The old saying goes 'another day, another dollar' when it comes to work. For Tripp Reynolds lately the saying goes 'another night, another..' uh.. 'Woot!'. Needless to say he's been very looking forward to meeting with Faith and, as usual, has an outline for what he has planned.
His only regret, really, is that Rose doesn't stay up extremely late but.. He'll live. He stopped by the house to pick the twin up, drove her to the hotel in ye olde company car, and finally the pair get to hotel room 404 (har). The lamp's already on, the main room is pretty clean since Tripp doesn't really use as many gadgets as he used to. Needless to say it is quite a nice room! "All right, here we are." he says with a small grin. "I know I always said I wanted my own place but, I wasn't exactly expecting this."
The duties of a wife-to be are pretty straight forward. This honesty kick they have going on is awesome, even if she is hiding a bunch of the details of the big even from Ivan. It's for the best, really, and Hope is at least having fun. What Faith does tell him, however, is that it is her night for board games and that she'll be out for a while. Her cell is with her, as always, and she's in good hands. It may not be enough for Ivan but at least it's something.
She's a regular Chatty-Cathy on the way to the hotel, but she somehow forgets to mention the fact that she was recently proposed to. Oh, sure, there's a shiny new sapphire ring (with diamonds!) on her finger, but that fact is completely ignored. There's something far more pressing at the moment.
As soon as the door opens, Faith falls onto the bed. It's a tradition that she's done time and time again. "It's a nice bed at least?" She sits up soon after. "You'll get someplace else soon, I'm sure. Things are pretty cheap here, and it shouldn't be too hard to make a house that's safe for you during the day."
"Well, I can't really complain," Tripp replies with a chuckle and a shrug, "I'm thankful to have a place at all, it's incredible really- I came here with little more than a bag of clothes.. Then I have a job and a place to stay, you know? But yeah, it is a nice bed." in fact it's enough for him to stare quietly for a moment.
Only a moment though as he moves to open the side-closet, "All right, I have Yahtzee, Sorry, Uno, Battleship, and Candy Land." he says, "I also have a deck of cards if you play Blackjack or Poker." As for the ring? Well, he never really thought to ask about it, especially since his chatty friend hadn't mentioned it. So it must not be important right? Just jewelry? .. On the other hand, he also didn't really notice how -nice- it was.
The time is taken to remove her shoes so that she doesn't feel guilty about sitting on the bed. They're placed neatly on the ground before she sits Indian style and watches him intently. "You really fell in with the right people. Well, I don't know if I like any of them, but it's the Sheriff of Dallas. That's pretty cool." Isobel is a mean, mean woman, but she isn't nearly as bad as some other vampires that Faith has run into.
When he moves on to games, she takes a moment to consider. "I really just came to talk. You know, hang out and stuff." Spending alone time with Tripp is almost the same that it used to be, other than the fact that he's technically dead. So this should be a good thing. "I suck at cards, though. So we can play those if you don't want me to totally kick your butt." Since she apparently believes she's the best. "Or we could play Uno 'cause it's kind of playing cards."
"No kidding, too bad I can't really tell anyone else, but that's probably for the better," Tripp replies as he shuffles around in the closet, pausing only to the mention of wanting to talk.
Was.. This good or bad? It was difficult to tell, but he seems to decide on the playing cards. He makes his way over to the lamp table not far from the mattress at all, "Blackjack it is, it isn't very competitive, but it's good for the brain," he notes, and proceeds to shuffle the deck.
"I'm all ears, Rose, is something on your mind?" Tripp really doesn't have much to say about himself, and he honestly doesn't seem to be bothered about the girl talking about herself. It's really easy on him, really, though he sometimes did wish he had things to share as well. You know, things besides his feelings for the girl.
It wouldn't be a bad thing if he sat on the bed as well. It's big enough for the two of them and she obviously doesn't mind getting close. Perhaps she did when they first were reunited but that was then. She's since discovered that a vampire Tripp is better than no Tripp at all.
