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xp_logsBackdated to Monday. Marie goes to talk with Doug. She’s surprised to find that her words don’t come as a surprise to him.
Marie stood outside the door to Doug’s suite, adjusting and readjusting her gloves. She had been trying to figure out a different, easier, happier way to do what she knew needed to be done, but unfortunately she couldn’t come up with a better alternative. She knew her anxiety was probably radiating off of her in waves, but she couldn’t do anything to stop it. Repeating “Don’t say we need to talk” over and over in her mind, she knocked on the door.
That might have worked with someone who didn't have Doug's mutant knack for reading body language. When he opened the door and took in Marie's stance, he chuckled dryly. "I take it we need to talk?" he asked, but without any real rancor in his voice, merely a quiet sort of acceptance. "Come on in, Em," he said gently.
The mix of guilt and relief on her face as Marie entered the suite would have been easy to read even by someone without Doug's enhanced abilities. "That obvious, huh?" she said with a sigh.
Doug shrugged diffidently. "Probably only to me," he admitted. "I've got a mutant power that helps me, plus I've known you for a while." It was fairly obvious that he'd guessed what it was that Marie wanted to talk about, but he didn't seem at all upset about it. "So, do you want to say it, or should I?" he asked.
Marie paused for a moment. She hadn’t been expecting Doug to react this way and all her careful phrasing flew out of her mind. She had expected anger or sadness, not calm acceptance. “This isn’t working is it?” she blurted out, then blushed and cast her eyes down.
Doug's face twinged with sadness. "No, it's not," he admitted. "I'm not really sure why, but I think we're better off as friends. There's just no..." He wiggled his fingers. "...no spark, I guess. It's not that I don't like you, or care about you, or anything like that, just..." He trailed off, having difficulty articulating his thoughts.
"Ah know exactly what you mean. You're a real sweet guy and you've been great to me, but it's just...well, like you said, we're better off as friends," she said, looking up to make eye contact. "An' Ah do care about you, which is why Ah was worried...Ah didn't want you to think this meant Ah didn't." She smiled a little wryly at him. "Guess you've been feeling the same way and Ah just didn't realize it."
Doug nodded, a similarly wry smile on his face. "I wasn't sure whether I should say anything about it," he said thoughtfully. "I mean, I was so gung-ho about dating, and then I realized we were better off as friends...it just seemed like kinda not the most productive thing to say, you know?"
A small laugh escaped Marie's throat. "An' here Ah was worried about hurtin' you since you were so gung-ho about it." Marie relaxed in her seat, surprised at how easily the words were coming to her now. "Better to try and find out than always wonder though, y' know?"
Doug nodded and pursed his lips. "I think that was a lot of it, yeah. You were so convinced that you couldn't be with anyone, and all I wanted was the chance to try and prove you wrong, you know?" He reached out and squeezed her hand gently, but in a more friendly than romantic fashion.
She squeezed his hand back. “It has been nice. You’ve been wonderful…and, well, you have shown me that maybe things aren’t as hopeless as Ah had decided.” She grinned at him. “Now don’t expect me to go on a mad dating spree or nothing, but…well, y’ never know Ah guess. Shouldn’t keep that part of myself closed all the time Ah suppose.”
"You absolutely shouldn't," Doug replied firmly. If there was one thing he wanted as a result of their dating, it was to see Marie hopefully more certain of herself, willing to think of herself as someone to be dated and cared about. He chuckled. "Wow. That was a lot better than my last breakup," he quipped wryly.
Marie chuckled along with him. "Mine too. Too bad they can't all be this way, huh?" She had definitely expected it to be harder and had even shoved a pack of tissues into her pocket just in case.
Doug leaned back, and smiled. "Amen to that." This was nice. Friendship, comfortable and familiar, like a warm blanket.
Marie grinned at him, also feeling at ease and relaxed as they settled back into friendship mode. She had been so worried that she was going to lose a friend tonight and instead was feeling as if she’d gotten one back. She’d been so tense during the week leading up to this and now that it was over she wondered what she had been so worried about. “What say we go out for a bite then? Two old friends, out on the town.”
