modernknight (modernknight) wrote in the_colony, @ 2011-01-05 15:41:00 |
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Entry tags: | ^ week 24, gregory blair, nathan theien, | greg and nate |
Week 24 - Thursday
Characters: Greg Blair and Nate Theien
Location: Farmhouse, Nate and Abby’s room.
Summary: Greg has an important question to ask Nate.
Rating: PG
Greg had been contemplating the next move between himself and Abigail ever since the morning they’d fallen asleep on the couch the week before. The last thing he wanted to do was to rush her or cause her pain, but she seemed to welcome his attentions. Things had developed to the point where he felt it was time to put them out in the open, and that meant he had to speak to Nathan.
And so that was how he found himself at the door of the room Abigail shared with Nathan, knocking on the frame. “Nathan, have you a minute to talk?”
Nate, without anything else to do, was lounging on his bed, reading the most recent book he’d gotten his hands on. He looked up when he heard the knock, dog-earring the page before tossing it gently aside and getting up. He stretched as he moved across the room and pulled open the door.
“Whats up, man?”
Greg stepped through the door, feeling a little nervous. It wasn’t a feeling he was used to anymore and it unsettled him that much further that he was experiencing it to begin with. He stood ramrod straight and forced himself to look the other man in the eyes. “I wanted to discuss Abigail.”
Nate closed the door behind Greg, figuring this was something he didn’t want others over hearing as he came searching for him in his room. His smile faltered just a little as Greg announced his reason for the visit. “Oh really?” Nate’s eyebrow curved upward and his arms crossed his chest as he watched the other man. “What about her?”
Now that the question was floating out there Greg found himself unable to get the words out. His irritation with himself was obvious in his body language as he fidgeted. What are you Blair, twelve? He snarled at himself. You’ve faced down men with guns carrying nothing more than a few arrows and cold steel, and you’re scared to talk to the man about his sister? Pull yerself together, man!
The mental rebuke seemed to do the trick and he returned his attention to Nathan. “I’ve become quite fond of Abigail these past several weeks, more than fond really. You’re Abigail’s only living relative, and a good man and friend besides.” Here we go. “It would be dishonorable of me to look to take my relationship with your sister beyond simple friendship without seeking you out first. In short: I wish to court Abigail, and I would very much like to have your leave to do so.”
Nate wanted to laugh. Courting, really? You’d think in the time together Nathan would be used to his... weird language, but he wasn’t. Somehow Greg always caught him by surprise. Still, he kept a straight face, smiling a little and nodding his head in understanding.
“You want to court my sister.” He repeated slowly, “What, no dowry of livestock or pheasants or something?” He was smirking now, he couldn’t help but tease the other man a little bit.
The teasing seemed to break the ice and Greg relaxed slightly, both in posture and attitude. “If you had such things to give that might sweeten the pot, considering a dowry is usually paid to the man from the woman’s family. If you wanted to add a few horses to the mix I wouldn’t look askance at it.” Relaxed enough to give back as good as he got, it seemed.
“Pfft.” Nate said rolling his eyes just a bit, “I’ve seen enough medieval movies to know that if you want the pretty girl, you gotta pay the head of house, which would be me by the way.” He was grinning now, his arms no longer crossed over his chest and he shrugged a little. “ ‘sides, I don’t have Abby’s way with animals and I can barely ride a horse, I think I’d have a hard time getting you those animals.”
“Guess you’ll just have to go without then,” Greg smirked back. “Besides, if I were to tell Abigail you tried to sell her off to me, I think you’d see her fury directed back at you.” He was relieved that the other man was teasing him, it was a good sign.
“That... is an incredibly valid point.” He said, and then paused for a moment as if thinking deeply on the subject. “Yeah, we should probably just avoid that mess.”
Nate crossed the room and sat on his bed, “As for the whole thing... the only person who can give you permission to court Abigail is Abby herself. I like you. You’re a good guy and I have a lot of faith in you to do the right thing. I will have you know though, that if you do anything to hurt my sister I will have to kill you. It would break my heart to have to break your face, but I’d do it.” Nathan was only half joking, he took his role as Abby’s older brother very seriously, especially now that they were the only two left. It didn’t matter that he knew that Greg could kill him in a fight (honestly, he didn’t think any of this would come to pass of course, but he figured Greg deserved fair warning)
Greg leaned back against the wall, feeling more confident that he’d made the right decision in seeking Nate out first. “Be that as it may, I felt it would be dishonorable to do anything without first seeking your blessing on the matter. You’re her only relative left in the world and I would not cause conflict between you.” He looked over at the other man steadily, waiting for his response.
“Hey, no conflict here.” Nate gave Greg a half hearted shrug and flashed him a grin. “Even if I didn’t like you, as long as you made Abby happy I wouldn’t try to get in the way.”
“Thank you.” Greg felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. One he hadn’t known was there. The road to building something with Abigail was now clear. “I promise I’ll do my best to make her happy. She deserves to be happy.”
“Yeah she does. And I know you’ll do right by her.” Nate smiled.
“I’ve certainly been trying, she seems to appreciate it so far.”
“So what exactly is your game plan now? Cause for the record, I’m not exactly sure how telling her that you asked my permission first will go over not that that has ever happened before.” Nate was actually rather curious about how Greg planned on pursuing things.
“I don’t exactly know.” Greg confessed, his expression becoming uncertain. “I’m not the same man I was in the Time Before, Nathan. Things that came easily to me then are more-” he struggled for the right word “-difficult now. I suppose I’ll just wait for the right moment and ask.”
Nate had to suppress a snicker at the phrase ‘Time Before’ as it seemed like the wrong time to start laughing. He really should get used to the odd way in which Greg spoke, but sometimes he couldn’t help it, he really couldn’t even describe why it amused him. “I don’t think any of us are the same people we used to be, whether we pretend we are or not. But, that sounds pretty logical, man. I wouldn’t worry about it too much.”
Greg nodded. “Easier said than done, but I’ll try.” He pushed himself off the wall and looked toward the door, then back to Nate. “I appreciate your friendship Nathan, and your trust.”