Cheer Up Charm! ((Shea))

[CastlesInTheSky]

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Well, that isn't true when that apple had been poisoned.
That somewhat unsavory business was what brought him to Fallial. He had a sense of foreboding ever since he had received word from his parents that a family friend had this unfortunate thing happen to him. Windsor didn't know him well personally, but still made his way by various modes of transportation to the province the man was in, leaving his house in the care of a friend back in Arca.

When he had finally gotten to the place, the man had been quite sick but not dying. Whoever had done the poisoning wasn't very experienced, as the dosage was much too low to kill but enough to make a pain. Windsor fixed the problem easily enough, but his parents were the true problem. Being a kind man underneath, he really wished he had more reason to be in a better relationship with his mother and father. However, by their nature, they seemed to make everything more difficult for him. They shooed him out, not letting him stay in their home. He didn't even get paid for his job by the other man.

Discouraged and unhappy, he found an inn to stay in and went to a tavern, sitting by himself in what seemed to be the most desolate corner and having himself a drink. He seemed out of place there, in mostly white, alone, frowning. He buried his face in his hands. Lovely day it was.

[miss_sanguine]

Today's workload warranted a drink. Shea had definitely seen to that.

The rose bushes were pruned, the pansies prodded until their petals shone with happiness. His employer would surely be satisfied with his work, as most of those that hired him were. The magnolias had proven a bit more difficult, yes, their lack of interaction making them shy, but with some coaxing from him, they too now dazzled their owner's landscape with their lustrous white colors. Their good mood contagious, he found himself smiling as he made his way along the side of the road toward the nearest tavern.

Every man deserved a pat on the back for his good work, and nothing qualified more as a good pat on the back than checking out the attractive men that stayed at The Rusty Spork. The name didn't appeal to Leslie much, always making him turn his nose at the lack of taste and refinement, but there was no denying that only the best-looking people came to this particular inn. Especially at this time of day. After all, this was no sultry, poor side of town. Wealthy people lived in these parts.

Ignoring the ugly, rotten sign with a spork scratched into its wooden surface, Leslie stepped in through the door, beaming at the patrons as they looked up at him. No doubt they envied his chosen attire for the day--a frock coat of the most dazzling shade of burgundy, with baby blue silk-faced lapels to match his eyes. Even his striped trousers of a lighter burgundy drew the eyes of the bartender, and he preened under the attention.

Assuming and air of indifference, though he glowed on the inside, he looked around the bar as though searching for someone. In reality, he merely wanted to find the most attractive man there and join him.

Then his eyes lit upon a man hunched in the back corner. Though he was fairly good-looking, what drew Leslie to him the most was the aura of gloom that latched onto him like a terrible shadow. And so he made his way toward him.

"Excuse me," he said, voice practically singing as he grabbed the edge of the nearest chair at the table which the man sat at. "Is this seat taken?" Without waiting for an answer, he sat down, anyway, hands under his chin as he grinned brightly at the stranger. "My name's Leslie."

[CastlesInTheSky]

Windsor was startled out of his thoughts by a man asking to sit at his table, and didn't bother saying anything because he had already sat down. Well, alright. He didn't know this man, nor had he seen him anywhere before, but this was to be expected, considering he was far from home.

He didn't grin back but nodded politely. "...hello. My name is Windsor. A pleasure to meet you." His formalities were strange in such a place, but he was so used to them that they automatically seemed to flow with his speech. He still looked gloomy, but it was toned down slightly by the distraction of having someone to talk to. He sipped his drink silently.

[miss_sanguine]

"Windsor!" The name rolled off the tongue, light like a breeze. "What a lovely name, Windsor." And what a gentleman, nice and polite, despite the heavy haze of darkness hanging over his head. Leslie couldn't say what it was that made the man gloomy, but he was clearly discourage by something.

Something Leslie was determined to fix. No gentleman like this deserved to feel the way he did, especially on such a wonderful day.

"The pleasure is all mine," he said, eyelashes fluttering coyly. He tilted his head a little, allowing a curious frown to appear on his face. "I couldn't help but notice you were over here all alone. And in such a dark, dreary corner, too! A fine man such as yourself should be at the front of the bar, chatting it up with his friends and lady friends, no?"

