All good Tylers are inside once the sun goes down. Oh, sure, there may be a reason here or there to go out but the darkness really isn't safe. That is why Faith is locked securely away inside of Ivan's apartment, blissfully ignorant to whatever evil is going on outside. A glance at the clock earlier alerted her to just how late it is which prompted her to get her behind in the kitchen. Tonight she's feeling a little festive, a little flirty and just in the mood to have some fun. So she's thrown on a pink apron and even put two little pink ribbons in her hair. Hope will never let her life it down if she finds out.
The meal is already underway when she receives a call from Ivan which troubles her. It doesn't matter who it is, when things like that are said it always means trouble. Doing her best not to portray her worry, she hangs up the phone and continues on with dinner. At least he'll eat well if nothing else. So when Ivan returns he'll find the apartment alive with the scents of a good meal. Her timing couldn't be any more perfect as Faith is currently waiting for the garlic bread to finish.
—
Ivan pushes through the front door, and as he removes his key from the knob and slides the door shut, Ivan already begins to shrug off his coat and put his briefcase to the side. "Faith? Hey, Im ho- man, what is that smell?" He sounds highly impressed, so thrown off by the delicious aroma of dinner that it distracts him from his dire news for the time being. His belongings are put to the side, and when he bustles into the kitchen, broad grin on his face, he is taken aback by her clothing. The apron…the ribbons…it's like he's been thrust into the twilight zone. Confusion riddles his expression, and he ends up just staring at her almost blankly, his smile disappearing. "F-…Faith?" It's a little squeak, practically. Searching. Confused.
—
The sounds from the doorway bring a smile to the woman's face. Now she can see if he's really a fan of what she made. She's standing near the oven when he enters and immediately places a hand on her hip. "Chicken parmesan. I was going to do something more but I lost track of time. Garlic bread is in the oven." The smile fades slightly when she notices the look on his face. Concern is clear, her head tilting every slightly as she watches him. "What? What's wrong?" She looks over her own body before moving towards him. The perfume is right, the smile is right and she's not whining. "Ivan, what's going on? You're scaring me."
—
There. All he needed was that, that irrevocable Roseness that he sees every day. With that confirmation, a look of relief crosses his expression, and he ends up absolutely melting, all trepidation leaving his form as he crosses the floor to His Tyler, arms out with the intent of wrapping her tightly and closely to his body. "Nothing." He grunts, low and only for ears to hear. "Nothing is going on, nothing is wrong. I just…I missed you, baby. Pretty girl. I've had…well, a pretty interesting day." With a faint laugh, he barely pulls away from her to stare into her eyes with something unreadable in his expression. "I got scared for a second. You looked like your sister." Cue a wry, almost bemused smile.
—
Now she's horribly confused. It just doesn't make sense but at the same time she's not going to deny him a hug. In fact, she always seems ready and eager to engage in such activities. So Faith all but clings on to him when he approaches her, the smile offered to him warm and inviting. This is definitely Faith. "I always miss you, you know that." It's such a relief to see him looking better and now he also has dinner. "I what? Oh." She laughs softly as she shakes her head. "I thought it would be funny. I hate pink. Besides, people should learn to tell us apart based off of other things." At this point she still has no idea what Ivan has been through. "But you should sit. I can get dinner on the table in just a few minutes. I can even open a bottle of wine."
—
Ivan just had a crash course in telling the twins apart. And though it might have taken him a little while out of confusion, that was one test he ended up passing. Ivan seems reluctant to release her, but eventually he loosens his hold on her, enough so that she can end up pulling away when the time comes. Before then, however, he is not above stealing a kiss for himself, dipping his head lower to simply brush his lips over hers in the sweetest, most fleeting of touches. "Mhmm…That sounds brilliant. But, ah, I've got a semi-funny story to tell you. And semi-sad. And…your sister's going to need you." Eventually, he makes his way into the dining room table, slinking into his favorite chair.
