While The Cat's Away

[Existentially Odd]

At the end of a night that could only be described as 'turbulent', Sam made his way up to the offices of the Oligarchs.  By instinct, once he left the lift he stepped towards Vomas' office before he caught the slight shake of his lovers' aide's head, telling him he was heading for the wrong place.  Of course.  Vomas was acting Luminary now, as decreed by Kerr's whirlwind visit at Vomas' suite at the very start of the evening, and the Irish vampire was now accordingly in the Luminary's office.  Sam was no longer sleeping with his boss, he was sleeping with the boss; was it entirely improper for him to feel a thrill of pride at such a thought?  Oh well.

Mental tendrils of query preceded him to the Luminary's door as he tested whether Vomas was alone and ready to admit him.  He received an affirmative response to both questions and entered the tastefully-decorated office of the Luminary as soon as he arrived.  Smiling at Vomas, he deliberately looked around the room in an approving manner (as if his lover might have personally redecorated the space in the time he'd occupied it) before he wafted towards where Vomas was situated.  At a guess, Sam believed his beloved had endured a difficult evening in the wake of Kerr's a) embarrassing spectacle at the Masquerade the night before and b) his unseemly exit from the city this evening judging by his grave expression, but he did his best to pretend not to notice.

"So," he drawled airily, seating himself in a chair near Vomas in a manner that showed him draped casually and with a seductive slouch that had his long arms framing the boundaries of the chair and his denim-clad crotch projected forward with some austerity, "I think it's time we took ourselves up to the penthouse to begin our sleepover."  He grinned mischievously, a dimple flashing in his left cheek as he tossed his hair and waggled his eyebrows pointedly.  He was doing his damndest to look both sexy and cute because he thought it gave him the absolute best chance of convincing Vomas of going along with his plan (and Kerr's plan, for that matter).

Vomas was such a stickler for the rules, Sam thought it highly likely he'd balk at invading his boss' private living quarters, even though he was doing the job that went along with them.  Sam wasn't at all worried by it and he was pretty desperate to get into that place!  Oligarchy housekeeping cleaned it nightly, replaced the linens weekly (or more often, if requested) and generally sanitised the place on a regular basis; it wouldn't be like going into somebody's house and having to put up with their mortal smells or week-old dirty dishes stacked in the sink.  The Luminary (and his trophy wife, Ben) practically lived in a hotel, just... with the added bonus of having a few token personal items left there - like an art gallery and a private library Sam was pretty desperate to see.  He would be extremely upset if Vomas told him that it would be no different to one of their places and shied away from going up there, so the Southerner was using his hottest poses, his cutest accent and his most winning hair tosses to try and persuade his lover to his point of view from the outset!

[Saccharin]

The night had been long and harrowing. There had been meetings - more meetings than he'd expect to hold in a week's time in his position as an Oligarch - and all of them had required him appear nothing but infallible. They were all looking for cracks, and when they didn't see any that were immediately apparent, he had been pressed and pushed to see if any could be created. After all, the Luminary had fallen apart publicly... why wouldn't his chosen (albiet temporary) replacement do the same?

The Ancients had been the most difficult to convince, but fortunately, they didn't have the same crippling effect on him as they did Kerr. He'd considered that perhaps his immunity was due to having one as a sire, but regardless of the reason, he'd made it through all the meetings intact and under the impression that he'd succeeded in persuading nearly everyone that all was well within the Oligarchy.

Of course, there were a handful that he knew would be dissatisfied no matter who was in the Luminary's seat or on the council, because they disapproved of the organization itself and in turn, everything they did. But that sort would always find something to be upset about. Trying to convince them that the Oligarchy was only in place as a safeguard against another "Apocalypse" would be a feat similar to changing the rotation of the moon: highly improbable and entirely pointless.

His energy was better spent in other endeavors.

Like relaxing.

Vomas could feel tension gathered in his head, causing his right eye twitch sporadically. He rubbed at the corner of it with the pads of two fingers and regarded Sam with a raised eyebrow. "Do you, now? Because I was thinking about staying here for a while, enjoying the view." While his eyes roved lecherously over Sam, he made himself more comfortable in his chair, pushing his feet forward and clasping both hands behind his head. "Why yes, I believe I'm quite happy right here," he said airily.

[Existentially Odd]

"Oh, come on!" Sam declared impatiently, losing all pretence of casual and sexy as he sat up in his chair and gave a child-like hrmph action by pushing his shoulders back harshly and then relaxing them, that body-centred, pouty 'stomp' thereafter travelling down his torso in a wave.  His eyes twinkled mischievously and his grin was eager as he clasped his hands together between his knees, leaning forward.  "Aren't you just dyin' to see what they've got up there?" he entreated.  "All that reconstruction work and redesignin' a couple years back has to have yielded better views than anything in this old office," he drawled coyly, his accent becoming more noticeable as he remembered he was going to play the coquette to lure Vomas upstairs.

