308/Adorning the Dorm

Adorning the Dorm
Date of Scene:	27 August 2023
Location:	Radiant Heart Dorms
Synopsis:	Adrien and Takashi meet near Adrien's dorm and discover they're coworkers, of a distant sort.
Cast of Characters:	Adrien Agreste, Takashi Agera
Tinyplot:	Testyplot

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Adrien Agreste has posed:
In the middle of the hall of the dorms there's a little commotion as a rather large, beefy, wide shouldered man with black and grey hair and a wide jaw takes up most of the space in the hall by sheer presence alone. He stands in front of a door where a blonde man who looks an appropriate age for actually belonging in the dorms stands speaking to him in a quick prattle of French.

Whatever the commotion is, it's obvious to see should one come into the hall or happen upon them: The larger man carries with him a hefty box that the younger Adrien is trying to take from him.

"I've got it, really, I can set it up myself. I promise!" Adrien assures taking a few steps backwards intending to enter the room with the box. It only causes the larger gent to shuffle forward having to duck his head low to avoid smashing into the door frame. He was not built for Japanese architecture.

"Really Placide, I swear I can handle it, it's okay."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi Agera is walking back to his room as he decides that maybe he should try resting and even sleeping in his dorm room, instead of just passing out on the lab table as is common. Well, also the lab table was full of stuff and he didn't want to clean it.

    Takashi walks up and pauses, because there is a very large human being there. And a smaller one. But it's the big one that gets Takashi's attention. Most kids would probably be intimidated by the man's size, but Takashi isn't so. "You know, you two are causing a scene." Takashi says, and looks at the huge man. "You're gonna have to let your kid do stuff on his own anyways, it's not like you can stay here." Takashi adds.

    "His father standing around like this and being in the way isn't what you want everyone to remember about this kid, right?" he asks.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Placide, aka Gorilla (though no one would dare say that to his face), turns his gaze toward Takashi somehow without actually turning his head. Did he even have a neck to turn with? It's kind of hard to tell from his sheer bulk. A deep grumble comes from him as if he were about to speak. He doesn't. He just glowers, taking a deep breath to huff out as if a bull about to charge.

Adrien reaches out to lightly pat Placide's arm pulling his attention back to him. A reassuring smile is given. "I know it's heavy but I can get it, really. You should get back to work before Natalie has to check on you anyway."

Reluctantly he finally lets go of the box so that Adrien can take the weight of it causing him to shift a leg back. Surprisingly he does manage to hold onto it, even if does obviously strain his arms.

"Thanks, Placide! I'll get it from here." Adrien swivels on his heel to ease it onto his desktop at least. He can unpack it later.

"Sorry about that," Adrien offers in Japanese that was rather formally polite. "I apologise for taking up the hallway."

Placide turns to tromp out pausing to glower again at Takashi before striding off with heavy stomping feet. He really was just a huge man.

A little awkwardly Adrian loiters in the doorway to his room one arm rubbing at the other. "He's not my father though. He's my bodyguard." Suddenly realizing he forgot his manners he dips his head toward Takashi. "Ah, I'm sorry. I'm Adrien Agreste. I moved in the other day. I'll try not to inconvenience you in the future."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi's perspective was a unique one, of course. A combination of 'he's not gonna hit a kid' and a highly likely to be inaccurate that 'if he did I could take him' means he's likely one of the only people who could glower back at somebody who looked like the child of a weight bench and a fridge. The kid in the school uniform crosses his arms and watches the huge man leave. Takashi somehow wisely manages not to give an Akanbe at the huge man as he does so.

    Takashi looks up ad Adrien and runs a hand through his silver hair backwards from his head. "Agreste... Agreste... where do I know that name from..." he muses out loud. "Anyways, not important. Why do you have a bodyguard here? What's he guarding you from, homework? Cause between you and me he didn't really look like the homework-doing type." Takashi says. "Anyways, should I get used to having my walking path blocked by that meat mountain of yours, Agreste-san? Or is this a one-time occurance of him protecting you from... moving your own stuff?"

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Adrien Agreste almost winces when Takashi seems to take a moment to ruminate over the familiarity of his last name. It wasn't as well known here in Japan as in France, but with his father starting to make moves here it was only a matter of time. "Oh," he remarks off-hand, "My father's been in a few magazines." So had HE for that matter. He was the poster boy for his father's brand as a model, but that wasn't important at all.

"No, it's fine, Gorilla--I mean, Placide only drives me to locations on occasion. He was just helping me carry this up because it's a bit heavy. He didn't really trust that I could get it up here without hurting myself."

