Retire to Tiny's Tavern

You stumble into Tiny’s Tavern and find a stool to rest on. You place your forehead on your palm and try to come back to reality. That situation was fucked. You need a drink. You hear someone place a glass in front of you and you expect it to be Delilah - when you pull away from your palm however, a pair of bright green eyes accompanied by blonde hair greets you. “Look a little dazed there, bud.”

Your furrow your brows and tuck in all your fingers besides your pinky and thumb as you make a drinking gesture. Maple scrambles. Delilah usually served you drinks after a contract gone bitter...did this contract go bitter? You felt like it had…? Maple reaches for a few different bottles, but after a few failed attempts at what you actually wanted, you finally just ask her for some water.

A mess of stammered words exit her mouth as she grabs a new glass and fills it with water. The water, as usual, tasted pretty horrible. You sigh and look at Maple as she watches you intently. You look around the tavern and notice it’s practically empty. “Busy day, I see.”

Maple laughs. “You missed the rush already. Usually the early mornings are the worst, but there wasn't anything I couldn’t handle.”

It was strange; all your interactions with Maple before your intimacy started were all brief. Everything else between was kind of **** or seemed to have been just simply there. As you heard her laugh just then, it seemed almost perfect.

“I’m sure you’re capable,” you smile. “But will you be able to maintain your focus between work and a relationship?”

She started to become sheepish. “Ah, c’mon Warren. Gehen wir miteinander aus?”

Your German was half-self taught and crudely glued together on the road. It couldn’t be confirmed, but it seemed she didn’t really consider you two an object yet... Despite not knowing your suspicions, you figured you’d try anyway... “Was ist falsch?” <<What is wrong?>>

She blinked. “Your accent is adorable.”

“Well, tell me in English then.” Your reply made her small smile disappear in an instant. Your relationship with Maple hadn’t been one of a great foundation, but you were genuinely curious. “I think you and I have both earned some kind of mutual respect, haven’t we?”

Maple’s eyes dart away. “You’re not from around here, Warren. We shouldn’t be thinking of each other as anything serious…”

Your brows furrow. “So, you’re just hanging out with me for sex?”

Maple’s expression quickly begins to burn. “No. I- it’s not that. It’s just..it’s more complicated than that.”

You take your Old Forester bourbon and knock your head back. “Well, when you’re ready to talk about it I’ll be back in my room.”

The interaction Maple and your fucked up bounty coiled your wires. Nothing felt right to you at the moment. You took a shower and stayed in there until your water turned cold. Stepping out, you still felt like you needed to think.

You sprawled yourself out on top of your bed with heavy eyes and blinked a few times - you felt exhausted, both mentally and physically. Your head feels empty too, you’re close to just booking out for the night and retire yourself to the rest of the week to unwind and find your bearings again.

Nothing circles your brain, not even the image of the cracks on the ceiling really register. For some reason, you felt pretty emotionally invested with Maple. Perhaps you had unknowingly expected more from her after learning she had a crush on you. Were you actually not good enough? Did you not meet her standards? Were you less than her expectations?

Suddenly, a flood of considerations filled your skull, soaking your brain until it was submerged and oozing everything Maple.

...Pancakes…?

A quick, repetitive sound started to stir you into reality. You blinked, realizing your eyes were watering. You swung your legs off the bed and wiped your face with the bottom portion of your palms. The faint taste of Old Forester bourbon swirls your teeth as you let out a heavy, annoyed sigh. You look up as you put your shoes on. The sunlight was gone and the sound of the night crowd was downstairs chattering while they ordered and rough-housed. You didn’t remember falling asleep, but everything presented to you told you otherwise.

You answered the door carefully, the lack of peepholes didn’t really allow any kind of early intelligence, so you half-cracked the door and peered into the hall, spotting your blonde haired wonder as soon as the peek was made. She offered you a smile, looking smaller than usual. Her pink lips parted, making an innocent introduction. She then relaxed her expression before letting a soft sigh leave her mouth. She looks back up at you and then bows slightly. “I don’t want to leave any stale air between us two.”

An odd sense shoots through your body. “It was just a misunderstanding, you don’t need to worry.”

Maple shakes her head. “I do want us to be something. Something special, I just can’t really commit to anything. Not with complications. We have traditions here and expectations here in this district.”

“Care to explain a little more?”

Maple shakes her head. “I don’t think you would understand, Warren.”

The green of her eyes move away from yours as her focus trails off. You offer a hand and call her. “If you don’t think I am ready for it then you don’t have to explain it.”

She sighs. “It’s weird. I’m sorry.” Maple looks back up and then forces a smile. “Can I come in and spend the rest of the night with you?”

There’s still some tension in the air. There’s an alternative message under her request, but you aren’t really sure what to do with it at first so you decide to...