Thursday, 8:30 am
Banastre slowly mounted the steps of the apartment building, feeling quite horrible indeed. His mind was still reeling from the events not even a half-hour ago.
He awoke in Michelle's bed, tangled up in her sheets. Sunlight began to shine through the blinds in stripes across his spread out figure. This was not the first time he found himself there. Banastre has been coupling with the woman almost every night since his fallout with Elizabeth; it helped him forget his guilt, at least for a little bit.
Nearby, the girl stood upright and quickly dressed before him. He rolled over on his side and watched her cover up the tantalizing flesh that was marred with marks from his mouth. She looked very much like Elizabeth. The only differences that he noticed immediately was Michelle's skin; it was a signifigantly darker tone, as if she went outside very often. Her eyes were a different color as well, when he looked inside of them instead of Elizabeth's calculating steel blue gaze, he was met with warm brown eyes that nearly matched his own. That was a difference that Tarleton quite appreciated, really.
"Good Morning." He lazily smiled up at her.
"Hi." She rushed out the response as she pulled her shirt over her head, concealing the tiny purple undergarment that covered her voluminous breasts. He has really grown to love modern women's fashion. His grin widened as he sat up in the bed and started to go into a flourishing speech; the same monolougue that he had performed and perfected for every single one of his mistresses.
"Michelle, I may be a fool for saying this... and you would be wise to think me so. But these past few nights were the happiest that I could remember. I have never known... love... such as yours, and--"
It was then that he noticed that his speech barely affected her. She only continued to dress, the only signs that she was listening were a few guilt-filled glances from the side of her eye. Then she finally rolled them when she heard the word 'love.' He furrowed his brow in confusion.
"I shall not bother you with that now, darling, I can see that you have somewhere else to be." Although he was disappointed and perplexed, it wouldn't help to act rude to her. Instead, he stood up and took her hand, his bare body shamelessly exposed before her.
"When can I see you again, my love?"He detected an incredulous glint in her eye as she gazed upon him, she was fully dressed now. Her reaction felt like a bucket of cold water splashed upon his face.
"If I may say the word?" She shook her head.
"You really shouldn't... look, you're a really nice guy, and these past few days were fun. Just fun. That's it. Neither of us wanted it to be more than that, remember?"
"I realize we agreed upon that sort of relationship when we first met, yes. What if I have changed my mind?" Tarleton demanded.
"I know that's not true. You're still hung up on someone else, Banastre. Someone named Elizabeth. I know that because our first night you kept calling me that. And anyway, I still haven't changed my mind and I likely won't. But if you can't handle it, then it might be best if we just separated then."
He just stood there speechless and dejected, like a dog with his tail in between his legs.
"I'm really sorry." Michelle whispered, her gaze filled with sympathy. "I--I have to start heading for class now, and I'd like you to get out too so I can lock the door."
Banastre hung his head at the memory now. He knew he was being foolish, after all he never intended to form a real relationship with Michelle! However, he couldn't help feeling some sort of attachment towards her now. Perhaps it was because she reminded him of Elizabeth, or only because she rejected him. Well yes, she rejected him of all people! To her, he was no more than a--than a doxy. Just like the ones that he has bedded for a time and then discarded just as he has been this morning. When they were sent away, did they all become as melancholy as he currently felt?
Soon the defeated officer found himself at the doorstep of Elizabeth's apartment. The door was unlocked, so he entered. The first thing he noticed was that Elizabeth's keys rested upon the stand nearby. It was about time she has returned. He started to search the living room, the kitchen and dining room for her. Then he reached the hallway when he witnessed a sight that made his disappointment return full force-- Tavington silently exiting Beth's bedroom. The larger officer didn't seem to notice Ban; he peeped back into her room and watched her sleeping form with an uncharacteristically gentle gaze, before his face hardened again when he spotted the greencoat. Tavington quickly closed the door to block the other man's view.
"Colonel Tarleton." He addressed him with a very cold, clipped tone.
"Colonel Tavington." He responded, equally distant. "I... see that Elizabeth has returned."
One of Tavington's eyebrows rose at his statement, he glanced back at the closed doorway that led into Elizabeth's room before returning his attention to the smaller man.
"Yes... She is resting now. I suggest that you do not disturb her."
Banastre scowled at him, causing one side of Tavington's mouth to curl upwards in a taunting, lopsided smirk. The redcoat started to saunter away, but he turned his head behind him when he stepped in the living room; he had a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Oh, and I believe that you owe me five pounds." He chuckled and turned away. It wasn't in fact true that he had been intimate with her... But he could not resist, and the look on Banastre's face was priceless; halfway between a vengeful scowl and a boyish pout.
