[ota] time will tell....

[wouldbetrump]

Clive had spent the morning in his office, not behind his desk but...rather in front of his dry erase board. It was covered in a web of links and possible solutions to various inter-suit issues that peppered their troubles.

Scrubbing a hand through his hair, he licked his lips a moment.

Leaving his offices, he didn't pause to speak to many. No, no...The King of Spades was intent on tending to his business of the day as quickly as possible, it seemed. But what that business was might well have been up for debate.

Comments

[bitchwithabite]

"You mean aside from the fact that, last I heard, we're still doing this dating thing, but we haven't made eye contact in almost a month? I-... Clive, I miss you. I do. But what are we doin'?" It was a fair enough question, she thought. She needed to know, plain and simple, if she even still had a boyfriend.

"I know you're not happy with me killin' Laila, or that I fought back against her cousins when they attacked me. It wasn't ideal, but it's what I had to do." And she wasn't going to apologize for it. "But you gotta tell me if that's the end of it, or if we're actually gonna keep trying this."

[wouldbetrump]

"...I've been busy, Amy. It is the unfortunate effect of being King." Though he tried very hard to find personal time, it just didn't always happen. "I don't...understand what you mean by 'what are we doing'? Last I checked were were dating." Which, unfortunately, involved busy schedules.

As for the Laila situation, well. Everyone had to lay in the bed they made. Amy made that one, and there was little he could do to change that now. "Was killing Laila something you had to do?" He asked, raising a brow that suggested he highly doubted it had or every would have been 'necessary' in the grand scheme of things. "If I'd been out to end it, I would have done it when you told me, Amy."

Which did not change the fact that he had no idea where any of this was coming from.

[bitchwithabite]

"So busy that you haven't found five minutes in almost a month to spare?" It was her own damn fault, truly, but she'd been certain that he was avoiding her. That he was so disgusted by what she'd done that he couldn't handle the idea of being near her. "I'm pretty sure people who are dating actually try to find time to date, sugar."

She'd made her bed, and she was okay with laying in it. She'd lost Ethan, as anticipated. She was prepared to lose Clive over it, too; it's just that she preferred to be alerted when she'd lost people. It simplified things.

She wasn't going to apologize for this, though. "It was," she answered with some steel in her voice. "You probably won't ever understand why, but I had to. Part of my job as a guard is being able to protect this castle and this Suit, no matter the cost. That means being prepared to die for it, or to kill for it. It means being capable of fighting to the death to defend it all." And that's exactly what it had been.

"...You didn't say a word the rest of that night, Clive. You were pissed, even though you were quiet about it. I'm not actually a complete moron, y'know."

She was an insecure woman, particularly in relationships. This one had been going so well until she challenged to Five, but since then, there'd been...nothing. Not a kiss, not a smile, not a fleeting brush of fingers. Nothing. And it was wearing on her, making her doubt him and second-guess herself. Not good or healthy, but true nonetheless.

[wouldbetrump]

"That is....What the hell are you talking about Amy? There are two people in this relationship, and in case you've forgotten, I've brought you dinner during your shifts on the guard, and left you notes as well as called. So so not, do not but this all on me." He said, holding up his hands before he shook his head.

"You're right. I was angry, but why shouldn't I be? Do you think I ever doubted you had it in you to do what needed to be done? But to think that proving you can kill by taking a life in a challenge did anything to prove you were more capable than you were before? You're being naive. All that did is prove that yes, yes you can kill- just as you have done before." He scowled a little before he scrubbed a hand through his hair.

[bitchwithabite]

"Clive, I don't-... I'm sorry, okay? It's just- I didn't..." She fucked up, point blank. What else was there? Surely, it was expected. If things were going well, there simply hadn't been an opportunity for things to go badly yet. Once it had presented itself, things had taken the expected turn. It was her own fault. Again, she knew it.

"I don't know what you want me to say, here. Clive, I don't want this to be fucked up. It is, and I'm sorry for that. I wish there was somethin' I could do to make this better." She shook her head, ran hands over her face and into her hair. "I did what I thought I needed to do, and it was a fuckup as far as everyone else is concerned, and it fucking sucks."

Pretty much the only person not angry with her over it was Jordan, and she hadn't even seen him very frequently since then. "Just...I mean, can we actually recover from this?"

[wouldbetrump]

"Do you want to?" He asked her, point blank. "Because, Amy, this seems more like you are looking for an excuse for all of this to be over, and not have to deal with it. So, do you want it to recover, or are you giving up?"

[bitchwithabite]

"I don't want this to be over. I don't ever want it to be over." It's just that she didn't know how not to screw things up so completely that a breakup was inevitable.

"I want you. I wanna go through the good shit with you. When the shit is rough, I wanna have you with me. It don't seem so bad when I've got you next to me." Frowning, she moved closer, and if he didn't stop her, she wrapped her arms around him. "I am sorry. I'm sorry. Tell me how to make it better."

[wouldbetrump]

"Then stop. Stop thinking there is something to make better, Amy. We're fine, even if I seem distracted, it isn't you." He just had a lot of things on his mind, and for better or worse, Clive had never been good at sharing those worries with others.

"It'll be fine. We'll be fine."

[bitchwithabite]

Well, Amy had never been good at sharing what was going on in her head, either. This was, really, the first time, in any relationship, that she had ever addressed her concerns to the person the concerns were about. And maybe that's why her arms were so tight around him, why she wasn't worried if some of the makeup on her face deposited itself on his shirt or jacket, or if it meant he got a little wrinkled.

"Can- we maybe try to not be distracted long enough to have dinner together tonight? PJs, animals, movie, and food ordered in, to be eaten on the couch." It's not the best date night, but it's the kind she was comfortable with, so she hoped that he would agree.

[wouldbetrump]

"Of course we can, but...only if I actually leave the castle to do my work, you know." He teased lightly, offering her a soft smile.

"You have to have faith, love. If you don't, it's never going to work out."

[bitchwithabite]

"Mm, I guess I can live with that compromise." But only if she could steal a kiss to make it worth waiting for. "Sorry to have stopped you. Just...thought it was important to talk about, I guess." And she did feel a little better, so at least there was that.

"I'm not good at havin' faith, baby. Every time I count on somethin', it blows up in my face." But she wanted this, badly. She wanted it to work, wanted to be happy with him because he did make her happy. "But if you think you can deal with my brand of crazy, maybe I can bring you home to meet the family sometime soon." Obviously, he already knew her family, but that wasn't the point.

The point was advancing their relationship a little bit; they'd already been together for almost six months.