Bittersweet // [Clyde/Psyche] {Blitz}

[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

I still don't know what you've done with me,
a grown up women should never fall so easily

It was early, the sort of grey morning that premeditated a storm. Psyche looked at the sky, studied the clouds. Climatology really was such a bullshit science. The winds, the atmosphere, the movement of the very ground beneath their feet could set everything into a tailspin. Still, she felt vaguely hopeful that her twenty minute morning walk to work would not end up with her looking like a drenched rat. She did so hate to take the time to dry off before she changed into her work coat. The breeze twirled her hair into knots, made an absolute mess of the vague brushing she'd given it an hour earlier.

The truth was that until Christian had stumbled into her lab, she hadn't even cared about what grew atop her head, except that it was a gigantic hassle every few days to wash. Now though it was always properly laundered according to the shampoo guidelines. The wind seemed to be making a mockery of her effort, and she scowled despite herself.

Slipped her hand into her pocket.

And discovered that her ring of keys had mysteriously disappeared.

Psyche came to a complete halt, eyes wide, lips twitching. A mystery. No, a discovery, and now a hypothesis. Were they dropped? She had not forgotten them, no matter how faulty anyone claimed human memories to be. She could remember picking them up just minutes before.

Other possibilities?

Psyche turned in a slow circle and realized that she was not alone in her walk to or from the college. There were two other commuters, one going in her direction, and one strangely walking away. Hardly anyone stayed overnight. She stared at the retreating figure, and pitched her voice so loud that it broke. "Excuse me! Sir? Sir!"

And Psyche ran. She did not hurry, she did not jog. There was only walking and running, and so she ran after the man to test her new hypothesis.

banner credit: halo's slipping
lyrics: abba lay all your love on me

[charade]

Clyde swore softly to himself as the woman ran after him. His skills had grown quite rusty during the time of his self imposed seclusion, of that he was certain, but he hadn't been prepared for just how rusted they had turned out to be. The woman was someone who frequented the college for crying out loud. It shouldn't have this hard to get away unnoticed from an inattentive and sleep-deprived bookworm. The key ring in his pocket was far from noticeable in its current position, and he doubted that anyone, least of all, the woman running after him, would think anything was in his pockets. More's the pity too. There was so much mischief he could get up to with access to the college; and who knew what kind of expensive equipment they left lying about.

Given that running away now would only confirm his guilt, Clyde slowed to a stroll and turned to face the brunette whose pocket he had only recently picked. "Er, good evening madam. Is there some manner of assistance that you require?"

[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

I still don't know what you've done with me,
a grown up women should never fall so easily

Psyche squinted at him, studying his face, staring more than was decent or appropriate. But then, she'd never been either of those things. She was a scientist, after all. She observed and she studied. If anyone else found it uncomfortable, well, that was part of the human condition she supposed. She blinked once, long and slow, and decided she didn't recognize him. That wasn't proof for or against her hypothesis. Just more data.

"It's morning, actually," Psyche said, without a hint of arrogance, simply stating the fact of the matter. "And that's just what I'm trying to find out. I am considering the possibility that I dropped my keys on the way to work. I need them to open my lab." She explained, and then for emphasis jerked her thumb towards the building. "Have you seen any keys?"

banner credit: halo's slipping
lyrics: abba lay all your love on me

[charade]

Of course it was morning. Clyde was just so used to stalking around at night that he had hardly noticed the rays of sun cresting over the horizon. The tone to her voice almost made him roll his eyes. This girl was rather uptight, but such was to be expected from a stuffed shirt attending the college. He put his hands up in a placating gesture and shrugged. "Would these keys be metaphorical in nature? As in you've forgotten what it is that drives you to attend a place like this? or are we talking physical door openers?" Perhaps he could still get away with this if he managed to frustrate her into leaving.

[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

I still don't know what you've done with me,
a grown up women should never fall so easily

A quick assessment told her a few things: one, that this man was probably considered attractive to most women and some men, and two, that he didn't care overly much about fashion. That was good. That might mean he would be worth talking to, his opinion worth exploring. She held his gaze, her own eyes wide and unencumbered by makeup, or even the trace of it. She sniffed against the morning frost, fingers absently roaming her coat pockets in search of what she knew was not there.

"Physical door openers, the sort that allow you between rooms. Usually the college is open all the time but lately there have been some reported thefts, so the doors are locked at night." Psyche paused, considered, then continued. "They don't have any sentimental value to me, but I do need to get into the building. I know I can have another key made when the office opens. If you could just let me in, I could start my work on time."

banner credit: halo's slipping
lyrics: abba lay all your love on me

[charade]

"I suppose it would be odd to assign keys with sentimental values. They are tools, not meant for anything deeper than that." Clyde shifted uncomfortably, this young woman was capable of carrying conversation with him, but more than that, her face didn't go blank whenever he used a unique word or to get his point across. True, the people in the section of town were generally better off than the ones in his own neighborhood, but it was still refreshing to hear, if unwanted given his current situation "Miss, I doubt I have the things you require. I don't even attend this place, so how would I even begin to acquiesce to your request?"