Do Not Cross [Closed] - Printable Version
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RE: Do Not Cross [Closed] - megs - 11-17-2019
Grayson kept watching the way she stood, frozen, near the sink. He knew it was the gun. He knew it was... himself. He knew there was absolutely no way to make the situation comfortable. There was a part of his brain that was screaming at him to just leave it alone. To leave her alone and go back to the tidy was his life was before. It's not like she was wrong. He could easily just contest the credit card charges, and go about his business. This woman was a mess.
Grayson didn't like messes.
"Fine!" He threw up his hands at her in what was clearly defeat. Her discomfort was making him uncomfortable and he didn't want this situation to turn into something it absolutely did not have to be. "You're absolutely right." His hands dropped down with an audible slap against his thighs. "You didn't make me do shit." Grayson growled in frustration. At her for looking nice in the dumb shit she had bought illegally and at himself for whatever the fuck he was doing now. And had done last night.
He was the utter dumbfuck that had taken a strange woman home and he would just continue to let himself be punished for it, in the form of dealing with his credit card company for the rest of the day.
"Fuck it." He scratched the back of his neck. All the winds of justice quickly leaving his sails. He adjusted his glasses and stared her down. He turned to leave. "I'm sure that fucking sweater will be great for picking up your next mark."
RE: Do Not Cross [Closed] - Tindome - 11-17-2019
She refused to keep flinching.
She absolutely kept flinching.
Every rise of his voice, every growl. The fall of his hands. It wasn't dramatic, and she told herself it didn't count, her fake nails digging into the meat of her palms. The plastic nail on her right ring finger popped off, and she ended up having to hold onto it to keep it from falling to the floor. She'd fix it later.
When he turned away, Nadine practically collapsed in relief. She leaned against the bathroom counter, but in, you know, a casual way. Extremely chill. That hadn't been scary even a little bit. She'd handled vampires, and serial killers, and probably technically aliens; getting all shaky over some rando with a gun was fucking embarrassing, was what it was.
It was annoying, was all. They'd had a good time—a great time—and then he'd gone and ruined it by not sticking to the script she'd assigned him. She was much better with people than he was, she was sure, and so clearly he was the one in the wrong.
"Thanks," she croaked, trying to rub at her eye without damaging her makeup. "It was on sale."
Extremely chill.
She absolutely kept flinching.
Every rise of his voice, every growl. The fall of his hands. It wasn't dramatic, and she told herself it didn't count, her fake nails digging into the meat of her palms. The plastic nail on her right ring finger popped off, and she ended up having to hold onto it to keep it from falling to the floor. She'd fix it later.
When he turned away, Nadine practically collapsed in relief. She leaned against the bathroom counter, but in, you know, a casual way. Extremely chill. That hadn't been scary even a little bit. She'd handled vampires, and serial killers, and probably technically aliens; getting all shaky over some rando with a gun was fucking embarrassing, was what it was.
It was annoying, was all. They'd had a good time—a great time—and then he'd gone and ruined it by not sticking to the script she'd assigned him. She was much better with people than he was, she was sure, and so clearly he was the one in the wrong.
"Thanks," she croaked, trying to rub at her eye without damaging her makeup. "It was on sale."
Extremely chill.
RE: Do Not Cross [Closed] - megs - 11-17-2019
Her final words were not the snappy comeback that he had expected. Grayson paused. The bathroom door he had pushed open with an angry smack of his palm almost swung back at him. He took a step into the room again to avoid it. His head dropped back, clearly exasperated, but he didn't turn around. He propped his hands up on his hips and looked for a moment like he was having an internal debate with himself.
His foot tapped on the ground. He insisted to himself stick to the original plan of just leaving after a vague attempt to make her feel bad for her super illegal actions.
He sighed. All of his breath falling outward in one annoyed breath.
He turned around slowly, hands still on his hips.
"Are you crying?" He frowned at her, not at all looking like a person who could be mildly comforting in a situation such as this. He dropped his arms. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm not going to hurt you," he insisted. Still a bit miffed that she seemed to think that he might. Not that she had any way to know otherwise. "It is a cute sweater," he ventured in an attempt to salvage the interaction.
RE: Do Not Cross [Closed] - Tindome - 11-18-2019
The fact that he stopped before leaving was not even a little reassuring. Turning back around was worse.
"No," she snapped, still dabbing at the corner of her eye with a fingertip. "It's cheap makeup." It wasn't cheap. She'd paid a lot of his money for it. His expression of concern made her regret not leaning into it. Bursting into obnoxious tears could do wonders when it came to getting men to give her some space. For now, she blinked rapidly to try and get her face back to normal, and tried to press her press-on nail back on. It was the kind with the weird glue already stuck to the back of it, and it was going to end up popping back off sooner rather than later. She should have bought real nail glue. Hell, she should have gotten real acrylics, and enjoyed herself in a salon for a while.
