cornelia street

That was Devery Dupont. 

It was clear as day, despite her rather desperate attempt to disguise herself in an oversized hoodie and sunglasses - in fact, with her current attire, she only managed to stand out more at the bar, people giving her sideways glances before moving on rather quickly. 

Levi hesitated - he was supposed to meet a couple of colleagues at the bar that night, but some unknown force had him heading over to her. He paused just as he was about to enter her line of vision - wondering if he really wanted to deal with her dramatic tendencies right now - before soldiering on and sliding into the empty seat next to her. 

“Devery?” He spoke as if he was approaching a skittish creature, his tone gentle and coaxing. “Are you…alright?” 

-

She turned to her side and immediately frowned at the new arrival, arms crossed over her chest, wincing slightly at the sound of her full name. “Honestly, Levi, it’s Dev. Just call me Dev. The only people who call me Devery are my parents and I do not particularly want to be reminded of them right now, so please.” She raised a hand as if to physically stop the name from assaulting her ears before turning back to the bar. 

Levi, while someone she enjoyed looking at, enjoyed flirting with, and saw as her personal mission to go on atleast one date with, was painfully not interested in her, and most definitely was not someone she wanted to be around with right now. 

“I’m fine. Really. While I may not be my usual illustrious self, and while I am in terribly unflattering clothes right now, I am fine. You have done your good deed for the day so please proceed somewhere else.” 

With each word, Dom felt his spine stiffen, his brow furrow, and he gave into his instinct to cross his arms protectively over his chest. What was Dev saying? How could she not trust Hugo - the one adult in their shared, sad excuse of a childhood who deigned to give them the time of day? Hugo may not have been overtly affectionate - his tall, imposing countenance did not help, after all - but he was kind to Dom and he listened. He sometimes would even joke with him, ruffle his hair when he said something mildly defiant or outright amusing, and it took all of Dom’s willpower back then to not latch onto his outstretched hand and hold on for dear life. 

“Why are you being so suspicious, Dev?” His tone was beseeching though his words were accusatory, and Dom attempted to soften the heat in them by reaching out to grasp his sister’s hands in his. “He may not be perfect, but he was much more of a paternal figure to us than our father every was. Fuck, I know using our dear ol’ dad as a point of reference is absolute bullshit, but at least Hugo thought to teach me instead of disparage me every time I failed or stepped a toe out of line.” After all, his parents would only glance in his direction after he’d won or attained a certain achievement - in turn, Hugo had been there every time Dom fell just short of it. 

“He said he cares about us.” Dom was rarely so stubborn with his sister, but this was a long-awaited revelation so he clung to it desperately. “Why are you so quick to deny it?” 

-

Dev’s frown was immediate. Usually, her and Dom’s thoughts and opinions aligned. She would say something and he would agree. She would plan something and he would follow. It was how they worked, it was what kept them alive, it was what she was used to. Now though, it seemed they were at a crossroads. Over Hugo of all people too. 

“Why am I being suspicious? Dom, the man worked for our parents. The spawns of Satan. And what? We’re suppose to believe that he pops up out of the blue for no reason with good intentions?” For a moment she wondered if she was being cynical. For a moment, she wondered if maybe this was just her personal feelings towards the man, how she had trusted he would find them all those years ago, look for them because he cared about them. 

But he didn’t. 

“He doesn’t care about us, Dominic. If he cared, he would have found us and brought us home when we needed him. He would have kept us safe when we escaped. But he didn’t.” She crossed her arms over her chest as her frown deepened. “I did.” 

✦

“Of course,” he said, even if the answer was an obvious indulgence. Lifting a brow at the question, though he was incapable of summoning an answer faster than she turned her irritation on the bartender. Nondescript ruined faster by a raised voice than the sunglasses.

It dampened some of that amusement as quickly as it had come, watching her with a quieter concern, half regretting what he wanted to ask her, the memories he was sure he was going to stir up that were already close at hand. He knew the basics of what had happened to the Duponts, he had never pressed either one of them too hard for much more. 

