milliways_bar | (no subject)

Asar-Suti waves back, takes off his iPod, and wanders over.

Real life music is always better.

"Requests, Asar-Suti? Prevents me from the All Gloom and Doom repitoire I'm leaning towards today."

"Why - what happened?" Asar-Suti asks, worried. "Is everybody unhappy or odd today?"

He grins. "Playing 'Yesterday' is out, then, is it?" he asks. "How about 'What a wonderful world' or 'It's a kind of magic' instead?"

"It's not out--it's just probably not a good idea."

He starts playing 'Yesterday' but shakes his head at himself. "Just did something stupid--no, not stupid. Just something I shouldn't have. And having thoughts I don't want to have as a result."

He changes songs. His voice is almost as raspy as Louis Armstrong's.

I see trees of green........ red roses too
I watch 'em bloom..... for me and for you
And I think to myself.... what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue..... clouds of white
Bright blessed days....warm sacred nights
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world.

The colors of a rainbow.....so pretty ..in the sky
Are there on the faces.....of people ..going by
I see friends shaking hands.....sayin'.. how do you do
They're really sayin'......I love you.

I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow
They'll learn much more.....than I'll never know
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world

The colors of a rainbow.....so pretty ..in the sky
Are there on the faces.....of people ..going by
I see friends shaking hands.....sayin'.. how do you do
They're really sayin'...I ....LOVE....YOU

I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow
You know their gonna learn
a whole lot more than I'll never know
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself .......what a wonderful world.

"Thank you," Asar-Suti says, a while after Charlie has finished.

"That was wonderful. It does me good. What was that stupid thing, or would you rather not say?"

Charlie sighs, absently playing chords and arpeggios on the piano, and says, "Slept with David again. And I . . . I've come to a conclusion. I can't be with Bartleby anymore. I shouldn't and I don't want to be."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Asar-Suti says, but he doesn't try to argue. Charlie sounds decided and final, not doubting and unhappy, like the other times.

"Did Loki the god try to kill you yet?" he adds, conversationally.

Charlie blinks at him. "No. Do you think he will?"

Asar-Suti shrugs.

"He always claimed he wasn't going to demand fidelity of David, but if you happen to spend a week as a cockroach, you'll know why," he speculates, earnestly.

There's the tiniest hint of a smile in his eyes, though.

Charlie does not find the smile particularly comforting.

"Well. Er. Huh." He twitches his shoulders.

"I hope that won't happen," Asar-Suti says with a shrug. "But I don't suppose you'll get back together with David, in any case. He is well and truly smitten with that god."

"No. That won't be happening." He looks deeply unhappy at this. "Maybe the best thing is just for me to be alone for a while."

"David will always have a small bunch of people heartbroken about him," Asar-Suti says, casually. "I know it. I was, So was Gil. Only we found each other, and that was it. At least I thought it was."

"I think some of us will never find 'it'," Charlie says quietly. "I don't think I'm wired that way.

"What's up with you and Gil? You haven't settled the faun issue still?"

Asar-Suti sighs.

"Nope. He is just - nice. And outargues me easily. I hardly dare say anythingany more. Sometimes, I feel myself flinching as I used to do with Lochiel," he admits.

"You know, it's possible he actually doesn't mind the human shape and he's not just being nice."

"I know. I'm so totally at loss. I'm not good at this. Not at all."

Asar-Suti sighs deeply.

"Before this, he's always been sweet and gentle. I have no idea how to deal with problems with somebody I love. I just know I catastrophically fucked up with Lochiel. Sorry rude word."

"They say communication is the key. 'Course, that doesn't help when someone won't communicate."

Or just doesn't know how to begin, he muses with a sigh.

[ooc: gonna get some lunch. back in 30 or so.]

Asar-Suti heaves a deep sigh.

"I don't know if I'm too stupid, or Gil is being stubborn, or both, or neither, and I'm just chasing wild geese," he admits.

Charlie puzzles, then says, "What, exactly, is the problem? You think Gil wants a fellow faun, or is it something more?"

"I don't understand it, really; I think he wants another faun. Or he's fed up with me and my smug magic and my big mouth. Or he thinks I'd want somebody else. Somebody who doesn't have goat legs. Perhaps some part of him still hasn't understood that I don't mind what shape he has. That I love his soul, and his mind. That I found him intensely lovely when he was human, because he is himself, and that I find him intensely lovely now he's a faun, for the same reason."

Asar-Suti shakes his head; he's at a loss. "I'm only guessing, and I feel very stupid," he admits.

"And when you've tried to bring this up he's just . . . outargued you? Said everything's fine?"

"These two, and disctracted me, too," Asar-Suti sighs.

"I never get this far; I end up all over the place before I get to touch a real issue. And no, everything's fine, he's busy, he feeds me coffee and cookies and calls me something nice and goes about his business. I feel very stupid!" he repeats.

"Well . . ." He lets out a breath and rests his chin on his hand. "How about getting him alone somewhere where he's not distracted by work. Sit him down, state your case and don't let him speak until you're done."

The blind leading the blind, thinks Charlie with another sigh.

"I might try that," Asar-Suti sighs. "But if he wants to speak, he will. I'm not going to force him not to. That would be the worst thing I could do."