Nina Clarke: ᴍᴀʏᴏʀ, ᴀᴜsᴛɪɴ ᴛx & sʜʏ ʙʟᴏʙ (commonlaw) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2016-10-06 11:55:00 |
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Entry tags: | # 2019 [10] october, amanda van eeden, nina clarke |
Who: Nina Clarke & Amanda van Eeden
Where: Nina's office at The Capitol
When: Oct. 2, 12PM
What: Lunch and professional discussion.
They were two days into life post-lockdown, four days since the barricades around incorporated Austin had broken, six days since the spontaneous conversions. After everything it had survived, Nina's city had a scary tendency to bounce back quickly, even after tragedy. If it weren't for the people she was missing, she could squint at the world around her and think nothing had happened. If only things were as simple as that. Nina wasn't sure anything would ever really be the same again. A dramatic thought, perhaps, and something she ought to not take lightly after everything she'd been through, but everything from city infrastructure to supplies and population status had taken a hit. And though she had these pressing concerns on her mind, the responsibility of it all weighing on her like always, Nina found herself equally preoccupied with the current state of things in her office. She and Amanda had settled back into their regular rapport, characterized by all the usual moments of disagreement, but after the way things had developed it was, well. Difficult for Nina to focus. And that wouldn't do; she was a woman who took pride in her work ethic, not her ability to grow distracted by the same pretty smile that had apparently been right in front of her this entire time. So she sought to get to the bottom of this, in her own way. Before, Nina had taken nearly all of her meals in her apartment; she'd never been given enough work in the Department of Justice to necessitate staying through lunch. Now, though, as Mayor, it was a regular occurrence for her and her staff to prioritize productivity over sustenance. It seemed reasonable enough to order sandwiches and salad from the café in the rotunda, guessing as best as she could as to Amanda's preferences, then sent a message to let her co-worker know to meet her for lunch. And then, once the door to her office started to open, Nina busied herself with a report from the Department of Vital Communications, rereading it in an attempt to seem unbothered by the company. Entering the mayor’s office, Amanda greeted Nina with a wide smile that never had a chance of hitting its mark -- she had her nose in a stack of paperwork and missed the whole thing. Amanda gave a mental shrug, but not without a small, disappointed sigh escaping her. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting in the days since Nina spent the night, but being noticed when she entered a room didn't seem like a tall order. There was slightly less of a divide between them now, but in some respects not all that much had changed at all. Joining Nina for lunch, so that they could continue to work while eating, was one of those things that Amanda didn't mind was the same. A good thing, because there were still so many tasks to be done in the aftermath of last month’s events, they couldn't have justified a real lunch hour. Forgoing a greeting since Nina appeared to be busy anyway, Amanda was in the process of crossing to her usual seat when she was interrupted. "You can leave that closed, actually." Nina's voice sounded a bit odd breaking the silence, she thought, or perhaps it was tension of some sort. She set the report down, though, to belatedly make eye contact with her liaison. "Thank you." Now, that was different. But nevertheless Amanda complied, wordlessly retracing her steps to shut the door to the office. Once the door was closed, though, she sent Nina a curious glance. “Why do I feel as though I'm about to receive a dressing down?” she asked, finally taking a seat. A quick mental review of her actions over the past few days didn't reveal any that were worth a closed door meeting, though. There had been a few pointed looks, maybe, and a comment or two. One slightly scandalously fitted top -- but it had been under a jacket, so that seemed like a non-issue. In the end, she simply sat back in the chair and crossed her legs, waiting for Nina to speak. Nina pursed her lips in an attempt to not smile too obviously at the phrasing, aware all the while that she wasn't sending the clearest signals. As much as she wanted to clear things up, admitting that she wanted more between them -- or at least the chance to see if there could be more -- seemed like a risk she wasn't yet sure she wanted to take. Still, she shook her head. "I don't intend that," she said, doing her level best to keep her eyes on Amanda's even as her gaze threatened to wander. "I simply thought that considering… recent events, we ought to sort through what's happened and…" Nina made a vague gesture with one hand, quickly growing embarrassed by it, and leaned forward to reach for her water instead. "See if we can make any sense of it. It seemed that doing so privately would be best." She took a sip of her water and added, her voice a bit more uncertain, "If that suits you." “Ah!” Amanda’s eyebrows raised slightly. Of course Nina was the ‘let's dissect our sexual encounter’ type. She seemed to thrive on exerting control wherever possible -- and attempting to exert it even where it wasn't. In that respect, Amanda really should have seen this coming. If she had, perhaps she would have been less surprised by Nina deliberately clinging to the status quo over the past few days. “So it's that kind of discussion. Yes, of course. That suits me.” It was an