Turning his green gaze away from the silver haired upperclassman he looks to the box, and then to Takashi again a bit hesitantly, because now that the box was down it was easy to read the description on the side of a top of the line espresso machine.

"... Do you like coffee?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "Nah, I know the name but not out of a magazine." Takashi doesn't read fashion magazines and one look at the boy in street clothes would tell you that, but the uniforms do take some of that away. "But recently, I feel like I've heard that name a couple of times at work." He avoids asking Adrien if his father works in Dark Energy, though. That'd be a little on the nose.

    Takashi nods. "Gorilla's a much better name for the guy." he notes. "But he does..." Takashi visibly looks Adiren up and down "...look a little bit more natively suited to the carrying of heavy objects than you do." Takashi was one to talk, even if he carried himself like he was twice his size. "Anyways, Agreste-san - what is that last name, French?" He guesses. Partly because of the lnaguage on the espresso machine box. "My brother next door is a little bit more of a coffee person than I am. Coffee's an aquired taste that I never acquired, unless whatever that machine puts out is drastically different from your average pot." He's thinking more along the lines of something sweet, than he is just 'better bitter bean water'.

    "What grade are you in, anyways?" Takashi asks, tilting his head. He notices the green eyes, and considers the rarity of seeing someone with the same general eye color as his.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"Ah, well he is good for that, but I'm a lot stronger than I was when I was younger too," Adrien has to remark out of a bit of pride. Just a bit. It wasn't really a 'thing' to brag in Japan he was told so he leaves it at that.

Turning back to the box on his desk he steps further into his room with a little gesture sent toward Takashi to indicate he was welcome to step inside as well, or otherwise come closer so they weren't taking up the entire hallway this time. His attention shifts to opening the box up to begin unpacking it as he speaks.

"Yes, it's French. I'm originally from Paris. My father and I came here recently. He's working on some kind of merger for his business." A little smile comes, tight lipped, and he pulls back the cardboard to withdraw a form fitted bit of styrofoam. "I don't really know all the details. He's so busy these days. But that just means I get to live in the dorms for now so I'm looking forward to it. I'm in grade nine."

Tipping his head back toward Takashi he has to admit, "Coffee isn't for everyone, but you're welcome to try some if you'd like. Maybe it'll be better than you're used to. Your brother would be welcome, too! I know we're not really supposed to have any cooking devices in the dorms, but this would really save me some time in the morning. It's much easier to adjust the brew to what you like with a machine like this."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Nobody told Takashi about this 'not bragging' thing. Or if they did he didn't listen. He shrugs and walks inside, unaware or uncaring that he was previously taking up the same hallway he'd complained about - though he lacked the... imposing figure of Placide. As in people could go around him.

    "Huh. A lot of people come here and get away from the family. Move across the country or even the planet and live here alone. Not so much move here with the family and pick a dorm." he notes. Not positive or negative, though. "Business merger... Paris... Agreste..." he mumbles, though. Still trying to put the bits together. He'd have gotten it by now if he wasn't so underslept.

    Regarding the coffee, Takashi shrugs. "Then, whenever you make some I'll try it. Worst case it'll at least have caffiene in it. I don't function well without caffiene." he admits. And then he does, actually, find something that resembles a degree of politeness. "On that note, my apologies if I've been grumpy. Poor sleep." Well, limited-to-no-sleep lately. Projects. Not enough hours in the day.

    "I think the cooking rule is just to make sure some idiot doesn't burn down the dorms by leaving a hot plate or something on. So long as you're not an idiot it shouldn't cause a problem." he notes, indicating the machine. "And if someone is an idiot, well, rules wouldn't protect us all from the consequences of their actions anyways."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Adrien Agreste is rather neat and tidy in how he sets things aside. The trash went to one side piled up neatly for disposal later, and rather than try to stupidly lift the hefty machine out of the cardboard, he pulls out an exacto knife to slice open the sides. There is the machine in all it's stainless steel glory looking for all the world like a device out of a lab of some sort or another. A spout here, a lever there, a tray beneath it all.

The mention of no sleep is taken in stride without complaint. "It's all right. I've definitely been there with the 'lack of sleep' between all my classes, and tutors, and--" Let's not mention the modeling. "Other... Things."

Yes, Adrien, that sounded so much less suspicious. Brilliant.

"I think the worst I could manage with this machine is some extra steam, so I think it'll be safe from any worst-case scenarios. Not that I intend to let that become a possiblity anyway," he assures with a little laugh. "You're right though. All the rules in the world doesn't stop accidents from happening. Better to be vigilant in those cases."

