Forbidden Sins

He could tell that Audra hadn't slept in days. The dark circles on her pale skin made that all too apparent-- that and the fact that her head was laid on the table as she spoke to him, her eyes half open. He would have just tucked her into his bed and put her to sleep, but he was far too interested in what she was saying. It was sloppy, it could get her as well as him in a lot of trouble, yet in some way he understood.

She looked up at him pitifully, crossing her arms to make a little pillow. "I love him, Duncan. I don't...I never expected it to happen like this. I never wanted to feel this way, but I do. I've never felt like this, I just..,I don't know what to do. There's no way I can just stop caring. I don't want to stop caring." She sounded like maybe she might start crying again and he reached across to brush the tears away before they fell. With a heavy sigh, she buried her face in her arms.

Duncan looked around to make sure that Fin and Lauren were out of ear shot. This wasn't a conversation he wanted either of them to overhear. He clutched his mug and leaned on the table, eyes on his young fledgling until she looked up at him again. She may not live with him, may be fully trained, but that didn't mean that she wasn't his responsibility. He was supposed to keep her out of trouble and help her out of the messes she got herself into, and especially after what she had done for him, he owed her. "You know this could land you in a world of trouble with the law, right? It's forbidden. You know that."

She nodded a little, sighing so heavily her whole little body moved. "I know Duncan, I know. I know it's gonna get me in all sorts of trouble. But I love him."

He was in no position to argue or tell her off. He knew how she felt, he understood. Telling her to get over her feelings wasn't helpful, so instead he just rubbed a hand over his face and watched her. "We'll figure something out, Audra. We'll go if we have to, there's nothing holding either of us here."

Audra looked up at him, lip caught between her teeth. "We?"

He smiled at her a little bit. "You don't think I'm going to make you handle this all by yourself, do you?" Besides, he was always in it for a bit of an adventure, and if it ended badly...well, he never planned to live forever.