Trying to do right (June)

[Talon Harsey]

This time, June's apology whenever she said it probably wasn't going to calm him down. The anger was starting to boil in him.

"We have to lie to get through the day huh," he asked his voice turning a little more cold than it had been. He tried to be nice, he really did but now it was as if June wanted to pick a fight. If she wanted a fight, she was going to get one. "Is that what you keep telling yourself? Is that what you tell your friends? That we're not okay? That you think getting married is supposed to solve everything?" The questions were rolling off his tongue right after the other. If he found out that she said anything to her friends about him, he would be pretty angry about that too.

Talon couldn't bring himself to return the words of 'I love you too'. He still wasn't sure what that word even meant. There were times when he could just throw it around but today was not one of those days.

"Are you not happy here? Do I not make you happy enough?"

[June Bankman]

"Yes! We do! How do you not see that?"

June wasn't able to get anything else in before he started throwing other questions at her, and she leaned back, as if putting more distance between them. Maybe the distance was their problem, though.

"No, Talon, stop. Stop it. You know I don't tell anyone anything about us." Even Virginia- she'd gone to Virginia's the night before to talk about Talon and how she was feeling, and she stopped herself. Stopped herself from admitting that she wasn't happy and that she wanted more.

"Getting married won't solve everything, but it would make me happy."

She sighed, then getting interogated about how happy she was, and she blurted out, "No! I'm not-" she almost choked on her words and shook her head. "No, Talon. I'm not saying that I'm not happy. You make me happy, this makes me happy. I just... want more from this."

[Talon Harsey]

Talon was just not ready to get married, it was that simple. He was going to get out of marriage however he could.

"Oh, so we'll still be arguing while we're married, but you'll be happier about it?" Yes, it was probably wrong of him to ask that question that way, but he didn't care.

"No you're not what? You're not really happy?" Of course he heard her say that. He didn't care if she started crying while they were arguing. "And if you are happy, then why do you want to be married? If you want more than this, I'm not ready for it." Sure, they'd been together for a while but nothing was going to cause him to settle down.

Talon crossed his arms over his chest. "We don't need to be married for you to be happy, that is if you really are happy."

[June Bankman]

"Talon, that's not what I'm saying," June tried to tell him, trying to keep her voice calm. So far, she hadn't started crying. She didn't intend to, but she didn't see this fight just sizzling out, either. Usually, she dropped the fights and she tried to make up with him right away. Tonight, she just couldn't.

"Look, if you don't want to get married, that's fine. But then that means that there's something about me that you're not happy with, and I really think we need to address that. The fact that I want to get married to you should tell you how much I love you, that I want to spend the rest of my life with you and grow old with you. Are you saying that you don't want the same from me? Merlin, if that's the case, you had better tell me now."

[Talon Harsey]

"We don't have to get married just to show love," he said with a stern look on his face. At this point, Talon did not really care how mad June became. "And there's nothing wrong with you." He left out the fact that he didn't like she had a lot of guy friends but he knew she already knew that and he felt he didn't have to mention it, unless she made him.

"And we don't have to be married to live with each other. I just don't want to get married right now." His voice was still cold. Talon was going to deny that marriage. He would keep June around, but marriage and any hopes of children would be completely out of the window.

[June Bankman]

"You are impossible," June told him, standing up from the table because she couldn't just sit here and act like nothing was bothering her. She had nervous energy and she needed to walk it off or something.

"I've been living with you for almost four years now! Of course I know we don't need to be married to live together. And if there's nothing wrong with me, then... then what is it? Why don't you want to get married? Why are you so content to stay like this?"

[Talon Harsey]

Talon's arms were now by his side. "Because, I happen to like it this way better," he said. "And I don't have to explain myself to you!" His voice became louder and a little more menacing sounding. He was using every bit of strength he had not to lift his arm and swing it at June.

He should have figured that she would appear to be ungrateful for living with him. He had given her anything and everything she wanted, except marriage. What was wrong with that? He didn't understand why she was questioning him like this. Where was she getting these ideas from? Never before had she questioned him about this before. Was she getting these ideas from her friend, Virginia? If so, he could end that real quick.

[June Bankman]

"Yes, you do!" June shot back, now heated to the point that she wasn't really thinking about what she was saying before it came out. "Because we're supposed to be in this together! I don't ever know what you're thinking anymore, and I don't know what to do with that. You can't just throw money around and buy me pretty things and expect that to mean love. I appreciate it, I do, but I don't need any of it. Talon, I just want you. Why won't you let me in?"

Then, in typical female fashion, she stopped and stood up straighter, one hand going to her hip. "Is there someone else?"

[Talon Harsey]

"No I don't," he nearly yelled in response. "I don't want to get married right now and that's it! And if you don't want anything else then fine, there won't be anything else!" Talon was getting to the point where he wanted to physically hit something.

