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Post by Riley Neves on Jan 31, 2009 19:06:18 GMT -5
"Almost," Riley said, then smiled a little impishly, the look reflecting in her eyes. "But not quite."
She lstened to his explaination and nodded. "Well, I'm not a great cook or anything, and I doubt I would even come close to your mother, but I'm not terrible. It's edible, at least."
Her smile faded and she gave him an honest, friendly, but shy look. "Tell me more about your family?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jan 31, 2009 23:06:08 GMT -5
Roland smiled at her comment. If it could always be like this, just teasing and joking, without all the tension, he actually wouldn't mind working with her. It felt nice. And she really did have a nice smile. He wished he didn't notice.
"Well, I imagine you'll meet them all at Christmas," he said. "You met my parents... I guess you've probably seen my younger brother Cyrus around as well. We don't exactly get along all that well... Don't look so shocked. He's kind of on the outs with the family, because he and his girlfriend, Lina, have a baby together, but they're not married. He is, quite frankly, an idiot. If Mara were my daughter..."
He stopped and shook his head. "You... probably don't want to hear about all that..."
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Post by Riley Neves on Feb 1, 2009 4:00:44 GMT -5
"No, please go on," Riley said. It was nice just to hear him talk, and about something he very obviously cared about. When he talked about his brother, there was a passionate flair in his eyes, and Riley responded to that.
"What would you do if Mara was your daughter?" She asked, more interested in how he played in this situation and Lina and his brother Cyrus. Though she couldn't imagine why the girl was sticking around. The baby, perhaps. Cyrus was young, and having a baby that young... it changes things.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 1, 2009 11:16:04 GMT -5
He gave her a sidelong glance while he chewed a mouthful of gnocchi. Why was she doing this? Did she really care about any of this? He wasn't sure what to make of her sudden interest in his family life. But anyone who knew him, even a little, would soon be able to see just how incredibly passionate he was about his family. He sort of wanted her to see that about him, to show her that he wasn't such a bad guy.
"If Mara were my daughter, there isn't a thing in this world I wouldn't do for her," he said fervently. "And nothing would ever keep me away from her. She's just... the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. She needs a father, but Cyrus won't marry Lina, because my parents don't approve. He wants his whole family at the wedding and he thinks they won't come, so he doesn't want to do it. It's stupid... He's driving Lina away. She left him... moved in with her brother. And I know he's miserable and he loves them and misses them... but he's afraid to go after them. And I just know that if she were mine, I wouldn't let anything stop me from coming for her. I never would have let them leave."
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Post by Riley Neves on Feb 1, 2009 19:09:11 GMT -5
Riley licked her lips, a habit when she was thinking about something, and watched while he spoke about that little girl. She wondered briefly if he wanted children someday, but kept the question quiet.
"So they were living together?" Riley asked, unable to help the confused tone in her voice. Why would his parents let them live together but not marry? Especially if there was a child involved.
She liked the passion in Roland's voice. "So... we're up to three siblings that I've heard you talk about. Is that all of them?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 1, 2009 21:06:43 GMT -5
Roland nodded. "Yeah, they were. Part of the reason Mum didn't approve. Her parents kicked her out, so Cyrus let her move in with him. He should have married her right off... I'll never understand why he didn't. They've been living together for almost a year now... since a few months before Mara was born."
He sighed sadly. "I like Lina, I always have. I think of her almost as another sister. And I wish Cyrus would just make up his mind, one way or another. I've talked to him about it a dozen times... He just keeps hoping things will work themselves out, but he doesn't do anything to try and make it happen."
He paused to take a sip of wine, then chuckled lightly. "You know, this is one of the reasons I don't eat very much. Everyone always tries to get me talking about something, and I get so fired up that I forget to eat what's in front of me. Anyway... It's just me, Cyrus, Jamie and Amandine. Jamie's a lot like me... quiet and serious. And Ama... well, she's our little ray of sunshine."
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Post by Riley Neves on Feb 1, 2009 22:50:24 GMT -5
"Sorry," Riley said immidiately, her eyes falling to her plate and she took a bite of the dinner she had made. She liked Roland talking about something he cared about, rather than being angry at her, or trying to rile her up.
