Hide and Seek

[Veronica Grantham]

Annoyance and frustration bubbled up inside her with every word he spoke, leaving Vic feeling a helpless sort of anger she couldn't control. "Merlin, did you listen to a word I said?" She rounded on him now, full of hurt, angry tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. She expected to find him there, but he wasn't- the slamming of the door the punctuation to her sentence and a startling realization that this was the end of it.

Except he'd pissed her off and he wasn't getting away that easy. She grabbed her cloak off the wrack by the door and was down the hall quickly, and despite the fact that he had a head start, she managed to catch him before he reached the outside door of the building.

"I'm not done." She said, grabbing him by the back of his jacket, forcing him to stop. He was going to listen to her now whether he liked it or not.

"You are the only person I've been intimate with in a decade, Le. The last time this happened, I was pregnant, he left. He left me and I lost the baby." She bit back the threatening tears, trying not to make a spectacle of herself. "He was a coward, but you, you're a good person, hardworking and true and you deserve better than this, than me, tying you down and holding you back." The words spilled out in a long jumble of everything she thought she wanted to say, but realized she'd said more than she wanted to admit. Le was going places, he had a good job, had all the potential to be happy and she didn't want to take that away from him by putting a stop to it all when she could handle it by herself.

The following 1 user Likes Veronica Grantham's post:1 user Likes Veronica Grantham's post
   Elias Grimstone

[Leander Grantham]

The yank on his jacket was surprisingly forceful and caught his attention as his collar became a yolk around his neck.  He just wanted to keep walking until the pounding in his ears quieted but she wouldn't let him be.  No, she'd force him to listen to all the reasons she had for leaving him and taking his child with her.  As if he had family in spades and could spare a few.  

He did listen though he was still seething, his arms crossed aggressively over his chest.  This was the first time he'd heard of this other man and he was forced to stop and remember that Vic had existed and lived a life before fire had burned her flat down and landed her as a guest in his flat.  But he was in no mood to see reason.  

"You don't get to decide what I deserve!" he threw arms up in frustration.  "Nothing holds me back more than myself.  Or did you miss the part where I wasted my education and worked for ungrateful muggles as a nuisance officer for YEARS."  

He took a deep and shaky breath, the echo of his shouted confession sobering him instantly.  "Nothing you can say will convince me you aren't worth everything I can offer you."  he said earnestly.  "But if you take my child away I will never be able to forgive you."

The following 1 user Likes Leander Grantham's post:1 user Likes Leander Grantham's post
   Elias Grimstone

[Veronica Grantham]

Merlin's beard!

Vic knew he could be stubborn, but for the love Pete, he just couldn't see she was trying to make this easier for him. Her hands balled into fists inside her cloak, he really had no idea did he? What it took to raise a child, how much it would cost, how hard it was. He still had time before he should have to think about any of those things.

She wanted for this baby to have both parents, to grow up in a home filled with love and warmth, but she just didn't see how, other than getting married, that her wish would be a reality. It had taken them ages of dancing around one another and booze to even take the step that had led to the babe and she was already ruined.

Deflated, Vic let out one long sigh. She was already tired of fighting but neither one of them seemed ready to give in. "I don't want to jeopardize your new job," She looked up at him, shoulders slumped as she pulled her cloak closer around her. "I'm ruined, Le, wonderfully and woefully a ruined woman and no matter how much you think I'm worth, you can't change that." It meant a lot that he thought that highly of her, it really did, but it wouldn't change anything in society's eyes. "Just associating with me can ruin you too." It was a merciless truth, but reality. Maybe the could arrange something, the babe deserved to have a father, but she just didn't see how it would work. Everything would have to be in secret and what kind of life would that be? "But I won't stop you from seeing the babe if you want to." She admitted finally, hopeless tears springing back into her eyes.

  

[Leander Grantham]

Le's mouth fell open in speechless disbelief.  He had no idea why she was making this so difficult.  People had babies all the time!  Not that he had had any time to fully process any of this.  He just couldn't see past the fact that she had had every intention of keeping what was likely his only blood related family from him.  Especially when she was one of the few people who knew the truth about Calvin and what that had done to him.

He turned away from her only to turn right back, pacing on spot as he struggled to give voice to the chaos in his head.  He knew how society regarded fallen women.  Even he was not immune to judgmental thoughts, as liberal as he was, but applying that classification to Vic was beyond absurd.  It just didn't fit.  This was Vic, not some street trollop.  

"Well you wouldn't be if you'd let me marry you!"  he blurted out before he realized what he was saying.

  

[Veronica Grantham]

When Le turned away, Vic knew that would be it. She wouldn't chase him down this time. Why couldn't he see she was trying to give him the easy out? She could understand wanting to see the baby and it warmed her heart that he cared about their child that much already, but she couldn't drag him down with her, she just couldn't.

