Graham Donovan (_backfire) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2010-01-20 22:48:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-06-30 |
Her stare is louder than your voice because truth doesn't make a noise
Who: Autumn and Graham
Where: Night on the town
When: Directly after this
Warning: NSFW
Graham was beginning to wonder if there was a hex put on him overnight when he returned to Scarlet Oak, because nothing but shit came his way. Perhaps the fact it was pouring when he came back to his hometown was a sign of bad luck coming his way. After everything that happened with Rigby, the two left the scene of the attack on the same wave length - they had to get the fuck out of Michigan. Though as much as they wanted to get in the truck and just go, they couldn't. Rigby had to say a few things to Fina before they headed on out, which left Graham with enough time to do the same to Autumn.
He couldn't leave her without saying anything. Dear god no, not after how he left Saoirse. Graham regretted pulling a cowardly stunt like that since the moment he walked into Heme and saw the shocked, death stare she shot him. He had to tell Autumn what was up, even if part of him was completely dreading the concept. What was she going to do? Would she beg him to stay? Would she take his suitcases and chuck them out the house and tell him to never come back? It was far too overwhelming for him to wrap his mind around, but he felt better letting her know he was leaving than simply slip out in the early morning without a word.
Autumn deserved to be told what was going on. Graham was starting to feel a connection with the woman that he hadn't felt in a long time. She accepted him for who he was, regardless of how much bickering they went about. Not once had he been able to pour out his life story to someone and have them still embrace him affectionately. He craved for that kind of attention in his life and had only found it once before Autumn. Now was not the time to fuck this up. He had to try and preserve any last, fleeting moments he could with the woman.
Once he reached her home, Graham slipped inside, desperately trying to find Autumn. She had to be home, where the hell else would she be? It didn't take long to find the lovely earth elemental, who seemed to be curled up in the living room with a book. Poking his head around the corner, he rested his head against the wall and sighed. "So how long does it take for you to get into something appropriate on a moment's notice?"
Graham was off somewhere, Lord only knows and Autumn was bored. She followed Suri around for a while before trying to work in her garden. That obviously didn't work out due to her ribs so she showered and put on an oversized t-shirt and curled up in the living room with one of her trashy romance novels. She had completely engrossed herself in the book and didn't even notice when Graham walked in until she spoke.
Jumping slightly at his voice, Autumn winced but grinned at him, happy to have him home. "Depends on what kind of appropriate you want," Autumn said carefully. She was quite curious to see what he had up his sleeve.
He paused for a second, trying to picture the place he had in mind for the night and what would look best on Autumn. After his eyes twitched while in thought, he looked back to her with an answer. "Something sexy...?" Leave it to a guy to try and describe what was appropriate, but at least it made sense in Graham's mind. "I'll try to dress to match, if that helps." Which meant he wasn't going in jeans and a tshirt. This was an occasion for a suit with a black and white palette.
Autumn giggled. Of course he'd want something sexy. Autumn tucked the book away and stood up gingerly. She walked over to him and patting him on the ass she grinned sexily. "Give me 15 minutes." Swaying her hips as she walked away, she grinned over her shoulder at him and winked.
She hurried into her room and shut the door. She knew exactly what she was going to wear. She'd gone shopping earlier and picked out this dress she thought Graham might like. While she'd been shopping, she stumbled across a necklace she'd had to get Graham. She was all the time looking at his necklaces and thought this would make the perfect addition to his collection of necklaces that he wears on a daily basis. After she got dressed and fixed her hair in sexy curls, she grabbed her purse and put the small wrapped box with his necklace inside.
Autumn made her way out to the living room only 10 minutes late. She struck a sexy pose, her hand on her hip. "How do I look?"
It didn't take Graham nearly that long to change - he was a guy, after all. As he went to the guest room to rummage through his suitcases, he pulled out one of his better suits that was all black and topped it off with a white tie. Slinging a jacket over his shoulder, he waited in the living room for Autumn, and holy crap, it was worth the wait. As he looked on over upon hearing her voice, his jaw literally dropped. Fuck, we're never going to make it to the place now... Fluttering his eyes, he recomposed himself and rubbed the back of his neck while thinking over her question.
"...I honestly don't think words can describe how you look. Seriously." Though from the way he was eying her quite fondly, he was beyond pleased with her get up. Taking a few steps closer to her, Graham offered his hand out to Autumn, a smile tugging on the corner of his lips. He was trying to stay happy and optimistic for her, knowing her empathy would pick up on the fact something was wrong eventually. She didn't have to know right away. Besides, he wanted to enjoy the night to some extent.
He wasn't fooling her. Autumn had picked up on the fact that something was wrong from the second he'd come in the room. But past experience taught her not to ask numerous questions about his well being. He'd tell her what was going on at some point. It was against her very nature to pretend like nothing was wrong because she wanted to help him, but she tapped down on that instinct and just reveled in his gaze upon her.
"I did good then?" Autumn took his hand and pulled it around her shoulders until she was tucked against his side. "You look hot yourself," she complimented. And he did - the black suit was in stark contrast to his pale skin but it so worked for him. "And you're not wearing so many layers... good boy." She winked up at him, excited for the evening. They made a devastatingly hot couple and the sexual tension was already thrumming through her.
And she had to wink. Guuuuh! She's doing it on purpose now, I swear. "Of course you did good. Way beyond good." He smiled to her while putting his hand on the small of her back, getting the slightest glimpse of the back of her dress... or more like her back in general. He was pretty sure there was something physics defying in the dress, but now wasn't the time to figure out the exact equations for that. Tugging at her slightly, he leaned in to press his lips against her forehead. "And I'm a good boy now? I must be doing something wrong." He chuckled against her skin before looking down into her eyes. "Ready?"
