[PRP] Good Afternoon (Preacher & Chester)

[Smerdle]

Had Chester been asked about it, he would have sincerely denied that he was avoiding her. Their schedules had clashed before, he'd gone half a week without running into her, and that was all that was happening now. Following his departure the night before from his own room, Chester had slept on the couch downstairs, taking a shower and slipping out to class before he had seen her the next morning. The aspirin and bottle of water on his bedside table had been there for her at the very least, even if he himself had not.

When he heard her shuffling around the house that afternoon and a sickening swell of panic rose in his stomach, he knew he couldn't keep hiding, even if he hadn't meant to. He stepped out of his room when he knew she was in the hall, his finger marking the page in a book he'd been too distracted to read.

"Hey. Are you all right?"

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"M'fine," she said, eyes narrowing. Preacher wasn't exactly fine; she had a devil of a headache for no good reason (she knew the reason) and, as such, might have been a bit irritable.

"Ya shoulda jus' shoved me out ya bed. s**t."

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"Why? I didn't want you to go, I just thought I should. I didn't sleep very well and..." He wasn't going to apologize for leaving, not after how they had woken up at court. He didn't think he could have brushed that off a second time, considering... Chester swallowed, rubbing at his neck.

"You were welcome to stay."

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"No," she crossed her arms, eye a dull grey-ish color. "I effectively booted ya out ya bed, which isn't okay. I know ya slept on tha couch." Preacher felt guilty and dumb and itchy in a way that had nothing to do with the physical sensation.

"It's fine if ya don' wan sleep in tha same bed as me, but ya can't let me co-opt ya own bed. I've got one, too!"

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"I know you do."

Chester tried to breathe deeper for a few seconds, pushing away his irritation and concern as he watched her eyes. He had seen that color before. It meant the eggshells he usually walked on were actually necessary.

"Not wanting to sleep in the same bed as you was not the problem. I did want to, which is why I couldn't. Not in this particular situation."

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"That," she said with as close to a pout as Preacher Maria got. "-don' make any sense."

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

All of his careful breathing came out in a sigh as his arms crossed to unconsciously mirror hers. "There are assumptions that can be made about the things that people do that can't be made when there is alcohol involved. I didn't want to give the wrong impression. And I really couldn't sleep. I would have kept you awake." Doubtful, considering how deeply she had been sleeping, but there was always a chance.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

She blinked. Honestly, it was a little hard to follow what Chester was getting at. "The point remains that I 'ssentially kicked ya out of ya bed." Preacher frowned. "What kinds of assumptions?"

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Fine, yes. Technically had she not been there, he would have slept in his own bed. But that really was the least of his concerns.

"Assumptions about, uh..." These sorts of topics had been far easier to discuss when he hadn't considered the other party a friend. In truth, there hadn't even been any discussion at all. He just did with no thought for consequences or who might end up angry. Now he had to think, and while he normally relished that activity, this was hardly his best subject.

"The assumption that you actually wanted to, um, climb on me and maybe possibly... bite... me... and that I wasn't just a stand-in for... that."

The Semblance of Un!ty

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Her eyes flashed a different color, but Preacher ducked her head quickly, her ears burning. "N' jus... jus' who are ya supposed ta be a stand-in for?"

Then she had the horrifying realization that he'd skipped out because he'd been afraid she was going to jump him willy-nilly. ********, this was humiliating. "I... I wasn't gonna force ya." Abruptly, she turned around and blindly started walking away.

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"I don't know... I..."

He stood there stupidly as she fled, limbs locked in place until he jerked forward with a mental shove, as if something more tangible than his own apprehension had been holding him back. He didn't try to cut her off, he just trailed behind until she stopped.

"I knew you weren't going to." Chester reached out, his hand inches from her arm before he pulled it back again. "I didn't want you to think I was the one who had forced you. Like maybe you weren't thinking and I was just there as always, and I took advantage of that. I might've... liked to have been forced." Okay, now was not the time for that. He cleared his throat behind his fist.

"I should have stayed."

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

She flicked her eyes upward briefly. "Ya don' gotta lie ta make me feel better, guero." Preacher was wholly undesirable in bother mannerisms and body, and she knew it. So for him to jokingly say s**t like that kind of hurt.

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Out of all the things he might have guessed she would say or do next, reality was near the bottom of the list. Chester was dumbfounded. Shocked. Confused. Maybe even a little angry.

"When did I lie? When I kept my hands on you under the guise of helping you? When I sniffed your damn hair? I wanted so badly for you not to have been drinking so I could have known... something. But I'm not lying." He had gone pale again, and his hands were clammy. This was how a friendship ended. "I think I'm going to throw up."

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

She made a strange noise. "I got eyes. This-" Preacher gestured to herself. '-ain't somethin' people want, if that's what you're gettin' at. Not with all the s**t scars I keep gettin'." Her mouth twisted, then she sighed. Chester must just need to get laid. Any port in a storm, she thought, though she wasn't sure why the thought made her feel like she had heartburn.

"I dunno what ya want from me. What woulda been diff'rent if I'da been sober. ********, it feels like everythin' makes less sense now, n' I'm sober."

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"People might not want you, but I do. These people have no idea what they're talking about. I..."

This pit he had dug was too deep to get out of now. Chester's hand shook as he brought his fingers to her cheek, preparing for them to get slapped away. He leaned closer.

"I want you to kiss me so that I know it's okay to kiss you back. Now. While you're you."

The Semblance of Un!ty