Who: Athos and Sharon Carter When: Oct 7 Where: Cafe What: Girl Talk. With Athos. Rating/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete
Sharon was tickled that Athos agreed to come out to coffee with her. She’d had a lot of crazy things going on in her life, and was hoping for an ear. Someone who wasn’t involved, someone without too many stakes in her life. And Athos had been such a good listener at work, always coming up with interesting and thoughtful takes on any given situations. She was lucky he’d agreed, actually, for her to bounce things off of him.
As promised, she bought the coffee cake and the coffees, and brought them back to the table where she’d told him to sit. “Here. There’s some sugar and creamer on the table…” It was like a diner. Sort of thing. She settled in her seat and grabbed some sugar to dress up her coffee.
Athos had always been a pretty good listener, he was calm and collected and tended to look at things objectively. It was part of what had made him a good CIA trainer. So when Sharon had said she needed someone to talk to he hadn’t thought twice about offering an ear.
He smiled as she returned to the table, bypassing the sugar and creamer. He preferred to taste his coffee, “How you doing now? Better being able to go places without an attachment?”
“Oh, God, yes.” Sharon said, giving him a bright, but tired smile. “Not that I had a terrible week, I was stuck with my friend John.” She paused, stirring some sugar into her coffee. “That’s part of what I wanted to talk about. It’s kind of a long story.”
"That doesn't sound so bad" he said before nodding, "I've got nowhere to be except right here" he told her encouraging her to say what she needed to.
God, Athos was wonderful. No wonder D’Artagnan was head over heels. He was warm, and made a person feel comfortable. He was so easy to talk to, too. Sharon smiled a bit less tiredly. “Well… A few months ago I was really lonely. My friend Jane and I tried speed dating, we tried blind dating, we tried internet dating. It was ridiculous. Then I met Remy, and he was … really charming. We started going out a bit. Just as friends, but… it felt like more. Probably because that’s the way he is. Anyway, I met a guy named Clint, too, when we had our dogs on the beach. He’s pretty amazing, I think I’ve got a crush on him. But he’s seeing someone else, so... And I went out with John a couple of times. I’ve made it pretty clear to Remy and to John that I’m a free agent--I’m dating, but not exclusive--because I don’t know who I want most, and I… I really don’t know what I want.” She sighed softly. “...I want a partner. I want something real. And I know I won’t ever get that from Remy.”
Athos listened carefully as Sharon spoke, he wasn’t surprised that Remy was involved. The man seemed to leave trails of heartbreak or confusion in his wake. “You know making it pretty clear sometimes isn’t the same thing for men and women” he said, “Subtlety doesn’t work well on men” he advised her, “It sounds to me like you do know what you want Sharon and who you stand a chance of getting it from. Maybe you just need to accept that” he suggested.
Sharon frowned a bit. She appreciated the honesty and the advice. But it wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear. Of course, sometimes she needed to hear things that she didn’t want to hear. “I’d feel bad going out with John more if I only feel friendship toward him. I already feel bad when I’m out with Remy, knowing that it’s just fun, and won’t lead to anything more. And I feel bad knowing that I like this other guy, Clint, but he’s not interested in me. Maybe I should just give up for a while and stop trying.”
Unfortunately for Sharon, Athos wasn’t the type to tell you what you wanted to hear over the truth. “Maybe you should” he agreed, “Look bottom line is if you want commitment and a real romantic partnership you won’t get it from a man like Remy, or this Clint if he isn’t interested in you and if you aren’t interested enough in John then that won’t work either. Sharon, you’re still young. You don’t need to rush into a relationship just because you feel you shouldn’t be single” he advised her patting her hand briefly.
Sharon nodded. It wasn’t patronizing, it was honest. That’s what Athos was good for. Honesty. And she really should take his advice. She wanted to take his advice. It was good advice. “You’re right.” She could be single. She didn’t need a relationship. She had Pete, she wasn’t exactly lonely. And Peggy was around, Sharon had a bunch of friends.
Suddenly, it felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. “Now I just have to figure out how to communicate this new state of being to the guys I’ve sort of been seeing.”
In Athos’ opinion it wouldn’t be long before Sharon found somebody, she was a lovely girl and very attractive but she stood a better chance of meeting the perfect person if she wasn’t looking. Once she accepted being on her own someone would come along, at least that’s what he’d found.
“My advice on that is honesty and less subtlety” he said, “We’re a simple lot really” he added with an almost grin.
“Right.” Sharon said. “And do it in person, right?” She added, wondering how on Earth she was going to explain this to Remy and John. Of course, she wouldn’t have to explain anything to Clint.
"Person is always best. Just don't let them charm you" of course he was more referring to Remy with that statement. The man was ridiculously charming to practically everybody. "This is your decision and yours alone. If they aren't happy with it then that's their problem"
“Remy and I haven’t… we’ve barely held hands in several weeks. I have a feeling he understands that’s the general direction that our friendship is taking. No more friends with benefits. I’ll just have to make sure to be honest and let him know that’s what I want. What I need. With John it’s harder. I can tell he really likes me. I wish I felt the same way, I just… I don’t know. Maybe I’m too busy pining over someone else.”
Athos nodded, "Well that's good" he said regarding Remy, he may be a charmer but he did know when to back off. "Maybe space away from all three is definitely what you need then" he said, "If John does care he will allow you space" he added.
“I’m sure he will.” Sharon agreed. She’d noticed that he’d started giving her more space--even though they were stuck together during the most recent craziness that Orange County had for them. (How awkward was that?) She sighed gently. “I hate hurting his feelings. I wish I didn’t have to.”
"But it's better now than later isn't it?" Athos asked, "At least this way it's early enough that he can work through his feelings and you can both maintain a good friendship" It would be better for all in the end, he was sure of that.
“Hopefully.” Sharon said, nodding. “I hope so. I mean, yes. I’m sure you’re right. It might sting, but at least we didn’t … you know. We didn’t spend the night together, or anything.” That would be harder to explain off.
"Even better then" he agreed, "Don't worry so much, people get over hurt feelings. I promise you that. Give it time and space that's all"
“Thanks.” Sharon said, she sighed. “You’re right. I’ll tell him the next chance I have.” She lifted her coffee to sip. “That’s really all I had to talk about. Everything else seems to be going fine in my life.”
Athos smiled at her, "Well I'm glad to hear that. One crisis is quite enough at any given time" he told her, "You should come over for dinner soon. See the new place. I promise I'll be the one cooking"
“I would love to.” Sharon said, brightening considerably. “I can bring the wine.”
"Perfect" Athos replied, "How about Friday?"
“Friday it is.” Sharon grinned. “I’d love to.” She finished her coffee with a big gulp. “...you want to head back to the office, now?”
Nodding Athos drained his own cup, "Guess we'd better. You know what they say, no rest for the wicked"