"Or something very very right," Autumn teased as she ran a hand down his chest. "And yes, I'm ready to go." She fished her keys out of her bag and handed them to him. "You can drive my car if you want...save you on gas money and all." She locked the door them as they made their way to the car. Autumn wasn't sure what was wrong - and wasn't really sure she wanted to know. She just wanted to be a nice semi-normal couple for the evening and forget the rest of the world. "Where are you taking me?"
Graham actually appreciate her offer to drive her car instead of his solely for the purpose to save gas money. While he worked a decent paying job at the Nest, he wasn't making astronomical figures to pay for all the luxuries in life. There were some days Graham walked around town instead of taking his care simply to save the money. After the trip he pulled to the hospital the other day, it definitely put a dent into his wallet. Then again, so was the night he had in mind with Autumn that moment, but this was worth it in his mind.
"I can't tell you." Graham smirked while taking her keys. "It's a surprise. Though I promise you'll enjoy it." Or at least he hoped she would enjoy it. If she had a good time in Detroit the other week, then she was probably going to have a blast with the place he had in mind. Leading her over to her car, Graham, opened the door for her and offered a hand to help her in before going on over to the driver's side to start up the car.
"If I'm with you, of course I'll enjoy it," Autumn said simply. She let him help her in the car and turned to grin at him. "I'm glad we're doing this - a real date! We haven't really had one of those." Not with just the two of them... Detroit didn't count because it had been a group. Although, hopefully tonight will end in a similar fashion, Autumn thought, her eyes getting a slightly devilish glint. "Can you at least give me a hint?" She was like a dog with a bone when it came to surprises... she didn't do them very gracefully.
Looking on over to her, Graham caught a glimpse of that devilish look in her eye, knowing full well that she was plotting something. Not that he minded of course. Besides, he was plotting to take them somewhere, so why couldn't she plot against or with him as well? "A hint? Really?" Graham chuckled as he began to drive on out. "Well, it can't fit in a bread box, nor is it black, white, and red all over." He paused and rethought that one briefly. "No, actually it's blue. Very blue." His eyes flickered over to Autumn and smiled to her, gazing over her gorgeous form before looking back to the road. Hopefully we make it there in one piece, if at all.
Of course, if he knew she was plotting a repeat of the bathroom scene, he might have driven off the road. Autumn giggled at his answers. "Really blue and doesn't fit in a bread box. Interesting." She tapped a finger against her chin, her brows knitting together as she tried to think of where they were going. "Does it have anything to do with music?" That was a relative given since it was Graham who'd picked the place, but she wanted to start slow.
"It might." He kept his eyes on the road, knowing the faster they got there the faster Autumn could find out, though she did nail part of it. Graham did enjoy music and to him a great night out had to involve music at some point. He didn't care if it was a bunch of amateurs at open mic night or some pros playing it up live on stage, it was the experience that mattered to him, and hopefully Autumn would appreciate that as much as he did.
"You're not giving me an inch, are you?" Autumn pouted. She reached over and ran her hand down his chest. "Think I could seduce it out of you?" Oh yeah, she went there. Autumn was shameless when it came to finding out surprises. She would do anything. Her wandering fingers found his nipple through his shirt and thumbed it before rolling it between her index finger and thumb. She gave him a naughty smile and purred, "Want to tell me anything now, sexy?"
Well, there went making it there in time. Thankfully Graham had sharp concentration, so it was going to take a lot more than a playful tease to get his eyes off the road. "I'd give you far more than just an inch if you keep that up." For a second, his brown eyes glanced over to her, a definite fire beginning to spark up in them. "But if I did that, then we'd never fucking get there, so why don't you sit back and be patient little girl? I promise it won't disappoint."
"But I want to play!" she pouted. She kissed him on the cheek before sitting back dutifully. Autumn didn't want to upset him so she played with the ruffle on her dress while staring out the window, trying to figure out where they were going. Normally she would have kept hounding him but she knew something was wrong already and didn't want to add to his stress. They'd get there soon enough. Even if it felt like they'd been driving forever, Autumn thought with a tiny sigh. Truth be told, she was really excited to see what Graham had up his sleeve. She rarely had boyfriends who went out of their way to do something cute and nice for her, so she was very excited. Autumn reached over and grabbed Graham's hand, tugging it into her lap. "Thanks.. for whatever this surprise is... thank you."
"I should be the one thanking you." His hand slowly caressed at her leg, fingertips tracing past the edge of her dress and skimming over her exposed skin for mere seconds. And just like Autumn, he hadn't had many girl in his life that he could share something like this with. By this time they would have moved on from Graham or they would have driven him far up enough a wall to scare him off. Thankfully neither had happen and Graham was starting to hope those times were far away and out of sight.
While the drive felt like forever, they were soon at their destination. Pulling up to the curb to a rather grim looking and discrete building, Graham killed the engine and slipped on out to open Autumn's door, offering his hand out to her in the process. "And we're here. Hopefully the wait didn't kill you in the process."
Autumn closed her eyes as a shiver ran through her body when he caressed her leg. He definitely knew how to ignite her nerves and send pleasure drifting through her body. Her eyes flew open when he parked the car and she found herself gazing at a sad looking building. She grabbed Graham's hand and gingerly stepped out of the car, moving from standing to sitting still hurting quite a bit. "What is this place?" she asked, no longer able to contain her curiosity.
He didn't reply right away and instead led Autumn to the front door, where they walked down a dark hallway before emerging into a contemporary interior. The scent of rich food was in the air while the sound of live music was blasting from the stage. It was a bit more upscale than the place they went to in Detroit, and a shit ton more intimate. While standing and waiting to be seated, Graham slipped his arms around Autumn's waist from behind and whispered into her ear. "It's a lounge that features a mix of live jazz and blues. I got to sneak in here once when I was a senior in high school and fucking loved it. Thought I'd share the experience with you." He smiled, kissing gently at her neck before the hostess brought them to a booth quite close to the stage.
