Realistic or Modern "....Flowers In Your Hair." [Kaoru Asuna x Gears.]

[Kaoru Asuna]

(It's okay not to be a morning person, lol. Your in Eastern time, right? I've forgotten.)

She wished she could lay against his side -- it was so cold. She'd set the heater near their feet at the end of the mattress, figuring it was fairest and that their cores would be the warmest parts of their bodies and their feet the coldest.
"And why would she do that? Like the sweet flower thing?" She turned to face him. "Even if you care about her opinion, you should stop caring what she thinks about everything. I loved the sweet flower thing."
She wasn't sure why she said that. Maybe because she wanted to watch a blush spread over his cheeks again.

 

[Gears]

(Mountain Day)
The warmth was far better hear- with more chill repelled by the blanket- if Crystal showed up he would just say the heater was too weak for them to be far apart. "It's just how she likes to mess with me. Most think of us as the usual grizzled mercs out here- and she tries hard to act like it. Any softie stuff is stupid in her opinion." He did his best not to blush but failed miserably.

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

She smiled at how cute he looked.
"So she's really just a show, and she uses you as a part of her act -- to make herself look tougher. And aside from having to hear it, you don't really care? So if she thinks we slept together, that won't bother you."
She shouldn't have said that -- it was unfair. But she kind of couldn't help it.

 

[Gears]

"It's just... It's smart. She is smaller than most people we run into out here. I have a better chance of scaring people if I'm not carrying books about flowers."

When Ria mentioned the pair sleeping together, he blushed looking away for a moment. "And she knows I wouldn't do that."

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

"What else would she think?" She couldn't stop gazing at him, even when he turned away -- she was just waiting for him to look back at her again. Why was she suddenly so attracted to him?

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

(Hey, when you know you're going to get offline, would it be possible to ask you to say something? I'm only asking because when you stop posting, the way the site it set up, I can't tell if you're really gone for nearly an hour. You don't have to, but I'd really appreciate it.)

 

[Gears]

"She knows I'm not as eager for that sort of thing." He said sheepishly, trying to wonder why she was looking at him odd.

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

Ria picked up the bottle and took another drink, breaking eye contact, set it aside again. "Why not? Not that it's any of my business, I guess." Looked back into his eyes again.

 

[Gears]

"I just find it hard to trust people- and you are pretty exposed in those... Situations." He said, eyes locking for a moment- pondering the look on her face- he didn't know much except for gambling tells and aggression gauging.

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

She was this close to becoming a-hole Ria again. The alcohol was vaguely kicking in again. She probably wouldn't drink anymore.
"Don't you trust me?" Now she couldn't look at him. Who was the shy one now? She kept pressing toward something, and now she couldn't even look him in the eye.

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

(I've got 15 minutes left.)

 

[Gears]

(Sorry had to run)
He hoped letting her drink was a good idea- based on their proximity and previous actions he was a bit nervous- but she appeared to feel the same. "I... Don't know. I haven't trusted many people over the years."

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

(Cool.)

She paused a second before nodding.
"I guess that's reasonable. I haven't given you any particular reason to trust me, I guess. Oh, that reminds me." She smiled a little, feeling kind of guilty. "There are no explosives in the car. I just said that to scare Crystal into not trying to steal it." She laughed sheepishly. "But don't tell her yet. I'm still having fun with the idea that she's thinking about blowing up everytime she gets in. I'll tell her...eventually. I still kind of don't trust her. But...I trust you." She gazed up into the rafters, crossing her arms around her chest for the cold, even under the blanket, before turning to look into his eyes.
She didn't know how he'd react to that. Maybe he thought she was still drunk. But she wasn't, not really anymore. And it was true, she did trust him. And not because he and Crystal were really all Ria had at the moment -- but because she liked him. He was a sensitive soul, and kind, and gentle. He liked freaking flowers, and reading, and apparently didn't normally drink or carouse. Despite his lifestyle, he might just have some kind of morals.

 

[Gears]

Granite tried to offer a bit of an apology- feeling rotten about telling her he didn't tell her.
He nodded a bit, still feeling bad- she was such a nice person (At least when she was sober), and he had told her she wasn't trustworthy- even as she exposed a secret meant to protect herself from him (And crystal). Sure he would never steal the car, or let Crystal- and her trusting him was even more- maybe she was closer than anyone else had gotten in the past 2 years.

