Let's Play!

Marina looked at him as he put her down and moved to her door, moving after him carefully, and still gracefully as she moved and kissed him, tenderly. Then vulnerability she was going through right now wasn't hidden as she pulled back, looking him over.



" I ... I love you, I've already chosen, just let me think over everything I'm facing. "



she said gently as she turned from him now, letting him leave the room, dressing as the door shut.

Ephriam paused for a minute as he shut the heavy door behind him. His fingers ran over the rich wood, feeling the grain. His eyes lingered there for a moment too. He whispered a response here on this side of the door that he was not in well enough mind to say on the other.



"I love you too."



Jethro spoke gently, leaning against the wall as though he had been waiting.



"Be careful with that, Eph." This time the man just walked off, not even objecting to the nickname. And Jethro let it lie.

Marina emerged not long later, dressed in a different dress ( though similar) then what Ephriam had picked out, looking like competition for the moon it's self as she sparkled and shined in it's pale blue accents upon a midngiht background, little silvery stars scattered about.



Looking up at jethro, she smiled, and moved towards him. it was nice to have him around for this right now.



" Still think that jumping off buildings is a good idea?"



She asked softly, taking his hand and giving him little choice as she headed out towards her rose and lily garden out back.

Jethro grinned at her and bent his arm, sliding her hand so that it was in the crook.



"I never said that it was a good idea. I said that it was fun." The man looked around the rose garden without suggesting anything else. After all, she had come to him.



Ephriam was working by this point. He had put on grungy clothes and was already covered in dirt and grime. He was working on restoring the tower that had caught fire. It was almost done after all this time. There was just the matter of installing a bit more of the wall and a window, and scrubbing the ash off of the rest of the place. It smelled strongly of mortar up here.

Marina looked up at Jethro after a while, thinking of which question mattered most... And came up with at least one set that mattered most, stopping to prune a rose from the bush, looking it over.



" It's just as lovely, if not more so, when isolated from the others.... but without the plant, it will die. .... So how does he expect me to cope?"



marina asked, looking up at Jehtro. She was getting at something, but before she could fully form the question she was needing answered, she had to have others answered first...

Jethro was not quite as poetic as Ephriam, but he got the idea. Continuing with it, however, was a hopeless endeavor he knew. The man didn't even try.



"I get the impression that he would do almost anything for you. It's just that some things are more difficult than others. Those things are easier to handle when actually asked for. It is easier to lend a dollar than to offer one." Okay, so he tried. Kind of.



This was almost therapeutic. Ephriam didn't have to think.

Marina nodded slowly, looking over all the flowers she planted and tended for, looking to Jethro after a while.



" why can't he remember family? ... .. I know I can't forget it.. merely as being a part of one was a privilege for me, not a right... not to mention something I wanted to have my own self, very much....... why can't he understand the need?"



It wasn't a want for her. Ephriam hadn't been adopted out, he hadn't lacked contact with family members, maybe hated them, maybe they died, but definitely not the kind of thing she went through..... If she did this, and he didn't understand, she would have to figure out how to live .... for eternity, without something she needed to survive, the hope she'd have everything some day... and they way he'd put things when she'd gone about asking... hope was already lost.

Jethro sat down on a bench, reaching over and breaking off a rose. He toyed with the thing thoughtfully.



"Well, I can't tell you for sure. He knows what a family is, and I know he remembers a few warm moments with his own... But I thing that he just disconnected. After all, he was the youngest and fate has not been so kind to him." Jethro shrugged.



"Not that it's an excuse. I just mean that just because he's forgotten how to like company doesn't mean that it's dead in him. Once upon a time he loved social gatherings - I imagine that is still somewhere in his person. It's just been buried by people doing him wrong." Jethro was gently playing with the flower.



"Why do you think he is so sensitive about you liking him?"

Marina merely sighed as she looked to the flower in her hands, before carefully ripping the head off, watching the petals fall to the ground about her feet.