Autumn leaned into him slightly when he put his arms around her. Her heart literally melted when he told her that he'd come here during high school. While she didn't know a whole lot about blues and jazz music, she was willing to learn for Graham. She was touched that he took the time to show this side of himself to her. It meant a lot and went far in healing the wounds of some of their recent arguments.
When the waitress showed them to their table, Autumn was delighted that there was a wrap around booth. She got in and scooted around until she was next to Graham, their legs touching and his heat spreading through her. "This is amazing," she said to him, putting her lips near his ear to be heard over the music.
As they settled down, Graham was delighted to have the petite woman scoot on over to him. He draped an arm over her shoulder while smiling at her words. Amazing was definitely what he was aiming for, anyways. He wanted their last night together before heading on off for who knew how long to be nothing less than amazing. "I'm glad you like it." Nuzzling his nose into her cheek, his eyes flicked on over to the menus that were presented to them. "Get whatever you want, I insist." It didn't matter if he had to spend all of his money on the romantic night out, just as long as Autumn was happy. And if that was the case, then maybe he could convince Rigby to pay for the first few gas trips until they figured something out money wise.
Autumn snuggled into Graham when he wrapped an arm over her shoulders. When he nuzzled her cheek, she turned her head and kissed his lips in a quick peck. Autumn picked up the menu and surveyed it to see if there was anything that sounded good to her. The problem with being a vegetarian was that she often had to eat salads at restaurants. She was pleased to find a vegetarian lasagna on the menu and she ordered that along with her lemon water when the waiter came back around.
For Graham, he put in an order for some of the creole shrimp and a martini, emphasizing the fact he was going to be "fucking pissed" if they used vodka in it instead of gin and vermouth. What the hell was so difficult with that. Once the order was placed, the waiter served them some complimentary bread rolls and was off on his way. Graham chuckled a bit, eying Autumn as one of his fingers teased at the exposed skin of her arm. "I will never fucking get how you can stomach your lemon water. Shit just amazes me, I swear." And with that, he brought his attention to the small container of sugar packets and quickly occupied himself with making tiny stacks of them, forming a small rectangle.
Autumn chuckled as he made his demands for his martini. Only Graham would do that. She shivered again as his fingers stroked her skin. "I like it - leave me alone," she chided jokingly. When the waiter returned with their drinks, she made sure to scoot hers way far away from him. Grabbing a roll she tore a tiny bite off and nibbled on it. She tore off another piece and held it up to Graham while he was busy building whatever he was building. "You want some?"
It took him a second to realize she was offering a piece of bread to him, and once he finally tore his attention away from his sugar masterpieces, he leaned in to grab the small pieces in her fingers with his mouth, munching away at it while nodding to her in thanks. The fire elemental would never stop being weird for just two seconds of his entire life. "So do you like the music at all? I know it's not country, but it's some classic stuff, if you ask me." Hell, almost a majority of his music collection was nothing but jazz and blues albums. It inspired a lot of his own music, so it only seemed right to bring Autumn there, seeing she enjoyed his performance with Rigby last week.
Twisting to give Graham a horrified look, she defended her honor, "I do not like country! I hate that shit." She scowled at him in mock anger. "But yes, I like this. It's different from what I've heard before... but different doesn't equal bad." It seemed like an odd choice for Graham, to be honest. Autumn would have pegged him for more of a death metal kinda guy. Still, he was enjoying that he was sharing this part of himself with her.
Autumn reached up and tugged out his necklaces. She fingered each one, curious about them. He always wore them without fail and that said a lot about how much they meant to him. "Tell me about your necklaces," she asked him.
Graham laughed in sheer amusement at Autumn's mock rage. He knew she wasn't a fan of country, but couldn't help to tease the southern belle. And thank god he didn't have telepathy like his friend, or else he would have reacted the same way about death metal. Industrial rock was probably as heavy as he got. He actually preferred the blues and jazz due to how raw the emotions were in the music itself. Nothing could really top that.
"My necklaces?" He blinked his brown eyes, looking down at the charms she was tugging at. Very few people actually asked Graham about the various necklaces he always wore, and even fewer actually stuck around to hear the story behind all thirteen of the charms. Well, they weren't exactly charms in the sense of the word, but they were to him. Scattered amongst the seven, thin rope necklaces were a guitar pick, a Chinese coin, four different screws/bolts, a ring, a celtic cross, a couple glass pieces that look like there was something in it, two large colored beads, and an itty bitty vial with sand inside. He wondered if Autumn was going to be one of the few who would actually listen to every single one of them and not bore her to death. "Which one? Your pick."
"All of them," she said. "The ring first." She figured all of them held a particular story but she wanted to know that one first. "Why a cross?" Autumn fingered the celtic cross and looked up at him. "I don't figure you for a particularly religious kinda guy." She wasn't really. Growing up in the south, it was a requirement to go to church each Sunday but she didn't really buy into it all. She believed there was a God, but wasn't sure that organized religion was for her.
"Far from it, actually." Graham eyed the celtic cross, recalling the memories from that one, which were perhaps one of the more painful memories for him. "When I was in prison, before they threw me into a solitary confinement for fuck know's how long, one of the inmates gave it to me after I told him I didn't believe in fate or destiny or any of that crap. Said at some point I was going to be praying for a god while locked up. After awhile, regardless of the fact if you're religious or not, you start praying and hoping for something better. I kept it to remind myself to never bring myself back to a cage like that again, literally or figuratively." He paused for a second, looking over to Autumn. "I swear, that's the most depressing one out of all of them. Everything else is better."
