"Yes I do. She's older, so. I had her young." Claurant waves a hand about half-heartedly. "I wouldn't replace her with the world if you offered it to me, but I'll always encourage people to be more responsible than I was."
Lucina was everything to him, and also a herald of nearly every mistake he's ever made. He can only hope she's not a herald of mistakes to come, as well.
"I'll never say no to a glass of wine," he says. "Pour me one."
"She was a one-night stand, really," Claurant explains, voice a little too light for the words he's about to deliver. "She's also dead, so. If there was ever going to be a ring, I certainly wouldn't be wearing it now." He knows there are plenty of widows who never remarry, whose hearts are forever broken by the loss they've endured... but he's not that sort of person, as callous as that may be. His father's death showcased that well enough.
Claurant shrugs, taking the glass and clinking it against Richard's own. "I didn't really know her well, honestly, and neither did Lucie. I know it's cold, but it's just... a thing that happened. A tragic thing, but a thing nonetheless, so. You didn't offend me at all by asking."
He chuckles, taking a sip of his wine. "Again, it's fine. Though now to make it fair I have to start prying into your love life."
Richard doesn't really think it's all that cold, Claurant is just being honest. He didn't know the woman very well so why should he be grieving forever because of one night of passion?
"Feel free to pry but I'll warn you now there's not much to tell." He says with a snort and then takes a large gulp of wine.
Just wait until you hear about how he grieves his father, Richard.
"Oh, I'm prying." Claurant gives him a devilish grin before he returns to the stove to finish off the gravy, stirring animatedly while he talks. "You're far from ugly, Richard, and there's a soul for every hole so to speak, so I expect someone took interest at some point. Yes?"
"What makes you say that, hm?" Claurant asks, too busy stirring to take a second look at Richard. From what he has seen however, he wouldn't at all call him ugly; he's got a rugged, kind-of-nerdy charm to him that he's sure would catch the eye of plenty a person, provided there was a personality to match.
"Oh, you flatter me," he says at the line comment, circling his way back to Richard's previous statement. "But see what I mean. There's interest out there, you just have to find it, darling. Or let it find you. Trouble loves walking in through an open door."
"Because it's the truth." He's not blind or dumb, he knows what he is. A 42 year old nerd who is out of shape, has a lot of body hair (especially around a full moon) and no ambition or prospects.
"I don't have big bulging muscles or rugged good looks." He takes another gulp of wine and snorts.
"And I'm too old and fat to be a twink so that basically leaves me in the 'undesireable' bin."
"You can't be that much older than I am, in that case, we're both old." Claurant's the sort to already stress that he's forty years young, thank you, but for sake of commiserating with Richard he'll refrain.
"Perhaps not to the masses, but when have the masses been correct about anything, Richard? Ignore them. If they don't want you, you have to prove to them how much of a loss that is. Which, I wholeheartedly believe you can do."
He snorts again and finishes off his glass of wine, reaching around Claurant to pour himself more. "It doesn't matter if the masses are correct or not, it's simple math. If 99% of people find you undesirable then 99% of people aren't going to fuck you."
He shrugs, "It's just the way the world works and no amount of me proving anything will change it."
"40, actually. I'm flattered you think I'm 35, however," he says, batting his eyelashes at him.
Perhaps Claurant's had it terribly easy in comparison, when it comes to his dalliances. He may not be the proper person to empathize with Richard's predicament, as he's not exactly seeing what Richard is. Claurant can see the off-beat charm in him, anyway, or perhaps he's easy to please.
"99%, I think, is an over-exaggeration. But I can't really fault anyone for being dramatic, now can I?"
"Are you seriously only TWO years younger than me?" Richard asks and then rolls his eyes, "Fuck yooou man. You look great. Especially for someone who has a KID."
In all honesty it's Richard who looks like a Dad.
"And I guess not, seeing how you have a flair for the dramatics yourself."
He catches a glimpse of himself in the reflective handle on the pan, smirking at Richard's remark. He does look good for his age. Given his lifestyle, he really shouldn't, but his father also looked absurdly, oddly young for his age. Maybe it was whatever strange, eldritch thing flowed through them, the blood of ancients keeping them younger and healthier than they ever really should be.
He's not going to delve into that, however. Not over dinner, not to Richard (now, anyway).
"Well, if it helps any, I thought you were younger than I was until you mentioned your age." Claurant sets about plating their dinner, since it's just about done.
"A flair for dramatics may as well be my middle name. Come, sit, I'm almost done."
[ooc: thank you, I love that scene so I had to make an icon to capture it.]
"Bullshit you did." Richard says with an eyeroll because there's no way that is true, he looks his age if not older depending on how shitty he is feeling.
