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| - In which Reginald and Ardette bicker. What the hell else is new. (Incomplete) Ardette rolls her eyes Ardette ALREADY HAD THAT CONVERSATION Reginald "What..." Reginald "No no no, no ballet." Ardette gestures to Remi. "See?" Mr_d`Aubigne >BT Ardette "Shame, really. It's hard to find partners your height." Reginald "I've tried, believe me. It didn't suit me." Ardette "I believe it. Still. Waste of a good port de bras." Ardette SIGHS MOURNFULLY. Reginald "Apparently." Ardette innocent look Reginald "WELL, Ardette, I can still indulge you privately, just... don't expect much out of it." Ardette "Oh, I don't expect much out of anything, don't worry." Reginald "You just want to admire my posture." Ardette "You just want to admire Studio A." Reginald "You just want... what you want." Reginald isn't going to protest if she wants him to come over and show off a little. Ardette scrunches her nose at him. "Don't I always." Reginald decided to not protest too much or she'll change her mind. Ardette seems... somewhat disappointed by the lack of witty comeback. "Hm!" Reginald "Sorry, Miss Bombaerts. You win. I'll just have to come over later tonight, I guess." Ardette "Try actually bringing dance shoes, this time. And for god's sake, stop calling me Miss Bombaerts. You're not a student; just Bombaerts will do." Reginald "Ohh, I can drop the 'Miss'? How much longer until we're on first name basis?" Ardette "You have to stop calling me 'kitten.'" Reginald snaps his fingers. "I should have known there was a catch." Ardette "There's always a catch. You should know this better than anyone." Reginald "Of course, but that's my job. Still, I suppose Bombaerts is fine for now." Ardette scoffs. "Well, don't sound so dejected about it." Reginald "I just feel bad I can't give you an upgrade too, you've always just called me 'Santiago'." Ardette raises an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?" Reginald "Not at all, if it was a problem, I assure you that you'd know by now." Ardette "At least you use my name, now." Reginald "If this is about my Mafia days, it wasn't anything personal, and I apologize." Ardette blinks and leans away a bit to stare at him. Huh! She wasn't expecting to get an apology that easily. Or ever. "Well, alright then!" Reginald lets out a short laugh, "Sorry, too easy? I mean, oh, business is business, you shouldn't take it personally, blah blah blah." Ardette rolls her eyes and flaps a hand at him. "You're a despicable arse, et cetera, et cetera." Reginald "Comes with the territory. Well, twice as much now, since I can use the whole Bandito thing as an excuse." Ardette bobs her eyebrows and looks around the sidewalk. "Mmn, don't say that too loud." Reginald "Oh, you know I'm kidding. I've been behaving now that I don't have a boss telling me what to do." Ardette snorts and looks at him incredulously. "'Behaving.'" Reginald "I have been! Okay, so I kind of had to lean on a few people to get them to pay back their loans..." Ardette 'ahs' and nods knowingly. "Yes. Lean. Of course." Reginald "Yeah. 'Lean'. Vibe may or may not have been involved, but it got the point across." "Ah bon? Anything else get the, ah, point..." Ardette's eyes flit down to his coat and back up to his. "...across?" Reginald smirks knowingly, "Not this time. They were very cooperative." Ardette nods to him. "They were behaving, I'm sure." "They tend to," Reginald replies, "Though beyond that I have been doing odd jobs that don't require as much intimidation." Ardette furrows her brows at him. She can't imagine Reginald stooping to odd jobs. "Such as?" "You know, just whatever comes up." Reginald's being intentionally vague, though whether it's because he knows it's something unsavoury, or whether he just wants to aggravate Ardette is unclear. Ardette sighs gustily and shakes her head. "Why do I get the distinct impression that this isn't painting walls?" Reginald "Sometimes it's painting walls." Ardette wants to ask 'with what?' but just hums and looks ahead. Reginald "I swear I am trying to keep my nose clean, Mi-- er, Bombaerts. I can't afford more trouble." Ardette should give him a little more credit, but it's so much easier and more fun to be difficult about it. "Aye, aye, I'm still processing that apology; I can only take one unbelievable statement at a time, Santiago." Reginald "Ahhh, that. Well, I have a member of my faction who is... quite good at cutting through my 'bullshit' so to speak." Ardette snaps her head to him and smirks. "Making 'strangers' are we?" Reginald "You could say that. I said some things I probably shouldn't have, and she was all set to lay me flat for it. Can't say I blame her." Ardette raises her eyebrows and nods. "Good for her," she says, sounding impressed. Reginald laughs, "Whose side are you on? Wait... that's a very rhetorical question, I already know the answer." Ardette chuckles. "Please, you know how much I enjoy, euh..." She twirls a hand, trying to recall his words. "What was it? 'Keeping you in your place'?" Reginald "Ah, and I do, when it's verbal." Reginald "And you haven't been hitting below the belt as often, so I must be doing something right." Ardette gives him a peculiar look. "Must be. When was the last time it was nonverbal?" They've never been violent, or else she would have learned about his vibe - or his blades - much, much sooner. "I just mean generally, as in I am directly comparing you to that other girl," Reginald says. Perhaps that wasn't the wisest thing, but it was just a point of comparison. "Do you fight though? I don't believe we've physically fought." Ardette remembers every stepper she's ever fought, and Reginald certainly isn't one of them. "We haven't. And no, not unless I have to. I have no business getting into fights, these days." She jerks her chin at him. "That's something we have in common." Reginald smiles slightly, "This is true. Sometimes it's a hard thing to get across to people since everyone here is so jacked up to fight. It's a little tiring after a while." Looking like a hitman probably isn't helping his cause... perhaps he should tone it down a little. Ardette seems to be thinking the same thing, and with a sharp upward flick with the blade of her hand, her vibe buttons up those pesky top buttons of his shirt that can't seem to stay closed. "Maybe if you stopped skulking around looking like you're going to give me cement shoes..." Reginald still doesn't get how her vibe works, yet, but he's too proud to ask, and not stupid enough to think of spying on her either. "Is that how it looks?" he asks, adjusting his shirt as though indignant that she did it for him. Ardette puts a hand on her hip and gives him a flat look. Really? The ring, the shades, the shirt casually open over his chest, and the coat so impressive it can't not serve another purpose? She quirks a brow at him. Reginald snorts, "You know, besides the coat, it's not that different from how I dressed in the Mafia." Ardette looks up at him brightly and crosses her arms, as though to say, oh, and that's an argument in your favor? Try again. Reginald finds he can't really make eye-contact at this point. "Fine, fine, I see your point." Ardette scrunches her nose at him. "Oh, but you wear it well." Reginald raises an eyebrow at her, "That sounds more sarcastic than usual, Bombaerts." Ardette coughs and presses a knuckle to her lips, looking down as though getting in character. She clears her throat and tries again. "You wear it well," she says, sounding sincere, but her lips are curved in a smile that wants to turn into - dare I say it - a giggle.
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