Mickey & Lily
"No, but I do think a lot will be going on and you'll be with your family. I don't have family out there." He didn't have family at all unless December counted. As she started talking he knew what was coming. He could tell from the first sentence. How many times had he heard that or said it himself? Too many. That was what happened when part of him was always cut off. When she finished he didn't give much of a reaction at all. For a second his eyes cut to December, hating that he'd even brought Lily up and gotten in a right with her, trying to do the right thing and ruined everything for nothing at all. "It's not like you think, with your brother or her. I would have made it work." He didn't show much of anything at first, shoving away his feelings before finding a smile, albeit small. "But if he makes you happy, and you're serious about him, who am I to get in the way." Obviously she didn't like him as much as she fought if she'd let some other guy take over everything they were feeling together. "And I hope he treats you well."
"That's the point. You shouldn't have to make it work, it should just work on its own." Lily continued to watch him, sadly. She wasn't expecting him to smile at all, and it made her almost even more nervous than she had been before. Was this the calm before the storm? She had experienced that before and it was always worse, in her opinion. She would rather someone just be angry right off the bat. She hesitated, unsure of what to say. "Thank you.. that's very sweet..." She nodded in the direction of where Mickey's gaze had gone. "Is that her?" It was a belated question, but she was curious. Despite having been distracted most of the night with Jack, she had observed Mickey enough to see who his gaze had been focused on several times over the course of the evening.
Mickey was pretty sure that was as naive an answer about life as it got, that everything took work, even when it made more sense than most things. "I guess I also thought it was working," he said softly, not quite looking at her. "It's the truth. You should be happy and treated well. I said that before." It was why he hadn't pushed things too far between them. He wasn't that kind of guy. At her question he cut his eyes back to December for a moment. "Doesn't matter. Won't ever matter." Not after their last talk. He'd screwed their entire relationship up in trying to do the right thing. He'd not gotten close enough to Lily in doing the right thing and he'd ruined all his chances with Zania by trying to do the right thing. The right thing really wasn't getting him anywhere past alone. Maybe that was the plan. That he'd just be alone. Made more sense really. "So I'm guessing dinner's off then? Don't want to get in the way of what you've got going on with the new guy."
Touche. Lily lacked an answer for Mickey, still unsure how exactly to explain things to him. She settled on a sigh again instead, frustrated with how difficult relationships could be sometimes. She did still care for him, that hadn't changed, and it really bothered her that she had made him feel anything but happy. "I'd still love to have dinner, if you'd like to? As friends?" She hadn't wanted to give him the "let's be friends" talk because she had never seen a situation where that actually worked. If he was willing to try, however, she would be happy to too. She didn't like to think of them not speaking or hanging out anymore.