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 Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 10:42 pm
He slipped into the apartment through the window on the fire escape and dropped his backpack off in the kitchen. Merric removed a container of ice cream, strawberries, milk, and chocolate sauce from the pack. He grabbed two bowls from the cabinent, spoons and the ice cream scoop. A few quiet moments were spent shoveling ice cream, strawberries and sauce into the bowls.
The bass player turned Negaverse Captain let out a soft sound from his mouth as he dumped the scoop into the sink and put the ice cream in the freezer. He lived with her, he couldn’t just avoid her anymore. It wasn’t fair to her to keep her at arms reach. She wore Odey’s skin but she wasn’t Odey and it was time for Merric to finally move past it and move on. Nina was here and alive and it was time he finally started treating her like she was.
He walked over to her door, bowls of ice cream in hand, and knocked on it with the knuckles of one hand. “Nina? You in? I.. uh… brought a piece offering. Ice cream and strawberries. We… we should talk,” he said through the door. He waited for her reply, half holding his breath.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 6:48 pm
Nina had been packed for weeks. Maybe even months. Whatever she had thought that she worked out with Merric when they had their talk was gone and out the door long ago. She wasn’t what he wanted, and she knew it. He made it quite clear. Honestly she would have left a long time ago had she anywhere else to go…as it was though, keeping herself shut in her room was the best course of action…though her best escape was dancing. She was happy with it, she was…but it was becoming a very lonely way to pass the time.
When the girl heard the knock on her door she looked over at it, lips pursing. Well. Was this it? Was this the moment where he was going to make it official and kick her out of the house?
She made her way across the room and opened the door just slightly, green eyes looking out of it. “What is it you want to talk about, Merric?” She didn’t want to make this easy for him. Not at all.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 6:59 pm
He held up the bowl of ice cream and strawberries. Merric's heart fluttered a little, nervousness shooting adrenaline through his system. More than anything he wanted to back out and not do this, but he had to. He had to. Otherwise it never would be okay again and she'd find someone else and he really, really, really didn't want that.
"Is it... cliche to say everything? I've been a total jerkwad. Again. And I hate it and I want to try to fix it if you'll let me. And actually. Have the fix stick this time." Was he blushing? He was talking faster than normal so probably. It had never been this hard with Odey, but maybe thats because it had been too easy with her. They'd fit so well that he'd never had to really try with her.
Now, now he was going to have to try. Really hard. The prospect of failure made him terrified but... he could say he tried at least? Right?
"If... if you don't want to come out and talk, at least you got a bowl of ice cream?" Lame, Merric.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 7:25 pm
Nina pushed the door open a bit more, eyes flashing down to the bowl he was offering. She took it a moment later, pulling it close. She wasn’t going to just give up free ice cream. Especially when it looked so darn tasty.
She drew the spoon up and took a bite of it, glancing back up at Merric, a bit of confusion crossing her face. “What do you mean you have the fix stick this time? What is the fix stick? Is that some sort of sexual metaphor…?”
The brunette paused, then gave a blank look. “Oh. You mean that our issues will remain resolved this time…right. My bad.”
Nina nodded and took another bite of ice cream. “I do like ice cream. So that was a nice touch on your part.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 7:52 pm
He couldn't help but snort. He hadn't been expecting her to think about that right from the get go there. Props to her mind, he supposed. Merric nodded, taking a bite of his ice cream as well.
"Yes, seeing as... well they didn't last time we talked. And I know you like ice cream. So, uh." Merric trailed off awkwardly, shoving a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth to cover the pause. Crap, crap, crap what was he going to say, Rift damnit all.
"So I was a jerk. I said I was over her and I wasn't and then I started to avoid you because, well, it's hard to look at your ex/current girl-friends when they share the same body. So I fueled it all into training in the Rift and doing my duty - whatever it is, I swear they like to change it up on us all the time - and not talking to you because. I didn't really... know how to handle myself around you." The bowl and spoon moved in the air as he started talking with his hands.
"Half the time I wanted to hug you and do couply things and the other half I seriously just want to break down and cry. I couldn't really get over Odey and it just made everything worse.
"But... she's dead. I can't do anything about that now. She's dead, you're here now and that's what should matter."
That probably wasn't going to be enough, but at least it was a start.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:07 pm
Nina rested against the doorframe watching him falter. Honestly…it was quite amusing to say the least. She nodded as he rambled on, letting him get to the end, letting him go through the whole explanation process. Finally she thought of the perfect thing to say. She knew it wasn’t nice, not by a long shot…but she wasn’t going to be nice right now. It was hard going from one state of discomfort, not liking the direction your life was going in and finding an out…to being completely ignored in a setting where you thought things would be better…not to mention having to completely start over as a civilian when you had no recollection of anything in your past.
And honestly. Being compared to who you once were was not a good thing to deal with…and it was getting irksome having to keep hearing about Merric’s precious Odey.
