Acting like adults...

[fakes_death]

After Annie put the mementos of their relationship on his desk and they both spent their usual coffee break being entirely too emotional for anyone who works at the Company, Clay decided to repack everything back in the box she brought them in. It took about thirty minutes, and excellent puzzle solving skills but it happened, and he planned to give

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[freshoffthefarm]

Annie had planned to take the time during the drive to compose herself to ensure that she wouldn't fall apart at the slightest emotional outburst by either one of them. The strategy wasn't perfect, but it would have to do, especially since she knew it was hopeless when it came to Clayton Webb.

She loved him. She had for a long time, and if she had to pinpoint a time, it would go back to after that first weekend at Manderly. He'd been so concerned for her well-being, both mentally and physically, that she couldn't help feeling something, and when he hadn't made a move, she'd known he was a different breed of gentleman.

Their relationship played out in her mind as she drove and instead of being able to compose herself, she was more emotional than ever when she arrived. Sighing, she decided that the best thing to do was not show it. He'd always been able to read her, though, and she knew that, too

[fakes_death]

The dinner he made was chicken over pasta with that same cream sauce he'd made the first time he cooked dinner for her. It'd become something of a comfort food staple for him and he hoped Annie would recognize it as that too.

Clay answered his door, and put his own smile on his face, glad she was willing to talk. After the way he treated her, he knew this was an opportunity that shouldn't be missed. "Hi."

He looked Annie over, and the smile was a little more genuine, "I like your blouse."

[freshoffthefarm]

Looking down at her shirt, Annie smiled and almost blushed. "Thank you. I remembered that you liked it, so I thought I'd just keep wearing it." Glancing past him into his condo, she asked, "Dinner smells great. Can I come in?"

[fakes_death]

"Of course."

Clay stepped aside so Annie could come in, then shut and locked the door behind her. Her box of gifts was in his bedroom with her suits. The kitchen table was already set for two, complete with a bottle of wine in the middle.

[freshoffthefarm]

Standing awkwardly in the front room for only a minute, Annie continued on to the kitchen to look around and then to the dining room. It was the long way around, but she felt like if she took the tour again, even though she'd only been there a couple of days earlier, she could pretend like their fight hadn't happened. It wasn't healthy, likely, but she wanted to make it through dinner.

"Chicken and pasta. My favorite." She looked at him, her smile fond. "Is it ready or is there something I can do?"

[fakes_death]

"I've got everything under control."

To emphasize his point he drained the pasta and began serving. "Just sit back and enjoy."

[freshoffthefarm]

Annie seated herself in her usual chair and waited patiently for him to sit as well before she commented once more.

"This is what you made the very first time you cooked for me," she said as she lifted her fork and nudged at her food. "You're going all out tonight."

[fakes_death]

"I figured we could use something that would remind us of some better moments, considering."

[freshoffthefarm]

"Clay." She took a bite and then pushed her food around for a moment. "We have more 'better' moments than we do not-so-good moments. That's the way I feel, anyway. It's why I came to see you first thing rather than leave the box on your doorstep like I almost did."

[fakes_death]

"I'm really glad you didn't just leave it," he looked at his plate for a brief second then looked back at Annie, "Since I realized last night that we're important."

[freshoffthefarm]

"We're important?"

Her food wasn't exactly forgotten, but when things needed to be discussed or she was in the kind of mood where she wasn't feeling very good, she often lost her appetite. She hadn't been very hungry before she'd come over, but she didn't want to appear rude. She just wanted to know what he was going to say next.

[fakes_death]

"We're important."

And by "We" he meant their relationship. Though he wasn't sure how to articulate that.

[freshoffthefarm]

Annie took a bite, then set her fork down. She wiped her mouth with her napkin and took a drink from her wine glass before she got comfortable and looked at him with expectant eyes.

She knew what he was saying, but after last night, she wanted him to articulate further. "Okay. We're important. What does that mean? I mean, to you."

[fakes_death]

"I mean our relationship is important. When I was faced with this ending? I think I was more scared about that than I am about the relationship."

Over the past year, Annie really had gotten to know him and he'd gotten to know her. In a way, it was nice. He finally had someone he didn't have to pretend around. Getting used to not pretending was a different problem all together.

[freshoffthefarm]

Her expression said it all: how much she valued him, the time the spent together and everything their relationship meant to her. Basically, how much she agreed with him.

"I don't want this to end, especially over something said in anger. I do think we should talk about some of those things, though. Not-" She shook her head and looked away, toward his living room before catching his eye once more. "I don't want to harp on what you said. I want to talk about what brought it all to that point. The stuff before."

[fakes_death]

Clay nodded, listening to everything that Annie said and trying to figure out how serious she was. He came to the conclusion that she was just as serious as he was.

"I think that's a really good idea."