river

it felt like it all came crashing down hard all at once and she couldn’t even really muster up a response to him calling out her behavior because frankly it was all true. why did she even believe for a moment that he wouldn’t call her out on being a turd. especially after everything she’d been putting him through. of course she felt extremely guilty, but this was the only way she knew how to cope with difficult issues, just shove it to the side and pray the hurt would eventually disappear. “ no…river, that’s not what i meant! ” a little frustrated groan escaped her lungs, inching closer to his presence because well she craved it, just subconciously wanting to be near him. “ i’m being honest with you.. ” a deep frown crept across her features as she continued. “  i don’t want to reject you! because i like everything about you; even when you’re being a fucking little shit to the karens out there or when you drive me up the wall with your nonsense, i still want it. don’t think for even a second that i don’t want you…. because i do, ” she belted out and with those words barely leaving her lungs, she went against everything inside her head; she paced forward and pressed her lips against his, planting a soft kiss and being thankful that they were alone in the shop. “ i’m scared of this, ” she uttered in between but eventually pulling slightly away. “ and i have two very important things to say. firstly, how dare you call me a wet wipe.  —  secondly, i do care and i’m sorry, ” she told him and offered a soft smile. “ i just don’t know how to deal with getting attached, river. ”

“then what did you mean?” river asked, letting out a small sigh; he couldn’t be too frustrated however as he’d been doing the exact same. he was terrified about what this meant and about getting close to someone else because he’d spent all this time convincing himself he wasn’t ever going to be good enough. and then, out of the blue, nina’s lips were on his own and river’s hand lifted to gently cup her cheek as he kissed her back just as softly. “nina,” river murmured, barely above a whisper, keeping his forehead pressed to hers asthey eventually parted. “i want you too, darlin’,” he then said, gingerly tracing his thumb along her jawline as his other hand placed against her waist to keep her held close. “and i’m just as scared, i really am.” the man finally admitted, tilting his head back as he looked down to her. “alright, maybe wet wipe was a bit harsh,” river chuckled, “it’s okay, yeah? i just... i ain’t used to this kinda thing either, i mean, i don’t think i’ve caught feelin’s for someone in years and i guess i’m scared i could hurt you because...” the man trailed off, shaking his head. “there’s a lot you don’t know about me, about what i’ve done, and i’m fuckin’ scared that if you knew then, well, i wouldn’t blame you for runnin’ a mile.” river gently pulled away from her, choosing to sit atop the counter and reaching out a hand to bring her toward him. once she was near, river reached to tug up the hem of his jeans, rolling it over a hunk of plastic that was secured tight around his ankle. “this is why i had to run the other day, gotta be at home from seven at night ‘til seven in the mornin’ and if i don’t? well, i’m sure you know.”

“ yes ‘ what the fuck ’ you, ” she snapped back at his snap, her glare directed towards him still very much on her features. “ you’re acting like such a little shit, river. — and you need to stop insulting our customers! ”  composing herself a little, even when she felt so furious at his actions, she couldn’t even be mad at him because she felt so attracted to his presence. also nina recognized full well that her lack of coping skills in intimacy was most likely the root of this problem, but was she going to admit that, prooobably not, “ what? ” she uttered out in response to hearing his words in slight disbelief. “ no, fuck…river, it’s not that.  — it’s not you, it’s me, i swear. ” she told him in genuine honesty even though those words were the definition of a  cliché. her hesitation and anxiety was sprung up from prior events but there wasn’t any doubt in her mind that she wanted this, wanted him, he definitely was her type. “ you think i like giving you a verbal warning? no, i’m actually disappointed in you.  —  look i am sorry for ignoring you, river. ” nina paused, letting a frown creep across her facial features. “ i just have a lot of issues on my plate right now, and i can’t deal with that and everything else all at once, okay? ”