He'd notably not mentioned his father again or the 'getting away from family' remark. That was perhaps a bit too close to home for someone he'd just met.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "Well, my point was more that the rules exist for a reason, and if you know that reason and seek to avoid the consequence, I don't see the harm in bypassing the rule." Takashi says, with a shrug. Something like that is close to a life philosophy for him, for better or worse.

    Takashi picked up on the note, and just chuckled. "You might be surprised if you're new here how many students lose time to 'other things'." he says, though he's not referencing modeling, but something vastly different. The magical girl/boy thing responsible for so many of them getting less sleep.

    "That is a very machine looking machine, though." He said, in not his brightest linguistic choice ever. "Do you have a plan to hide it if someone comes nosing around? I think I could almost catch sight of it from the hallway here."

    And then, after a moment, he perked an eyebrow up. "Are you any relation to Gabriel Agreste?" he asks, the question likely coming out of the blue and maybe during another answer from Adrien, his brain putting the peices together at a random point and mouth just blurting the question out.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"Oh, it come with a leather dust cover for when it's not in use. It helps to prolong it's life span," Adrien explains lifting up a part from the box that was simple black leather with neat stitching folded into a square. He unfolds it into the little box shape that slides overtop easily. A half step back is taken to regard it with a proud smile at his little accomplishment.

"Sure it looks a bit odd, but you can't tell what's under it. If I stack some books nearby maybe it'll just be written off as a computer--"

Gabriel Agreste. The name comes out causing him to at once stiffen, and let his shoulders go slack. Maybe he was hoping the connection wouldn't be made. Yet, there it was. He turns back to Takashi with a nod, reaching up to scruff the short hair at the back of his neck as he admits, "Yes, that's my father. Have you heard of him? Oh, I mean, clearly you have," he hastens to add realizing how stupid that sounded. "I'm a model for his fashion brand so that keeps me busy quite often, too."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi shrugs at the idea of the dust cover doing it. A big leather box in a room that smells of coffee? Well, Adrien's business really. Apparently the school hadn't caught onto Kyouka's habits, or didn't care, maybe it'd be the same way with Adrien's expresso machine.

    Takashi nods. "Ahhh, that is where I remembered your last name from, Agreste-san." he says. "So... Ah, I suppose that makes us co-workers, soon, in a sense?" Takashi asked. "Since you work for your father, and soon his brand will be merging into Obsidian? I doubt your... modeling... will bring us into contact much, but... coworkers, like I said. So, it's nice to meet you, Agreste-san. Takashi Agera." he says, holding out his hand.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"Oh!" That was unexpected. Very unexpected. Adrien's expression softens a little bit at the news though, as well as the more formal greeting offered. Reaching out he accepts Takashi's hand giving it a solid, easy shake. No attempts at being macho with it at all. "A pleasure to meet you, Agera-san," he returns easily.

"You work with Obsidian? I hear they've got quite the scope of different ventures. What department do you work with? Or..." Here he pauses, looking momentarily abashed, "I'm sorry, you're already tired. I can't imagine you want to talk about work right now. I'm hoping my father might be able to take some more time off with extra help around. He's done so much by himself up to this point."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi sighs. "You wouldn't be the first child of someone in Obsidian who hopes for that." he says, shrugging. "Just. Don't count on it. I've never seen it work out that way. Sucks, but I'd rather you not get your hopes up too high only to crash when you are dissapointed." He shakes Adrien's hand in a normal way, not trying to prove anything with a handshake.

    "Ah, I suspect you'll be working under your father which will still put us in very different divsions, I'm currently with Tomoe LifeScience. Intern. There's a few of us around here who work with the company in one way or another. A little hard not to, it's huge. And really the only one that... does what it does."

    Takashi isn't without tact, especially on important subjects. So he starts in with "I'm also a big fan of the work your father has completed outside of just designing outfits and fashion shows." he says, a half-smirk on his face. He can back out of this if Adrien's confused. He doesn't yet know exactly what kind of work Gabriel Agreste is up to, but he's got a lot of reason to suspect the new Divison head isn't any different than the other Division Heads - full of ambition and Dark Energy. And he wonders if his son will tell him - or if his son is involved, at all.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Adrien Agreste lets his head drop with a little sad smile at that news. It doesn't seem as if he was surprised to hear it really. A hope was a hope though, but he knew better at the same time. "I know. He'll likely be busier than ever. I understand that. Still, it is nice to hope on occasion." Even if ... No, perhaps it just wasn't worth it to dwell on right now.