Autumn's eyes teared up at his story and the pain rolling off of him. She stroked his face, sorry she'd dredged up such a sad story for him. She didn't know what to say to him, knew that words weren't enough for what he'd endured. "Graham," she murmured. Autumn wanted to make it better, wanted to take his memories from him but knew she couldn't. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry." He kissed the top of her forehead, a smile on his face. "Seriously, not your fault at-" Right then, the waiter had returned with their drinks. Taking his martini glass in hand, Graham took a cautious sip before nodding his head. Definitely no vodka. He'd leave an extra large tip just for the bartender not fucking up his favorite drink. "I swear, it's such a simple drink, but so many douchebags fuck it up." Shaking his head, he brought his attention back to Autumn. "Hopefully that one story didn't scare you off to know more."
"Of course not," Autumn reassured him. "I want to hear about them all... or as many as you'll tell me about. I like knowing more about you." It seemed that so much of their relationship was arguing and sex. Not that there was anything wrong with the sex. But she wanted to know Graham - the person inside. These necklaces seemed to represent a part of who he was, a little part of his past.
"Well then, just point and choose and I'll be glad to tell you more stories." It made him rather happy to hear that she was interested and not scared off by the last story. Maybe the next one she chose would be more heartwarming. As he waited for her to pick, he toyed with the small toothpick containing a few olives within his drink, finally taking it out to pull one off with his teeth to munch on.
Autumn snuggled back in and said, "The ring. Tell me about the ring." She reached over and grabbed his hand with the toothpick in it and brought it close to her. Looking up at him from underneath her lashes, she wrapped her lips around an olive and pulled it off the toothpick slowly before snuggling back into his side and eating the olive.
He shot the earth elemental a peculiar look as she plucked away one of his olives. Normally he minded, but it was Autumn, so he didn't mind. The ring that was on the necklace was smaller and definitely wouldn't have been for him, not to mention it was a bit more glamorous than something a guy like him would wear. "That belonged to the first person who accepted me as a human being once I was out of jail. She used to play the piano quite well and would sometimes take off her rings before playing and she forgot one one night, so I decided to keep it for myself." He didn't mention the fact that the same person didn't accept him in her life anymore, though when he ran his fingers across the metal, his heart fluttered faster for a moment. It was painful for him to know he could never tell Saoirse how he really felt without her punching him in the face. They couldn't be together and he was starting to accept that with each passing day.
Autumn felt something she was totally unprepared to feel from Graham: something very close to love. Whoever this ring had belonged to, he loved her. Loved her in his own way, that is. Autumn sat up and leaned away from him, studying him. There were faint lines of pain on his face and whatever had happened, he wasn't completely over it. Jealousy flared up, hot and stifling as his voice softened when he talked about this mystery girl. Autumn certainly didn't like the idea that there was another girl he felt strongly about. She could almost (almost being the keyword) forget about the other girls he sleeps with while with her because he didn't really care about them. He came home to her - not them. But she had a feeling that if this mystery girl were to get over whatever issues she had with him, that Graham would abandon her and go back to said mystery girl. It was sad to think about, so she shrugged it off, not wanting to ruin this perfect evening. "The glass pieces?" she asked about next.
There were better chances of Graham getting his dream job as a theoretical chemist than being back with Saoirse, and seeing that the prior was never going to happen, then there was nothing to worry about. Well, Graham obviously wasn't over the fact Saoirse more or less rejected him from her life, but it didn't mean something was going to happen, even though he wished something would. He was on the same wave length as Autumn, though, and didn't want to ruin their romantic night. Besides, she should have been happy for she was the one who was helping him finally move on, even if it was small baby steps.
"Oh god, the glass pieces!" Graham let out an amused laugh. "Wow, I almost forgot about those. They're both pieces from alcohol bottles, actually my first drinks in college. Got shit faced with my roommates and ended up breaking the bottles. I kept the pieces, and being the chemistry and physics major, I figured out how to fuse two pieces together and keep a drop of alcohol in between the pieces. Here..." He scooted in closer and showed them closer to Autumn. "This one is from an Chopin bottle and it's hard to see but it has vodka in it. I mean, it's fucking clear, so good luck with that one. This one-" The glass piece was much darker, but the liquid in it was easier to see. "Was from a bottle of Baileys. I think we were making white Russians that night, but fuck if I remember." He chuckled, happy to share such a random memory with Autumn.
Laughing at the story, Autumn enjoyed the change of pace. She wasn't sure if she could handle more emotional stories like the last two. "They're really pretty, actually." She liked the way the edges caught the light and sparkled.
Autumn touched the bolts on his necklaces. "What about these? Seems odd you would have bolts around your neck." Then again, Graham was a pretty odd guy so it was fitting, she supposed.
"Not that odd," Graham responded while perking up a brow. "Each one belongs to a different piece of equipment I've had that's meant a shit ton to me. This one here is a small bolt that went into one of my first amps. Actually used it at the gig in Detroit last week. And this one goes to my electric guitar. It's a tiny little one, and I almost flipped the fuck out when it came out, but it's one of the pieces that held the hollow piece of plastic together. It's dented, so I had to replace it, but I kept it. And this-" He poked at the biggest one of the bunch. "-actually goes to my car. I'm not entirely sure what, exactly, but it fell out during my cross country trip, and if it wasn't for my car, then fuck, I don't know." Shaking his head with a smile, his finger ran over the last one, which also appeared to be the most delicate one. "And this was a knob that went to my first chemistry set in college. I got a better one the next year, but I guess I was too sentimental and had to keep something."
"You really do have a sentimental streak don't you?" Again, it was surprising to her... she wouldn't have pictured him for a sentimental guy like that. Hopefully he'll like the necklace she was going to give him and it would be added to his collection.
Autumn browsed through the other charms before deciding to ask about the coin. "This coin. What currency is it?" It was unfamiliar to her and she was curious to hear the background behind it and why he wanted to keep it.
Graham was rather sentimental. Not entirely big on fancy material objects, but having grown up in a poor as hell household, he quickly grew to appreciate the most mundane crap in life. He didn't want to forget those memories for they made him who he was. Hell, if she thought his necklaces were sentimental, she would have been blown away by the various journals he kept since being released from jail.