At least his coming here had cheered the man somewhat. That made Leslie glow inside. There was hope here, hope of a smile, hope of making dear Windsor feel better.

[CastlesInTheSky]

The corner of Windsor's mouth flickered upwards for a moment, into a ghost of a smile. It could have been a pleasant smile had it stayed long enough to become one.

Windsor assumed he was seeing things when the man fluttered his eyelashes at him and assumed the coy tone was imagined. Of course someone wouldn't be doing that towards him. Windsor brushed a stray strand of flaxen hair out of his face while he listened to the man in front of him. He let out a short sigh, glancing from Leslie to a point in the distance. "Well...to be honest I've not been having the best of days and I don't really have many friends here." 'or any at all!',thought Windsor.

[miss_sanguine]

A smile! Oh, how lovely. Now if he could just get it to stay there.

This was proving to be much easier than he'd first thought it would. He hadn't even needed to use any of his abilities on the man yet. That told him that dear Windsor was not in such a rut that he wouldn't be able to climb out. A tough guy, despite his loneliness. Leslie liked that.

"Not many friends? That's easily fixed!" Leslie said. "You're a good-looking guy. I'm sure you could make some in no time at all. I mean," he gestured with an open hand at all of the people in the bar, "look at all of these people, just waiting to make your wonderful acquaintance!"

When he looked back at Windsor, he beamed. "And I'll be your first friend. Best friend, even!"

[CastlesInTheSky]

Windsor had to admit he liked talking to this man Leslie. After being around people that endlessly irritated, stressed, conned, and depressed him, the man's optimistic attitude was refreshing. Though he was still on the worse side of the emotional spectrum, it felt like he would be feeling better sometime soon at least.

As the acquaintance of his gestured to the bar, the doctor scanned the people sitting there, as if something in particular would jump out at him as interesting.

As he looked back at Leslie, his eyes searched the man's face, as if what he was saying was a joke of some sort. He took a sip of his drink, looking away. "Well, if you'd like, I suppose that would be fine." Though the words he spoke weren't particularly warm or friendly, the tone in his voice somehow conveyed that he was pleased about their conversation.

[miss_sanguine]

"Excellent." Leslie was all smiles, filling the facial expression with genuine glee, showing the man that he truly did care about him and what they were talking about. It's what made people feel most comfortable, knowing they'd found a trustworthy shoulder to lean on, an all-attention ear to speak to. "So tell me, Windsor." He leaned forward in his chair, hands clasped under his chin as he gave the man all his focus. "What exactly is it that's troubling you? Why the gloom?"

He knew Shea would be upset by his lack of prolonged movement, but it was Windsor's time to shine, not his own. What did it matter that he had so little to say? He'd had a good day and had little to talk about. This man, on the other hand, caught his curiosity.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Windsor sipped his drink with a frown at remembering what was troubling him that day. Parents. Poison. Being far away from home. Not being able to talk to his long-time mentor. Being called a 'bad doctor'. General stress.

"Hm. Well. Quite a few things," he said vaguely, "None of which are that important."

Well, to a stranger at least. The fact that Leslie was so interested in his problems made the doctor actually seem to look at him for more than a glance. The previous times he had looked and looked away, but now he seemed to be studying Leslie with his intense stare, as if answers would suddenly come to him about who this man in front of him was if he looked hard enough. It wasn't unfriendly, but rather a strange form of curiosity that suited the professional looking man.

"It seems like you are quite concerned about my troubles...tell me, why do they interest you so?" He seemed slightly baffled.

[miss_sanguine]

Under the intense scrutiny, Leslie swelled with exhilaration. To have a man stare at him with such depth always filled him with pleasure. Doubtless he was that Windsor would take notice of his fine clothes--he'd done well not spattering them with soil during his earlier commitment--nor could his beautifully layered hair be ignored. It had taken time for the man to look at him, but now that he was, Leslie felt it was worth the wait.