he had to try and disguise the smirk on his lips as she snapped back at him because hey, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t attracted to her right now-- it was something about how her brows furrowed and she had that cute little glare. fuck, he was really into some shit here. “i’m only acting like a shit because you’re bein’ a little shit to me!” river fought back, unfolding his arms to instead place them on his hips. but the moment he heard tha damned line, river threw his hands up into the air and forced out a feigned laugh, “you have got to be kiddin’ me, nina! you did not just use that fuckin’ line on me.” the man shook his head, “anyone that uses that fuckin’ line knows it’s because it’s the other person but they’re too much of a fuckin’ wet wipe to admit it to themselves, like don’t give me that crap, nina. i’m a big boy and believe it or not, i can handle rejection.” river shrugged, a frown seemingly permanent on his features now. “usin’ the disappointment card now, huh?' but river wasn’t going to admit that it actually worked because he did feel a little guily for pulling these stunts now considering it reflected more on nina than it did on himself. “well, talk to me about it! look, clearly i care about you - and i ain’t normally the type to admit that - so don’t shut me out when i’m here, whether it’s as your mate or--” he stopped himself, giving a small shrug of the shoulders because he wasn’t really sure how to even finish the sentence. “i don’t know what else you want from me but i don’t think i can take much more of the ol’ silent treatment because clearly, i’m like a child who don’t deal with it well.”

that kiss meant something to nina which absolutely fucking terrified her. not wanting to catch feelings for river, she’d done the absolute least mature thing to do in any situation and straight up ghosted him. it was absolutely harder to ignore someone that actually works under her since she’d finally promoted to supervisor. so being in charge of river was proving to be far more difficult then she expected. after multiple complains about his general moodiness, she’d have to face the music and give him a formal warning after letting dozens slide. as nina made her way to roses are red, she heard what sounded like muffled screaming from two women inside and then river’s parting statement to them as they came storming out of the shop. the brunette huffed heavily, rubbing her eyes as she didn’t really anticipate seeing that type customer service from river and honestly felt a little disappointed in his actions. finally, her eyes met his and she gave him a furious glare. “ river, what the fuck? —  i can see why i’m getting so many complaints about you, ” she told him as she trailed closer to the counter. “ why are you being like this? ” probably a dumb question, since she had an idea why he’d been so testy yet still inquired on the off chance that it was because of something else. 

“don’t ‘what the fuck’ me!” river snapped back, a frown on his features, but it wasn’t like he could blame her for being mad when he was purposely trying to be a little shit just to get a rise from her. “sorry that i’m givin’ ‘em honesty, i mean if they want an ugly wedding then that’s their choice but i tried to save it.” he shrugged, arms folding against his chest in a defensive manner as the girl questioned his behaviour. river was at least grateful that the shop was empty now, not wanting his personal business to be spread like wildfire in this tiny town. “i dunno, maybe it’s because this is the first you’ve actually spoke to me since we went on that walk.” river muttered, “i know i might not be your type and i might have fucked up somehow and i shouldn’t have done it, but i thought i deserved some kind of fuckin’ decency from you. like, it ain’t hard to just turn a guy down.” because of course, in his mind he figured she was avoiding him because he’d gotten the signals all wrong. “so come on, give me the disciplinary. tell me i’m on a warning. say anything to me because it’s gonna be better than nothing.”

“no! all i said was that you said she was nice and you know, you liked working with her. that’s it!” paris tried defending herself, but god, she just couldn’t help herself. it was obvious with her brother’s behavior and paris felt like she knew him better than anyone else. so she had rights to bud in a little bit in her opinion. “you’re cruisin’ for a bruisin’, mate.” paris said and playfully shook her fist in his direction. she wasn’t too worried about it though – and the more she thought about it, if she were to get out there in a little bikini number she was sure she could rack in some donations for sure. her little flings alone would donate plenty just to see her get dunked and wet. paris ordered herself a chicken tender meal and a side of those famous fried pickles that everyone talked about. because they were good. “i’m sorry! but i just like this look for you, you know. like, this happy, good, behaved look. it’s different and i just gotta be nosey.” she said and laughed some. “so tell me, how’d you know you liked her? when did you know you liked her? you two don’t even look like you’d be in the same friend group let alone being all cute and cozy together at the flower shop. i guess flowers really do bring out the romantic side in people, huh?” she teased. 

“mm yeah, sure thing, paris,” river said with yet another eye roll, though this time it followed with a laugh. “as long as you ain’t tellin’ her about what i’m actually like and what shit i’ve done, ‘cause i’d rather that keep schtum.” he said, mimicking a zip across his mouth with his fingers. it was definitely a stark contrast to his behaviour back in london; river wasn’t sure he’d ever really felt happiness before-- there was definitely content, but there was always something going on that tarnished any ounce of good in his life. “i wouldn’t say it’s all because of her though, i mean i think just bein’ here and not with the fuckin’ gang is doin’ wonders for my psyche but yeah, she helps.” river finally admitted, unable to wipe the little smirk from his lips. “dunno, maybe it was the flowers. i think it’s ‘cause she just... treats me like a human? which sounds weird, but she ain’t interested in my past or nothin’ and she gets my jokes and gives it straight back which i ever even expected ‘cause she’s pretty quiet and timid, but there’s this little fire in her.” he could feel himself babbling, shaking his head with a light chuckle, “i dunno when i realised, maybe ‘cause i was actually lookin’ forward to goin’ to work just ‘cause i’d get to see her. she just makes me feel normal and i’ve never really had that before. but i doubt anythin’ could actually happen between us, i mean i ain’t exactly the settle down type and she’s too good to get tied down with my shit. i feel i’d fuckin’ break her.”

