maskormenacelogs | (no subject)

WHO: Christine |

detriments and Renee |

withamask
WHERE: Residence 006, where all the cool ladies (and Ozzie) are at.
WHEN: UH sometime this week idk don't pressure me god!!
WHAT: LESBIANS no it's another chapter in Christine seduces Renee with mixed signals
WARNINGS: LESBIANS

[She sits on the armchair, finger settled under chin, lights out, curtains of the window drawn. Her room is small for her tastes, and the living arrangements are far from ideal, but she does appreciate the silence that sets in at night. The women must be dreaming and the one man must be out and about, doing whatever devious business he's infamous for. No chirps are to be heard when he isn't around, and she's mildly thankful for that. Were she any more in touch with her impulses, a blade would have sliced the heads off those awful birds long ago.

But she can be patient, despite the tension and irritation growing in her muscles. She had practically all she wanted before. She can do it again - she just has to be more careful this time around. The government has made it clear all eyes are on her. Just a harmless trip to Paris earned her a warning. Imagine what mind control and outright corruption might do.

She may have control over her impulses, but she is still a self-indulgent woman, and it's been a while since she's sought out the pleasure of a good romantic game. (She calls it romantic because she considers herself above the vulgarity of pure physical gratification. There's more to it - manipulation. Careful manipulation, careful play of chess pieces.)

That's why she gets to her feet, wrapping her silk robe around her body, and makes her way to a friend's room, barefoot and silent. She doesn't knock - her hand is on the doorknob when she looks inside, into the darkness, softly calling out-]

Renee?

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Nothing - [her voice is low, quiet, gentle.] Nothing, I was just...

[Silence.]

Am I bothering you?

[She looks down, hand on the door frame, shaking her head. Even when she's dressed to sleep, there's a certain air of perfectionism to the way she presents herself, hair down and brushed, just by her shoulders, silk robe, legs exposed.]

I haven't really had the chance to talk to you since...

[The end of the world, being thrown into a new one, having to start over again.]

I could use someone to talk to.

[Quietly, she nods, crossing her arms to embrace herself. She attempts a smile.]

I'd like that.

[The look in her eyes is warmer, brushing a finger below her nose, just above her lips.]

Just sugar. Thank you.

[She takes a seat across the counter, adjusting the robe over her chest. The scar on her neck has faded throughout the months, but it's slightly visible to the attentive eye until she covers it, chin resting on the palm of her hand. After an observant pause-]

How have you been handling all this?

[She remembers, the way she acted during the apocalypse. Renee saw her that way. It wasn't one of her proudest moments, being so vulnerable and raw.]

It is, but... [She brushes her hair behind her ears,] It could be worse, right? They're taking care of us.

[A pause.]

And I'm not alone. Not like before.

[Her eyes lock down on Renee's hand, giving nothing away in her expression. She likes the gesture. She likes it when Renee allows herself to give in.

Call it small victories.]

Do you plan on staying here? With me.

[Her hands wrap around the mug, warming her hands with a small 'thank you'.

It's true. It isn't nearly as luxurious as anything she's become accustomed to, but Christine has yet to figure out how far she can take her power. How close the government is watching. The trip to Paris was an apparent abuse of power on the Shade's part - imagine warping people's wills to get what she wants.]

You're right. Normally I would have already tried to leave, but - [She stops, exhaling with a brief smile.] It's comforting to have someone I know around. Someone I trust.

[Silence again. She watches the vapor twirl upwards from the lips of her mug.]

I never thanked you properly for what you did.

[That's what friends are for.

There's a weight to Christine's words when she continues.]

Then I think you're the only friend I have.

[Christine shows a smile, but there's obvious sadness in her eyes.

(It's fake. She doesn't care about friends. She cares about people she can manipulate.)]

I'm not sure anyone else would have done the same for me.

[Her eyes drift to Renee's hand on her wrist, and she slowly lifts her own to brush a thumb on her skin. There's a bit of theater that follows, Christine swallowing and pressing her lips together with a pinch to her brows, as though the truth is something she has to reach in to bring out. What she's really doing is trying to figure out how to make Renee feel sympathy for her.]

I feel like... I keep losing everything and having to start over. I don't - I don't know my place in all of this. Everyone looks like they have it all figured out, and I thought I was just starting to before, but... it's just so hard. I've never felt so lost.

[Her lips remain parted, even when she drifts into an interruption. Her gaze returns to Renee's features.]

Can I tell you something? --I don't want to burden you.

[There's a cold exhale, as though her skin is shivering, remembering something she's been suppressing for a long time.]

Before I came to the City. [A pause. She shakes her head.] My life was a total wreck. My career, my relationship - it was all getting out of control.

[Her fingers massage her forehead, between her eyes, as if making a pointed effort to hold some kind of overwhelming emotion in.]

Dirk - his name was Dirk. It still is, I guess. [A smile. Stupid thing to say, but she does so on purpose.] He cheated on me with my assistant. It wasn't the first time - certainly wouldn't have been the last time, if it were up to him - but something... it was different, this time. She seduced him to get to me. I don't know why, I guess she just... She said she loved me, but that wasn't it. She wanted my job, my life. I don't know - it was so bizarre. I've never met anyone so disturbed. She was obsessed.

[There's a painful memory evident in her eyes. Beyond the cheating, beyond the obsession. Her hand instinctively settles in front of the scar on her throat.]

She took my partner, she took my job, [a slight shiver, interrupting her voice,] And when she decided that wasn't enough, she -

[Christine stops again, keeping in a weak sob.]

[Christine doesn't finish the sentence - she doesn't need to. People tend to assume the worst when you leave it up to their imagination. It's that easy.

Though the memory is genuinely painful to her. The shock, the foreign sensation of a blade cutting through your skin, warm wetness pouring out as your life fades away so suddenly. It isn't something she likes to remember. It means she was overpowered - defeated.

She welcomes the embrace - it's what she was looking for. A way to draw Renee in, a way to make her vulnerable, too. Tears aren't hard to produce - and in a way, they're real. Maybe Christine did really need to get this out of her system.]

I'm sorry.

[And cry she does, tightening the embrace, face hidden on Renee's shoulder. There's poise to her even when she breaks down, it seems, brushing her hair from her face when she pulls away, shaking her head softly.]

I never told this to anyone.

[She wipes a tear with a finger, sobbing quietly. Then-]

--You won't tell anyone, will you? I don't want them to know.

[There's a deep sigh, as if letting go of something in her chest, reaching for the tissue.]

Oh, thank you.

[A pause.]

I mean it.