Oh, It's You, Lovely To See You.

[Gareth Knight]

Gareth locked up the shop and sighed, his head resting against the door frame to his business. It had been about two months since he had last seen Nina and, much more importantly, his baby girl. He wanted her to know he was her father. If he couldn't have that he at least wanted her to know him. Nina wouldn't allow the first and, it seemed, she was changing her mind for the worst on the second. He had woken up the morning after all willing to forget and move on, hard to do when there's no one there to speak to about it.

Gareth had tried finding her and talking to her after, of course he had. He had wanted to let her know it could all be forgotten and they could continue like they had never done that. They could even forget what was said if she wanted.
"You know, I never once forgot about you, or her."
"Remembering isn't exactly a hard thing to do."
"But loving you knowing I might never see you again was."
He should've just kept his mouth shut really. Gareth sighed as he remembered the feeling of her lips after he captured them. The taste he had long since forgotten suddenly back again with a passion. He had been so happy just to kiss her, let along anything else. But that was gone now.

Gareth pushed himself away from the door and put up the necessary protective spells to stop robbers or anyone breaking in. Not that anyone really needed to break in. There wasn't much of a trade for black market ink, that would be pointless really. It was cheap enough as it was. The man turned and began the walk home. He didn't want to go home. He didn't want to put on the happy face that everyone knew was fake. He could see his sisters, even Moriah, worry about him, but he couldn't change it. He had missed his shot at knowing his daughter.

Gareth had to be honest with himself. He really disliked Nina at that moment in time. He still loved her, of course that would never change, but he hated her too. He hated she had left him alone in the morning, he hated she had done anything knowing she's regret it and he hated that she had teased him with spending a day in the company of his beautiful little girl before pulling Isadora out of his life. He had hoped, no wished, he could be the dad she deserved and now he wasn't even being given a chance to fail at it on his own.

Gareth turned a corner and scowled. Wherever he went he saw reminders of her. Blondes with pushchairs, the laugh that made his stomach fill with butterflies or even just the smell of her perfume. He could see a woman now, blonde and the same shape and Nina. He forced his eyes away, not wanting the torture anymore, but they found their way back and what they saw shocked him. It wasn't another reminder, it actually was Nina this time. He debated in his head whether he should say hello or not, he was already walking straight at her. She was in the middle of the high street and he was closing in fast with no decision made. He just made the decision to walk past when his shoulder collided with her own. He swore inside his head and turned around, deciding to play innocent.

"Oh sorry, I.. Oh, Nina. It's you."His tone said it all, it was blatantly annoyed and resentful. He looked at her for a brief second, pushing away all admiring thoughts to her appearance, before turning to leave. "Nice bumping into you as ever." He had to get in a small shot before he attempted to walk away. A part of him hoped she'd let him go but a bigger part willed her to stop him and explain why. Among all, he was mostly confused. Hurt, confused and upset that she would do that to him. Even after what he had done, she had never been one for revenge, not when he knew her anyway way.

 

[Nina Patrokov]

Regret was not something anyone ever wanted to feel about an action but lately it was all Nina Patrokov could feel. In whatever she did her mind kept replaying every kiss, every touch between herself and Gareth and how she had made such a poor decision. She was embarrassed in herself so she kept Isadora away from him so they did not have to encounter each other and face how easily Gareth had romanced her and gotten her back into aching at every touch and when their kisses would scorch each other's lips with unbridled passion. And as much as Nina had enjoyed living in the past she had to think of her daughter and what would be best for her so she started screening calls to avoid Gareth and not returning owls until he had given up and now here she was in the area where he worked. She was nervous to say the least. The last thing the woman wanted was to bump into him - even if Isadora was with her Great Grandma. So Nina had told herself that if she kept her head down and didn't attract too much attention she could not be noticed from a crowd and what was the likelihood that she and Gareth would bump into each other?

