THE GAME ROOM

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

"See, I'm sure it isn't, but who am I to judge? It's not like I'd know, right?"

Hector let out a big sigh and threw himself onto the couch in the game room. He covered his eyes with his arm and sighed again. Hector didn't know what he was expecting from Claudius. The man was notorious for bad decision making.

Fuck it.

"Claudi...I don't wanna be in love." He slurred, looking at his friend, vulnerability showing. He was scared, he was angry, he was confused, and for once Hector was letting someone else see it. "I don't wanna."

Hector blinked and covered his eyes again. He didn't want to destroy anything else. Why couldn't he stay alone? It was easier to be alone and to be feared. Respect and fear were easy to manage, Hector knew what to do with them. But love was something else entirely. It made him feel caged and irrational, it made him want to do things that would hurt him in the long run.

Like dropping on one knee and asking Penelope to be his forever.

[CLAUDIUS CHANDLER]

"Claudi...I don't wanna be in love. I don't wanna."

If Hector's words hadn't been strange enough, his expression certainly was. He looked angry. And confused. And...this most alarming of all...he looked scared. Claudius had never seen Hector scared in his life, and it was scaring him somewhat to acknowledge the fact that even Hector Tormei, the mayor, Hector Tormei, the Don, was as capable of being afraid as much as anyone else.

But what made this all the stranger - or more amusing, depending on how Claudius saw fit to look at it (though amusing was looking less and less like an option, despite Hector's somewhat childish retorts) - was what Hector Tormei was afraid of.

Love. It wasn't something he, or Claudius for that matter, were used to. For his part, Claudius could turn on the charm (often to a somewhat sleazy degree), he could feel lust, certainly. But love? Never. His one-night stands and changed persona behind the doors of Hamlet Enterprises didn't allow for that. If he'd never truly loved his brother, gone so far as to murder him, how was it possible he could love someone entirely unrelated to him save for the fact they were both human?

If indeed human was a term one could use to describe men like Claudius and Hector.

The CEO shrugged, not entirely sure what to say. He wanted to help Hector, he truly did, but how could he? He himself had just admitted he had no concept of the emotion Hector felt...he could sympathize, certainly, but was that all?

"Well, it looks to me as though you are. So..." He paused, casting about for inspiration. Then, "It's not as if I have any bearing or control over your feelings, Hector, 'specially not your feelings for Penelope? What do you want me to do? What do you expect me to do?"

He wasn't angry, no. Just...he still wasn't quite sure how to feel about this.

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

"Well, it looks to me as though you are. So..."

Hector let out an admittedly undignifed whining sound and laid an arm over his eyes, huffing. He didn't want to be in love, he didn't. It was like having his heart ripped out and stomped on but he's too God damned happy about it to put up a fight. Love was going to make him weak and vulnerable.

It was going to hurt.

"It's not as if I have any bearing or control over your feelings, Hector, 'specially not your feelings for Penelope? What do you want me to do? What do you expect me to do?"

"I expect you to be a good friend." Hector snapped, sitting up quickly. "Be a good friend and make it go away. Fix me." Hector had fixed Claudius, hadn't he? He had made him better, got rid of his alcoholism. So why couldn't Claudius fix him?

Hadn't Hector been a good enough friend to get fixed?

Hector leaned his elbows on his thighs and rubbed his face. He sat on the edge of the sofa, hunched over himself like that for a long while. With a sigh and another huff, Hector stood and walked back over to the refreshments, making himself a cup of coffee.,

[CLAUDIUS CHANDLER]

"I expect you to be a good friend. Be a good friend and make it go away. Fix me."

Hector quick movement and sudden sharp tone after his undignified display of emotion was unsettling but slightly comforting all at once; this was more the Hector Claudius knew...but it wasn't as though he knew how to deal with the imperative Hector proposed.

