like chasing a shadow

Hyper

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Charles was in deep thought. He sat at his desk at the hospital, elbows propped up, hands folded over each other as his gaze stared at seemingly nothing. After a second or two, he gets up, stares out the door's little window, and then back to his table. This went for at most 5 minutes before he finally opens it and walks out as if her had no other business. His target? Aiden Hart. An elusive man, this was and it was bothering him to no end that he couldn't seem to catch this man at a good time. Charles would always be a second too late, arriving at any place he expect him to be a second late, only to find out he had just left. Charles absolutely hated that. Not only did this man disappear whenever he wanted to see him; this guy looked at him once and never again? Frustrating! The angel made sure things would fall in his favor this time. He adjusted his time carefully; orchestrated what needed be just so he could corner Aiden. They were workmates -- of course they needed to hang out together at one point! There was no other reason other than of course, Charles' own damned pride. Charles practically glided out of the doctor's lounge, grabbing his frock coat to hang over his hand on his way out. At the corner of his eye, he spotted Aiden appearing to be leaving as well. He pretended to fuss over his own tie, "accidentally" bumping into his coworker. "Oh, sorry! I didn't see you there!" he said, jumping back slightly; appearing startled. "Oh, Doctor Hart! What a surprise," he greeted, for a moment assessing the other, "Did you happen to be on your way out as well?"
a king with no crown


@ReD
 
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ReD

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Aiden mentally tallied the number of tasks he had to do when he returned home today. There were a few pieces of miscellaneous tasks (filing his case studies, reading another chapter of War and Peace, preparing his avacados) but for the first time in...

How long had it been since Aiden was truly free? This was a problem. Aiden did not like unstructured free time.

He was so wrapped up in what the hell he was going to do to fill this spare time that he barely noticed he'd bumped into someone.

Another Doctor, Aiden mused, Castello something. Christopher? No, Charlie.

"Dr. Castello," Aiden greeted him politely. "Yes, it looks like I'm done for the day."

Which was a mistake because Aiden revealed that he had nothing exactly planned.

"Do you live in the downtown or are you here in the residential section?" Aiden inquired, mostly polite small talk as he took off his own labcoat, folded it carefully, and grabbed his well-tailored jacket off the hook to leave.
 

Hyper

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Done for the day, he'd said. Charles had to smother the grin from showing on his face just yet, only allowing a small tug at the corner of his mouth to show. "Still over at the residential," he answered with a light chuckle, hugging his coat close to him just as Aiden grabbed his own out of habit. "And you, Doctor? Maybe we could head out together on the way," Charles added, ever casually, and finally allowing his smile to show into his expression in full. "That reminds me; maybe you could join me for coffee? You mentioned you're done for the day, hm? I'd really love the company."
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ReD

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Ah shit.

Aiden, to his credit, did not immediately check his pager or his phone to look for an excuse to not go out. He ran through everything in his head. Was war and peace a viable excuse to avoid a social exchange? Would avoiding this social exchange draw suspicion to him?

Aiden suspected it was.

Especially given the way the other doctor was Charlie.

"Yes, I believe we can walk out together," Aiden said. He kept his face neutral, his tone light, and said, "I suppose I can do a coffee if you would like, though I'll admit I'm very particular with my coffee."

Aiden imported his from off the island and kept it in a locked box in his office.

"Do you have a particular location in mind?" Aiden asked.

He hoped one of his patients would code.
 

Hyper

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Charles noticed him hesitate, but brushed it off as his imagination. Surely, he wasn't about to turn him down was he? Charles would have taken it very badly but the crisis was easily averted, and Aiden had accepted his invitation. The angel smiled sweetly, clasping his hands together with delight in spite of his coworker's neutral expression. Nothing could possibly ruin his mood right now. "It's settled then!" he cheered, as he turned around to lead the way, "I know a good place not too far from here -- they happen to serve a large variety of coffee. I'm sure one would suit to your taste, Doctor Hart~" he hummed. "Might I ask what you usually prefer?"
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ReD

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Charles was a ray of sunshine.

It was easy to mistake Aiden for a ray of sunshine, at least in context of his profession. He was blond, for starters, which led nicely to a sunshine metaphor. He was bright, and he seemed warm and kindly with his patients.

In reality, though, Aiden was a grey, foggy day. Charles seemed determined to cut through his fog.

Aiden was looking for ways out, some kind of excuse, some kind of personal downpour that would keep him in his self-imposed cloudy sky.

He found none.

instead, he found himself saying, "Depends on the blend. Usually, I prefer it black, but there are times when I enjoy it with some cream or sugar. The thing that they call coffee at the hospital needs plenty of both in order for it to even remotely pass."

Aiden was, luckily, very passionate about his coffee.

"My dentist, however, is not so pleased with the way I prefer my coffee," Aiden confessed. "It is rough on the teeth, no?"

Small talk, he thought. He was doing small talk pretty well. Keep it on coffee. Keep it on work. Don't let it come to be about himself.

Aiden fixed his wedding ring.

