[One for all] I Can't Believe a Year Went By So Fast

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Nikola is bored, a fact he finds patently unfair as it's his birthday, and for once he's not holed up in an abandoned manor somewhere with no one but unintelligent, undead minions for company.

He thinks there should be cake, at the very least, so he's wandered down to the kitchen in an attempt to either scrounge some up or make one himself.

Probably someone should intervene before the Big Guy finds him snooping around the kitchen.

Comments

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

"Don't know. In another seven years, I might have actually started to look like one of the grownups."

He cuts the cake into quarters, takes a sliver off one of the pieces, puts it on his plate, and glances at Tesla, gesturing to what's left. "Too big?"

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"The trouble with boyish faces," Nikola says, finding a fork and pulling the cake towards himself, "is that they tend to skip right over handsome and move into 'really quite disturbingly old'."

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, that's why I moisturize three times a day," Will answers with a laugh, taking a small bite of cake. He thinks it's pretty good, but it's Tesla's reaction that counts. "Hopefully I'll at least still look trustworthy..."

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"Yes, well...appearances can be deceiving," Nikola says as he takes his first bite.

He chews slowly and swallows. "Satisfactory," he eventually remarks.

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

"Hey, coming from you, 'satisfactory' is fairly high praise. I'll take what I can get and work to improve the recipe for next year."

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"That's supposing I'll still be here in a year's time."

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

"You think you won't be? I don't see this thing with the Cabal being over any time soon, Nikola. And, as long as it is, you're welcome here. Beyond that, too, I'd think."

(ooc: there'll be a little lag to my answering your reply; RL calls, but I'll be back shortly)

[ps_you_look_hot]

"Neither do I, but welcome or not, I'm not used to staying in one place for very long."

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

"Well, even if traveling is second nature, there's something to be said for having a home to come back to when you need... want a sense of belonging."

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Nikola laughs. "I don't belong anywhere, my boy. I never have."

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

"I used to feel that way, too. But maybe belonging is what you make of it. There must be somewhere you fit."

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Nikola shakes his head, smiling. "You still don't get it, William. You keep trying to fix me, but you don't seem to realize that I'm not broken."

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

"But don't you ever get lonely, or..."

He shakes his head, poking at his slice of cake while he tries to wrap his brain around the idea of not having friends or a family or a home and being perfectly okay with that fact.

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Nikola cocks his head curiously. "No. Not really."

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

"I don't mean to be invasive, but... are you happy that way?"

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"I wouldn't be this way if I weren't happy about it," Nikola says, bemused.

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

"Um, okay. I guess if that works for you..."

He shakes his head. "Wow..."

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"Not everyone fits into your preconceived little boxes, William."

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

"So I've noticed since starting this job. I've just never heard of a higher order primate who wasn't genetically keyed to affiliate..."

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"Before you met me, you didn't know that vampires were real either. You still have a great deal to learn."

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

"I know. That's why I'm always asking stupid questions like these."

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Nikola shrugs. "They aren't particularly stupid questions until you start asking them again and again."

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

"I'm usually not as repetitive as people think. I just like coming at an issue from several different directions and sometimes verifying what I think I already know. More cake?"

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"No, thanks," Nikola says, licking his fork clean. "I think I'm just about ready to look for a different birthday indulgence."

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

"Well, you have fun with that. I'll put the rest in the fridge if you decide you want more later." Will climbed to his feet, looking for something to cover the cake with. "Happy birthday, Nikola. Thanks for the company and the answers."