"Whatever you want. You just want to win." This is said in a teasing tone, but she soon drops the tease to fake a shrug. "I don't know. Just everything?" Isn't that what they used to do? "There's just so much going on yet nothing at all. I mean, everything is the same as it seems to always be anymore. I'm still crazy, Hope's still irrational, Ivan asked me to marry him and I'll be going back to school in the fall."
The way she tries to drop in the part about marriage is poor, but she's hoping that he doesn't immediately catch on to it. Despite her hopes, Faith keeps her eyes on Tripp, trying to catch his reaction.
The vampire chuckles with a shake of his head, "I assure you it isn't like that, this isn't competitive Blackjack in the literal sense. Consider this training, on the house. You know the rules right?" Tripp asks.
He deals Faith two cards face down.
Eight and Four. Tripp has a Three and an Eight that he lets her see.
"I have to keep taking cards until I get more than seventeen. It's up to you to decide if your total is high enough to win or not." he explains. "And I haven't spoken with Hope in some time. I've been getting along a little better with Bobby but, our relationship is kind of awkward," he says with a weak chuckle. He doesn't seem to catch on right away at first, "And hey you're going back to school, that's great! I mean in a way, doesn't that kind of prove you're not really all that craz-" pause. ".. Wh- I.. Wh.. What? Did you say 'no'?" .. "Er I mean what'd you say?"
The cards are picked up and kept tightly towards her form so that she doesn't let him see. Surely he'll beat her anyway but she can't help but try and take this seriously. "Sounds easy enough. I used to love numbers, back before I moved to Dallas." Before he died, basically, but she's not saying that. "But I've decided that I don't really want to become an accountant. It's just no fun, and life's too short."
That causes Faith to pause and look at him. "Sorry." She immediately looks down at her cards. "This is where I say 'hit me'?"
Getting Tripp talking is a good thing, it really is. "Bobby's a jerk, but not really. I want to be mad at him for what he's done to Hope, but they're past it. He's always been so honest with her, too, so that's a good thing." It's an attempt to pull away at pressing issues but Tripp's too smart and catches on eventually.
"I, well, Hope's getting married. And I'm basically married. But Hope was pushing for the wedding to be in September. I never really thought about being married so soon." She laughs nervously. "I mean, not that people think it will happen. Since I run off all the time, or will get crazy again before."
Tripp doesn't actually catch on at first to Rose's slip-up. Once he does, he then grins, "No offense taken," he replies, "I'm not sensitive about that sort of thing, you know. And yeah, that's what you say."
Tripp deals a Jack, face up.
"Well.." Tripp replies with a shake of his head. Though if he meant the hand or the sudden news is up in the air. But he furrows his brows, seeming to try to thinking of something.. Supportive to say. But that's not quite as easy as he'd think. "R- Right, I know about Hope's engagement.. Um, Bobby doesn't seem that bad, though I can't say with a straight face that he doesn't seem to make.. Er.. Bad decisions at times. I.. Uh, yeah I mean, I kind of thought the same thing, you know? I mean about you getting married you're still so young, and.. Um, I can't really see you tying yourself down right now is what I mean, n- not because I think you'll run off." he stammers, fidgeting a bit nervously with the card deck. "Wow he.. He proposed to you though I.. Geez, that's.. Um. Wow." yeah he looks nervous, there's no hiding it. But he's not upset!
"I'm glad you're not. I don't want to offend you or anything. You're the best friend that I've ever had and I don't know what I'd do if you left again." This has to be said, has to be stressed. He needs to know how she feels, even if she really doesn't know how she feels. The new card is looked at and she just studies it, muttering to herself. "Hit me?"
But hey, they can talk about Hope and Bobby! "I think Bobby just asked her because she thought she was going to die. It's odd that shortly after she went missing she ends up with a ring. That's a bad decision right there. I'm sure it will work, though."
