Blood from Stone [AU]

[Tethras Clan]

"I... No, I won't guess. I should just ask. Carver, can you- are you willing to explain why?" Aveline crosses her arms, trying to not pace or stand at parade rest.

[Carver Amell]

"There's no good reason," he says, still frowning. "There's no higher calling. I was lonely. I wasn't seeing anyone. Beth kept telling me it wasn't abusive or degrading so long as I'm polite and I pay the fees. So I did. That's all there is to it. It's not important to me, there's not some secret Ciren church I'm thinking of switching to, just a horny teenage boy who nearly killed his girlfriend so he broke it off."

[Tethras Clan]

Aveline studies the floor carefully, shoulders tense. "Thank you. For... for sharing that. For being honest. Was it... gods." She groans, giving into the urge to rub her face. "Please tell me if... I want to understand this. Understand you. But I know I don't have a right to your answers."

[Carver Amell]

"...okay, but I don't know if I want to answer something unless you ask it..."

[Tethras Clan]

"Right. I just... I just wanted to... preface that. Did... no details, just... the sex with the prostitutes. Was it... did you enjoy it? Really enjoy? Compared to... sex you had with..." She winces a little. "People you cared about," she finishes lamely. 

[Carver Amell]

"Yeah," he says. "They're real good at what they do. If you want to, uh, find out firsthand, I can recommend some brothels where they pay the girls well and treat 'em right."

[Tethras Clan]

"No!" Aveline steps back, a shudder going through her. "I- gods no. I- gods, I'm not-" She sucks in a lungful of air. "I'm grasacha. Ah, that is- that's a term for people that- I don't feel attracted to..." The paladin stops again, holding up a hand to request patience as she gives herself a few second to put her thoughts in order. "Sorry, that just... caught me off guard and I'm already off balance. Sorry. I don't feel attraction to people, at all, unless I care for them. It's like... Like your dad, in a way. If someone is as stranger or I dislike them, the idea of... being with them makes me queasy. Physically queasy. I still... Just being friends with someone isn't enough for me to be attracted to them, but it is required."

[Carver Amell]

He's quiet for a while, processing this. Finally, he asks, "Are you... actually interested in having sex with me?"

[Tethras Clan]

Aveline nods a little, then hesitates. "Not... not right away, but yes. I find you attractive and enjoyed kissing you. But I would need... a bit of courting to feel comfortable doing more. Is that... Are you okay with having to wait?"

[Carver Amell]

His shoulders relax a hair. "Yes. I-- I was just worried... I can wait a bit. I can stop having sex with whores and, and Jass is gone now, so, it'll just be you, you're my focus."

[Tethras Clan]

Aveline smiles warmly, clearly feeling a bit pleased with that statement. "I... thank you. I... thank you. Are we... okay? With... this topic? I do promise to talk to Beth, if she's willing, to... give get hand testimony on the subject from someone I respect and trust."

[Carver Amell]

He nods, vigorously.  "Yeah. I-- I don't want to push you into anything. You tell me what speed we need to go at."

[Tethras Clan]

"Thank you. I..." She offers him a smile, relaxing. "Sorry for... And also thank you for not pushing our argument into a fight. I know how protective you are about Beth and I did... well. I'm glad we could talk it out respectfully. So.... so that's that settled. Do you... your turn." I don''t want to push this entire conversation. He needs to take the lead a bit too.

[Carver Amell]

"My turn for... Like I said, you know my flaws already. Honestly you know just about everything about me already. Except the sex parts I guess, but I'm pretty... I dunno. I like women. I guess I like Jass too. That's new, but I figured I should explore it because I'm not finding women who want to date me. But then I did find you, and also, Jass doesn't want to date, not really, so, here I am. Trying to see if I can make it work. I'd really prefer to date women anyway -- and I want to get married someday and have kids." 

He takes a deep breath. "I guess it's weird that you're already with some people, but, uh, it's not like I live far, or anything. So we'll have to figure out like, when it's time to move in together, we'll have to figure out how that works. Or whatever. If Seli can be married twice I assume you can too, right? Or do you have to be Cirenite?"

[Tethras Clan]

Aveline blinks a little. "Umm. Okay. Let's... take that bit by bit, alright?" At his nod, she continues. "Learning about the sex parts, as you put it, is part of what dating will address. And I suspect we're going to find out more about each other, things that just haven't come up. Like... I've never seen you acting romantic, not really. A glimpse or two when you were with Merrill or Jass but that's all. So we'll be discovering that about each other." 

The implication that came next, that he's interested simply because no other woman is offering, is unremarked on and mostly ignored- she knows better, knows that Carver just doesn't phrase things well sometimes. "The rest of that... is kind of... tangled up with itself. Marriage, kids, living arrangements. You... seem to have some ideas already set in stone there."