—
He will have to tell her about this test even if she does give him a bit of a funny face when he does. Until then she finds her cheeks slightly pink after the most innocent of kisses. He's just so sweet sometimes and she loves it. "Get comfy," Faith says as she does end up pulling away. She immediately begins removing the garlic bread from the oven. Before too long she brings over two plates, each filled with food and silverware. Then she retrieves the bottle of wine she spoke about. " what?" Now she's looking concerned again. "What's wrong with Hope?" At this point she still hasn't seated herself. "And how do you know?"
—
"I will, I promise." Ivan offers to her with the broadest of grins, and when the flush of pink is noted, it is with something akin to pride. "You're so cute when you blush," he offers in a compliment, before awaiting her return. Soon enough, the wafting aroma of food strengthens, and she returns with platefuls in hand. When his is placed before him, he makes a show of inhaling deeply. "God, it smells delicious. No wonder I keep you around." Already, he reaches for a bit of the garlic bread, unable to keep himself from moving to bite off a bit.
But then she's asking him questions. His lips purse slightly as he chooses, eyes lowering for a moment. "Sit down, baby. It's nothing too bad. She's not hurt…not physically, at least. And she's safe." He needs to give her this, so she doesn't freak out and assume the worst. "It's her douchebag boyfriend. I know because…well. Because this is a ridiculously small world, apparently. And I actually had a bit of a chat with your sister at the bar today. Well…actually, I was supposedly having a bit of a chat with you at the bar today."
—
She's obviously taking a great deal of pride in his compliments even as her blush remains. "I told you that I'd get good at this. I mean, it isn't hard or anything and I already knew how to cook. It may not be the best stuff on earth but I promise that you won't go hungry." This is the new Faith. She may not be working, or currently in school, or doing much of anything to earn her keep but she's at least happy to keep the apartment near spotless and food on the table. If someone were to point out to her that she's becoming a little homemaker she may actually cry. It just isn't the way that she used to be.
The joy does seem to fade from her as she watches him. Faith takes a seat, her movements slow and her eyes never leaving his. The color actually begins to drain from her all together. If it wasn't for the way that he stresses that Hope is okay she might actually be crying already. "I'm confused. You weren't talking to me at a bar." Under normal circumstances she would know what is going on but her mind is racing with what all could be going on. "Bobby?" Eyes flit over to the hamster cage. "No, see, that can't be true. That just can't happen, Ivan." Simple as that.
—
Ivan realizes rather quickly that he ought to start explaining things, and soon at that - for Faith isn't looking all that good. And so, while he handles his silverware, beginning to cut the chicken parmesan in manageable, bite sizes, he starts at the very beginning. "My sister came to see me a day or two ago, while you were out. Scarlett - my twin? Well, she wanted me to deliver a package to Bobby. Err - the big one, not the hamster. She didn't want to see him, because things had gotten…inappropriate between the two of them. She was under the impression that he wanted to kiss her. And it wasn't just her, apparently a psychic said the same. I mean, I knew they were flirty before that, but, I figured it was harmless. When she learned he was engaged, she decided that they just shouldn't go there, and removed herself from the situation, and that's why she wanted me to deliver the package to Bobby for her." There is a pause, during which he eyes Faith carefully, taking in her expression and her reaction time, as well as to fork a bit of chicken into his mouth. After a brief stint of chewing, he pauses. "This means one of two things. Either he's leading my sister on extensively, lying to her and making her think there is something when there isn't. Or he's thinking about, and prone to, cheating on your sister."
—
"No." That's a word she so rarely uses around him. "No, you're wrong. She loves him. She's only loved one other man in her life, and he died because of me." Yes, Faith is talking about Tripp. Hope's feelings for him have only recently been made known to her. Yet Ivan continues talking, holding his girlfriend's attention. Her head shakes slightly, here and there, before she just stares at him. When he finishes explaining himself, his reasoning, there is a long moment where nothing is said. If she's even managing to breathe it will be difficult to tell. It's as if Faith is a statute.
Then, slowly and without warning, the unstable Tyler stands. She doesn't say a word but begins to take her apron off. As the seconds pass her face begins to morph into that of an extremely upset sister. The apron is thrown onto her chair and she begins to walk, to locate her shoes so she can slip them on. The Faith of years ago is back, and in full force.
