Not harassing Nathan [Joule, Phoenix]

[Joule]

He'd had to reassure Helen, his herologist, countless of times before she finally agreed to leave. He knew she'd worry, even though he'd repeatedly told her not to, but there wasn't much he could do to help that. He walked down the halls of the mansion, glad to finally get some alone time. There was someone he needed to see.

"Hey... You in there...?" He knocked on Nathan's door, voice more timid than usual.

[Phoenix]

Nathan looked up from his spot on the bed, knitting needles in hand, a ball of yarn on his lap. His eyes widened and he quickly shoved his knitting under his pillows with a soft curse and grabbed his guitar from its stand near his bed, settling it on his lap as though he had been about to play it.

Glancing around to make sure there was no evidence of his previous activity, Nathan cleared his throat before speaking.

"Yeah, I'm in," he called, not moving from his spot on the bed and eyeing up the door. "Do you need something?"

[Joule]

Sheepishly, Joule opened the door and walked in, before shutting it behind him.

"Hi... Oh hey... I remember you said you played the guitar." He motioned to the instrument on Nathan's lap. "So do I, but I guess I've already said that huh... Didn't we say to play together at some point? That'd be cool. I don't usually get to play music with people but it's nice."

He was rambling. He knew it, but he couldn't stop.

"I... I just wanted to thank you."

[Phoenix]

Nathan blinked, listening to Joule's little rant. Yeah, they had said that maybe they could play together some time, but that had been the only time they had had a conversation where Joule wasn't so... Joule. Nathan hadn't really thought the other would even remember that.

He sighed, setting his guitar aside and shrugging his shoulders. "There's no need to thank me," he said, dropping his gaze down to his hands where they rested on his lap. "It was the right thing to do, and obviously Kade didn't know what was going on. Someone had to do something."

[Joule]

"Yeah well. Right thing or not. Still. Thanks. And... for not telling Kade as well. It just makes things less complicated. So yes..." he stared at the floor.

It was strange. The only other person who knew about his condition was Helen. He'd even managed to keep it hidden from the cameras. And suddenly this person had figured it out in a matter of minutes. This man he always disagreed with, this man who had actually made him mad enough to use his time manipulation powers. He should hate, or at least dislike him, but he felt neither of those emotions.

[Phoenix]

"He'll have to find out eventually. You should tell him sometime," Nathan replied starting to fiddle with the hem of his shirt sleeve as though it were the most interesting thing on the face of the planet. He wasn't sure why Joule was even here talking to him. He had sent him flowers(which Nathan still felt guilty about destroying some of them) so there was no real need for him to be here.

After all, Nathan was sure he knew exactly what the other male thought of him. He was a walking hazard, unable to control his powers, and a monster beneath the surface. Maybe Joule had never worded it that way, or said it directly, but to Nathan, that's how it felt. And he couldn't even find anyway to deny it. His brain had grasped onto the worst possible interpretation, and the damn voice wouldn't let go of it.

[Joule]

"No he won't..." Joule muttered, avoiding Nathan's gaze. "He doesn't need to. I've kept it to just myself for all these years, that doesn't need to change."

He wasn't sure why he was still there, talking. He was certain Nathan hated him and wanted nothing to do with him, let alone have him in his bedroom.

[Phoenix]

Nathan huffed, biting back a response, since he had learned better. He was not going to pick a fight with the other in his room. What little stuff Nathan did own, it was dear to him. He would never let any harm befall it if he could help it. Idly, he turned to tuning his guitar half heartedly.

"Whatever you say," he finally mumbled with a shrug of his shoulders.

[Joule]

Joule stood there for a few moments, in an awkward silence, in which he shuffled his feet quite a bit.

"So... are you.... going to play at all?"

He wasn't entirely sure why he was attempting to continue the conversation, but there he was, looking at Nathan expectantly.

[Phoenix]

Nathan looked up at Joule, blinking in confusion. Why wasn't he leaving? Had him helping the other really changed his opinion? Nathan was very sure that Joule should hate him. But... He didn't know. Nathan bit the inside of his cheek, pulling his guitar onto his lap.

"Uh, yeah, I'd imagine I'm going to play something," he said lamely, carefully strumming out a few chords to make sure it had been tuned properly. He nodded in satisfaction, before looking up at Joule, feeling rather unsure of what he was going to say next.

"Do... Do you wanna listen?"

[Joule]

He felt calm as the familiar sound of the strings washed over him. His guitar had gotten him through some rough patches in his younger age and he had a lot of love for the instrument.

"I... Yeah actually. I'd like that. Would... Would that be okay?" His efforts to be polite came off stiff and awkward, but it was obvious he was trying. He wasn't used to normal interactions with other people. In fact, he had never had a friend since the age of ten.

[Phoenix]

Nathan chuckled softly at how awkward the other sounded, nodding his head. "Yeah, it's okay. I'm not exactly shy when it comes to playing," he said, smiling slightly as he thought over what song to play. What was something Joule would like? He bit the inside of his cheek, beginning to play a few chords until he got the rhythm right. Once he was ready, he opened his mouth and began to sing.

"Well I just heard the news today. It seems my life is going to change. I close my eyes, begin to pray, then tears of joy stream down my face," he sang as he strummed along, feeling completely relaxed as his hand slid across the fret board, forming the notes to go along with his singing.

