Gin, Tonic, Confession

[very_sharpe]

The apartment was clean and tidy, as it almost always was. The rat cage had been thoroughly clean, and he had a take out order waiting to be placed should either of them get terribly hungry.

That was assuming, of course, that Greta stayed very long after Thomas told her what he thought she should know. He had a kettle on for tea, and he was on his second gin and tonic by the time Greta finally arrived. He supposed he had been a bit unfairly cryptic in his invitation to her, and so when he answered the door and took Greta's coat, he took the time to clarify.

"I-- Do you remember the conversation we had, very briefly, at the Valentine Ball? About the gardens, and I mentioned my sister. Or perhaps I didn't, but I was thinking of her. But I promised you that we would talk. And I thought, since Saoirse was having a sleep over anyway, tonight... should perhaps be that night."

He was still far too sober for this, but he wanted to at least give Greta an explanation.

"I don't know how much you want to know about me, Greta. But I feel I owe it to you, if you-- so you can decide if you really... want this. With me."

Comments

[andhiswife]

Cryptic is one way of putting it. Greta had made a valiant attempt to not get the wrong idea, but it's impossible not to wonder (if not outright hope) that he's finally decided to stop dithering, as if in deference to some omnipresent chaperone, and take her to bed. Why else would he pick an evening when she didn't have to be home at any given time? Why else would he have invited her here? It might have been presumptuous to come to the cottage with such intentions, but leveling such an offer here gave her the option of demurring and making her escape with a minimal amount of awkwardness.

If he was going to make such a move, leaving her an open exit seems like the exact sort of thing Thomas would do. Courteous to a fault.

She'd been trying not to get worked up over the possibility, but it's still something of an unpleasant shock when Thomas reveals himself, looking rather anxious and smelling faintly of gin. Stepping into the apartment, which resembles her old one in layout but otherwise looks nothing like it, doesn't help to settle her nerves.

There are a few moments during his little speech where she almost interjects, wanting to level some sort of objection on principle. Is he sure this is a good time? Does he really want to tell her any of this? And -- this one rises with a flare of indignation -- isn't it a little too late for him to speak of her wanting him as if that decision wasn't made months ago?

Or is she meant to reconsider? Is that what he's getting at?

Greta shuts her mouth and looks at him, wanting to be sympathetic, but caught somewhere between 'perplexed' and 'wary,' instead. This definitely wasn't the sort of evening she was expecting. Which is probably what she gets for expecting what she did.

"I see you've been bracing yourself," she says dryly with a nod towards his glass. "Is it really as--as bad as all that?"