duplicity | inbox

[mofi]

hey, this is murphy. i didn't pick up because i don't want to talk to you.

audio ○ text ○ video ○ spam etc

Comments

text because she hates using voice chat.

[littlepandora]

Hello!

I have one package of homemade perfectly edible cookies. When would you be available to receive them?

Re: text because she hates using voice chat.

[mofi]

ur excited
u sure u meant to text me?

Re: text because she hates using voice chat.

[littlepandora]

I thought you wanted to taste test cookies. My mistake.

Re: text because she hates using voice chat.

[mofi]

i do
i just didnt think ud actually make me some
u can drop them off at my door if u wanted.

[littlepandora]

Being wrong shouldn't surprise you.

I will be there in 20 minutes.

[mofi]

[ That's a stab right in the chest. ]

ur right i shouldnt be
alright just knock and ill let u in

action

[littlepandora]

Pandora arrives in her timely fashion, cookies in hand. She's tidy as always - blond hair neatly plaited back from her face, her floral dress faded with age but clean. It's hard for her not to feel out of place. It seems like a fair few people here prefer designer clothing, and the long mark on her neck only seems to make her more obviously other.

Luckily, she's not in the halls long. Murphy's door is easy to find (had she been there before?). Stripping off one glove, she knocks firmly three times, and then tugs the fabric back over her hand while she waits.

[mofi]

Murphy wasn't really expecting her to actually have cookies for him to try so it came to a surprise when he received her text messages. He also didn't think that Pandora would actually be knocking on his door in exactly twenty minutes.

But then he hears a knock on the door.

"Coming," Murphy calls out, voice still a little gravelly. He sounds distant like he is speaking from across the room. A moment later the door is opening.

Murphy looks down at her, the side of his head resting against the door frame. "Are you going somewhere after this?" Her hair is done nice and the dress seems fitting for some kind of holiday party. Murphy, on the other hand, looks worse for wear. There's a prominent amount of scruff that covers the bottom half of his face, travels a little down his neck and just below that is still a bruise that has blossomed around his throat. His hair is disheveled, eyes sunken in and red-rimmed.

"What kind of cookies are they?"

[littlepandora]

Pandora's only really seen Murphy in the photo attached to his ID on the network. That's what she's expecting, but she's hardly surprised that he's a head taller than she is. Most everyone's got at least a few inches on her. It's just-

The question is a momentary distraction. Her dark eyes are focused on his neck a moment, before moving up. The bruise, the disheveled and worn appearance. It's very tempting to reach out, to brush skin and know if this is sleep deprivation or upset or pain-

Her hands tighten on the box instead and she gives him her best polite smile. "The edible kind.," This smartass. "Chocolate chip and peanut butter. What happened to you?"

[mofi]

"You're just as short I'd thought you'd be." He's only saying this because of the dream he had. She was in it, oddly enough. A really good dream, in fact. Murphy clears his throat, uses his shoulder to push himself from his lean.

"The edible kind? How lucky of me." Murphy smiles wryly. He's about to take the box of cookies when he pauses at her question.

Of course, she would ask, why wouldn't she?

"Someone tried to kill me. That's what happened." One of his hands takes hold of the box of cookies and gently tries to tug it from her grasp. "Thanks for bringing these."

[littlepandora]

There's a pause before her hands release, and she's still staring up at him. He's just as dry in real life - big surprise.

"You are showing signs of dehydration. Are you being treated for your injuries?" A pause, and then awkwardly, her voice quieter- "Are you alright?"

[mofi]

She has these big blue eyes. They are just as vibrant as they were in his dream. It also feels like she's boring right down into his core. His glance ticks away from her face and to the box he's now holding in both hands.

"I appreciate the concern but I'm doing just fine." It's a pitiful lie. Murphy knows this but what else is he going to say? The last thing he wants to tell her is that he's been scared to sleep. Scared he'll wake up to Bucky looming over him to finish the job.

But Jack said it wasn't Bucky, it was some kind of mental programming. Something that Murphy still has yet to wrap around his head. He and Jack haven't really spoken since that text exchange. Not only that, things between Raven and him aren't great either.

Murphy is falling apart.

"I'll let you know how the cookies are." Murphy tries to smile again, it's small and strained. "Don't want to make you late for the party."

[littlepandora]

"What party?" He says the strangest things. Pandora regards him for a moment longer, before taking a breath. This was clearly going to require some managing.

It's clear that he's not okay. It's also clear that he probably doesn't want a practical stranger prying. It was probably time for her social obliviousness to work for her for once. "Do you have a kettle?"

[mofi]

Murphy blinks, lashes fluttering. "You're not going to a holiday party or something?" He nods at her. "Or do you just wear fancy dresses for the hell of it?"

He goes quiet at her next question. "A kettle," Murphy repeats, unsure of what she's asking for a second before the realization sets in. "Oh -- Yeah." With a sigh, Murphy opens the door for her to come in. "It's one of those electric ones."

[littlepandora]

She looks down at her worn dress, neatly mended. There were nicer things for her to wear, sure. The dominant she was contracted to certainly had a taste for fine things. This one was comfortable and familiar. It was one of the few things she had left from Before.

