Larry
"How dare you. Accusing me of seeing you as a chore?! Accusing me of being in likes with Kazmir as if I haven't tried to be with you. I have tried!" 

Honestly, she was truly hurt. Arthur and her went from being utterly smitten with each other to now being at each others throat. She hated it, she felt the venom in her throat welling up. 

Arthur was never a chore to her, she wouldn't have offered to bring him to her house while he healed, he wouldn't have tried to help him, she didn't even know who he was now, was this really the man she had met when she first got here? She understood being upset about his injury and she accepted she was at fault but she's tried to apologize, she's tried to make up for it. 

Now her neighbors would hear their bickering instead of the speakeasy. Great.
Delores
"How dare I?? How dare you! The first time you met him you and all the other women were all gathered around him like he was the only *God damn* Man in town!"

Arty is yelling and it's intimidating, sure, but he feels a lot less scary with use of only one pointer finger. It feels less and less like he's getting his point across. Another punishment for weakness, he supposes.

"And let's not forget how we got into all this int he first place! I was about to kick that Charlie kids ass *Like I still ought to* And you stepped in with your sweet words and your battering lashes. I was a chore to overcome!" Arty rambled. "Some big angry idiot you had to stop from tearing apart that asshole that only proved *Again* That they deserved being torn apart!"
Larry
Jade shook her head, she didn't know how he could accuse her of such things. Did he not see her feelings for him? How could he not? Was all of this just a waste 

"I went for a drink Arthur! I was polite to him, that doesn't equate to being attracted to him! And serving him? I was doing that for everyone." 

Then he brought up Charlie, the instance that scared her the most. She just stared at him, the tears coming again. She hated that she was so weak, she hated to be in conflict. There had been so much of it lately 

"Arthur I was trying to stop you from doing something you regret! Do you really think I want to see you in jail? Hasn't this town seen enough violence?! God dammit stop calling yourself a chore- I knew what I was getting into, I didn't see some big bad wolf that you make yourself out to be but I can't make you believe that, I've tried everything I know to do. I've given you space, I've tried to support you, I've tried to validate your feelings all the while you have been lashing out at me! I'm sorry I fucking missed the shot and you got hurt, okay?! I'm sorry that it wasn't me instead, god knows you wish it was me and not you."
Delores
"You think I hate violence? You think I *Dislike* Hurting people??" Arty asked in a raised but slightly less scream-worthy-loud volume. "This romanticised version you have of me is a saint, but I ain't that! I *Want* To do those things, and I damn well should have!"

Arty pauses. He huffs, and turns to stare at the streat instead of her. It's easier to talk when he isn't looking someone in the eye. It's easier to best someone with fists, not words... Words have always been hard for Arthur Maldorano.

"And the nerd is __right__! What the fuck even is in that drink you all just take so easily from that fucking guy?"

He's rambling at this point... But there's some anxiety in his voice that wasn't there before. With every word he's less and less heated. Less loud.

"It's not your fault for not shooting the thing, and stop saying it is. That's a dumbass thing to think, with the kind of woman you are. If you had of been in my place it still would have gone for *Me* Because..." A pause. Arthur huffs hard through his nose. "It doesn't matter. Point is you're too nice to bad fucking men. Like me. Like Kazmir. I just *Know* He's bad news, okay? I'm bad news. I know my own kind."
Larry
"I haven't romanticized a damn thing, Arthur!" She raised her voice back, no more cowering like a little girl. "I don't give a damn what you want to do, but I know a lot more than you think. Just because I don't say anything doesn't mean I am naive. I've scrubbed the damn blood out of your clothes and I know it wasn't yours!" 

Jades gaze didn't waver from her love, even if she was pissed beyond recognition at him. She would not look away. "What the hell is up with you, Kazmir hasn't uttered two words in your direction and you hate him? Why? Are you jealous?" She was too nice? "Has it ever occurred to you that NO ONE in my entire life before now has ever been nice to me? I am TIRED of being hateful, I am TIRED of being kicked down" She ran her hands through her hair trying to calm down, she hated conflict. 

