by Flame » 01/24/2011 1:42 AM
Griffin could sense the discomfort in Molly’s deportment as she fidgeted in her seat across from him. He couldn’t help but wonder what it was that was making her feel so unsettled; was it him? Had she really just invited him over to be polite, but in reality, didn’t want him here at all? Did he make her feel uncomfortable around him somehow? He fretted slightly at the possibilities; he sincerely hoped that they weren’t true. Without the slightest doubt in the world, he was absolutely delighted to see Molly again after such a long period of separation, and he secretly wished that she felt the same way about seeing him. He wasn’t exactly sure why it was so important that she feel glad to see him again, but he instinctively knew that inside, he would be crushed if she wanted nothing to do with him anymore.
Perhaps it was simply because they had been so close for so long; he felt as if something, some vestige of that close-knit relationship that they had once shared had to have remained somewhere, deep within he memories, and he only dared to hope that perhaps it could be reawakened, even after all this time, just by seeing him again. That was certainly how it had happened for him. As soon as he had recognized her in the street, everything had come flooding back to him, and he’d be struck by a wave of nostalgia for the days when everything had been so simple, when he had been even closer to her than he had been to his siblings. He’d thought that she’d felt the same way but…maybe he had been wrong after all. Maybe she wanted to move on with her own life and shed him along with her past. The thought stung him deep down, but he brushed it aside. After all, she was entitled to her own life, even if it meant one without him in it.
He’d fallen silent for a moment, his gaze distant as he dwelt upon the disheartening possibilities although he tried to hide his inner fears from the woman sitting across from him. Her voice stirred him back to their conversation and out of his musings, and he glanced up at her in mild surprise. He vaguely realized that he’d never noticed just how blue her eyes were, how the gentle contours and angles of her face that gave her a fierce, determined, and proud edge, yet hid a demeanor that was kind, gentle, and understanding, or how the distant, misty look in her clear, sapphire gaze marked her as the dreamer she was and had always been since childhood. For just a brief moment, he seemed lost in her eyes, in his memories, and in something else he couldn’t quite place a finger on. However, she shook her head lightly and spoke, breaking the moment, and he shook himself, forcing his mind to return to what she was saying.
He chuckled lightly, although he sounded somewhat wistful as he spoke. “Perhaps you give my courtship skills a little more credit than they deserve,” he laughed lightly, his voice joking. “I don’t recall ever being a big hit with the ladies as a kid. I think you were the only girl not to label me as a ‘geek’ and shun me for being who I was.” His smile was affectionate as he regarded her, remembering the little girl who had always been there at his side to fight with him and for him, even more so than his brother had. “Well, let me be the one to tell you that those men clearly don’t have half a brain between them if they don’t see you for the amazing person that you are. You deserve so much better than any of them, I’ll have you know. Don’t short-change yourself and settle for less than you’re worth.” There was a quiet vehemence in his voice as he spoke, his words clearly coming straight from the heart, although more from instinct than anything else. He believed everything he said; that there were very few men out there who could possibly deserve a woman as remarkable as ‘his Molly’.
At her comment about his possible visit to the hangar that she worked at, he chuckled. “Well, if that’s what it takes to keep them from treating you like osik, then you can be assured that I’ll be down there within the hour to give them the hiding that they deserve. I wouldn’t be against dropping in every so often to make sure that they’re keeping to their word…and to visit you, of course.” His smile was slightly shy this time, a little of the old, bashful Griff she had known as a child poking through once again. Although he had grown out of his timidity for the most part – and he certainly had the stature, armor, and attitude to go with it – the same little boy was still buried under his appearance of ‘intimidating, invincible bounty hunter’. But Molly had been the first and only one to disarm him so, and he didn’t seem to mind it one bit.
He shrugged lightly. “Well, this is the only profession I know that I’m any good at, and certainly the only one that I’ve received any proper training in. It earns me enough to live in relative comfort, if you consider living as a nomad anything near ‘comfort’, and I can make a living out of it. I suppose I just don’t have the means, or maybe I just lack the willpower, to actually break away from what my dad always wanted me to do and try pursuing something different.” He raised a curious eyebrow at her. “However, I’m quite interested to know what suggestions you might possibly have on that front, in any case. You’re probably much more well-informed on that than I.” At her insistence that he stay with her, at least for a little while, he seemed hesitant for a moment, as if considering her offer again. It seemed that if nothing else, she did welcome his company after all, and that fact alone lifted his spirits. “Well, alright,” he said after a moment’s pause. “I’ll take you up on that offer if you’ll allow me to take you out to eat every day that I’m here, or at least cook for you, and let me buy you enough groceries to last you through this month to make up for the trouble that I’ve caused you.” There was a hint of mischief in his grin as he glanced over at her, although the sincerity was clear in his voice. “It might be nice to stay outside of my ship’s quarters for a little while, and I do have a few spare outfits, although I usually only use them as covers while I’m on the job. For the most part though, I’ll stay in my armor. After all, it’s pretty much a part of me, as it is.”
[Bahaha, yeah...I concur. x3 So...I think that experiment was quite thoroughly shot to haran. XD]