She wasn't sure if he had been making a light comment or if he was irritated with the questioning, and Riley felt that uncomfortable awkwardness that she wasn't used to all creeping in again.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 1, 2009 23:13:04 GMT -5
Impulsively, he reached out and touched her hand for a quick second. "Don't be sorry," he said softly. "I don't mind talking about them. It actually... It impresses me that you're even bothering to ask. After the way I've treated you... The fact that you're doing this at all is pretty amazing. And I kind of like being able to prove to you that I'm not a total... what was the word you used? Barbarian?"
He flashed his crooked grin at her, letting know he was teasing her just a little. "But seriously... you're going to meet my family on Christmas. And I know absolutely nothing about yours. And after you've gone out of your way for me tonight, it seems only fair you tell me a little bit about yours."
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Post by Riley Neves on Feb 1, 2009 23:37:16 GMT -5
Riley almost pulled her hand back. The gentle gesture from him felt so alien that she wasn't sure how to react to the jolt it send through her, so she focused on his words.
Riley blushed just slightly, wincing. "Oh, Merlin. Did I call you a barbarian?" She wasn't exactly a saint to him, she knew, but that was the purpose of tonight, right? To get to know each other a little better and least understand where the other was coming from.
She finally just shrugged. "There's really not much to tell about my family," she said. "I'm not as close to them as you are with your family. I haven't even seen any of them in a very long time." If he pushed, she would tell her story, but she needed to make sure she wouldn't bore him.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 2, 2009 0:11:54 GMT -5
"Yeah, you did," he said, still grinning. "But I don't hold it against you. You've said worse. And I've deserved most of it."
He could tell that she was still feeling uncomfortable, and he was tempted to start teasing her again. Maybe even start a fight. Anything to make things feel more natural between them. He didn't like the awkwardness. It didn't feel normal for her.
But then she started talking about her family and how she wasn't close to them. He felt an unexpected pang of sympathy for her. For someone like Roland, to whom family was everything, he couldn't quite imagine how it would feel for her. He sometimes joked about how his family was a curse to him, but he knew differently. His family had probably saved him. He could be dark, and sometimes anger got the best of him. If he didn't have family to ground him, he could have let the anger take control. But Riley was different. She grounded herself. She held herself together, and she did it on her own. He kind of admired that. Still, it made him feel a little sorry for her.
"Why aren't you close to them? Besides the location angle, that is?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Feb 2, 2009 0:33:26 GMT -5
She certainly had said worse, and she remembered yelling at him when Nathalia left. "You did deserve it, quite honestly. But I'm sure I've deserved some pretty harsh words that you've held back."
How did she go about explaining her family? It was a tangled mess to someone like Roland, who held his family close and supported them, was supported by them. "That's a long story. I was... something of a handful when I was little, before Hogwarts. My parents argued about how to get to me to calm down or fall into a routine, at least. The truth is, I just got bored with things and I hated living to someone's expectations. They expected me to do well in school, I did poorly. The second I was bored with that, or they started expecting me to do badly, I started doing really well. I think it finally caused my parents to seperate. My dad left and no one's heard from him since. My mom remarried, I didn't like the guy, and then I ended up in London."
She went into more detail than she had meant to, and her eyes met Roland's again. For the second time, she shrugged. "So that's my story."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 2, 2009 0:56:22 GMT -5
He couldn't take his eyes off of her as she talked. So much information... so many things that seemed to fall in place for him. He was seeing a whole new side of Riley, and he wished he didn't like it quite so much.
"I can't quite imagine you being difficult," he said. "I mean... you annoy the crap out of me, but I kind of assumed that was mostly my own fault." He gave her a teasing smile. "You always do things by the book, you know? And I'm the loose cannon. It seems hard to believe that you were so hard to control. And for the record... you shouldn't blame yourself for the fact that your parents split up. I'm sure that there were other factors that you didn't understand at the time. If the foundation was that weak to start with, it really wasn't going to last, anyway."
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Post by Riley Neves on Feb 2, 2009 1:07:07 GMT -5
Riley realized that he didn't really know her at all. They were both so certain that they had the other person figured out, but he was wrong about her.
Which only left her to conclude that she was wrong about him.
