Clove sat on the couch, waiting for Marvel to come back home after work. He worked in a jewelry shop that had been passed down throughout his family and was officially the oldest store in District 1. Clove had moved here, it was because she and Marvel's family were close and they wanted to be even closer, marriage closer. It wasn't said in stone, but it may as well be. Sure she and Marvel got along great but it was up to her. If she wanted to say no she could, only to live the rest of her life as a disgrace to her family.
"Clove?" Marvel called out as he walked in the door.
"Hey." She gave a weak smile as he came to sit next to her.
"How was your day?" he asked as he pecked her lips.
Clove didn't ever give him a response when they kissed, only took whatever he gave her. She wasn't big on PDA, which is why she dreaded the weekend dinner Marvel's family thought would be nice. They would leave the two alone all week, thinking they would do something, only to eat one meal with them and see nothing had changed.
Of course Marvel tried. He had a sweet heart and didn't want Clove to be pressured into anything, but he also didn't want to upset his family. So he tried hard to find some solid ground in between. It wasn't really working out, but it was nice that he was trying.
"Nothing much happened." She shrugged.
"Well, how about we go out tomorrow? Where ever you want."
"I'm not really up for it." She sighed groggily.
"Clove, you haven't left the house for almost two months. I'm worried."
"You don't need to be. I like it here. It's quite and I can be alone."
"Yeah, but isn't that….lonely?"
"No, it's nice."
"Okay, then I don't care whether you want to or not you need to get out of here. It's making you talk like a crazy person."
"I'm not crazy and I'm not going anywhere."
"Please Clove. Even if it's just to our backyard, I just want you to be happy."
"Fine, I'll stand outside tomorrow." She shrugged, turning to lie on the couch.
"Thank you." Marvel whispered, giving her a kiss on the cheek and covering her up with a blanket.
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Clove stood lazily in the backyard of her house as Marvel sat down by the pool's edge and watched. She was totally disconnected from the world and seemed to be in a depressed state. Everything she did showed how much she didn't want to be there.
Even though he knew she was miserable, he wasn't going to let her go inside without having a little fun. He picked up a ball that had been floating around in the water and rolled it her to her feet. Her eyes had been down casted there so he knew she would see it.
"Let's play a game or something." He said, excitedly standing up.
"I don't feel like it."
"Well, want to go for a swim?"
"I'm tired, can I just go inside?"
"Yes." Clove's eyes shot up and had a look of joy in them. "Go inside and get your swimsuit on." He ordered, no longer being patient.
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Clove had slowly put on her bathing suit and, with the forcefulness of Marvel, stepped into the water. Marvel had jumped right in while Clove stayed still on the third step that lead deeper into the warm liquid. She watched, bored, as Marvel swam around and waited for her to step in more.
When she didn't make a moved, Marvel glided over to her and put his hands on her hips, still kneeling in the water. Clove and Marvel stared into each other's eyes. Clove's had nothing but a little shine of hope that soon she'd be inside, and a hint of fear. Marvel's held sadness for her and a bit of frustration hidden below.
"Just come in for a few seconds." He pleaded like it was his only hope.
Clove drew a deep breath before bending down to fully submerge into the water. Marvel's grip on her waist held her above the water enough so she could breathe as he walked backwards. He brought her around to the end of the pool before he stopped and brought her in closer to him. Her feet touching the rough floor as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Is this even a little better than being cooped up all day?" he asked, needing an honest answer.
She only shrugged as her eyelids grew heavy and struggled to stay open. She never did sleep well on that couch, but she refused to kick him out of his room or share a bed.
"Alright, I'll take you inside." He sighed in defeat, lifting her up into his arms and swimming back to the stairs.
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Once back inside, he layed her down in his bed. She was too tired to argue and maybe the day's events had exhausted her mentally. He knew he had to have made some impression on her. It had been the first time they didn't things together that wasn't mandatory or with their families.
"Just sleep. I'll be gone at work by the time you wake up." He whispered before leaving her alone for the night.
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In the morning, Marvel got up to make breakfast before he went to work. Walking into the kitchen he was surprised to see Clove up, serving him a plate of eggs, bacon, and hash browns. While she didn't give him any indication she noticed him, he knew she was just keeping to herself like always.
He took a seat and gratefully showed down on his breakfast, watching as Clove cleaned up the stove and then only sat a burnt piece of bread. When she got close enough to him, he reached an arm out to her and pulled her over to him, kissing her forehead and smiling.
"Thank you so much." He said.
"No problem." She whimpered with a shrug.
"What are you doing up anyway?" he asked as she hastily moved out of his grip.
"I slept well and work up early. I couldn't sleep so I made breakfast."
"It's really good, thank you."
"Welcome." She sighed. "I think I'm going to go read a book or something."
"You haven't gotten through my private library yet?" he chuckled lightly.
"No I have, almost three times now." She sighed sadly.
"Well, what if after work I take you to the book store? We can pick out some books to read."
"I'm good. There are plenty of books to re-read again."
Marvel watched disappointedly as Clove disappeared into his study for what he guessed would be the whole day.
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"Clove!" Marvel shouted when he walked through the door.
Clove stepped out from his office with a book in her hands. "What's going on?" she asked emotionlessly.
"Come on. I'm taking you to the book store."
"I told you I'm good."
"Clove, you've read those books more times than myself and I've had them for ten years."
"Well, you don't have a lot of time on your hands."
"And you have too much. Get your jacket we're going."
