There's a knock upon the door.
A look of confusion graces Ella's face as she hears the knock, wholly unused to such things occurring within her home. She lifts her head from the downward-facing-dog pose, peering suspiciously upside down at her door before standing straight like any decent person would. Her face is flushed as she marches barefoot to the door, peering out the peephole before opening the door all the way. A black body suit with cropped leggings hugs her body, one eyebrow lifted as her mouth curls up at the corner.
Adrien is standing in the hall, his tie loosened as a bit of a replacement to the typical gesture of removing a hat. Perched on the corner of his mouth is still a cigarette though, as if he could ever go without one. Despite this fact, he does appear to be wearing one of the nicotine patches that she'd given to him for Valentine's Day. It's on the back of his hand. Weirdly, a second one is stuck to the backside of his other hand. He doesn't seem dead though, which is miracle enough. Or else, perhaps he is, and his mortal frame is just running off of pure nicotine, at the moment. The older man pushes something of a smile onto his lips as she opens the door, though it seems stiff. Not in a manner that he's not glad to see her, so much as that of a man who's just not used to smiling all that much, "..What's shakin', Kiddo?".
Without the sort of interrogation or verbal barrage she's launch at a delivery person or other caller, Ella immediately steps aside in order to offer up a path into her glittering abode. With her back against the door, holding it open, she grins widely up at Adrien, unable to keep a smile off of her face in response to the one offered so freely to her. "Oh, you know, not much. Just getting a little practice done outside of class so I don't shriek like a banshee when the harder poses come into play. Come on in. I actually have fresh fruit and fresh Chinese," she responds with a vague gesture towards the living room and kitchen. "How've you been? Haven't seen you around in awhile…" Her gaze falls to his hands, but she stifles any comments about his dashing patches… for the moment.
"..I'm allergic to fresh fruit. It's got too much health in it..", Adrien explains, stepping into Ella's apartment. He glances around for a moment, if not curious, then checking out his surroundings in a manner of an old habit that refuses to die with any amount of ease. Reaching up a hand, he rubs at the back of his salt-n-peppered hair, "..Yeah. I've been gone for a bit. New Orleans. There's been a bit of activity down there. Some weird shit. I had to go and check it out. Still need to go back. I'm sorry..".
Vivid grey-blue eyes follow Adrien as he walks in, though she tears her gaze away long enough to close and re-lock her door. A brightness fills her demeanor that had been somewhat lacking when she first peeked out the door as she listens to his words, her head canting to one side. "New Orleans? I bet there's loads of crazy shit going on there. It's sort of got a reputation, even to someone like me who's sorta out of the loop," she replies as she strolls languidly through the living room to stand facing her guest. "It's okay.. you don't have to apologize for doing your job, even if I do miss being around you," she adds in a gentle tone to match her lopsided smile.
Adrien reaches under his brown leather bomber jacket and pulls his Desert Eagle from the holster that's hidden below his arm, at his side. The weapon is laid on a table, before the coat is removed too, but folded over his crooked arm, "..Yeah. There's all sorts of insane shit down there. You wouldn't believe. It's a fucking Pandora's Box. Of shit..". For a moment, the Occultist fiddles with one of the patches on the backside of his hand, peeling it off and re-adjusting it, before going on, "..It's like a hive. One that needs cleaned out. I'm working with some locals down there..". Under his eyes are those complimentary rings of black that would show him to not be getting much sleep.
Ebon eyebrows lift as Ella tilts her head to one side, her smile fading away to leave a rather worried frown in its place. "I'm glad you've got help with that. I can only imagine.." she murmurs, her voice fading off with a shake of her head. Stepping over the mat she'd been using, she sits gracefully on the end of the futon, which just so happens to be in full-couch mode at the moment. Keen eyes dance over Adrien's harried face silently for a moment before she adds, "Are you guys making decent headway? Do you want me to spread the word a bit further about what's going down and how more help would be appreciated?"
"..Nah. The more people that get down there, the more people I'll have in my way. I don't want that shit..", Adrien admits, watching Ella for several moments, and even offering another light smile, this one a bit more relaxed than the first had been. A hand fumbles around in the pocket of his slacks for a moment, pulling out a small orange bottle. He uncaps it and taps a few out, which are bright red, swallowing them without the aid of a liquid, before putting it all back from where it came, "..You been keeping out of trouble, kid?", he asks.
Ella lets out a small bit of laughter as she flashes him a more coy smile, waiting for him to finish downing his medicine before reaching a hand up towards him. Slender fingers wrap around his wrist to give it a gentle tug, evading the question at first, "Have a seat. I can't help but think that maybe you might collapse from exhaustion and crack your skull on my table." She lets her fingers slowly fall away after advancing the offer, her smile becoming just a tad more strained, "It's sort of impossible for those of my family to keep out of trouble. I mean sometimes it just finds us, you know? Part and parcel of the job."
Adrien falls onto the futon, next to Ella, but not before managing to get the pills shoved back into the pocket of his slacks, "..I'm not going to fall over. I've got too much to do..to be falling over..and shit..". This is mumbled in a most convicted way.
Shaking her head resolutely, Ella inclines her chin and peers up at Adrien with a faint, but wholly genuine, smile. "I think the only thing you really need to do is get some sleep," she murmurs while snaking one arm around his back in order to coax him into lying down. "I'll be up for a good long while still if you want to hang here for the rest of the night. I promise I won't like sing outloud or anything crazy like that."
Adrien leans more into the lighter, smaller woman's side, "..I think the only thing you nee—..", he starts with, before cutting himself off with a brief yawn, "..d, is to not be right. It's not becoming on a woman…". He closes his eyes now, but doesn't seem to just fall right asleep.
Ella pokes her guest gently in the ribs while crinkling her nose playfully at him. "Don't make me sing outloud. You know I'll do it. Think of the horrible dreams you'd have of banshees and fiddles being gangbanged by tone deaf cats," she replies softly, the smile she harbors leaking into the tone of her voice as she relaxes even more against her surly companion. Her thin fingers splay lightly over his side as she peers at him from the corners of her eyes, her smile still well intact even if touched by concern.
Adrien speaks up, but in a voice that seems a bit more distant now, "..I'd feel worse about cradlerobbing..if..you weren't so..mouthy..". This obvious compliment causes him to burrow in deeper against the woman at his side, and the look upon his face is that of content upon a man that doesn't get such very often, "..banshee cats. so mouthy..", he mutters, slipping off, albeity slowly, in a lazy manner.
Allowing herself a moment of possessiveness, something she's always tried so hard not to be, she lets her fingers tighten against his side and pull him closer to her. She turns her head enough to brush her lips over his crown of hair, drawing in a deep breath and releasing it with a soft sigh. "You know you like the mouthiness," she whispers in a voice that's barely audible, not wishing to wake him but unable as usual to tame her tongue. "Don't worry, I still have the heart-shaped glasses to remind you."
