screwloose | [RL with Birkin]

This time Birkin was coming to him, and that suited Stein just fine. He knew on some level that leaving his world for a bit would do him good, but he was involved in some new projects and still trying to work out how to deliver his last one to Medusa. It wasn't a good time to leave.

But a little company was always welcome, especially if it was like-minded company.

He'd taken a little trip to the store earlier in the day and bought an array of liquors - some bourbon, some gin, some tequila, and some rum. He didn't really know what Birkin liked, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to have a variety on hand.

And now he was at the computer, poking his nose around and waiting.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

screwloose

The only reason that Birkin managed to grab a hold of the bolt was because Stein let him. He stood still, grinning at the other man in a decidedly dangerous way.

"My kids have killed," he informed Birkin. "Killed serial killers with powers you can't even imagine. Maka and Soul alone have taken down over a hundred together."

His grin widened. "And they couldn't even touch me."

He grabbed Birkin by the sides of the head, moving so fast the other man didn't have a chance to react. And then he attacked his soul directly, right through the palms of his hands.

It felt - and looked - like Stein had just electrocuted Birkin. There was screaming, and then Birkin fell unconscious, bleeding from the nose, ears, eyes and mouth.

((If you don't like this I can edit and back up. I was going to ask you first, but you vanished and I wanted to post it so I wouldn't forget. ^_^ There'll be no permanent damage, but it hurt like a BITCH, and when Birkin wakes up he's strapped to an operating table :| ))

From:

touchofgenius.livejournal.com

The first thing he noticed was that his head hurt. A lot. Worst hangover of his life. Birkin tried to lift his hand to rub his aching head, then realizing he couldn't move it. At all. Oh, right. Stein electrocuted him somehow or another. His head hurt far to much to focus on the particulars.

Birkin cracked an eye open, noticing that he was still in the lab, which was a bit of a relief but... The fact that he couldn't move and a quick glance around the room revealed that he must have been on one of the operating tables sort of damaged his calm. "I am never drinking again..." Birkin mumbled to himself. He started trying to move to test the limits of those damn straps. He couldn't help but notice how ironic this all was. All those test subjects of his that ended up in this same position with some psycho smiling down on them... He understood why they started screaming when they woke up now.

From:

screwloose

And here was the psycho, smiling down on Birkin. "Ah, you're awake."

Stein leaned over Birkin thoughtfully, stroking light fingers down his chest. "I thought about dissecting you, but I did promise. How's your head?"

From:

touchofgenius.livejournal.com

Birkin resisted the urge to scream in terror, and settled on a completely unamused glare. "Thank you. You're all heart. I can't imagine why anyone would diagnose you as a sociopath. " He gasped slightly at the contact, but just glared harder. "And it hurts terribly. What did you do to me?"

From:

screwloose

"I attacked your soul directly with my own," Stein explained cheerfully. "Dominated it, you might say." If you were Vanessa.

He ran light fingers down Birkin's chest, hooking the fingers in his tie and undoing it deftly, letting it fall away. "You're not much of a fighter, are you? More focused on the science, I suppose."

From:

touchofgenius.livejournal.com

He was in no mood for Stein's cheerful attitude at the moment. "If you ever even think of doing that again, I swear I'll..." He knew there was no threat he could actually sling that would phase the other scientist in the slightest. Damn it. He contemplated using Wesker, but Birkin really didn't feel like being beaten up again once Wesker found out. And Wesker could always find out. The sentence probably sounded better unfinished, anyway.

Birkin practically snarled as his tie was undone. "Get. Your hands. Away from me." Hell, if he could move far enough, he would have gladly tried to gnaw through his bonds or even tried to bite his oh, so gracious host. But he couldn't and the best he could accomplish was a killer glare and some feeble struggles. "Okay, wonderful. You are stronger than I am. Now, let me go; there's no reason to keep me here."

From:

screwloose

Stein was terribly fascinated by how pissed off Birkin was. It was almost animalistic.

"You're the one who grabbed onto something that's embedded in my skull, to prove a point that it was a weak-point in battle," Stein pointed out with bemusement. "And now you're upset that I retaliated?"

From:

touchofgenius.livejournal.com

Birkin took a few shaky breaths, trying his hardest to calm himself down. Not that it worked, exactly. In reality, his eyes were darting around the room, looking for... He didn't know what, exactly. Help in some form or other.

"If I'd decided to twist that ridiculous thing, I doubt you'd be so smug right now. I was proving a point; not trying to hurt you. And I'm not upset." In a massive amount of pain and scared to death was a bit closer to the truth. Birkin swallowed hard, eyes still darting along the walls. He was going to get himself killed in this stupid place wasn't he? A fitting end, he supposed. "Someone's going to come looking for me, Stein." Though the scientist figured if anyone even noticed his absence, their reaction would be more jubilant than worried.

From:

screwloose

Stein laughed. "If I'd thought for one moment that you would actually try to hurt me, you wouldn't have gotten within two feet of that 'ridiculous thing'," he informed Birkin. "But I had to prove a point, too."

