VII. Clearing the Air

[madaboutit]

Obedience Training
Jinx Interruption
Touch For Touch Deal

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He didn't bring breakfast. Or lunch. The only person to visit is the same silent attendant who has served her prior; quick in and out, leaving her trays by the door.

It's evening before his boots strike the hall's stone, and when he arrives at the door, he isn't carrying a tray of his own. He has a narrow-necked pitcher in one hand and two glasses in the other; their stems laced between his fingers.

When Sweeney enters, he's quiet, but not morose. He casts her a small smile as he crosses to the vanity, where he sets down what he's carrying. Then he turns to her more fully.

"Are ya feelin' any better?"

Hopefully, she is; she'd had a fair bit of time to come down and reflect on what had happened, and so had he. Some things have been made plain to him, so Sweeney' aware now that he needs to alter his course. With any luck, this might be the first step in a better direction.

Comments

[whatsinfrontofyou]

At least it's an honest answer. And that much hasn't changed.

Gods, apparently she is a problem Sweeney doesn't know how to crack. But they are really in this together.

She'll accept that.

"You talked to Jinx?"

[madaboutit]

"I did."

Another thing he's not looking to freely expound on without more specific questions.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

All right. So he'll answer questions, but... he won't be volunteering information.

That does sound like a faerie.

"Are all of your answers going to be this brief?"

[madaboutit]

"It depends on the question." There's no defensiveness; it's simply the truth.

"We talked fer a long time. I'm not gonna dictate it ta you, but if you have specific questions, I'll try ta answer them."

[whatsinfrontofyou]

"Did you beat him to a pulp?" Vex is half joking with the question, but only half.

[madaboutit]

"No." Whether it was a joke or not, that's the honest answer.

"We mostly talked terms an' philosophies. Our common ground an' where we diverge." Sweeney swallows. "He made it clear that he doesn't plan to withhold information, if you press fer it." He shrugs a shoulder. Quiet hangs between them as he looks down to his glass.

"I rather ya hear it from me."

Look! Him offering information preemptively. He's trying.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

It is honest, and it does give her an idea where to go next. She's not sure it will really result in a satisfying answer, but at least it's a direction.

Maybe his answer will give her another idea.

"What's something you've been withholding from me? Intentionally. One thing you haven't wanted to tell me."

[madaboutit]

He considers the wide swath of options.

"That, by the time we're done, you'll be expected ta be obedient on command." Given her previous statement, Sweeney makes a quick addendum.

"Not a doll, but a servant." Wetting his lips, he points out what he thinks is obvious.

"We all serve at the command of the King."

[whatsinfrontofyou]

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She can guess, but only he can confirm her suspicions.

[madaboutit]

Sweeney mulls her question. He isn't certain it was a completely conscious decision, so much as a natural adaptation.

"'cause I thought it'd be too much fer you ta accept in one go."

Of course, now, it's likely that any trust he'd fought to build is being washed away.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

Vex takes another drink of wine, her eyes closing briefly. They won't know now. He might be right?

"Is there something you'd like me to tell you?"

[madaboutit]

His lips part, then shut. Sweeney's lashes flutter as his gaze lowers askew. He knows what he wants to ask; he just isn't sure if he should. But if they're going to do this blunt honesty thing, he supposes it should go both ways. Sweeney swallows and makes his query, keeping his voice low.

"Why did ya ask him if he still wanted ta taste you?"

[whatsinfrontofyou]

"What?"

Vex asks, genuinely surprised at first by the question. She didn't realize at the time her mistake. She doesn't realize it for another half second or so, when his question finally sinks in, and the memory comes back—when she realizes why he's asking.

She opens her mouth again, but silently, unsure how to respond.

He'll know if she lies.

And so will she, carrying the weight of it forward. Of course, telling to truth means revealing the secret. Maybe this was part of Jinx's plan all along, why he said he'd be her dirty little secret, then he revealed himself.

She tries again.

"Because he brought it up before."

[madaboutit]

Okay. At least, he hadn't misheard. He hadn't misunderstood. Sweeney wets his lip slowly, walking a delicate line.

"When?"

Because he's pretty sure he would have remembered that shit.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

There's no way not to answer. Meaning Jinx has managed to shame her again.

"Last night," she admits, her head falling. "He visited in the middle of the night, and tried to tempt me. To... I don't know. I don't understand what he wants."