Tripp's reaction to her news, however, has her just looking at him. Faith nibbles her lower lip as she considers it. "You know I wouldn't do it if you weren't there." Even if no one else wants him to be there. "I just, I don't know what happened. It's like my life has been one thing after another since I woke up and found out I was in Dallas. In six months I've been kidnapped, tortured, blown up and a number of other things, not to exclude nearly dying at the hands of some werewolf thing. I'm just afraid that I'm going to die before I get to be happy. Maybe that's bad motivation, but bad things just happen to me."
Tripp can't help but raise a brow to Rose's request. He must have dealt some pretty crappy cards! And he can't read her card-face, so with a nod, he deals her another:
A Two.
"O- Oh.." he then replies about the Bobby/Hope thing. Hooboy, he really wished he didn't apparently hit the nail on the head there. That was clearly a part of the story he didn't know about, "B- But they've been going out for some time, haven't they?" he asks, seeming a little concerned.
Maybe a little oddly, he seems comforted by her insistance that she's happy to be with him. Maybe a bit discouraging that it seems 'as a friend' but he could live with that for now. Actually, with the threat of marriage in the horizon though, maybe he wasn't able to live with it quite as easily. Either way he looks nervous, but he reaches out to touch the girl's shoulder and give it a light squeeze, "I can understand that.. Yeah, I definatly can, and believe me there's nothing I want more than to see you happy too, but.."
"Marriage, it's.. Not something you should just jump into and then when it doesn't work out, get a divorce. At least, that's not how I would want you to look at it as." the vampire says, "If anything, I think that just makes way for more unhappiness, you know? B- Besides. I.. Don't think he'd.." Oh god, oh god, oh god should he say it? Should he say it? No, he'd better not, that's out of his bounds. ".. You know, disagree.. I think."
Bad hand is right. Faith knows that her hand is still technically too short to just use so she sighs. "Hit me." Poker isn't something that she'd be good at. She can lie here and there but not when it comes to something like playing cards.
"Nope. Not that I know of, anyway. I think they started dating around the time that I met Ivan. But honestly I was still locked up and mental so it's kind of fuzzy." When this is said, Faith points to her temple as if she's still a mental patient. In some ways she is.
Faith would look away from him but he's so close and being so friendly. He's being Tripp. So she watches him as he talks. "Say it." They can be honest around each other, after all. "That's why I want to talk to you. I want you to be completely honest with me. I want you to tell me what you think. Heck, I need advice. I just want you to talk to me, Tripp. I miss you." The advice he's given her so far isn't being ignored, she just isn't going to comment on it right away.
It's always a little awkward when Faith refers to her mentality, as Tripp isn't always immedietly certain how to respond. It'd seem she's come to accept it for quite a while now, but still.. What can he say that'd be supportive?
"sheesh, if I knew that before.." Tripp replies, "But.. Hope seems to have herself togeather in her own way. She wouldn't put up with anything less than acceptable I think." he replies with a scratch off his head. He looks uncertain to Faith's request but he deals anyway.
A Seven.
He's a little too distracted to ask if she's certain she's still under. Especially when he's told to 'say it'. He swallows hard, and replies, "W- Well the thing is, I'm not certain I'm exactly being fair, you know Ivan and I don't.. Exactly see eye to eye. So my gut kind of tells me I don't really think he's.. The person you really need. I'm not really comfortable with the idea of you getting married with someone with such potential to take away what we have." That was the truth, for the most part.
The game really isn't important anyway. It frustrates her and she just throws her cards down on the bed. "I should never go to Vegas." Even though she stinks at the game, the smaller woman can't help but laugh at it. It's time spent with Tripp, so it doesn't matter if she wins.
Though Tripp has to go and say what he says. She stares at him for a moment before she ends up nodding. "I don't think you'll ever get along. He deals with your boss all the time. That's why I have protection and stuff. But you know, I don't think he likes the idea of me associating with anyone that, well, you know. And I think it bothers him that I love you." Yes, Faith said it. It may be only as a friend but it's true. "I mean, I told him what happened but, well…" She just shakes her head.
