The first voicemail is ignored. The second one seems to have been. Hours pass without any word from the witchy professor, most likely due to her sleep schedule. Much debate is made about how to face this latest voicemail, before finally she dials in and deletes it. Dressing appropriately, she then makes her way to her office to begin setting up a few things. Eventually, though, Quinn breaks down and reaches for her Blackberry. "You're stupid," she mumbles as she uses her address book to dial Skylar. "Stupid."
—
Today's been a lazy day for Skylar. For the most part, he's spent the day in his beanbag chair as it's the only thing that is vaguely comfortable, what with his entire body feeling like one massive bruise. He's been able to get in some quality reading, so that's a plus - but the last few hours especially are boring. So it's almost with excited anticipation that Sky practically lunges at his cellphone when it rings - and groans as his muscles scream in protest. But, none of that matters, because he finally has someone to talk to - and Sky can't help but smile when he sees the Caller ID on his phone - complete with a small picture of Quinn that he took with his phone at some point when she wasn't looking. "Hey Quinn," is his immediate answer, as he settles back into the beanbag chair - doing his best not to make any groaning sounds as he does so.
—
There's a groan on her end that may or may not actually be heard. "I was expecting voicemail." It sounds so enthusiastic, but then again most things from Quinn do. Sitting in her comfortable office chair she leans back and closes her eyes. "You called." It's not a question, but a statement, and one that he'll know is true. There is then dead air as she attempts several times to see how he's feeling, yet she can't actually bring the words to the surface just yet.
—
"Ah. I'd apologize… but I haven't been sleeping much and I'm too bored to pass up the oppurtunity for a conversation, so I'm not actually sorry," Skylar replies in the phone, closing his eyes himself as he settles back in the beanbag chair. He waits a moment, seeing if Quinn will say more. When she doesn't, he does the talking. "So… how have you been? Everything alright?"
—
It isn't a fire. That is what concerns her the most. Now that she knows that he's fine she's tempted to hang up. In fact, the phone is pulled away from her ear with her thumb on the 'end' button. Due to this there's more of a pause and then a very audible yet distant sigh. "I sleep during the day." When she can. When she can't? That's why Quinn has developed such a love for coffee. "Fine. It's fine." The decision to attempt to ignore him isn't discussed, not just yet. He won't be able to see the way she pinches the bridge of her nose in annoyance before forcing herself to continue. "Are you well?"
—
"Oh, I see. Sorry." It actually makes sense, but they've never really discussed eachothers sleeping habits before now. "I'm… sore, actually. Got beaten to a pulp in the melee at the Ren Fair yesterday, so I'm a mass of bruises." No need to mention that it certainly didn't help already being bruised for their sparring matches. "Took the day off - hence the incredible boredom. Would you like to come over? Not that I can offer much in the way of entertainment, certainly not by way of sparring, but I could definately use some company. Unless you have plans - you don't have to drop what you're doing just for me. Just thought I'd check if you were free, that's all."
—
Blink. "You called to see if I wanted to visit you?" The way that she speaks makes it seem as if this is a ridiculous idea that should never have been considered. "You must not be feeling well." So far they've always had a purpose to actually run into each other. A random visit is beyond her. "I don't know if my company would be advised then, what with your condition and all." This is actually said with a grin, something that might be reflected in her tone. "I also don't have an active job until fall. I'm just setting up my office. I figured it would be something to do to avoid people." Yes, Quinn's said it.
—
"Yes. Didn't I say that in my message? I meant to." Sky smiles as well, partly because of Quinn's words and partly because of her tone. "Well, unless you're a licensed physician, I don't think you're qualified to make that statement, so you'll just have to come over anyways, hmm?" His tone is teasing, light hearted. Obviously not really telling her what to do. "And if that's the case we can avoid people together." He's a person, not people, so it's logical. Maybe.
—
She's not fully aware that she's told him anything about her job. "PhD, actually." It's not an MD but it's a title all the same. "I believe that entitles me to be overly opinionated." This is actually meant as a joke but considering how she normally is? It could be taken seriously. "The point of me ignoring people is to have me ignore you, Smallville." Quinn's not pulling punches. "I highly doubt you want to end up crumpled and broken on the floor. Again." She also doesn't wish to worry about such a thing happening.
