Flawed By Design

"You said yourself that you've gone faster with other people, right? Why not me?" He questioned, facing away from the other as he attempted to meticulously cut the brownies, even in his drunken state. They came out crooked, unsurprisingly, but it's the thought that counted. Much like most Monsters, he immediately blames himself.

"Is... it because I'm not as good looking?" He questioned quietly as he stared down at the brownies. "I mean, I-I understand, aha... I'm sorry. I don't know anything about this sort of thing, I'm sorry if I'm... pressuring you, I'm just excited to do this, you know? I've been alone forever, so..." he sniffles, wiping his eyes.
 
"I've already explained, like, a dozen times, I'm no doing it again because it's... it's starting to get annoying," he sighed, going as far as to roll his eyes at the situation. The last thing he wanted to do was create a scene. Sure, he understood it might be a little annoying and even upsetting, but he wasn't going to go do something he really didn't think was wise. If he did and the relationship got ruined because he went in too deep too quickly, he'd never really get over it.

"Look, should I just go?" He sighed heavily, already getting to his feet despite the arrival of the brownies. "I... I dunno, it's just awkward again, and it's not exactly the best atmosphere-- I get that it's my fault, but you should really just, like, accept the fact I don't want to go that fast."
 
"Take some brownies," he insisted as he rummaged through a cabinet holding piles of Tupperware containers he had saved over time - just because he was rich didn't mean he wasn't thrifty. Tugging out a big container, he plopped it full of the brownies as soft whines could be heard in distress when they broke because of his drunkenness. Pressing hard on the container, he wandered over to the other to hand them personally, offering a saddened smile.

"I'd give you a kiss goodbye but that would be going too fast" he commented somewhat sarcastically before offering a peck to the cheek nonetheless. "I'll see you at work, then...?"
 
The sarcasm didn't really go down that well. He was drunk at this point, very much so, but that wasn't entirely enough to make the sarcastic remark anymore funny. He did respond to it with a clearly forced smile, only to try and keep things amicable. If he reacted the way he really felt, he knew an argument would follow - and that wasn't the greatest way to end the night.

"Right. Yeah. At work," he replied awkwardly, still hesitant to leave. "I... look, I get this date ended awfully, but... I... I didn't mean for it to go like this. Maybe we should go out, next time? Assuming there's a next time, of course, aha..."
 
"I'll pay," he offered quickly before taking a step back. The whole idea of 'going slow' irked him, especially in his drunken state, but that didn't mean he wanted to abandon everything. This was the first person who ever seemed to like him, both from humans and monsters alike. To lose something like that after going years without finding someone wasn't in the plan.

Taking the man's hand in his, he attempted to be a gentleman and led Xavier to the door despite his fumbles. Daringly, he slipped the key to his penthouse into Xavier's shirt pocket.

"Look, I... I trust you to have this, so... if you ever want to spend time with me outside of an organized date, I'm cool with that," he whispered once they were by the elevator. "Don't forget the brownies, too."
 
If going slow was the one thing that irked Dante, than constantly having the monster pay was Xavier's main gripe. It made sense that the one with millions in the bank would offer to pay for the meals, and most people might enjoy being able to dine out somewhere without spending a single thing - but Xavier didn't want to do that. He may be financially inferior, but he still wanted to pay for a meal here and there. If he had to, he'd borrow money from a friend.

"...We could just go for food-- and I told you, let me pay for something," he quietly sighed, choosing not to make it a huge issue by showing how serious he was about it. After another failed date, he didn't want to start up an argument - again. "But... I'll see you at work and we can discuss it then, maybe go out straight after or something?"
 
"Yeah, sounds good! I... I think it's really sweet that you want to buy us food, don't feel like you've gotta go above and beyond with money, right?" He reassured, placing his hands on the other's shoulders for emphasis as he scanned the man's face.

It wasn't until he heard the elevator 'ding' did he let go, as did the urge to tug the man into another kiss. Instead he folded his arms behind his back to hold back anything he wanted to say or do in that moment. Smiling shyly, he offered a wave to the man in hopes to at least leave the night off on a positive note.
 
As nice as the brownies probably tasted, he never had the chance to really taste them. By the time he arrived back at his friend's place, he crashed out on the couch, both physically and mentally exhausted. That, and the fact he was drunk, meant it was almost inevitable he pass out as soon as he got somewhere warm and comfortable and, by the time he woke, the brownies had already been eaten up by his friend. Considering the man had allowed Xavier to stay at such short notice, he wasn't going to start complaining over something relatively small. Instead, he got showered, dressed and rush out to work - even if he was hungover and much preferred staying at home sleeping.

That wasn't really an option when he was new to the job and today was probably the day he was really going to have to do something.

