open | so I keep doin' my own thing; walkin' tall against the rain

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

Derek had somehow gotten away with not getting sick more than a headache that was just getting worse and worse as time moves on. It was never so bad that he couldn't work though it though, not as bad as so many others in the city (knock on wood). So every morning he went into the rec center to put in a full day's work. Every evening he went to check on those people he knew here in Itinere who were sick. He took them food and medicine and whatever else they might need. And he tried not to get sicker himself.

At the rec center, throughout each day, Derek stayed busy. Some days he worked with the treadmills, weights and parallel bars. Some days he worked with the punching bag and settled in a training room to go through his judo moves. Some days he did laps in the pool. Some days he was out on the basketball courts shooting some hoops.

Every day, he helped out whoever came into the place. While people are sick, after people are feeling better. Derek is there.

When Derek isn't at the rec center he can be found around the City in various places. Sometimes he's at the market picking up odds and ends. Sometimes he's at the park walking or jogging on the trails with earbuds in his ears, music from his iPod blaring loudly in his ears. Sometimes he's driving down the streets and up into the twists and turns of the roads in the mountains on his bike from home, which had magically appeared recently. Sometimes he's stopping at the burger joint, because Derek has a hard time resisting a good burger now and then. But really, who doesn't?


ooc: Open catch all for Derek all the way into June. So even if you're sick, you can chat with him when you aren't sick anymore too.

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[venusvandam]

For a while there, Venus thought (dramatically, she would admit) that if a cold could kill someone, she might well die.

Of course, that she had an incredibly handsome, incredibly kind nurse, one who even occasionally slept on her couch even if she was coughing as if she was attempting pull every bit of filth from the very bottom of her lungs.

But finally, the cloud of illness seems to clear and Venus begins to feel nearly human, enough to take a long, hot shower. And while she might feel a little weak, all things considered, and she puts on a pretty dress and some heels, doing her hair and putting on a touch of make up. Then she stops by a nice market and gets things to take Derek a lunch. She stops at the rec center, first, to see if he's there.

This is, too, she realizes, something of a trial by fire. She's seeing him in public: what better moment to reject her. Venus would like to think that he wouldn't, but, well ... she'd see.

Of course, many an eye turns when she walks in. "Hello," she says, in her best Southern belle voice. "I'm looking for Derek."

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

Derek had been pretty damn worried about Venus. For awhile there, she had seemed like she was feeling pretty bad. Luckily, the injections at the hospital had been almost instantaneous. He knew he was feeling better. From the people who came by the infirmary, he knew that most of the City was feeling better. Miracle serum, he guessed.

The person at the front desk saw to Venus by leading her back through the building to some offices and through an open door where Derek sat at a desk with paperwork strewn over the top. His skin has a sheen as if he has just been working out, which he has.

When he spots Venus, Derek stands up and smiles, telling the women he has this and thank you. "Look who's vertical and lookin' so damn good." He walks around the desk and wraps one arm around her shoulders.

"How you feelin' pretty girl?"

[venusvandam]

She is most definitely not the only one looking so good. Derek smells good too and that sex drive? The one which had lain dormant when she was so sick? It comes roaring back to life as she was in close proximity. "I'm feeling nearly a million times better," she tells him. "Due entirely, I am sure, to your exemplary nursing."

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

He laughs lightly and shakes his head even as he pulls away enough to brush some of her hair back and see the red dot on the side of her neck left by the hypospray. He has one too, less visible on his darker skin. His thumb brushes over the dot before he rests both hands on his hips.

"Pretty sure it was whatever magic they had in those hyposprays." His grin is just a little cocky, contrasted by the kindness in his eyes. "But I don't mind takin' a little credit."

Derek turns back into his office to grab a towel from the back of his desk chair so he can wipe the back of his neck, his head, his arms, trying to soak up whatever was left from his work out minutes before. It only just occurs to him that he had hugged her while he's still sweaty.

He gestures to the couch along one wall. "Wanna stay for a little while? You have time?" He asks.

