The Tale of a Man's Obsession

Tale of a Man’s Obsession

It wasn’t completely dark outside yet, but classes were done for the day and the students sent off to their dorms for curfew. It was that special time of day that the teachers looked forward to most.

Brio had joined Claudia in her office-sitting room to discuss the upcoming final exams. They were both sitting at her desk, sharing a bottle of chardonnay. The diminutive bald man with bolts on the sides of his head had been a good drinking companion and conversationalist for as long as they had both been teaching at the Academy.

She had let her hair down and removed her jacket-vest and was ready to relax for the evening. There were no papers to grade tonight since classes during the past week had been nothing but review of previous material in preparation for the upcoming exams, so the teachers took the opportunity to enjoy their evenings.

Claudia was happy with drinking good old fashioned plain wine, but sometimes Brio would bring concoctions of his own creation. He was a talented chemist, and in his down time a talented bar tender. The scientist certainly knew how to brew liquids of all kinds and enjoyed experimenting with different flavors in different alcohols.

Tonight he had brought a chardonnay with a mix of various citrus fruits. It wasn’t to her liking but she sipped at it anyway as they discussed some new fiction books that had come out recently by new authors. She hadn’t read any of them yet, but the good reviews for a couple of them had caught her interest.

Brio, seeing that the sun had fully set and it was now completely dark outside of the window excused himself from their conversation. He left her with the rest of the citrus chardonnay and headed off out the door. Standing in front of the desk as she saw him off, Claudia debated if she should drain the rest of the bottle down the sink.

A few minutes after the door had closed and her colleague was long gone Claudia spoke out loud to the empty room.  “You can come out now.”

A pale man with a skeleton hand, short white hair and wearing a tattered charcoal grey coat stepped out from the dark shadowy corner near the window.

“At what point did you sneak in here?” She asked, as she eyed him with a disapproving look. “Igma...”

“Not long ago.” He said with a wave of his boney hand. “I would have said something sooner, but I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation.”

After years of sneaking around in the dark Igma learned how to enter rooms undetected. But Claudia has dealt with the albino for so many years now that she has become aware of his tricks of the trade. Particularly in predicting when he would make an appearance in her room.

As she eyed him she noticed he wasn’t wearing his goggles tonight. It was an unusual sight since he was rarely seen without them. His behaviors had certainly taken a change lately. He was less forceful with his company and more willing to adhere to her wishes instead of forcing his own. Perhaps one too many rejections, or kicks to the groin, finally got through to him. And his appearance was changing as well. He seemed more willing to show himself instead of hiding behind a barrier of clothing.

Claudia was almost startled when she realized he was now standing right next to her. She was so distracted by his lack of goggles she hadn’t noticed him approaching.

Igma leaned in close to her, taking in her scent. Closing his eyes as he breathed in deeply, inhaling the aroma of chardonnay and a faint smell of lavender in her hair.

His eyes snapped open again as she pushed him away. Not forcefully, but gently enough to get the message across that he was beginning to weird her out. He chuckled quietly, happy just to be that near to her at all.

As much as she learned how to deal with him, he too learned how to deal with her. He was like water, she figured. The more you push, the more he will pull. And he in turn learned that with Claudia one must approach cautiously lest they be thrown out after a solid thrashing.

“Do I need to kick you?” Claudia asked, half-jokingly and half matter-of-fact. She felt she still needed to assert her dominance even if Igma has become more passive lately.

“Mm, I’d kind of enjoy that actually.” Igma replied. Then quickly added, “Oh come on, you know I love it when you touch me,” when he noticed her expression had turned sour.

Igma laughed nervously as he realized he was only making it worse. “Well, I mean, you can kick me if you want. After all, you know you can do anything you want to me.” He emphasized on the anything.

Claudia rolled her eyes. Some things never change it seems. She pointed behind him. “Do me a favor and let the owl out, will you?”

Igma turned around and looked at the large owl perched behind the desk. Athellion looked antsy as he would spread his wings and fold them again, eager to stretch them in flight. He complied and proceeded to the window again and opened it wide enough for the owl to launch off its perch and out into the night sky.

“It’s easier to let him go hunt for his own food than trying to scrounge up rodents myself to feed him.” Claudia explained. “Thorn has lots of feeder rats he can spare but I prefer to let Athellion enjoy himself.”

“Is he still mad that I set him on fire?” Igma asked; more amused than worried about the state of his old colleague.