"You're fine," she said, because she had enough sense not to say you're nothing, you're trash, I've been stabbed by worse and getting scared by you is beneath me. "You surprised me, that's all," she said, because he had. She looked down at herself, at the little keyhole of brown skin between cat ears that would have shown off her cleavage if she'd had more to show off. "Yeah," she agreed, hooking a finger into it to tug it open a little more. "I thought so, too."
"No," she snapped, still dabbing at the corner of her eye with a fingertip. "It's cheap makeup." It wasn't cheap. She'd paid a lot of his money for it. His expression of concern made her regret not leaning into it. Bursting into obnoxious tears could do wonders when it came to getting men to give her some space. For now, she blinked rapidly to try and get her face back to normal, and tried to press her press-on nail back on. It was the kind with the weird glue already stuck to the back of it, and it was going to end up popping back off sooner rather than later. She should have bought real nail glue. Hell, she should have gotten real acrylics, and enjoyed herself in a salon for a while.
"You're fine," she said, because she had enough sense not to say you're nothing, you're trash, I've been stabbed by worse and getting scared by you is beneath me. "You surprised me, that's all," she said, because he had. She looked down at herself, at the little keyhole of brown skin between cat ears that would have shown off her cleavage if she'd had more to show off. "Yeah," she agreed, hooking a finger into it to tug it open a little more. "I thought so, too."
RE: Do Not Cross [Closed] - megs - 12-02-2019
Well... now Grayson felt bad. Which had not been the point of confronting her at all. He didn't even feel the smallest inkling of smug or justified. What was it about crying women that rendered him incapable of even the most basic of cognitive functions? She just looked so helpless fiddling with her nails and blinking back tears and he knew that was sexist of him but he had too many sisters to be invulnerable to the effect. Grayson considered that she was trying to pull another fast one on him, but that was fine.
She deserved the win because she was pretty and he was pathetic.
"Are you hungry?" He still had his hands on his hips. The question had the tone of someone that wasn't going to take no for answer. If only because so much of his pride was at stake. "Gather up all..." he gestured vaguely at her ill-gotten gains spread over the bathroom counter. "...your stuff. I'll wait outside and when you're ready we can get a cheeseburger."
He turned around again, and exited for real this time. Maybe she wouldn't come out. Maybe she would just sit in the mall bathroom and wait him out until he got frustrated and stormed off. Which was...also fine, he reasoned with himself. Her loss, really.
RE: Do Not Cross [Closed] - Tindome - 12-03-2019
"… what?"
Nadine watched him leave.
"What?" she asked the empty bathroom.
What… was happening. She looked at herself in the mirror, looking mostly-cute and a little watery-eyed. She worked at blinking it away.
One of them was clearly crazy. It was him, right? He'd hunted her down at the mall and cornered her in the bathroom with a gun. Or was she overreacting? He was a cop. He probably always had a gun. Finding people might have been as easy as a Google search for him. This could have just been trivial curiosity for him, which would making freaking out about it unwarranted.
This didn't even count as freaking out. She hadn't screamed or tried to find someone bigger to kick his ass or anything.
Lunch. He wanted to buy her lunch. It might be some kind of a trap. But maybe he was just a sadsack? Unused to one-night stands and trying to assuage his guilt with something like a date, so he'd feel less like he'd used her. She couldn't decide. She liked to think she was good at reading people, but she clearly had no goddamn idea what his deal was.
Shit. Fuck it. Whatever, right? If he'd found her once, he could do it again. If he wanted to hurt her, she wasn't going to get away from him here and now. Even in a worst-case scenario, it was better to go along with him and figure out a new game plan.
She emerged from the bathroom with shopping bags hanging off her arms, the wings of her eyeliner a little thicker from where she'd tried to fix it. "Where'd you wanna go?"
Nadine watched him leave.
"What?" she asked the empty bathroom.
What… was happening. She looked at herself in the mirror, looking mostly-cute and a little watery-eyed. She worked at blinking it away.
One of them was clearly crazy. It was him, right? He'd hunted her down at the mall and cornered her in the bathroom with a gun. Or was she overreacting? He was a cop. He probably always had a gun. Finding people might have been as easy as a Google search for him. This could have just been trivial curiosity for him, which would making freaking out about it unwarranted.
This didn't even count as freaking out. She hadn't screamed or tried to find someone bigger to kick his ass or anything.
