The really unhappy chapter. Happy New Year! Sorry this took so long, I had the audacity to get a life!:P

Chapter Four: Late

'Where've you been?' he asked as she came in, two hours late.

'Council stuff,' she shrugged out of her jacket, 'they ran behind, sorry.' Her voice had all the thoughtless callousness of the very intimate.

'Right. Well, dinner's cold,' he told her.

'It's take out anyway, we can just reheat it.'

'Go ahead, I ate already.'

'Well, thanks.'

'You're two hours late.'

'Yeah, and you've never left me hanging before either,' she bristled, angry because she knew she was in the wrong. 'Never once called in with an 'Oh sorry, rogue Troll, maybe tomorrow'.'

'At least I call.'

'Right, and what exactly was I going to say? Excuse me, I know we're passing a law here, but could I duck out for a minute, I need to phone Julius. What, you mean you didn't know I've been sleeping with him for the past two hundred years? Oops! My bad.'

'If you weren't so stuck on this ridiculous secrecy-'

'It isn't ridiculous.'

'It's absolutely ridiculous. No one cares. You're a hard worker, you're good at your job, no one gives a swear toad's tongue.'

'Correction, if I were a man, no one would care. Don't know if you've noticed or not, but unfortunately, I wasn't blessed with a penis. Oh darn.' Her face hardened, 'And I'm going to spend the rest of my life being punished for some d'Arvitting chromosome.'

'Get over yourself,' Root spat. Once refreshing, the blunt vulgarity of her anger now repulsed him. 'The only thing keeping us a secret is you and your overblown pride. You're just too proud to admit that you can love too, like the rest of us poor shmucks.'

'Too proud? My over blown pride? Oh, that's rich, Mr. I Am the Most Heroic Thing This Side of Tir Na Og. Always puffing out his chest, flaunting those acorns, getting up to the most pathetic displays of machismo, and he tells me I'm too proud,' furious, she swipes hair out of her face. 'You have no idea what it's like to be me, to have to fight for every single little thing. I work harder in a day that you ever have in your life. So why shouldn't I be proud of where I am? Or are women not allowed to do that either?'

'That isn't what I meant,' but he knew she wasn't listening and that his original meaning didn't matter in the least. She was still talking, hands waving, face nearly as red as his.

'I wanted to marry you,' he said suddenly, interrupting.

She was caught mid-sentence with her mouth open to speak. She shut it with a snap. 'What?'

'You heard me.'

'You can't be serious.'

'Yes, why under the earth would I want to marry the person I love? What a thought! But you're right, I'm not serious. Once upon a time, maybe. But right now all I really want is for you to get out.' He licked his lips, swallowing, knowing he was about to break his own heart, 'It's over, Vinyáya.'

She went perfectly still. In one hand she still held her jacket. Without another word she put it back on and walked out the door.