One Last Kiss

Participants:

elle3_icon.gif warren_icon.gif

Scene Title One Last Kiss
Synopsis Elle and Warren meets up, and something ends.
Date October 18, 2010

Piccoli's Delicatessen

Everything about Piccoli's is welcoming. There's a large, cheerful neon sign mounted on the roof, the interior is brightly lit and spotlessly clean, and the old-fashioned decor is more reminiscent of mother's kitchen than a successful business. Since the doors opened in 1946, Piccoli's has been best known for pastrami, hot dogs, corned beef, and salami. The wait can sometimes be a little long, but the prices are reasonable and the food is always worth it.


'Madison' called Warren up a little while ago (from a payphone), and requested his company here at Piccoli's Delicatessen. She's already gotten her food, a large corned beef sandwich, which she's poking at thoughtfully as she waits for her 'date' to arrive. Thankfully, it's a Monday evening, and most people are in, so the place isn't so crowded. All the better, for the content of the conversation that is to take place soon.

Today, the petite redhead wears her usual jeans, and a green t-shirt with several weapons displayed; it says 'In the Event of a Zombie Uprising, Remember to Sever the Head', as well as a pair of comfy tennis shoes; she's pretty much lounging in a booth, one foot poking out into the aisle.

"I'm here." Warren says as he slips into the opposite seat in the booth, wearing his black suit with the unbuttoned jacket as anyone would expect. "Is this a date?" he asks, mostly teasing as he leans against the table.

'Madison' tilts her head to one side, peering thoughtfully at Warren in silence for a long moment. Then, she smirks. "Maybe. Maybe not. I'm really not sure with you, you know?" She leans forward, sipping at her soda. There's more silence from the woman as she thoughtfully peers at Warren. Then, she grins slightly, leaning back in her seat once more.

"Might as well start the evening off on a high note and see where it takes us from there." Elle grins to Warren. "So, as you know, I'm one of Cardinal's Many Angels." She smirks. "And I've heard, through the grapevine, that you've threatened one of my coworkers. Told her not to do the job that her and I's boss told her to do." She leans toward Warren, tapping her fingernails against the tabletop.

"Now, normally I'd tell her to fight her own god damn battles, but since I'm still undecided on whether or not I like you enough that I would date you, I feel that I need to step in on the matter." Elle arches a brow, her face masked behind an almost 'come hither' smile.

"She's telling the truth, I definitely threatened to have her locked away if she kept killing people. She was getting in the way of something Cardinal told me to do. Unfortunately I didn't know he resorted to wanton violence to solve delicate situations." Warren says as if there was something disgusting on the tip of his tongue, scrunching up his nose. "I called him after I spoke to Lola, we worked something out, so it's fine now."

The expression on 'Madison's' face is rather difficult to read, for a moment. Then, she leans forward, reaching out to poke at Warren's chest. Nothing aggressive, just a little poke. It's hard to take that angelic face Julius gave her too seriously. "Leave Lola alone, okay? As it stands, I can't really tell you how many people have designs on your life, because of who you were in the past. I don't think you want a woman who never misses to be pissed off at you." She slurps at her soda, watching Warren thoughtfully.

"Heard anything from your blonde girl lately?" She tilts her head to one side, peering up at Warren. "If not, I say give her another…month. These things sometimes take time."

"I haven't, but… I think I'm in a good place with that. I know she's happy, so, as long as I think about that, I'm fine." Warren smiles down at the table, completely sincere in his words. "I'll leave Lola alone, I'll just remember that she's not the one I need to talk to about diplomatic issues."

Elle leans forward, thoughtfully peering up at Warren. Happy? That…doesn't quite describe her lot in life. Confused would be a much better word to describe her. "What if I told you that she's not happy…she's just horribly, horribly confused?" She tilts her head toward Warren, her brows raised. "That she doesn't really know what to do with everything she has going on right now?"

"I'd say… I want to help her. I mean, if we were together before, I think I have a responsibility to help her find her place in life." Warren's face turns a touch sympathetic, maybe even a little sad. "I hope she is happy though, she deserves to be happy far more than I do."

'Madison' stares up at Warren, frowning slightly, with her lower lip poking out a bit. How can she do this to him? Leave him guessing. Is it that cult leader thing he has going on? But the Locos have gone crazy, so he's obviously not in control of them. She leans back, watching the man with a sad, thoughtful look on her face. It takes her a while before she can even muster up the words to speak.

"She's— she's not happy, really. She doesn't know what to do. She likes you, but all of the people she associates with don't like you. The people who have saved her life, the ones she really depends on these days, don't think highly of you." She frowns at Warren, going quiet for a long moment, her breath catching in her throat for time. This could be a mistake.

