A Dangerous Mind

The Emperor's New Clothes

Marton trudged down the hallway with Vin, as always, three paces behind. He wasn’t actually trudging, he just felt as if he were. It had been another long, difficult day, not helped by his state of mind and he was late getting in as well. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to change into something comfortable and put his feet up in front of the vid screen for a couple of hours. He’d missed dinner as well, but there was bound to be something around worth eating.

( ''Two words, Father.'' Anna came to stand by Orlando’s side. ''’Fashion’ and ‘parade’.'' she said. ''We have the fashion,'' she swept a hand over the racks. ''the parade,'' the hand gestured to the cleared space in front of the closet door, ''and now we have the model.'' She pointed at him. )

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Unbuttoning the collar of his formal suit, Christian cracked open the door and peered around it into the soft lighting of the room. He pulled his head back and whispered to Johnny. "It's okay. Dad's asleep in the rocking chair and Harry's in there with the baby. We can sneak a peek."
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The morning after this.



"Alone at last." Marton gave Will a filthy wink and dived toward his stomach, intent on blowing a raspberry.
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Johnny got out of the shower, towelled off and slipped into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. It promised to be hot today -- that had been obvious even first thing in the morning when he'd snuck over to Palace Proper to swipe some muffins out of the dining room -- and he planned to shuck the shirt as soon as it got uncomfortable. Obie bounced back and forth next to him when he headed for the kitchen. He got his morning cookies after Johnny got dressed and wanted to make sure they weren't forgotten. Johnny handed him one, then followed him to his bed and dropped a handful. Happy crunching followed him back across the room, where he handed Shannon her cookie. She ate it politely and wagged her tail a couple of times, but her heart clearly wasn't in it.

( ''Sorry, love. I'm still working on that haunch of elk, okay?'' )

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Johnny waved through the window at Stan, the guy on the gate, before remembering that the glass was tinted black from the outside. He blushed and slumped down in his seat, hoping Christian hadn't noticed, but unfortunately Christian's attention had been firmly on him for the last hour. Usually he thought that was wonderful, but his lover's twinkling eyes just made him blush harder. At least Lawrence and Jet were up front with the driver, and Obie didn't care.

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Johnny sat curled up on the sofa with Obie in his lap. Obie usually wasn't much of a cuddle-dog, but he'd picked up on the fact that Johnny was upset about something and had come over to press close and offer comfort. Johnny'd pulled him up and wrapped his arms around him, rubbing his cheek against the smooth head and getting the occasional puppy-kiss.
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That evening, following this.




The living room was cosy and dark as Christian snuggled against Johnny and the movie played. Just the light from the vid and the flames from the small fire in the grate were sufficient for a quiet night at home canoodling on the couch, he figured, the tensions of the last week and a half now fully gone as his father had returned the previous night and he, Christian, was off the hook.
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24hrs after this.

Christian leaned back in his seat, despite the twinge it caused, and put his bare feet up on the side rungs of Liam's seat, sipping at his coffee. Liam was halfway through the paper and munching on toast as he read, Christian sitting beside him and working on his second cup of coffee while he waited. He wanted to talk to Liam if he got the chance, but there were certain other things that would need to be dealt with first, any second now if his senses were pinging him correctly and Johnny and Adrian really were waking up this time.

There, they were awake. Good. And... they'd found his little surprise. Excellent. He felt humor and just a touch of embarrassment from Johnny, and could hear giggles from both of them coming from down the hall. Liam looked at him from over the top of his paper, one inquiring eyebrow raised. Christian just grinned at him and held one finger up in front of his mouth. Any second now....

And then it came, startled dismay from Johnny, then a howled chorus of "CHRISTIAAAAANNNN!!" flavored with feelings of dire vengeance. ( He grinned and sipped his coffee. Ahh, success. )

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“So when does your father leave?” Caeline asked as they strolled along the side of the lake. She was dressed in jeans, sensible boots and a jacket with a fur collar, eminently more sensible clothing than that with which she’d arrived and Christian suspected they were recent purchases. She looked nice and also very relaxed which was gratifying.
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"You did what to Harry??"
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