"Do you really think that he'd try to keep us from seeing each other?"
Tripp glances down to the cards when they're dropped, his expression blank for a moment, and then he can't help but grin in mild amusement, ".. I dunno, I think you'd like the slot machines at least." he replies. As for her declaring her love, it certainly makes his heart skip a beat. Uh, it's beating, right?
"Yeah, that.. Well, really I think you'd know better than me how he'd feel," he replies, feeling his cheeks heat up. Though they aren't really redenning at all. But she left out a fairly important detail that he almost missed during his embarassment, ".. What did he say after you told him?" He almost responded to her declaration with one of his own. But he knows he might say the wrong thing in his state of gradually growing more excited and tense.
"I don't know. Maybe? There are a lot of people in Vegas, though. But at least maybe they wouldn't call me the Queen of Crazy there." This is said with relief, up until he asks that question that just causes her to look off to the side. "I told him what happened, that night. I think it bothered him. But I told him that Hope loved you then so he had nothing to worry about." Faith always looked out for Hope before anything else, and she wasn't going to purposely upset her twin. Those sorts of things just don't go over very well, at all.
"He's Ivan. I don't know if he believes it. I mean, he doesn't think I'm lying or anything." She did lose her memory, though, so he might question. "He always talks to Hope about you and me and gets upset, so I don't really know. He won't say anything bad but he never seems happy about anything."
Queen of Crazy.. Poor Faith. Tripp brought his hand back- Right, that night. That night that changed all three of them in ways no one would have expected. As much as he'd like to forget about it, it was hardly a realistic goal. ".. I'm not entirely certain that's the truth when you say he has nothing to worry about. From a guy standpoint that just.. Is difficult to believe, even if it may be the absolute truth." he replies calmly. He falls onto his side on the bed.
"I'm not entirely sure if he'd try to keep up from seeing each other. But I am certain that if you decide to say 'no', he'll accuse me of being a part of it."
"I don't understand that. The guy perspective, that is. I mean, I've done pretty good to just be, well, good. I mean, I totally knew that Hope was crushing on you so I didn't do anything then. And all those times that I've been mad at Ivan I've never done anything. It's like people are trying to will me into doing something wrong."
Faith doesn't even stop to consider her words. She's speaking freely, something that she's wanted to do for quite some time. It's just hard to be able to get in her quality Tripp time sometimes. "I kind of feel like Hope is pushing me into marriage, too. I don't know if she's upset at me for living in sin, or if she really likes Ivan. But I don't think she likes him at all."
A face is made when he admits to Ivan likely blaming him. "Of course. Because it's easiest to blame someone who isn't around to defend themselves."
"Well.." Tripp is finding himself growing more relaxed; even though things are different there is a bit of nostalgia in having a conversation like this- even though they'd never really talked about boy/girl relationships to this extent at all in the past. "The problem is the unanswered questions, you know? I mean take what you said to him, then apply it to now- There's no way Hope is interested in me anymore. So of course he'd be uncomfortable, right?"
"I.. Hm, I'm not really sure what to say about you doing 'good' at the moment," Tripp then confesses, "You do get into pretty complicated situations pretty often. But I personally don't think there's much potential harm in following your heart." … "By the way, I don't think she likes Ivan either.. But that isn't really the same as not believing he isn't a capable person. Ivan seems very capable, even I have to give him that. He could probably even make you happy. If I had to take a guess, I'd like to believe that she'd be rushing you to protect you. I know it sounds weird, but.. That's what I think. And, honestly, he has every right to be suspicious.."
There's a brief pause, "Because I.. I uh, just.. Well, I mean I think you could do a little better." he mumbles under his breath.
If only more people spoke with her like this. The open conversation is freeing, almost, and the way he puts things just so happens to sink into the extra thick skull of hers. "I never really thought about it quite like that, you know? I mean, up until you came back? Hope was pining away for you all the time. I think she compared Bobby to you at first, too. So I just never really thought about it." That and she has spent a good deal of her time out of her mind.