How could Claudius possibly fix him? His alcohol problem was treatable - he'd been going to rehab for weeks now and had recently managed to bring himself to sell his once treasured hip flask. But love wasn't like a drinking problem - granted drink could be involved but that was as far as the comparison went. It was something Claudius, as he had been clear in informing Hector, had little to no experience in. He didn't know what to do.

He wanted to be a good friend - for the first time in twenty years- but he could start small and work his way up, surely. He couldn't fix Hector's problem just like that? And who was to say love was a problem? By all accounts it should be anything but.

This was quickly geting frustrating.

"Look Hector," Claudius said, attempting a resonable tone but not quite managing it. "I'd love to be a good friend and help you out but I can't just make your feelings 'go away'. And I can't exactly take your mind off them either, rehab considered."

Claudius was grateful to Hector - how could he not be when in making him realize the error of his ways he had practically saved his life? But due to his frustration at Hector's problem and his inability to help his words came out a lot more bitter than he had intended.

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

"Look Hector, I'd love to be a good friend and help you out but I can't just make your feelings 'go away'. And I can't exactly take your mind off them either, rehab considered."

Hector slammed the coffee cup he had been filling onto the counter, the ceramic handle breaking off with a soft, high pitched 'chink'. Hector turned slowly to look at Claudius, clearly angry, the now useless handle still closed in his fist. "Yes. Rehab I got you into." Hector started to advance on Claudius in long, sure strides.

"Rehab that's saving your pathetic life." Hector snapped, gesturing with the broken handle. "I saved your life." The handle was tossed to the side, bouncing off of something and hitting the floor. The hand that had been holding it, a deep imprint on his palm from it, closed around the collar of Claudius's shirt, giving him a yank. "I saved your pathetic fucking life and you /can't/ help me?"

Hector let out a growl and grabbed with his other hand as well, glaring down at Claudius. "You'll figure out something." Hector said in a sudden, calm tone. Don Tormei, in charge, controlled. His hands released Claudius's shirt and smoothed down the wrinkles he had caused gently. "You'll figure out something." Hector repeated, smiling at Claudius in a friendly manner though the sentiment never reached his eyes. The threat was in them.

His hands kept running over Claudius's shirt before resting on his shoulders. "You're my oldest friend, you're going to help me. Right?" Hector grinned again and kissed Claudius firmly. There was nothing romantic or sexual about the kiss. It was an assertion.

Hector could crush Claudius if he wanted to, but instead he chose to show kindness. Every time, he chose kindness.

((I hope this is all okay with you. I can change anything if you need me too))

[CLAUDIUS CHANDLER]

As Hector slammed down his coffee cup, Claudius knew he had said the wrong thing. His fears were confirmed as Hector advanced on him; Claudius would have moved away but his sudden fear had him rooted to the spot.

""Rehab that's saving your pathetic life. I saved your life."

Claudius knew this, he knew it very well. Yet he couldn't make his mouth form the words, and even if he could he knew that answering Hector back in this state would be another unwise move in his catalogue of errors concerning the man. When Hector grabbed hold of him, however, Claudius naturally tried to pull away from his grasp, an effort which failed as Hector suddenly was gripping his shirt with both hands - strong hands, a mobster's hands.

"I saved your pathetic fucking life and you /can't/ help me?"

Considering their long friendship and all they had been through, Hector's rage, at least directed in this way towards himself, was something he was not at all used to. He attempted to whimper some sort of reply but couldn't form the words due to fear - for all his bravado and boasting it was clear that Claudius freakin' Chandler was a coward.

"You'll figure out something."

The mob boss' suddenly calm tone was perhaps even more frightening than his shouts of rage, the glare he was giving the CEO taken into account alongside it. Claudius nodded dumbly, sure that he wouldn't but not wanting to disagree with Hector. Not now.

And then...

"You'll figure out something."

Hector was friendly again, smoothing out the wrinkles in Claudius' shirt his large hands had caused. But this friendliness didn't meet his eyes. This was a threat - figure out something or else. Claudius couldn't recall being given the Don treatment by Hector before - then again maybe he'd been too drunk to remember. But he was sure he would have remembered this. The gentleness of Hector's gesture reminded Claudius of the night at the Cat Scratch Club, when Hector had tried to comfort him after the revelation of his problems. Claudius almost smiled but the look in Hector's eyes stopped him.

