The Glass Scientists micro-fanfictions

Unpleasant interactions

What on earth could Henry see in him? No, Robert was not jealous, no. What a preposterous thought! No, he was merely concerned for the wellbeing of his friend who had recently engaged in association with such a reprehensible chap.

The aforementioned chap, an odd little fellow by the name of Edward Hyde, of which he had only met mere moments ago, was grinning like a fool, this obviously heightened mood was doing nothing in the way of improving his appearance, quite the contrary in face. The smile of which curled up in the corners of his eyes was so wide it damn near split his cheeks, something altogether manic in its intensity, a smile of which did not reach his eyes, a nervous panic burning within the unnatural greens of his eyes. All of this was perfectly unpleasant, however it was not this that turned his veins to ice, no, it was the metallic scent in the air that had alerted him to his presence in the first place, a liberal coating of thick blood adorning the man that had leapt in through the nearby window. Robert was a gentleman, taught to avoid such horrid folk, and more pressingly to not question it, but god was he curious.

"Wot, ain'tcha never seen a good lookin' bloke b'fore?" the man – no, he couldn't thing of this creature as being a man – snapped, Lanyon having been staring at him for a little too long for it to be perfectly socially acceptable. As grating on the ear and hoarse as the blond's voice was, one thing stood out that could have brought laughter to his lips, this being the obviously put on cockney accent, so needlessly exaggerated and foreign in the mouth of the other. Quite rudely, he was sitting on the windowsill, his feet not quite reaching the floor.

"Of course I have," came the response, the pompousness of his voice exaggerated just a little as a defensive measure, knowing that it was wholly unwise to humour the clearly unstable fellow but finding it quite impossible not to, finding himself slipping into much the same humour he shared with Henry, though he couldn't imagine why, "Have you seen one come by here?"

"Oi!" the other growled, "I-" Whatever it was that he was going to say, having started such a triumphant exclamation only to be cut off almost immediately as he, as he oh so dramatically flung himself from his perch, trod on the bottom of his extravagantly tattered cape, which jolted him down, his center of balance having been so thoroughly thrown that he hurtled to the ground, smashing his face into the floor with all the grace and elegance of a newborn deer.

"Bloody hell!" hissed Hyde, attempting to pick himself up off the ground, a feat of which he was unsuccessful as his head was practically swimming due to the copious amounts of alcohol he had consumed during the evening, his chin proceeding to crash into the floorboards thrice before Lanyon took pity on the wretched creature and offered him a hand up. The aristocrat could not help but be surprised by how lacking in weight the other was, even with his diminished stature he seemed to be wholly unwell. Such courtesy, taken most appreciatively to rise to his feet was quickly forsaken with a swiping claw at the kindly hand.

"Don't bloody touch me, you damned fop!" exclaimed he, the fact he had been so perfectly willing to accept his help moments ago, his faux-cockney accent quickly abandoned.

"You needn't thank me." came the sarcastic response, it being all that he could do to keep the sigh from his voice.

"Get fucked."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me."

The look the shorter fellow gave him was so dripping with smugness he was almost shocked by how much he wished to remove such an expression from his unpleasant face. But he was a gentleman, and this was hardly the time or place to fall into fisticuffs.

"Now, if you are quite done with being an insufferable wanker, I'm sure that Henry is waiting and wondering what is keeping me from his side for so long." This was more said to play for a reaction than in any actual seriousness.

Poor Harry! He'd surely die of fright if the man slipped into his chambers in such a ghastly state – Lanyon, however, would very much like to avoid the thought of Edward engaging in any sort of chamber slipping with the doctor involved – and he couldn't stand for it. His concern, of course, being purely for the sake of his friend's safety and emotional state and not from any sort of jealousy. Of course.

"Certainly not." Robert stated perhaps a tad too quickly, "Not like that. I refuse to let you see him," he paused unintentionally, "In such a horrible state. Go bath before you see him at least."

"Nope." chirruped the other cheerily, letting this hang in the air before taking far too many steps towards him, leaving less than an inch between their faces – a feat of which required him to go onto tiptoes – as his eyes blazed mischievously, "Not unless you were to join me, which I certainly would not complain of."

Their faces were altogether far too close, but as Edward had said this, he made it seem as if he was going to kiss him. This was far too much for him, practically throwing the shorter chap away from him, aghast but also very much hoping that it wasn't obvious that his face was burning up, flustered and more than a little panicked.

"Clean yourself up, sir," said he, a sharpness of his tone, "Alone."

With a barking laugh, Hyde recoiled just enough to land a kiss on the other's cheek before he managed to jump away, grinning victoriously as he skipped away down the hallway, likely not intending to do what was advised of him. His steps were rather uneven and wobbly as he was clearly far too intoxicated, however Lanyon only observed for a moment or two at most before he stormed off.