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February 24, 2003 |
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Apartment in Berkeley...
The main room of this three
bedroom apartment is the neatest of them; the only thing that's
really messy about it are the smallish stacks of books and newspapers
on the coffee table and the writing desk in one corner, and the
occasional bowl or plate which should have been put away last night
but hasn't yet. A long white couch sits in front of a relatively
impressive entertainment center, having all the video and audio
components to impress all but the really die-hard. A white loveseat
and a white chair go with the sofa, and the walls are hung with
paintings and photographs of outdoor shots: sailing and woodsy
places, mostly.
Merlin is perched on the edge the couch,
rummaging through the piled books and papers on the coffee
table.
Yosannah appears behind the couch. She
seems disoriented at first at the sight of Merlin sitting on the
couch. She blinks once or twice.
Merlin pauses in his shuffling, abruptly,
setting down a waterstained hardcover. He turns slowly, looking back
over his shoulder.
"Holy Jesus."
Merlin still lacks those
lines that define a man's character. The creases at the edge of his
green eyes are shallow, but growing more prominent. Time takes its
toll on Merlin, as it does on all of us. Self-assurance he has,
confidence as well. But wisdom? No, not quite yet. His
neatly-bearded face is often smiling, handsome like his father. His
dark hair is swept back, equally neat. He's not tall, nor
heavily-muscled, but athletic, with strong hands. His garb is
suitable for court, an elegant grey jacket, over a purple-colored
silver-buttoned shirt. His breeches are that same gray, descending
into supple leather boots. A band of platinum resides on the ring
finger of his right hand.
Merlin's lips curl into a slight smile.
"Well. Hi."
Yosannah seems rather choked up, "...hi."
She smiles as she places her left hand over her mouth and drops the
card in her right hand to the floor.
Merlin's eyes follow the card's descent
until its out of view. He rises to his feet, turning around to face
the couch. He tilts his head faintly to one side. "You... all
right?"
Yosannah nods, "It's just that... I'd
kinda given up hoping to see you here." She hugs her own waist with
her right arm, "And here you are." She moves, quickly, around the
couch as if she might tackle him out of excitement but stops,
abruptly,before him as if not sure what gesture might be appropriate.
Merlin smiles slightly, closing the
remaining distance enough to give Yosannah a hug. "Sure. Where else
would I be?" he murmurs, in close.
Yosannah sobs, just a briefly and then
laughs through a couple tears. She buries her head in his chest.
After a moment she attempts to compose herself by swallowing back
another sob and by looking up at him, "The last time I saw you, you
were...." She studies his face, "Well, I didn't think you had made
it. Nobody knew what to tell me."
Merlin's shoulders rise and fall in a
slight shrug. "Well, I'm pretty sure I made it," he says. "But what
about you?? You been okay?' He tilts back a bit, eyeing the right
side of Yosannah's neck.
Yosannah distances herself a half step
but runs a hand down the arm of his jacket as if in a poor effort to
smooth out any wrinkles. Luckily, there aren't any. As he examines
her neck, her hand instinctively goes to the scar there . "I'm good.
You know how it is." She mumbles, "Please don't. Don't
stare."
Merlin grunts faintly. "Mm," he murmurs.
"So, uh.... How long has it been, anyway? I hadn't thought I'd been
gone all that long, but apparently I miscalculated the time
differential or something."
Yosannah turns her head to the right and
lowers her chin in an effort to hide the wound. She glances about the
room in an effort to conceal the gesture, "It's been long enough.
Somehow I don't believe you had a 'time differentail' problem,
Corey."
Merlin's lips curl faintly downwards in the corners, briefly. He rocks back on his heels, eyes going elsewhere for a moment. "Listen... I've got some coffee on..."
Yosannah looks up and considers, "That'd be nice."
Merlin nods his head. He gestures to the couch as he walks around it, starting across the room. "Have as seat... Try to ignore the mess. I'll be right back."
Yosannah offers a forced smile as she
moves to sit on the couch. Under her breath she mumbles, "... the
mess. As if that's a new developement." She tucks her hands under her
legs as she glosses over the clutter on the end table.
Merlin disappears from sight, but he can
still be heard, some banging and clinkning coming from the other room
for a few minutes.
Yosannah glances over her shoulder in an
effort to peek into the kitchen. After a moment she gives up on the
endeavor.
Merlin peeks out. "How do you take it
again?"
Yosannah picks up a document from the
table as she offers, "However you're having it."
Merlin's lips purse faintly, and his head
disappears once more. More banging. More clinking.
Yosannah flinches at the sound. Finally, she stands and wanders into the Kitchen. She reaches out and takes his hand from the cupboard door. "Let me."