The walk through to Dante's office was as excruciating and as awkward as it had been the first time. He could feel everyone watching him, practically judging him for being human, even if he classed himself as one of the good guys. Though, to see Makayla wave enthusiastically and rush to meet him was comforting. He at least had one friend outside of Dante, anyway.

"You heading in to see the boss? You have to get past the guard dog first though," the girl casually remarked, doing so in earshot of Sara-- for a reason. It was no secret the two didn't get along, so any chance she had to wind her up, she'd take. "Xavier needs to go in to see Dante. Is he busy in there?"
 
"This 'guard dog' isn't letting you in," Sara replied flatly as she typed away at her laptop, her eyes never meeting Makayla's. She was a harpy, which was incredibly useful for second in command, since she could hear down to the elevator. When she did finally look up, her golden eyes immediately narrowed at the pair, her thick lips curling into a scowl. The woman was fierce, which was a good contrast to Dante's occasional naïveté and that skill helped Dante build his empire from the ground up. Shooting a glance towards the darkened room, she hesitated.

"No, you can't go in. Thanks to you, Dante has been nursing a hangover nearly all day. He wants to primarily focus on paperwork today. Since you're the new model, I'll send you down to makeup to try and do... something, with that face of yours," she grunted eventually before tapping the side of her headset.

"Hey, are you feeling any better? That human of yours is here," she whispered into the mic, her words soothing as opposed to her normally stern voice. When some quiet murmurs could be heard in response, Sara rolled her eyes and clicked the usual bottom that allowed entrance to the office, exposing Dante under the desk with a pillow and blanket and his tablet in his hand.
 
"Ignore her, she's always so moody," cooed Makayla, helpfully straightening out Xavier's collar for him-- though it wasn't like it really mattered when Dante was literally underneath a desk. He was hardly in a position to start critiquing Xavier on his relative messiness, though Makayla still wanted to help him out. Their immediate closeness after a day of knowing one another was bound to cause gossip, but it was purely platonic - it wasn't really Xavier's problem if others disagreed.

Wandering into the office, deliberately ignoring Sara, he offered a faint smile at the sight of his boyfriend. He looked like Xavier felt, anyway.

"...I brought coffee and donuts," he began quietly, setting the items down on the desk. "...Hungover, huh?"
 
"Ugh, I feel like shit..." he admitted after a brief moment of silence. It literally hurt to move at this point, though he reluctantly sat up for the coffee and donut nonetheless. He had no real intentions to eat the donut then and there, of course. In fact, the sight of it made him sick, though he decided to at least save it for later.

"I've never had such hard liquor in such a short period of time," he admitted meekly as he took the coffee, taking a small sip out of curiosity. To Dante's surprise, it wasn't too far off from what he normally liked. "I spend, like, an hour and a half just vomiting, I had to call Sara to help," he admitted with a bitter laugh.
 
"...Maybe you can buy the alcohol next time? The cheap stuff is really awful, isn't it?" He grinned, slipping into the chair opposite the other and was far too hungover to even pretend that he was fine. As soon as he sunk into the chair, he groaned quietly and fully relaxed, glad to take the weight off his feet. If anything, their shared hangovers at least distracted from the awful end to their date the previous night.

"So, uh... I'll get to work today, right? I feel awful just being here, doing nothing. I want to start at least... doing stuff, you know?"
 
"I'm sure Sara mentioned the makeup crew," he murmured in response as he offered another laugh, though more at their shared suffering. "I set up a shoot already, got you doing something simple. We're doing a lot with faux furs this season, so I already sent the design and clothing to the crew on the second floor. The outfit is already fitted, you pretty much just have to follow directions and look pretty," he explained slowly, more so for himself than Xavier.

"You'll get 200 after the shoot, unless you want to be paid hourly. I'm usually the photographer but I want to avoid flashing lights for awhile," he explained with an exhale before taking another sip of the coffee. "120 hourly, 200 a flat rate. I'll probably go down after to take a pic myself for my Instagram, as a sneak peek to our new line. People like surprises, yeah?"
 
"I mean, I don't care how I get paid, whatever's easiest. As long as I get paid, that'd be great," he smiled, leaning back in his chair and, even if he was hungover, reached for his share of the donuts hungrily. The confirmation that he'd get paid today was a huge relief. It meant he could at least go to a hotel for the night, rather than continue to be a burden on his best friend. Ideally, he wouldn't have to live his life in a hotel, but it was temporary. When he started to earn serious cash, with any luck, he could find his own place.

"Besides, I don't really listen to Sara. I get she's qualified and professional and your best friend, but I... I'm not a fan. I sort of blank out when she speaks because I guarantee whatever she says includes an insult about me," he shrugged quickly, wiping his mouth free of crumbs. "But hey, I like you and that's what matters-- oh! Makayla's heading out tonight, if you wanna come? It might make things easier if we went out in a group, you know?"
 