He pulled out a cigarette and lit up, laughing again. "Who'll come looking for you - Vanessa? You claim Wesker is dead, and so far as I know you don't have any other friends. Vanessa isn't exactly a threat. I'm pretty sure she'd enjoy you right here, anyway."

He lowered the cigarette, blowing a cloud of smoke towards the ceiling. "Funny thing that," he added. "I'm pretty sure you've been lying to me about Wesker."

From:

touchofgenius.livejournal.com

Well, that plane just crashed into a mountain. Call off the search; there are no survivors. He sighed. "Thank you for reminding me that I'm unanimously hated and if you killed me right now, no one would care. That's... Comforting." Birkin doubted even Wesker would come looking for him right now. "Why would I lie to you about that? You've shown no loyalty to anyone in my world other than me." And at the moment, that loyalty was shaky at best. "Is that what this is all about? You just want me to admit Wesker's alive?"

From:

screwloose

Stein gave him another penetrating look, attempting to give the impression that he already knew all of Birkin's secrets and was just waiting for him to admit it. If Wesker really were dead, he would probably feel quite foolish later, but he thought the odds were low.

"Why, is it going to work?" he asked, smirking widely. "I really have no idea why you're lying to me about it. I won't tell anyone if he really is alive, and I don't actually care about your little tif with the other people from your world. If I were to help anyone, it would be you, so why don't you just tell me the truth and see if it helps?"

From:

touchofgenius.livejournal.com

Birkin looked off to the side. Stein's looks were just... Creepy. Besides, the way that question was phrased sounded like a thinly veiled threat and if it got him home in one piece... He closed his eyes, he hated to do this but... Wesker could go to hell, quite frankly. "He's alive, alright? Now, untie me and let me go!"

After a few seconds he chuckled to himself. "If this is what you did with Vanessa, it's no small wonder she likes you so much." It made perfect sense now.

From:

screwloose

Stein smirked. "I thought so."

But the thrill of victory was short-lived. Birkin was reacting to him the same way Spirit always had, and while the sadistic part of Stein enjoyed every minute of it, he wondered if he were losing the friendship at the same time. He mourned that Birkin, perhaps, didn't understand him as well as he wanted him to - or maybe understood him too well.

But he wasn't going to kill Birkin, and he wished Birkin understood that.

"I didn't tie Vanessa up," Stein said thoughtfully. "Though I think you're right that she'd enjoy it."

He stroked his fingers down Birkin's arm to the restraint. "Are you really that scared?" With a flick of his fingers, he released the catch, freeing Birkin's right arm. "Are you going to run away from me, now? Or should we go back and sit down, and enjoy the rest of our evening?"

From:

touchofgenius.livejournal.com

Birkin raised his arm to his face, wiping most of the blood onto his sleeve. Yet another stain to add to his "collection". He thought about Stein's question for a second. "If you're releasing me of your own choosing, there's no reason for me to run. Besides, I need a few drinks after that." He smirked.

What was Stein's secret? He'd never had any test subject react so quickly and succumb to their fears without even an incision... But then, he knew what the other scientist was capable of and the sorts of things he'd be more than willing to do. But with one arm free, Birkin's confidence came back with a vengeance.

From:

screwloose

Stein brightened considerably, his own confidence beginning to return. As he'd said before, relationships were difficult for him, and he hadn't been certain of this once he'd done it. But perhaps Birkin understood better than he'd feared.

He was also somewhat pleased that he hadn't had to make any incisions to get the truth out of his friend. That might have been even more awkward afterwards.

"No reason not to enjoy ourselves," he said cheerfully, moving around the table and releasing Birkin's legs and his other arm. He wasn't worried about retaliation. "And the headache should fade quickly, though you might experience a bit of weakness. I gave you quite a jolt." He offered his hand to help Birkin down from the table.

From:

touchofgenius.livejournal.com

Birkin sat up, ignoring the rush of dizziness that hit him. Whether it was Stein's fault or because he'd been drinking, the scientist didn't really know, but he wasn't sure he actually cared. He stared Stein's hand warily for a moment, then back up at his cheerful face before figuring he could touch it without getting another shock. He swung his legs over the side of the table and grabbed Stein's hand, hoisting himself to the floor.

"Can you... Kill someone by doing that?" Birkin leaned heavily on his companion, clutching onto his arm, far too exhausted to actually bother holding himself up. A moment later, he straightened himself a bit and began walking, albeit shakily, back to the living room with a bit of a smirk on his face. "And just so you know, I've learned my lesson and will never make fun of your bolt again."

From:

screwloose

Stein laughed. "Good, good," he said, letting go of Birkin's hand but keeping an eye on him as they walked back, past the room with the living corpse on its table, and out to the living room. He immediately refilled the beakers of rum and sat down on the couch where they'd been before.