“you know given what i’ve heard through the grapevine i figured you wanna be more helpful with the whole thing. rumor has it, you’re a real quick learner and tend to want to help which is crazy.” she commented. paris knew what she wanted and set the menu aside before grabbing a little cup of creamer to roll around on the table whilst she waited for river to decide on his order. “oo, donations is a good idea. and all for the idea of someone being nominated, but if my name gets drawn you better toss it out. you wouldn’t believe the struggles you have to face dealing with extensions.” she warned. “mm, good point. i’ll have to talk to you know who about it.” she said and wiggled her brows, simply because she couldn’t help herself. and nina genuinely seemed like a good person, so paris couldn’t even bitch at him about it like she had with the people river had been involved with before san amore. “god, no kidding. i thought i could at least count on you to agree with me on this stuff. but no, it’s like i don’t even know you anymore, river.” she said with a faux cry to follow. 

river looked up from the menu with a deadpan expression, “so you did talk to her about me then? i told you not to, paris!” he rolled his eyes, though there was a small smirk on his lips because he couldn’t actually be mad about it, and hey, it was pretty nice to know nina was at least saying good things about him. “if your name gets drawn then it’s because i’ve put it in there fifty times.” river teased, though he definitely wasn’t against the idea either. as the waitress approached to take their order, river finally decided that he’d go for the chicken nuggets off the kids menu-- they always did taste better, anyway. “oh my god, you’re gonna keep going on until i say somethin’, ain’t ya? so go ahead, give me your twenty fuckin’ questions and get it all out of your system now.” the man gave in with a sigh before laughing softly, “prison changed me! this place is changin’ me, but don’t worry, i’m still the same river. don’t think that’ll ever disappear.”

“so you’re just gonna sit around and watch someone do all the work?” paris asked with one of her brows raised and shook her head with a laugh. “yeah, better just leave the tools alone. wouldn’t want to grab one and then get triggered into doing something dumb.” she replied and shrugged her shoulders. “so who is gonna be getting dunked? i hope it’s you. i’d pay to see that happen.” she replied with a cheeky grin on her face. really, paris was just excited to see this entire block party come together. it was the first party she would be attending in quite some time, and even though it was a family get together, it was a party nonetheless. “so far i’ve come up with the idea of having the guys of san amore strip. but nina was quick to remind me that children were going to be there. so now, i’m trying to decide what to do. music, obviously, right? i thought about a light show, or even fireworks.”

“not just watch, i’ll give pointers, too!” river grinned, “nah, i’m sure i can do somethin’ but yeah, probably best i don’t touch anything that could be also used as a weapon just in case.” he shrugged in response to who was getting dunked because he hadn’t really thought that far. “i mean i guess i could be one, but i feel like people should be able to come up and nominate someone to go sit under it. like donate a little cash.” as he spoke, river’s gaze sifted through the menu. “of course you’ve come up with strippers-- i mean, you could always do that as a late thing when the kids have gone to bed? i’m assumin’ ‘cause there’s gonna be booze and shit that people’ll be up til all hours.” fireworks definitely sounded fun though. “that could be good! but you might get people complain about pets and stuff. so maybe a light or laser show thing would be a better thing. god, i can’t believe i’m bein’ so fuckin’ like... thoughtful about this shit.”

“hey, hey!” paris said as she sat down and held up a hand as river threatened her the way she did. “i’m just here for the free chicken tenders, man.” paris added, a sly grin on her face as she took her seat in front of her brother. but c’mon, how could paris not want to talk to him about his personal life when she was allowed to get in his business now? “so.” she said as she flipped open the menu, looking down at it, “since we’re not talking about personal lives, how is your part in the block party coming along?” 

the man raised a brow, despite paris asking him about something else, he knew that it was going to be brought up again sooner or later. it wasn’t like he didn’t trust her because she was the one person he trusted more than anybody else in the world, but he just didn’t want things to grow even more complicated. “i mean, it’s goin’ alright. gotta make a fuckin’ game or some shit to keep people entertained, so i figured we do a dunk tank thing. me and johnny went out to pick up some materials and i think i’m gonna let him take over the buildin’ part when the only time i’ve ever used a screwdriver was to stab someone with.” he laughed at that, even though it wasn’t funny, “what about you?” 