" Then it's more where the pieces fall. I can't force him to comprehend what I feel. I know I'll only be half complete for him right now if things are left like they are, set in stone...., and that's not fair to either party, is it?

Jethro sighed slightly, glancing at the pieces.



"I can't 'fix' him. The only one that Eph listens to on that level is you. If it causes you too much pain to work though, then leave him. He won't pursue you." It seemed almost cold the way it was put, but the words themselves seemed warm.

Marina looked up at Jethro, the look on her face clearly in pain.



" I couldn't do that. ... as I told him.. I've already decided. I just need to figure out how to handle myself first, is all. "



she told him softly.



" I don't want to fix him, as that's changing him... I'd prefer him to see the need."



she replied softly, looking to the stem she now held in her hand.



" ... I am too selfish to leave.... I don't want to knwo if it's mine or not. I'm not letting it go to see if it comes back."



Marina explained softly, holding herself now, dropping the stem.

Jethro stood up with a soft sigh, placing a hand on her back in what he hoped was a comforting manner.



"People change on their own. Or if they don't, they adapt to what they are limited to." He gestured to the bush.



"One day you'll wake up and realize that what you thought was a brier patch is actually a rosebush." Yes! he did it!

Marina looked up at him. the look on her face said what her mouth wouldn't. her need wasn't changing.



sighing inwardly she moved to hug him.



" I don't see it happening, but I hope it does."



she said softly, simply holding to him as she thought. Support was something she was keen on. sure, she'd taken it easy at first, then things had hit her. Now it was becoming more of the reaction Ephriam was looking for she supposed.

Jethro just nodded and gave her a little squeeze.



"So do I, Cupcake." He gave her his best smile and raised a brow. He was waiting it out. Surely that wasn't it. He didn't see any reason why she couldn't have had that little break down with Ephriam or even alone. There was no way that was all that was on her mind.



Ephriam was covered in black soot and concrete, but he actually didn't seem bothered by it. The wall was making nice progress. Before too long he would have to go downstairs to the storage room and get the window stuffs.

Looking up at Jethro, she kissed him feather lightly upon the cheek and looked like she was about to ask another question when she closed her mouth and let her eyes wonder over the castle, before leaving Jethro standing there alone, having already darted off.



Lucky guess, or knowing ephriam, either way, Marina found him easy enough, however, she was at a full run when she discovered how close she was, and ran right into him....

Jethro watched her go, raising an eyebrow as he glanced up to the tower above, half expecting it to be falling off the building or something. At least, that made sense with the way the woman behaved. But either way, Jethro just let it go, sitting back down on the bench.



Ephriam stepped back one pace very quickly to keep the window in his hands from crashing to the floor. After a moment he looked down to the woman with a questioning look. Carefully he put the window down against the wall.



"Are you alright?"

Nodding slowly, marina looked him over, and down at the soot she'd kicked up in her dash, and wanted to talk before she lost the courage to say this.



" I know you can't know how I feel without me telling you. Or at least, that's what you claim. I'm selfish. I'm not giving up my dreams of a family... but those dreams don't exist without you in the picture.... So your stuck with me unles you get rid of me."



Marina said softly, looking up at him, not pointing out that also meant he was stuck with her nagging, complaining, and possible emotional problems later on, concerning the family part..... One thing at a time.

Ephriam considered her carefully, and as she spoke he crossed his blackened arms. The man stared for a long time, but then his eyes drifted around the room, resting on the hole in the wall.



"You are sure? This is what you want?" He opened his arms and gestured to the whole deal, the burnt room and his own filthy self. Then, slowly the man's face warmed up with the light of a healthy smile.

" I've wanted you for a long time. "



Marina replied, kind of glaring at him.



" If I find out I don't arouse you later, or that your impotent or something, I'll kill you."



Marina informed him, looking dead serious about the whole thing. Not that one could blame her... she was waiting more for him, then her, definitely, and that wasn't even by choice at this point so much as the fact of she didn't even seem to arouse him.