In addition to appearing as sweet as he possibly could, he was unusually tired and that also contributed to his Southern roots becoming more prominent.  He'd had a draining evening fielding a million gossipping questions about exactly how Vomas had ended up Luminary and where Kerr had gone and what his mood had been like etcetera... he'd got pretty much no work done because he'd entertained a continuous stream of the Oligarchy's curious employees who saw him as more approachable than any of the Oligarchs - with the added bonus of being right on the spot when it all went down.  He was consequently too tired to make sure he had all his 'g's in the right place, but not too tired to pass up the opportunity to see with his own eyes what he'd previously only been allowed to imagine - the most extravagant suite in the hotel.

[Saccharin]

Vomas would've continued acting as if he had no plans of allowing Samuel access to the Luminary's quarters, but he was beginning to sense that if he kept it up, his lover might genuinely become upset with him. And that was the last thing he wanted to deal with at the end of this particular night.

"Not personally, no," he admitted. "But I can see you are, so I'm willing to forgo sitting in this supremely comfortable chair to visit the penthouse." With a mental note to request Tansy order one for his office, he stood and stretched. He sighed as he extended his arms above his head and tilted his neck back and forth, then rocked it from side to side. There was a grinding noise and a sudden pang that made him wince, but as soon as he worked the kinks out, his body began repairing any frayed muscles or ligaments.

"Do you really think it's all that different from our rooms?" he asked, lowering his arms and regarding Sam speculatively.

[Existentially Odd]

Sam gave him a disbelieving look as he reached around the desk in order to snag Vomas' hand and drag him from the office as he talked.  "For a start there's all that glass they have for walls - the views ought to be spectacular.  Plus Kerr's an antiques buff, so the furniture should be exquisite and I believe they even have their own art gallery up there!" he enthused, practically skipping as they made their way to the one elevator that went all the way to the top of the building.  He'd lowered his voice when he'd spotted a couple of people still milling about, but his enthusiasm certainly hadn't dropped - he managed to bite his tongue while Vomas pressed the lift button, though.

He kept quiet until they were actually inside the lift and the doors were closed, and then Sam was all overtired enthusiasm again, cooing with amazement over the way Kerr's phone submitted the right frequency to allow the lift to reach the top floor, without Vomas even doing anything.  When the little box came to a stop and the doors swung open to a beautifully-decorated foyer with two open doorways either side of an extravagant artwork ahead of them, Sam gasped loudly and stepped forward as if in a trance.

Exclaiming over just about everything he saw - "Oh my goodness, look at that chair! That has to be sixteenth century - oh but the mirror, that's gotta' be even older!  Is that tapestry authentic... ?  Man it smells old but clean, y'know?  Dear lord look at the fucking size of this place! Ooh, d'ya' reckon this leads to their bedroom?" - Sam led the way from the lift, through the right doorway (though it turned out not to matter, as both led into the spacious central room that ended in a lounge and floor-to-ceiling plate glass window at the far end of the cathedral-like space - though much of the view was obscured by furniture and a giant fish tank) and to some doors on the right.  They turned out to be bedrooms, but two spare ones, with their own bathrooms.  He zoomed through the tidy rooms quickly, remarking on their decoration and how different they were, believing he knew which one had been Ichabod's because it 'felt different to the other', then headed to the doorway that had been on the left.

"This is their bedroom!" he exclaimed as he entered what finally looked to be a lived-in space.  Even though his elevated senses detected freshly-laundered sheets on the bed and the smell of cleaning products having been used tonight in the ensuite, the room also smelled of Kerr and Ben, as their clothes still filled the walk-in wardrobe and carried their scent.  Cologne had evaporated upon the walls, too.  Sam headed straight for the bathroom, exclaimed over the huge spa bath set up against a glass panel so that the occupants could lounge in luxury and enjoy a lovely view of the skyline (a somewhat limited view, admittedly, but still extravagant in Sam's opinion) and also over the huge shower at the other end of the room, that housed two showerheads for communal showering.  They hadn't bothered with a toilet, though there was a double set of sinks in the middle, he noted, bereft of many toiletries as they'd travelled away with them.

Re-entering the bedroom, Sam observed the bed with a critical eye.  "You know... this bed... is really not what I expected," he mused, observing the dark-wooded king bed with its minimalistic headboard.  The mattress on it was high and luxurious, sure, but he'd been expecting something much more... grand for where the Luminary slept.  A platform and curtains from an overhead railing at the very least.  This was underwhelming by comparison.  Eyeing off the matching bedside tables and drawers critically, he noticed something on the left (as he stood looking from the end of the bed) night stand that had him gasping and stepping towards it immediately.

"Our books!" he cried in outrage, picking up and holding out the small pile of four books for Vomas' opinion.  "Ben's stolen ou-uh, the library's books!  Look!  How dare he!" the librarian seethed, inspecting the books - clearly taken from the Oligarchy's collection without anyone's permission - for damage (though he knew he'd find none, as Ben certainly respected the objects... even if he obtained them illegally).  "Can he do that?" he quickly asked, tilting his head as he gave his lover a quizzical look.  It belatedly occurred to him that being the Luminary's Trophy Wife would certainly have its perks and being able to make a withdrawal from a REFERENCE library might well be one of them.  Shit.  He instinctively hugged the prodigal books to his chest as Vomas managed an answer at last.