"This is the oldest one of the bunch. It's a Chinese coin. I don't have a fucking clue what it says and that's not the point. When I was two my parents took me to go see the fireworks display in town here and I got to sneak off to actually see where they were keeping all the fireworks. There were a bunch that were labeled as Chinese brand ones, which I'm sure was just a scam, but fuck if I knew, I was a fucking kid... But they had these little coins on the packages, and being the punk two year old fire elemental, I tried to take one because I wanted it." He paused to look at Autumn, cracking a smile. "Yes, I wanted to take the firecracker home with me and... I don't know, put it under my pillow or some shit. I got caught, but I managed to steal one of the coins in the process. Never got to see the fireworks that year, but hey!" He showed off the coin. "I don't give a fuck now."
Well that had to be the cutest story ever! Autumn grinned at him, picturing a tiny Graham. She reached up and pinched his cheek, "So precious," she squealed. And he really was. "You really should have clued into the fact that you're a fire elemental a lot sooner. Most kids don't go around stealing fireworks to hide under their pillow," she giggled. It was such a cute mental image though!
"What about the beads?" she asked next, her fingers tracing over the different colored beads.
"Hey, it seemed like a good idea!" Graham laughed with her, knowing there was no escaping her pinching his cheek. "It didn't occur to anyone then I could have been a fire elemental then." Shaking his head, he watching her poke at the colored beads, the smile fading slightly.
"They were for my graduation tassel think from college. Maroon and white were the school colors." How fitting, seeing that Graham only ever wore black, white, and red. "I never got a chance to graduate, but before I got sent to prison they said all that remained from where my room supposedly was in the debris was the tassel. A bit ironic. Everything was fucked up on it but the little beads holding everything together, so I kept those."
Autumn hugged him around the waist, her head on his chest. She felt his regret at not being able to graduate. Even though they'd not talked about it much, Autumn could tell he was really smart and she hated to hear that he didn't get a diploma. Hoping the next one was a nicer story, Autumn asked, "And the guitar pick?"
"My first guitar pick, actually. I used to play guitar when I was a lot younger and didn't have the money to spend on a pick, so I always used my hands. I got really into it so I kept playing hard until my hands would bleed. Then one of my birthdays my kid sister got me this guitar pick so my hands would stop bleeding. I actually used it during our gig in Detroit because she's also the one who kept all my old equipment and effects units around. Figured it was a tribute to her." The pick definitely looked like it had seen better days and he had moved on to different picks, but he couldn't throw that one away.
"I'd like to meet your sister one day. She sounds like a sweet girl taking care of her big brother." She wished Graham could have met her sister, but that wasn't ever going to happen. They had been so close, always knowing what each other was feeling and what they needed. Not now though. Since her mother kicked her out, her sister hadn't contacted her or returned any attempts at communication.
"What about the sand?" On her search for a necklace for Graham, she'd come across this disc that had sand art in the shape of flames. It had been awesome and she thought it would be cute, being sand (earth) for her and fire for him. But it had been a little big and bulky so she passed on it.
Uli was a weird girl, to say the least, and coming from Graham that said a lot. But she was sweet and definitely worried about Graham to no extent. Then he brought his attention back to Autumn and realized she was pointing at the small vial of sand, he couldn't help but grin. "Well, when I was doing my whole cross country thing, I went on out to the west coast, starting with Washington and made my way down. When I finally hit California past San Fran, it's just nothing my desert. Absolutely endless and no one is there. There was nothing more liberating than being able to floor it down the road on my own in the middle of the blazing heat with my windows down and blasting something fucking obnoxious, I'm sure." He laughed a bit, poking at the vial. "I stopped at one point to take some of the sandy earth with me so I'd remember that day where all I did was drive and enjoyed the hell out of it."
That made such a wonderfully free and relaxing image that Autumn had to smile. "That sounds wonderful." After meeting Graham and Rigby, Autumn now wanted to travel a bit - see the world... or at least the US. She'd only ever been to Florida, Georgia and now Michigan.
Autumn pulled out of Graham's arms long enough to grab a small wrapped box from her purse. "I got you something when I was out shopping. This seems like a good time to give it to you." She handed him the box that was wrapped in black wrapping paper and tied with a red ribbon.
In the middle of sipping his drink, Graham paused to eye the tiny box that was in Autumn's hands. He perked up a brow and blinked, wondering what the hell was inside. "And what is this?" While questioning her, he took the box into his hand and carefully unraveled it, trying his best not to ruin any of the wrapping. Once it was just the box, he popped it open to eye the small pendant in it. His eyes flickered over to Autumn then back to the contents of the box. It looked like a little flame on a piece of metal, which was oh so appropriate. "Autumn..." There were so many things he wanted to say and didn't have enough mouths to speak them all at once. Instead he sat there speechless while staring at the gift in both excitement and disbelief - no one bought him anything. Never.
Autumn found herself holding her breath as he oh so slowly unwrapped the present and opened the box. She studied his face intently as he looked at the necklace, hoping he liked it. "You like it?" Reaching into the box, she took out the necklace and opened the clasp. She reached up and put it around his neck, clasping it back. The black rope-like strand blended in well with his other necklaces and the pendant was flat and not bulky. It looked right at home with his other trinkets.
It truly did fit in rather well with his other necklaces and he couldn't help but smile as she fastened it for him. "Like it? I love it." He ran his fingers over the flat metal piece before looking back to Autumn. "You didn't have to do this..." Bringing a hand up to her face, he cupped her cheek affectionately while caressing her skin with his thumb. Now he was wondering what the occasion was for such a gift. Then again, she was probably wondering why he decided to take her out to some sleek lounge late at night at a moment's notice.
"I know I didn't," Autumn answered. "And I'm not expecting anything in return, okay? I just got the idea and looked for one and found this one." She covered his hand on her cheek and leaned into it. While, yes, part of her was wondering why he'd brought them out on a romantic night, she decided to ignore it for now and just enjoy being with him.
