Disclaimer

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"You look stressed," Naveen mentioned as he put his glass of water down on the porcelain table.

"You mean diligent?" Tiana smirked not away from the back of her placemat that held a seating chart. She took a red crayon and crossed out a name then rewrote it in another place in blue.

"No," Naveen leaned forward and put his hand on hers, making her stop midname. Tiana looked up at him with a blank expression. "Stressed, mon cherie."

Tiana took a deep relaxing breath. But she could not help in asking.

"Alright, last thing. How does this look?" Tiana turned the place mat so that he could see it.

Sighing Naveen let go of her hand and sat back. He looked over the place mat lazily.

"Why is George next to Amanda?" He asked. Remembering the horrifying story that was told to him by his father. Turns out at some point the two were married and had a nasty divorce. Both went mad in their own way. George raided the liquor store, Amanda filled her face with botox. Of course, when in public the two were civil. Scary, civil. But everyone knew the act. Which horrified Naveen. The two looked very "right" in public, but he always thought that they would crack at any moment. This was his fear when it came to him and Tiana. They would act civil with each other, but nothing would be right.

"Shit," Tiana realized her mistake and quickly remedied it. She put Amanda next to the bar and George near the fountain. "Now?" She asked.

"Okay," Naveen said with a shrug. He took a sip from his water.

A waitress came up, at first awe-struck by the two. The two took it with ease, since they have been become accustomed to it. After a few pictures and several questions, the young lady took their order.

"Never will get used to that." Tiana laughed lowly as she flipped her placemat over.

"You handle it well," Naveen commented.

"Thanks, so do you." She nodded her head toward him.

"Thank you, thank you. I'm going for the olympics."

"Im sure you would win. Well at least second place." She flipped over her placemat again and started to color on it.

"Who would get first?" Naveen took a crayon and started to color on his placemat.

"Ralphie," Tiana said without hesitation as. She reached for a yellow crayon.

"My brother?" Naveen feigned disgust.

"Yes, he is very sweet and has the energy of a rabbit. He could handle any situation with his little smile." She giggled when she saw Naveen's confused look.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" He put his elbows on the table and laced his fingers together.

"Oh don't worry, love. He's much too young from me." She put her hand on his and laced her fingers with his. "I like older men." She smirked.

"Okay, good. Good." Naveen leaned back and unlaced their fingers.

Tians laughed and finished coloring in all the blank spots.

/

"So, how are you two?" The therapist asked. He observed their sudden change in distance and posture towards each other. They sat close, very close. They were holding hands and they were facing each other, instead of their usual cold distant.

"Pretty good." Naveen put his arm on the couch, not letting go of Tiana's hand.

"Really? Why the sudden change?" He directed the question towards Tiana.

"I don't know. It just felt right to work together and not fight."

"Wonderful. So, I assume that you shared everything with each other?"

"What is there to share?" Naveen tilted his head to the side.

"Well, there could be a lot of things. Fears, hopes, dreams. Just to make sure that you two are on the same page going forward." He explained. Tiana averted her eyes from him and tried to keep back her sudden tears. Naveen noticed Tiana's sudden change in mood and sat forward.

"I do have some concerns," He voiced.

Tiana swallowed and sat up straighter, ready for whatever he was about to say.

"There is this couple. Well, they were a couple. Amanda and George. They were a perfect couple, so to speak. Went to everything together, looked like they were in love. Then all of a sudden, they got a divorce. Or at least tried to." Naveen shrugged, patting Tiana's hand.

"Tried to?" The therapist asked as he wrote something down.

"Yeah, it wasn't pretty," Tiana chimed in. "They fought over everything. They had separate lawyers, they stayed in the same house but in separate wings. It was expensive, emotionally and financially."

I see," The therapist nodded. "And Naveen, why bring this up?"

"Its my concern" Naveen confessed. He timidly looked at Tiana then quickly looked down at their intertwined hands. "When the day comes to sign the papers." He played with her fingers. "I fear thats when the act will begin and-" He went silent. He did not know how to go on. Tiana placed her hand over his and gave a small smile. He returned it with a kiss to her knuckles.

"How long have you had this fear, Naveen?" The therapist asked, pulling them out of their moment.

"Since we got married."

"So this Amanda and George, they were going through this before you two were married?"

"Yes, but everyone knew about them." Tiana chimed in. She remembered when she first met them, they were both distant even though they were standing right next to each other.

"It was hard for them to keep it a secret, being that they were always in the public eye." Naveen explained.

"So is that why you are throwing this ball?"

"Yes," Tiana spoke up. "We just want to deter the attention, only for a little while so the duke can sign off on Naveen's project."

"A project? Is that why you two are staying together?"

The two looked at each other for an answer. They had not thought of a reason as to why they were still together or why they were at the therapist office. They could have done what Amanda and George did and live in separate wings. Or Tiana could have gotten the apartment already. So why were they staying together?

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Another chapter, yes! XD