[venusvandam]

Oh, hell. Venus had been hugged by men with bigger issues than a little bit of manly sweat. In fact, that just seemed to inspire a deeper reaction in Venus's very loins; she touched a hand to her throat, watching him move.

"As a matter of fact," she says, lifting the bag she's carrying. "I brought you lunch. Well, the fixin's for lunch."

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

Noticing the bag for the first time since she walks in, Derek can't help the way his grin turns into a more genuine sort of smile. It's probably the nicest thing anyone here has done for him. Isn't it strange how those small kindnesses can mean so much? Derek has spent weeks checking on her and taking care of her. But he expects nothing in return. This is just... a very sweet surprise.

He walks back over to her her takes her hand in his, leading her over to the couch. Since the whole sick thing, he's resigned himself to being her friend, and is honestly thankful for that much after what the roses had made him do. He still has those lingering complicated feelings that confuse everything. But he's pushed them to the back burner in light of keeping her friendship and not pushing her in any way toward something with him when he knows he comes with complications.

They sit and he holds her hand a moment more before letting go. "You know you didn't have to. But I'm glad you did." He doesn't want her to think he expects anything. But her being here and well, it has him feeling... those complicated things he's trying not to think about.

[venusvandam]

What she feels for him is perhaps a good deal less complicated in a way. She's so very attracted to him (anyone who's seen him would have to agree to this) and now that she's had a chance to really get to know him, the internals seem to match the externals. It's more what she expects: for him to come to his senses and scoff at her.

"It was the least I could after you were so very kind to my very sick self," she tells him as she opens the bag, pulling out cheese and cold cuts and those delicious pretzel rolls, as well as tiny jars of mayonnaise and mustard and some chips, even. "It gave me, as well, an excuse to come see you," she confesses with a crooked smile.

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

It has been awhile since Derek came to his senses. He is completely in his senses. The problem is that his senses are a flip-flopping back and forth between what's right and wrong for Venus, what he should do and shouldn't do with Venus. Venus is unlike anyone he's ever wanted to be with. He's normally so confident, or at least he pretends to be confident. He's kind of flailing for what to do here.

"Gotta take care of my girl, right?" He says, trying to grasp at some of his usual direction and confidence. "And I'm glad you're here."

As she starts to take things out of the bag, he smiles again. She brought him the fixings for sandwiches. Such a simple thing but it makes his chest feel tight with something he won't put a name to. This small act just made his entire day and he's not even sure if she realizes that. "You're gonna stay and eat with me, right?"

[venusvandam]

"If you wouldn't mind the company, I suppose I could," she tells him, watching him with an expression that isn't nearly as masked as it should be: a mixture of hope and trepidation. My girl.

She hasn't been anyone's girl for a long time, really, not even Alexander's, not really. Is that what this is, then? And what, then, does that mean? (She is, after all, still a practictioner of the world's oldest profession - or will be again now that she's well).

Drawing out some napkins, she can then collapse the bag, folding it as to give herself something to do with her hands.

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

"Are you kidding? Best company I've had all day." She's healthy. She came to see him. What that meant, he didn't know. But he never would have expected it after the roses. Yes, he had taken care of her while she had been sick, but in some ways he had kind of forced that whether it had been wanted or needed or not. His way of being around her, of trying to make up for how dark and messed up he had become over her, an attempt to sort out whatever was going on in his mind in regard to her.

Derek watches her quietly for a moment, the way she looks at him and the way she obviously tries to keep her hands busy. He's well schooled at reading people. It's what he used to do for a living, after all. He reaches out for her hands to hold them steady. He doesn't hold them tight though, in case she wants to pull away.

"Hey..." He says softly. "Tell me what you're thinkin'. Maybe we can get whatever worry I see in those eyes out of the way."

[venusvandam]

"Oh." Venus ducks her head, letting her hair curtain her face. "It seems no matter how far I come from home, I cannot escape certain insecurities." She takes a deep breath and goes on, her hands grasping his, a small crumbling smile playing over her face as she speaks. "Like the dark internal voice that tells me that you will eventually realize that you no longer wish to dance on this side of the freak line and send me on my merry way. This is not an indictment of you, Derek; please don't take offense."