Just then their food was delivered and their little moment was ruined. Damn waiter! Her vegetarian lasagna was put in front of her and her mouth started watering it looked so good. When the waiter left, she leaned over to kiss Graham on the cheek before digging in.
Actually, Graham was happy the waiter came on by strictly because he was starving. The poor guy didn't have too many full meals each day, so whatever he could get he was extremely thankful for. Munching happily on his shrimp, he sat back with Autumn, keeping an arm around her body while listening to the band playing. They were in the middle of doing a cover of Son House's Death Letter, and while it was depressing, there was such feeling in the vocals and music that there was no denying it was a flawless piece. "I love this song." He flashed a genuine smile while looking up to the stage, watching the performance a bit before taking in another shrimp.
For her part, Autumn was having a hard time reading him right then. She wondered if she scared him off or if he thought she wanted things to get more serious since she gave him the necklace. That wasn't the case at all. She'd merely wanted to give him something that would represent his new-found elementalism. Trying to shrug it off, Autumn took a bite of her lasagna, enjoying how delicious it was. When he commented on the song, Autumn listened harder and it was indeed a beautiful song. She enjoyed watching Graham as much as she enjoyed watching the band. It was rare to see a full genuine smile cross Graham's face and it made her feel happy that she was there to share this experience with him.
And Graham was just as happy that he could share this moment with Autumn. It was great food, beautiful music, and even more beautiful company. His eyes kept glancing over to her from time to time and he would have been lying if he said he was just looking at her pretty smile. That gaze of his kept wandering over her body, admiring the outfit she was wearing, occasionally glancing to her back and gawked at how stunning her back was in that dress. Oh yeah, that had to be defying some law in physics.
As one of the songs ended, Graham leaned in closer to murmur into her ear. "You look stunning." And there was something different in his voice. It wasn't swelling with seduction like it normally was when he was complimenting her, but instead had a firm, serious tone to it. He squeezed her shoulder gently while pulling her in closer to kiss at her neck tenderly.
Autumn kept feeling his gaze traveling over her body and it tingled from the attention. "As do you," she murmured back, tiling her head to give him better access to her neck. The mood shifted a little - it was no longer overwhelming sexual tension between the two (although it was still simmering delightfully in the background), but something intense and serious.
The band kicked back in with another slow song, the beat thrumming, low and sexy. She wanted to be in Graham's arms and the best way at this point, was to be on the dance floor. There weren't too many people dancing, but fuck it... she wanted to. "Want to dance?"
"Dance?" He blinked his eyes, raising a brow at her suggestion. Wasn't she still recovering? Looking out to the dance floor, then to his half empty plate, then back to Autumn, he sighed gently. "Sure, why not. I haven't really danced with someone since... shit, I don't fucking know! But don't expect me to be some pro." With that said, he slipped on out from the booth and offered his hand out to Autumn.
Grabbing his hand, Autumn left the booth and they walked to the dance floor. She spun around, her dress flaring out delicately before wrapping her arms around his neck. "Don't have to be a pro. Just hold me and move to the music." Her body swayed and moved against his, causing her nerve endings to sizzle. She pressed her lips to his jaw before laying her head on his shoulder and flowing gently in time with the music.
Holding a lovely lady and moving to the music was something Graham could do. As Autumn slung her arms around his neck, he slipped his own around her waist, resting his hands on the small of her back while pulling her in close. It was indescribable how amazing that moment was with her, just slowly moving to the steady rhythm with her body close to his. Graham lowered his head to rest a cheek on top of her head as he listened to the music, absolutely loving both the ambiance and the company.
Autumn was relishing the moment as well. She really liked romantic Graham - he was romantic! Being held tight in his arms made her feel cared for and safe. She snuggled in closer and her fingers played with the long hair at the nape of Graham's neck. When the song ended, Autumn tilted her head back and grinned at Graham, "See, not so bad was it?" She could stay dancing in his arms all night but knew that they needed to finish their dinner while it was still somewhat warm.
And he could have done the same, though he knew the night wasn't young forever. He still had to tell Autumn what was going on, and the very thought made his heart sink. He had to tell Autumn that he and Rigby were leaving. The thought of leaving Autumn like he had left Saoirse was not acceptable, though at the same time he was not thrilled to see how Autumn reacted. Letting out a soft sigh, Graham shook his head and smiled. "Not bad at all." Instead of bringing her back to their booth, he continued to stand there and look at her, one of his hands idly traveling up her back, savoring the sensation of her exposed skin.
Sadness was not quite the emotion that she expected to be getting from Graham in that moment. It made her worried and in spite of her vow not to ask him what was wrong, she blurted it out anyway. "What's going on, Graham? Why are you sad?" She knew being around an empath could be annoying because no one could hide their emotions well enough that she didn't pick up on them. She just hoped asking didn't make him mad or that he didn't get fed up with having an empath girlfriend. Whoa. GIRLFRIEND? That had totally come out of nowhere. Autumn's eyes widened slightly when that word slipped into her thoughts. They were not boyfriend/girlfriend. What they were, she had no idea - but definitely not that, not yet....if ever.
Autumn shook her head slightly to rid herself of her rambling thoughts. Her hands came around to cup Graham's face, her gaze getting lost in the dark pools of his eyes. Something was going on and she was going to find out.
Graham had forgotten that she was an empath that moment, closing his eyes to roll them slightly. Fuck, she probably knew the entire god damn time. Lovely... Opening his eyes, he looked down to Autumn and parted his lips at first to say something, but nothing came out. On the dance floor was not really the ideal place to drop the news. Nor was outside of the club or in the car or at her home or anywhere. Graham wasn't good with this kind of thing, and it almost scared him. "Can we sit down?" He tugged at Autumn, hoping she'd follow him back to their booth.