“Of course, he even has some big revenge fantasy planned out; something about strangling you with his vines and then feeding you to a giant snake.”

“Hah.” Igma knew that would never come to fruition. He knew their colleague too well to know the man only blew hot air when angered. They would be back to being friend-enemies again the very next day.

Reclosing the window Igma quickly reached her side again with just a few strides. “Now let’s get back to the subject of you touching me.”

As much as he hated to admit it, he was actually starting to miss the physical contact from her even if it tended to be on the violent side. He was desperate enough for her touch to take whatever he could get.

“You really don’t know when to quit, do you?” She said as she leaned back against the desk, arms folded across her chest.

“C’mon, I’ve missed you so much. And we’ve barely talked in years.” He cleared his throat. “Plus we have the whole night ahead of us…”

Standing beside her, Igma leaned his head down towards her until his forehead tapped against the side of her head. His voice was barely more than a whisper as he pleaded “Take pity on this wretched soul.”

To Igma’s relief she didn’t push him away this time. Claudia didn’t say anything as she stood silently leaning against the desk with his head against hers. She was such a reserved, refined woman that he could never tell what she was thinking. Even after all the years he has known her. There was always a sense of mystery about her. And in a way, it drew him to her.

His heart was beating hard against his chest. She’d never let him be this close before. At least not since they were in their early teens, but it was different back then. Now as adults, interests change. His feelings had never changed, but his desires have. And he wondered how far she would let him get with her.

He admitted to himself that he was scared to test the boundaries. He was so used to being pushed away. Even if she did let him get far he doubted he would even know what to do.

Her hair was tucked behind her ear so he had a nice view of her ear and neck from his position. Examining the hoop earring hooked into her earlobe, he wondered if they were real gold. She always wore those same earrings. He wondered if there was something special about them to her since he has never seen her wear any other earrings.

Igma’s heart nearly stopped when she turned her head to face him.

Claudia’s eyes were narrowed as if suspicious, yet he could see in them there was a glint of curiosity towards him.

She was so close. Her mouth was mere inches away from his, separated only by the cloth of his coat’s tall collar. He felt as if he was going to panic.

It was all he ever wanted. And yet he was afraid.

Igma spent so much time wanting, but never obtaining, having been pushed away so many times. To be this close felt almost wrong. It was like something he was never meant to have.

Yet here she was.

His eyes wide, breathing becoming heavy, he swallowed hard. It is a dream he hopes he won’t wake up from.

A sly smile played across Claudia’s lips, causing joy to form in the pit of Igma’s stomach. Feeling encouraged, he gently raised his hands up onto her shoulders. Then closing his eyes he brought his forehead down again to rest against hers.

Igma froze when he felt Claudia’s hands press against his stomach. His eyes snapped open, fearful he had done something he shouldn’t have. But a grin stretched across his face as he felt her hands snake their way up his chest.

He slowly leaned his mouth toward hers, his heart pounding in his chest, and kissed her lips through the cloth of his coat collar.

Claudia raised an eyebrow at the unorthodox method of affection. Her hands grasped at the collar and pulled it down, exposing the lower half of his face. Seeing the stitching across his mouth, she had a look of reproach. Then she understood why he had kissed in such an unusual fashion.

Igma’s heart began to sink; sure she would pull away from him. But to his surprise, instead she leaned upwards and placed a kiss on his forehead.

Joy overtook him. Happily wrapping his arms around her, Igma pulled Claudia into a tight embrace.

To have this dream and then waken to find it actually became reality; HIS reality. Claudia, his oldest friend and his only friend, after having spent all his wretched life wanting; to finally obtain what he coveted most. To not be pushed away.



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Igma wouldn't let go of Claudia, but after a while she broke free from him and kicked him out. Otherwise he would never leave.

The continuing adventures of the teachers at the Academy of Evil.
And Igma's ongoing quest to gain love and acceptance. Growing ever closer, Claudia's warming up to him over time as she realizes Igma's devotion to her.


This story is the sequel to "The Tale of Igma and Claudia":
Chapter 1: The Tale of Igma and Claudia 1
Chapter 2: The Tale of Igma and Claudia 2
Chapter 3: The Tale of Igma and Claudia 3
Chapter 4: The Tale of Igma and Claudia 4



-Jen


Dr. N. Igma and Claudia (c) Me
Dr. Thorn (c) Turquoisephoenix
Brio (c) Activision

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