Give Me This Honor

Dorian didn't have anything planned that day. Usually, he liked to indulge in idle fancies in his free time, and today was no different. His obsession of the month was toy trains. After he and Malara made jokes about it, he really did look it up and he found they were quite fun.

And then there was someone at his door. Dorian, not looking up from his trains, instinctively asked Mia and Logan to get it for him. Realizing they weren't even home at the time, he felt embarrassed then walked over to the door himself.

"Claire!" Well... This was unexpected. He opened the door wide for her. "Hey. You look nervous. Do you need something?"

Well, that wasn't good body language. He was in the dark here. He didn't know what this was, how severe it was going to be, and how much she wanted from him. Dorian took a few seconds to squint at her before moving to the side, gesturing for her to come in.

"Please. Come in, Claire." He lead her to the living room, clearing space from the sofa and moving his toolboxes aside. He indicated that she should sit before sitting down himself at an armchair across hers. "So, uh. You look like shit, if I may say so."

"I'm fine," was Dorian's go-to response to 'how are you', and that never changed even in circumstances where he wasn't fine. So that was all he said, and for the time being, it looked a lot like Claire needed someone to listen to her more.

The way she built it up made it sound like something he was going to give a firm 'no' to, but after the silence, Dorian just... laughed. "I thought you were going to borrow a million bucks and then run away to Peru or something." He crossed his legs. "You want a cabin? Sure. Done. Word of advice, though, if you're asking someone for a favor, it's better to butter them up than... whatever technique you're going for here."

He leaned forward, thrumming his fingers on his thigh. "You wanna explain why before we go into the logistics of things?"

Dorian raised an eyebrow at the awkwardness. "Relax, Claire, I'm not asking anything from you. I'm just saying, if you're trying to sell a pitch, you're going to do harder than that. Other people aren't as generous as I am." It was more general life advice than anything, really.

He listened to her explanation. And then, he nodded. "Man... you and Wess are really serious, huh? You're so young too, and you're already thinking of having a baby." He considered this thought for a bit. This was a huge favor she was asking him. For a moment there, Dorian was surprised that she'd ask something of this magnitude without even buttering him up first, or even offering something. It was above and beyond what people should be asking from a normal friend. He was under the impression that he and Claire weren't that close either.

Was he going to turn this down? No, but it felt like one of those decisions that was going to screw him over at a later date. Just help everyone that knocks on your door, Dorian, because that's always worked out great for you!

He looked away, trying to process this properly. He sighed, then looked back at Claire, smiling. "Yeah, I think I can arrange something. Like you said, it won't be cheap, and the hardest thing to get working would be electricity and running water. But I think I can make it work, get a contractor and someone that can give me hard numbers. We can start construction when Spring comes along, alright?" He thrummed his fingers on his thighs.

Dorian nodded as he listened. Geez, this all felt really complicated. He couldn't help but feel a lot smaller next to this stuff. All Dorian had to worry about was paperwork and money. People had it a lot worse than he did.

He didn't like the self-deprecation. Didn't she come all the way here to ask him for a favor? Was she backing out mid-conversation? Dorian gave her an unimpressed look. "See? What kind of pitch is that? You're asking me for something, then discouraging me after I said yes?" He shook his head. "Claire, come on. When have I ever been stingy?"

The truth was never. Dorian liked winning and making money, but truth be told, he never really knew what to do with the money he got from his work. He was passionate about charity work. So why not this?

"That's settled, then. Do you have a phone?" He slid his phone across the table. "Hit me up when it's spring again, alright? For the time being, are you alright? Do you need anything else?"