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[history-repeats.insanejournal.com]

WHO: Greed & Zoe
WHEN: Thursday evening
WHERE: Zoe's apartment
WHAT: Zoe went away for three days and has just got home
WARNING: Sure, why not.
NOTE: We're impatient brats okay.


Zoe had to get out of the city because it was too much. She was hugely depressed over losing her grandmother's locket and she hated the fact that she let Greed's callousness hurt her. She knew from the start he was trouble, he was a player, and he was interested in just one thing. She was an idiot for letting it go as far as it did and she'd take the blame on herself. Why not, it wasn't Greed's job to care and actually back off and not break her heart. He had to go after what he wanted. It was human nature.

So Zoe ran to get some space and distance while she still had control over her emotions. Except her phone wasn't letting her forget him. She wanted to call Gabe but knew he was unavailable and she was starting to hate her phone. Greed was going to be the death of her. One minute hot, one minute cold... AUGH. She'd gone for a few days by the water which always settled her nerves except every time she got a message, she wanted to chuck the phone in the ocean. She'd tried turning the phone off but when she turned it back on, she'd have a slew of new messages from him. And though she didn't respond to any of them, she read every single one. And she hated that she missed him.

On the ride home she didn't even look at her phone, just miserably out the window of the bus. The person next to her said, "I think you have a message." Zoe didn't even look at them just said dully, "I know." a few minutes later, the phone buzzed again and the man said, "Could be important.." Zoe said in the same flat voice, "It's not." she closed her eyes and let her head thunk against the glass lightly as the phone buzzed again.

When she reached her apartment building, she pulled out her phone to scroll through the texts Greed had sent her today. She sighed and put the phone in her duffel along with her shoes so she could start the long climb up the stairs to her apartment. She'd cried already on her little trip away but all she wanted to do now was crawl into her nice bed and cry some more. If she really wanted to forget and move on she might have to change her number.

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[better-than.insanejournal.com]

"I don't want to sleep alone." Lust had been gone for a week now, it had started to feel strange and dead in his apartment. This was the first night since he'd seen her last that he'd been in the company of another. Greed liked being tangled with arms and other limbs. "I'm not going to get sick with you laying there." He took her hand and held it up to his chest. "See good as new." He'd said something similar the last time and he still repeated their last encounter.

[history-repeats.insanejournal.com]

Zoe had hoped he'd just tell her but he, as always, was private. She let her hand stay on his chest as she looked at him and quietly asked him the million dollar question, "Why do you get sick whenever we kiss.." she had initially thought he didn't want her, but today had been different. She didn't know if he wanted her for a relationship, but he wanted her in some capacity.. but he still got sick.

[better-than.insanejournal.com]

His lips scrunched up, then thinned out into a tight line when she threw him that weight. He'd never really been asked, it made him feel a little exposed. He could lie, he was good at that. He'd been lying to her easy since day one, it was just awkward how she pulled odd sides out of him.

He looked down at her hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "You've known the answer since I told you my name." He brought his blue eyes up to meet hers, dropping her hand to rub his through his hair from the back forward. "A sin by any other name isn't half as good as me. I'm Greed. Avarice." He displayed a bright white smile. "Chance Avaritia. I'm not that subtle, though I can be if I wanted."

[history-repeats.insanejournal.com]

Zoe had expected a medical condition, a wild story, maybe even something crazy. But what he said wasn't making sense to her. She scoffed a smile out of confusion and shook her head, "I.. I don't understand." what was he saying? She looked at him and said, "You have a tattoo of greed. Your last name means avarice. But what does that have to do with me..?" she hesitated saying the next part but added it anyways, "..with us?"

[better-than.insanejournal.com]

He hadn't even gotten to enjoy this. This girl was constantly killing his mojo. She hadn't even thrown out the 'you're crazy' bit. Maybe she just had a delayed reaction. He took a seat beside her. "It means I'm allergic to this," he waved his hand around. "I'm a Sin. This is a little new." He still felt more exposed than he ever had. Greed didn't like feeling that way.

[history-repeats.insanejournal.com]

When he sat next to her, Zoe took his hand without thinking about it. She wanted to try to get what he was trying to tell her. She didn't understand the words but he was being honest. She knew that and it was frustrating that he was being open and she felt like he was speaking a foreign language.

She looked a little taken aback when he said he was allergic to this, to her. That he was a Sin. She thought maybe he meant something else but he added that this was a little new. Was he really doing this? She gave him the oddest look and after a moment slowly said, "You're saying you're a sin... a literal sin." she added, "Of Greed. This is new to you and you're allergic to me because you're not human.." she gave him another look as if asking if she got that all covered but didn't reveal how she felt about any of it.

[better-than.insanejournal.com]

"That about covers it." She caught on quick, but Greed was born a deceiver. He knew she wasn't buying it. "Yeah, usually when I meet people I pull more strings. But you, you're curious." If he was going to come up with a line, it would have been more elaborate than that.

