anita_blake | (no subject)

"I haven't insulted them or you recently. And I thought the not really talking about them in that manner was working for us."

He eats some of what's on his plate, not really tasting it. He can say the same about her, he feels closer to her with them open. With her always just there inside. He can't say he doesn't like that feeling.

"Is it?" she asks him, pulling the breading off one of her chicken pieces and just eating the chicken. "I don't know. Maybe people in these sorts of relationships don't share with all the different partners, talking to everyone about everyone else like one big, happy family."

She has no basis for comparison, and that's starting to grate on her nerves.

He moves some of the beef around before eating another forkful. He gaze flickers between Anita and his food, offering a shrug. "I don't know. I've never seen someone else in our situation. Might just go by what is comfortable for all?"

Anita puts her fork down.

"What's comfortable for you?" she asks, turning all her attention on him.

He opens his mouth to answer but doesn't really have a good one. She was right originally, he really doesn't like to share her in general. He's come to be okay with the prospect of it, is almost completely alright with sharing her with Jean-Claude, but hearing the rest of it doesn't do so well. Some of that transfers down the marks, a deeper understanding of what he's going through.

"Just knowing in a general sense who you're with, not necessarily details," he answers, looking at her.

Anita nods.

"Right now, it's Jean-Claude, Micah, Damian, Jason, and you."

Though she's not had full-on sex with Damian yet, and she's not sure if she ever will.

He nods slowly, figuring that if all went well with the apologize Asher and Nathaniel would be on that list. Especially considering what she'd said about the her and Jean-Claude part.

"Right," he murmurs. His fork is set down. He's not sure if it's exactly fair, having a list from her when she doesn't have one from him. Though his are usually just whoever he's dating at the time. Which was no one at the moment. "Any plans to add to that?"

"It's not like a planned on what I have now," she reminds him. "I planned on marrying you, having kids, and settling down. Plans in this city seem to mean jackshit, so while I don't plan to add to the list, I won't say no because I don't want to lie to you."

There's a faint quirk to his mouth because his brain caught one piece of that specifically. "Kids?" He'd known every part but the kid part in that. That he didn't remember ever coming up.

Anita lips curve into a little smile.

"It had been something I'd thought about," she says. "Kids and housework and cooking and working part time... I had a whole fantasy life, as normal as anything could be for us."

She's just as guilty as him for wanting the happily ever after, but it was just a fantasy, a dream she'd finally let go of.

Richard can't help the grin that spreads across his face. To hear that pulls at something in him, he doesn't have the words for, but it's there. Offering a faint feeling or surprise but happy surprise that slides through the marks.

"I knew I had that fantasy, I didn't know you had it too."

"Well, we didn't have much time before that sort of fantasy had to be replaced by another," she says. "But, now you know. I had thought about it... with you."

"Still, it's..." he's not sure what word to use, though the smile probably says more than words how special that is to him. "I'd ask if you've thought about kids with anyone else but I'm not sure there's been all that much time to even think that way with everything that's come through this town." And part of him isn't sure he wants to know if she's ever thought about kids with any of the other men, given the possibility.

Anita shakes her head.

"No, I haven't. None of the men in my life other than you could knock me up anyway."

At least, as far as she understood the status quo.

He could argue both Nathaniel and Jason could. It's the principle of the matter though, that he cares about. That aside from the ya or nay or whether they could, she hadn't thought about it.

"And if I say, not the point?" The who could.

Anita laughs softly.

"Yes, I'll allow you the moment to bask in your masculine pride that I'd choose you to father a baby with me," she says, eyes sparkling.

Richard grins, standing from his chair and moving behind hers so he can wrap his arms around her. There's a kiss to her hair. He's not even sure he can express what that actually means to him.

He doesn't need to say it, she can feel it along the marks.

"Maybe," she whispers. "In the future, when some things settle down, we can... talk about it."

He bends so he can look at her without removing his arms from around her. Almost scared to hope, "Seriously?"

The important part of the house, kids, wife fantasy was Anita and the kids. And talking about it lead to it being an actual possibility.

Anita meets his gaze, her own steady.

"We'd need to figure a lot of things out, and you'd need to come to terms with everything," she says, not willing to sugar-coat anything. "But, yes, seriously. The only way for us to know if it can happen is if we talk, right?"

"The coming to terms with everything, I'm working on." Slowly, but he is. He hasn't snarled at Nat in ages for no apparent reason. He's not really grumping about sharing her. And he's come as close as he's ever been to accepting his wolf.

He smiles, softly, "And true." He leans in to steal a soft, chaste kiss.

He can't steal what she willingly gives.

She might not want the white picket fence and the 2.3 children and a dog in the yard, but she wants something. Anita wants something to show for everything, for how much she loves these men -- how much she loves Richard.

"You're doing very well," she compliments between kisses. "You even defended Nathaniel and Asher when I flew off the handle."

Color Anita impressed.

It would mean more than Richard would ever be able to express to be able to even have that much with Anita. To have a little him or her running around that he helped create.

He chuckles softly into the kisses, "I did, didn't I." The only reasoning he has for the why is that Nathaniel is a good friend of his wolf, so he's caring by extension.

"You did."

She smiles at him, her fingers stroking his cheek.

"I should take a lesson from you and Micah about being a leader. I'm still stumbling around."

"We all make mistakes in judgment sometimes. You're leopards are a family. It's more than some leaders hope for, Anita." She's slapped him verbally occasionally for his screw ups, when he was being unfair to a wolf.

He rests his forehead against her hair, "You just can't rule in the heat of anger."