Tea and Romantic Tension

Posted on Sat 12th Oct, 2019 @ 1:24pm by Purulence Addams & Ignatius Collins

936 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: A Diplomatic Affair
Location: Front Parlor of Dr. Chlamydia Addams' home, Deck 1554
Timeline: MD-4, 1500 hours

(Previously, at the Addams home)

Hearing her sister's soft tread on the stairs, Ischemia stood, saying, "I'm glad to know you appreciate her art, a mark in your column. I believe she'll be appearing shortly, so I'm going to make myself scarce. If you are bored, I'm sure Thing will happily converse with you." Being sure that Thing would absolutely not communicate with Ignatius, the middle Addams sister left the parlor and wandered out the front door to search for Experiment Number Six. She was sure to have an interesting perspective on her aunt's love life.

---

Don't you dare leave me alone with him! Purulence Addams thought as she descended the stairs and heard Ischemia making her exit.

Then she sighed. Because, really, Ignatius was her problem, not Ischemia's. And what was that year of therapy for, if not to teach me how to stand up to pushy men?

Though Ignatius wasn't pushy--honest, yes, but not pushy. He hadn't tried to kiss her yet, much less sleep with her, but Purulence feared that was coming. Part of her wanted it. Why she should want to kiss or sleep with Ignatius Collins, she had no clue. Sure, he was handsome in an early-graying sort of way, but there ought to be more to it than just that.

Purulence reached the bottom of the stairs, took in a deep breath, counted to ten, and exhaled. She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans and entered the parlor. Ischemia was nowhere in sight, but a tea tray sat on the coffee table, and Ignatius sat on the sofa, his face turned toward her, drinking her in. He stood when he saw her, which was charmingly old-fashioned of him, Purulence thought.

"Hey," Ignatius said. "Are you ... okay now?"

"I'm fine. So you've run me to ground. What next?" Purulence winced at her own words even as she folded her arms over her chest and stood still, looking back at him.

Ignatius glared at her. "That is not what I was trying to do. I was trying to talk to you! You're the one who took off like warp speed."

"So talk," Purulence said. Her expression promised nothing.

Ignatius sighed. "Why don't you come and sit down? Your sister brewed up some tea--Dragon's Breath or something like that. And Cookie made the shortbread biscuits."

"Urghhh!" Purulence pressed fingers into her face. "They're all trying to fix me up with you, aren't they?"

"I don't think so," Ignatius said. "I've only known you for, what, three days? They've all been giving me the old, 'If you hurt my aunt, sister, whatever, the family will come down on you like a ton of bricks' speech. I've been given the suspicious eye by your niece and your sister--and a murder of crows. Cookie hasn't chimed in yet. So I think it's safe to say that if they saw the back of me, they wouldn't object."

"If they saw the back of you, they'd know you weren't the right one," Purulence replied.

"Obviously...." Ignatius said in a creditable imitation of the original Severus Snape. "Which is why I'm not leaving until we talk."

"We are talking." Purulence moved toward the sofa and sat down.

"No, we're arguing--about stupid things. Talking is you telling me what you were so afraid of when you ran off. Talking is me listening and trying to understand you because I want to know you better."

It was something Henry would never have said to her. Purulence could feel herself about to burst into tears again, and she covered for it by pouring herself a cup of tea and slowly stirring in the cream and sugar. She took a sip and wrestled herself to calm before answering. "I ran because I don't think I'm ready for a romantic relationship. The idea terrifies me."

"Well, good; it ought to. Romance is a scary thing. It requires a lot of trust, a lot of commitment. But it scares you an awful lot. Somebody must have hurt you pretty badly for you to react the way you did. You want any cookies?" Ignatius extended the plate of them to her, and Purulence took one. "So I don't think we should shoot for the moon right now. How about just friendship? I'd like to be friends with you."

Purulence arched an eyebrow at him. "My friends and I like to go on shopping trips. We visit art galleries, coffee houses. We have no problem spending three hours trying on shoes. I'm betting you'd rather die than do that."

"I'd certainly rather die than wait three hours while you try on shoes," Ignatius agreed, "but I like art galleries and coffee houses. I like your art, in fact.
How were you able to paint that well at age 13?"

"Just lucky, I guess?" Purulence said. "Honestly, I felt as if art was the only thing I was ever good at, so I clung to it. I couldn't pay attention to anything else for more than about five minutes without either becoming bored with it or getting distracted by something else and forgetting what I did before. I constantly have to be reminded to finish things--except for art."

"Attention-span of a hummingbird, eh?" Ignatius commented. "I can't say I've ever had that problem, but thanks for the warning. At least I won't feel as bad if you stand me up for a date."

"I thought we were just talking friendship."

"A guy can dream, right?" Ignatius said and sipped from his tea.

 

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