A nervous laugh is given at his comment about her situations. "It's not like I try, you know. The last couple of times? I was really good about how I acted. I didn't really go walking alone at night. Heck, the last time I was jumped in the elevator of my apartment complex. That's why I moved." A nod is given in turn to the comments about Ivan. "He has a good job and he's not unwilling to take care of me. I mean, I bought our house outright with the legal money from that stupid funny farm, but other than that he's taken care of mostly everything else." He would have tried to help get them a place without her contribution but it made no sense when she could buy it.
There's so much more to be said but he catches her off guard. She doesn't fully understand all of his whisper, but she does catch that he's trying to open up to her about something. "What?"
"Enh no harm no foul," Tripp replies, "A lot's changed, I wish I could have been around sooner to help you out, Faith." He had been making an effort to stick with 'Rose' but.. Easier said than done. "I think we talked before about trouble seeming to just come to you. I thought it was kind of amusing at first but.. I'll have to take it seriously, this world just isn't the same as it used to be. I'd protect you from anything, you know. And if there's one thing I'm happy about with being.. Like this is that I have the power to protect you." His old self. There's no way he could compete with Ivan. Not a chance in the world. Even now he's in a hard-pressed position.
He feels his cheeks hotten again to her last question, and he sits up, running a hand throgh his hair, "Faith, I'm really sorry I know I should have brought this up sooner but I didn't want to just dump it on you." he says, "My.. My feelings for you haven't changed. I.. Still love you." He also wants to have like seven kids with her, but obviously it'd be silly for him to say that.
As the conversation continues, the young woman leans back onto the bed. It's nice and relaxing to lay back and stare at the ceiling. She's not pressured into looking or acting a certain way and it's nice to be around someone who knows her so well. Ivan's learned a lot, but he's missed out on so much. "Well, I -do- like the thought of you being the one to help me," Rose admits before she tilts her head to the side to look at him. "But I'm alright, really. I don't need protection. I mean, bad stuff happens but it's okay. I always come out on top, and if I don't? Well, maybe that's the way it's supposed to be." Surely she's meant to suffer some horrible fate if such things keep happening to her?
Seven children as a vampire are more than a little impossible. Without knowing what he's prepared to say, Faith watches him closely. When he sits up she catches on that it's likely something a bit serious so she knows not to interrupt him. Yet what he finally says causes her to just stare at him. There's no hatred in her eyes but merely a minor amount of confusion.
After quite some time she finally sits up, moving to turn her back to him. This is so he can't actually see her expression, though he may very well hear the sound of her rapidly pounding heart. "That's not possible," she manages to say softly, her voice almost completely calm. "You're supposed to be with Hope."
"Yeah, I know.. But the thing is that I -want- to help protect you. It's something I've always wanted to do, even as a kid. I mean.. Of course I felt silly about having such a dream when I got older." Tripp murmured, looking to Rose from the corner of his eyes. He doesn't move in any particular way when she turns away, he kind of expected worse so that was actually a relief for the vampire.
Her heart? Oh he hears it most certainly, the room isn't filled with much noise. But what did it mean exactly? He wasn't sure. "You could think that but.. Fate certainly has gone out of it's way to prove otherwise, don't you think?" he replies in a half-joking tone. Kind of a bad one at that.
The speed of her heart doesn't slow any. Looking down at the ground is considered but instead she looks straight ahead while closing her eyes. Very soft breaths are taken in order to keep calm but he would even hear those. It's a good thing that he can't hear her facial expression. "I, it's just, I'm not dating material. I never was. That's why I was more than happy to let you two be happy. She's always been so so perfect."
Faith, on the other hand, is somewhat cold. Or used to be.
When she considers herself composed enough, the crazy Tyler turns to face Tripp. She's surprisingly not upset, or at least not by appearance. "I think you should have said something sooner. I mean, I know that I was all locked up, and you had to come a long way, but you've been here for a little while now." Things would be so much different if he had said something sooner.