"Very well." The greencoat sighed in defeat and retired to his own bed. Although it was far too late in the morning to go back to sleep, he was absolutely miserable. He felt that he was going to die right there in that horrible inflatable bed, from both his own emotions and the nagging soreness of his back and the spots where his fingers used to be. Was he being melodramatic? Probably a bit, but he was beyond caring at this point.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
9:46 am
Elizabeth slept all night and much of the morning. She dreamt of men on horses, plastic Vulcans, and what must have been hundreds of farfetched ways that her laboratory could be destroyed; courtesy of Klingons, Daleks, Voldemort, machine uprisings, Jack Sparrow's crew, and Kylo Ren's temper tantrums. Like most dreams tend to do however, they passed by quickly and were replaced with her senses.
It was an unusually cold morning for October; more storms were definitely on the way. She smelled food, particularly bacon. She heard William's soft voice, and felt his hand gently shaking her shoulder, both trying to coax her back into the conscious world. She opened her eyes and was met with his gaze. He sat upon one side of the bed, silently scrutinizing her with concern. Then he glanced downward in an almost shy manner, and placed a plate of food on the nightstand next to her bed.
"I-- I thought that you might be hungry, so I have taken the liberty of using your electric stove. I hope you do not mind."
Elizabeth looked down at the plate, the corners of her mouth tugging upwards. Clearly he gauged the amount of food to prepare by his own appetite; the plate was absolutely piled with scrambled eggs, buttered pancakes, and bacon. She quickly sat up and tentatively took the plate. Of course, since the woman hasn't eaten much recently, she devoured it rather quickly.
"Thank you." She quietly mumbled after she finished the final bite of the pancakes. They were surprisingly... perfect. William clearly took care to follow each and every direction on the box to the letter.
"There is no need. I was expecting all to disappear if I turned my head for only a moment. I do not believe that you have had a proper meal in days."
Elizabeth blushed and chucked breathlessly, remembering the state she was in last evening.
"Yeah... I'm sorry that you saw me like that, by the way. I'd like to state for the record that I very rarely stay in my lab all hours of the day and drive myself crazy. I'm sure it doesn't help what others think of me..." She trailed off, immediately sobering when she remembered what he clearly expressed about her quirks. William shifted a bit closer to her and put his hand upon her shoulder, temporarily ignoring the impropriety of his position.
"Elizabeth, it's alright. I have thought no less of you when I walked into that laboratory last evening, and I still stand by my apology. You never deserved such harsh treatment from me. Or from yourself, as a matter of fact. You are without a doubt the most fascinating, intelligent women that I have ever met. That is why I enjoy your company." He spoke with complete sincerity, causing Elizabeth's eyes to bug out in astonishment. That was one of the nicest things that anyone's ever said to her, and it came out of a guy that-- just last night-- witnessed her at her very worst; Quite frankly, she was shocked that her unstable mannerisms, her hallucinations, or the junk food stains on her clothes didn't scare him off.
Unfortunately, he took her silence and her expression a different way and humility filled him.
"Of course, you do not have to accept my apology, I simply wished to offer it" He quickly stood up, but she grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"Yes. I accept your apology. Not only that, but I forgive you." He met her eyes now, to find that she was sincere.
"Do you mind giving me an explanation though?" He shook his head.
"I cannot give you a valid excuse for my behavior, because there is none. I simply let my temper get the best of me. I foolishly lashed out at the only person who dared to care for me." He softly muttered with self loathing. Elizabeth stood up to meet him, and took his hand. It was tough, with callouses from years of battle and work. It was also warm, especially compared to her usually freezing hands.
"Hey, you made a mistake. You want to talk about saying things you'll regret later? You're talking to the right person." She made a face and raised her other hand. William smirked, holding back a chuckle.
"We can't pretend it never happened, but we can leave this whole thing behind us and take it as an opportunity to start over. What do you think?"
"I think I would like to start over."
"So would I." Elizabeth awkwardly gave him a mock bow.
"Hello, my name is Doctor Elizabeth Bradford." She said, giggling. William snickered, then took her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles. He smiled more when he looked up at her face and saw that he made her turn a light shade of pink.
"How do you do? I am Colonel William Tavington, commander of the green dragoons." He said, offering his arm for her to take. She did, and they walked towards the door. He opened it, allowing her to go first.
"Doctor Bradford?" He tested her title and name. "Mmm, it certainly has a better ring than Miss, wouldn't you say?"
"It does, just as much as Colonel Tavington instead of Mister." Elizabeth shot him a huge grin-- incredibly rare for her-- and all but skipped into the bathroom. Although she was still worn out and dirty, she never felt better than when she realized that Tavington actually cared about her; and he the same way because he has managed to reconcile.