Merlin frowns slightly, backing away from
an open cupboard. "It's just been a while," he says. "I forget where
evrything is."
Yosannah nods with a light smile,
"S'okay, I remember. Mugs are over here near the fridge." She opens
the small cupboard and reaches for a mug while standing on her
tip-toes. "I don't suppose you bought milk or cream."
Merlin nudges open the fridge and peeks
in. "Well, no..."
Yosannah sets two mugs on the counter and then inclines her head to regard the coffee maker as it gurgles, "S'okay. Black will be okay." She tilts her head and regards him with a smile, "Unless you can whip that us for us and..." She blinks once or twice as she feels a tingling sensation in the back of her head. "I'm sorry, would you excuse me for a minute." She edges toward the living area but the sensation goes away, "Hmm. Nevermind." Yosannah shakes her head and moves back toward the counter.
Merlin's lips purse faintly, and he lets
the fridge door fall closed as he watches Yosannah edge off. He
closes his eyes then, for a moment, reaching a hand out in front of
him. "Wrong number?" he asks.
Yosannah nods, "Something like that, I
guess." Just then the coffee machine stops bubbling. "Here we go."
There's a faint splashing sound as a carton of cream appears in Merlin's hand. He offers the carton with a smile. "Still good."
"Thanks," Yosannah offers him a mug.
Merlin smiles slightly again as he takes it.
Yosannah sips at her coffee and leans
against the counter. After a moment, "This is awkward, isn't it."
Merlin shrugs slightly, lifting his own
cup to his lips. "A little," he says, before sipping.
Yosannah bites at her lower lip and exhales, "Yeah. You know I, uh." She considers, "I mean. I know how things are." She smiles, "And how they aren't. But I'll play it however you want. That's all."
Merlin looks at Yosannah for a minute
over the lip of his cup, thoughtful. He takes another sip from his cup. Eventually, he says, "Come back into theother room and sit down." He turns then, heading off in that direction. Merlin sets his mug down and drops
himself onto the couch.
Yosannah sits down beside him. Elbows on
her knees and coffee mug held in both hands.
Merlin says, "Well, why don't you fill me
in on what I've missed?"
" What you've missed... Okay. I still haven't found your amulet. Pestilence is still with me. I almost died in Hell's Kitchen. And I'm still not married." She nods, reflectively, "Now you know." Her tone is mildly sarcastic. And then, "And did I mention that I almost bought your uncle at an auction a couple weeks back? No? Now you know that too."
Merlin's brows lift. "You
what?"
Yosannah rolls her eyes, "Yeah." She sees
that he's obviously confused, "See, there was an auction and they
were selling off your Uncle. Dalt *is* your Uncle, right?" She adds,
"Anyway, I don't think it was really him though." She
shrugs.
Merlin says "Dalt, huh? Live or
dead?"
"He sure looked to be alive. I think it
was a mock up or something. LIke I said I dont' think it was really
him."
Merlin hmms. He sips his coffee. As an
afterthought, he asks, "How much did he go for?"
"A penny."
Merlin lets out a laugh.
"Really?"
Yosannah looks up and smiles as well,
considering the notion, "Yeah. After an hour or so of some messy
bidding wars, Damen's grandmom showed up and bid a penny." She leans
back into the couch and begins to chuckle.
Merlin says, "Not a bad deal,
really."
Yosannah chuckles some more, "No. No, i
guess not. You shouldah been there."
Merlin smiles, setting his mug down on
the table. "Yeah," he says. "I probably should have."
Yosannah rests her head against the back
of the couch and turns it slightly to regard him. "It's good that
your back. I had forgotten what your laugh sounded like."
Merlin lets out a sigh as he leans back
again. "So had I."
Yosannah looks him over, "How come. Where
have you been?"
Merlin frowns slightly. "Oh, here and
there. I had some... Computer problems."
Yosannah tucks her legs under her, "What?
That computer guy of yours?"
Merlin nods slightly. "Still some bugs to
be worked out."
Yosannah bites at her lip again, "I don't
know why you can't get rid of that thing. I really don't"
Merlin says "It's really not that
simple."
"Wishful thinking I guess. She reaches toward his face, "And what's with this."
Merlin's brows lift. "What?"
Yosannah smiles, "The beard."
Merlin lifts a hand and smiles, scratching at it. "You don't like it?"
Yosannah shrugs, "Dunno. I suppose it'd
take some getting used to." She smirks. "Hey, listen. I have an idea.
Let's make some popcorn, pop in a movie and waste away the rest of
the night."
Merlin says. "We could do that." He
frowns, thoughtful a moment. "You really don't like the
beard."
Yosannah laughs, "Sorry, Corey. You know
me too well."