In part because of a strange sense of guilt, not quite responsibility, but awareness that he’d been absent any real emotions or response to their disappearance. Maybe if he could protect them now it could somehow make up for that.

“I want to talk to you about Hugo.” 

-

Hugo. Ugh the man seemed to follow her everywhere she went, even if he wasn’t around. She tried to hide the sneer that threatened to creep up her face, instead slouching further into her seat. Dev always felt a sort of kinship with Monty, with everyone who had known her when they were in New York. She was a different person then, and Monty was one of the few that understood almost all her facets. 

And she was a bit put off by that. It made hiding much harder. 

“What did you want to talk about? Did he do something? Steal your hair gel? Buy expensive creamer that’s pretentious and hard to pronounce?” She removed her sunglasses and looked pointedly at Monty. 

“I don’t know anything, if that’s what you’re wondering. What he’s doing here or why. You should ask Athena, she’d probably know better than me.” 

-

When Dev had texted him that “they had to talk”, Dom felt his brow crease and his stomach drop at the same time, his mind racing through all of the possibilities. Did she find out about his matches at the Pit? Or how he oh so casually instigated a fight with the asshole bragging about shooting Teddy at Voodoo? Or maybe how he challenged the woman who had attacked Monty and ended up fighting alongside her in some unexpected plot twist?

Dom wore his guilt like a weight on his shoulders as she pulled him into her room, his thoughts loud and chaotic, his pulse fluttering like a bird poised to take flight and flee. Dev was, without a doubt, the most important person in his life and every secret he kept from her felt like an aching, gaping hole in his chest. He steeled himself for her censure, her disappointment, though at that moment he attempted to mask his emotions with a hesitant, subdued smile. 

“Don’t like what, sis?” Dom’s throat was painfully dry. His nails dug crescent moons into his palm. “Tell me.” 

-

“Hugo.” There was no need to beat around the bush. Not with Dominic, especially when it came to the man that seemed all too comfortable flouncing into their town like it was okay. Like he had the right to see them after all these years... and with such a pathetic excuse as his. 

He cared about them. Ha, what a load of bullshit. 

“I don’t like that he’s here. Something’s off, and while I figure out what it is, I don’t want you interacting with him.” She wagged her finger in front of his face just as her mother did to her when they were children. 

“Him and his handsome face with his expensive suits and his designer perfume...” She tried very hard to keep the wistfullness and envy out of her voice... she only partially succeeded. “What the fuck is he doing here? Thinking he can show up out of the blue like that!” She could feel herself going into hysterics. 

“You agree, right? Right, Dom?” 

Prop placed their phone on the bar, the device buzzing to indicate it was no longer charging. But it should be at about fifty percent now, so they could still get home with the battery left. 

They ordered a beer from the tap when they had gotten the attention from someone behind the bar, and and smiled when asked for the cheapest one. They knew what they wanted. Prop turned to face the inside of the Voodoo, though the lights were so low most people were but blurs of colour and movement, then noticed an occupant of the stool next to them. Someone without a drink of their own. “Can I get you anything?” they asked, unable to recognise who it was, though they noted a smaller frame and mob of blonde hair. But without a face and voice to match it to, it could’ve been anyone. Anyone blonde that was. 

-

Dev looked up only briefly from the book she was most definitely not reading before clearing her throat, attempting to mask the surprise in her features. She hadn’t expected anyone to talk to her, what with her top tier disguise and all... but she didn’t account for the person near her. 

This person that she was only vaguely familiar with. 

“I don’t accept drinks from strangers.” She said in a voice that was much lower than her own... Though she was also never one to turn down a free drink. “An apple martini please.” She finally said shortly. She paused for a moment before pursing her lips together. “But light on the alcohol... oh and if you can ask them to garnish it with some cherries... I also wouldn’t mind a spritz of tonic...” She clasped her hands together and restrained herself from giving herself too much away. 

“And some nuts... please.” Shut up, Dev... “Almond preferably.” She really needed to learn how to keep her mouth closed. 

Another pause. 

“Lightly salted.” 