It seemed that Nina would soon find out because, as luck or Satan would have it, Gareth did just that. Looking up, Nina''s blonde hair whipped herself in the face and in that instant, when she could see and hear Gareth's voice a look of sheer horror came but once she moved her hair to it's rightful place a placid smile was perched onto her soft lips, even as she listened to Gareth act like a child who did not get his way. "Oh yes, Knight. I quite enjoy it, can you tell?" she asked with sarcasm and bite spilling out with each syllable. She had loved him, she had given her heart and soul to him but now he had nothing but a memory and deserved nothing more than that so she would, from now on, keep their interaction to a very minimum and have his time with Isadora be nothing but what could have been an option. He may blame her but in Nina's mind she was being the best protector for her child by having him stay very far away from him.

Although Nina would have a difficult time admitting it, her anger was there but it she would have kept it silent, she would not have spoken so harshly if she didn't feel like she was pushed into a corner and being attacked. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to go before you start hitting me with your car next and pretending it was an accident," she said with a finite smirk before she passed by him and hit his shoulders with the same amount of strength that he had done so to her. The woman was never one for revenge but today, oddly enough, she felt like it. There was something that had transpired overnight that brought Nina to feel this way about Gareth Knight and now she couldn't... or rather wouldn't stop to think why she was keeping him away from their daughter or why she was acting like she never wanted to see him or why she had never loved him. It was her form of self-preservation so with a grimace to hide the slight pain from the contact, Nina carried on at the easy enough pace where Gareth could reach her again although she truly wished he would not try to make sense of everything. Truth be told, Nina didn't want him around because he had broken her heart once... who was to say he wouldn't do it again? And with the extra bonus of hurting her baby, Nina would not allow it.​

 

[Gareth Knight]

Gareth turned to look at her, hurt and confusion on his face. Sure, he had just bumped into her by accident but that wasn't anywhere near the same as hitting someone with a car. He was horrified she would think that of him. After everything he knew what she was like at least, it was like she didn't know him at all. When he spoke his voice hid nothing, it screamed out hurt and shock to her eardrums. "You seriously think that badly of me?" It may be a quiet question but it would reach her.

Gareth was frozen in place looking at the woman he loved with such anger in her eyes. Sure, he was angry at her, but that was for reasons. She had left him and taken away any time he could've had with his daughter the next morning. If anything, she could've at least left a note. But no, she just disappeared with his little girl and that was that. He wanted to move, he wanted to scream at her, yell his feelings in her ace until she understood how he felt, but he was frozen.

Out of Character:

Sorry it's short

 

[Nina Patrokov]

Nina slowed down to a stop as she heard Gareth's hurt and she had to blink away a tear, it was hard knowing that she was the one causing pain in him but as she turned back to him her face was still. "You practically ripped my heart out when you left, what is the difference?" she asked as she clenched her fists and starred at him, unaware that tears were building up in her eyes. Everything hurt and she didn't know what to do anymore, she couldn't handle it and Gareth just didn't understand. He was a mistake, they were a mistake and as much as she loved Isadora, so was she. They never should have happened if she had sense but she hadn't and had learned from it and was not going to make the same mistake again.

"I will not allow myself to be that vulnerable again, not from you anyway," she added, once again saying the most hurtful thing she could to Gareth so he would get that she couldn't handle the pain anymore and just give up. "That night was a mistake and I know now that you can't be trusted at all... If you hurt me once, what would keep you from doing it again and hurting my daughter? It's my duty to protect her from people like you, I won't fail her," she said with disgust, each word emphasized so she could hurt him more effectively even when there were tears streaming down her hot cheeks. These emotions were something a small child could not be around and it would only continue until they were out of each other's lives for good and that was the way it had to happen so she crossed her arms against her chest and looked at him as she cried silently, only now noticing that she had been the whole time but not caring enough to wipe her tears away. She would do it later so he wouldn't see her recognize that it hurt her to say these things to him because of the love she still did have for him.​

 

[Gareth Knight]

Gareth was wounded by her words, they almost physically hurt him. "You're comparing the actions of a scared, naive twenty year old boy with running someone down in a car?" Gareth shook his head. He couldn't believe what she was doing, how she was physically trying to hurt him. Sure, he was angry at her for leaving but he figured she was scared or, even, ashamed. He never thought disgusted.