"He'll give me what work he needs me to do, as always. I just follow the itinerary he sets up. That's part of what Gorilla is for, making sure I get where I need to be without issue." Perhaps now the overly large behemoth of a bodyguard made a bit more sense.

As to the work he's doing? Adrien doesn't let on that he knows anything. Perhaps he doesn't, or perhaps he's had it drilled into him never to trust others in what he shares. It's really difficult to tell the difference sometimes. "I'm sure he'd be happy to hear that. He really does put his all into his work." There *were* other things he did of course that Adrien knew about. The fashion contests, the scholarships, the gifts to foreign dignitaries. Yet all of it did usually have one reason or another if only to help establish his reach beyond France.

"There's been weeks I haven't seen him because he's been holed up in his office. I usually end up with *so* much work after that," he adds laughing.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi sighs. "I'm sorry about that, being the deliverer of bad news. It's just I'm kind of... close to a couple people in Obsidian with the same hope. You would actually be the... third child of a Divison head I know." He says, kind of making an uncomfortable face. "Older than the other two at least. Seems like you're trying to push forward and not get trapped in it, which is good." he adds.

    "Ah, so he's not just a bodyguard, but an insurance policy for you getting where you need to be. Or are expected to be." Takashi notes. He's starting to hedge his bets away from Adrien being on the Dark Energy side of things - if he was, the bodyguard would either be unncessary or be unlikely to be able to stop him. "Well, if you ever need the local Gorilla to not know where you are, and someone to put him on the wrong trail, let me know. You know, if you need space." Takashi began. He had changed where he metally filed Agreste-san when he learned that he was connected to Gabriel, and saw no harm in offering things that cost him nothing to get a little bit of positive feedback.

    Takashi looks at him. "You'd at least understand how busy things can get despite your age, so - I'll just say don't forget to be you while you're being an employee, it's easy to lose yourself in the organization."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"I think it's more that my father doesn't trust me to be unobserved at all times. I was home schooled until just this past year when I convinced him to let me attend school in person," Adrien explains with a wry grin. "I'll keep that in mind though. Maybe I could meet these others, too. Seems like we'd have a bit in common."

The offer to send his bodyguard on a wild goose chase though? That causes him to grin again. "Weeeell. Once in awhile I manage to talk him into letting me have a little fun, but escaping is part of the fun, too. I don't see what the harm is. My grades are excellent, I keep up in my other studies. Sneaking off once in awhile isn't going to do any real harm."

"Besides," he adds dropping his voice a little conspiratorially, "I've gotten pretty good at sneaking away when I need to."

Once again the blonde smiles easily as if it were second nature to him. Maybe it was a model thing. "Thanks, Agera-san. If I see anything science related that you might be interested in, I'll make sure to bring it to your attention, too."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Maybe there's something in that conspiratorial voice, or maybe it's just a bit of playfulness. He's got Agreste in the back of his mind, now. For better or worse for the blonde. "Home schooled? Yuck. It sounds like he's kind of hovering over you afraid to lose you..." he notes. "But yeah. I'll let the others introduce themselves to you if they like - I try not to make decisions for them. Not everybody wants the... attention that comes from being part of Obsidian, let's say. And I won't draw anyone's attention to you, but I think it'll be known who your father is by other people no matter what I personally do."

    Takashi chuckles at the rest. "Well, it's just an offer. Standing offer, make use of it if you want or need to, as far as dodging Gorilla or anybody else." he adds, shrugging. "And unlikely to find anything related, but, if your father comes up with a really nice lab coat or something, let me know, eh?" he adds with a half smirk. Lab coats not being the most fashionable thing and Takashi not being the most fashionable person it was probably a joke. Mostly.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"I'll certainly keep that in mind," replies Adrien, unaware of what potential dangers might await him now that he'd piqued Takashi's interest. Then again maybe he'd just be used for information. Who knew? The joke of the lab coat earns a chuckle from the blonde along with a nod.

"Of course. And stop by tomorrow morning to try some coffee. I should have things set up by then. I should let you go get some rest so you're not too tired for work." More genuinely he adds, "It's good meeting you. And, ah, I'll try to keep Gorilla out of the dorm hallways," he adds.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi tilts his head, considering Adrien. "Sure. We'll see if your coffee can match my morning soda." he adds. "And please do. He makes a terrible window or door." Takashi says, before stepping back and turning on his heel. "Good to meet you, Agreste-san." he adds as he walks out the door.