[madaboutit]

Apparently, to fucking taste you.

Sweeney's swallows, trying to force down the pain that lumps in his throat. If Jinx hadn't come--if he hadn't expressed his want--would she have told him? It doesn't matter now. He's not going to accuse her of hiding it; he rather give her the benefit of a doubt that Jinx had just interrupted them before she'd gotten to that part.

He tries not to think about how much time they'd spent together in the day before that. How he'd tried to bring her something Safe and nonsexual to distract her from those burdens, and she'd already had seeds planted by Jinx about how much he wanted to bury his tongue in her sex.

Is that why she asked him to touch her? The tips of his ears go pink. Sweeney doesn't look up to her, his gaze finding her knee, instead.

"Did he touch you?"

At this point, he just wants a better understanding of what he's missed. Jinx sure as fuck had omitted it in their conversation. Sweeney makes a point not to mention that the only way Jinx would have been able to touch her would be if she'd let him.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

"No." She answers that firmly. "We talked. That's all. He tried to strike a deal with me, to bargain in return for a taste of me, but I turned down his offers. In the end, all we did was talk."

She rolls her lip between her teeth briefly, unsure whether or not to add the next part, but after a short deliberation, she does.

"I know I shouldn't have. It's been weeks since I spoke to anyone outside of you, and... I suppose I was lonely. I didn't realize he'd... do that."

[madaboutit]

It's hard to have it laid out so plainly; how in all his efforts to bring her comfort, he's left her with overwhelming loneliness. Enough that she'd entertained the temptation of someone he'd told her was dangerous. He'd even answered all of her questions about why.

"Do what?" Sweeney whispers, unsure how to address the rest just yet. Maybe if he knows more, it will put things in perspective.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

"That he'd try to undermine you."

At least, that's how it had seemed from Vex's perspective.

"That he'd... not try to poach off of you, exactly, but... try to stake some kind of a claim."

[madaboutit]

Really? Sweeney thought he'd been pretty fucking plain about that part, too. About their rivalry, about how Jinx had his card in the deck. About the reason he had to keep her lack of virginity private.

Because he wanted her.

And now he has her. Like Vex said; not poached, but with a claim staked. Sweeney doesn't want to dwell on that. There are other things to address, so he can be better informed when that cunt is back in this room.

"What were his terms?" His gaze finally flits up to her face, whether or not she looks at him.

"What did he offer, ta have a taste of you?"

Hopefully, it was something more valuable than his company.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

"He called it a dreamstone," Vex says. Now that it's aired, she doesn't see any reason to hedge about what happened. Keeping more secrets won't help either of them. Keeping this one hadn't.

"He said it would let me feel my fantasies."

[madaboutit]

OH.

Sweeney blinks, turning his attention to the wall in front of him as he unpacks it. With a quick bow of his head, he swallows and looks back up at her.

"Why didn't ya take it?"

There's no accusation in it. Hell, he would understand if she did, especially for such a relatively small price. Especially if she's been so lonely. It would have been a comfort.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

"Because I don't trust him," Vex says, because that much at least she did remember, and she took it to heart. "I couldn't help but feel like there was a fish hook in that offer. Even if only that I might enjoy it too much. And it seemed...

"I don't know, like a betrayal. It was one thing to talk to him. It's another to let him hide strange rocks inside of me."

[madaboutit]

He suspects that 'letting him' wasn't the exact method proposed, but that's not the point. She'd worried that her enjoying herself would be a betrayal. Like he'd deny her. Sweeney isn't sure how he feels about it, but really, that's not the important part. There's only forward, and he's ready to start addressing issues so they can get moving in a better direction.

"If I can get you one, would ya want it?" There's an inherent offer; it's not just some vague hypothetical. Sweeney realizes he needs to reword it.

"Would you wear it, of yer own volition?" He isn't interested in any sort of 'well, if you want me to' evasion. The knowledge that he's been failing her has given him new motivation to up his game, but he needs her to meet him in the middle.

[whatsinfrontofyou]

"The idea is intriguing," Vex admits. She's not going to lie about that part. "If I could trust it—if it came from you—I'd be interested in trying it."

As interesting as Jinx is, and as much as he embodies temptation, Vex does not trust him like she trusts Sweeney.