Me and Polo. :D :D {Can You Hear Me?} **Mature Content**

Sloan groaned, and tried to lift his hand to rub his aching head - only to find his arm weighed down. Frowning in confusion, he turned his head sideways, and blinked in surprise when he saw Rosa lying next to him.
Now what did he say...?
Be nice. He warned himself, but his throbbing head had other ideas.
"What? Not so scared of me when I'm asleep?" He asked with biting sarcasm. He regretted it instantly afterwards, but as usual, he was too proud to take it back...
He was hurt. And naturally, he showed it through aggression.

((WELCOME BACK!!! How was the wedding? ))

((It was good. Thanks!!!!))

Rosa winced when she heard his bitter, sarcastic words. Swallowing hard she thought of a reply.
"I'm sorry Sloan." That was the first thing she thought to say. But why didn't he understand that the last time she was around a drunken person he raped her? It brought back old, bad memories. Memories that she had slowly started to close. Wounds that were opened up again. Sloan didn't know that the night before she wasn't afraid of him, she was afraid of the memories that constantly had been swimming through her head. Just the smell of alcohol made her quiver. It was a hard thing to get past. A very hard thing. If he would understand it would be easier.

((Yay! ))

"Yeah?" He asked, tone unchanging, "Well, don't be. I'm not upset with you, anyway."
And with that, he shifted his arm out from under Rosa's head and dragged himself to his feet.
This is one of many reasons I shouldn't drink. He reminded himself as a sickening wave of pain and nausea struck him.
Once he'd found his balance, he stumbled over to the bathroom - and threw up several times. Once he was certain there was nothing left in him to bring up, he took some asprin, then stumbled over to the couch to sleep off his hangover. He didn't want to be around Rosa until he was properly sober, anyway... He was only screwing everything up.
Great job, future husband. He mocked himself cruelly, Some father you'll make, huh? You'll be lucky if she doesn't throw that ring back at you...
In fact, now that he thought about it, Rosa probably intended to do just that... Could he possibly have been more of a jerk?

When Sloan got up and left Rosa alone she bit her lip and let out a small sigh. Well they would have to get over some more differences apparently. But they had to, they were going to raise a child.
Though the child wasn't Sloan's so he could just come and take the ring back and leave if he wanted to. He could just leave them alone to fend for themselves. Alone.
That word always seemed to taunt her. It was horrible.
Slowly she climbed out of the bed and made her way out of the room. When she eyed Sloan on the couch she stepped into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
"Want anything to eat hon?" She asked, voice holding it's normal tone as she rummaged through the fridge.

'Hon', huh...? Well, that was new. But was it short for 'Honey', or was it the 'Attila' kind? Because frankly, he felt as though he'd been acting more the latter.
Sloan shook off his thoughts - yawning and sitting up on the couch. "No, Rosa." He answered wearily, "Come on, we need to talk."
Well, somebody had to say it...
It was time to swallow his pride, be a man, and apologise. Rosa had - and she hadn't even done anything wrong... Truthfully, maybe he had just wanted to pick a fight... ((Or maybe Polo did... XD ))

((Anyway, I must sleep now. BUMMER!!!! But let the RPing resume tomorrow!!! ))

((*growls* Mean Polo... mean... ))

Rosa heard Sloan's voice and she bit her lip furiously.
Talk? About what?
Closing the fridge she stepped out of the kitchen and flipped off the light. Slowly she walked into the living room. Sitting down next to Sloan she turned to look at him. "Yes?" She asked softly before lacing her fingers together and waiting for him to reply. What did he want to talk about? Now she was nervous. Maybe he wanted to get away from her, maybe he was sick of her emotions. Maybe he was just sick of her in general.

((Okay, I lied, THIS is the last post. XD (For real - because I have to go to school tomorrow...)))