—
Ivan just sits back, chewing at eating at the dinner so lovingly provided for him in a calm fashion, knowing that Faith may need a moment to process everything he had said. But then she's a bustle of movement. Then, she's standing, and moving, and in a sudden panic, Ivan hastily swallows the chicken and makes his way to his feet, staring after his twin with his eyes open in surprise. "Faith! Faith, where are you - what're you doing?" He inquires, confused, before jogging over to his girlfriend and reaching to brush his fingers on her lower back to try and coax her into looking at him. "Are you alright, baby?"
—
To her it should be obvious what she's doing. "She loves him, Ivan. That's not a word that she throws around. I took Tripp away from her, but I'm not going to let this go. This one I can do something about." Enter protective mode. Faith is normally so frail in appearance, at least in comparison to Hope. Today is a day that he may see the exact opposite in the twins; the way things used to be before she went crazy. "No one deserves this, especially not my sister. I need to go deal with this." Deal is another word for kick his ass. "She's not as strong as she pretends to be. Someone has to look out for her."
—
"No, she doesn't deserve this. No one deserves this, at all." Ivan is adamant about this, looking grimly severe, but still, what is he to do? Let her run off and do God knows what? No…no, that's not a good plan. And Ivan doesn't intend to let her go, at all. He moves to wrap his arms around her, if possible - pinning her against him. "But, hold on. Wait a second, Faith. You can't just…break into his home and beat him over the head with a shovel. I wish you could, but you can't. He hasn't done anything yet." Which isn't true, but he doesn't know this. "You can't kill him. But…you can be there for your sister." Shuffling uncomfortably, he purses his lips. "Come back to the table. Let's eat first, then I'll drive you to Hope's. And…well. You could console her. And…even spend the night with her." This is a sacrifice for Ivan, but a drunken Hope's words remain stitched into the back of his head.
—
Poor Ivan is not having a good day at all. The twins are always such a pain. Faith isn't being any better. At first she attempts to pull away from him, yes, something that she rarely ever does. Finally she calms down but there are no return hugs, no smiles or joy. "I can if I want to." That flash of cold hatred hasn't been around in some time yet it finally resurfaces. "And I don't have to break in. I can just ask to talk to him. Then kick him. Hard." That's how Faith chooses to deal with things, anyway. She eventually shakes her head. "No. Hope wouldn't want me over there. She doesn't like me like she used to. Like she's given up on me. I'd rather deal with this in ways that I can actually make a difference."
—
This prompts Ivan to grow quite upset, but for once, he cannot respect her wishes. Despite her struggling, he holds her tight, refusing to let her go. And even when she calms, he only barely pulls away, not quite trusting her not to run off the moment she can. And then, when she speaks, all defiance and hatred, Ivan stares at her solemnly, looking sternly into her eyes. "No, you can't Faith. You can't do that, because if you do, they're going to think you've gone crazy again. They're going to take you away from me. And I can't let that happen, Pretty girl. I won't let you do that. Let me deal with Bobby."
But then, he swallows quite audibly, looking uncomfortable. "She pretended to be you. At the bar. At first, I thought she might've been, because she wasn't harping on me or dousing me with strawberries or anything. I ended up telling her all this. She needs you, Faith. And she loves you. She still loves you. She…in fact, she hates me because she thinks I took you away from her. Like I stole you away. We can still fix it. We'll go over to her place."
—
It isn't the fact that he's being a good boyfriend that is making her so angry; it's the fact that she just can't act like she wants to. He does exercise great caution and proves that he knows her better than at least most others. When given the opportunity she tries to break free again, growing increasingly frustrated at the situation. Only once she realizes that she's not going to be able to go anywhere does she actually stop, both of her hands balling into fists and finding his chest. No, she isn't punching him; she's not even using force. It's more of an act of defeat. "They already think I'm crazy! Hell, sometimes I wonder if they're right. If so many people are saying it, it could be true." She does suffer from hellacious mood swings, after all.