"I think that things would be different if you had said something sooner."
Now it's Tripp's turn to be silent for a while. When she turns to look at him, he seems to have a little difficulty looking her in the eye. There's a bit of guilt on his face that's for sure, "I don't believe that. I never really believed that. Well, I mean sort of. I mean I never thought anyone besides me would ask you that so.. I-"
"Well, I guess I'm just making excuses at this point. I know, I really should have, but I was afraid I'd scare you away. But I understand."
Tripp swallows hard, rubbing the back of his head now. Such an expressive vampire! "I see what you mean about Hope.. But how you view her and how I see her are kind of different."
"It's hard when you're the twin of someone who is extremely popular. Even now she's just like she was back then. People love her, even if she has developed a bit of an attitude." Smacking Ivan in the head with ice cream is, in Faith's opinion, having an attitude. "It's almost like living in her shadow. That's why I liked the idea of being in Dallas. But with me being labeled the way I am? It's just the same thing, all over again."
"This is silly. We're not children anymore. It's been years. We've both been through a lot since then. Whatever was in the past, well, it's in the past. There's nothing that can be done about that." It seems like Faith is going to brush him off, right up to the way that she stands. Even though standing, however, she never takes her eyes off of him. "You're not going to scare me away, Tripp. It's just not going to happen like that. I, well, you've given me a lot to think about. I pushed away any feelings I had for you to love you like a brother because of Hope. I wasn't expecting you to say what you did. It was easier to hide them when I didn't have to face them."
"Right now it doesn't seem like long ago that we were kids," Tripp replies, seeming to relax a little. Well, he's on the fine line of relaxed and edgy anyway. He's just not certain what to expect, so when she does say something he just keeps on looking a little surprised.
"Living in her shadow.. In my case I more felt a little intimidated." For one if he felt if he ever tried to be her shining knight it'd fail horribly. But that aside he takes her last words into consideration, and he's able to look her in the eyes now, returning her look. She.. Did -what-? It kind of hurt in a way, he really -really- should have talked to her sooner. But there was no use beating himself up over it now, was it?
Tripp takes in then releases a calmed breath, nodding his head, "I- I see. That makes sense." a bit nervous that she may be preparing to leave, he offers, "Do you want, some.. Water or something?"
This is awkward. How to proceed? To act on impulse will cause issue, to not act on impulse might cause a rift. For a period of time she just watches him, her heart still pounding, trying to figure out what to do. "This is what I wanted to talk about before, well, you know. It was my every intention to have this conversation, even if not exactly like this. I'm sorry that we didn't get to back then." That is a real regret of hers, in more ways than one.
"You're not going to, you know, stop talking to me now, are you?" Now the doubt comes out, the emotion begins to surface. It appears for a moment that Faith is getting truly upset, as if she might almost cry, but she battles that away easily enough. "I don't want you to. After all, it would stink for two people to finally admit to things and then not talk again."
Nervous, that's what she is. So she just kind of nods to his question, not really sure what he's asking.
Tripp is quick to get to his feet, "What? No way, of course not!" he quickly replies, perhaps a little louder than necessary but he does relax quickly enough, instead just quickly shaking his head 'no', "Th- Though that's funny, I was actually thinking about asking you the same thing, I thought you were going to leave eh-heh." obviously he's nervous as well. It's almost like High School Prom night or something! That said he moves over to the mini-fridge, drawing it open and there are a few bottles of water and cans of soda. They're untouched, as he doesn't try to drink them anymore these days.
He heads back to Rose, offering it to her, "I still want to be by your side whenever I can. Whether it be to chat, or play games or hang out or whatever. I'm glad we were able to talk about it, even if it didn't really go over too smoothly. No regrets or anything like that, honest." and he gives a little smile, "I actually needed to talk to you about work-stuff for a moment actually. Though I confess it may not make things much easier right now."