awkward conversation to have with a desk between them, Amanda thought. For a moment it felt as though she were an applicant interviewing for a job. At least her qualifications for the position, if there was one, ought to be fairly clear after their night together. Hoping to make the atmosphere a little more casual, she leaned forward to reach for the nearest salad and looked it over for a moment before speaking. “If you're concerned that our one-on-one meeting on the 8th will affect our working relationship, I can assure you that I excel at compartmentalization, when I care to.” "Oh. I see." Nina had been carefully cultivating a neutral expression on her face as she waited for Amanda's response, but the response caught her off guard. Was this -- whatever 'this' was, and Nina hadn't even gotten to the ledger line in her imaginary agenda about defining 'this,' yet -- something Amanda wasn't interested in pursuing? And which 'working relationship' was she even referring to? Was it an innuendo or was it actually referring to their working relationship? "Is that… Would you prefer to keep the events of the 8th as a one-off project?" Nina asked, once she'd successfully schooled her features into something that vaguely resembled calm. Over the past four days, she'd built a hypothesis off of the vaguely suggestive smiles and the copious amounts of cleavage that Amanda had sent in her direction, but she supposed that the pitfalls of waiting this long to clear the air were now making themselves obvious. Nina preferred making decisions based off of details and facts, and the guessing game she'd unknowingly trapped herself in made her feel uncomfortable and vulnerable. "Or if I wanted to have it recur… I suppose I'm asking, do you have a preference?" At Nina’s question, Amanda raised her eyes from the salad. The earlier nonchalance of her expression was gone now, an uncharacteristically uncertain look settling on her face as she regarded the woman across the desk. The doublespeak made it tricky to be certain they were both on the same page. Of course she thought it should recur. Hadn't she been giving overt, yet work-appropriate, nonverbal cues for several days now? As for Nina, well, Amanda thought she could read through those careful words to the real sentiment underneath them, at least generally. “In my opinion, the topic of our project on the 8th warrants deeper exploration.” Amanda set the salad back onto the desk without having taken a single bite of it. “So, as long as you're also open to the prospect, I think it should be revisited. I'd like a little more clarity about the parameters involved, however.” "All right." This seemed promising enough, in Nina's opinion. And as ever, lately, the phrasing Amanda chose caught her attention, though she quickly brought her focus to the look on the woman's face. She was used to a more confident demeanor, one that was often used to indicate Amanda's determination to get her way in a debate of ideas and concepts, and she'd grown used to handling that. This, though, was something else. Nina ran through the potential outcomes in the space of time it took for her to reach for another sip of her water, putting together her body language and expression with her words -- 'I think it should be revisited' -- before she decided to speak more plainly. It seemed both of them could use a bit more clarity indeed. "I'd like to see you again," Nina said then, doing her best to ignore the way her nerves were doing a number on her even after such a simple admission. "Outside the office." A pause, as she summoned up every bit of courage she did possess, before: "It's hard for me to… divert attention from work. The stress of everything, all the duties and responsibilities, they tend to build up on my shoulders, and I've never been good at shaking it off. For as long as I can remember, people have been telling me to live a little, enjoy life while I still can…" Nina made a dismissive gesture, biting her lip briefly before continuing on. "I'm not good at that. But that night with you, that was the first night in a long while that I've actually been able to let go of those things for even a moment. And if you could do that for me for one night, I'd like to see what could happen another night, yes. But if you'd like to define the parameters, should you be interested as well… I'm open to your ideas." The unexpected drop of all pretense left Amanda momentarily taken aback. Her only outward reaction to Nina’s words was a slight widening of her eyes, the kind of thing you'd have to be paying close attention to notice. (Nina would see it, of course. There wasn’t much that she missed.) Internally, the reaction was greater: an uptick in her pulse, a flush of warmth in her chest, the sudden need to swallow. Not pleasure and not nerves but something encompassing both, something related to the realization that this might be a little more than a negotiation for another hook up. Maybe. And that, if it was, Amanda might not exactly be averse to the idea. A smile spread across her face. “I’d like to see you again outside of work too. Often.” Her eyes lowered to the desk, and the memory of Nina talking about having her on it sprang suddenly to mind. Amanda willed it away, but not before color stained her cheeks. “As far as parameters go, I'm more than happy to serve as a certain kind of distraction, if that's where you're leading. We’re very compatible in that area.” She paused, pursing her lips as she weighed her next words. “But I find myself challenged by you and surprised by you at every turn. What’s more, I find that I enjoy it. If a more … emotional connection is what you’re seeking, I wouldn’t