"Why do they interest me?" he asked, feigning offense, hand going to his heart. "Why, Windsor! You're now my best friend! Best friends are interested in these sorts of things so that they might help. Being a good best friend, of course I would be concerned for your well being. Now." He leaned forward, flirtatious smile alighting on his lips, hand coming to rest on top of the one Windsor had on the table. "Tell best friend Leslie everything."

[CastlesInTheSky]

Windsor hadn't been paying as much attention to the clothes Leslie was wearing as much as the other man would have liked, but rather what was implied by the clothes, from which he got that Leslie enjoyed being fashionable. It almost made Windsor wonder whether he should have dressed a bit more nicely before coming to the place they were.

The doctor had glanced off into space while listening to Leslie. So he had a new friend, he supposed. Well, sort of. He quickly looked back as he saw the man leaning forward, catching sight of his smile and feeling Leslie's hand on his own. Windsor stared from the hand, back to Leslie, and again, as he seemed to be trying to connect the two in his mind somehow. His mouth parted slightly and his eyes narrowed for a moment in confusion, but quickly he shut his jaw and took a larger swig of his drink, finishing it and signaling to a worker that he would like more.

"Well...alright, I suppose." He took a breath, preparing to tell his story. He figured nothing bad could come from it, and besides, it wasn't exactly complaining if someone else wanted to hear it.

"To be very simple and to the point, a family friend got poisoned, and I, being a doctor, traveled here to help him. So I did. I healed him and went to talk with my mother and father about staying with them, but no, of course not, they didn't let me, their own son, stay with them. And I didn't even get paid, not to mention I traveled all this way to do this. Of course I have a bit more business here other than that to be done eventually, but how ridiculous." He frowned and received his new drink, taking a sip immediately.

[miss_sanguine]

He ignored the man's confusion toward his having touched his hand and continued to smile, if so even more. So the man hadn't taken a sexual liking to him yet. There was always time. And it wasn't like he had to.

"You healed a poisoned family member?" he asked, exaggerated in his surprise. He'd found out so much about Windsor in this one explanation alone. Caring, willing to sacrifice for others even if it risked his own comfort.

A noble man if he'd ever seen one!

"How absolutely wonderful of you!" he said. "And it's no wonder you're unhappy, Windsor. Why, I would be, too. So unappreciated for your hard work." He puckered his lips a little and started to run his fingers tenderly up and down Windsor's. "If you need some place to stay, I'd be more than happy to make room for you. What's mine is yours!"

[CastlesInTheSky]

Windsor hadn't been expecting such a response and seemed slightly startled at the other man's surprise. Wonderful of him? Well, it was his duty as a doctor. If he hadn't gone all this way to do it, what respect could he have for himself? Every injured person who came to him for help would get his help. He supposed the injured may have thought he was wonderful for doing so, but he wasn't used to being praised often.

As he studied the other man's face, he began to wonder who he was. Of course he knew his name was Leslie, but he felt it was only necessary to find something more about this man when Leslie had learned so much about him within a matter of minutes.

He said, "Thank you for your offer..." He glanced at their hands on the table and back at the other man's face, losing his answer somewhere in his mind. He noticed that he found the man rather attractive, but quickly scolded himself for the thought. Hadn't he come to the province for business? What was he doing in a tavern? What...oh, whatever. May as well have himself some conversation before going and doing some other things.

After a minute of silence, he said, "I apologize if this seems unrelated to our previous topic, but I'm curious...what business do you have in Fallial? Is it your residence?"

[miss_sanguine]

He'd caught it, then. That brief flash of attraction. And he hadn't been using his full power at the time, either. The feeling sent him into a frenzy of smiles, his stomach fluttering around in absolute glee. It felt nice to be noticed, even nicer to be found delightful to the eyes, especially by one that was also attractive.

But Windsor was playing hard to get, smothering the feeling almost as quickly as it had come, and he wanted to pout some more at that, though he didn't.

"I come and go," he said casually. He pulled his hand away from the man's and sat back in his chair, waving his hand in the air as he spoke. "I'm a gardener by profession, but you never know where Shea will take me next. She has me bouncing all over the place. I'm glad she had me come here today," he added, winking at him. "Else I never would have found you. Does your creator normally have you sitting in bars after work?"