-He- is nervous? Faith just stands there, up until the time that he hands her the water. It isn't as if she's done with this, not exactly, but he appears to be. A nibble of her lip is given before she moves to hug him, just wanting to be close to him. The hug falls short when he comments about work, though, and all she can do is stare into his eyes. "What's wrong? What's going on?" He's just thrown a huge wrench in her plans for the future and now there is more news? "I'm not going to stop being around you, Tripp. I never will."
A.. hug? Tripp seems again taken aback, but he returns the gesture quickly, his arms slipping about the woman and even gives a light squeeze. Even as her gesture slips a bit, his doesn't do quick the same as he looks down to her, "I won't either, Faith. I promise," he notes smiling a little again, "You're very precious to me."
But.. he's getting sidetracked here. "As for work, I was discussing with my boss, how things had worked out with the whole 'guardian' thing, but there is a little more to it than that. I think you're familiar with the act of 'claiming'?" he asks, expression growing a little more serious. In a way he felt a little guilty throwing this at Faith all of a sudden. But there was a bit of a.. Darker part of him that wanted to take advantage of her promises.
This is the oddest board game night ever. She has to wonder if it is some sort of a dream. Would she rather it be? That's difficult for her to say for certain. On one hand she doesn't really want to go home after a moment like this, but on the other she can't possibly expect anything more than words from Tripp, either. It's so much that she just has to stare at him, and as a result she nearly misses out on what he says.
"What?" It is replayed in her head before her eyes go wide. This is a place that she's been at least three other times before, one of those times ending extremely poorly. There really is not fear within her, though. Her already rapidly beating heart goes unchanged. "I know what that is. Why?"
"What do you mean 'why'?" Tripp replies, seeming a little amused by the question. As each moment passes, Tripp finds himself growing more relaxed with the situation, awkward as it may be. Or as it's supposed to be at least. But as he both hears and feels Faith's heartbeat, the longer he holds her so close, the more he doesn't want to release her. At this point he'd almost forgotten about the water in the first place.
"I am going to be your guardian after all, it'd be the final step of sorts." there's a brief pause, and Tripp says rather quietly, "If you'd allow it, I'd like to claim you."
Due to all the time she's spent around vampires, she's learned a thing or two. Despite the talk of claiming and everything else that will make Ivan flip out, she seems to be calming down. At least her heart is, at any rate. Faith stands in silence, so close to the man she thought she lost years ago. Her mind is working in overdrive as she attempts to figure out what to do.
"It isn't the final step, not from what I remember." Eventually she looks up at Tripp, trying to get a read on him. "I, honestly, you know what? I don't really mind. I'm convinced that things aren't going to stop unless I am, and I won't let anyone else do it." She stops, hesitating, but forces herself to continue. "Does it stop at just that, though?" The last person who said so made quite the feast off of her.
"…?" Not the final step? For a moment Tripp is a little lost, he was fairly certain he wasn't forgetting anything about the process- It was supposed to be so simple that even -he- could pull it off. What was it that Rose, then, could be thinking about? Or maybe she was thinking about something else?
His expression when she looks at him is that of a questioning gesture, a raised brow. But it returns to its normal position, "I don't understand wh- Oh. -Oh-." Bonding she must mean. Geez, couldn't these vampires have chosen less.. exciting names to describe their acts? "Well it may not be essential.." after all, he never plans to let her out of his sight in the evenings, and there's someone else taking care of her in the day. .. On the other hand, he's.. Not really certain he's happy with that which causes the vampire to pause and think now. "Not tonight, I mean." and with that he raises his hand, to brush his thumb across the girl's cheek.
"I could always make up a rule though." he jokes.
It's awkward to talk about and it makes her slightly uncomfortable. This is a place that she never thought she'd be in again, not at all. That's what the protection is supposed to be for. His laughter just makes her stare more, as she's unable to tell if he's serious or not. Several times she opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. Finally she finds her voice, but only after she buries her head into his chest.
"A rule?" It seems to be completely lost on Faith, but it doesn't really matter to her at the moment. She's actually just concerned about the previous conversations that they've had. "You know, he knows that you're supposed to watch over me." It has to be said. "I can leave the house more often. To see you. It's not fair that you're around but I don't really get to talk to you all that much."