—
"Something you accomplish with finese," Skylar says with a chuckle. That chuckle, however, and the smile in his tone quickly fades as he takes in her words. His voice, when he speaks next, is full of doubt… and other wounded emotions. "I… understand. I didn't mean to bother you." He pauses. "You didn't do it on purpose, Quinn." That, at least, is said with certainty.
—
"I know I didn't. Technically speaking, you asked for it." In a way he did. Her words are quick, blunt, but not as angry as they really normally are. A very deep sigh is taken but then she is quick to continue, her voice growing soft, almost 'normal' for a moment. "The very real fact is that you're the only person who has even dared call me a friend and I hurt you. Even if you understand, I can't just forgive myself so easily." There. With that said, she removes her glasses and places them on her desk. "I… I'm sorry." Such words never escape Quinn's mouth.
—
"You're right, I did. And I understand… not sure about that, but how you feel." Sky's hurt someone very close to him before. Not physically, and it wasn't even his fault, as it turns out. But it doesn't make a whit of difference when it comes down to the guilty feelings that were caused. There's silence, for a moment, as Sky takes in Quinn's next words. "There's nothing to forgive," he finally says. "But if there were? I would forgive you in a heartbeat, Quinn." Another pause, and a sigh, before, "And… I'm sorry too. For forcing my friendship on you, my presence. You never asked for it, I know. I'm not sorry for meeting you, knowing you… but for making you uncomfortable, that I am sorry for."
—
The conversation happens without her continued thought about it. "I always knew I'd hurt you, Smallville, but I didn't think it'd be like that." The honesty continues as she's not caught herself yet. "I'm not angry with you, not about that. I'm angry at myself for letting this happen. I'm frustrated with you for being so impossibly difficult about things." The last few words stumble to a close as Quinn catches herself. "I should stop talking now. Talking is not my strong point."
—
Skylar starts to laugh. Not for too long, and it fades into a groan as Sky's stomach and chest muscles complain under the strain. "Haha…ow. Yes, well, I don't think it is for either of us, at times. As for being impossibly difficult, I would say that's something we have in common, you and I. I've never met a more stubborn, pig-headed woman in my life. And those are just your good qualities." He's back to teasing. "Look, you don't have to come over if you don't want to," he says after another moment, more serious now. "But I'll be here if you do. And I would enjoy the company."
—
Eyes narrow as she finds laughter as a response. That's not exactly what one expects from opening up. "You make this difficult," she mutters, the honesty continuing. "Alright, Smallville. Whatever. Don't rupture your spleen or anything while laughing at me." This said, a glance is given to the time before Quinn relents. "Fine. I'll be there." Then in typical Quinn fashion, she hangs up the phone.
—
"Alr…" Women. Sky glances at the phone, confirming that the call was disconnected. Shaking his head, he glances down at himself. The sniffs at himself. Yup, time for a shower. So, with a groan and a moan, Skylar forces himself out of the beanbag chair, and slowly but surely makes his way to the bathroom. Clearly assuming that he'll have plenty of time before Quinn arrives. After all, she is a woman.
—
No matter what he assumes from women, this one is already prepared to leave her office at a moment's notice. This is Quinn, who is quite obviously not the typical female. The Blackberry is tucked into her purse, her glasses are retrieved and then she's off. It's best to get this done and over with so she can go out on patrol. Obviously this won't last long, since it seems like they can't be around each other without sparring or getting frustrated with each other.
Before long at all she arrives at his front door. Her suit jacket is worn draped over her forearm as she stands tall. Unlike any other times that they've seen each other, she's wearing a sleeveless dress blouse and a knee length pencil skirt. In addition to the glasses, her hair is back in a French twist. Quinn is in full out professor mode. She's also waiting, rather patiently, but not for long.
—
When Quinn arrives, Skylar is just finishing up in the shower. The water, however, is still running, so he doesn't yet hear the sound of knocking on the door or the ringing of the bell. So for the moment? Noone is coming to answer the door.