Then he whipped back around and she was the one left stunned, mouth falling open, a dumbstruck kind of awe washing over her. "You don't mean that." She whispered. It wasn't an accusation, she wasn't calling him a liar, she was just shocked. It had to be a heat of the moment thing, he couldn't really mean that... "Do you?" Vic did not want to get her hopes up. He just had to be spouting what he thought was the right solution.

  

[Leander Grantham]

It felt like the whole world had fallen silent.  The idea of marriage hadn't even occurred to him and yet somehow a proposal had happened.  He definitely should have had a drink before coming.  

"Well...yeah."  he said, glad she wasn't shouting him away anymore.  He took a tentative step towards her.  "If you won't have me that's... well that's your choice, I guess.  But you can't just... take away my choice."  His words were halting as the gravity of what he was saying hit him.

  

[Veronica Grantham]

There was just enough hesitation in his words that Vic knew he hadn't thought it through. Of course it had just been a spur of the moment decision, something to put a bandage on the wound, to stop the bleeding.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, looking down at the floor. "It wasn't fair of me to leave;" Vic knew now she'd been wrong and that he had every right to be angry with her, but she couldn't change the way she felt. She still thought he deserved better, could be better and she wanted him to think this through before they made an final decisions. "But you need to think about this- I need to think about this." A few more days, a week even, wouldn't matter one way or another as far as her reputation was concerned. There was still a part of her, a small, hopeful, romantic part, that wanted him to actually want to marry her, but she was not going to push it.

"No matter what you decide," She passed him a small, tired smile. "I want you to know you can see the baby whenever you want."

  

[Leander Grantham]

It wasn't a no but it felt like a no.  And he didn't realize how much he had been counting on her to say yes until she didn't.  And he really didn't realize how much he wanted her to say yes until it didn't happen.  There had to be something he more he could say but as the seconds ticked by he was struck with a sinking feeling that he'd missed his chance. 

Frustrated by his inability to put even a few of his thoughts into words he rubbed his eyes, willing his brain to come up with something besides just asking her again.  The thing with asking is you can only ask so much before it becomes begging.

He'd blown it.  "If that's what you want."

  

[Veronica Grantham]

The air between them seemed to change- less heated, though still nervous and hesitant. Vic couldn't tell if she was trying to read too much into this or if he realized what he'd done, but she didn't want to leave it like this either. Sitting on the edge of a cliff with no resolution would just haunt them. Slowly she reached out to run her fingers over his cheek.

"I just need to know it's what you really want. I want you to be sure- I want you to want to do this, I don't want you to do it out of obligation, it won't end well, no matter how careful we are." If he could look her in the eye and tell her he wanted to get married, she would. "I don't want to be my mother with a string of men a mile long behind me." That was the very last thing she wanted; she already felt like she'd somehow followed in her mother's footsteps by getting pregnant out of wedlock, but Vic knew she would never be completely like Maybelle. Thank goodness for that.

"I just want you." She said finally. Despite her actions, despite everything she'd said so far, that had been buried beneath her efforts to keep him from being dragged down with her. Now it was out in the open and she just hoped they didn't crash and burn.

  

[Leander Grantham]

"Then marry me" he said almost plaintively, closing the gap between them and taking both her hands in his.  He was getting his second chance and he was determined not to blow it this time.  "I do want this.  And I want you.  I think I've wanted you since... " He shuffled through memories, trying to decided when it had happened exactly but all he kept coming back to the beginning.  A simple meal cooked in a simple kitchen and a conversation between two people.  It had been there all along.   "Since forever."

"We can wait if you want.  But my mind won't change."  He could feel the certainty as if it was a tangible thing.  The very idea of trading a lifetime with her for a return to his bachelor ways was absurd.  There was no question.   

He leaned in and kissed her.  He couldn't help it.  There was an immensity to what he was feeling that threatened to take his breath away.  "Marry me." He asked again, pulling away just enough to murmur the question across her lips.

  

[Veronica Grantham]

Vic's whole body relaxed when he spoke again, her features softening into a wide smile. She believed him, of course she did, despite her hesitations to jump right into this, to let him do this to himself, she really did want this herself. Not only to save face, but for the baby. Everything would be better all around if they could do this as a family.

Sighing softly, Vic let herself get swept up in what he was saying. It was far too easy, but she didn't care. After everything, the argument, the resolution, she couldn't have hoped for a better outcome. At least they would be in this together, that made the difference. Her original reasons for leaving seemed incredibly silly and selfish and she was lucky he was willing to look past it. She'd make it up to him, somehow.

Her breath caught in her throat when she felt his lips on hers, damning his ability to do that to her; it was exactly what had led to his baby in the first place. "Yes, I will." She breathed out, tangling her fingers in his. "Let's go home." She added, thinking there was nowhere else she'd rather be than that little flat the boys shared. It would do for now, until they could find a place of their own, but they had time. They would have to marry sooner rather than later, to keep her reputation in any kind of salvageable state, but they could do it. They could do anything, together.