Nathaniel Posey (twentytwenty) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2016-10-27 12:11:00 |
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Entry tags: | # 2019 [10] october, nathan posey, paige goodall |
Who: Nathaniel Posey and Paige Goodall
Where: The Doughnut Hole
What: Nathan and Paige have coffee and catch up. Awkwardly.
When: 10/9/19, 9:30AM
Nathan had been out of quarantine for less than twenty four hours so he still hadn’t gotten used to the freedom that had been given back to him. In actuality it was a little weird to get used to again. Really great, but strange after a month with a set routine and a small room to himself. Even coffee with a friend felt like something huge. But he’d chosen it because it felt the most comfortable for seeing Paige. Inviting her to Pete’s had seemed like a bad idea, and he hadn’t wanted to bother Savannah and the girls by asking to borrow their place. He hadn’t really wanted the audience that would have come with that either. Coffee was neutral territory. They hadn’t seen or talked to each other in almost five years, aside from the conversations they’d had since Paige had traveled to Austin, so he wasn’t sure how it was going to go. Everything seemed okay between them, but it was easier to fake okay with phone calls and text messages. That was a lot harder to do face to face. The Doughnut Hole was busy, but not packed, so Nathan had been able to order and grab a table in the corner pretty easily. He’d almost thought about ordering for Paige also, but decided to let her order for herself instead. It was possible her taste had changed over the years. He could see the door from his chair though, so when she came in he spotted her immediately, but waited until she saw him to wave. Despite the constant mantra in Paige’s head, telling her to keep calm and stop freaking out, she couldn’t stop the knots rolling through her stomach. It wasn’t difficult to spot Nate when she entered the shop, and after a quick wave to him, she ordered a cup of coffee. The doughnuts smelled delicious, but she wasn’t sure the nerves could handle eating anything right now. “Hi, Nate,” Paige said once she was within earshot, then carefully set her cup off on the table. In her other hand she had a bag -- a surprise for Nate actually -- so she set that down too to free both arms for what was clearly waiting for her. Nate was already standing, waiting for her to get settled, waiting for a hug she supposed. Any other greeting would have seemed too formal, but as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, already this felt like it was too much too soon. Quickly stepping back, she smoothed down her dress and sat down at the table. “I’m glad you made it out of quarantine,” she said, smiling at him. No matter how weird this felt, she obviously was happy he was alive. “Yeah, me too,” he replied as he dropped into the chair across from Paige. He tried to shake the weirdness of that hug off; they’d never been weird around each other before. It was just a hug, nothing special, but something had definitely felt abnormal. “Reckon the staff was glad to see the back of me too. I was tryin’ not to be a real terrible patient, but…” he trailed off with a shrug. He picked up his coffee cup for something to do with his hands. “Maybe not the nurse that did all my release paperwork. She was actin’ like I was gonna let my leg get infected.” He laughed a little at the recollection of how many times he’d listened to care instructions. “Finally told her I live with a doc, so she’d leave me alone.” No one would ever say that Paige had “resting bitch face” so the fact that her face was fixed into a frown really meant that she was concerned. Added to the fact that it was Nate she was talking to -- the man she’d been married to, shared a life with, and worn her heart on her sleeve with -- meant she couldn’t have hid what she was feeling if she wanted to. “Is that where you were bit? Is it not healing well? Otherwise why would the nurse be concerned about infection?” It was strange how easy it was for Nathan to still be affected by little things, like Paige’s concerned frown. It used to get him all the time when they’d been married. He’d hated that look, and his stomach dropped at the realization that his attempt to lighten the mood had backfired. He hadn’t meant to upset or worry her, he’d only wanted to clear out the strangeness of their greeting. He should have known better though and taken more care with what he said. “It’s healin’ fine,” he assured, maybe quicker than he needed to. “Reckon she was just tryin’ to get a point across since it ain’t in a real convenient place to look after.” Nathan didn’t really want to get into the details of wound care over coffee. It was weird. “But it’s healin’ up better than the first one, so I don’t got anythin’ to worry about.” He really wanted to get away from talking about either one though. “Where’ve you been stayin’ since you’ve been here?” he asked, ignoring that it wasn’t a smooth subject change. Paige took a few breaths, trying to calm herself down from something that wasn’t even really her right to freak out about. After a moment, she just nodded slowly, saying, “Well, good I’m glad it’s healing.” Happy for the change of topic, no matter how abrupt, she