✦

There were a number of question Montgomery wanted to ask Devery, and while normally he would say the Voodoo wasn’t the ideal place for it, he wasn’t sure that was true this time. Far enough away from Endine Headquarters, the counter typically run by a man he was certain he shouldn’t trust and apparently did anyway.

So when he saw her, it wasn’t a question of whether or not this was the place, only whether or not it was the right time. A debate that only lasted a brief moment, because hesitation wouldn’t serve any of them.

He slid into the seat next to her, leaning slightly on the bar counter if only to ensure he was fully in the way of anyone else looking their direction before tilting his head to the side. A faint smile settling on his lips that he couldn’t help, despite something that felt much more serious about the entire situation. Fully aware that it wasn’t funny she felt the need to try and be discrete, only that her attempts at self disguise were painfully obvious.

“You do know I can still see you, right?” 

-

Monty. 

Truly, he was not helping her case. She turned to him with a more than obvious pout before tugging at the strings of her (Dom’s) hoodie. “That’s because I’m letting you see me.” She hissed back, glancing around to check if anyone had heard her. 

“What do you want, Monty? You’re ruining my disguise. I’m trying to be nondescript here.” She looked up as a martini was placed in front of her and immediately ripped off her glasses in surprise. 

“I said shaken, not stirred! I saw you stir this! Don’t think I won’t complain to the owner!” She clamped her mouth shut as soon as her voice was raised before slumping back into the bar stool. “What do you want?” She repeated, not much more sullen. “I’m failing at being nondescript here...” 

She was being dramatic. She knew that... but she couldn’t be too careful. Once things start feeling like they’re getting back to normal, like she didn’t have to keep glancing over her shoulder every now and then, like there wasn’t something inside of her that was telling her to just bolt right out of there, then her tendency for the dramatics will be put on hold... but till then, she’ll keep them up as her very flimsy shield. 

She pushed her ridiculously large sunglasses further up her face, tugging down the top of the hoodie a tad bit more so it covered her face before leaning forward in an attempt to be nondescript. 

Dev didn’t know how to be nondescript. 

She tensed only slightly as someone occupied the bar stool next to her, ducking down to further hide herself. 

Something was off. It wasn’t too obvious, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on, but it was off nonetheless. She clasped her hands together in thought as she paced the floor of her room, brows furrowed and lips pursed because if there was one thing Devery Dupont did not care for, it was to have something mess with her carefully curated atmosphere. 

She popped a skittle into her mouth (she was eating processed white sugar, for crying out loud) before turning at the sound of her door opening. 

“Come in, Dominic, quickly.” She muttered, pulling him in and popping her head out of her room to make sure the coast was clear. Once she was content that they were alone, she closed the door and turned to her brother with narrowed eyes. “I don’t like this.” 

♧♧♧

Nothing but good…He felt his shoulders tense and his smile run the edge of false, relief and guilt battling for dominance in his chest. Thank god Monty hadn’t told her - Dev had hated it each time Dom was forced to fight in the Institute; he could recall her red-rimmed eyes and her determined yet clumsy movements as she attempted to bandage him up the first time it happened. If she discovered he was fighting at the Pit, for no damn good reason - Dom felt his chest hollow, his stomach drop at the very thought of it. “I know Dev.” He speaks gently, catching her hands in his and squeezing softly - more for his comfort than her own. “I get it. I’ll be on my best behavior.” He saluted her, smiling weakly. 

Dom hesitated, not wanting to reveal that he’d actually met Balian when he’d come to the HQ, and he didn’t want to reveal even more that he’d encountered Sel at night at the Watering Hole and things got a little…heated. “Yeah, such a small world, right?” He tried for a laugh but realizing Dev might take it the wrong way, it puttered out quickly, awkwardly. “…Have you talked to either one of them?” He spoke, tentatively. “Properly?” 

“I’ll be keeping the Initiates company and stand straight and not scowl at the crowd.” Dom recited in the tone of a child who had been instructed, several times, about their responsibilities and was slightly exasperated at their adult’s lack of belief in their capabilities. “You know the last thing I’d ever want to do is let you down, sis.” 