[krasnayapautina]

Basketball is something that Natasha hasn't had a ton of practice with; being trained from a young age as a spy and assassin doesn't leave a lot of time for things that most other people get to do. However, since here she's not tied up with SHIELD and avenging, she has time for those things she hadn't had much time for previously. Plus, tossing a basketball into a hoop can't be that hard, right -- like aiming and shooting a gun at a target?

Except for the fact that it's actually .... not entirely like that. So, while her aim and sight doesn't suck, she'd probably have a lot higher success rate getting the ball through the hoop if she knew how to use the rest of her body with this particular task. Right now, she looks awkward. Like someone trying to skate on ice before they know how to hold their hips and knees, setting themselves up for faceplant after faceplant (if the toepicks on the fronts of the blades don't catch them first). Or, you know, like someone trying to simply shoot a basketball through a hoop but treating it like all there is to it is the basketball as a weapon and the hoop as a target. So, after she tucks a strand of her short-ish red, wavy hair behind her ear, she'll try again. And then wonder how long she can stay here and embarrass herself before moving on to something else -- but that might be a while.

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

Derek has been watching for just a little bit, a few reps of the woman throwing the ball at the hoop and missing. She doesn't actually look all that uncoordinated, just like she isn't sure which muscles to use and when. Like a beginner with any new activity. Otherwise, she looks tonned, like she has the strength to get the ball forward and up in the right direction.

"Hey." Derek says, giving her a friendly grin as he enters the basketball court. He gestures with his hands for her to pass him the ball. "Let me help you out a bit. Just a few tweaks and you got this."

His brows lift, adding a bit of playfulness to that grin. "Name's Derek Morgan."

[krasnayapautina]

She looks over when she hears someone entering and speaking to her. "Hi." She says, returning the smile with her greeting, before passing the ball to him. "Pazhalsta." The sound of a word in Russian (Пожалуйста) that can mean 'please', 'you're welcome', or like 'here you are' when handing an item over to someone. "I'm usually a quick learner, promise." A beat, then she introduces herself as well. "Natasha Romanoff."

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

While he isn't well versed in other languages aside from Spanish, he can catch on to certain dialects well enough. Reid is more the language guy than he is. In fact, Reid is more the everything guy than Derek is with only very few exceptions. And Derek is confident enough of a person to admit that. You have to play to your strengths, right? Derek would guess what she said was Russian. But he couldn't be positive. And he has no translation for it.

This is why he's glad that he reads actions well enough. Derek catches the ball and bounces it around in his hands a bit as he nods at her. "Good to meet you, Natasha." He tells her.

"You're too stiff." He tells her. "You gotta let it flow through you from the ground up. Relax those joints a bit. Like this." He turns to the hoop. His knees bend just a bit as he lines up his shot, pushing up quite literally from the balls of his feet up to his knees through his torso and into his arms, the ball leaving his fingertips and arching through the air to roll around the hoop and then fall in.

"Aw now see... could've been nothin' but net. Close!" He jogs over to get the ball and bounces it back to her. "But you get it right? Give it a go."

Later in the day: the ~reveal

[venusvandam]

Of course, it doesn't take long to get to Venus's apartment, even with the stop at the market for dinner, and she leads the way in, flipping on a few lights. From there, she can pour Derek some wine and start supper. No sense in rushing into anything right away, right? They can have a nice meal and then she can bear all her dirty hooker secrets.

Admittedly, she's a little nervous about that. Here, she has her Disney prince and she'd like to keep him for just a while if she could. So, she urges Derek to make himself comfortable as she putters about her kitchen: steak and potatoes and a salad. When it's ready, she calls to him and they can sit down to eat. Only when he's got a belly full of steak and the dishes are done does she wipe her hands and clasp them in front of her. "... shall we?"

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

It's the best time, really, spending time with her in her place. Venus lets her help him a bit in the kitchen, only enough so that he won't be able to screw it up as he is sometimes prone to do when cooking anything. Mostly he gets in her way on purpose until the meal is done and ready to be eaten. During the meal they talk about a little bit of everything, his love of sports, her new job at the rec center.

