[ the question makes him pause, brows arching instinctively in surprise. he admires the directness — finds it attractive, even, which isn't helpful given their present situation or the precise line of thought that he's trying to avoid. his eyes flicker from her hands, tracking the way her fingers twist her hair, to her face. ]
Uh, yeah. [ desire sounds either too clinical or too flowery, but the answer remains a yes. all the control in the world can't keep the stripe of pink from his cheeks. to compensate, his tone lilts back into teasing territory. ] Sorry, I meant to pass you a note saying so.
[ a variation on an old classic. do you want to kiss me? check yes or no. ]
[Well, that's at least nice to hear. Rosalind finishes putting her hair up, then tips her head at him.]
And yet somehow you're not hallucinating. But it's not a lack of lust halting you . . . and you've taken hallucinogens before, you said, so clearly they work on your physiology.
It surprises me you're not hallucinating me in nothing but my chemise, frankly.
[That's kind of dirty talk? Probably more on the realm of not, though (and for the record, she is pleasantly surprised he knows what physiology means). But she waves a hand, aware her own musings are more cryptic than helpful.]
My friend-- Alan, we'll call him, for the sake of privacy-- was both bitter and angry in our conversation, and he hallucinated something that infuriated him. He grew angrier, which fed into the hallucination, which made him even more upset . . . it became a self-sustaining cycle.
So. I wished to see if any strong emotion would trigger a hallucination. And there's fewer emotions stronger than lust-- it's why I wanted to run this with you, given our previous activities.
[Which sounds clinical, and is, a little. Her theory was that he'd have an easier time giving in to lust because he's proven he's attracted to her. But there's another meaning, which is: I wanted to run this with you because I don't want some stranger imagining me in such a state.]
[ It's not his Alan, obviously, but the name still earns a flicker of familiarity. So, he's a test subject booty call (the easiest person for the job, so to speak). He doesn't seem offended. On the contrary, his face splits into a sly smile. ]
Might be that I have a lid on my lust, [ great. lust sounds weird as hell when he says it, in his opinion. ] being used to a specific sort of communal living.
[ nonstop cohabitation in the barracks and dorms. not to mention, he couldn't exactly pop a stiffy every time someone pinned him on the mat. of course, it's more that he has control over most of his emotions, but that's a bit much to reveal casually. ]
Uh, well, I don't think I want to get hot for science.
[ not to mention, he doesn't know what he would, ah, hallucinate. he's not into anything weird, as far as he knows, but being vulnerable in that way doesn't exactly rev his engine. he clears his throat. ]
[She seems a little disappointed, but she won't force him into it. Rosalind shifts, crossing one leg over the other, and adds wryly:]
There's a joke to be made there about you and I, but I shan't make it.
[But then:]
Is there a reason you don't want Mr. DeVere to know what we're doing? I'll keep your secret regardless, but he seems reasonable enough, and this is hardly a dangerous experiment.
[ Eggsy smiles at her not-joke. Right-o, Madam. He doesn't hesitate to answer her question. ]
Well, it's just me and Henry from home, innit?
[ His features soften. Hard not to sound fond, when the topic shifts to Harry, despite their growing pains and lies wedged between them. ]
He worries about me enough as it is. [ Oh, and he's a spy who doesn't trust anyone with his real name, let alone his hand-picked Kingsman candidate. After a beat, Eggsy continues wryly — ] And I think anything with the word "experiment" in it would be extra concerning for him. That ain't exactly business as usual on Savile Row, yeah?
[ Definitely ribbing Ros for her blasé approach to experiments on people. ]
[ He thinks of how Bellamy responded to the mere mention of a drug test. Not well. Harry definitely would have asked him not to come, but Eggsy wouldn't put that down to viewing him as a child. ]
I don't think that's our problem, but I appreciate the diagnosis, Doc. [ well. ] Sorry, Madam.
[There's an odd little flicker of something in her gaze as he says doc and then corrects herself. You'd have to be looking closely to see it, because it lasts only a moment, but it's there.]
Suit yourself. I'm surprised you're taking it so well, though. [She's not lecturing, just talking.] I used to chafe under my mother's instruction, to the point where I learned to climb trees simply to escape her gaze.