Hector's changes of mood from furious to calm to friendly in a seeming instant were shocking enough. But nothing could have prepared Claudius for what happened next.

"You're my oldest friend, you're going to help me. Right?"

Then a kiss. The only kisses Claudius knew were in the romantic sense, and more often than not not even that - sexual, lustful. To say that Hector saw the gesture as an assertion was one thing but it left Claudius utterly bewildered and unsure how to respond as Hector drew away. What the hell had just happened? What did Hector mean by this? But instead of asking these questions, instead of being angry as Hector had, or even as confused as he felt inside, Claudius simply said, weakly,

"Right."

But this wasn't right. Not at all.



ooc: It was brilliant! I thought the kiss would come later but as it was it was fantastic! I hope my response was the sort of thing you were after - I too can edit if you want me to. (:

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

Hector nodded, smiling at Claudius. The poor man looked terrified. Hector rested a hand on Claudius's cheek, rubbing apologetically, his other hand still smoothing his shirt down. "That's right," Hector murmured. "You'll figure something out." Hector's hand ghosted over Claudius's jaw and neck, coming to rest on his shoulder.

"You'll help me." Hector continued almost thoughtfully. How did he want to be helped? He wanted to forget the whole thing. He wanted to forget that he loved Penelope LaFontaine. How could Claudius do that? He wasn't a wizard or someone who kept memory erasing brews in his pocket. That's why Hector had been drinking so steadily, he had hoped the alcohol would remove that unfortunate evidence but it didn't seem to be the case.

Hector was still far too aware of his unwanted feelings.

Frowning and swaying a little, Hector looked down at Claudius intently, trying to decide what to do. He didn't want to be in love. There had to be something to fix it.

It occurred to Hector that his longest relationship ever had, in fact, had been Claudius. His best friend, his only real friend. Hector's angry glower softened just a little as he kept looking at Claudius who still looked so frightened.

Maybe...just maybe...

Hector leaned down again, kissing Claudius again. He didn't close his eyes, he didn't move his hands, Hector just willed himself to feel something. If he loved Claudius, he wouldn't love Penelope any more and quite frankly, it would be a lot easier to deal with loving his close friend of two decades rather than the young, perfect, pure girl he had met not even two years ago.

[CLAUDIUS CHANDLER]

Hector's continued smiling, not to mention the feel of his hand against Claudius' cheek, was almost as unsettling as the kiss itself. And the way Hector was speaking...it almost served to confirm...but no, that was a ridiculous assumption, impossible even! Hector was so adamant he loved Penelope, wasn't he?

"That's right. You'll figure something out."

Claudius said nothing, still too shocked, bewildered and afraid to come up with something to say, never mind attempting to move away from Hector, shivering slightly at Hector's touch as his hand moved from his jaw to his neck to his shoulder. Was this a show of fear? Or something else altogether? Was it best to assume this was a result of his drunkenness and go along with it? But could Claudius go along with it? Did he want to, for Hector's sake, or for another reason entirely?

"You'll help me."

Claudius nodded slowly, dumbly, as if he were the subject of a hypnotist and completely under Hector's control -which, in actual fact, at this stage he was. He would help Hector, he would. But how? How could he help Hector? How did Hector expect him to help? What could he possibly give Hector that could help him overcome his feelings for Penelope? Such feelings were only natural, surely, and this was just Hector, as a man who hadn't experienced love, finding it difficult to comprehend and come to terms with that emotion-

Claudius' confused attempts to understand just what was happening (inside his own head, for outwardly he made no sound or movement to escape Hector's grasp) were cut off as Hector's glare softened and he leant down again and kissed him. Almost as soon as Hector did so Claudius tried to pry himself free. It was almost as though he had reached a conclusion in his confusion, that conclusion being close to Hector's true purpose - and he knew he was no substitute for Penelope.