Tripp draws in his lips. Come to think of it, she'd know about it because she was in that position. Probably numerous times, thus making him realize that his attempt at a joke once again was in bad taste. Oi vey, Tripp! "I- Sorry, I wasn't serious.." he admits sheepishly, giving a little comforting squeeze with his other arm.
"I figured as much though, I also figured he probably wasn't very happy about it," he says, more than happy to shift the subject toward Ivan instead.. in an interesting twist. "Well you know.. If you really would like to do that, I'd probably have to give you my hotel card.. I'm not easy to wake up in the daytime." … "You'd also have to promise that you don't come to the hotel by yourself." It's kind of a double edged sword though, since he doesn't really want Ivan to know which hotel he stays in- On the other hand he probably already knows anyway.
A joke? A joke Rose actually chuckles then, realizing how silly she must feel. "I'm a little slow sometimes." But then he's talking about Ivan and not coming alone. "Why wouldn't I come alone?" It seems like an odd thing to request. "But alright, if you say so. I'm not bringing Ivan here, though, or Hope. I, man, Hope. She's going to want to try and stake me if I tell her about this."
Faith wants to talk about it? Sure thing. "You've given me a lot to think about, Tripp." This much cannot be helped. "I think I might try to get away for a few days, stay in Hope's old apartment or something. I mean, I can't exactly sit through what I did without wanting to think about it." A pause as she -does- blush. "Right?"
Tripp's shoulders relax, Rose's chuckle was.. Pretty needed, considering the situation. "Well, if I remember correctly, trouble seems to find you as easily in the daytime than night.. If something were to happen while you were looking for me, I.. Couldn't forgive myself." he confesses, gaze falling to the side. "Yeah, I would.. Prefer if it weren't either of them as well. Geez, I really don't know what I'm going to do about Hope. Not right now at least, I'll have to think about that too."
"Hmn I see, though, I can understand that. So it may be a little while before I see you again after tonight, hmn?" Tripp seems a little unhappy with this, though he knows that he'd be watching over her regardless. "Yeah.. Thank you for being patient with me, Faith. Even though tonight's been kind of wild, I'm.. Kind of glad it happened. I think your plan is a good idea though."
With that he finally steps back, but not without attempting to take Faith's hands. He'd guide her over to the bed again to sit down, in which he'd then keep hold of at least one of them.He's tempting to ask what there is for her to think about, maybe to try and manipulate her thoughts.
But the very thought makes him shakes his head a bit, fighting off such a thing, that wouldn't be right.
.. But he's not certain he could take losing to Ivan either. Hooboy.
She really has gone and made a name for herself. "Oh, I see." There is logic behind it, there really is. Rose is totally unaware that there is a werewolf following her during the day. If she learns this she very likely will flip out, just as she did when she learned of her last vampire guard. "Hey, I'm tough and stuff. You don't have to worry about me." At this she attempts to act tough, but fails. She has the strength of a former athlete gone mental but even then she still fails at tough. "I'll try to work on Hope, but I think she's just happy to think that you're dead. I don't know if she really wants to think of you as a vampire. I think she's a little bit crazy, too."
It totally runs in the family.
"When am I not patient? Okay, okay. But when am I not patient with -you-?" This is asked as she finds herself walking back to the bed and taking a seat. He may keep hold of one of her hands but she doesn't attempt to pull it away, either. It's comforting, in a way, to have this back in her life. "Does it make me a bad person, to be in this position?" To have feelings for a man thought dead when she's about to marry. "I need to make sure that I don't rush into marriage to just move on with my life. I know that I own my house but I'm not going to make him stay somewhere else for a week. It doesn't mean that I won't see you, but I think I need to see for myself how the world survives without Ivan." If it does.
Right now Faith's just caught up in a memory, in the excitement of things she'd never admit to. "Thank you, Tripp. For being around."
