[Pain, huh. Of course, he's very mild when he asks-] Causing or experiencing?
[Because for all he knows, Stephen was meant to cause it - and he's a doctor. A healer. For some, such is outright anathema...which would fall in line with his estimation of Stephen not being in the 'worse' category, unless he's misread the man entirely.
Somehow, he doesn't think he is.
Akande takes a sip of the tea before continuing, ever-so-calmly]
I could see you being a bit of a brat, but those are easily tamed if you know what you're doing.
[He may or may not have said that just to see the reaction]
[ he flits a hand out over the countertop dismissively. ]
Experiencing. Of course. I took an oath ...
[ to do no harm. his voice trails off, though. there's that feeling again, the air all sucked out of the tiny kitchen and the casualness in akande's voice cutting to the quick. he lets out a low startled hiss of laughter instead, unable for the moment to meet his eyes, a brush of heat rising mercury-quick against the back of his neck and lingering. ]
[ the man is a rare smiler. stephen is too. he closes his long fingers over the top of the mug again, feeling the heat from the tea between his knuckles through the glove, matching the heat just beneath the surface of his skin. ]
Mmh. Consider it acknowledged.
[ he's trying, and mostly failing, not to keep smirking. he's also trying to consider just how much of a huge dipshit he is, to make assumptions when so far akande has been accommodating and direct; he's been careful to reflect that in kind.
but stephen has had a warped view of consequences since—well. the beginning of time, perhaps. and akande is, well, a lot. handsome, carved from fine stone, intimidating. stephen is a master of the mystic arts, though. he needn't be intimidated.
besides, he takes rejection a lot better than he used to, so he's not as careful as he should be in saying— ]
[Akande's directness has only been there to serve him. That, and he hasn't the impatience for some of the machinations his peers delight in; he's always been a more upfront sort of person, at least with what he can afford to be.
Besides. It has its own payoffs. He takes another sip of tea, smile lingering; he's clearly amused]
Should I ask if you are in need of being reigned in, Stephen?
No writing, then. Just a day you can afford to take off in full. [Since he supposed it'd be good to try and be gentle, but he knows his strength. And as much as he can be careful with it, why does he have the feeling Stephen's low interest in pain may only go so far...?
[ at the suggestion he'll need a full day stephen's smirk deepens. ]
Better aesthetics, at least.
[ and stephen is secretly someone who cares a lot about aesthetics, actually. better for someone like akanda to handle him in a room less shabby than this one, a place where stephen can easily catalogue in his photographic memory the way all that broad muscle looks in the light. ]
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[Because for all he knows, Stephen was meant to cause it - and he's a doctor. A healer. For some, such is outright anathema...which would fall in line with his estimation of Stephen not being in the 'worse' category, unless he's misread the man entirely.
Somehow, he doesn't think he is.
Akande takes a sip of the tea before continuing, ever-so-calmly]
I could see you being a bit of a brat, but those are easily tamed if you know what you're doing.
[He may or may not have said that just to see the reaction]
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Experiencing. Of course. I took an oath ...
[ to do no harm. his voice trails off, though. there's that feeling again, the air all sucked out of the tiny kitchen and the casualness in akande's voice cutting to the quick. he lets out a low startled hiss of laughter instead, unable for the moment to meet his eyes, a brush of heat rising mercury-quick against the back of his neck and lingering. ]
Speaking from experience?
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Of course. Your oath.
[beat]
Let us simply acknowledge I enjoy making people behave. [putting them in their place, throwing them off bridges, etc]
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Mmh. Consider it acknowledged.
[ he's trying, and mostly failing, not to keep smirking. he's also trying to consider just how much of a huge dipshit he is, to make assumptions when so far akande has been accommodating and direct; he's been careful to reflect that in kind.
but stephen has had a warped view of consequences since—well. the beginning of time, perhaps. and akande is, well, a lot. handsome, carved from fine stone, intimidating. stephen is a master of the mystic arts, though. he needn't be intimidated.
besides, he takes rejection a lot better than he used to, so he's not as careful as he should be in saying— ]
What if I were to say I'd prefer it demonstrated?
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Besides. It has its own payoffs. He takes another sip of tea, smile lingering; he's clearly amused]
Should I ask if you are in need of being reigned in, Stephen?
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[ he's also amused. he's also been well-served in life by forwardness.
he refills his own tea with a pass of his hand. ]
I don't think I particularly want it in writing.
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If he's essentially asking for this, well.]
I think my own apartment would be better for it.
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Better aesthetics, at least.
[ and stephen is secretly someone who cares a lot about aesthetics, actually. better for someone like akanda to handle him in a room less shabby than this one, a place where stephen can easily catalogue in his photographic memory the way all that broad muscle looks in the light. ]
I'll reach out, if that's alright.
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...Akande thinks he's still a man.]
Whenever it can be arranged. I am still working on my own position here, after all.
[at least he's found SOMETHING he can put his business skills to]