But then he's talking about Hope more and Faith just stares up at him. Tears are forming but more from anger and frustration than actual despair. "How much did you think she was me?" It isn't as if she's angry but she does know some of the stunts that she's pulled in the past. "If that's the case then you're not helping her at all. She can't get upset because I actually have a chance to live my life. That I finally have someone to make me happy." As she speaks the venom begins to leave her voice. "She's been allowed to date and all that whenever she wants but the minute I'm happy she has to repeatedly try to ruin it? That makes no sense. I think it'd be easier to go after Bobby."
—
Ivan doesn't mind being used as a punching bag. He doesn't mind the fact that she has frustration and anger to vent, and though he's still clutching at her shoulders keeping her close and making no attempts to still any other movement. "You're not crazy…but if you're proven dangerous and volatile, they'll lock you up. They'll put you in a place like Green Oaks again, baby. I wont be able to see you like now, you won't live with me anymore…we wont be happy anymore. Is that what you want? Is that really what you want?" He prompts, low but hurried as he tries to instill in her logic and reason once again.
But then, he's confused. All he can do is blink it out. "I, what? What do you mean, how much did I think she was you?" Befuddled, he decides to power through the semantics of that. "I don't…that's not it, baby. I don't think she hates the fact that you're happy, or that you have someone. I just…" He's been thrust into the twilight zone. He's defending Hope, after this hell-hole of a day. "You need to talk to her, baby. She just misses you. She misses the way you used to only turn to her, when all you had was her. And, now that you have me, now that you turn to me…well, she's jealous and a bit resentful of me, I think."
—
His logic does make sense but it just isn't fair. "So anyone else can react how they'd like, but because I might have a burning desire to stand up for something I get locked up." The hands at his chest reach for his shirt, gripping it tightly. "It's not fair. I want to have a life again. This city hates me." She's more spouting off than anything at this point. There has been the thought of taking her settlement money and fleeing, but she can't leave the ones that she loves. Even Faith, as off her rocker as she can be, realizes that they won't go with her.
"I'm asking because I know that I used to try and get her boyfriends to kiss me." Still she's not angry. "I just thought that we were past that point. I didn't really think she'd try it now." The fact that he is defending her twin nearly makes Faith's head explode. This all is so odd. "Don't say that it's okay for her to feel that way. I'm a person just like everyone else is. I can have someone else in my life. Hell, that means she has less responsibility." None of it makes any sense to her. "I just, she really hurt me, Ivan. It's not that I won't forgive her but she really overstepped her boundaries. I'll be there for her but should I really stay there after what she did?"
—
"No, Faith. Anyone else can't react like they'd like. Anyone else can be arrested, even sued for their explosions. That's the thing - you can't just act the way you want to. Not as an adult, you can't." Ivan pauses, clenching his lips tightly in a purse. "I intend to sue his ass if he proceeds to hurt either one of those girls. I'll take him for everything he has." Softly, soothingly, he runs his hands up and down her arms.
But then, he freezes at the accusation, eyes narrowing as he fixes his attention on her. Then, suddenly, he removes his hands from her person. "Are you asking if I did anything with her?" He looks for clarification, not impressed. "If I was faithful to you? I hugged her, Faith. That was all." With a broody frown he turns away from her with a sigh. "You know what, I don't know. Should you still be there? Yes, you should. Your blood says you should. The fact that she moved here to be closer to you when you had no one, when you were crazy says that you should. But I'm not you. And I don't know the situation, and I don't know your relationship, other then the fact that it's pretty fucked up. So I don't know. I can only help you, and support you, and keep you from doing stupid shit that'll end up with you in the institute once again."
—
"Sue him on what grounds?" She's not arguing so much as she's curious. "And I know that, but people still get away with it. For fucks sake, he split your head open. You didn't sue him. He got away with what he did." What she's looking to do isn't much different, after all, and requires a lot less blood. But then he's turning away from her and she just sighs. "No. No, that is not what I was asking." This is more frustrating than it should be. So she walks up to Ivan's back and attempts to wrap her arms around him. "What I'm asking is what -she- did. I don't doubt you, Ivan. Even if something did happen you'd be thinking that it was me. That's not cheating." It's as if she can't have issues with her sister, that's what this feels like. "And it's just hard. I still want to be there for her but she rejects everything I say. I'm not in my right mind. I must be crazy, things like that. So I can try but it's just going to come back somehow to me being crazy and you being an ass." There's no anger to Faith's tone at all. She's simply expressing what she rarely chooses to. "I can talk to her, but I'm just upset. I do better with actions than I do with words."