Her last question caused his eyes to narrow. June really thought that he was with someone else? Even if he ever did sleep else, there was no way that June was going to know and he would still be angry at the fact that she would bring something like that up. Goodness really knew what she really did with her 'guy' friends, although that wasn't something he was really going to bring up... for the moment anyway.

"Why would you ask such a question?! Do you really think that I would be with someone else? Damn June! You don't hear me asking if you go around sleeping with your so called guy friends, do you? I mean, why do you really want to get married? Are you just wanting to do that so I don't think you're off doing goodness knows what with those men?"

[June Bankman]

"You're not listening to me!" He was just angry at her and not really listening to anything she said. It was frustrating as all get out, and she didn't know how to make herself clear to him. He obviously didn't want to hear it.

"Stop it!" She shouted as he returned the accusations her way. "I don't do anything with my friends and you KNOW IT. It's a bloody miracle I even still have friends after the way you treat any of them! And why don't I know any of your friends? It's like you're trying to keep me in this little box, seperate from the rest of your life. Why are you alienating me? I want to be a part of your life, and important one, and you're not letting me!"

[Talon Harsey]

How dare she talk to him that way? Talon was about to start yelling louder, not caring who could hear them. "I highly doubt that you would like any of them," he said with a sneer. "Besides, they're usually fairly busy to do anything, so don't you start with me on that." His words were worse than venom itself.

"You are part of my life, and don't you yell at me." He was yelling now. There was no way he was going to stand to be yelled at. "Everything is not going to be how you want it June. No matter what." Talon's eyes were narrowed and he had a feeling that if June yelled at him again, he was going to end up hitting her. It wouldn't be under his control if he did. She made him so angry and it wasn't his fault if he did something without thinking about it.

[June Bankman]

June threw her hands up in the air. "If they're always so busy, why are you never busy with them?!"

She knew instantly that she should not have asked this question, but she was just as frustrated by this argument as he was angry at her.

"If I can't yell, then you can't yell at me either!" She, of course, yelled back at him. Thank Merlin he didn't live in an apartment building, or someone would have been knocking on their door by now. "Damn it, Talon, it's like you don't even care about me! I'm around because it's convenient for you! I can't do this, Talon! It's supposed to be how we want things. We shouldn't fight like this all the time. You have to see it, something is wrong here!"

[Talon Harsey]

"I go out with them while you're at work! You know I just don't sit around the house and do absolutely nothing!" There were no words to describe his anger. June knew exactly how to push his buttons and this time she was pushing just a little too hard. "And don't question about what I do with my friends!" He was yelling and not holding back.

Her last words did him in. Before he could register what he was doing, his hand was in the air and his hand came in contact with her cheek. "If you haven't noticed it's you who usually starts the arguments." Okay, maybe he shouldn't have said that but he wasn't holding back. "And if you don't like it here with me then why don't you just leave!?" This was one reason why he didn't live in an apartment. His anger was too much to live in a place with thin walls.

[June Bankman]

And that was it.

The argument was over. At least for a moment. June's head snapped to the side. For a moment seemingly suspended in time, she didn't move.

Talon had never hit her before. They'd never had an argument this bad before, either. And with her head to the side, she could see all the flowers and the candles, and she could feel the weight of the jewelry like chains on her body. This wasn't how her birthday was supposed to turn out. No day should have turned out like this, no matter what.

Swallowing, she turned her head back to Talon. "Don't ever touch me like that again," she said, her voice just above a whisper. She held his eyes for a moment before brushing past him, moving further into the apartment. She wanted to scream at him and storm out, but really, where could she go? So she started for the bathroom where she could run a shower and cry and he wouldn't have to know about her tears.

[Talon Harsey]

Talon didn't say a word. He knew what he did, but he didn't care. June shouldn't have pushed him past his limit. It was her fault that she was hit. The look he gave her almost dared her to leave. At that point in time, he wouldn't care if she did leave. Even if she did, Talon knew that she would come crawling back to him. June didn't have anywhere else to go. That was just the way it was. He knew June too well because he knew that she wouldn't go stay with anyone else, not even those 'friends' of hers. Talon would soon go after her and bring her back some way or another

He allowed her to pass by him, him still steaming in anger. It would probably be best if he went out for a walk. So what if he didn't come back? Talon headed for the front door and he knew exactly where he wanted to go. A few drinks would work wonders and he would be right back here.

[June Bankman]

June was listening, not running the water just yet so that she could hear what he was going to do. She hoped, of course, that he would come to her, but she knew better than to expect it.

When she heard the front door open and close, she went back to the kitchen and poured herself some champagne that was left out-for her birthday at that- and retreated back to the bathroom.

Running a hot bath, she stripped and climbed in... and then she just cried. She let it all come out, knowing he wasn't around to hear her, so his apathy couldn't hurt her.