Drabble #35
Jul. 21st, 2008 11:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kageisukeTraine hadn’t cornered her, really. They had come out of one of the many meetings scheduled for the week. It had been just the two of them, and while that wasn’t unusual, the tenseness during their talks wasn’t something she had experienced in a long time. It concerned her, but before she could ask, he turned to face her. There were so many things that Renee could read in his face and it confused her. She hadn’t even opened her mouth when he leaned down and took her hands, thumbs running over her palms as he looked at them. When hazel eyes met brown, her mouth started to go dry.
“I’ve always thought,” he started, and his voice was soft so it was truly just between them even though no one else was in the room, “that what I felt was mutual. I’ve tried and I’ve waited. I thought that it would take time. I knew it would take time, but I was alright with that.”
He laced his right hand with her left and his fingers played with the ring he had given her what seemed like ages ago. It was a constant presence on her middle finger, so close and yet so far from his goals. He looked at it for a second before his attention went back to her face. “I never demanded an answer, but I always wanted to know.”
She could feel her breath catching as she stared. She felt horrified. Frightened. Sad. Reluctant. He must not have seen it, because he definitely would have reacted. He wouldn’t have kept plowing on if he had known, right? Or maybe this was his final purge…
“I want to know, Renee.” His grip on her tightened a little. “Are you going to force me to watch as Ballantyne steals you away?”
Her eyes got a little wider and her mouth opened, but nothing came out. Traine’s eyes closed and he took in a deep breath. He gave out a half laugh. “You can’t even answer me.”
The red-head lowered their hands between them and gave a pained quirk of his lips that might have been a reassuring smile in another life. She winced as he squeezed down on her fingers that much harder before going slack and letting their fingers slide apart. His eyes diverted and he turned, going to the door with no further comment. He pushed the button and squeezed himself through before the door had a chance to slide open fully and was gone down the hall.
He made it halfway to the reception area before his fist slammed into the wall with an echoing crack. Leaning next to the hole in the wall, he tightened his fist at his side, the pain pulsing up his arm. Ignoring it, Traine pushed from the wall and continued on, reverting to the blank face that they had all learned. Even if she hadn’t meant it, he had gotten his answer.
Renee stared after him as he fled, the door wide open and the last expression on his face burned in her vision. She jumped as she heard the bang and immediately knew what he’d done. She slowly stepped back until she could sink to the edge of her desk. Her hands clasped in front of her, the ring digging into her finger. Her eyes attached to it until she folded forward, eyes squeezed shut as she heard the door close. Forehead on her hands, she wished she could cry.
“I’ve always thought,” he started, and his voice was soft so it was truly just between them even though no one else was in the room, “that what I felt was mutual. I’ve tried and I’ve waited. I thought that it would take time. I knew it would take time, but I was alright with that.”
He laced his right hand with her left and his fingers played with the ring he had given her what seemed like ages ago. It was a constant presence on her middle finger, so close and yet so far from his goals. He looked at it for a second before his attention went back to her face. “I never demanded an answer, but I always wanted to know.”
She could feel her breath catching as she stared. She felt horrified. Frightened. Sad. Reluctant. He must not have seen it, because he definitely would have reacted. He wouldn’t have kept plowing on if he had known, right? Or maybe this was his final purge…
“I want to know, Renee.” His grip on her tightened a little. “Are you going to force me to watch as Ballantyne steals you away?”
Her eyes got a little wider and her mouth opened, but nothing came out. Traine’s eyes closed and he took in a deep breath. He gave out a half laugh. “You can’t even answer me.”
The red-head lowered their hands between them and gave a pained quirk of his lips that might have been a reassuring smile in another life. She winced as he squeezed down on her fingers that much harder before going slack and letting their fingers slide apart. His eyes diverted and he turned, going to the door with no further comment. He pushed the button and squeezed himself through before the door had a chance to slide open fully and was gone down the hall.
He made it halfway to the reception area before his fist slammed into the wall with an echoing crack. Leaning next to the hole in the wall, he tightened his fist at his side, the pain pulsing up his arm. Ignoring it, Traine pushed from the wall and continued on, reverting to the blank face that they had all learned. Even if she hadn’t meant it, he had gotten his answer.
Renee stared after him as he fled, the door wide open and the last expression on his face burned in her vision. She jumped as she heard the bang and immediately knew what he’d done. She slowly stepped back until she could sink to the edge of her desk. Her hands clasped in front of her, the ring digging into her finger. Her eyes attached to it until she folded forward, eyes squeezed shut as she heard the door close. Forehead on her hands, she wished she could cry.