“So. If you were training and working so hard. I’m assuming you’re a general by now, right?” She looked at him, taking another bite of ice cream off of her spoon, eyes narrowed just slightly. That was a completely lame excuse, and he really should understand that. She was not pleased.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:56 pm
The question totally caught him off guard and the strawberry in his mouth fell out into the bowl. Merric coughed and glanced down at his bowl of ice cream in shame.
"... No. I'm... not a general." He sagged a little, seriousness crawling into his face. He wasn't a general. All he was doing was training out his anger and his frustrations instead of confronting it all. He'd run away from everything really.
"God I'm terrible at this aren't I? That was... a terrible excuse. I was trainin' though. I just..." he sighed heavily, placing his spoon in the bowl to run a hand through his hair. He just, just what? Was an idiot? Yes. Was an a*****e? The largest one. Totally didn't deserve her time and the light of day? Yes, yes and more yes.
Can you say failure with a bigger F?
So he had two choices. The first instinct was to drop into the formal speech he held with the Generals and General-Kings and practically beg her for forgiveness. The other was to simply let her lash out at him, let her hurt him, and leave him, and move on.
It wasn't like he was going to get her back anyway. Not now.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:41 pm
“Pretty terrible at it, yes. I don’t know what you’re asking me for, Merric. Are you coming to kick me out and make it official. Or are you saying you actually want to try and make whatever this is that we have work? Because…I’m not Odette. I’m never going to be Odette again. And you have to deal with that. Sorry. I’m who I am. And if I’m not good enough for you, then honestly. Your expectations are way too high, and sorry. But I’m not going to be stuck in my room, wondering just how much you hate me day after day. Do you realize it’s almost been a year? For months I’ve had to deal with you ignoring me, and I’m just…tired of it. Don’t you get it that I’m still so damn alone? I went from I suppose having a pretty okay life? I mean. If you were in it sure. It must have been pretty okay…but anyway. A pretty okay life and a craptastic existence as an order senshi, then you all go, and by all I mean all of the negaverse and whatever. You promise me all sorts of shits and giggles and parties and I join you. I do. And for a bit I’m happy as s**t as a senshi for once. I feel comfortable in my skin…and then I get this s**t life with you!”
She looked away, hands on her ice cream bowl trembling. “It’s just s**t, Merric. It really is.” Nina shook her head. “Now I’m not saying that you’re s**t. But whatever. You’ve been treating me like it. And I’m just tired. You’re making me tired.”
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Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2013 9:13 pm
"I know you're not Odette, Nina! I don't hate you, I'm not kicking you out! I spend most of my time slamming my fists into rocks out of frustration wondering why I can't just talk to you like a normal person! But no! Something about you makes it incredibly difficult for me to even act like myself because I know I've been a shitty, shitty boyfriend and roommate and hell, even Captain of the Negaverse." His voice was louder than necessary, he knew. His fingers tightened on his bowl, arm tensing with his need to control himself. Merric breathed between his teeth, jaw clenched and eyes shut as he tried to calm himself down.
He let out a breath later and sighed long and slow. "No, no I'm s**t. Only thing I'm good at is ********' everything up." Grey eyes opened to watch her face as he took another steadying breath.
"If you wanna go, then you can. I'm not going to force you to stay somewhere you don't wanna be. But I do want to make this work and make up for my bullshit. It's not fair to you, Nina, the way I've been treating you. I'm sorry. Not enough, but it's a start."
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Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2013 10:01 pm
Nina sighed, slumping against the wall. She glanced at her ice cream and shook her head, finally just placing the bowl on the ground. “One more chance then. One more, Merric. Just one okay? If you really think this can work…just one more try. But I swear, if it goes south, then I’m going to leave. And I really…I don’t know if I’ll even say goodbye. I’m pretty sure I’ll just be gone one day. And I tell you. I’m not bothering to unpack. I don’t see much of a reason to…But if things start going well…maybe I’ll consider it, okay? But seriously…don’t mess this one up, please?”
She looked away eyes landing on her ice cream, watching a strawberry fall from the edge of the bowl to the middle, slowly getting engulfed by a puddle of melted goo. Why did life always end up being so complicated all the damn time? It just wasn’t fair.
But maybe things would work out for the best. Maybe. Who really knew what the future would hold…but boy she hoped that Merric wouldn’t fail her. He was her rock…the biggest sense of stability that she had right now. And with him always being absent…it had been so difficult to find roots in this new life…and that just wasn’t fair. Not to her and not to the cause she was fighting for. The Negaverse didn’t need a soldier who was too depressed to do her duty. She wanted to be helpful…but it was just difficult to find any motivation. She wanted it though. Wanted it very much.
Nina glanced back over to Merric and sighed. “Please don’t mess this up. I’m counting on you.”
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