faterecanted | [action/accidental voice] backdated to the 12th

[action/accidental voice] backdated to the 12th

[action, for Nephry only]

[This morning, there is a suspicious looking Van lurking at the rear of the grocery store. A shady meeting has been arranged, you see, to pass over some goods. He's acting a bit twitchy, though. He'd really rather not be caught in the act. He's got one hand in his pocket, tapping his foot while he looks over the produce, pretending to be interested.]

[/lovebirds]

[Around mid-morning, there will be a sight potentially very disturbing to those familiar with both people involved: Van and Nephry, strolling down the riverbank, looking rather... cozy. He's actually offered her his arm. Which she has taken, without even hesitating to think about it. It isn't some sort of formal escort situation, either - she's leaning in, just enough to be conspicuous.]

I don't see any reason to tell them. [He actually laughs.] Not yet. I'll be your dirty little secret. Doesn't every politician have a few?

[Her return laugh is brighter than any of her friends might have heard in a long time.] Secrets of the state are usually less...incriminating. I do try to be honest. I suppose...just this once isn't going to hurt anyone. [Might help - she knows a person or four who wouldn't be pleased with this new arrangement.]

[He stops and pulls her closer, leaning in in a way that should be menacing, given just who it is doing it; but his expression is soft, and when he speaks, his voice is low and gentle with good humor.] Incriminating? ...That's one word for it. But not here. Not now.

No. [Ordinarily, being this close to the man who nearly succeeded in destroying her world would be something to fear. There is no fear, or even caution, in this smile.] This is...different.

[With a sigh, he wraps both arms around her, tightly. It's perhaps a bit forward of him... but then Van has always been bad about staying in his proper place.] Perhaps 'different' is what we all need in our lives.

[Now being an excellent time for someone to interrupt them and let them know their private conversation is being broadcast. Before they do something awful, like get even cozier and more contemplative.]

(OOC: Joint post! If you have a preference for which one of these unlikely lovebirds replies, please note it in the subject line. Otherwise, there's no telling who you may get. Remember to drive carefully, now, and watch for falling threadjacks.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That sounds like a wonderful idea.

[What she will do with her produce and secret gift is anyone's guess. Walking with Van is suddenly much more important.]

[Well loverboy is looking out for her.]

You should put those away first. [Although he's... not letting go of her hands.] Why don't you meet me at the bridge behind the clinic? [Now that he's thinking about it, there's something he'd like to run home and get for her...]

[This is a secret rendezvous isn't it.

Isn't it.

Nephry ducks her head slightly, looking away for just a second]

All right. I'll leave these at home and meet you there.

[Oh this is so definitely a secret rendezvous.

He finally lets go of her hands, sliding his grip down her fingers. The last time Van Grants looked this pleased with himself? There were bodies.]

I'll be waiting for you.

You won't need to wait very long.

[There is all the need in the world to hurry home and then hurry back. He'll get another smile, and maybe even a quiet laugh, before she turns in a slow reluctant way to leave the store.]

[He watches her go with a small, uncharacteristically gentle smile. In fact, he stands there watching the door long after she's gone. Eventually, though, he shakes himself out of his daze. He'll have to jog to his apartment and back now...

When she does reach the bridge, she'll find him with something cupped in his gloved hands. Whatever it is, it smells delicious and it's giving off little rising curls of steam.]

[She came dressed more appropriately for a walk - scarf and warmer gloves included - and greets him with a smile when he's within sight. ...Then there's a tiny wave.]

[When she gets closer, he opens his hands to reveal a warm apple turnover. He was saving that for himself -- actually he was contemplating murder if it happened to disappear from the communal fridge for any reason that was not him -- but giving it to her is a much better use for it.]

I brought this for you.

Oh. How kind of you, thank you. Would you like to share it?

[Oh, she's even better than he thought she was. He carefully tears it in two and offers her the bigger half. The one with more apple on it.

Normally, this is where he'd make a comment about her being afraid it was poisoned, but... Surely not her. She must understand him better than that.]

There are several things I'd be honored to share with such a charming woman, today.

[Such a gentleman. She will take his offer, and also take a polite first bite. Just delicious. Between the pastry and the compliment she has turned a pleased shade of red all over again.]

Thank you.

[When she does that, she's just so... cute.

After a moment, he also offers her his arm.]

Shall we?

Of course. [She takes his arm, gently, with the slightest of leans in his direction.] It has been such a long time since I took a walk in the snow with a...very close friend.

Close? I feel I hardly know anything about you.

[Not that that's stopping him from letting her lean on him while they walk. If he was doing anything more to encourage it, that arm would be around her waist instead.]

Well, I feel the same, but...despite that, I do feel rather close. Do you not?

I can't deny a certain... connection. And fascination; you are a beautiful woman. [In for an inch...] An intelligent one, as well, if our past conversations are to be trusted. But it's only made me more interested. I want to know everything about you. Is that too forward of me to say?

It is a little surprising. [If he keeps this up she'll be red for the rest of the day, and not from the cold, either.] Such compliments seem like high praise, coming from someone with standards such as yours.

...But no. Not too forward, I think. As long as I...get to hear a few things in return. [That was totally the softest giggle punctuation ever.]

[Maybe the first ever and last ever time someone asks about Vandesdelca Musto Fende's history and giggles. He hesitates over that, with a pensive expression; but he can't shake the lingering feeling that if he can't tell this woman, then who can he tell?]

My past is largely... unpleasant. [As is his present, and his future.] But for you, if you truly wish to know...

I would wager that I know a bit more about you than you do about me. ...And no, not all of it is pleasant. [That hasn't managed to wipe the smile from her face, however.]

...I just believe in...hearing the full story. In trying to understand things from the point of view of all sides. [The hand now free of apple turnover rests against the arm in hers.] Don't feel forced to tell me.

[He finishes his own half of the turnover, using the time he needs to chew to really mull the situation over. This is all very personal; not that he's opposed to it, but in a way, kissing her would be less personal than this.

Eventually, he covers her hand with his own.]

No, I don't feel forced to tell you. Don't feel forced to listen. There are certain subjects... Some of what you know may be a lie. I wasn't always honest with Tear. I had my reasons.

I have it on good authority that Jade hasn't always been honest with me, either. ...And I could say the same for myself. So it isn't going to destroy my opinion of you.

[He takes a deep breath and, for the first time in a very long time, fights down that fidgety feeling of being about to screw something up badly. If both his hands weren't in full view, he might even be crossing his fingers right now. He doesn't think she's lying... but he really doesn't want her to think poorly of him. Or at least, not too poorly to keep him around, even though he's bad and she knows she shouldn't. He could live with that.

Instead, he leans his head down towards hers, in a way that still manages to look less confident than he wants it to. Telling, given what an accomplished actor he is.]

So. What is it you want to know? [It's only polite to let the lady ask first.]

[It's clear he's uncomfortable with this, even with assurance that he won't be judged unfairly. Nephry looks up at him with a calm smile.]

First, I want to know what it was that you wanted to know so badly.

[She's just so good. It makes him nervous, in the best possible way.]

I- Everything. [Doesn't he sound silly?] ...Your childhood, what was it like? What I know, I know about Governor Osborne. I'd like to know about Nephry.

I don't think it was...much more eventful than what you probably already know. Keterburg isn't always a friendly climate. ...My brother and his friends did the best they could, I think, with a little girl tagging along after them most of the time.

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