"I could probably kill someone with repeated jolts," he said. "But I haven't actually tried it, yet."

From:

touchofgenius.livejournal.com

Birkin immediately collapsed on the couch and took a gulp of rum. If he remembered any of this in the morning, it certainly wasn't from lack of trying. "You said you've killed serial killers though. Or do you just do that the old fashioned way?" He sat in silence for a few minutes, toying with the notion of asking Stein how long he was unconscious or if he really would have cut him open if not for that promise, but he firmly decided he didn't want to know. "Before I leave, I should probably shower or something. If I go back looking like this, someone's bound to notice. You don't mind, do you?"

From:

screwloose

"Usually I use my Weapon to kill," Stein said agreeably. "Spirit can transform into a scythe, and I am his meister, again." It had been nice to have the solid presence of Spirit in his hands again, their souls back in harmony once more, that's for sure.

He cocked his head and nodded. "Sure, of course I don't mind. Though you might want to do that now, or tomorrow, because I don't know how much longer you're going to be able to stand. I estimate you'll probably wind up sleeping it off on my couch, anyway."

From:

touchofgenius.livejournal.com

"He can do what?" What the fuck was up with this world? Well, people could evidently electrocute others whenever they damn well felt like it so other people turning into scythes wasn't so far fetched. Other than, you know, the fact that it was. He set the beaker down on the table again. "You've cut him open, right? Is there any difference in his anatomy because he can do that?" Not that Birkin would really know the answer in the morning, but he still had to ask.

Birkin smirked slightly, drawing his legs up onto the couch. "The couch? Stein, I'm hurt!" The scientist gasped in mock-offense. "I might try to get promoted to an actual bed by flirting with you again if you're not careful." He reached over and grabbed the beaker, taking another drink while raising an eyebrow in Stein's direction. In truth, he really didn't mind sleeping on the couch, he just knew his back would be very angry with him in the morning if he did.

From:

screwloose

Stein nodded eagerly just at the memory of all of those long nights, cutting Spirit up and poking around inside him, then sewing him back up again before morning. "Oh yes, Weapons are just like you and me, but with a special power. It seems to run in families, though Maka inherited her mother's prowess as a Meister instead of becoming a Weapon like her father. The Thompson twins can both turn into identical handguns, for example, and Tsubaki's whole family turn into various ninja weapons."

He smirked and took a drink himself, his own eyebrows rising. "Well, I thought you might be nervous, but if you prefer... it won't take much flirting to get upgraded."

From:

touchofgenius.livejournal.com

Birkin nodded slowly. Made sense that it was genetic. Maybe one day he'd try to figure out which one was the dominant trait. "As long as you aren't planning to take me down to the lab in the middle of the night and experiment on me, I have no reason to be nervous. And even if you were, it's not especially inconvenient for you to carry me from your couch. If that is what you want from me, my fate is more or less sealed." He managed to smile pleasantly. Despite that earlier... Indiscretion, Birkin still inexplicably trusted Stein.

Finishing off the rest of his glass, the scientist remember why he hated going on dates: He really hated flirting with people. "I..." Birkin was originally planning on just doing what Vanessa would do. But then he realized Vanessa would probably just unzip his pants and go from there, which would require at least another beaker of rum. "You wouldn't mind sharing," he whispered into Stein's ear. A hand was placed gingerly on the other man's thigh.

"Would you, Doctor?" Birkin was thankful he wasn't stuttering this time, though he was fairly positive his was that lovely shade of cherry red that he always seemed to turn in these situations. He stared at the scar on Stein's cheek for a second before smirking and realizing he might actually have something to work with there. "Maybe you could show me the rest of your scars." He quirked an eyebrow and let a mischievous smile take over his face.

Vanessa really was a bad influence on him.

From:

screwloose

Stein blinked in startlement when Birkin actually put his hand on his thigh. While all the flirting up to now had seemed like deliberate jokes, this was a signal that he couldn't deny.

What was it with people visiting him and jumping his bones lately, anyway? Vanessa had to have put something in Birkin's drink? Though perhaps it was the drink that was the reason, after all.

"I wouldn't mind sharing," he said, setting the beaker down gingerly in such a way so as not to force Birkin to shift his hand off of his thigh. And I'd be happy to show you the rest of my scars."

He smirked and shifted forward. "But are you really prepared for what I have to offer?" And he captured Birkin's lips aggressively.

From:

touchofgenius.livejournal.com

Well, that was something Birkin wasn't expecting. The scientist sat there, completely dumbstruck and stiff as a board, not really sure how to react. How the hell did he even get himself into this? That bed had better be worth all this... He clasped the collar of Stein's labcoat, slowly starting to kiss him back.

Birkin broke the kiss a few moments, blushing madly. "So... Where's that bed you promised?"

From:

screwloose

That blush was actually adorable, and Stein caught hold of the collar of Birkin's shirt and twisted it a little, until it was a bit too tight. "It's not far away," he murmured.

"Did you still want that shower first?"