This sentiment he voiced as best he could, though it came as more of a murmur than the cry of defiance he had envisaged in his mind.

[MEDEA KEKELIDZE]

The wanderings following her departure from the conservatory brought Medea to the game room. There was the sound of talking coming from within, which the woman took as a good sign. She was searching for somewhere to have a nice conversation, but without being in the heart of the party. There had been one person in the conservatory, but that had not turned out to her benefit. Maybe these people would be more talkative…?

She brushed down her cream-colored dress before going inside. She was still a little tipsy, but she could walk and she was aware of herself and her surroundings. And that was what mattered, to her at least. She would get home safely when she was ready to leave, whenever that was. Just because she didn't want to be part of a crowd didn't mean she had found the party totally boring yet.

Entering the game room, she caught the tail end of a kiss between two very familiar men. She kept up with the news very well, and recognized Mayor Tormei and Claudius Chandler easily. Blinking a bit, she stepped back a little and put on a slightly embarrassed smile. "Sorry," she said, backtracking more quickly, as she began to leave. She hadn't expected to walk in on anyone, and regardless of who it was, even, she felt pretty bad for interrupting.

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

Hector was disappointed. There was nothing there, nothing at all. Kissing Claudius was like kissing a wax doll; no emotions, just manufactured surprise. Hector pulled back and wiped his mouth, the intruder only barely registering in the back of his mind. Hector turned his head and waved drunkenly at the woman to come in. "Not interrupting anything." He said with a rather dramatic sigh. He moved away from Claudius quickly, going to get himself a cup of coffee in a mug that he hadn't broken.

This wasn't good.

Not good.

Bad, in fact. It was very, very bad.

What was Hector supposed to do with something like being in love? He couldn't sell it, he couldn't use it to scare a payment out of somebody. He couldn't do anything with it.

That wasn't efficient. Hector liked efficient. He liked having clear cut lines to follow in order to get business done in a quick, orderly manner. That was how he ran his businesses because that was the only way to get things done. That's how Hector ran his life because his life was his business and had been for as long as he could remember (quite literally in most aspects).

[CLAUDIUS CHANDLER]

As Hector too pulled away Claudius found he was relieved. It was when he noticed the newcomer that his relief quickly faded. He had moved quickly away from Hector as the mob boss released him but now he retreated all the quicker, as though to cover up for what had just occurred. He was amazed Hector wasn't more worried or angry about what had just happened - about what this woman had seen- but then, he was drunk.

Claudius looked from Hector to the woman, still trying to piece together exactly what had just occurred and come to terms with it, before seeming to regain the ability to speak, addressing the woman.

"This...um...what I mean to say...he doesn't...Hector's not normally...he's drunk...that doesn't normally...this isn't what it looks like..."

When I say he had regained the ability to speak, I don't mean to say Claudius had regained his usual eloquence. His panic over just what this woman had seen and his alarm about the conclusion he had come to after Hector's actions made itself quite plain in his words as he attempted rather fractured damage control.

[MEDEA KEKELIDZE]

Whatever had been happening, it seemed to be over by the time Medea walked in. That was something of a relief. She did not want to have broken up anything. Her mere presence anywhere tonight seemed to be a curse of some sort. She thought about leaving early, just going home, but what good would that do? She had not accomplished whatever it was she'd had in mind to accomplish.

"Not interrupting anything."

She entered the room a little warily. While Tormei had sounded more or less assuring, his friend, or partner, or something, had begun to stammer a bit.

"This...um...what I mean to say...he doesn't...Hector's not normally...he's drunk...that doesn't normally...this isn't what it looks like..."

Medea smiled and gave a little wave of her hand. "It's New Year's Eve. It's all inconsequential." She wondered where she had pulled that word from. Inconsequential. Perhaps she was more erudite when she was tipsy. In English, at least.

"How are you gentlemen this evening?" she asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from any awkwardness.