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

"What's that look mean?" she asked. "I'm not good at figuring things out -- especially when I'm half drunk." She gazed at him for a second. "You don't have to trust me. You don't know me...if that's what it is."

 

[Gears]

He returned his attention to Ria- still angry at himself for not trusting her- sure they hadn't known each other long, but she could be trusted in a fight- kind, reliable, smart- he could see himself growing to trust her with time... But no- he was just finishing the job; helping her get to California. "It's just- your a good person; but a while ago, when I trusted people- It didn't end well."

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

She nodded, rubbing her arm under the blanket. "It's okay. Who's really trustworthy anyway? Human beings are extremely flawed and generally unreliable. I'm not special."
But he did think she was a good person -- and that made her kind of happy.

"But, do you want to tell me what happened a while ago when you did decide to trust?"
She hoped he didn't shut her out again. He seemed a bit more likely to talk at the moment.

 

[Gears]

He wasn't very reassured, but smiled a bit. So he wasn't as much of an asshole- at least she seemed to be taking it well. When she asked the question- his face darkened, and he uncosiously moved a bit further away- mind recalling every moment- every hour spent after the betrayal- driving for hours while doing his best to patch him and Crystal up- she had cried; Granite had never seen her cry since that day.

"I don't know- we learned of the betrayal an hour or so before it would happen. We didn't have time so we ran. A friend of ours relapsed and decided to try and cash in our bounties for money. We got attacked since we where outside of town, scavenging. We figured out what was happening and abandoned them."

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

(Hey, I'm going to try to get some sleep tonight, so I won't be on again until after Noon tomorrow. So, G'night!)

She saw his expression change -- he seemed to be looking inward, too -- and she thought he even shrank away a little. It must have been bad.

By how he'd vaguely described it, she assumed what had happened must have been a lot worse than what he'd told her.
She reached out over the blanket and rested her hand on his shoulder, trying to be comforting, if it could help at all.
"Who? Who did you abandon?"
She didn't know if he'd answer, or if she should have asked, but if he was willing to mention it, maybe he needed to talk about it.

 

[Gears]

He snapped back to attention at the touch, looking directly at her for a moment, before finnally grimacing. "The only damn good people in that entire state; friends- almost family by then. All dead or worse. There where just four left- a few had died, two had betrayed us. Brass was our medic- they probably killed him after listening him prattle for a week. Big Man probably died doing the stupid heroic shit he usually did; Whiskey probably ran like us." He didn't speak of the fourth.

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

When he mentioned family, Ria thought of her own -- when she finally managed to drag herself back to the homestead. All dead. And how they'd had no chance to run. All because of her.

But she could tell Granite had to leave them behind. He was running, and if he'd had Crystal with him, there would have been nothing he could have done.
"You didn't do anything wrong by leaving them. There was nothing you could do," she said quietly, rubbing his arm softly. She didn't know that, but she thought he might need to hear it anyway. And it was in the past -- he couldn't do anything about his actions now.

 

[Gears]

"I was the best fighter. Brass could barely shoot a gun, Big Man preferred the stupid sword he found. Grace could have..." Granite winced at the name- thinking of the soft skin, not tanned like her brothers- who had spent so much time blowing himself up he usually was missing an eyebrow and was plastered in ash. Tears filled his eyes as he remembered- everything he had abandoned. He had known they couldn't have reached Denver before the storm of enemies- they would have been an hour late at least. Everyone would likely be already dead.

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

When he started tearing up, her heart tore for him, and she couldn't help but sit up and wrap her arms around him. "It's okay. It's over now, and there's nothing you could have done. But it's okay if you want to cry. It helps." Even in her partially drunk state, she could feel her eyes filling, too. But not just for him -- for herself and her own loved ones. All gone now, too.
"At least you have Crystal."

 

[Gears]

Granite let her hold him- awkwardly as she would, moving closer as he wiped a few tears aside- hands wrapping around her as he held onto something solid- safe. "I-It was my job. I failed." He murmured, not even caring about what Crystal would think if she came inside- Ria holding him and consoling him like a crying child.

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

"You were attacked. That had nothing to do with you," she returned quietly. "You did everything you could. I've failed much worse."
She was so broken over his brokenness. She held him tighter, touching his cheek with her fingers.