"Of course." She went willingly when he tugged at her until they were at their booth. Picking up her napkin, she busied herself with smoothing it in her lap. Her stomach was tied in knots over what he was going to say. He hadn't denied that anything was wrong which meant that something was going on. Part of her didn't want anything to ruin what had been a perfect night so far...but the other part of her couldn't stand the suspense. After taking a sip of her water she reached out and grabbed Graham's hand, squeezing it reassuringly.
The first thing Graham did upon sitting down was taking his martini and knocking the rest of it back. Burned a bit, but he needed the alcohol in his system to get through this. Then he looked on over to Autumn, feeling her hand squeeze at his and just knew that she was worried. If it wasn't that, then it was the look in her eye that got to him. Taking in a deep breath, Graham shattered the silence and just let it all out. "Some shit went down earlier tonight. Rigby and I got attacked by another demon. We're fine, obviously, but-" He scoffed a bit, looking away for a second, then gazed into Autumn's eyes. He had to look her in the eye to do this right. "We can't - I can't stand to be here for another day. Just need to get away from this town and this..." He didn't have the will to mention the bullshit he wanted to get away from when he was sitting with a stunning woman who was making him finally feel human again. That wasn't bullshit... and Graham was slowly starting to realize that.
It took Autumn a minute to process what he was saying. He was leaving. He'd been attacked again. Rigby was leaving. Rigby had been attacked. They were leaving. Leaving town...leaving her. Even as her eyes welled with tears, they were scanning his body checking for injuries. He'd said he was fine, but she had to make sure. He looked fine physically...emotionally was a whole different story.
He was leaving her. Rigby was leaving her. Everyone seemed to be leaving her in the last few months. Was she that horrible that she didn't deserve people around her? Autumn looked at Graham, her face totally devastated. "For good?" she choked out. Her heart clenched while she waited for the answer, praying he wasn't leaving for absolutely good.
Seeing her eyes tear was exactly what Graham didn't want to see. He brought a hand up to her face to flick away any tears that were forming, knowing his kind acts were fruitless. Taking in another breath, he replied to her. "I... don't know, Autumn. I honestly don't. I don't know if we're going to go for a couple of days, a week, a month, a year, I don't know. I don't even know if we want to come back. I mean, right now I don't." The minute those words left his lips he instantly regretted them, but there was no point in apologizing. He knew Autumn would take it a certain way, even though Graham had something entirely in mind. He only hoped she didn't slap him across the face, even though he definitely deserved it.
Upon hearing that, Autumn instantly recoiled. She knocked his hand away and scooted out of the booth, running from the restaurant. Once outside she gave in to her tears and leaned against the wall, her chest heaving with sobs. He was leaving and didn't want to come back. Something was wrong with her and she'd run off yet another person. Make that two people, including Rigby. Her sobs became harder as she thought of him leaving for good too. Autumn wrapped her arms around herself and slid down the wall until she was sitting on the dirty ground, not caring that her dress was getting ruined. She did take the time to pull down the skirt of her dress to make sure she wasn't flashing anyone. Autumn sat there, her heart literally breaking into a thousand pieces. How was she supposed to move on from this? Between her family, Graham and Rigby, Autumn was sure that her heart would never be whole again.
Her response was actually worse than a slap to the face, because at least the pain that came with that stung for mere seconds before wearing off. This was far worse. He sat the for a moment, lowering his head while trying to recompose himself. After the time went by, he fished out his wallet and threw down the amount needed, noticing it only left him with a twenty. Oh well, better than nothing. Slipping out from the booth, he headed on outside to find Autumn in complete shambles. And all because of him. Way to fucking go, asshole. Graham slowly made his way over to her, hoping not to irritate Autumn even more.
Autumn felt him coming her way before she saw him. She wasn't sure she could be around him in that moment. He'd just shattered her world, which she'd just rebuilt from being shattered by her family. She wasn't even sure what to say to him, so she stayed huddled on the ground, shoulders shaking from the force of her sobs. It was starting to kill her ribs and part of the tears came from her physical pain.
"Autumn..." He dropped down to his knees in front of her, not even noticing the fact her dress was riding up than normal. Right then he wanted to make her happy. The whole night was meant to be romantic to make her happy and now he was messing that one up hardcore. "Autumn, look at me." He reached out to her, tilting her chin up so he could look at her face better. "Listen, I came back to this shithole several weeks ago and it's been nothing but hell for me. I've almost regretted coming back here every single day. No one's been thrilled to have me back and accept me. Fuck, you remember this? This ring?" He lifted it up for Autumn before dropping it. "I came back here, day one, and found her again, and didn't even give me a second of her time. The one person who I thought accepted me for who I was... completely fucking gone from my life. And then I met you, Autumn, at the most random time and place, and regardless of all the shit we've been through together the past week, you've been here for me, just like she was back then."
Graham paused and looked away, running a hand through his hair before looking back to continue. "I left one night without a word to her. No explanation, no kiss goodbye, no nothing. All I left was a fucking crumbled up piece of shit paper with some chicken scratch on it saying I was going. I fucked up that night. No matter what, I can never have that back." Blinking his eyes, Graham found himself starting to fight off his own tears. "I didn't want to do that to you. You don't deserve that. You probably don't even deserve me after all this bullshit, but I don't care right now. All that I care about is that you don't get left by some lame ass note... I just wanted to my last night here in Scarlet Oak to be with you and have it be as fucking spectacular as possible, because-" And there he went choking on his words again, looking to the side and letting the silence wash over them before finishing his thought. "...because you're the only one who's accepted me since I've come back, and I don't want to fuck this one up again. Or ever."
Seeing his tears and feeling his pain had a huge impact on Autumn. "Thank you for telling me face to face," she said, her voice shakey. In her opinion, the girl was an idiot for not at least listening to Graham. It was obvious he really cared about the girl and Autumn had a feeling that was pretty rare for him.
