Closed RP. Backdated to the day after the last visit.

[caveatempter.livejournal.com]

The Count knew his detective well, and shortly before he expected the man to arrive he began preparing the tea and setting out the cups. He hesitated, for just a moment, before heading into the back, carefully pulling out the incense he had begun to burn the other day and lighting it once more. It was meant to relax, to calm, and he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

Even if it did not work, he had no doubts that he could pretend it did, and that, at least, might help a little. He opened his eyes again, walking back to the front of the store, pouring out two cups of tea. Perhaps a little early, but he knew what he was doing. He knew how Leon took his tea as well as his own preferences, which was in fact why he had begun letting the man serve himself, but today he stirred the milk and sugar into both their cups.

By the time he was finishing, he heard the door open, and looked up with a perfectly placed smile.

Comments

[caveatempter.livejournal.com]

Silence really would have been the better option, as it would have given D time to collect himself. As it was, the Count smiled frostily and said, voice cool, "No, Detective. I have not found here, or anywhere else, 'something along those lines.'"

He knew it was a mistake, even as he was saying it, because really, no need to make it clear to Leon that he was striking a nerve, was there? Though he seemed to have written off those times D had felt a sudden pang of ill-advised jealousy in the past...

[under-arrest-d.livejournal.com]

"Mmm," Leon murmured into his tea, relaxing very slightly (though he hadn't even realized he had tensed up). He closed his eyes a little, and leaned back into the chair. "Hey, where'd you get your incense from back home?" he asked, not opening his eyes.

[caveatempter.livejournal.com]

Luckily, Leon seemed to have completely missed that little display. D relaxed as well. "Nowhere you'd know," he sniffed, though without real rancor. "It's made personally by a local family in Chinatown. It's nothing mass-produced or sold in stores, I assure you." That was where he got his normal incense, anyway. The more special variety he had the occasional use for... well, that was an entirely different story.

[under-arrest-d.livejournal.com]

Leon frowned a little. "But how does it get to you when you're travelling all over the world if they're a local family?" he asked. Then he sighed a bit. "Hey, do you think I could get my hands on some once I go home?"

[caveatempter.livejournal.com]

"There is always a local family," D said mysteriously. Really, it wasn't as mysterious as all that. The people in Chinatown kept their own culture, kept it and cultivated it, and they knew what they were doing. Anything made by them, made seriously and not just with a mind to sell to foolish tourists, would be of high quality indeed.

Then he blinked, looking at Leon with some surprise. "I suppose I could give you the address, and tell you who to ask. A letter of introduction, even. They do keep to themselves," as did most in Chinatown, "but I'm sure they would sell you something." There was a better chance of him getting anything good if the Count did write that letter, to be honest. "You have grown that attached?"

[under-arrest-d.livejournal.com]

"I hadn't thought so," Leon said. "But it's nice, I guess." He smiled a bit of a soft smile. "You know, Jill had always been able to tell when I had been to the shop. She always said it was a woman's intuition. But once Chris went home, and you went missing - before the whole 'your father tried to kill me' thing, I mean, she told me that she always knew when I'd been at the shop because she could smell it on me. I had never noticed, but I guess she did." He hadn't realized it at the time, but in retrospect, he had always been able to sleep better when he had his clothes that smelled like D's shop near his bed.

[caveatempter.livejournal.com]

"Miss Jill was always remarkably perceptive," D agreed. "I'm sure her intuition worked well enough, but it is a unique scent. If you really do enjoy it, I shall see to it that you are able to get some."

[under-arrest-d.livejournal.com]

Leon gave him a gentle, grateful smile, and went back to sipping his tea in silence.