A challenge (for loadedparadox)

[chesstotem]

Ariadne didn't have much time - Arthur had gone down the street to pick up bread for her, and she had only a few minutes to set everything up.

PASIV out, set up, and then she scribbled a note: Time for your challenge. Ready? Find me, and earn your reward.

By the time Arthur returned from his errand, she would be under, waiting for him to join her in the dream she'd built.

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[chesstotem]

She shook her head, staring down at her feet, her shirt still clutched against her chest. "It's fine. You don't have to explain."

He probably thought she was easy. He probably thought she did this sort of thing with any guy who smiled at her. He probably liked her as a friend and didn't want to hurt her feelings.

She got up. "You don't have to stay anymore. If you don't want to. It's not important."

[loadedparadox.livejournal.com]

"I do if you're upset, and you obviously are." He sighed, pushing off the couch but not moving away. "I'm explaining because it's obvious you are insulted, or upset at least, and I never meant to upset you."

And yet he had.

[chesstotem]

Humiliated was mostly how she felt. She'd made certain assumptions about how this whole thing would play out, and she'd been dead wrong. And for all his words, she didn't understand why he didn't want her. Why didn't he want that intimacy with her? She wanted it to be special, too. She'd wanted tonight to be special.

She retreated into her room, closing the door because she couldn't look at him anymore just then. "I'd prefer it if you left," she said, leaning against the door with a sniffle.

[loadedparadox.livejournal.com]

"Ariadne." He said her name softly, a tenderness to his voice as he stood on the other side of the door, having followed her. Yet at that request he very nearly slumped before catching himself. It wasn't in Arthur to slump, expression going stony and adjusting his tie.

"I understand. If you need me..." He kept his voice careful, tones not clipped but measured to withhold anything more. It was a suit Arthur had worn his entire life, protecting himself and his emotions. "Call me."

Gathering his notebook and files, he dumped them into a duffle. For a moment he paused, deciding that, if need be, other things could be replaced, and shouldered the leather bag, heading for the door.

[chesstotem]

Ariadne burrowed under her covers, only allowing a few tears to slide down her face before she forced herself to get a grip. It was her fault, after all. She'd walked right into it, whatever game he was playing with her - but no, she couldn't really think he was doing any of this on purpose to hurt her. She'd been the one who said "it's just sex," knowing that wasn't true, for her, but thinking he would get scared off if he thought that having sex with her was some kind of - step. Some kind of promise, or trust.

Which was exactly what it was. And now she felt like she wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere and die, because he didn't want that with her. She'd been fooling herself.