[history-repeats.insanejournal.com]

Zoe just stared at him, she was almost impressed that he chose something that tied into her passions. Hey, at least he listened and put some thought into his lies. "I'm curious." she repeated and now it was her turn to feel like she was going to be sick. She looked away when she felt hot tears come to her eyes, "You know.. I've heard of a lot of reasons why guys don't want to be with me. But this.." she let go of his hand and got up off the sofa to get away from him, "..this has got to be the most creative."

[better-than.insanejournal.com]

Greed stood again with her. He saw the tears bit had no idea what to do with her. He was tempted to phone Lust. This would have gone so much more smoothly. "Fuck...don't...do that." He had everything at his disposal and he wasn't even using it. He could tell right then and there he'd gotten in deep with this mess. He already wanted to keep her in his own box of 'safe'. It's why he hadn't called Lust. "I do want you!"

[history-repeats.insanejournal.com]

He was confusing her, he always confused her but this beat every other time by a mile. Zoe shook her head, her throat burning, "As what? A fuck buddy?" was that what he was saying? Because this was a really imaginative way of getting that. Hey babe, I'm a sin, I'm not real so no messy emotions but you still got a banging body I'd like to fuck. The thought alone killed her.

But how was he saying it with such honesty? Bits of what she knew about him flashed in her mind, yellow, the frog, his last name, his interest in what she thought about sins, the fact that if they kissed for longer than a minute he got violently ill. Either this was the most elaborate ploy planned from the start or.. She couldn't look at him though as she tried to work through it, "Say I believe you.." which she didn't, "Sins are concepts, not people. So you're telling me that I have feelings for something that isn't real." tears spilled down her cheeks because she honestly couldn't decide if it was worse if he was lying or telling the truth.

[better-than.insanejournal.com]

He didn't get what was hard to understand. He really didn't. He was what he was and that was it. It was that part of him that wasn't capable of understanding things on her level. He could to a point, but that was as far as it would take him. He knew he didnt like seeing her flustered. Not like that. He didn't like tears and blubbering it was kind of annoying. But he made this mess he was rolling all in it. He grumbled frustrated. "Did you just forget I rolled in cold water and ice? Sex with you just might kill me." Not that he wouldn't die trying. "I want you. Whatever it is," he circled his finger around in the air. "This whole thing you do with feelings that I didn't create, its a bit fascinating."

Then she threw in 'isn't real' and he felt a little cold. "How am I not real, I'm standing right here. I was born into existence with my brothers and sisters. Of course its real."

[history-repeats.insanejournal.com]

She almost believed him. Because this was too crazy to make up. But his words hurt. He talked about her like she was some science project. "I am so glad I could entertain you." she said coldly and then asked, "What do you mean feelings that you didn't create?"

She still didn't look at him, wiping at her eyes, "You said you weren't human! Sins are an idea. A concept. They're things that are in people, that people do. Ideas can't--" she stopped herself from saying it. Ideas can't love you. "Maybe you should go." she said quietly. She couldn't wrap her head around any of this.

[better-than.insanejournal.com]

"What do you want me to say? I don't....I can't...I'm not a Virtue. The only one who's ever cared for me and looked after me is Lust. I'm not used to...this." He waved his hand around her. "I'm intrigued by it. I..I want it. I want it like you want it." It's what he was. He'd never tell his siblings he wanted love or was curious about it, but he did. If he could do that well, he could get practically anything. She was a science experiment to a degree, he was playing with something entirely new. The thing was he was an entire different part of himself with her.

""Desire for me that I didn't influence. You've done all that on your own and I want it." He hadn't lied when he said he wanted her, but she didn't understand the concept on how much Greed wanted things. It was greater than anything she could imagine. "And what skip outside naked?" He didn't want to go. He wanted to fix his messes, but as a Sin he totally fucked it up.

[history-repeats.insanejournal.com]

A virtue? Well it'd make sense that they'd exist if sins were real. Oh god. Was she actually believing him? An hour ago, she would have liked to hear him say that he wanted what she wanted but now she didn't know if she was dealing with a crazy person or if it was an actual sin-- how did this even work?

He kept using the word 'want' and it was the way he was saying it that unsettled her. And then he had to remind her that no one asked her to have feelings for him, she did that on her own. But did he have to play with her? Knowing this couldn't go anywhere? She stayed quiet, she didn't know what else to say, "You have clothes." she shook her head as fresh tears came to her eyes, "Just go. Please go." she put her hands together like she was begging him, resting her brow against them, "Please.. please.. don't do this to me." but her feelings for him, her desire for him, hadn't gone down one iota. He might be a sin or crazy person but she felt as strongly about him as ever and she wanted to believe that if he just left now, she could survive this.

[better-than.insanejournal.com]

If he brought Lust into this he'd feed of Lust and it would go in an entirely different direction. Greed wanted to handle this himself. He wouldn't just leave. He didn't want to. "It's different. You and the side of me I am around you. I play so many sides...I..." He stopped when she started breaking down again. He wasn't a comforter. Not on the inside. He could play it, but what Zoe needed right now he couldn't offer, and in his own way he wanted to protect her. A child with a sick puppy kept petting and hugging it without knowing what else to do. That was Greed.

"I don't want to go." He awkwardly tried to reach out and touch her shoulder not really knowing how she was going to respond. He didn't have feelings like she had, but he tried. It was in his nature to keep going, to keep trying.

