[sub][h3][center]Archie[/center][/h3][/sub][hr]
[i]"Hey, Archie. I'm....I'm sorry. Taking a break was a mistake and I'm sorry if it hurt you. I don't think it even fixed anything or made anything better. I just didn't want to burden you."

"And can we, like, I dunno. Carry on? Like, as boyfriend and girlfriend? I'd like that."[/i]

At that Archie suddenly became more articulate than ever, "I, um, it – uh, you, I, um, er, uh, well… um, what?"

Somewhere behind him, someone dropped a platter of food.

Despite the conversation at hand, the sudden noise had startled him. A part of him was grateful for the distraction, because it meant that he could channel all of that nervous energy that was now building inside him into something that was more socially appropriate than a heart monitor going off. God, whenever it started beeping he felt like one of the occupants of the nursing home.

"Shoot, let me help you."

He slid out of the chair easily, shifting his attention quickly from the hard task of sorting through how he felt to the easy task of helping the waitress collect the empty plastic cups that had rolled his way. This was [i]certainly[/i] a surprise, and not at all the conversation that he was expecting. But at the same time, what exactly HAD he been expecting here? She had wanted to see him, and she hadn't seen him in a while so it wasn't exactly unreasonable to assume that she'd hit him with something heavy like this but he just hadn't thought that she would ask him to be an official relationship after going several [i]weeks[/i] without seeing him. And for what, so he wouldn't see her in a rough way? So she wouldn't burden her? Since when did she get to decide what did and didn't burden him?

It stunk, and he wasn't sure how to take it.

He collected the last of the three cups that had come his way and passed them to the apologetic but thankful waitress. He sighed, but wasn't sure what to make of the situation. He wanted to say yes, but after just... not talking to her for so long he wasn't sure if he wanted that yet. He had [i]seen[/i] first hand what happened when two people who cared about one another just [i]chose[/i] not to communicate with one another. He sighed and took his seat next to her again. Archie focused on the counter for a long moment, trying to decide how he wanted to respond.

"I'm... not sure that's a good idea right now." Archie said finally, giving Natalie an apologetic look. "It's not that I don't like you, or want, well, [i]that[/i]." he explained. His shoulders bobbed with his words, and his hand reached out to rest on Natalie's. "I'm not like, opposed to it, just, for not seeing someone in a few weeks it doesn't seem right." He hated doing this, because it felt like he was letting her down in some way. She very obviously wanted to BE with him, and he did too but he just couldn't commit to that when Natalie's reasons were a lack of trust in him. He understood her fear for the future and for how dangerous The Promise was turning out to be, but he'd rather have someone that trusted him to have their back than someone who couldn't trust anyone at all in that sense.

"I accept the apology, and I'd like that too but-" he said, grasping for words metaphorically, "I think we should see each other more before becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. I've lost a few too many people for a fair-weather relationship." His phone buzzed, and he slipped it out of his pocket to check the message. Another alert, just a reminder that the pods would be arriving in the next hour or so. They'd have to go soonish. He'd have to let Eli know that he'd be on his way soon. He cast his eyes up to Nat and gave her a lopsided smile. "I hope that's okay. I still want to see where this goes. Whatever this is."