"I work by the book, Roland. That's not my whole life. I do things by the book when I work because it saves lives. It needs to be done that way. Life, however, should never be lived by the book. You would probably never believe it, but my friends have called me a loose cannon. I never really grew out of being hard to handle." She laughed out loud, a thought occuring to her. "You see me at my best, Roland. That's a little disconcerting, seeing how much I annoy you."
She shrugged off the comment about not blaming herself. She knew that, but it didn't stop the blame. Not really.
"Anyway, I can almost see you pitying me. Don't. I'm happy."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 2, 2009 1:22:47 GMT -5
He was studying her with a new fascination. He was intrigued by what she said. He had thought he had her figured out... but there was a whole different side to her he really hadn't seen. Maybe he saw glimpses of it when she yelled at him.
"You haven't seen the best of me yet," he said softly. Again, she'd probably seen hints of it. Little moments where he wasn't the biggest arse on the planet in her eyes. But he could be better, and he knew it. Lina had seen it... but Riley hadn't.
"I don't pity you," he said, looking away from her and breaking the spell. "I actually kind of admire you. You pulled yourself up on your own, without your family to support you. I honestly don't know where I'd be if I didn't have my family. I don't lean on them, even though they wish I would. But being the protector... taking care of them and supporting them... it's my reason for being."
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Post by Riley Neves on Feb 2, 2009 1:30:31 GMT -5
"That doesn't make me feel any better, Roland. Your worst is roughly equivalent to my best." It was strange, the faces they put on for each other. He had already seen her best, but she, appearantly, had not seen his.
"I think you're lucky for that, for having your family to lean on and hold up. I never really had that option." She wasn't upset about it, it was just a fact. The only one in her messed up little family that seemed to be nice at all was her step brother, and she had never really given him a chance. Maybe she should. She should write to him.
"New topic?" She suggested, raising her eyebrows.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 2, 2009 1:43:50 GMT -5
"I guess we need to figure out how to balance each other out," he said, raising an eyebrow at her.
When she suggested a change of topic, he nodded his head. They were trying to clear the air, and he didn't want her to be talking about something she wasn't comfortable discussing. But there was a part of him that wanted to know more, that wanted to dig a little deeper into the part of her that she kept hidden. He considered himself to be secretive, but she was even more so. It made her a mystery that he wanted to solve.
"By all means," he replied. "Anything you want to talk about."
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Post by Riley Neves on Feb 2, 2009 1:49:18 GMT -5
"Oh, well. That was your cue to pick a topic," Riley said as if he should have known that, but there was a teasing look in her eye, and she hoped he noticed it before he got offended. Then she decided that he should choose the topic.
"Afterall, I did make you talk about your family. I suppose it's your turn, so I can do all the talking and you can eat. I try make sure people have the dinner I invite them over for."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 2, 2009 11:08:39 GMT -5
He wasn't especially good at making small talk. It was one thing when he was flirting, but talking to a co-worker was different. And as much as he wanted to dig a little deeper beneath the surface, he didn't want to make her more uncomfortable than she already was. Just a simple conversation about family, a topic which he could go on and on about for hours, was enough to make her uncomfortable.
He shrugged. "Um... OK. So, what do you like to do when you're not working?" he asked. Hopefully he could get her to talk about something she enjoyed, something she felt passionate about. And he could see a little touch of that fire in her eyes.
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Post by Riley Neves on Feb 2, 2009 15:19:10 GMT -5
Riley gave him a strange look, trying hard not to break into a smile. "What do you mean, when I'm not working?"
She smiled then and laughed a little. She worked a lot, but she did have a life outside of it. "Honestly, I just try and spend time with people. I guess, if I thought about it, I am close to my family... my family just happens to be my network of friends here." She made it sound better than it was. She had Geoffrey, and maybe something budding with Fabian. But outside of that, she was sort of alone. It was her on fault so she couldn't complain. "As far as hobbies go... I dance."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 2, 2009 15:59:30 GMT -5
He looked a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry... that came out wrong, I guess. I just meant... well, I only know you from work... and I know your job means a lot to you..."
He stopped talking by stuffing a forkful of gnocchi in his mouth. As he chewed, he listened to her talking. When she mentioned her friends, he felt an unfamiliar flare in the pit of his stomach. "Friends? Like Prewett?" he blurted out.
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