—
Walking away is not here intent, not in the least bit. The wait, however, is frustrating. "Nice." Jokes on her, apparently. So the witch gives the bell one last ring before she eventually turns around and begins to step off, her heels marking each step with a soft 'click'. It's not Quinn's intention to walk away from him, so to speak, but it seems like that's the message he's sending.
—
The water is turned off, a towel is grabbed… for the moment, Sky's muscles are slightly less tensed thanks to the heat of the water, even if the temperature and the pressure hurt at first. But then he hears that last ring of the bell. "Ah, crap," he says. He fully expects Quinn to leave if he doesn't answer the door. And so? He wraps the towel around his waist, and makes his way to the front door - luckily, he was using the downstairs bath, since going up the stairs hasn't exactly been pleasant today.
—
The door is opened a crack behind the retreating Quinn, and a voice calls out, "Why couldn't you have been slow and indecisive like any other woman? Come in, then." Sky does his best to hide his body behind the door, and will attempt to retreat to the bathroom for his clean set of clothes - not because he doesn't want her to see his half naked body, but because he doesn't want to see the bruising all over his body. Bruises from their sparring are older, but more prominent, while the melee bruises are newer, and larger, but not as deep, since he was wearing chainmail at the time. Unforunately, this also means some bruising was mixed, and those are the ugliest, most painful parts of his body right now - especially on one side of his ribs where he took both a solid kick from Quinn and a couple good sword blows.
—
The words are basically the same as running nails down a chalkboard. Gritting her teeth, Quinn returns to the door and lets herself in. She catches a retreating form but doesn't get a good enough view to make out the intensity of his bruising. She'll find out eventually, however. Quinn always finds out. "Did you /honestly/ just compare me to other women?" Yes, it's said a little venomous but she doesn't really intend to press the issue. "Though if you'd prefer me to come back later, I can always consider it." And very likely not show up.
—
"Yes, I did. Obviously I'm not thinking straight," Sky says, a grin in his voice as he calls out from the bathroom. The door is closed, but not all the way, so that he can still talk to her. "There's some pizza in the kitchen if you want it, as long as you like pepperoni." Delivery - one of the staples of someone on recovery. "You may have to heat it up though."
—
"Obviously." It isn't said as loudly as she might normally speak but the word is mentioned all the same. "Don't tell me that you're getting prettied up just for me. Doesn't that usually come with dinn" He then mentions pizza and for a moment she's frustrated that he ruined the delivery of the joke. It's dismissed with a smirk as she continues to just stand there, right inside of the door. "I had breakfast not that long ago." Breakfast? Well, it is an odd schedule that she keeps these days. Quinn looks about again, even though she's familiar with his home by now. She most certainly will not move until the right time to do so.
—
His house is pretty much the same as usual - though, as she can look into the living room from the door, she'll likely see that the beanbag chair that is usually in the corner is in the middle of the room now, and there is a small pile of books near it, as well as some empty soda cans, and a bottle of aspirin. "Well, it's there if you want it." When Sky comes out, he's dressed in a pair of pants that he has worn in sparring before - loose, but not too tight around the waist. The shirt he's wearing is loose as well, covering as much skin as possible. Nothing to see here. "Hello," he offers, with a light easy grin, now that he's dressed to face her.
—
What he wears is in stark contrast to her clothing, something that doesn't go unnoticed but she reserves comment until a better time. A mental note is made, however, that she should have changed into pants before arriving. "Hey." Yes, that's a beautiful greeting. So in-depth and everything. Quinn does look Sky over to investigate his injuries. He had made mention of them, even if not the severity of them. So once he appears she walks up to him and eyes him critically. "Drinking soda is not the best way to recover." She would know.
—
"Yes, mother," Sky says with a quirking grin. And then he seems to actually see Quinn. See what she is wearing. His grin freezes, eyes widening a bit. "Wow," he says, the comment, however brief, slipping out unawares. Shaking his head a bit, he glances down at himself. If he had realized, he would have dressed better, regardless of his current condition. "So, um…" he says, after a moment. "Want to watch a movie or something?" he offers after a moment.
—
"…" He's lucky that she has nothing in her hands at the moment. A punch would be considered but he did say that he's not in the best of conditions. "If you want to be like that, see if I help you again. Or get concerned for you." There's more of a lecture but it cuts off due to his comment. Quinn lowers her head and shakes it. "No comments or I will go change." If she means that she's brought clothes or is planning to use his is any guess. "If that's what people do? I guess whatever you want to do to keep yourself entertained." Opened ended statements are always so much fun.
