yeah. you're a natural| -Indigo oneshot series- {clue}
Apr 17, 2019 17:02:28 GMT -5
Post by charade on Apr 17, 2019 17:02:28 GMT -5
Try as he might, he couldn’t fall asleep.
His brain had been tantalized now, going over the challenge over and over again with a fine-toothed comb. It was clear to him now that the pairings hadn’t been random. It was a secret test of character as well. In order to run a successful business, not only did you need smarts and the drive, you needed to be able to work with other people.
The pair that stood out the most was Coralie and Poppy; the two of them had made it clear at the dinner table that the thought they were in another league entirely. Clearly, they’d been put together to see if they could swallow their pride long enough to complete the challenge. Doubtful. A hive had only one queen bee, so it was more likely that they’d strangle each other.
Then there was Whitney and Blaine. A free spirit whose tongue could get her in trouble, and a self-centered egoist with a short temper. If they utilized their strengths to compensate for each other’s weaknesses, they’d probably be one of the more effective pairs. But if they played off each other’s weaknesses instead, they’d crash and burn spectacularly.
Similar reasoning was probably in play for FIora and Harvey. One had their head in the clouds, the other was the salt of the earth. One believed in the unseen and the other appeared to trust in only what he could do on his own. If Indigo had to guess, he’d say that they had a good chance at solving the problem; while Harvey was an angry dude, it was doubtful that Fiora had made his shitlist.
Perhaps Malcom hoped that if he paired Beryl and Violet together, the two of them would have enough brain cells to find the solution. Stranger things had happened, but Indigo wasn’t holding his breath.
Lastly, there was the drug dealer and the ice queen. Amrin was the type that craved structure, thrived off of having everything in order. Adam was a man of few words, but if his profession was any indication, he had a chaotic life. Could they find a happy balance between their outlooks as they worked together?
In fact, the only pairing he couldn’t figure out was his own. What weaknesses could they effectively cancel out? Perhaps it was his intelligence and Adrien’s ability to be personable that he thought would be a good fit?
Indigo didn’t make friends easy true, but Adrien didn’t strike him as being dumb. Did Malcom know that they’d broken into his file cabinet and paired them to see what else they’d get up to? But surely he’d known that Indigo could solve this quickly, his genius was the whole reason he’d been invited in the first place.
So why give Adrien a leg up on the competition?
Fact. Adrien had been uncomfortable talking to their host. It was in his body language, the way his eyes searched for anything to latch onto other than Malcom’s gaze. And Malcom had acted almost like he was pleased that Adrien’s group had been the first ones back. Like he’d wanted them to be.
Indigo sat up in bed and intertwined his fingers, resting his chin on the platform they made. The pieces were coming together now. Adrien’s attempt at hiding his personal file in the study. His general uneasiness around their host. The look of satisfaction on their host’s face when they had finished the challenge after checking a single room.
They had to have some sort of connection. They knew each other prior to the start of the challenge. Indigo stroked his chin in deep thought.
Of course, it was so obvious, why hadn’t he seen it before?
Adrien was Malcom’s secret lover.
Haha, yes! No, hang on. That wasn’t it.
That hadn’t been desire or lust in their host’s eyes. It was the way one might appreciate their handiwork. They did share hair and eye color, but that was where the similarities ended. It couldn't be that, could it? But Malcom had had the same prideful look Indigo was sure had been on his own face when he’d solved the challenge long before anyone else.
“And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon…” he sang under his breath. It fit.
They weren’t friends, and it wasn’t like Indigo cared about having such things, but he was suddenly concerned for Adrien’s well-being. It was a lot of pressure to be under, proving you were good enough to inherit the mansion instead of a stranger. He was also concerned for his own chances at winning the competition, because there was a chance that some nepotism might come into play.
But should he confront Adrien with this information?
Indigo lay back in his bed and mulled it over. Maybe he shouldn’t. Who knew how Adrien would react? He took his shirt off and turned it around the right way, and got up to pace, grateful that Adam was nowhere to be seen as he couldn't bothered to put pants on, not when he had things to overthink.