say no to that either.” "Yes. I think I'd like that. Something more than the sex, I mean." Nina's gaze also drifted to the desk between them, though her thoughts were more concerned with whether she ought to at least stand up and move around it so they could have this conversation like normal people would. The relative distance felt safe; she wasn't sure if she could keep her hands to herself if they were closer, and they still had a lot to clear up. But it felt impersonal, too. After a moment's consideration, she got up to take a seat across from Amanda. There was an almost apologetic smile on her face for a moment, too, almost as though she knew how ridiculous the entire scenario was. "To recap," she said then, all too aware of the upticking of her heart as she sought further clarification. Her hands twisted in her lap before settling back onto her knee. "You're interested in me." It almost sounded like something that was too good to be true; Nina's smile reappeared then and stayed put the longer it went without denial. It emboldened her to add: "And considering that I haven't been able to get you out of my head over the last four days, I think it's very safe to say that I'm interested in you, too, stubbornness and plethora of contrary opinions and all." The laugh that came out of Amanda was soft but genuine. It was part relief that they were starting to get somewhere, part amusement at being accused of stubbornness by the most tenacious woman she'd ever met. It was a safe bet Nina liked to be challenged too, or they never would have made it to this point. Reaching across the now more intimate space between them, Amanda set her hand atop Nina’s and rubbed across the top of it with her thumb. “To recap,” she echoed, “I'm interested in you. Very much.” For all her apparent confidence -- her vanity, if you would -- there was still something that felt inherently precarious about admitting such a thing, but seeing Nina’s smile made the risk worthwhile. The offer that followed came naturally. “Would you like to come over again? Tonight, or some other time soon? For dinner, for company, for the night. I'd like any of the above.” "Yes." Nina answered Amanda's question as quickly as it had been asked, glad for the clarity and the security that came with knowing all the worrying over the last few days had been for nothing. Or perhaps it was more about knowing that she hadn't been alone in letting what had happened between them turn into something she wanted. A flash of nerves hit her then, thinking how she could get used to having this woman in her life and how inevitably, they'd have to part, but for once Nina preferred to make the most of the time they had rather than worry about the end. She leaned forward, shifting to the edge of her chair, and sent a smile in Amanda's direction. The invitation to meet her halfway, she hoped, was obvious. "I'd like that a lot -- all of the above, just to be clear." Nina paused, turning her hand up to take Amanda's in her own, and added, "Perhaps this time I ought to pack some clothes for the next day." Scooting to the edge of her chair as well, Amanda reached out to brush her free hand along Nina’s cheek. The door to the office, though closed, was still unlocked. Zach or another coworker might knock or walk through it at any time, but at the moment Amanda didn't care. She was too busy smiling back at Nina before saying in a low, suggestive voice, “I liked you in my top. I’ve thought about it every day since.” But if they wanted to continue keeping their after hours meetings between the two of them, Nina was probably right about bringing her own things over. Leaning in a little closer Amanda let her gaze dip down to Nina’s mouth, fully telegraphing her next move to allow the other woman to stop her, if she was inclined. Amanda looked back up meet Nina's gaze, ever so slightly challenging. “I’ve thought a lot about all of it every day since.” Then she closed the gap to softly kiss Nina. There was something about this, whatever this was between the two of them, that made it easier for Nina to pretend that there wasn't anything else in the world to care about besides the way her heart skipped a beat whenever they kissed. She lifted a hand to cup Amanda's cheek, her thumb skimming over her cheekbone as she sought to memorize the contour of this woman's face, before a muffled sound on the other side of her office door drew her out of the moment. Still, it took her a moment to pull entirely away as she turned to look; she rested her cheek against Amanda's as she waited, though she eventually did resettle back in her own chair. "I suppose we should actually have lunch," Nina mentioned off-handedly, though reluctance was clear in her voice even as she reached for one of the neglected containers. She felt breathless already from just the one kiss; their evening together, though it was just a few hours away, felt like it would never come. Nina unwrapped a napkin from her silverware, then offered Amanda a conspiratorial smile. "And if you make your point well enough, I'll consider wearing another one of your tops to work one of these days." Shifting back in her chair as well, Amanda reached for the same salad she'd handled earlier. Though just a few minutes had passed between then and now, enough had changed that the version of herself who'd fiddled nervously with the container and been unable to eat felt like a stranger. Now on firmer ground after their discussion, she had no hesitation in sending a coy sidelong glance in Nina’s direction. “You've already found that I can be quite the persuasive speaker,” she replied. “I'll win you over to my side on this issue in no time.” |