—
"You know, I didn't think you could be threatening wearing a dress, but then, I must have forgotten just how intimidating you can be," Skylar says. It'd almost be a worthy of a proper Quinn compliment, if he weren't smiling. However, he does hold his hands up in truce. "Alright, ceasefire then?" He then looks thoughtful, as the topic of 'fun' activities comes up. "Well, I like to watch the Princess Bride when I'm under the weather… not that I'm ill, but I did take a sick day, so it's only appropriate. Or we could play a board game or something. I'm going out on a limb, however, and guessing you wouldn't find those fun… Well, what do you find interesting?"
—
Glare.
The looks eventually fades into neutrality as she considers. "Do you honestly believe that a ceasefire is actually possible?" A rhetorical question, perhaps, but it's thrown out there. "I'm not exactly ever kind to you, Smallville." The other day will be forgotten. Completely.
"Though, hell, why not try?" He is given a look when he mentions all of it. "I read books. Books you likely wouldn't like to read." This isn't a snap, but a general assessment based on her major and how lame she is to be around. "Why not put the movie in? It was popular some two decades ago so it can't possibly be bad." Okay, so Quinn may have thrown a bit of sarcasm in there.
—
"That's a lie, and you know it." Sky doesn't remember the specifics of the other day, he was only half aware at the time, but he remembers the look on Quinn's face, and the fact that she was there. That's enough. But, they're having a ceasefire, so he'll leave it at that. No need to agitate her. "Well, what books? My books are probably more boring then yours," he says, glancing over at the pile of books next to his beanbag chair. All of which are rather dry, in depth studies on various religions, religious practicies, and so forth. He pauses, then, peering at Quinn. It couldn't be, but just to be sure… "You have seen the Princess Bride, right?" Normally it's not a question you ask a normal person, but… well Quinn is Quinn after all.
—
Surprisingly enough, she's not irritated. "Could have been a figment of your imagination." This is said with a grin and surprisingly soft features. The moment ends when she goes to examine his piles of books. "Mine are Mythology and Witchcraft. I bet yours actually is far more entertaining, at least to the normal person." Quinn, as has been pointed out, is not normal. She's crouched down to view the books and remains there when he asks the question. "Didn't it have some pro wrestler in it?" That's her way of saying that she hasn't, without actually saying it. The look she gives him should be enough. "And some other guy, and that other guy?"
—
Well, that decides it. "We'll discuss our literary interests another time. You? Sit your cute butt down. You're watching it." See, Sky can take charge when he wants - and when it comes to one of the best movies of all times? It is important. So, moving to his DVD rack (rather stiffly, now that the nice feeling from the shower has worn off), he prepares to put the movie in.
—
"Way to put on your big boy pants, Smallville." Also, way not to bring up the fact that she's being nice. It's appreciated. So Quinn actually sits when indicated, not putting up much of a fuss at all. Although she does immediately cross her legs as any proper woman should. Professor Niveus is clearly different than Quinn the Vampire Hunter. The way Skylar moves is noticed. "I hurt you that bad?" Yes, she's going to bring it up. "Don't let me do that to you."
—
"No, I hurt me this bad. It was my own fault," Skylar says. "Two days of sparring in a row, and I went into a full combat melee at the Ren Fair. It was stupid." But he'd probably do it again. "And don't encourage me. I actually enjoy getting to boss you around," Sky adds with a grin as he moves to his beanbag chair, settling down with a groan and a sigh, and begins pressing buttons on the remote to cue up the movie.
—
Ceasefire. Remember that there's a ceasefire. Quinn just stares at him, watching him as if she'd never seen him before. "It's actually refreshing to see someone make the attempt and not do so poorly." Yet he's putting the movie in so she settles back to prepare for what she already assumes that she'll not enjoy. "Just get better, okay? Because if you don't, I'm going to kick your ass."
—
Sky glances over at Quinn for a moment, in silence. He doesn't retort, or make a snappy comment. He just smiles, turns back towards the TV, and presses play.