[history-repeats.insanejournal.com]

Why was understanding him so hard? Zoe moved her shoulder back a little when he touched her. She looked at his hand and gave a short incredulous laugh through her tears. Even a sociopath would know how to take advantage of the situation. They wouldn't mean it, but they'd pretend to hold you and soothe you. But Greed was like an alien. He was still being honest. Which is when she liked him the most. And he kept trying, which was one of the things she loved about him. Not in the moment, no, but if he hadn't pushed so hard, she could have used logic and defenses and never fallen for him as much as she had. He didn't give up. And he didn't give up on her. Whenever she was ready to quit, he always gave her another shove.

She closed her eyes but stayed where she was and said quietly, "What's the point in staying.." he wanted her but sex with her would probably kill him, he couldn't kiss her without getting sick, he didn't have feelings for her, he didn't know how, he clearly had no clue how to be with a person, it's not like he wanted to make her his girlfriend. So why did he want to stay?

[better-than.insanejournal.com]

"I don't know." He'd have sex with her at some point. That wasn't going to derail him. He didn't know if that was what he ultimately wanted or just all that she felt. He wanted to keep it because once that was gone, it wasn't real. He liked that about her. "I like you." She was shiny. Greed wasn't going to let his fingers be pried off something he had his eye on.

He withdrew his hand but still stood behind her as close as he could without touching. He hovered.

[history-repeats.insanejournal.com]

Zoe hated how much it warmed her to hear him say he liked her. It wasn't much, but thing was, she'd been lied to with false feelings from guys before, but when Greed said he liked her, even though it was small, she knew that he meant it as much as he could. She wasn't sure if she believed him about the whole sin thing.. but she believed that he was not normal.

She started to turn around, not realizing he was so close behind her, "I--" she didn't get much more out as her hand hit the loose towel around his hips causing it to drop. Since her head was already down, she got a brief eyeful and sin or not normal he may be but he definitely had all the parts for a human guy. "Oh!" she quickly looked up and away, turning a shade of red. She was totally flustered because it was unexpected and not really what she'd intended. She winced and just covered her eyes with one hand, holding the other out in front of her saying, "Sorry!"

Moments like this made her seriously question why he liked her. There were a million sexy sophisticated ladies in the city he could be having sex with and he was in the apartment of someone blushing like a schoolgirl in her jammies cause of a naked boy she liked was in front of her and like kids, they couldn't even do anything.

[better-than.insanejournal.com]

He stood there unphased. He liked being naked. He just kind of stood there with his hands on his hips while she awkwardly blushed and hurried to hide her face. "See? That right there...." He couldn't recreate that with false infused feelings. It made him laugh. "If you sleep with me you wouldn't look so mortified." He cackled again bending over to pick up the towel. "Nice, I know." He wasn't modest at all, wrapping the towel back around on his hips.

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Zoe kept her eyes covered, "Yes, I'm sure I look really attractive right now looking like a tomato. Can you please cover up?"

When she felt he had the towel on again, she let her hand slide down and cover her mouth. She looked at him for a few good long moments and then she let her hand drop as she said quietly, "If I sleep with you, I could kill you.." and she didn't seem thrilled about it. She wasn't the girl that slept around, if she went to bed with a guy it was because she felt strongly about him. She did feel that way about Greed but.. sin or not, he could barely tolerate her kisses. To her, if they never had sex she'd be fine, it'd kinda suck but she didn't need it. She didn't know how he felt though.

[better-than.insanejournal.com]

"If I die I'd die happy." He gave her a lopsided grin. "Plus, is just take a vacation in hell for about a week and spring back up like a fucking daisy." His hands went right back to his hips, looking off to the side with a sigh. "You think if we had sex in a cold shower it could work?" His brows raised in thought, entirely serious about this theory in his head.

[history-repeats.insanejournal.com]

The corner of her lips twitched upwards for a second but when he started talking about hell and cold showers, the weight of the entire conversation crashed down on her. She put a hand to her head and looked a little woozy, "I... need to lie down." she had a hundred thousand questions for him, still not entirely believing him but believing that he believed it. But she didn't think she could process anything else tonight.

[better-than.insanejournal.com]

"Really?" He was still thinking and she was talking about sleep. He forgot sometimes just how easily mortals could tire. Especially of him. When he got into the moment of things, he kind of lost track. He pushed her towards the couch.

[history-repeats.insanejournal.com]

Zoe stumbled and sat on the couch. She just looked up at Greed and didn't say anything. Was she actually considering him? She was crazier than he was. She heaved a heavy sigh, putting her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands.

[better-than.insanejournal.com]

"Lay down or something," he pulled at her legs to stretch her out. She looked like she had been the one to run the marathon now. It was odd, he learned how to take care of things by Lust, which came out a little twisted. He wasn't exactly a star at taking care of things, it wasn't really his job. It was more the Virtues area, but he had at some points in time. Like with Josie.

He paused for a minute thinking about that. It had ended so horribly and the same could happen to Zoe. He didn't want it to. He sat at the end of the couch.