Guilty Pleasure

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Stop trying to pacify me." Anna was getting frustrated, didn't Michael understand how important this was? "Markise needs to be watched, I've read about it. If you aren't going to promise me that one of you will stay with him, then let me. He's my friend too, and I actually care about him." She hadn't thought about asking to stay and watch over Markise until the words flew out of her mouth. She had no desire to stay in Michael and Dare's house, and wasn't even thinking about where she would actually have to stay at the moment. Her main focus was on Markise, and making sure they weren't just going to stuff him in a spare room to asphyxiate alone in the night.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"Anna, he'll be fine! We won't let anything happen to him, I promise." Michael wasn't going to promise to stay up with Markise, and he wasn't going to promise that Dare would. "And if you think that Dare doesn't care about him then you're terribly wrong." Where in the world had Anna gotten these ideas? It wasn't like they were just going to throw Markise in a corner somewhere and forget about him.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna wanted to point out the obvious, that Dare and Markise hadn't talked for months, all because of Michael. She restrained herself, not knowing just how well their friendship had been mended. It was one of the many things she needed to talk to Markise about. "How can you promise he'll be fine if you aren't even planning on watching him? Just let me come sit with him? Please? I won't bother you." As the idea took hold, she wondered why they hadn't thought of it earlier. "I'm not going to be sleeping anyways if I stay here, so watching Markise would give me something to do."

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"I can't just let my ex-girlfriend come and stay, Anna!" Michael insisted. Besides, she was here already. "I can't just show up with you without telling Dare!" No, Dare expected Michael to come back alone. And Michael wanted to be able to go to sleep with Dare. If Anna was there watching Markise to let them sleep, he didn't even know that he would be able to, especially not like they usually did.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna winced at the way he said it, remembering now that it was his and Dare's place she was asking to go to. "It isn't like that though! I'm over you Michael, so why would Dare object? It's not like I'm going to try and steal you away in the middle of the night, or hex you, or anything. It'd free you guys up from having to watch Markise, which you won't even promise to do anyways." She thought it was a perfectly reasonable solution, far better than the one they were trying to force upon her. "I could grab some money from the store and stay at the Leaky Cauldron with him, but I'm sure Dare's already got him in bed by now."

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael rubbed his face roughly with his hands and then speared them back into his hair before letting them hang by his sides. "I'm not worried about you coming after me, I just...I can't have you in the apartment!" Couldn't she understand that? He had half a mind to just turn and leave before she could do anything about it. There was no way he could be comfortable knowing that Anna was there.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Fine! Then actually promise me that one of you will stay with Markise?" She reminded herself that this was about Markise now, and where she stayed wasn't the issue. She could always try the floo network if Michael left her here and go to the Leaky Cauldron by herself. Anna was surprised she'd let Dare take Markise so easily without making sure he would be okay. She had been so stressed earlier that the fine points of Markise's care hadn't been the top issue. Now however, she was just trying to make sure everything was done right. "I don't care if you don't like me, and I know you don't like Markise, but please, just promise me?"

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"If Dare doesn't think it's necessary, then I won't do it!" Michael said, angry now. "And whether I like Markise or not isn't the issue right now. I trust Dare to know what to do, because he cares about Markise." He knew that Dare wouldn't abandon Markise. And he wasn't going to make a promise that might not even be necessary. He refused to make the promise, because then if it didn't happen... He couldn't promise to do it.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna narrowed her eyes, her voice rising to match Michael's. "Fine! People can make mistakes though. And if anything happens, I won't blame Dare. I'll hold you accountable! So just go, get your precious sleep if that's what you think is best." She pointed to the door, hating that she was getting so worked up, but she couldn't understand why Michael would refuse to help Markise. Didn't he understand how important this was? Didn't he care? Bloody stubborn male.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"Sleep isn't what I care about!" Michael shot back, eyes narrowing. "You took away part of my evening with Dare and now you're wanting me to promise to give up sleeping with him tonight!" That was all he wanted, he wanted to be with Dare, and he wasn't going to give that up unless it was necessary. He didn't realize what he had said or what he had implied, he just knew that he wanted to get home, but he refused to let the argument end like that.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna wrinkled her nose at Michael. She didn't want to hear about anything Michael and Dare wanted to do that didn't involve sleep. She didn't even want to think about it, and tried to push it out of her head, unsuccessfully. "And I said I was sorry I intruded on your evening! But I offered to make it right and stay with Markise so you could, could, do whatever. And you turned me down! What do you expect me to do? I just need Markise to be okay, why can't you understand that?"

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"Oh, yes, Anna, because I would be completely comfortable sleeping with Dare with my ex upstairs," Michael said, rolling his eyes. "I just need to be alone with Dare, why can't you understand that?" he turned back at her. And a sleeping Markise was just as good as being alone, though he couldn't imagine them doing anything other than sleeping with anyone else.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna ran her hands through her hair, completely frustrated at going rounds. "Gads Michael! I don't need to hear about what you and Dare are or aren't going to do tonight! You aren't going to be alone regardless, or did you forget about the puking, near-passed-out Markise that Dare was dragging back to your place? He's not going to magically be better by the time you get back!"

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"I wasn't talking about doing anything with Dare, except sleeping!" No, she and Markise had already taken away that particular opportunity for the night. "Besides, having Markise asleep upstairs is completely different than having my ex awake upstairs. He's going to be fine, Anna!" He glared at her for a moment and then shook his head and turned to take the door handle again. "I'm going home."

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna let out a frustrated grunt at Michael's declaration, getting out a final jab before he was able to leave. "Fine, just remember he's drunk, not sleeping!" She hoped at least something had gotten through his thick skull. Maybe she'd mentioned it enough that he'd at least sleep horribly and constantly feel the need to check to make sure Markise was still breathing. That was all she wanted after all. If something bad happened to Markise she knew she wouldn't be able to stop blaming herself for it.