__ You Madly

[man_nav_naudas]

WHO: Thera y Raivis
WHEN: Monday afternoon, Nov. 8th
WHERE: 2 pm lunch hour
WHAT: The ornaments look pretty but they're pulling down the branches on the tree...

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[santorinithera]

The smile Raivis received was astounding. Broad, beautiful, pearly white teeth framed by perfectly painted lips. Well practiced, alluring, somewhat warm.

What in god's name was Raivis doing here?

Nails, painted a deep burgundy that complimented the golden tone of her skin, brushed at a strand of curly black hair, and the scarf that had been neatly wrapped around head and neck was lowered to her shoulders. "So kind of you to come," her voice was equally as astounding. She presented her hand to Raivis- whether to kiss or to shake, he couldn't be certain. "Please, darling. 'Thera' will do fine."

[santorinithera]

"Oh?" Whatever Thera's motives had been for initiating this conversation, she was thoroughly distracted now. The cover for her absolute amusement with Raivis's discomfort was only enough to flirt with 'polite'. Her grin was positively wicked. "Versatility is important to a sustained relationship, certainly."

And Raivis was far too gentlemanly to just leave.

"You're a lucky man, Raivis." The glass touched down on Thera's lips. "Were I interested in the male form, I might almost find your 'versitile' nights with Peter envious."

[man_nav_naudas]

Label her 'distracted', the one across the table had transcended simple distraction into a spiraling, chaotic state of complete diversion. "I d-didn't m-mean- I didn't mean it like that. We haven't- we don't- that's not-"

He tried very hard to resist the urge to jettison himself, screaming, from the restaurant. "Not- we...wh- just- ah-?"

[santorinithera]

This time, both eyebrows shot upwards. The surprise was genuine. Thera leaned forward quickly, setting the glass down as she spoke softer, "You mean to say you don't sleep with your husband?"

[man_nav_naudas]

"I-I'm sorry, th-that is private, personal information, Miss Thera." Raivis clutched at the napkin he did not remember setting down in his lap. Given a few seconds with uninterrupted contact, it'd be shredded into quarters. "N-now what was it you wanted to speak to me about?"

[santorinithera]

"Oh my God!" Thera's head flung backward with bright laughter, and eyes turned upon their table. Raivis felt himself sinking further into the chair, rooted and unable to move from that spot. The woman settled only enough to say, "But Raivis dear- a marriage is not a marriage if it hasn't been consummated.Everyone knows that." She nodded politely to the waiter when he set dishes of food before them. Raivis wasn't hungry anymore. "Until then, you're only boyfriends. Well, legally you're married, but in a spiritual sense it's just that."

[man_nav_naudas]

There were too many people staring, too much wrong with the situation and too little vodka sitting pretty next to his trembling elbow for him to deal with. Tears gathered and cloyed to his lashes. Eye allergies, of course, and not stressed induced crying because he was a man, dammit, and men didn't cry.

"M-my name is Raivis Galante-Kirkland and Peter is my husband."

Even if the nag at the back of his mind, the old traditions drilled into him by his grandmother insisted that Thera was right. "I-it's not as though we haven't been 'intimate' before. We're just...waiting for the right moment to- W-why am I talking about this with you?"

The napkin sported a rip down its center.

[santorinithera]

Her smile turned congenial (but still somehow mischievous.) "I don't know, dear. I only asked."

Entertainment value milked, Thera shifted, lifting her fork. The movement in her posture was like a change in subject. Raivis's...dignity? privacy?... well, it would be spared until another day. "Peter has a sister, yes? I believe her name is Remy?" The way she spoke- more businesslike. They were finally growing closer to the whole point of this lunch-time fiasco.

[man_nav_naudas]

A jolt of panic struck him at the familiar sensation of sitting in a strange place with a meal Raivis had no intention of eating. Faint flashes to another time, another moment where the woman was another young man with pale white hair and an honest face.

It vanished when he plucked up his own utensil, turning the silverware over and over in his hands. "He does..." Raivis offered slowly, fidgeting where he sat, blinking his eyes back to dryness. "I haven't really spoken to her much, but she's pleasant enough." His features abruptly hardened and the fork wrapped in his fingers looked to be in danger of bending. "Ma'am, I don't know what you're after, but if you intend on harming any of them...'Small' doesn't necessarily mean 'weak'."

[santorinithera]

Thera gasped.

"Raivis, how could you?" Fingers were upon her chest, and she really, truly was appalled by the idea. "What sort of man accuses a woman of trying to harm his family- in polite conversation, no less?"

[man_nav_naudas]

Answer: The sort similar to women who challenged the sanctity of a married couple's bond.

A rebuke that might have been made had he been arguing with a family member and not an utter stranger. Sighing softly, Raivis glanced sideways while he murmured an apology over the clink of dish ware from adjacent tables. "F-forgive me, that was out of line... Strange things happen in this city and I'm just trying to do my best to... to protect them. Please, don't pay it any mind..."

[santorinithera]

The smile returned. "You're a good man." Pasta twirled on the end of her fork, and Raivis began to feel something that may have been a 'return to normalcy'. He was still nervous, of course, but she didn't seem as scary as she did earlier. Oddly, Raivis felt he was getting somewhere.

"So tell me about Remy."

[man_nav_naudas]

Making progress in coming to a point, perhaps. Understanding the person he was speaking to essentially remained where it had been when they started; minimal. Until he remembered blog entries, put several points together and formed a wavering but comprehensible connection.

Thera was no threat, simply as much of a curiosity to him as he was to her. "She's the youngest Kirkland. That we know of, at least. Attends the LU and works at a shop downtown somewhere... I don't recall what the name is, but she seems to like it."

Raivis prodded at a vegetable (shaped object) and pushed it to the edge of his plate. "I think she's honest like Peter is, but more... sociable like the director- John. Ah...W-what else?"

[santorinithera]

"Would you consider her pretty?"

For some reason, Raivis got the impression that this was a very, very important question.

[man_nav_naudas]

He respectfully declined putting the green entity partially speared on his fork into his mouth. "Er, well, I-I guess so. She's cute?"

[santorinithera]

Ah. The correct answer.

Thera chuckled to herself, entertaining some hidden thought. Pleased. Very pleased. She liked Raivis.

The rest of the lunch went, Raivis thought, pretty well. At least better than what he had expected. Both parted ways with smiles on their faces, and Raivis raced back to the office, five minutes behind schedule but with a full belly and an extra drink of vodka to help him through the rest of the day. It wasn't so bad after all, though...

He really had to wonder why that'd happened in the first place...

Raivis was in awe at the gift basket he found on his doorstep after work. Chocolates, fruits, and alcohol that could burn holes through wood. A lovely gift- but at what price? And then he realized:

Dear god. She knew where he lived.