"Well, let me have it." Sloan said wearily, his lips lifting into half a smile. "I was a world class asshole, so go ahead and say exactly what's on your mind. I deserve it." He shrugged, then met Rosa's gaze mildly - bracing himself for whatever she had to say.
He just hoped she wouldn't forgive him too easily. He feared the guilt would crush him if she didn't get at least a little angry with him...

"Well..." Rosa began softly. She reached over and took one of his hands in hers.
"You scared me, scared me half to death. But it wasn't even you. It was just the memories." Rosa explained in a whisper, "It was more of that the last time I was around someone who was drunk..." She had to stop before she couldn't talk anymore. It was terribly hard tot talk about what happened to her.

((Sleep typing. ))

Hmm... Strangely, that made the guilt worse, rather than better. But it was better than just having Rosa smile and tell him that everything was fine, when it clearly wasn't. He hated that.
"I know..." Sloan murmured, hanging his head and squeezing Rosa's hand gently. "I know. That's exactly why I'm a complete and utter jerk." He glanced up at Rosa. "I'm sorry... Really. There's no excuse for what I did. It was wrong, and trust me, I regret it... I thought I'd learned to be more mature, but... I guess not. If you don't want to marry me any more, I'll understand."

Rosa listened to him, taking in every word. When he got to his last sentence she couldn't help the smile that grew on her face. Leaning forward she kissed his lips gently.
"I will always want you to be my husband." She whispered before a smile danced across her lips again. Her features were soft and young looking, but she stood out as beautiful. Leaning back she rested her hand lightly on his jawline before tiling his head. "Of course I still want to marry you."

When Rosa's lips broke away, Sloan was left with a smile on his face. He was so utterly relieved that Rosa had forgiven him... "Thank you." He whispered gently, pulling her into a warm embrace.
"Thank you..." He held her tightly, and kissed the top of her head - trying to express through his actions just how sorry he was for what he had done...

"My pleasure." Rosa whispered in reply before leaning forward again. When Sloan wrapped her in his strong loving embrace she couldn't help but let out a small sigh of contentment. This was where she always wanted to be. With him, always. And forever. Never letting go. Leaning up she nuzzled her face into his neck and landed a peck there. Closing her eyes she stayed there, never wanting to get up, never wanting to leave this place she loved so much.
Home.

Sloan murmured something incoherently, bowing his head a little so his chin rested on Rosa's head. He combed his fingers affectionately through her hair, and just held her close - as though her warm little body could soothe the cold void inside him where guilt was still gnawing away at his soul.
"I'm sorry." He whispered again - not because he wanted Rosa to forgive him, she'd already done that, but only because he had no way to express exactly how sorry he was.

Rosa nodded and turned to rest her chin on his shoulder. "Just don't do that again." She whispered, before shifting slightly so she was more on his lap. Closer to him. As close as she could get. The closer to his heart she was the safer she was. No one could hurt her when Sloan was around. No one.

((Need more actioN!!!!!! ))

((Don't look at me! XD My muse is dead, so I have no ideas. Haha! What do you think?
Oh, wait... I might have something. ))

"I won't..." Sloan promised, kissing her gently on the top of the head. "But Rosa... There's something I have to talk to you about..." His voice lowered slightly - hovering between shame and worry. "I'm just worried, that maybe you don't know me as well as you should..." He trailed off, "It only occurred to me last night - but all you've really seen is the best of me. And though that's all I'd ever want to give you, I still think it's only fair that you know what you're getting into..."
His fingers tangled themselves in Rosa's soft hair, and Sloan held her close.
He didn't want to remember his flaws... But something was worrying him. A certain... 'Deadline' that he had overlooked.

Rosa tilted her head, somewhat questioning his words. What did he mean by that? She had seen him at his worst. They had been fighting for almost a year before this anyways. She knew how he could get, selfish and locked up. Like any person could. It was normal.
"What do I need to know?" She asked in a whisper before leaning back and closing her eyes.

((Woot! Go Polo!))