"What about you?" he asked, getting the door for Charles as they reached the outside.


ooc: x____x i have no idea what was wrong with me when i made my last post. I realize upon re-reading it's mostly gibberish, so thank you so much for your patience and understanding what I meant.


ooc x2: I DONT KNOW SHIT ABOUT COFFEE
 

Hyper

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[[ OOC: I too, don't know shit about coffee BUT HEY COFFEE IS GOOD AND GREAT as long as it dont suffer excess caffeine ;w; also sorry i've been replying late so much aaaaaaaaaaa ]]


Charles nodded with understanding; he wouldn't claim himself a lover of coffee -- if anything, he was a bigger fan of tea. Strong flavors often put him off, especially when he was having such a wonderful day, and coffee -- especially the darker variants -- were ones he usually steered clear away from. Unless of course, it had been brewed to a silky roast to his liking. "I'd say it depends on my mood," he answered, paying no mind to the other doctor's little gesture with his hands. For a moment, he looked like he even barely noticed. "When I'm having a bad day: the darker the coffee, the better." Charles went on to chatter away, just almost barely aware of his company. "Though I must confess I'm more of a tea person. There are just some occasions that the strong coffee taste just doesn't sit too well for me unlike tea does. Tea very much a constant for me, especially ones with mint infusions. Though yes, coffee is indeed a bit of a menace for your pearly whites, isn't it? I completely understand where your dentist is coming from." The angel went on, half a step ahead of Aiden, when he looked his way with something that looked like a knowing glance. "So when was the last time you had coffee with a coworker outside hospital breaks, hm?"
a king with no crown
 
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ReD

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If the color of coffee indicated the mood, then Aiden was black served in white china.

"That's fair," he mused. He thumbed with wedding ring for another moment before tucking his hands into the pockets of his lab coat. The cool air was refreshing after a long day, though the dampness that permeated the air made Aiden suspect rain was on the horizon.

Tea shouldn't have been a touchy subject but it made Aiden think of his wife.

She hated tea. Passionately. He'd made her a cup once and she'd told him that if he ever did that again she would use tea bags to die all of his crisp white shirts into a gross orange color. He did, and she kept her promise.

He kept the shirt.

Charles question threw him off.

"Not since medical school, I suppose," Aiden said. "Unless you're counting coffee with pharmaceutical reps."

Aiden didn't think he was.

He was uncomfortable now, reaching the end of his small talk capabilities far sooner than he expected. He said, "What is life outside of the office like for you?"
 

Hyper

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Too wrapped up in his own monologue, Charles would have easily missed the way Aiden seemed to have been distracted with a thought a little far from their current discussion. Not that he would have had anything to say of it. Charles always knew how to make anything about himself and anything else that wasn't were often set aside. Unless of course if it was about a certain witch she'd met decades ago. In any case, their conversation went on but Charles noted the short response from his fellow doctor for later reference. The again, he'd had already expected Aiden to be the sort of man that isn't one for winding small talk like he was. It wasn't a deterrent for him, either way; if anything it only made him more curious about the man. The angel waved his hand, "Medical school?" he echoed, "Far too long." Charles often dragged unsuspecting -- and half the time, unwilling coworkers whenever he got the chance. Charles often found a way to sweep others into his pace and the only exceptions were those that could match his personality or the particularly resistant ones. Why they would even think of turning down an invitation from him, he could never really understand. "Outside of the office? Dull," Charles replied honestly, the word simply stumbling out of his mouth carelessly. He always thought something was missing. "Well, I should say 'mostly uneventful'. I spend my free time tending to my garden. Socializing on off days downtown and once or twice getting mixed up with some troublesome folk. But what is that compared to most people on the island, right?" he said, his eyes catching sight of his usual coffee place not too far away. "I should ask you that question as well; So what does Dr. Hart do on his off days? You seem you have things to keep you busy," he said, turning to face the other and taking notice of some of his gestures. Charles caught the glint of the sun rays on the ring as well, though just for a moment.
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ReD

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Gardening.

Aiden could handle gardening. He grasped on that thread of conversation and nodded politely as Charles outline the rest. The coffee shop was close and smelled, much to Aiden's delight, like they actually knew what they were doing with coffee. That didn't mean that they did, but it was a good scent, unlike, gods forbid, the abomination called Starbucks.

"Uneventful sounds delightful, given our profession," Aiden agreed. "And I find the company of plants to be quite satisfying. They only get dirt on your trowsers, not bodily fluids. Normally. Unless your garden is infected with mandrakes."

Aiden frowned at that memory. There were a lot of things he liked about living on a magical island.

That was not one of them.

"What do you plant primarily?" he asked. "Is it a variety or do you do herbs or vegetables or.."

Yes.

Aiden was quite comfortable having a conversation about gardening.

It was a hundred times better than talking about himself.

"oh, I work mostly,' he said, and then realized that he couldn't quite dodge it that easily. "I volunteer through the animal shelter as well. I'm quite fond of cats, you see. Otherwise I could categorize my life as appropriately dull as well."

Except for all the soul-collecting nonsense.
 
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