-

Dev smiled. Dom would always be a constant comfort to her, and she knew that while he had his reservations, he would very rarely disappoint her. She squeezed at his hands and let out a sigh. “Thank you. Best behavior is always good.” She gave his hands one last squeeze before squaring her shoulders. She tensed then at his question. Had she talked to either of them properly? 

She wasn’t one for proper conversation when it came to people she had history with. While many might think her the nicer out of the two of them, it was hardly true. Dom was genuine, kind to the core and though he did have problems with his temper, his compassion was something that was true. Dev, however, was calculative and practiced. She knew her words were well placed and lined with honey and lace. 

Proper and genuine conversation was not something she was good at. 

“I might be the one letting you down...” She muttered to herself before shaking her head. 

✦

Monty had thought he was prepared for all manner of disaster, braced himself for the worst and ready with magic at his fingertips to try and deal with it. On the list of possible threats however, alpaca had never been one of them. Slightly thrown off by that alone, listening with half an ear as he stood next to Dev. At least until he heard her snap at the Sentinel.

He turned back just in time to catch her eyes, already red rimmed. 

“Of course you do,” he said quickly. Maybe too quickly to be true, or even give the illusion that he had to think about it, but there wasn’t really another answer Monty would ever give her. It was followed by a slightly awkward pat on her back, because if he was comfortable in most situations, calming down a woman on the verge of tears wasn’t one of them. 

He glanced at the Sentinel taking notes, probably not how they thought their day would go either. “Have you gotten everything you needed?“

-

Dev couldn’t help the small hiccup, her bottom lip trembling as she tried to smooth down her hair (much to no avail). The Sentinel in question let out a defeated sigh before deciding to just write off Dev as someone who wasn’t going to be particularly useful to their report before nodding their head and walking away, leaving her for Monty to handle. 

Dev childishly stuck her tongue out at the retreating Significant before turning to Monty and wrapping her arms around his waist without another thought, burying her face in his chest with a loud wail. 

“God, I’m sorry, it’s just all this misplaced anxiety and I though something bad had happened but it ended up being a fucking petting zoo and-” It was like a waterfall of stress just crashing down. “And I know you’re lying about me looking okay but I appreciate you anyway.” She felt it come out of her in waves, not realizing just how much she had kept in until it all went out. 

“I’m getting mascara on your shirt too.” 

“Devery.” Levi attempted a smile, but it was polite at best, his usually effervescent mood soured by the recent turn of events. Once the crowd had started pushing, panicked, Levi attempted to help his fellow Oleander members steer them to a safer area. In the hubbub, he hadn’t noticed his stall tip over, and when he’d returned he found the aforementioned alpaca munching slowly on his parents’ hard earned products. “Yeah, he did a number over here.” He purposely glossed over her use of handsome.

“Are you okay?” He asked instead, his tone filled with concern as he swept his gaze over her, checking to see for any wounds or bruises and thankfully finding none. As Levi was about to offer her the last intact seat left - surely she was tired after everything that happened - someone stepped into his line of vision and he felt his hackles rise, his body grow tense all of a sudden. 

“Sebastian.” 

Dev’s smile dimmed, somehow deterred by the use of her full name. Devery. Eugh... but if there was one thing she knew how to do, it was smile for the things she wanted... and what she wanted right now, was the tall drink of water right in front of her. “That’s terrible.” She hummed, taking a step closer to assess the damage, not that she felt much loss for the cakes as she tried not to eat too much sugar. She, however, did feel bad for the loss of a business, lips down turned as she stepped over a smushed cupcake. 

“Oh, I’m fine. I think I threw a couple of paint cans at it when it tried to take a chomp out of my hair.” She couldn’t help but scowl. “I just had it done too.” She was going to go on a long tirade about it, only to find that his attentions were no longer on her. 

The nerve. 

She opened her mouth to call him out on it (because for god’s sake, when Devery Dupont tries to flirt with you, the least you could do is pay attention), only to stop at the mention of another person, one she could see in her peripheral. 