Ephriam suddenly laughed despite her threat. In fact, something was a lot brighter and warmer for the moment to him. Then again, finding out that you weren't being left in the dust by your lover tended to do that to you.



"I would sharpen the stake for you if that were happen on truth!"

Relaxing, reluctantly, she carefully moved from where she was and moved towards him.



" That topic aside.... do I have to give up on having a wedding, even if it's just the formality part? The paper work isn't really needed, considering..."



she said softly, looking pathetic.... well, every little girl had a dream wedding... it wasn't something they gave up easily, either.

Ephriam gazed at the girl and then reached out to take her hand, though he stopped short when noticing the black grime on his hands. He let out a long sigh.



"If it will please you, then I will step outside the hand fasting and you can have your ceremony. However, I cannot get past the papers and the rings."

Marina looked confused at him.



" get past what?"



she asked, not following, she'd already said the papers were a no-go... as for the rings... once again, it's a girl thing. She was having more issue with why he had a problem with it... weddings had been going, for loads of years... he had to have figured out by now that they were common place for happy couples to have at a certain point in their relationship....

Ephriam pressed his lips together.



"Pay it no mind. Just the qualms of an old man." He then smiled at her.



"You can have whatever you want."

Marina looked over him, moving to kiss him, snuggling up to him. She didn't care about the grime. At least, not at the moment. ... She would when she went to get it out of her dress later.



" Your not an old man, because I refuse to let you be, so sush. "



Marina informed him, kisisng him again.



" ... Thank you... for everything."

Ephriam smiled against her kisses, wrapping his arms around her.



"No. Thank you." This was Ephriam in ecstatic mode. Really, you will never meet a more agreeable and gentle person than an extremely pleased Eph. He laughed as he leaned back, a bit of wet mortar having bonded his shirt to her dress.

Marina smiled, looking to it with a little face.



" I suppose I don't need to worry about removing the stains, as the dress is probably beyond the help of cleaners now."



She didn't care, she had made up her mind, and was in a better mood for it.

"Thank goodness it is not your only dress." Ephriam smiled gently and grabbed the fabric.



"I daresay that I hope you will refrain from smacking me for this." He twisted the fabric just slightly with that hand and placed his other flat on her chest to push the two of them apart. He was trying to get it so that his shirt would rip instead of hers. How successful he was would soon be apparent.

Watching both articles rip, Marina smiled ever so slightly, shaking her head with a slight sigh.



" It's alright."



She said faintly, looking him over, smiling at him

The man maintained a faint smile. After a minute he turned to the burned room.



"Recognize it?"

(( He could be setting himself up on this one.... He might wanna tred carefully.))



Looking about, she shook her head for a moment. the place she'd been in, had been constantly dark. never any light.... so no, she wouldn't recognize it.



" I don't think so."

((Tell him that...))



Ephriam wasn't really surprised. After all, the window was a new addition. He walked over to the hole in the wall and picked up a tarp that he used to cover it when he wasn't working.



"And here I thought you had roamed through my entire castle..."

" I have.... but this part was icky, so I left it alone."



Marina replied, looking at him like he was a fool for thinking she'd normally inhabit these kind of areas.

Ephriam chuckled.



"I guess it could use a little work."

" It wasn't worth cleaning with how it was before."



She explained simply.

Ephriam shrugged slightly.



"I have been working on it. It takes time... and then there is the whole gaping-hole-lets-in-sunlight thing. I just have the window left to put in. What do you think?" He gestured to the arch-shaped window with little stained glass patterns of stars around the edge. The man pinned up the tarp over the hole.

Smiling, she nodded.



" I know, the sunlight hinders a few things."



She said softly, looking him over, head tilting to the side slightly.

The man turned and shrugged slightly. It was a fact of life. Well, for him. The man was tying down the last edge when he glanced out the window and sighed.



"Where did you leave Jethro?"

" In my flower garden."



She replied, looking to Ephriam with an odd look.

Ephriam tied down the edge and turned around, though it seemed that he was fighting a smile.



"Just checking. Why don't we go downstairs?" He offered a hand.