Doug grinned. "Sounds good. You're buying."
Marie stood outside the door to Doug’s suite, adjusting and readjusting her gloves. She had been trying to figure out a different, easier, happier way to do what she knew needed to be done, but unfortunately she couldn’t come up with a better alternative. She knew her anxiety was probably radiating off of her in waves, but she couldn’t do anything to stop it. Repeating “Don’t say we need to talk” over and over in her mind, she knocked on the door.
That might have worked with someone who didn't have Doug's mutant knack for reading body language. When he opened the door and took in Marie's stance, he chuckled dryly. "I take it we need to talk?" he asked, but without any real rancor in his voice, merely a quiet sort of acceptance. "Come on in, Em," he said gently.
The mix of guilt and relief on her face as Marie entered the suite would have been easy to read even by someone without Doug's enhanced abilities. "That obvious, huh?" she said with a sigh.
Doug shrugged diffidently. "Probably only to me," he admitted. "I've got a mutant power that helps me, plus I've known you for a while." It was fairly obvious that he'd guessed what it was that Marie wanted to talk about, but he didn't seem at all upset about it. "So, do you want to say it, or should I?" he asked.
Marie paused for a moment. She hadn’t been expecting Doug to react this way and all her careful phrasing flew out of her mind. She had expected anger or sadness, not calm acceptance. “This isn’t working is it?” she blurted out, then blushed and cast her eyes down.
Doug's face twinged with sadness. "No, it's not," he admitted. "I'm not really sure why, but I think we're better off as friends. There's just no..." He wiggled his fingers. "...no spark, I guess. It's not that I don't like you, or care about you, or anything like that, just..." He trailed off, having difficulty articulating his thoughts.
"Ah know exactly what you mean. You're a real sweet guy and you've been great to me, but it's just...well, like you said, we're better off as friends," she said, looking up to make eye contact. "An' Ah do care about you, which is why Ah was worried...Ah didn't want you to think this meant Ah didn't." She smiled a little wryly at him. "Guess you've been feeling the same way and Ah just didn't realize it."
Doug nodded, a similarly wry smile on his face. "I wasn't sure whether I should say anything about it," he said thoughtfully. "I mean, I was so gung-ho about dating, and then I realized we were better off as friends...it just seemed like kinda not the most productive thing to say, you know?"
A small laugh escaped Marie's throat. "An' here Ah was worried about hurtin' you since you were so gung-ho about it." Marie relaxed in her seat, surprised at how easily the words were coming to her now. "Better to try and find out than always wonder though, y' know?"
Doug nodded and pursed his lips. "I think that was a lot of it, yeah. You were so convinced that you couldn't be with anyone, and all I wanted was the chance to try and prove you wrong, you know?" He reached out and squeezed her hand gently, but in a more friendly than romantic fashion.
She squeezed his hand back. “It has been nice. You’ve been wonderful…and, well, you have shown me that maybe things aren’t as hopeless as Ah had decided.” She grinned at him. “Now don’t expect me to go on a mad dating spree or nothing, but…well, y’ never know Ah guess. Shouldn’t keep that part of myself closed all the time Ah suppose.”
"You absolutely shouldn't," Doug replied firmly. If there was one thing he wanted as a result of their dating, it was to see Marie hopefully more certain of herself, willing to think of herself as someone to be dated and cared about. He chuckled. "Wow. That was a lot better than my last breakup," he quipped wryly.
Marie chuckled along with him. "Mine too. Too bad they can't all be this way, huh?" She had definitely expected it to be harder and had even shoved a pack of tissues into her pocket just in case.
Doug leaned back, and smiled. "Amen to that." This was nice. Friendship, comfortable and familiar, like a warm blanket.
Marie grinned at him, also feeling at ease and relaxed as they settled back into friendship mode. She had been so worried that she was going to lose a friend tonight and instead was feeling as if she’d gotten one back. She’d been so tense during the week leading up to this and now that it was over she wondered what she had been so worried about. “What say we go out for a bite then? Two old friends, out on the town.”
Doug grinned. "Sounds good. You're buying."
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Date: 2006-08-25 10:55 pm (UTC)