He'd lost himself in talking about something he knew so well, forgetting until it was too late that what he'd said might come off a bit strange to someone else. But he was eccentric at heart, anyway, so maybe Windsor would just take it as another one of his attractive quirks.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Windsor took the hand that he had lain on the table and placed his chin in his palm, listening curiously to Leslie. A gardener, he said? The man sure kept clean for that. There seemed to be not a speck of dirt on his hands like one would expect. As he began to mention someone named 'Shea', he supposed that might be his boss. It would make sense, at least. Or, rather, he thought that until he had used the word 'creator', which perplexed him. Creator? Of...him? Of what? He figured he might as well pass it off as something he didn't understand about the man before him, as they had just met anyway.

"Well, I don't have anyone I could really call 'creator' as far as I know, so I can't really answer. Though I don't usually sit in bars after work." His tone betrayed none of his dismissed confusion as he sipped his drink.

[miss_sanguine]

"Oh." Leslie waved his hand through the air, as if swatting a fly. "Everyone has a creator. Some have the same creator. But it's not really important. Didn't mean to confuse you, friend."

So. Not one to frequent bars after work. Sounded like Windsor's creator had worked the man over, just as Shea had worked him over this afternoon in the gardens.

Speaking of which. One of the reasons he'd come here was for a drink to relax. Now he found himself more interested in finding some alone time with his new best friend.

"You look unhappy here, dearest Windsor. What say you we go outside?"

[CastlesInTheSky]

Windsor nodded. "Oh, I see." He supposed it was a religious statement and didn't think into it too much. Everyone seemed to have their own ideas about such things and it wasn't meant to be questioned further.

The doctor couldn't remember clearly the last time that he had actually wandered into a bar after work. It seemed that in the past few months and even before that he had been very busy with everything. One of his patients had brought a drink to him once out of concern that he might be stressing himself too much. How ironic was that, a patient worrying for the doctor's health. Rather amusing in a way.

"Hm?" Windsor looked over to the other man. "Sounds fine to me." He glanced at the small bit of the drink left in his cup and drank it. He had already paid for the drink, so there was no need for that.

[miss_sanguine]

"Splendid!" Leslie felt like clapping. "I know just the place. There's a fine garden not too far from here, where the flowers are as bright as the sun and as healthy as a newborn babe. You can practically hear them singing praises for their bounty of water and sunshine."

The place was frequented by Leslie almost every time he convinced someone to come outside with him. There was no better spot for him to feel open and free, and he hoped it would be the same for dear Windsor. "Do you like flowers, Windsor? You look to be a man that would appreciate them."

He rose from his chair and waited for Windsor to do the same, ready to lead him outside.

[CastlesInTheSky]

"It sounds very nice." Windsor thought the place described sounded indeed quite nice. A garden...now, when was the last time he had been to such a place? Probably not since he was a child. He never seemed to have the time to be wandering through the streets, idling as he saw others do. Perhaps it was his strong sense of duty that kept him confined to his home, treating patients and studying new information about healing. Either way, a garden sounded like a great place to be, especially since he wasn't feeling at his best.

Standing up, he looked around himself and said, "Well, haven't given them much notice lately, to be honest. I do like them, though. Very colourful and such."

[miss_sanguine]

Windsor knew just what to say, Leslie mused. Out loud he said, "Yes! Colorful! Most of them. I find their beauty inspiring." Though often the thoughts of the said plants were not as beautiful as their appearances. One only had to look at his clothing to realize where he got his fashion ideas from. Only those with the most sophisticated of tastes would know that his burgundy frock was the exact shade of the Cym. Hot Guru flower.

Without another word, Leslie put his arm through Windsor's and led him out of the bar and into the daylight.

When they arrived at the garden, full of flowers of all kinds with all sorts of colors, Leslie spread his arms wide, both in greeting toward the flowers that extended their thoughts toward him and in welcome for Windsor. "Isn't it beautiful?" he asked in an awed tone.