“ it literally makes no sense! — honestly people are so dumb when it comes to curse words, like for instance twat, also just synonym for a vagina. ” she belted it out, this particular topic was clearly a heated one for the brunette. “ and you said i wouldn’t be able to tame you, ” she responded by giving him a little side eye and bobbed her head to the side. weirdly, a little proud of river for not quipping out an inappropriate sentence. “ that’s actually a fantastic idea! it’s the best of both worlds; you get to hang out with dogs and discover hidden… treasures, ” a playfulness surrounding that dark joke, but that’s what all it was. a joke, and whilst others might get offended by such morbid humor, river just got it, got her. she had absolutely gotten swept up in a moment with him, and that’s what she wanted to believe it was… just a moment of weakness. she had to pump the breaks on this and go into reverse, she couldn’t just allow herself to get that close to truly caring about anyone even if they had a pact; it was dangerous, harmless flings were okay but this didn’t feel harmless. he had managed to charm his way in and the thought of it terrified nina. the atmosphere changed as they separated, all of sudden the bright lake felt a little gloomy and her posture went from relaxed to being tensed. “ oh you bet i want to see you get wet, ” she teased dryly, hands returning to her pockets as they kept the pace along the river. “ actually, at first i tried to be bartender but that didn’t exactly work since apparently i’m too petty to deal with drunk people. — i saw a newspaper ad from roses are red and applied, the rest is well as they say.. history. ” she offered a glance in his direction with a small smile on her features. “ y’know, i’ve quite recently discovered that i want to go into something that classifies as a first responder and i know, i know it’s cheesy as fuck, but i want to spend my days helping people. ”

see, that was the thing. river truly believed it was impossible to ever be tamed, even if he were to turn his life around, he couldn’t shake off the past things he’d done, the crimes he’d committed, even after serving his time and still serving the rest of it now. he still had a drug problem, still itched for that next bump and he feared getting too close incase it all unravelled. he’d already made his connections here, already had the substances he needed to pass onto others because it wasn’t as if a part-time job was ever going to sustain him. but how could you ever be tamed if you had lost all hope in yourself? river just gave a small chuckle, grateful the conversation turned as he said, “i’ve actually been thinking about getting a dog though; not to go out looking for dead bodies, but just to have a bit of company. i feel like i need to get a mutt, ‘cause they do say dogs look like their owners so it seems fitting.” river laughed lightly. he hoped he hadn’t just blown his chances by pulling away, though he couldn’t be certain that nina wanted this too, he liked to think that maybe there was something. if only by the way she looked at him. he tried to keep up the bravado, keep the jokes coming, but there was an unmistaken silence that crept between them which river was trying desperately to fill. “how could you be too petty? if anythin’, i reckon that’d be a good trait to have ‘cause you wouldn’t let fuckin’ creeps go about their shit.” he shrugge before giving a soft smile, “that ain’t cheesy at all and i can see you doin’ somethin’ like that. you’ve got this like, sense of carin’ that just comes natural to you even if you don’t realise it. you’d be great at it, so i think you should take the plunge, find out what you can do because i mean, what’s holdin’ you back?” as he spoke, he felt a familiar buzz in his pocket causing a frown to appear on his features as he drew his phone out. 18:47. “fuck!” river panicked, he had exactly thirteen minutes to get back to his home and he knew that could only happen if he were to fucking run. “i’m sorry, fuck, i gotta go.” the man shoved his phone back into his pocket, barely taking a second glance before tearing off along the pathway. but something stopped him, and he groaned as he turned on his heel to run back toward nina, “i forgot something!” he called out, because apparently he just couldn’t leave without saying goodbye properly. as the space between them closed, river took hold of nina’s face in his hands as he pressed his lips to hers firmly, yet kissing her with a softness he didn’t expect. “i really have to go though, and it’s hard to explain but just promise me you’ll get home okay and text me when you do, yeah? otherwise, i’ll be blowin’ up your phone.”

