bravo 6.

bio / rules 

where else can you find claire? 

@eiiidetic - main blog, tech analyst oc. 

@raisefiire - low activity multi. 

she thawed, only ever so slightly. and mostly because she recognized the brief glint of something that passed over his features and colored his tone at the mention of his dad.  ❝ well that’s unfortunate, ❞  caroline drawled, taking another sip of her beer as she feigned boredom.  ❝ marines are hot. ❞  tipping the bottle back, she could only hope that it hid the slight smile on her face before she set it back down.  ❝ trying to prove that you’re better than him or trying to prove yourself to him? ❞  it was usually one of the two. and she, in her own membership of the shitty dad’s club, usually claimed the latter. 

leaning forward slightly, caroline groaned as she debated whether or not she could easily ignore his question. but judging by the fact that he hadn’t let her off the hook yet, she figured he wouldn’t.  ❝ i want to write real stuff. like…think pieces or feminist critiques or the kind of stuff that you read and it changes something for you, even if it’s small. not that, you know, writing about the seven best techniques to perfect your oral game isn’t groundbreaking, it’s just…shallow. i’m tired of being shallow. ❞  she took another sip, gaze darting to him briefly to gauge his reaction. 

he let out a quick laugh before taking a swig of his beer, yet his attention didn’t move from her. “maybe it’s a little bit of both,” regretfully so. having a dad who he didn’t want anything out of but also being the type of person who couldn’t help but think about what his life would have been like if he had a real relationship with him? it was weird, but clay didn’t talk about that kind of stuff to just anyone. well, apparently he talked about it with caroline. 

@first6​​​​ ♡’d for a starter (no longer accepting) !

“you’re leaving again?” of course, april had known that eventually it had to happen, it always did. “uh –– when? i can make sure you have a nice dinner or something before you go, have your friends round, it’ll be ––”

           SHE EYES THE WINE FOR A MOMENT ; hand wavering with a purposeful grin before she settles on the beer. fingers roaming forward to tug it from his grip - leaving the delicately shaped glass hanging in his left hand. it’d been a hot minute, hadn’t it ? six months ago at dam neck was the last time she’d seen clay and he hadn’t changed much. still getting her drinks at the right moment and still managing to make his way through a crowded room with less effort than it should take a man like him. and hell, has she deserved those drinks. the amount of shit he and his team had put her through over their deployment – they should have bought her a fucking distillery.          ❛   much appreciated.  ❜   amber neck of the bottle clinks against the wine still in his hand , avi’s eyes drifting from him to the others circulating around the room. in all honestly , she hadn’t expected to see him here. it was a political event more than anything else – intelligence always seemed to have a presence and for some reason it was her turn to get paraded out for the guys in suits to peck at. and she didn’t even have to wear her uniform. 

         another smile as she looks back to him with a questioning expression  , not exactly  painted on thick  but her eyebrows knit together delicately enough to fake a little sincerity  ❛  so  ―   you’re not dead.  ❜  nose wrinkles to hide a laugh, lifting the bottle to press it against her lips and take a longer sip than she probably needs to.   ❛  last i heard you guys were heading further east , how’d that pan out ? ❜

clay let out a gust of a laugh, turning to the closest waitress to hand them the glass of wine. maybe they could give it to someone else? not let it go to waste, something like. eyebrows rose when she began to question their op which - well, was a quick one. not the easiest trip he had been on, a scar above his left eyebrow showing that to be true. not all of them were considered easy, but really. if there was one person who knew that she wasn’t allowed to ask questions, clay could’ve only assumed it would’ve been avi. 

her jaw was still hanging slightly slack as she stared at him and he…had a point. the drink wasn’t exactly good. but it was hers. and she was stubborn and he was making sense which only made him more hot and — god seriously? caroline narrowed her eyes, studying him a bit more carefully, trying to figure out what his angle was. not that they were keeping track, or anything, but she was pretty sure he’d just one-upped her.  ❝ i know your type. ❞ it lacked bite. and conviction. and she was pretty sure she sealed her fate when she took back the beer and took a large swig.

