schoolboy rivalry to something else

[tom=http://i.imgur.com/OxKuqIp.png, #483d8b]Valentine pinched the bridge of his nose at Dorian's laughter, but didn't take his cane off of his shoulder. He walked closer to him once he wasn't running anymore, staring quietly, examining the unfortunately physical reactions. It looked painfully difficult for Dorian to pretend to be casual, like he was in some form of overpowering agony and embarrassment. Honestly, in all his time of fucking with people, he'd never seen something quite like Dorian-- and Val wasn't even doing this shit on purpose.

"Is it 'forgot something in my car' or 'went out to get air'?" Val muttered. He rubbed his eyes and shook it off. "Listen, you went through a fucking bathroom window, Dorian. Has that realization hit you yet? That you, Dorian, did that in real life, to get away from me unnoticed?"

He sighed, letting the cane fall from his shoulder, leaning on it instead. "If you have something to say, could you say it to my face? Was it the mushy shit? I'm sorry. It's probably freaky coming from me, since I've been more of an ice statue for you up until now. You can tell me to water it down. It's been a while since anyone literally fled from me, though, and I'm not really that person anymore." With this behavior, was Dorian… afraid of him? Val never would've expected that, assuming the man to be immune, and this new concept shook him up a bit.

"I'm not sure what to feel if you leave without… That went pretty well, I'd thought. Was I wrong?" He gave Dorian a nervous look of his own. "Because that's a… very strongly negative reaction."[/tom]

[tom=http://i.imgur.com/OxKuqIp.png, #483d8b]Valentine half-crossed his arms, a protective stance. Dorian seemed stable, at least. Val waited patiently for a real explanation, firmly of the opinion that he deserved something, anything, to go off of. Otherwise, it was confusing and a little hurtful. He didn't feel like letting this sour the rest of his day.

As soon as Dorian broke out the it's not you, it's me, beginning, Val's suspicion was at an all time high. That was fucking weird to hear, because when backed into a corner, Dorian usually slipped up and acted stupid. This was more sober. Not to mention, the reassurance was unfamiliarly stubborn. Luckily for Val, he didn't have to be puzzled over it for long. Dorian went on, after a tense pause.

Val blinked, looking down at where his shoulder was clapped. His brain connected everything together, even where his emotions stuttered and didn't manage to. He'd spoken to Dorian's girlfriend, heard stories about certain ways he'd acted, didn't have any room for comical misunderstandings left. He glanced up to the other man as he turned away, frowning at his back, brows furrowed.

He tapped his fingers on his thigh, then took a few steps closer, grabbing the car door and holding it open before Dorian could shut it. His own expression wasn't nervous anymore, softer. "Hey… Don't worry about it. No business is fine, you gave me a lot of quality advice already." Val wasn't in school anymore. Honestly, he couldn't relate to being shy and juvenile in this area. He supposed he'd been those things with Dorian, though-- inappropriate thoughts in class, eyes glittering too much when they had debates, getting so frustrated with him that it'd be impossible not to deduce that he cared about this asshole.

Val looked at Dorian, clearing his throat almost sheepishly, or the closest Valentine Crowther could come to that. "But did you want to get dinner with me sometime, instead?"[/tom]

[tom=http://i.imgur.com/OxKuqIp.png, #483d8b]This wasn't as complicated to Valentine as it was to Dorian. It was true, he was married, along with focused on his career and living the best life he could now, curse or not. He didn't see this as anything threatening. Getting to know Dorian, being able to touch him-- there wasn't any downside, nor a particular hurry to force it. He let the other consider, leaning on the car door, half expecting to be turned down.

One of his eyebrows went up, though his face was still passive. He smiled, then. "I do mean that. Please. Can you really see me, of all people, handing out pity dates? I don't even allow pity friendships, frankly, so the suggestion is comical. I'm polite, not an extrovert. Good god, I'm too ill for that."

He leveled him with a look, then rubbing his temples and sighing. "You're… ridiculous, Dorian. I'm going to be blunt. If I didn't like you even a little, I wouldn't try to talk to or chase after you in the first place. It'd be a waste of time to get involved with, and not something I'd get emotional towards. You'd be overestimating how much I care about most individuals. I don't, and surely wouldn't have had the same reaction, even to someone I happened to dislike. I feel accomplished helping a majority and acting as a leader, but that isn't really the same."

"I'm not impressed by your fleeing out a bathroom window, but I do still think--" He scrunched his nose up at admitting it, automatically, but continued, "you're very smart, attractive, and that you made school bearable. I've always thought that." Val shrugged. "Yes, I'm serious. If you want to put aside the time, so will I. We can catch up properly and make eyes at each other. It sounds nice to me, if you're up for it."[/tom]

[tom=http://i.imgur.com/OxKuqIp.png, #483d8b]Despite the twist in the road, this meeting had settled back into the 'that went well' category, and Valentine was relieved. He wanted to keep this year on a good note, the right path for once. And he'd gotten what he wanted. A normal, perfectly amicable interaction with Dorian. As they wrapped this up, there weren't any unpleasant surprises left, no awkwardness and strained smiles.

His heartbeat jumped in his throat. It was nice to see Dorian looking at him like this, for once, nothing hostile happening, no Val tearing his own hair out, no denial and distancing. A genuine smile that he was able to witness personally, rather than spotting it directed towards someone else.

When Dorian got out of the car, Val tilted his head, unsure what he was about to do. A kiss on the cheek. His initial thought was 'that isn't enough!', and after so many classes spent daydreaming, it wasn't-- but some things could wait until after dinner. He flushed lightly pink nonetheless, brushing his fingers over the spot that'd been kissed. "As you should be. There's no reason to dance around this, and I can be convincing when I want to. Friday at eight sounds fine. Call me. Call, don't text. I hate texting!"

Val moved away from the car again so Dorian would have the room to leave this time, as opposed to trapping him for any longer. He rested his weight on the cane, drained from having an outburst and starting to feel it. He was going to take his own car back home once Dorian was gone. "You're welcome, and thanks again for the tips, I know I'll be working a lot of them into CARI." He inclined his head to the last point, acknowledging. "Good. Stick around for a while, Crawford." He smiled. "Dorian."

Finally, finally, Val waved him off. "Friday at eight, that's a promise. Drive safe, you fucking nerd!"[/tom]