“ okay, here’s what i- ” nina paused, huffing. “…for the life of me cannot understand; i don’t why cunt is such a bad word, i don’t get it! it’s just synonym for a vagina, ” she quite theatrically stated, throwing her hands up in dismay. “ maybe, a little. — i’ll give you the itty pitty absolute tiniest amount of credit for that rubbing, ” she burst into a light wheezing laughter at her own quip, waving it away. “ how many bodies do you think are in there? i’m guessing about twelve-ish, maybe twelve and half. ” she shrugged. the duo stood stationary just gazing at one another, but the moment he lowered his voice down to a soft whisper, she could feel her knees go a little weak and of course, she felt an urge to say something back but just couldn’t get any words out; she wanted nothing more in that moment then to kiss him. however, as life does, when she let herself inch a little closer to him she felt how he pulled back, eventually lowered his hand then entirely pulling back and turning away from her. “ oof, ” she puffed quietly to herself, it was like nina got slapped hard with some sense. of course, it would’ve been a disaster if something had happened and nothing should happen between them, but wanting still lingered. nina gathered herself and caught up to him. “ okay, well i can’t make any promises that i won’t shove you into the water, ” she grinned, but the mood was just kinda off. 

“right, i don’t get it either! it’s like people are really out here being offended by a damn vagina,” he shrugged before breaking into a grin, “i hope you know that i’m trying really hard to not make an inappropriate joke about rubbing right now.” river teased with a playful smirk on his lips. “and a half?” he then asked, raising a brow, “that must mean the other half is out there somewhere though so maybe that’s our next adventure. we’ll have to find a dog though because bodies are always found by dogwalkers, it’s just a fact.” sure, it was morbid to joke about but river really didn’t see the harm; he had a dark sense of humour, something that he believed helped him cope with things he’d seen in the past. the tension between them was undeniable as the pair stood in a silence, simply searching each other’s eyes, mapping the little details on their faces, and they were so close... but river panicked. and it wasn’t like him-- he’d always ad a bravado about him, this confident personality that thought they could have anybody they wanted. yet here was someone they did want and he just couldn’t. surely, that meant something. he scratched at the back of his neck as they stepped apart, diverting his gaze to the water. “bet you’d love to see me all wet, huh?” river smirked, but despite maintaining the cocky attitude, it was almost as if they both knew it wasn’t quite right. as they walked, river reminded himself he needed to be mindful of the time-- it was early evening and his curfew would be creeping up slowly, he hadn’t broke it yet and didn’t particularly want to face the consequences if he did. plus, the last thing he needed was to explain why there was a beeping noise coming from beneath the cuff of his jeans. “so, tell me this, when you came here did you want to be a florist? or did you do what i did and just like, fell into it because it was the first thing going?”

Johnny listened, lips pressed together. He sorta regretted signing up for building shit, but he kept reminding himself it’d all be worth it when the party came around. “Right right” he tilted his head, considering River’s idea. “Might be safer, yeah. Imagine we don’t build this shit right and then someone ends up with a broken leg” he chuckled, arms crossed over his chest. “Could work. I got my cousin’s pool in my car. Think it’s still useful?”

“oh god, honestly i wouldn’t even be surprised-- do you reckon they could sue us?” he had to laugh, shaking his head. “for sure, i reckon we have that beneath the person so put the chair on top, that way at least the water has somewhere to go.” river nodded, dipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans as they strolled through the town centre. “maybe we should buy a backup game just in case it all goes wrong. i mean it won’t, i’m determined to make this work! but... just in case.”

cue an eyeroll from nina of him assuring her that he’d surely never push her into the knee deep water, not believing him for even a second, she puffed out. “ i actually can’t swim.  — well, i kinda can, but very poorly and i look like a drowning fish apparently according to my elementary swim teacher. she was kind of a cunt, ” she shrugged off the elementary school horrors, chuckling a little. “ anything? ” a little malicious smirk appeared on her features, tapping her fingers together, not explaining further on her plan; knowing full well that yeah he was lose this bet. “ oh so you’re going to turn me into one of your hooligans? i highly doubt that’s achievable dear, but i’d love to see you try your very hardest to sway me from my goody two shoes ways, ” she teased and wrinkled up her nose. nina’s eyes wandered throughout the area as they reached the gates and an odd feeling inside her chest began to itch; it was tiniest flicker of real happiness. she felt calm right at that moment… but that second faded as it always did. “ i’m not bullshitting, not even a little bit. — i believe in you, i really do, ” a little puzzled at his sudden stop, she was confused but offered genuine but a small smile when the slight warmth of his hand was planted on her cheek. now, kinda suspecting where this might be heading, she nervously muttered out. “ thank you. — and that might be one of the nicest things anyone has ever said about me. ”   