added, “Some temporary housing by campus. Kinda feels like old times because it’s where all the city’s soldiers live,” she said. If Nate had screwed up in making her worry about him, she’d done just as badly by making reference to when they’d live on base. God, this was going terribly. Nathan frowned because they didn’t really talk about their old times; he’d never been successful at throwing it into casual conversation, but apparently Paige could now. He tried to cover and make it seem less about that and more about soldiers though. “You’re stayin’ with the military men?” he asked her, his eyebrows still creased in the center. “Hope they ain’t botherin’ you much… but I reckon y’all know how they can get.” So much for successfully avoiding any allusions to history. His frown deepened. Why was this so hard? It was like he’d set the entire conversation off on the wrong foot and they just kept going from there. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked if she would stick around until he was out. From where he was sitting it felt like they were only capable of being friends from a distance. “But Army ain’t near as bad as Navy, so…” he added as he forced his face to smooth back out into a half-smile. This was really going so far downhill so quickly and Paige was starting to get a panicky feeling building in her chest. This felt terrible and she hadn’t thought it would be this bad but it really was. It seemed like everything they tried to talk about just led to more frowning and uncomfortable silences so quickly, Paige reached under the table and held out a bag to him, breezing right past everything they’d just been talking about. “Here. It’s a belated birthday gift. I figured you wouldn’t have time to make a Halloween costume, so…” she trailed off, hoping this topic wouldn’t be a bust. Thank god. Nathan didn’t know where he was going to be able to go if their conversation kept going down the same path it had started on. Sudden as it was, Paige’s derail alleviated tension in his shoulders, and his expression shifted to something more curious than strained. “You didn’t have to do that,” he told her as he took the bag and opened it. Then his eyebrows raised as he recognized the familiar green of a flight suit, but the patches were all wrong to have been his. “Seriously?” he asked as he looked back up at her across the table, eyebrows still raised, realizing what she’d made. “This is great, thank you.” The nervous pit in her stomach lessened a bit as she watched Nate look at the Maverick costume she’d made him. She hadn’t even considered it was an overstep on her part, but she’d just been waiting around in Austin without much to do. Sewing was always a favorite way to pass the time. “Well, I had some time to kill,” she said with a shrug before reaching forward to grab her coffee. Now that her stomach was starting to settle down, she might have to rethink that doughnut she’d passed up earlier. “But I’m glad you like it. Hopefully you’ll be the best dressed at the party.” “No doubt I’ll be,” Nathan said with a real genuine grin. “Ain’t no one else gonna be wearin’ a Paige Goodall original.” And maybe he should feel weird about that one, but it was a gift. He set the bag by his feet and relaxed back into his chair. “It looked like you picked up a few clients since you been here, though.” Maybe that was weird to notice, but there wasn’t much to do but read the freenet when he got bored in quarantine. “It was another good way to pass the time,” she said, though with a smile, added, “And I was happy to help. Don’t know what everyone around here has been doing without someone like be around.” After her conversation with Amanda and inquiring further with the Mayor’s offer about the benefits of moving a business to Austin, the obvious need seemed all the more reason for her to consider making this move. “Makin’ shit work, I think. Jeans that’re too short were startin’ to be a look.” He smiled broadl then tore a piece off the doughnut he’d bought and popped it in his mouth, chasing it down with some coffee. “I do appreciate you stickin’ ‘round ‘til I got out, though. I’m sure Tulsa really misses you.” “It was hard the first half of the month but now that the city’s connected to the national network again, I’ve been able to call my parents and let them know how it’s going.” They weren’t exactly convinced about this whole living-in-Austin situation, but they understood what an opportunity it could be for her. “I’m glad I was able to stay and see you though. I’m relieved to know that you’re okay.” There wasn’t any denying that he was relieved to know she was okay also. After the loss of Jackson, and the fact that his parents fate was still a mystery, knowing he could scratch Paige’s name off his list of losses was huge. “How’re your parents? Reckon they feel better knowin’ you’re headin’ back their way again.” “They’re good. It’ll be nice to see them again after being away,” Paige agreed. It felt weird not telling Nate the decision that was weighing on her mind right now, but she supposed being back in each other’s lives would take some easing into. After a moment, she smiled at Nate. Strange as all this felt, the only way it would get easier was time and it just so happened that they might have a lof that in the near future. |