He does his best to get in her way with the dishes, even taking over to do them himself since she had cooked for him. He leans back against the kitchen counter, drying his hands on a dish towel when she asks if he's ready.

Something in his belly flip-flops; nerves and curiosity. He gives her a grin and nods. "Surprise me, pretty girl."

[venusvandam]

Swallowing down that wry comment that wants to come out - she does fear she will surprise him - Venus takes Derek's hand and leads him down the short hallway to her bedroom, which is lit by small lamps covered in sheer scarves. There's her bed and at the foot of it is a big, old trunk. One she'd hauled around with her each time she'd moved. Somehow, too, it had ended up here. She gestures to the small chair in the corner of her room. "Have a seat, darlin'." She sits on her heels on the floor and moves to open the trunk.

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

It isn't the first time he's seen her bedroom. It's the first time she's actually brought him back here herself when she wasn't sick as she had been not even a month or so ago. He likes the feel of it. It's very much a 'Venus' room. Sexy and comfortable. He keeps himself from mentioning the fire hazard of scarves over lamps because it's Venus. His best friend Penelope does the same thing in her apartment. Derek ribs her about it every time he's there.

He moves to the chair in the corner and has a seat, slipping his feet out of his flip flops. His gaze lands on Venus where she kneels by the trunk and lingers there with her. "You mean I actually get to sleep in your bed tonight and not on the couch?"

[venusvandam]

"If you want to and play your cards right," Venus says with a wink.

"So, here it all is." She pushes open the lid of the trunk, revealing something of a jumble. There is plenty to see and nothing too hardcore; she isn't a fan of being cut or bleeding, really, but there are a few floggers, a few padded paddles, a whip in there (all for show and the sound, of course), and some fuzzy handcuffs, some scarves, some velvet ropes, feathers, some ticklers, that sort of thing. Folded in there too is Venus's vinyl catsuit. Venus sits back, letting Derek see and touch what he wants to.

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

Derek leans forward with his elbows on his knees so he can get an idea of what's in the trunk. He can't really see or make out everything, but he does get the general idea. He catches sight of a paddle, maybe a whip. The handcuffs are familiar although his pair is minus the fuzzy. Something vinyl or latex or...

"There it all is." He says, his stomach flip-flopping inside him again. He doesn't reach out to touch because he doesn't even know where to start. "What's your favorite thing?"

[venusvandam]

"Well." Venus doesn't reach right in and start tossing things about because she doesn't want to scare Derek any more than she might already be doing. But she won't lie to him either. "Let's see." She leans over to rummage around, pulling out a dildo, and flips a switch on the base. It lights up from the inside, like a disco ball, but ... cock-shaped. She grins a little as she holds it. "As far as party tricks go, this one can be fun."

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

He isn't scared. Or he'd like to think he isn't scared. Not of the objects themselves. Not of the role that Venus likes to play. It's of the role he's considering to play. Control isn't something Derek gives up lightly. And everything in that box represents him giving it over to her.

Maybe he is scared. A little.

Her grin is met by one of his own. They both know that one isn't scary. Derek has one of those at his apartment, minus the lights. He chuckles, reaching out for it and bringing it closer to study it. "But what's the point of the lights? Just for show?"

[venusvandam]

"Exactly that, darlin'. Like ... peekaboo," she tells him, tittering at the idea. "Make the room dark, the only light is this thing? And 'oops, where'd it go? Oh, it's back.' Something like that," she tells him, leaning an elbow on the edge of the trunk.

Really, much of the bells and whistles of pleasing men can be quite ridiculous. But at least they're good for a laugh.

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

Derek flips the switch a few times. It is kind of ridiculous, or it would be if it weren't what she had picked out when he asked what her favorite thing is. However, that brand of ridiculous is okay with him, he thinks. A dildo is a dildo. He's seen some that vibrate, never one that lights up like that.

He offers it back to her. "You ever use it on yourself?"