—
Ivan points to his head with a wry, humorless smile. "Sue him about that exactly. Aggravated assault. Then I'll hit his club, I'll make the city do an official investigation into the practices and goings on at the Warehouse. Big clubs like that always have minor infractions of the law on, but we generally overlook it provided it's not something that is too dangerous. If I'm lucky, I'll shut it down. Lose him his job." But then she's wrapping her arms around him, trying to draw closer to him, and after a moment of thought, he gives into the embrace. "She kissed me on the cheek. That's pretty much all there was to it." It doesn't sound like a big deal, and Ivan isn't concerned about it. But he is concerned with this particular Tyler, judging by the hooded way he watches her. "…Well. What do you want to do? Correction - what do you want to do that wont end up with you taken away from me. What do you want to do that you can do?"
—
That brings pause to her. "I didn't think of that." Revenge is usually not served in that way, not with her. So Faith considers it for a while before shaking her head. "But you'd be hurting other people, not just him. And really, do you want to be responsible for that?" Shutting down the Warehouse, that is. Faith isn't angry anymore, at least not in that cold way that she's known to be, and she's certainly never been angry with Ivan over this. "Good. I'm not really concerned but I just don't want her bothering you. I know how you feel about cheating and things." So a hand reaches for him, for his cheek. "I want you to sit down and eat. Don't worry about me so much. I don't think you're lucky enough to get rid of me so easily." Faith does have a way of bringing her problems to him, after all. "I promise I won't leave and do something stupid. But can I wait until tomorrow, when I've calmed down? Then I'll talk to her."
—
Ivan pauses for a moment, eyes narrowing slightly. "Fine. I wont close down the club. I'll just get him fired, is all." It sounds so simple, all so easy. And with this highly clinical approach, cool and calculating, it's an easy reminder that despite it all, he is a politician. It's times like these that one can really see how it is easy to mistake him for a cruel, heartless person.
But his expression softens considerably when she touches his cheek, and as he defrosts, he leans into the warmth of her touch, his eyes a darker shade of green then normal, a richer shade. "It depends," he gruffs, the low rumbling escaping from his chest. "Will you sit down and eat with me?"
—
"I like the idea of his ass getting kicked more." At least that way it's a point made without completely ruining his life. That's just her way of thinking, though. Faith is not a politician and the fact that Ivan is almost scares her. She watches him for a moment, about to say something but she stops. This happens a few times before she shakes her head, allowing it to slip by yet again. She'll ask it someday, but perhaps not for a while.
In the mean time she continues to watch him, not once proving to have any issues with -him-. "I made it just for you. You have to eat." It's said so matter of factly. "Since it's really the only thing I can do." Yes, that right there is a guilt trip, even if it's said with a smile. "Fine. I'll sit down and eat. I promise I won't go actively looking for Bobby and causing problems." She will kick him if she can, though, this much is certain.
—
That's where Ivan and Faith differ. The entire point is to ruin Bobby's life, to give him half as much pain as he's giving the girls. To teach him, once and for all, definitively, that cheaters never prosper. There would be no point in simply hitting him and then moving on. No lessons would be learned, and the pain wouldn't be enough to keep him from acting on his selfish impulses once again.
But then, Faith is telling him to eat, and promising exactly what he wishes to hear. With a faint smile on his face, he lifts his hand to brush her hair out of her face, loving and soothing in demeanor. "You do so much for me, Faith you don't know it. But you really do. You don't know how much you help me by living and just being with me every day, by being yourself…But, yeah. I'll take you to see your sister tomorrow, or you can go by yourself. Whatever. Let's just…sit down and enjoy our meal together, okay? I think I've had enough of the twilight zone for one day."