"Kay." He says and then motions towards what he thinks is the dinning room, "Just in here?"
"Oh come now, I thought you were late-30s!" he calls, more focused on spooning out the roasted carrots without spilling any than the conversation, hence it taking him a while to reply. He glances over his shoulder again towards the room Richard's gone off into it, nodding his head once like it could be seen.
"There's perfect. I'll join you in a moment!"
And join in a moment he does, bearing two plates to set down wherever Richard decided to sit. When he chooses, Claurant takes the seat across from him, doubling back briefly for his wine.
"Dig in, by all means. It is still hot though, so be careful."
Richard doesn't need to be told twice to start eating, as soon as Claurant is seated and says dig in he does so, forking a large portion into his mouth and chewing happily.
"Holy shit, this is really good." He says between bites, "Where did you learn how to cook so well?"
He laughs, aware that he's good but still pleased to watch someone openly enjoy his cooking anyway. It's been a bit to hear so from anyone who wasn't his daughter. "Necessity. Mother isn't the best of cooks, bless her heart, so someone out of the two of us had to learn. I made sure I taught Lucie the moment she was able to learn, I didn't want her in the same position I was."
"Please. I dare you to ask me to make a real gourmet meal like a Wellington. I tried, trust me," Claurant laughs as he recalls his attempt at it. It was both burnt and undercooked at once, somehow.
"We alternate, yes. It depends mostly on who's home at the time and who feels like cooking, really. I have work and I tend to be out either for that or just... out," he shrugs. He doesn't clarify, because even he acknowledges how awful it sounds to say he leaves his daughter to her own devices so he can party or to sleep. "Or she's at that age where she has her own friends and goes out often. So it varies. She's a better baker than I am, I'll give her that, even if I have a few recipes I'm proud of."
"A Wellington? Isn't that the thing Gordon Ramsay is always yelling about?"
Richard wouldn't pass judgement on Claurant leaving his daughter alone to cook for herself, he's already proven himself to be 100 times more responsible than Richard by having a kid in the first place.
"The very same. And he'd loathe me who I butchered mine, so I'm glad we've never crossed paths."
Yes, the deception is working... continue to believe him to be a responsible man. He loves it.
"I'm a private investigator, actually. More civil cases than criminal ones, but I do get a fair share of criminal cases too. Disappearances, murders, white collar crimes... you name it, I've probably worked it once." He wonders whether or not to mention the book and decides to go for it. "... I've written a novel too. One. I don't entirely plan on publishing another, but it was nice to do."
"It is about a detective. He's not solving a proper case so much as he's digging into the history of his family, trying to root out the eldritch in it and discover more about who he is."
He doesn't tell Richard that the novel's practically an autobiography. He hasn't told anyone. Why would he? They say write what you know indeed, which is why Claurant hasn't been itching to write a second novel. He's told his story. So long as nothing else major happens, he's content with that.
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Date: 2025-12-08 03:17 pm (UTC)Lucina was everything to him, and also a herald of nearly every mistake he's ever made. He can only hope she's not a herald of mistakes to come, as well.
"I'll never say no to a glass of wine," he says. "Pour me one."
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Date: 2025-12-08 04:58 pm (UTC)"I mean, I don't see a ring on your finger."
And he kind of assumed Claurant was not into women.
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Date: 2025-12-09 07:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-12-09 08:07 pm (UTC)"I didn't mean to make this weird....I uh...stick my foot in my mouth a lot."
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Date: 2025-12-10 06:41 pm (UTC)He chuckles, taking a sip of his wine. "Again, it's fine. Though now to make it fair I have to start prying into your love life."
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Date: 2025-12-10 09:08 pm (UTC)"Feel free to pry but I'll warn you now there's not much to tell." He says with a snort and then takes a large gulp of wine.
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Date: 2025-12-11 12:42 am (UTC)"Oh, I'm prying." Claurant gives him a devilish grin before he returns to the stove to finish off the gravy, stirring animatedly while he talks. "You're far from ugly, Richard, and there's a soul for every hole so to speak, so I expect someone took interest at some point. Yes?"
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Date: 2025-12-11 06:17 am (UTC)"And yes, at points in my life people have taken enough interest that I'm not standing here a 42 year old virgin. Thank god."
"But it's not like I have a line up out the door like you probably do."
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Date: 2025-12-11 09:00 pm (UTC)"Oh, you flatter me," he says at the line comment, circling his way back to Richard's previous statement. "But see what I mean. There's interest out there, you just have to find it, darling. Or let it find you. Trouble loves walking in through an open door."
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Date: 2025-12-12 06:49 am (UTC)"I don't have big bulging muscles or rugged good looks." He takes another gulp of wine and snorts.