Oh great. She rolled her eyes as she watched Baz puff out his chest just slightly. 

***

There was a certain amusement to the whole thing. The way Dev lit up at the prospect of giving him some face paint. She gripped his chin, moving his head the way she needed to start painting across his cheek and he had to remind himself that if anything, this was going to help the public perception. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done something like this. Probably not since his children were young. 

At her question, though, he kept his face from giving too much away and played it off like he was trying not to move and mess her up. 

“I think the fear has worn off, but the vigilance hasn’t,” he gives her, the honest truth to how his house was handling things. Though the Concord had provided more questions than answers, things were at least returning to some semblance of normal around their headquarters. 

He smiles, though, at the mention of new members. “Quite a few this year. I see Endine is the same. Quite a few newcomers in all of the houses.” 

-

“Well, a strong house needs a strong pipeline.” She said simply, her thoughts immediately moving back to her brother and whether or not he was both having fun but also being a good heir. She pauses when painting leaf (or was it an eye) before raising a brow. “Fear never truly wears off.” She says pointedly. “People just find other things to distract themselves with, but the fear is always there. One wrong move and-” She snaps her fingers with a shake of her head. “It’s all just a matter of diversion. That’s what this is, isn’t it? This solstice? To get people’s minds off of it?” Her tone was still light as she finally resumed her painting. 

“At least that’s what I think. I could be wrong... though I very rarely admit it.” She smiled once more, brushing a piece of hair away from her paint stained cheek. 

“Things have been spooky lately and I suppose it’s all I can think about. Have you been getting much sleep? You know I have a cream for the dark circles if you have ‘em.” 

Dom could hear the concern in her voice, the cadence of it almost as familiar as her words - as if she constantly felt the need to remind Dominic to be nice and social - which was more often than not true but he still had the temerity to pout. “I know, I know Dev. This isn’t my first song and dance.” He spoke dryly, submitting to her fussy ministrations with a mildly exasperated sigh. 

There was little Dom wouldn’t do for his sister if she asked ( and even if she didn’t ), but when Dev didn’t even crack a smile at his gambit, Dom knew she was beyond worried. 

It was something they’d often done as kids, wishing on eyelashes and shooting stars and when the clock struck the right hour - as if through that alone they could escape the stifling conditions of that House, cold, critical, exacting, the weight of every gaze on their tiny shoulders. 

“I’ll be careful, Dev. When am I not?” Dom joked, lightly, pushing down the wave of guilt that those words, that promise, elicited. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if she’d ever found out what he’d done. He wasn’t sure she’d ever understand. 

“Please don’t make me answer that.” She said with a sigh. She paused for a moment before she felt her shoulders slump with guilt. She rested both her hands on his shoulders before offering him a small smile. “You know what? You’re right, I’m sorry. You have been nothing but good and I’m just... I’m just nervous. This needs to go well. For all of us. The town needs a win right now, and I just want things to go perfectly.” She pressed her lips together before shaking out the nerves. 

“Not that everything isn’t falling apart around me already. Did I tell you that Balian is back in town? Yeah, he is! Ridiculous how the universe works, huh? First Sel, now Balian, it’s like the magistrate has a schedule for bringing back the past.” She was being dramatic, but when was she ever not a touch bit dramatic. 

“I’ll be by the face painting booth if you need me. What will you be doing, brother dearest?” It was a test. He needed to pass this test. 

“And then it tried eating my hair.” Dev all but squawked as one of the Sentinels (who seemed to be very, very, very over it) jotted down notes for their report. “Dev, I asked if you were okay. That was all I needed to know.” The glare she fixed them was positively frosty as she took a step forward, eyes puffy and hair a blonde nest on her head. 

“An alpaca tried to eat me. Do I look okay?!” She was maybe being a tad bit dramatic... 

She glanced down at her paint stained dress and let out another whimper. “My dress. It was from New York.” Oh great, here come the tears. Was this the remnants of the power surge? She would blame it on that perhaps... She turned to the person next to her and sniffled slightly. “Be honest. Do I look okay?” 