"And she's really not happy, Warren, because every time she looks in the mirror, she sees me instead of her own face." Elle swallows quietly, fidgeting as she stares at Warren, waiting for his reaction.

"I don't want to be the thing that makes her life harder. She should do what she needs to stay safe, and not worry about me, even if she does like me." Warren stops when she says that, his brain finally registering. "I… she's… you're her? I don't understand."

Frowning, Elle raises from her seat just enough to lift her shirt, revealing the gear tattoo on her hip. Julius was kind enough to leave that there for her. "I had a run-in with a face changer. Who likes to change other people's faces. It's temporary, but…yeah. I'm Elle." She says this in a low tone, peering up at Warren. Then, from her purse, she pulls out that little remote, sliding it across the table, toward him.

Warren takes the remote, his mood seeming to simply drop. "I can understand why you did this, Elle, I mean, why you didn't tell me. But I don't want to make your life harder, I really don't. I'd love to see what it was like to truly be with you, but for your sake, I don't think this can happen again, as badly as I want it." He stares at the remote, then his eyes close, exhaling slowly.

As he reaches for the remote, Elle's hand reaches out, placing itself over his, as she stares up at him with a sad look in her eyes. "I— I wanted to get a different perspective of you. And…I like you. I do." She frowns, squeezing his hand. "You're sweet, and…you're wonderful at snuggling. I haven't felt that safe in a long time, for some reason, even if I know a little about who you used to be." Her eyes turn down toward his hand.

"You do what I said, Warren. Prove to people that you're not the person you used to be." She raises her eyes to peer at him again. "Do good things, Warren. Make amends, even if you don't remember what you're making amends for." She tilts her head, squeezing his hand again. "And who knows…maybe they'll start liking you more. Maybe— maybe it won't be so hard for me to decide, then."

"I will, Elle, I promise, like no promise I've made before, I'll make amends." Warren raises his other gloved hand to place it against her cheek, then starts to lean in, sadness and longing all mixing into his face at once. "Just… one last kiss, Elle?"

The redhead leans into his touch, closing her eyes for a brief moment, a melancholy look of her own crossing the woman's face. Her other hand reaches up, briefly touching his hand on her cheek, before switching over to his cheek. Then, she leans forward, drawing closer as her eyes slowly open. With a nod, she obliges his request, leaning forward enough to plant her lips against his.

Warren closes his eyes, making the best of it as he lingers there for a good minute. When the kiss finally breaks, he reluctantly backs up, eyes opening again, then just sighs. "We should never forget that the Institute did this to us."

Elle is reluctant to pull away as well, sighing softly and keeping her eyes closed for a moment. "Don't give up on me too easily, Warren." She sighs softly, running her finger over his cheekbone. "Apologize to Lola— tell her that you're sorry for threatening her. Make amends with her. She's my room mate. And then— make amends with Richard Cardinal. Prove yourself to him. Prove to him that you're not the person you used to be. He saved my life, Warren— even if he let me have my memories erased, it was for the best. Otherwise, the Institute…they would be hunting me down and putting me in a coffin, or brainwashing me to their purposes."

She leans forward again, this time kissing the man's forehead. "Do that for me, Warren. Because I like you, I really do, but…I owe my life to Richard, and I don't want to compromise him, either…" She frowns. "I'm so…so sorry, Warren…"

"I'll apologize, I'll make amends, I promise." Warren sits back, watching her, then looks down at the table. "Just do what you need to, don't worry about me, alright? I'll try hard to make your life easier, that's more of a priority than us getting back together."

The redhead nods slowly, frowning at Warren. "You're so sad. It makes me feel so bad that I can't be with you yet…" She squeezes his hand, closing her eyes and sipping her soda once more. "Just…most importantly, prove Cardinal wrong. Make him realize that you're not such a bad guy. Okay?" She lifts his fleshy hand, kissing at his knuckle.

"Don't wait for me, Elle. I don't want your life to pause for me." Warren places his gloved mechanical hand on top of her's, closing his eyes. "Live your life, Elle. If we end up together, then we end up together. If we're meant to be, that's the natural progression, right? And if you meet someone, I never want you to hesitate for someone it would be dangerous for you to date right now anyway."

"I'll—" She pauses, peering down at his hand for a long moment. "You're nothing like everyone says you were once. You're nice. You're…you're a good guy, Warren. I can see that. Prove it to everyone else, okay?" She squeezes her hand, turning her eyes down to the table. "Prove to them that you're worthy of dating me. That you can take care of yourself, and that you can take care of someone they've stuck their neck out for. Okay?"

Then, tears in her eyes, she's gathering her things and moving to leave. She pauses near Warren's table, frowning at him with those big green eyes that aren't hers. "For what it's worth…I could see myself falling for you so easily…" She reaches out, running her fingers over his face. Then, she's turning to leave once more. "I— I have to go…"


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