❝ and i can buy my own beer. ❞  and she really needed to up the ante here, because she was pretty sure he’d notice the slight, amused snort she gave at his third date comment. deciding that the only thing she could do was prove her point, caroline exhaled a heavy sigh, turning to face him more fully.  ❝ okay fine — i moved here to write. i’m a journalist, or at least i will be when i finally get to write a decent story that doesn’t involve me playing into every stereotype of semi-attractive blonde girl. and it is, actually, because of the water. i wanted to see the ocean. ❞  taking another swig of the beer, her eyes narrowed at him.  ❝ why navy? you look more like…one of those marine guys who makes being a marine their entire personality. ❞

he gave her a laugh and a raise of his hands, throwing up a truths to properly defend himself from any more snippy comments. clay - really, was fine with playing the stereotype because he had an everlasting confidence in the fact that he would prove her wrong at some point.  “a quick piece of advice,” he began with a laugh, “you’re in a navy town. don’t ever call anyone else a marine because the wrong guy might actually take that as an insult.” there was a bickering between all tears of the military. it was a healthy bickering, but some people took it a lot more seriously than others. 

she watches it all unfold with raised eyebrows, a slightly open mouth, and a laugh building in the back of her throat. by the time her drink is replaced with beer — the laugh bubbles through.  ❝ you’re really going for this, huh? i mean like, seriously? ❞ she laughs again, eyeing the beer before she picks it up by the rim, moving it the few inches closer to him.  ❝ first of all, i’m not one of those like cool guy’s girls who’s gonna drink a beer just to impress a guy that just wants to give me the uh, proper virginia beach welcome, which — not to spoil the rest of what i’m sure is a truly remarkable pick-up — probably ends with you and i having mediocre sex in my shitty apartment and you sneaking out with a promise to call which you won’t follow through with. ❞

she sighs, giving him a brief look as if she’s waiting for him to correct her. but, well, he’s only the fourth guy to try to buy her a beer in the past two days, and the rom-coms have taught her well enough to know this has bad idea written all over it.   ❝ so i’ll just cut this short for the both of us, carter, and tell you that i’m not your type. and you’re hot and you’re charming and you kinda seem like you could be bad news — which is totally my type, so save us both the trouble, okay? ❞

i’m not your type. that wasn’t the first thing she got wrong about him, but he was a gentleman so he let her go off on her little tangent because she obviously needed to. even the mix up of his name which - due to the tone of her voice, she obviously did on purpose? caroline was most obviously his type, but again...apparently that was besides the point. navy guys had a stereotype and much to his dismay, seal guys were stereotyped to be even worse. did caroline even know that? God, this girl was intriguing. 

she plans for new york and makes it as far as virginia beach. but here, at least, there’s ocean and life and a paper that’s actually willing to let her write some stuff. and granted, that stuff is about makeup and hair care and ways to keep him interested in bed — but it’s something. plus, matt’s here. which means she’s not totally, completely, entirely alone. and as an added bonus, matt has cute friends. hot friends. who reek of bad news and who go off to war and who she’d be stupid to get involved with because she might not know much, but she’s seen enough rom-coms to know that she’s so not cut out for the role of  ‘worried girlfriend back home.’ 

a short laugh leaves her as clay approaches, her eyebrow lifting as she begrudgingly slides her hand into his to shake it.  ❝ oh yeah? ❞  it’s a line. it’s totally, completely a line. and one that a guy like him probably doesn’t need to use — given the ratio of blue eyes to bulging biceps.  ❝ and what exactly does a proper virginia beach welcome entail? ❞

“first of all, it starts with getting you something better than whatever that is,“ a finger pointed to the glass that was sitting in front of her. clay turned to the bartender to point at his own beer, throwing up two fingers to motion for two drinks to be delivered to him and the blonde woman beside him. he had a lot of lines up his sleeve, some that came with stories too. something to him though that - a girl like caroline? she didn’t deserve some line that he had used on a bunch of different woman before. 

when caroline walked into the navy bar, she stuck out like a sore thumb. not because she seems uncomfortable or confused in anyway, but because she was new and every guy there wanted to be the first guy to talk to her. clay thought a lot about what it was like for a girl to jump into the lifestyle that he lived. especially someone like caroline who - as matt said, had no real concept was that navy actually did. he left without warning, couldn’t tell a soul where he was going and had to keep it all inside. anyone who jumped into anything more than a friendship with a guy who lived that type of life had to be ready for it.