(This song.)

[Joule]

'Nice song choice,' Joule thought with a smile on his lips. It was calm and soothing, the kind of melody he needed right now, and so was Nathan's voice.

He sat back against the wall, still tired from yesterday's episode, and having gotten little sleep. He wished he had his own guitar with him so he could join in.

[Phoenix]

"With arms wide open. With arms wide open. I'll show you everything ...oh yeah. With arms wide open..wide open," Nathan continued to sing, smiling softly. There was nothing he loved more in the world than just playing and singing along with his guitar, away from big crowds and just allowed to relax. It was a small comfort that he had carried from his youth and throughout his entire life.

And it seemed that Joule was enjoying it. The smile on his lips made Nathan happy. He loved it when he managed to get people to smile.

Of course, eventually Nathan had come to the end of the song, ending it softly. He looked over at Joule, a lopsided smile on his face.

"Did you enjoy it?" he asked softly.

[Joule]

"I... yeah... actually I did. You're... pretty good."

Normally he would have made a snarky commend of some sort, claiming that he was better, but not that day. He was not in the mood for it. He just needed to be calm.

"You've got a nice voice. It's relaxing. Now I definitely want to play with you!" he chuckled.

[Phoenix]

"I've been playing since I was four. I'd hope I'd be pretty good," he joked lightly, strumming a few random notes and doing a quick little riff. It was nice to get a compliment from the other, he imagined that they probably weren't the easiest to come by. "Well, you'll have to come by with your own guitar some time and see if you can keep up with me."

[Joule]

"Keep up?" His tone grew more playful and he pushed himself off the wall, strutting towards Nathan. "I'll do more than that, I'm sure!"

Then he felt a little weak and had to lean against the wall again, which completely defeated his efforts at being all confident and cocky. He found himself wanting to ask Nathan to play some more, but remained silent.

[Phoenix]

"We'll see," Nathan said, smiling brightly. He couldn't help but watch Joule carefully, in case something happened. Nathan hummed softly in the back of his throat, playing a few more chords before finally choosing a song. He grinned to himself as he thought back to an old joke his father had made often as he was a child.

"But now, here's Wonderwall," Nathan said, starting on the one song that almost anyone could play, before quickly switching it up for something more complex.

"I don't know why uou think that you could hold me when you couldn't get by by yourself. And I don't know who would ever want to tear the seam of someone's dream. Baby, it's fine, you said that we should just be friends. Well, I came up with that line and I'm sure that it's for the best. If you ever change your mind, don't hold your breath," he began, beginning on an acoustic version of 'It's a Beautiful Day'.

[Joule]

"That's a very interesting version of Wonderwall you've got there!" Joule grinned and sat down, legs crossed, in front of Nathan's chair. He looked almost childish, sitting like that and grinning. Slowly he was regaining his confidence, though he made a point of respecting Nathan's personal space and tried especially hard not to make any sexual references.

"Maaan I love music. It's one of the many gorgeous pleasures of life~"

[Phoenix]

Nathan finished up, chuckling. He shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah. Turns out that to properly play Wonderwall, you need to be at a college and a hipster. Unfortunately, if those requirements aren't met, it doesn't sound right. Maybe someday," he said, laughing lightly. He continued to strum random chords, doing small melodies though never actually committing to any one tune.

"Yeah, I love music too. I used to play all the time, and entered a few talent shows back in the day."

[Joule]

It was strange to see Nathan like this. He usually appeared a lot more stiff, at least to Joule. He liked this newly discovered side of the man. It made him feel more like himself. His real self. What a curious thing.

"I can honestly never see you being a college hipster. Sorry mate." He chuckled along.

"Talent shows eh? Well look at you, all fancy in shows and all that. I never really played much in front of crowds."

[Phoenix]

"What? Even if I go to starbucks and get them to spell my name wrong?" he asked in mock offence, holding his hand to his chest as though truly upset over this. Of course, it didn't last long until he dissolved back into his normal smiling self. Nothing could keep Nathan from being happy for long, even if he had to fake it. Now was not one of those times though. It was a pleasant experience with Joule, and he was endlessly thankful for that.

"Well," he began, shrugging his shoulders. "It was always fun. I went to a public school, so there was always the attempt to raise school spirit. And the first time I performed, they liked me so much, they kept getting me to perform." He grinned sheepishly.

"They actually paid me in stickers. I used to collect them."

[Joule]

Joule laughed at Nathan's Starbucks comment. This guy wasn't so bad after all...

"Sounds like fun... I didn't really have a very good time in school to be honest." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You collected stickers? Haha you should have kept them! I like collecting all sorts of things."

[Phoenix]

"Well..." he trailed off and looked over at his one bookshelf, where the top row was completely full of binders. He rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling slightly, a sheepish expression on his face. "I... Still have them. I just don't collect them any more."

He laughed slightly at his own lameness, a dopey grin spreading across his lips. "What sort of things do you collect?" he asked, hoping to get the topic away from his embarrassingly large collection of stickers.

[Joule]

"Wait wait wait, you still have them?!" He let out an excited laugh and jumped to his feet, a little wobbly at first, but better once he took a few steps towards the library. "You totally have to show them to me!"

"Oh and I collect all kinds of things! Old things. Like guns, books, record players, guitars... And.... lots of other things."

[Sponsored content]