passion in his voice, with every word he was saying. He wondered what Karson had to be vengeful for, maybe his parent's death but his uncle had already been killed, what else was there. That brought a new though to Nathaniel's head but he shook it away and focused on the revenge comment. He was about to ask about it, when Karson took up his hand and put it on his chest. Feeling the man's skin against his, his eyes widened and he stared at Karson. He bit his lip gently and then daringly, ran his thumb over the bullet wound, exploring it's rough texture. He looked at his hand as he touched the scar, his fingers cold against Karson's skin. After a moment, he realised he wanted more so he pulled his hand back and continued with the cards.Without responding to any of Karson's comment, and feeling embarrassed by his desire to touch the man, he put out more cards and started their next game. He wasn't so sure he wanted Karson naked anymore because of what he had felt but he didn't want to lose, so he continued to play strong.
"You bite your lip an awful lot," Karson commented as the game got started back up. He noticed people's little habits, but he almost never said anything about them. But, with Nathaniel he figured he might as well just go all out. He was already shirtless and he had already kissed him and taken him hostage. There was no point hiding anything at this point. "Why do you do that? Are you nervous? I swear I'm not going to hurt you without just cause, and I won't make you kiss me again either," Karson told him. "You don't have to be that nervous." He was immediately doing better in this round and he was glad. He wanted the other man's shirt off too. He wanted to see his chest, which was probably the exact opposite of his own.
Nathaniel's head wasn't even focused on what he was doing. He looked up at Karson when he commented on the lip biting and actually widened his eyes in surprise. "Hmmm...I hadn't realised I do it that often," he said biting his lip, noticing and then letting it go only to bite it up again. He sighed. He was nervous but not because he thought Karson was going to hurt him. He couldn't of course explain his discomfort to Karson because he was bound to act on Nathaniel's feelings and he wasn't sure he wanted that."I'm fine. I promise." Nathaniel said trying to regain his concentration on the game. He wasn't really focused for that round and he immediately knew it had everything to do with Karson. When was the last time he had kissed a man? When was the last time he had been with a man. He bit his lip again wondering about this and avoiding Karson's eye completely. His heart was beating so hard and fast, he thought he was going to pass out from the pressure.
Karson soon one the round, though he didn't display so much excitement as Nathaniel had. That wasn't his style. He just grinned and looked at the other man. "Strip for me, and make it a show," he winked, leaning back and making sure he would get a full view of the man taking off his shirt. He was quite interested in what was underneath. Nathaniel looked fit, but not in the same way that he was himself. It looked more like natural fitness that came from being born with a high metabolism. Thinking about this got Karson to wondering if Nathaniel ever got out of the house, if he exercised, what he did in his free time. He had a natural curiosity about people but this man had him wanting to ask all sorts of questions. He wouldn't, not yet, but he wanted to.
"Am I supposed to offer you something to eat?" he asked with a sarcastic tone. He put Cocktail down and opened one with a little meat. He stuck it in the microwave and then got out some milk. He poured the remaining water out in the sink from the bowl on the floor and replaced it with milk. Cocktail rushed to the bowl and started lapping up the milk. He brought out the meat from the microwave and added it to the milk. Cocktail meowed loudly in appreciation. He smiled at her and then looked up at the man and his expression changed. "I have leftovers. I'm definitely not about to cook for you." he said crossing his arms and glaring at the man.