A Dark Farewell (Threefold Element)
Title: A Dark Farewell
Author: beloved_voices
Fandom: Threefold Element
Claim Focus: General Cast - Karen, Lucas
Theme: Brown
Disclaimer: Threefold Element is my own creation, and is copyright me.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings and Notes: Threefold Element is heading into a fantasy genre, and is currently something of a drama genre.
Sitting in a bar and sipping a martini was supposed to be an ideal way to meet guys, but Karen had yet to find anyone who wasn't creepier than she wanted to deal with. She'd given up after a few days, though she continued to come to the bar. She never let herself get drunk, but it was a far cry from going home and thinking about him. Six weeks, and he still hadn't spoken to her beyond that one horrible conversation, and she was left alone with her pride.
As she swirled the olive around in her glass, she felt someone sit down beside her. No sense looking up. She didn't particularly want to meet whoever it was anymore. She just wanted...
"Him?" came a softly pleasant voice, pitched just above the low music playing through the bar. She looked up sharply, startled at the way he'd seemed to intrude on her thoughts. The man beside her smiled, even teeth gleaming whitely even in the dimness of the bar. He looked exotic, his skin a delicious café au lait and his black hair gleaming in an array of tiny little braids, each one ending with a gold bead. Slender fingers danced over to the basket of peanuts between them, plucking one from it and lifting it to his lips as dark chocolate eyes glittered at her. "Came to forget someone, didn't you?" he asked, voice smooth and charming, and she looked away, feeling suddenly like a blushing schoolgirl.
"It's none of your business," she tried, voice a touch stiff from embarrassment, and he didn't push as others had done. Instead, he ordered a drink for himself: a mudslide, so appropriate for a man who was all chocolate and gold. When it came, he simply sat beside her, sipping the rich sweetness in a silence that stretched out between them, leaving her more aware of him than of the entire rest of the bar. And when her drink was done, he ordered another for her before she could do so, voice still seducing her despite herself. She stayed quiet, almost having to grit her teeth at the end to bear it, for she so wanted to break that wall she'd put up between them and engage in conversation.
She was a little disappointed that, when she left, he didn't protest.
~*~*~
He was already there the next day, when she settled into what she was beginning to think of as her barstool. There was another mudslide in front of him, and before she could order, the bartender placed her martini in front of her. She blinked, then frowned a little, and the server simply shrugged and smiled, nodding at the man before moving to take another order. She took it, sipping warily.
"Ethan is destined for someone other than you," he said quietly, and this time, there was no charm in his voice. There was only a kind of solemn sympathy. She tensed, then bristled, and as she tried to gather her thoughts to demand just what he knew of her and how, he continued. "This has been coming for a long time, and I hope that you can let him go. It needs to be done, you see."
"No," she finally returned, voice scathing. "As a matter of fact, I don't see. What the hell are you talking about?" She managed not to shout the words, but the sharp crack of glass meeting the wood of the bar still drew attention. Others looked up, saw her fuming, and looked away again, assuming a lover's quarrel.
"Karen," he murmured, the gentle tone already snaking into her to soothe her fury. "He can never make you whole. Give him up now, and I can promise you that there will come along someone far better for you." Odd how easily she could read the sad look in his eyes. Someone better... but not me. She had no idea what had given her the impression, but it left her doubly angry. What was she that she could be treated so lightly, and tossed aside so easily?
"You know what?" she demanded of the man, rising so fast from her barstool that she stumbled slightly. His hand shot out to steady her and she jerked at the way the touch caught her breath in her throat. Was she that fickle, that a single touch could send her pulse racing so easily? Now as furious at herself as at the two men, she tugged free, fighting the tears of frustration lurking behind her eyes. "Fuck you. And fuck him, too."
With that said, she turned on her heel, stalking out of the bar.
Author: beloved_voices
Fandom: Threefold Element
Claim Focus: General Cast - Karen, Lucas
Theme: Brown
Disclaimer: Threefold Element is my own creation, and is copyright me.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings and Notes: Threefold Element is heading into a fantasy genre, and is currently something of a drama genre.
Sitting in a bar and sipping a martini was supposed to be an ideal way to meet guys, but Karen had yet to find anyone who wasn't creepier than she wanted to deal with. She'd given up after a few days, though she continued to come to the bar. She never let herself get drunk, but it was a far cry from going home and thinking about him. Six weeks, and he still hadn't spoken to her beyond that one horrible conversation, and she was left alone with her pride.
As she swirled the olive around in her glass, she felt someone sit down beside her. No sense looking up. She didn't particularly want to meet whoever it was anymore. She just wanted...
"Him?" came a softly pleasant voice, pitched just above the low music playing through the bar. She looked up sharply, startled at the way he'd seemed to intrude on her thoughts. The man beside her smiled, even teeth gleaming whitely even in the dimness of the bar. He looked exotic, his skin a delicious café au lait and his black hair gleaming in an array of tiny little braids, each one ending with a gold bead. Slender fingers danced over to the basket of peanuts between them, plucking one from it and lifting it to his lips as dark chocolate eyes glittered at her. "Came to forget someone, didn't you?" he asked, voice smooth and charming, and she looked away, feeling suddenly like a blushing schoolgirl.
"It's none of your business," she tried, voice a touch stiff from embarrassment, and he didn't push as others had done. Instead, he ordered a drink for himself: a mudslide, so appropriate for a man who was all chocolate and gold. When it came, he simply sat beside her, sipping the rich sweetness in a silence that stretched out between them, leaving her more aware of him than of the entire rest of the bar. And when her drink was done, he ordered another for her before she could do so, voice still seducing her despite herself. She stayed quiet, almost having to grit her teeth at the end to bear it, for she so wanted to break that wall she'd put up between them and engage in conversation.
She was a little disappointed that, when she left, he didn't protest.
~*~*~
He was already there the next day, when she settled into what she was beginning to think of as her barstool. There was another mudslide in front of him, and before she could order, the bartender placed her martini in front of her. She blinked, then frowned a little, and the server simply shrugged and smiled, nodding at the man before moving to take another order. She took it, sipping warily.
"Ethan is destined for someone other than you," he said quietly, and this time, there was no charm in his voice. There was only a kind of solemn sympathy. She tensed, then bristled, and as she tried to gather her thoughts to demand just what he knew of her and how, he continued. "This has been coming for a long time, and I hope that you can let him go. It needs to be done, you see."
"No," she finally returned, voice scathing. "As a matter of fact, I don't see. What the hell are you talking about?" She managed not to shout the words, but the sharp crack of glass meeting the wood of the bar still drew attention. Others looked up, saw her fuming, and looked away again, assuming a lover's quarrel.
"Karen," he murmured, the gentle tone already snaking into her to soothe her fury. "He can never make you whole. Give him up now, and I can promise you that there will come along someone far better for you." Odd how easily she could read the sad look in his eyes. Someone better... but not me. She had no idea what had given her the impression, but it left her doubly angry. What was she that she could be treated so lightly, and tossed aside so easily?
"You know what?" she demanded of the man, rising so fast from her barstool that she stumbled slightly. His hand shot out to steady her and she jerked at the way the touch caught her breath in her throat. Was she that fickle, that a single touch could send her pulse racing so easily? Now as furious at herself as at the two men, she tugged free, fighting the tears of frustration lurking behind her eyes. "Fuck you. And fuck him, too."
With that said, she turned on her heel, stalking out of the bar.