I don't know about rebel-- not in the way you're thinking, anyway. But my mother had a precise vision for me, and I disagreed with that vision. And as I grew older, I found it easier to simply avoid engaging with her altogether.
University helped with both those endeavors, actually. She despised the thought of my attending, and yet being gone for most of the year perfectly aided my not speaking to her.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Uh, yeah. [ desire sounds either too clinical or too flowery, but the answer remains a yes. all the control in the world can't keep the stripe of pink from his cheeks. to compensate, his tone lilts back into teasing territory. ] Sorry, I meant to pass you a note saying so.
[ a variation on an old classic. do you want to kiss me? check yes or no. ]
no subject
And yet somehow you're not hallucinating. But it's not a lack of lust halting you . . . and you've taken hallucinogens before, you said, so clearly they work on your physiology.
no subject
Does it surprise you more that I know what physiology is, or that my physiology is definitely human?
[ if the latter is a concern for this... experiment ]
no subject
[That's kind of dirty talk? Probably more on the realm of not, though (and for the record, she is pleasantly surprised he knows what physiology means). But she waves a hand, aware her own musings are more cryptic than helpful.]
My friend-- Alan, we'll call him, for the sake of privacy-- was both bitter and angry in our conversation, and he hallucinated something that infuriated him. He grew angrier, which fed into the hallucination, which made him even more upset . . . it became a self-sustaining cycle.
So. I wished to see if any strong emotion would trigger a hallucination. And there's fewer emotions stronger than lust-- it's why I wanted to run this with you, given our previous activities.
[Which sounds clinical, and is, a little. Her theory was that he'd have an easier time giving in to lust because he's proven he's attracted to her. But there's another meaning, which is: I wanted to run this with you because I don't want some stranger imagining me in such a state.]
no subject
Might be that I have a lid on my lust, [ great. lust sounds weird as hell when he says it, in his opinion. ] being used to a specific sort of communal living.
[ nonstop cohabitation in the barracks and dorms. not to mention, he couldn't exactly pop a stiffy every time someone pinned him on the mat. of course, it's more that he has control over most of his emotions, but that's a bit much to reveal casually. ]
no subject
And if I were to ask you to let loose?
no subject
[ not to mention, he doesn't know what he would, ah, hallucinate. he's not into anything weird, as far as he knows, but being vulnerable in that way doesn't exactly rev his engine. he clears his throat. ]
Guess I'm old-fashioned that way.
no subject
All right.
[She seems a little disappointed, but she won't force him into it. Rosalind shifts, crossing one leg over the other, and adds wryly:]
There's a joke to be made there about you and I, but I shan't make it.
[But then:]
Is there a reason you don't want Mr. DeVere to know what we're doing? I'll keep your secret regardless, but he seems reasonable enough, and this is hardly a dangerous experiment.
no subject
Well, it's just me and Henry from home, innit?
[ His features soften. Hard not to sound fond, when the topic shifts to Harry, despite their growing pains and lies wedged between them. ]
He worries about me enough as it is. [ Oh, and he's a spy who doesn't trust anyone with his real name, let alone his hand-picked Kingsman candidate. After a beat, Eggsy continues wryly — ] And I think anything with the word "experiment" in it would be extra concerning for him. That ain't exactly business as usual on Savile Row, yeah?
[ Definitely ribbing Ros for her blasé approach to experiments on people. ]
no subject
Still. You might want to remind him you're not a child.
[Because that's. kind of overprotective for a tailor and his apprentice, it really is.]
no subject
I don't think that's our problem, but I appreciate the diagnosis, Doc. [ well. ] Sorry,
Madam.
[ He shrugs. ]
I'm just picking my battles.
no subject
Suit yourself. I'm surprised you're taking it so well, though. [She's not lecturing, just talking.] I used to chafe under my mother's instruction, to the point where I learned to climb trees simply to escape her gaze.
no subject
Well enough. [ he did hang up on harry... that one time... ANYWAY. ] Shut up! You were a rebel, huh?
no subject
University helped with both those endeavors, actually. She despised the thought of my attending, and yet being gone for most of the year perfectly aided my not speaking to her.