Lunch. He wanted to buy her lunch. It might be some kind of a trap. But maybe he was just a sadsack? Unused to one-night stands and trying to assuage his guilt with something like a date, so he'd feel less like he'd used her. She couldn't decide. She liked to think she was good at reading people, but she clearly had no goddamn idea what his deal was.
Shit. Fuck it. Whatever, right? If he'd found her once, he could do it again. If he wanted to hurt her, she wasn't going to get away from him here and now. Even in a worst-case scenario, it was better to go along with him and figure out a new game plan.
She emerged from the bathroom with shopping bags hanging off her arms, the wings of her eyeliner a little thicker from where she'd tried to fix it. "Where'd you wanna go?"
RE: Do Not Cross [Closed] - megs - 05-03-2020
He was leaning against the opposite wall, when she finally emerged. He has his arms crossed tightly over his chest. Which really just meant he was picking at the cuticle of his thumb, because he was tired of running his hand through his hair. The curls he had displaced tumbled over his furrowed brow.
“C’mon,” he said instead of answering her. He gave Dean a once over with a sweep of his eyes before pushing away from the wall.
Normally, he would offer to carry a woman’s bags. Dean didn’t seem like a woman who wanted the help and she could carry her own ill-gotten gains.
“This doesn’t mean anything,” he said, suddenly, after silently leading her through the mall into they came to a chain burger restaurant he didn’t despise. They had endless fries so that was a bonus.
He slid into one side of the booth that the perky hostess led them to. It was early in the afternoon and they were in a fucking mall on a weekday so it wasn’t like the place was packed. He maneauvered out of his shoulder holster and set it next to him, so she didn’t have to stare at his gun the entire time. It made pretty much everyone uncomfortable.
Grayson folded his hands on the table. He leaned heavily on his elbows and sighed. “I got mad,” he explained. “Obviously. To discover you had stolen from me. And you’re right. About what you said this that bathroom. That I should have. Let it go. But I didn’t. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a cop or because I’m an idiot...” he paused to lean back and roll his eyes.
“I’m sure you’re thinking ‘cop or idiot, what’s the difference.”
RE: Do Not Cross [Closed] - Tindome - 04-19-2021
Nadine restrained a snort when she realized where he was leading her. She had flashbacks to middle school, loitering with teens and scrounging up change to buy endless fries and appetizer samplers. She'd flirted with the waiter, which in retrospect must have been awkward, since she'd been somewhere around twelve.
These days it was all dives or gastropubs. Weird, the memories a person held onto, the way they always came back. Inconvenient.
She was still off-kilter, too unclear on what he wanted to know how to respond. Would he want contrition? Appeasement? He'd softened up pretty quick when he thought she was leaking feelings. But he'd seemed to like the banter pretty well, before he'd gone all off-script bounty hunter. But he might not be in the mood for sass just yet.
She slid into the opposite side of the booth, setting her bags down onto the seat beside her and untangling her arms from the handles. The menu hadn't changed much in the last decade-plus. She looked at the plastic-laminated cardboard anyway, rather than follow the path of his gun. She was, regardless, hyper-aware of the presence of the gun.
Would trying to re-seduce him mollify him, or only piss him off?
Her mouth twitched at his conclusion. "You said it," she murmured, "not me."
She perked up when the waitress appeared, putting on her cheerful customer voice. "I'll get a Hawaiian Heartthrob to drink, aaaaaand, can I get an appetizer sampler?" She resisted the temptation to get an early start on day drinking, or to order a steak she wasn't planning to eat. Better to play it safe for now.
These days it was all dives or gastropubs. Weird, the memories a person held onto, the way they always came back. Inconvenient.
She was still off-kilter, too unclear on what he wanted to know how to respond. Would he want contrition? Appeasement? He'd softened up pretty quick when he thought she was leaking feelings. But he'd seemed to like the banter pretty well, before he'd gone all off-script bounty hunter. But he might not be in the mood for sass just yet.
She slid into the opposite side of the booth, setting her bags down onto the seat beside her and untangling her arms from the handles. The menu hadn't changed much in the last decade-plus. She looked at the plastic-laminated cardboard anyway, rather than follow the path of his gun. She was, regardless, hyper-aware of the presence of the gun.
Would trying to re-seduce him mollify him, or only piss him off?
Her mouth twitched at his conclusion. "You said it," she murmured, "not me."
She perked up when the waitress appeared, putting on her cheerful customer voice. "I'll get a Hawaiian Heartthrob to drink, aaaaaand, can I get an appetizer sampler?" She resisted the temptation to get an early start on day drinking, or to order a steak she wasn't planning to eat. Better to play it safe for now.