“i don’t know what i’m more shocked over, the fact you can’t swim or the fact that you just dropped the c bomb,” river placed a hand over his mouth, pretending to be in shock before bursting out into laughter. “see, slowly rubbing off on you already, babe.” he teased, “nah she does sound like a right cunt though. i s’pose out here though you don’t really need to know how, unless you want to swim in that lake but i’m pretty sure that’s the prime place for bodies to be dumped.” river did hope that he could pull nina out of her shell a little more and over the past week or so from working side by side with her, he’d seen this bubbly personality start to peek out. as the pair stopped on the path, river gave a soft smile at her words because nobody ever really believed in him and he wondered if she would change her mind if she knew the truth. but for now, he lightly stroked his thumb along her cheek as he nodded, “you’re turnin’ me all soft, nina,” river chuckled, “and i dunno how you’re managin’ this but i’m not even mad about it. just don’t tell anyone else that i can actually be...” he lowered his voice to a whisper, “nice.” there was a small moment of silence, river’s gaze flickering over the girl’s soft features, and he’d never felt such an urge to kiss somebody before. “i-” but he paused, a wave of nervousness crashing over him, causing him to gently lower his hand as he turned back toward the lake. “let’s go closer to the water,” he eventually said, chickening out entirely (which was unlike his usual confident demeanour), “i’ll even walk by the edge so you don’t have to worry about me shoving you in.”

“I just need some wildflowers– so maybe daisies or poppies? I need them for some artwork. I would go out and pick some but I do love supporting businesses,” she said with a smile. “Well, I’m glad to hear you’re doing something legal and loving it. That’s always a great thing.”

“oh, we’ve got loads of them and luckily i actually know what they look like too,” river grinned, hopping out from behind the counter to gesture over to a small section of plants. “i really like the reddy-orange kinda lookin’ daisies, dunno why, just different init?” he shrugged. “yeah it definitely ain’t where i expected to be but i like it, like the girl i work with and i’m feelin’ positive about this whole new start thing.”

“ you know this is such an uncomfortable spot to be put in; i have to say you otherwise you might just decide to push me into the lake. ” she reasoned, although soon started snickering at his ludicrous bet. “ oh?  in all seriousness, i’ll pay to see that and i’ll even cover a couple of shifts if you can get invited for tea by the murderous granny. — and if she’s not in love with you by the end of the week, i’ll be very disappointed. ” prior to their pact that had now been sealed with a firm handshake, she did feel the urge to be a little nosy into his reasoning for being in san amore. even though it was quite hypocritical, considering that she was incredibly closed off, she couldn’t help but be a little curious into river. choosing however to honor their pact and pushing down her morbid curiosity to side. instead enjoyed their moment as they toured the town. nina couldn’t really contain the wide gleeful smirk that crept across her lips as he spoke. “ bring out the wild nina? — jesus i’d kinda like to see that happen, ” she quipped before offering him a soft smile. “ it’s both; you are very cute and i gave you that chance for redemption because you showed me how hardworking and passionate you are. — and honestly, i’m really proud of you, river. ”

“i would never do such a thing,” river said, placing a hand on their chest, “i mean, maybe if i knew you could definitely swim because it would be pretty funny.” he then added with a mischievous little smirk. “alright you’re on, and if i don’t then i’ll do whatever you want-- no questions asked. i think it’s a fair deal.” river mused. part of him was certainly curious about nina and her past but it was outweighed by his own desire to keep his past hidden; there was a sense of shame, of being looked at in a different light and he wouldn’t blame anybody for doing so. in the longrun, it might even be worse if suddenly everything she knew about him was put into question because of the acts he’d committed. but river didn’t like to think too far ahead, instead he was happy to just be. “it’s gonna happen, i tell ya,” river chuckled, “because i know it’s there in you, just need someone who’s gonna be able to get it out and i like to think my chances are high. i mean, wendy was a bit of a goody-two shoes before she met peter, after all.” river gave nina a little wink, before the pair of them walked through the gates of the park, the lake coming up ahead. “don’t think anybody’s ever described me with those words before,” the man said, brows slightly furrowed, “that means a lot to me though, seriously.” they stopped along the path, river turning to her and lightly placing a hand on her cheek. “you’re a real sweet girl, nina,” he said softly, “and i think you’re one of the kindest people i’ve ever met.”