((Hehe! Yeah, but now I have to go. XD Lame. ))

"I'm not as much of a 'good guy' as you might think..." He admitted, shifting uncomfortably. "I've done some things in my past - things I'm not proud of... I figured that since they were behind me, I could just bury them and leave it at that... But they seem to be catching up to me."
He fell silent then, gnawing on his lip while he attempted to arrange the words in his head.
"Where do I start...?"

Rosa listened to him and found herself moving closer to him. As if to try and comfort him. "Like what?" She whispered.

Sloan ran his hands through his hair and sighed heavily, then wrapped one arm around Rosa - taking comfort from her presence.
"Let's just say I have a pretty addictive personality." He murmured finally. "And the drinking's not the half of it... When I was a kid, you could say I got kinda... Caught up in the wrong crowd. Gangs, drugs, you name it. Hell, I'd only been out of rehab a few months when I met you. Before that, I was a total crackhead." He shrugged, but then his tone became somewhat more solemn. "That's my dirt, though. It doesn't involve you - thank goodness. What's bothering me now is perhaps the most dangerous of my addictions... A couple of years back, I gambled away everything I had and more. And I don't mean gambling as in Vegas casinos - I mean the back-alley gambling. The type where you play big, or go home. Sounds like me, right?
Well, the point is, it's past my deadline - and I haven't got even a cent of that debt..." He trailed off, staring out of the nearest window, as though expecting violent strangers to arrive at any moment.
"That's the problem... That's what I needed to talk to you about."
What Sloan did not mention, was the fact that he had received a threatening letter just the day before...
It was starting.

Rosa listened to him and felt her heart jumping at his mention of drugs.
Then gambling? This wasn't the Sloan she knew. Closing her eyes she drew in a shaky breath. She loved him despite what he did. And that would never change.
Finally when she found her voice she looked up at Sloan and bit her lip, "How long do you have?" She asked softly, in almost a whisper.

"How long?" Sloan repeated with a humourless laugh, "Until they find me, I guess. It's a pity this had to come up while I'm on probation, though. It'll make it really difficult for me to defend myself if things get violent..." He trailed off with a sigh, then thought for a moment. "You know what I could do," He began, some excitement entering his voice, "I could try to gamble off my debt - double or nothing, you know?" The very thought of gambling again sent a thrill of adrenaline rushing through him, and Sloan found himself grinning eagerly.
What a perfect plan...

Rosa narrowed her eyes at Sloan and bit her lip. "What if you loose everything Sloan?" She asked uncertainly. It was true. Had he thought of that? What if they lost everything they had. A child was on the way to raise and he was thinking about gambling?
Gambling in her eyes was plain stupid, her uncle did that a lot. He also always lost. Why was Sloan willing to take this risk? It was a risky move.

"I've got nothing to lose." Slaon laughed, shrugging carelessly, "I owe more than I have, already. The only way I'll ever pay back my debts is if I win the Lotto or something. That's why I'm worried that they're going to track me down..." He frowned, gnawing on his lip.
If things did get as dangerous as he feared they might - there was a chance his antagonists might try to hold Rosa hostage. He couldn't let that happen... But if things did get to that stage - then his only option was to go into hiding, perhaps for years. Rosa certainly would not like that...

Rosa let out a shaky sigh. "Fine, if that's what you have to do." She whispered uncertainly.
Feeling rather scared she wrung her hands together nervously. What were they to do? They had no money and he was going to go off gambling. If these people found them, they were in deep trouble. How had he even been able to afford her engagement ring if he had no money?

Sloan paused a moment, shocked that Rosa should accept his suggestion so readily. Then he shook his head - determinedly forcing his mind back onto the correct track.
"No..." He murmured, "Tempting as it is - it's probably not wise for me to get more muddled up than I already am." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, "But you know, you really don't have to worry about this." A playful smile on his face, Sloan flicked Rosa's nose gently, then turned his head slightly to one side, and added, "I'll make a plan."