my protection is a promise.

Talia shook her head. “No joke. I wait for people to offer their first names to use, and I expect the same, Parrish.” She raised her brow, realizing that he’d assumed that they were doing this right now. –– Well, okay. Day drinking it was. They found their way into the bar, and Talia sat down, and ordered a beer. As she waited for it to get there, she slid back into her chair. “So?”

“You’ve been around for months,” she reminded him. “If you don’t think I know your guarding style by now, what do you think that says about me as a guard?” She took a slow, silent breath through her nose before she shrugged. “Sure,” she said. “Fine. You’re buying, and I’ll thank you not to use my name so casually. Since we don’t know each other, and all. It’s Rivas, Officer Rivas, or Ma’am.”

“I was doing you guys a favor,” Talia pointed out. “And guarding it wasn’t as bad as being dragged out to go to it. The chance of that was low, but why risk it?” She slid more coffee over to him and leaned back. “Staying home wasn’t an option, you know?”

“I volunteered to work that night,” she admitted. “I’ll let you guys with the terrible idea to go gaga over residents have your fun.” Talia had two rules: don’t date a guard, because you shouldn’t sleep where you work, and don’t date a resident, because it felt too much like a prison guard getting it on with an inmate to her. But hey –– to each their own, and there weren’t any real rules against it. “You look like an idiot when you dance. Like a baby giraffe who doesn’t know where his legs are.”

She wanted to growl that he still hadn’t really answered her question. He kept saying what the goal was: Talia kept asking how he figured to get there. Did he want to drink? Bowl? Braid her hair? She didn’t know. “Fine, Parrish,” she replied. “Though honestly, I understand you as a guard just fine, you know.”

When Scott stood himself straight again, Talia leaned over and punched him – hard – in the arm. “Remind me again why I keep you around,” she said lightly. They both knew already: whatever it was that Scott had, it completed Talia. It was rare… to find a soul mate. It was even rarer to find one who you didn’t need to sleep with to feel like you’d found them. –– At least, that was how Talia had rationalized her and Scott’s inexplicable relationship. Platonic Soul Mates rolled off the tongue far easier than I dunno… he’s my heart, or something. 

( @reecentience )

“Uh…sure.” Her eyes narrowed, considering all the new information she’d been given. It wasn’t a secret that Talia and Parrish’s philosophies for guarding didn’t line up exactly. Talia was about keeping the people safe, even if they didn’t like her for it –– sometimes, especially if they didn’t like her for it. Parrish’s actions tended to tell a bit of a different story. “Still didn’t answer my question, though. What did you have in mind?”

Two conversations happened simultaneously in Talia’s head. The first: Hang out outside of work? Mister officer, who came here and openly undermined me in front of a resident? Go take your white, male privilege and shove it up your ass. Not all of us just get to break rules when it’s convenient. The second, Talia bit her lip and managed to get out for the sake of the corps, and the peace that she wanted to see come about around the town. “No offense, but what did you have in mind? Last time I checked, we don’t really have a whole lot in common.”

Talia shrugged, her feathers still a little ruffled from Scott’s entire lack of faith in her. “I wouldn’t have to do the tough love thing if more people used common sense instead of their hearts. –– Or, in the case of most of the male population in Grimstone, their dicks.”

“Don’t blame me for your complete lack of anything that would resemble a sense of humor,” Talia replied. “And wipe that arrogant look off of your face before someone sees. Jesus. If I see another smirk in Lake Grimstone, I’m going to start pulling the taser. It’s become the least original facial feature in this place.”

“Wow, Scott. Apparently, you hurt me this week.” Talia scoffed at his laugh, feeling the rebuff with some bitterness. “I was serious,” she said. “Look, I’m not going to be sunshine and sparkles and friendliness all the time, but I figured that I could stand to be a little… whatever.” She crossed her arms, leaning back in her seat. “Fine, asshole. I won’t try.”

“Yeah, well. I’m turning over a new leaf, or whatever. I’m not an entirely different person, so I don’t know what you were expecting.”

“Nah, I’m proving a point right now,” Talia said, not offering much of an explanation. For all the times that too many people had told her to just be nicer to the residents, she could point to this. She wasn’t BUILT to be FRIENDLY. She was built to protect, but at least she could say that she’d tried. “Let’s try for that consolation drink,” she said. “And see where that goes.”

“Oh, I can think of about a hundred things I’d consider being better,” Talia said, trying to be difficult now. “I don’t really make a habit of having drinks with residents, you know,” she commented. “I’ve found that being buddy-buddy can give some of you the wrong idea.”