"Arthur, I can't make you believe a damn thing I say, but if you can't see the way I look at you, or the things I go out of my way to do for you, or the fact that I love you, the REAL you and not some made up version, then you are blind."
Delores
Arthur is still facing away from her. He listens to her words and lets them sink in, lets them *Really* Sink in. He is a jealous man. He's jealous and overprotective and hateful. It's just a part of him, one that he can't shake no matter how pathetic it makes him feel when heated moments cool.

He's tired of it, but at the same time he likes being strong. He likes being the person that people can depend on. Other men may fold, but *Arthur Maldorano gets the job done*. He'd dependable.

Dependable until he isn't, that is.

Because right now, as he listens to Jade let slip that she loves him, he realises that right now he isn't being that man. He's so scared of weakness and being pathetic that he has put himself into a cage. Rolled himself into a ball and whimpered as if that beast had shoved him in.

But it hadn't.

Arty had locked himself in this cage, and he was lashing out at anyone who came too close. The pain killers and alcohol still clouded his mind, but something else lifted and gave him a little clarity.

For a moment all was still. The silence that ensued was broken only by his heavy sigh.

"Then we're both fools." Arty says, head turning so he can look at her. His eyelids are drooped, and his speech slower. Arty smiles as he turns around, sniffles, and then reaches out. He cups her cheek with his good hand. "Just two fools that love each other."

Arty leans in and presses their foreheads together.

"I'm sorry." He whispers. Arty closes his eyes to make it easier. He hasn't apologised since he moved out of home. "I *Am* Blind. I *Was*. I just... I can't get the beast out of my head, and it made me feel like I couldn't be the man that protects you and provides for you. I... I want to do that for you because I... Love you too."

Arthur opens his eyes and looks at her. Into her eyes.

His head is swimming.

*'It's funny,'* He thinks, *'how long we have gone in peaceful domestic bliss without a single intimate touch.'* Arty decides to change that. He leans in some more, and presses their lips together as his eyes once again close.
Larry
The realization had struck her that she said she loved him... It wasn't a lie, but this opened up the possibility of rejection. How could she run from the domestic life back home only to fall into it with Arthur Maldorano.. A criminal, she loved a criminal. That was so odd to her. She let out a slow breath, trying to calm down. 

The whole world seemed to slow down, what had she done? Was this the final crack in the mirror that would shatter their reflections entirely. He would see her as baggage. Men in his type of business, they didn't have time for love. That was the only idea she had romanticized. 

Yet as he spoke up, they were both fools... Jade felt his head press against hers, her hand snaking up to hold his wrist, she leaned into his touch. Something she had missed, there was the Arthur she recognized. The faint smell of his brand cigarettes and cologne. 

"I'm sorry too.." She wished that she could've been a better help. She didn't know what he was thinking, she couldn't help him if he didn't talk. Finally, the conversation they needed to have. "Arthur... I can't imagine what it was like for you... Believe me I wish I had done more than just scare it off... But you getting attacked has nothing to do with what kind of man you are" It was her turn to hold his face now, gently cupping his face "I want to protect you too... And provide as well... It doesn't all fall on you. There's two of us for a reason. Honey, I can't help you if you don't let me in, I don't view you as weak because you are feeling scared or angry that something happened." 

Then he said it, he loved her too. She felt the heat rush to her cheeks, Arthur didn't make love seem so bad, maybe a little bit of work on occasion. 

Jade leaned into their small moment of bliss, the calm after the storm, the part where the furniture is picked up, picture frames are put back on the walls, the home being restored to its comfort. Arthur Maldorano was home to her.

She closed her eyes, taking just a little longer to process that things were gonna be okay. They were gonna be okay but she felt his lips against her 

She was puzzled at first, however she leaned into it with ease. Their shared kiss.
Kelvin
``Interaction Closed``