Liar, Liar.


"Do you love me?"

Natalie reached over the table to place her hand on his. "Of course I do."

"Really?" The slight edge to his voice took her back a little. "I'm trying to remember the last time you told me."

Trying to keep her breathing steady, she lowered her hand on his again and gave him a reassuring smile. "I love you. There, that's the last time I said it." She laughed a little. "Why? Is something bothering you?"

He pulled his hand away. "No."

There was something wrong. Natalie stared at her lone hand, manicured fresh that morning, and then retracted it back to sit in her lap. "I thought my actions were always loud enough to tell you how I feel."

The light steaming through the café's windows seemed to fade, and he was silent.

"Have I said anything wrong?" she pressed. "Honestly, dear, I—"

"You know, maybe it is your words that are the problem," he cut in suddenly. "I don't know what it is. Maybe… They always seem so perfect, calculated and measured to be exactly what I need to hear."

She tilted her head. "I want what I say to be meaningful—"

"I've heard talk about you, Natalie." He turned his head from studying the café to penetrate her eyes. "A lot of people don't seem to like you. They don't trust you." He crossed his arms on the table and leaned forward. "Why don't they trust you?"

She leaned back, almost afraid.

Almost.

"What have people said? Who are you talking to?"

"I'm talking to you now," he said coolly. "And I want the truth. If you can manage it."

His words stung. "David…" She blew out a quick breath. "I'm only human. I've made mistakes." As he pulled away again, shaking his head, she grabbed his hand. "I haven't always been a good person." Make eye contact. "But I can't change what I've done, as much as I want to sometimes." He stood up. She should have left that last word off.

"I don't want you to be a liar," he said honestly. "But how would I know if you weren't?"

She could only watch dumbly as he gathered up his jacket.

"I just want to know the truth."

Stand up. Say something. Kiss him—anything!

But she only sat there and watched him walk away.

the end

a/n – I know, it's not fluff. I told you I'd write whatever I felt like.

About the name. I was thinking of using Dan for this drabble, but for reasons which I'm sure you can deduct, that turned out to be just a little more complicated than what I wanted to deal with. I was going to choose another name, but I couldn't get the letter D out of my head, so I chose the first D name I thought of.

As for Natalie; she's very talented at lying. In this scene she's nearly an adult if not already, but I didn't want to put a label on it. A lot of the background information is up to your interpretation. For instance, whether Natalie is lying or not.

The answer to which even I don't know.

/me