"Sara is your boss too, you realize that, right?" He replied as he meekly tugged a piece of the donut off to nibble on. He was far from hungry but he didn't want to seem rude so forcing the donut down seemed appropriate. "You need to listen to her when I'm not here. She knows what she's doing and she doesn't just constantly spew insults. If that were the case I'd have her at a less social position."

Moving to set his tablet on his lap, the pajama-clad Dante was a complete contrast from his usual looks as he dared to reluctantly climb out of his cocoon of blankets and pillows. In fact, he was in a basic pair of plaid pajama bottoms and a sweatshirt that clearly had been around long before even the beginning of his company. Sure, he could look amazing in a more complex outfit but the grandeur of his position really fizzled away once taking in the scene, the only remaining indication of just how much he dressed up being his long nails.

"I still have to get you a proper agent..." he murmured to himself as he typed away. "... hey, I'm sorry that today is gonna be boring for me but I promise you'll have fun at the shoot. It'll... just be without me, sadly."
 
"I think it's best if you're not there. I'd just get embarrassed and... I want to really do well at this, you know? I don't want to get all awkward and embarrassed by having you there-- I want to impress you and repay you and it'd be a bit... pressurising doing that modelling stuff in front of you," he admitted, casting a glance out the window which had more or less become his safety blanket from looking at Dante when an awkward or sensitive topic had been brought up. Besides, the view of the city was a nice thing to take in anyway - it wasn't a sight he got to witness often.

"...Makayla can help me out though, yeah? She said she deals with the models and... she's the only one in this place who treats me nicely, besides you."
 
"You want us to go slow, right? When... I mean, I'm going to be honest with you, you're gorgeous. It's unfortunate that you don't want me to do your shoot because I-I... I enjoy seeing you dress. Is that lame to admit?" He questioned, his serious tone breaking a tad as he bashfully locked eyes with his work. "Of course, it would be solely professional. The way I acted last night - I don't remember much but I do remember that it was fucking embarrassing. I was honestly expecting you to not show up today 'cuz I was so gross. I don't want you to think badly of me because of that."
 
"You didn't do anything wrong," he quickly insisted, his eyes wide in the horror that, somehow, Dante had connected pieces together from last night and assumed he'd acted in a way not entirely commendable, when that was fair from the case. Sure, he had kissed him and tried to initiate something that Xavier had blatantly admitted he didn't want, but he wasn't going to start judging him for that. It was nice to know that someone like Dante even wanted to kiss him and, had his past relationships not gone so terribly, he'd have returned the kiss in seconds.

"We got drunk and it was a total mess, we're both to blame for it going so badly," he attempted weakly, setting his empty cup in the nearby bin. "I mean... it's my fault for being so cautious. I just have reasons to, you know? I... don't want you getting annoyed with my... passion for relationships or whatever. People find it annoying, I'd hate for you to start thinking of me like that, so going slow is... it's fucking boring, I know, but it'll be worth it..?"
 
"I don't have any former experience with this so I'm replying on you," he reminded with an awkward smile before petting the spot besides him. He wasn't going to get up, that was obvious, but he didn't want Xavier to awkwardly stand around for no reason.... not to mention sharing some proximity was nice, even if they couldn't kiss.

"You can wait here for a bit while Sandra sets up the set if you'd like," he offered, scooting over childishly for the human to join his little desk hideout. "She'll call me when everything is ready, so... yeah, just come sit for a little."
 
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The monster claimed to be relying solely on Xavier's experience with relationships, but the human still felt pressure from expectations the previous night. To be tugged into a kiss and then deal with Dante's desires and expectations hadn't been nice; not when he wasn't ready to start giving away kisses and getting romantic. He had done that before, plenty of times with plenty of people, but considering every relationship ended in disaster, he hardly wanted to replicate the behaviour that led to their breakdowns. He wanted this relationship to be better; to actually have longevity.

If he had to piss Dante off by refusing to get romantic for a little while, he was going to do that. He had all but fallen in love with the designer when spotting his picture on Instagram just a week ago, so not getting intimate with him when he really did find him attractive wasn't easy, but it was worth it if it meant he could have a lasting, loving relationship with him.

"I'm alright standing, really," the new model smiled, taking a selfie of himself with the view of the city behind him, just to post it onto his Instagram page. "Have to update my 98 followers on Instagram, you know? Look, last night was a disaster, we both know that. But you're still the boss of this place, you should... I dunno... get up and put last night behind you? I told you, I'm happy to move on and forget about it, so...maybe you could get up and give me some tips about my first photoshoot?"
 
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