[Saccharin]

Vomas silently followed Sam from room to room, his hands in his pockets and his steps purposefully light. He didn't want to leave any traces of his presence, not even on the carpet he walked upon. They were invading Kerr's personal space, and he became keenly aware of how uncomfortable it made him when they entered the Luminary's bedroom. If he'd given it any prior consideration, perhaps he too would've been underwhelmed, but he wasn't in the habit of daydreaming about Kerr's sleeping arrangements. He'd parted his lips and breathed in some air to tease Sam for doing so, but his beloved's sudden exclamation tinged with anger had him closing his mouth again and exhaling slowly through his nose.

Sam was right to be annoyed. Ben had broken the rules when he removed the texts from their proper home in the library, but...

Other than removing them from the library, he'd done nothing wrong. By what he could see, they were still in fine condition. After all, they'd found them on a nightstand, not next to, say, the bathtub where they might've been damaged by water. No. Ben (according even to Samuel, who didn't always have kind things to say about the youngling) loved and respected books. He wouldn't harm them - not knowingly.

They could certainly take the books back, reprimand Ben for his actions and make it clear it wasn't to happen again, but what would it accomplish? They'd feel better for having shown Ben that he wasn't above the law just because he was Kerr's fledge, but Vomas saw only unnecessary drama for everyone else involved. Ben might complain to Kerr. Kerr would have to come to him and request that he bend a little - like he had with the donor. And Vomas would bend, because Kerr was his friend (and those were in short enough supply).

He extracted a hand from his pants pocket and squeezed Sam's bicep in what he hoped to be a comforting manner, then met his inquiring gaze.

"He's not supposed to, but I personally don't want to make a fuss over it," he said. "We can make sure these are in the database and perhaps request that in the future he do the same. I'd hate to miss scanning something because it was up here."

[Existentially Odd]

Sam did his best not to pout as he put the books back on the nightstand, torn by his desire to take books he saw as his own back to where they belonged and his willingness to make Vomas happy.  For now, the latter won out... but he would do as his lover suggested and check that these books had been scanned (and definitely return them if they hadn't).  Ben was no longer his enemy but when it came to the library, he was definitely not his friend if he was going to behave this frivolously.

"Fine.  I'll check them before I take them back," he conceded piously, reaching up to secure Vomas' hand from his upper arm as he surrendered the books, turning and dragging his lover out of the bedroom.  They headed for the more interesting end of the apartment, stopping briefly in the kitchen to appreciate the amount of blood stocked in the fridge before heading into the art gallery.  Taking up the far left corner of the apartment, it really was a sight to behold.  They moved about the room examining the artworks on display but Sam was frequently drawn to looking out at the vast skyline before them, visible through the plate glass windows.  It was magnificent.

When they'd seen all there was to see in the art gallery (it wasn't particularly full, like Kerr and Ben hadn't really got into the habit of collecting art they liked to fill it, yet), Sam beckoned Vomas into the large room that took up the right corner of the suite.  It turned out to be a library.  "Oh, wooooow," Sam breathed as he grasped Vomas' arm to his body, coming to a stop just inside the double doorway.  Before them were two desks arranged so that they could be worked at (by Ben and Kerr, no doubt) while the occupants got to gaze at each other and the breathtaking view (naturally, there were no walls in here either, just more glass).  There was a closed laptop on one of the desks, stationery holders on both and an expensive, luxurious leather chair at each.  Beyond them, in the corner of the room, there was a large, comfortable-looking settee (sporting exhorbitant cushions) for reading on and the rest of the room was filled with books, books and more books.

"Good grief, why does he even need to borrow from our library at all?" Sam breathed rhetorically, gazing at the rows and rows of books in glistening dark-wooded shelves to the right.  Unable to resist, however, he stepped forward to the desks and turned on the Tiffany lamp on the nearest, gazing wonderingly around at the soft, warm light it threw.  Really, there was enough ambient light coming from the city for them to see by, he was only satisfying his curiosity as to what it would look like.  When he glanced out at the city towering around them, he also wondered if this light would give anyone out there gazing in enough light to see them by... and that gave him another idea.

"I love this room," he grinned, stepping back and encircling Vomas' waist with his hands before walking him backwards with him until his butt hit the end of one of the desks.  He lowered himself down onto it, his back to the city and his lover positioned between his thighs.  "I say we start here," he murmured, reaching up to undo buttons that were in line with his face, peeling Vomas' shirt back so that he could start pressing kisses to the flesh revealed beneath.  While he kissed, his hands wandered, attempting to undress Vomas further - starting with getting his jacket on the floor and his tie loosened, in all likelihood.