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Post by Nadir on Apr 20, 2009 11:19:09 GMT -5
Nadir's mouth twitched.
"I know," he said, closing his eyes with an expression of utter humiliation at being dictated to by his own daughter. He knew he deserved no less, and probably a great deal more, for what he'd done, not only to her. Hadn't he driven away everyone he'd ever cared for with his selfishness and pride?
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Post by Shadi on Apr 20, 2009 11:42:08 GMT -5
Shadi stepped forward silently (of out habit) and placed a hand on Nadir's.
"Do you want to see me again?" she asked sincerely, as if she'd take either answer with the same equanimity.
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Post by Nadir on Apr 20, 2009 12:05:53 GMT -5
Nadir turned his hand upwards, their palms sliding against each other.
"...I don't want to lose you," he admitted earnestly, his gaze downcast.
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Post by Shadi on Apr 20, 2009 12:09:57 GMT -5
He had lost her several times over, but it never seemed to take; such was Shadi, after all, despite everything.
"Well," she said lightly. "I suppose we could start over. Somehow. Just... dinner. Sometimes." She pouted. "When I'm no longer angry."
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Post by Nadir on Apr 20, 2009 12:26:45 GMT -5
"Of course. ...you know where to find me, once you're feeling...better."
He gripped her hand for a moment, the pressure slight and uncertain.
"...for what it's worth...I think I'm sorry..."
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Post by Shadi on Apr 20, 2009 12:51:26 GMT -5
Shadi raised an eyebrow. But she hadn't let go of his hand. Better a father, however flawed, than none at all. Right?
"I suppose that's more than I usually get," she said reasonably. "I'll come back when you're certain, one way or another. For now, I... I just meant to get some clothes and things."
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Post by Nadir on Apr 20, 2009 12:54:29 GMT -5
Nadir nodded, releasing her hand after a moment.
"Your room has been left as it always was," he said. "Well, that is, I had the servants dust things, but...nothing's been changed."
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Post by Shadi on Apr 20, 2009 12:56:20 GMT -5
"Thanks," Shadi said, meaning it, for it hadn't been often she'd even had a room to call her own. She was used to it now, but it wasn't something she was likely to forget anytime soon. "It's such a bother, shopping, that faced with an empty wardrobe I might have had to resort to theft. Or trousers."
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Post by Nadir on Apr 20, 2009 12:57:33 GMT -5
"...what's wrong with trousers? I wear them every day," said Nadir, slightly perplexed.
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Post by Shadi on Apr 20, 2009 13:12:09 GMT -5
"That's a good question," Shadi said. "But I'm told they're not entirely proper for girls."
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Post by Nadir on Apr 20, 2009 17:45:01 GMT -5
"Oh. Right."
The image of Shadi that stuck in his mind was the snub-nosed guttersnipe kid that was rather androgynous, more than anything else. Even when she stood before him, he had difficulty wrapping his mind around his daughter being a grown woman.
"Well...as you like it, then. If--if you need anything, you've only to ask."
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Post by Shadi on Apr 20, 2009 17:58:44 GMT -5
"Hmm," Shadi said, non-committal but not irritatedly so. "For my part, I'll try not to ask very much, all right?"
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Post by Nadir on Apr 20, 2009 18:26:51 GMT -5
"...it's not like I can't afford to buy you just about anything that can be had for money."
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Post by Shadi on Apr 20, 2009 18:28:56 GMT -5
The look Shadi gave him was almost pitying.
"It's not like I don't have a healthy respect for money," she said. "But if you think that's any part of my motivation for being... well, anywhere, you're even more foolish than I thought."
She dropped his hands, moving away.
"I'll just get my things," she said.
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Post by Nadir on Apr 21, 2009 10:09:13 GMT -5
"No," he said hastily. "Of course I do not...I only meant..."
He ran a hand through his hair, giving a gusty sigh.
"...that's not what I meant."
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