"That's why you're leaving? It's not because of me?" The answer to that question would make all the difference in the world. If she'd done something wrong, something to chase him off, she'd never forgive herself. But if he was leaving to get away from the people who were hurting him, how could she fault him for that when she did the same thing with her family?
"...what? No. Oh dear fucking christ, no! This has nothing to do with you, Autumn. Unless you're the one who summoned the demon to come attack us earlier, then no. It's not you." Graham cupped her face while staring into her eyes. "I just want this moment with you. I just want to make it perfect for you."
So he wasn't leaving because of her...but he was still leaving. Autumn wasn't sure what he wanted from her, what she could offer him. She'd already given him part of herself and he was leaving with it. "The only way you can make this perfect is if you come back to me. Please, Graham," she begged, her hand coming up to grasp his forearm.
Watching her reach out to him while listening to her words was painful. Graham didn't like making promises he had no idea he could keep, even if it was for someone as beautiful as Autumn. He wanted her to stop crying, but he didn't want to lie in order to do that, therefore it left him with only one option and to tell the truth. "I don't know if I can, Autumn. I don't know if we're going to come back and if we do, then I don't know when. Shit, I've been living for the moment since I was let back out into society and I never wanted to have myself caged for any reason, literally or figuratively. I can't promise you I'll come back to this town." He leaned in closer, resting his forehead against hers as he brought his voice down to a murmur. "But if I do, I'll do my best to find you again." Maybe it would be like how Saoirse was the first one he found, except it would be with Autumn. And maybe instead of being scared shitless, she would welcome him back with open arms. Maybe he could get that for once in his fucked up life.
Autumn sighed wetly, her eyes closing in pain. She supposed his answer would have to do. She was going to have to say goodbye to him, possibly for forever. His answer made perfect sense and she knew he was sharing a part of himself that he hadn't really with anyone else.
"How much time do we have before you leave?" The least she could do was make his last few weeks as good as possible. Rigby leaving didn't surprise her so much - she always knew he would move on at some point. But Graham? Autumn sniffled as more tears fell down her face. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a brief hard kiss. "I don't want you to go, but I understand why you have to," she whispered.
Cupping her face in his hands, he kept staring into her eyes, still flicking away any tears that rolled down her face. "We leave in the morning. Explains this shitty excuse for a good time." He sighed and lowered his head. A very small part of him didn't want to go either, but the vast majority was screaming to pack up and move it already. Such was his life. Besides, he had been on the go constantly for the past four years, so it wasn't that much of a change for him - just Autumn.
"The morning?" she squeaked. "That's so fast...so sudden!" Autumn pulled her face out of Graham's hands and covered it with her own hands as she cried. When people left her, they did it in a hurry, it seemed. Like they couldn't get away from her fast enough. She only had tonight to say goodbye and it didn't seem like nearly enough. Would she even get to say goodbye to Rigby?
Graham watched her pull away and cry harder. It seemed like no matter what he said or did it wasn't going to make anything better. He didn't have any intentions of hurting her, but it seemed that that was all he was doing. Letting out a rough sigh, he rubbed his eyes while trying to figure out what the hell to do. After a moment of thought, Graham scooped up Autumn in his arms and pulled her in close. "Come on, we should head on back. Besides-" He nuzzled his face into her cheek. "I don't want to waste anymore time that can be spent with you."
Autumn curled into Graham, hooking her arms around his neck. She turned her face and kissed him hard. "I don't either," she murmured. If this was going to be their last night together, no matter how much it hurt, it was going to be a damn good night together. "I'm sorry I ruined dinner." She felt bad about her breakdown but with her abandonment issues, this news hit her like a ton of bricks.
"You didn't ruin dinner." Graham reassured Autumn, making his way to her car to settle her down on the hood of the vehicle. "You haven't ruined anything for that matter, so don't get that shit in your head, ok?" Slipping a hand beneath her chin, he forced the woman to look up at him. "It's not morning yet, you know. We still got the whole rest of the night to do whatever we want. I just want to make you happy."
When he sat her against the car, Autumn wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him close. Her lips searched out his and she kissed him hard, sucking on his bottom lip. "Let's go home then. We can spend all night together." She sniffled slightly, "Our last night together." Her lips were turned down in a frown, knowing she was going to miss him so much.
With her lips lingering against his, Graham was tempted to hike her dress up enough to have fun with her right then and there, but he didn't. A last night, as Autumn put it so eloquently, was worthy of something far more intimate. He placed his hands on her hips, helping her off of the car before opening the passenger side door for her. While he was quiet, Graham never took his eyes off of her. He wasn't crying by any means, but there was a hint of sadness in his gaze and it was apparently that he was going to miss her in return.
Climbing into the passenger side, Autumn felt Graham's sadness and it actually helped her to know that he was just as affected by his departure as she was. Even though they hadn't been together long, she still really cared for him and would genuinely miss him. She knew better than to ask him to keep in touch, she didn't even know if he had a cell phone. But maybe if he came through town, he'd look her up again just to say hi.
Once Autumn was situated in her seat, he closed the door and headed to the driver's side to start heading off to her house. Graham felt like there was something he should have said to her in order to cheer her up, but each time his eyes glanced to the side to see her sad face, he found himself rendered speechless. Instead of saying meaningless words, he reached his hand out to Autumn's and locked it into hers, holding her hand tenderly as he continued to drive in silence.
Clinging onto his hand like it was a lifeline, Autumn worked hard to keep her tears at bay. She didn't want to be crying the entire night - especially because it was the last night they'd have together. After what seemed to be the longest, quietest ride ever, they finally pulled up to her house. She climbed down with Graham's help, wrapping her arm around his waist as they walked to the door. Once she had the door unlocked and they were inside, she leaned back against it, looking up at Graham with sad eyes. As much as she tried to hide it, the sadness lingered in her eyes.