"If this is fancy, I'm not sure you've looked around here much."

But she lifts her chin as she walks past him, taking the box on her way. The Up first flats seem to be all pretty similar, and she beelines for the kettle. "Where is your tea?" she asks absently.

[mofi]

"Okay maybe not fancy, but it's a nice dress.," he compliments. "Yeah, come in. Make yourself at home." His tone is a little flat and dry.

She swipes her box of cookies on her way in and it makes the edges of his lips curl into a smirk. He closes the door a passing moment later and follows behind her. "It's over here." Murphy walks around her now so he can get to the cabinet that he stowed away his tea. "I don't have a lot, just chamomile. I looked it up. It's supposed to help with sore throats and sleep."

He moves to the next cabinet over and pulls out a little jar of honey. "This, too." Murphy holds it out for her to take. "You sure I'm not keeping you? I don't want to get you into trouble."

[littlepandora]

She shifts slightly, one foot to the other. There's protection in someone waiting for you but-

It's a bit hard to be wary of Murphy. Particularly when he looks so pathetic. She fills the kettle from the tap. "The dominant I am contracted to is... out a lot. I get a fair bit of leeway to wander."

She sets the honey to one side with the tea, ready to be prepped. "Besides, it's pretty obvious that you don't know how to enjoy cookies. They're best with something like tea."

What she means is - it's clear you need someone to take care of you. "Isn't your submissive around to make sure you drink enough water?"

[mofi]

A soft sigh expells from his chest and out from his parted lips. Murphy frowns at her, "Do you have to tell them where you're going?"

The small part of his back presses against the counter when he leans onto it, arms loosely fold over his chest. "I haven't really had much of baked goods since I got here. I don't normally drink tea either. It's just for my throat."

"I don't have one," Murphy clips. "And I'm not going to get one to take care of me. I can take care of myself."

[littlepandora]

"Are you going to damage his property?" Her question is so flat, it could almost be mistaken for neutral. Mostly, she tried to stay out of the way, invisible. It seemed for the best, and luckily, there were people more interestjng than she was.

She gives him a sidelong once over, the look itself calling into question his statement. "Cups? Saucers?"

[mofi]

"What?" That was an odd thing to ask. "Do...I need to damage his property," he asks, one eyebrow quirks higher than the other. Murphy takes a moment to look her over, eyes ticking down her body to see if he notices any bruising. Some sign of her being treated poorly. Murphy wouldn't damage his property but he'd be stupid enough to confront her dominant personally.

"Hmn?" Pandora asked him a question and he only partially hears her. "I have mugs, yeah." Murphy uses his elbows to push himself away from the counter and walks to the other side of the kitchen. From another cabinet, he procures two mugs and puts them down onto the counter top. "Why do we need saucers? We can just use napkins to put the cookies on."

[littlepandora]

"I'd rather you didn't if it's all the same. But I don't imagine he much cares otherwise." Pandora's always bruised like a peach, so it's rather remarkable that other than some banged up shins, she's pretty spotless. Even she's not sure how she ended up in those chains without some marks.

Still, she lifts a brow at his look over, cheeks pinkening. Maybe because it has her thinking of that stupid dream. Though she doubts he'd ever actually look that way at her. Not in actual life. Who dreams about that sort of thing with someone they're fussing at on the net, anyway? Talk about crossed wires.

"We could," she says, in a voice that says they shouldn't. "I was going to warm them up, so I suppose a napkin would work." She blinks down at the second mug, momentarily confused.

[mofi]

"You sure? I'm pretty damn good at damaging property. " That's what Murphy did best, destroy things. His eyes flit away from her when sees her cheeks warm to a pink. It reminds him of how flushed her face looked after --

"Oh, if you want to warm them up, then here --" He opens the cabinet door again and pulls out a plate. It's smaller than a dinner plate so Murphy assumes this is what she means when she asked for a saucer. "Warm them on these. Microwave safe." He holds the plate out to her.

"What?" Murphy turns to look at the mugs. "You don't like them?"

[littlepandora]

"It doesn't matter if I like them. It's your home. I just- you probably only need one for tea."

She accepts the salad plate. If nothing else, she can warm up a few cookies. Opening the box, she arranges two of each on the plate. He'll have plenty left, since she brought a dozen of each.

"In case I was unclear - I would rather not be damaged."

[mofi]

"Yeah," Murphy drawls. "One for me and one for you? I have enough tea. Honey, too. Unless you want sugar. I got that." In another cabinet, he takes out a box of sugar and puts it next to the honey. "There --" He pauses. " -- Excuse me." Murphy looks and sounds dumbfounded.

He doesn't even know what to say and there's an awkward pause before Murphy remembers how to string words to make a complete thought. "You're not property."

[littlepandora]

She's not sure what she's said wrong at first. Had she offended him? She hadn't meant to do it on accident. But then he refutes what seems to be an obvious truth to her and she flushes with -


Embarrassment, maybe?

"As you like." Was it really worth the arguement? Would she end up with a citation if she disagreed? "Thank you. Honey would be lovely. "