"And I'm too old and fat to be a twink so that basically leaves me in the 'undesireable' bin."
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Date: 2025-12-12 02:51 pm (UTC)"Perhaps not to the masses, but when have the masses been correct about anything, Richard? Ignore them. If they don't want you, you have to prove to them how much of a loss that is. Which, I wholeheartedly believe you can do."
no subject
Date: 2025-12-15 01:55 am (UTC)He snorts again and finishes off his glass of wine, reaching around Claurant to pour himself more. "It doesn't matter if the masses are correct or not, it's simple math. If 99% of people find you undesirable then 99% of people aren't going to fuck you."
He shrugs, "It's just the way the world works and no amount of me proving anything will change it."
no subject
Date: 2025-12-15 08:03 pm (UTC)Perhaps Claurant's had it terribly easy in comparison, when it comes to his dalliances. He may not be the proper person to empathize with Richard's predicament, as he's not exactly seeing what Richard is. Claurant can see the off-beat charm in him, anyway, or perhaps he's easy to please.
"99%, I think, is an over-exaggeration. But I can't really fault anyone for being dramatic, now can I?"
no subject
Date: 2025-12-16 06:57 pm (UTC)In all honesty it's Richard who looks like a Dad.
"And I guess not, seeing how you have a flair for the dramatics yourself."
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Date: 2025-12-17 11:31 am (UTC)He catches a glimpse of himself in the reflective handle on the pan, smirking at Richard's remark. He does look good for his age. Given his lifestyle, he really shouldn't, but his father also looked absurdly, oddly young for his age. Maybe it was whatever strange, eldritch thing flowed through them, the blood of ancients keeping them younger and healthier than they ever really should be.
He's not going to delve into that, however. Not over dinner, not to Richard (now, anyway).
"Well, if it helps any, I thought you were younger than I was until you mentioned your age." Claurant sets about plating their dinner, since it's just about done.
"A flair for dramatics may as well be my middle name. Come, sit, I'm almost done."
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Date: 2025-12-18 03:30 am (UTC)"Bullshit you did." Richard says with an eyeroll because there's no way that is true, he looks his age if not older depending on how shitty he is feeling.
"Kay." He says and then motions towards what he thinks is the dinning room, "Just in here?"
no subject
Date: 2025-12-19 01:08 pm (UTC)"There's perfect. I'll join you in a moment!"
And join in a moment he does, bearing two plates to set down wherever Richard decided to sit. When he chooses, Claurant takes the seat across from him, doubling back briefly for his wine.
"Dig in, by all means. It is still hot though, so be careful."
no subject
Date: 2025-12-21 07:09 pm (UTC)"Holy shit, this is really good." He says between bites, "Where did you learn how to cook so well?"
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Date: 2025-12-24 02:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-12-24 09:58 pm (UTC)"Necessity my ass, this is like gourmet shit." If it requires more than two steps Richard doesn't do it so Claurant's cooking seems masterful.
"Do you two take turns cooking then?"
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Date: 2025-12-29 12:49 pm (UTC)"We alternate, yes. It depends mostly on who's home at the time and who feels like cooking, really. I have work and I tend to be out either for that or just... out," he shrugs. He doesn't clarify, because even he acknowledges how awful it sounds to say he leaves his daughter to her own devices so he can party or to sleep. "Or she's at that age where she has her own friends and goes out often. So it varies. She's a better baker than I am, I'll give her that, even if I have a few recipes I'm proud of."
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Date: 2025-12-30 06:23 am (UTC)Richard wouldn't pass judgement on Claurant leaving his daughter alone to cook for herself, he's already proven himself to be 100 times more responsible than Richard by having a kid in the first place.
"What do you do for work?"
no subject
Date: 2025-12-31 01:02 pm (UTC)Yes, the deception is working... continue to believe him to be a responsible man. He loves it.
"I'm a private investigator, actually. More civil cases than criminal ones, but I do get a fair share of criminal cases too. Disappearances, murders, white collar crimes... you name it, I've probably worked it once." He wonders whether or not to mention the book and decides to go for it. "... I've written a novel too. One. I don't entirely plan on publishing another, but it was nice to do."
no subject
Date: 2026-01-02 04:49 am (UTC)"No shit, really? What's it about? A case?"
Don't they say to write what you know?
no subject
Date: 2026-01-03 03:19 pm (UTC)He doesn't tell Richard that the novel's practically an autobiography. He hasn't told anyone. Why would he? They say write what you know indeed, which is why Claurant hasn't been itching to write a second novel. He's told his story. So long as nothing else major happens, he's content with that.
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