She was staring. Openly staring... and she should probably catch herself, but she found that she couldn’t. She was about to perhaps make a move, only to stop when a wall of muscle blocked her vision. She let out a harrumph before moving her eyes up to meet Baz’s amused expression. “You’re... damp.” She pointed out, noting how his t-shirt seemed to cling to his chest. “And you’re blocking my birds-eye view of Levi.” She tried to push him away, much to the wounded look on Baz’ face. 

“Levi? Why would you look at him when I’m standing right here? You can see through my shirt.” He had to stop himself from whining. Dev rolled her eyes at Baz’ indignance before getting up from her seat and plastering on her best smile, side-stepping Baz and marching over to the man now cleaning up his stall. 

“The alpaca get to you too, handsome?” 

-

“You’ll just have to get creative with it,” he says when she mentions his beard, fingers grappling around his jaw and ignores the way parents stare at this grown man taking his seat to get his face painted. Frankly, he’s received judgment for much worse, much more questionable choices.

He didn’t realize how dangerously close he’d have to be to Devery, just as he didn’t realize how long this was actually going to take (time is less of an issue— his concern lies more with deciding between having to get comfortable with silence or finding something to talk about that won’t end in either of them leaving with a half of his face vandalized), and it takes everything in him not to feel his skin burn at the mere thought of her hands on his face or her eyes on his eyes or any part of her bleeding into any part of him.

He winces at the cold, wet contact of the bristles against his skin, blinking rapidly when she starts to make small movements with the brush. “I’m cool with unorthodox. Just don’t draw a penis on my face, and we’re good.” He keeps his chin tilted so that at least the glare from the sun could blind him, then it’ll be an excuse enough not to look. There’s a dry chuckle rattling between his ribs, like rusty nails and dust, at her flimsy attempt at banter. “I can’t tell if that’s supposed to be insulting for the Magistrate or for me, for joining the Magistrate.” 

He doesn’t bother trying to return the question; it’ll border too closely on small talk, and that’s not what he swallowed his pride just to get here for. Instead, he carefully tries to assess her through small peeks, sparingly, and never too long to mistake it for staring. He breathes a sharp inhale through his nose, turning his face towards her hand. “Are you still wearing the same lotion?” It comes out cheeky because he tries to be, because she seems like she’s in one of her better moods, and this is the only way he knows how to express sincerity the way proper words never could for him. That is to say, he’s trying to be sweet.

That is to say, what he really means is, I don’t want you to shut me out.

She let out a gasp of faux offense before nudging him playfully. “This is a family event, Balian. I am nothing if not wholesome.” She said and wrinkled her nose at him before continuing her masterpiece. She then shrugged flippantly before going back to dip into the blue. “I suppose if I can hit two birds with one stone then why not?” She said, arching a brow. There was no heat behind her words though, just a haughty lilt that he probably was used to when she tried to be condescending. 

It was hard to be condescending though when you’re in charge of the face painting booth. 

She didn’t even realize how close they were, not till she found herself counting the freckles dusting his nose, or noticing the fact that he still smelled the same. 

She blinked at him once... twice... before clearing her throat at his question. “I do.” She said, mostly out of shock that he managed to remember. She looked at him with quiet regard before narrowing her eyes and gripping at his chin once more to have him stop moving. “You probably only remember because I threw a whole jar at you that one time we fought.” She attempted to joke, not wanting to confront this warm feeling inside her that relished in the fact that he had indeed remembered. 

The sun was setting and Dev was slowly allowing the surge of power she had felt from the spikes of the summer solstice to leave her. She leaned against an old willow as she focused on her breathing, eyes closed and palms up in meditation. 

“You shouldn’t interrupt people in meditative state.” Dev said, not even cracking an eye open as she continued with her breathing exercises. She gave it a few more seconds before peeking, lips quirking up into a smile at the sight of Teddy. “I paid good money for some fancy yoga instructor to tell me so. She probably knew what she was talking about.” She then moved her hands to reach out to him. 

“Come and help me up.”