contact part deux

[bouchonne]

if this were modern times byerly would probably make you listen to total eclipse of the heart before you were able to leave a message

Comments

[bouchonne]

To discuss beans.

[altusimperius]

And that's why the whole office smells like her perfume after.

[bouchonne]

[ He grins and leans back in his chair. ]

Beans can be quite a taxing topic.

[altusimperius]

So I've gathered.

[A pause.]

...and I don't care about your preferences. I mean.

[He tucks a strand of hair behind one ear.]

I like men. Too.

[Is it the first time he's said as much, aloud? Probably. He's also blushing.]

...it's none of my business, I just. Sidony seems nice.

[bouchonne]

You look so adorable.

[ Said as one would say that to one's younger brother - not flirtatiously, just obnoxiously. Then, relenting just a bit: ]

Sidony, unlike you or I, has no fondness for men. So she certainly does not have any objections to my...meandering.

[altusimperius]

[Byerly's comment nets him the stinkeye, but it quickly gives way to quiet surprise.]

Oh. Really?

[He opens his mouth, as if to ask why they got married then, but the obviousness of it hits him before he can.]

...that's sort of genius.

[bouchonne]

Most things I do are. What in particular is genius?

[altusimperius]

[Just gonna breeze past that first part,]

marrying someone like yourself. So you can both live freely, and you know the secret's safe with them.

[His mind is blown.]

[bouchonne]

[ He shrugs cheerfully. ]

It's a time-honored tradition in many circles. I shan't pretend that I invented it.

[altusimperius]

[Bene just sits there for a moment, staring into the middle distance, processing that.

It's so simple, so obvious, but he's strangely upset that it took this long for it to even occur to him. More cause to wonder what else his parents purposely kept from him.]

Hm.

[His brow is furrowed darkly, but he breaks his concentration to glance back up at Byerly.]

...well, in that case I'm happy for you both.

[bouchonne]

I think you mean for all four of us.

[altusimperius]

[That gets a snort.]

...yes.

[bouchonne]

That is a secret, by the by. Sidony's preferences. Don't spread it around.

[altusimperius]

Understood.

[It's a secret easily kept, considering it isn't her he works for, and the shared nature of it.
Not that it isn't painfully obvious where his own preferences lie, but it's still not something he appreciates being spoken aloud.]

[bouchonne]

Feel free to gossip about me. Feel free to embellish the stories. I've become horribly conventional of late.

[altusimperius]

[He turns back to his desk.]

Do you actually think people listen to me?

[bouchonne]

Any gossipmonger worth his salt would.

[altusimperius]

[All right, walked directly into that one.]

...all the better reason not to say anything.