Gareth felt like he didn't know the person in front of him. This wasn't his Nina. This was not the girl he had been, and still was, in love with. This was a monster. This was horrible. "You know what, fine. But one day that little girl is going to ask where her daddy is and you know what? You can tell her he made a mistake, he made a mistake so bad it hurt him for years until he found an opportunity to fix it and he tried. Oh, how he tried. You can tell her how her daddy persevered, taking whatever he was given without complaint, how he was willing to take punishment and leave any grievances behind, how he lay his heart out in front of him to show how much he meant it. You can then tell her how you trampled all over it so you didn't have to let go of your own grudges and fear instead of giving her the chance to have a daddy. I'm sure she'll see it your way."

When Gareth stopped talking he was out of breath. He felt the tears in his eyes threatening to spill, just as hers were already doing. He was not yelling, simply speaking what he felt and he spoke passionately. He would be happy to literally jump through hoops to stay in the world of that beautiful little girl and Nina was denying it because of her own regrets. He didn't walk away this time, he wanted o see her reaction to his words. Maybe the Nina he knew, the Nina he loved, was still in there under all of the anger and regret.

 

[Nina Patrokov]

Everything was spiraling out so far from Nina's control and all she knew was that what was coming out of her mouth was not truly her and yet she could not stop it. "Two years doesn't make a difference, Gareth. You are still that same person," she retorted although with her it was completely different. She had to give up so much of her youth for her little girl and she had to mature... now wasn't a prime example of that maturity but it was there somewhere.

Listening to Gareth speak down to her and how she was letting down Isadora was hard for Nina. The girl was her life and would be forever and now everything she had thought that was best for her might not be because of this argument. If she had not already been crying it would have set her over the edge but instead her tears spilled harder and she was now aware of it. Nina's breathing became choppy and frantic and she was grasping at her heart with one hand and wiping away the tears with another. This was her heart breaking all over again and this time it was her fault, she couldn't blame it on Gareth even if his words had done the job. He spoke the truth and all she could do was stand there pitifully. "I-I j-just can't do it," she stuttered through sharp inhales, more to herself than to Gareth. A deep breath and the glistening tears that had formed and hovered in the corner of her eyes spilled down her cheeks like rain as she wept, "I'm scared." This was the truth, she was scared of opening her heart to him and she had realized this in the middle of that fateful night when her gaze trailed across the lines of his face and remembered how distant they were from being such strangers. The relapse of the emotions that she had felt when he had left had been too much, too intense and too easy to avoid so she had changed out of his shirt and into her own clothes and had quietly taken her daughter away in the cover of nightfall without a word.​

 

[Gareth Knight]

Gareth was still fuming when he heard her first words. "No, two years doesn't change a person. But you know what does? The death of your parents and having to adopt, raise and support your sisters. I've had to grow up, I can't afford to be that childish boy any more." That was one of the first times he had even mentioned the death of his parents since it had happened and he felt his heart clench at the words. Of course he still missed them but he had to live his life. He had grown up and learnt to be responsible, if not for himself then for Avery. His littlest sister deserved so much more than what he alone could provide but that was all she could get.

Gareth watched her face as she listened to his speech and his breathing slowed. He knew he had gone overboard. It was harsh off him to say, even if it was the truth and, no matter how angry he was right now, he hated watching her break like that. He didn't want to be the cause of that, not again. He took a breath and spoke once more, calmly this time, almost supportive. "And you think I'm not scared? The thought of looking after Avery alone freaks me out. The thought of being responsible for Isadora too? The thought that I have a daughter? That's scares me like nothing else in the world ever could. But I'm willing to put that aside and be there for her, the way I should've been in the first place, if you'd just let me."

Gareth could see why she was scared. He knew he wouldn't trust him. He had left her when he needed him most and it killed him that he had done that. But he was changed, he was ready to try again. "Look, I'm not asking for your trust. I just want a chance to prove myself. I don't care if it takes seven years of supervised visits five minutes long." He wanted desperately to know that little girl, no matter how much the thought of being a father scared him. She was beautiful.How a little part of him and Nina was a mystery to him but he wanted to know her.