are we out of the woods?

“I know she isn’t mad at me,” the warlock concedes, “And I don’t think she’s mad at you, either.  Not really.  Disappointed, sure.  Hurt, absolutely.  But Melanie, she’s your sister.  She loves you…and she’ll forgive you.”  Marco heaves a quiet sigh, shifting his body to sit upright once again; settling back in beside Mel.  He wishes the situation had not unfolded the way that it did, but that can’t be changed now.  The best they can hope to do moving forward is not repeat the same mistakes.

He can feel the tightening of his expression as Melanie’s explanation pours forth; frustrations at having been oblivious to her silent suffering for so long simultaneously at odds with a sense that he’s been hidden away like some dirty little secret that she might never have shared if circumstances hadn’t forced her hand.  It stings more than he’s willing to admit here and now, and he resolves to compartmentalize his bruised ego until he’s ready to deal with it.  “What does it matter how it sounds?” Marco asks softly, offering a reassuring smile as he points out, “You’re not a horrible person, and she knows that.  Put yourself in her shoes, cariño .  Wouldn’t you want the people you love to tell you the truth?  Maybe the two of you could use some time together; to remember how much you mean to each other.”  He doesn’t press the matter any harder; it’s clear enough that Melanie is upset and the peacefulness of the morning has gone far enough off the rails as it is.  They’ve said what they need to say about the matter, and the rest is up to Melanie to decide.  His restraint is rewarded with a kiss, though when it is offered he merely accepts without pushing for more.  One of his hands moves to cup Mel’s cheek in his palm; the pad of his thumb brushing lightly over her lower lip as he meets her eyes and asks, “Do you want me to leave you to your breakfast, or would you like a distraction?”      

  she knew on some level he was right but she truly feared jez, marco didn’t know what happened to jez growing up and mel guessed for the years she hadn’t been born yet it what could have happened but it still will never affect her the way it affected them. jez could hold a grudge if she really wanted to, mel didn’t want it to be against her but her words - nothing she could say would fix what happened. she just offered marco a nervous smile, running a hand through his hair. 

   “i’m terrified it will sound... bad. i never want to be bad not to my family and i can’t go back in time to fix what i did so now all i do is apologize. no explanation i have for any of them will ever make up for the years i didn’t speak to them.” melanie stopped speaking her head simply bobbed along to his words, open was what they needed to be with each other but she recognized her issues with the truth and finding a comfortability in telling that truth may not come about from a conversation with him -- it was more a therapy thing. perhaps something she was telling herself to lighten the weight on him. “i think i lost my appetite so please distract away coco.”  

The sight of his baby sister had him smiling widely, “oh, you’re just sayin’ that.  Although, I did think about dressing up.  But as Loki or some cool mischievous character.  Love Cap, but he is a goody two shoes.”  When she settled across him, he shrugged at her question.  “Most of the time, it is a job that I enjoy so I guess that is good.  And I usually never have to work mornings, which is nice.”  A brow lifted, “and um, well I meet new people all the time…like this guy named Marco.”  He commented as he gave her a playful smirk.

  “oh you are so lame for not.” she teased pointing a finger at him, her other hand reached for the menu. it felt like a century since she’d seen kai, jokingly she could say a year passed having only seen him on christmas and not since then. “wow they are letting you sleep in? no morning birds looking for a trainer ? i feel like we’re a small town though, makes sense -- “ her mouth opened for a moment then shut.

   “--yeah um... that’s where i was for two years. without giving gross details, i’ll just say it was... really intense.”

[ TEXT ]: I already said it was fine, Mel. Victor doesn’t mind. He big brothers me too much to mind. [ TEXT ]: Did you want to meet somewhere or meet here and head somewhere?

(text): i just want to make sure

She pulls away from him, and though she’s hardly moving far it still feels like the distance is a chasm.  He looks over at her; gaze settling upon the curve of her bare shoulder as he replies quietly, but honestly, “It’s a little bit difficult not to, Mel.”  Could Jezebel have been friendlier?  Certainly.  But Marco can hardly blame Jez for being taken aback by the revelation that her sister had kept so very much a secret from her these past few years, including something as significant as their relationship.  In fact, he finds the sentiment quite relatable.  A few moments pass, their arcane energies mingling as they always do, and the alchemist decides he can no longer abide the torture of having Melanie close enough to touch without actually touching her.  He slips down to settle his cheek upon her lap; fingertips tracing absent symbols on her skin as he listens to the sound of her voice.

“How do you just…lose touch with your sister, Mel?” He asks her, not unkindly.  It isn’t an accusation so much as a sincere attempt on his part to understand the factors and perspective that had led to such a jarring fracture between Melanie and her siblings.  “You were here for six months before I showed up,” Marco points out gently, tempering the callout with an affectionate squeeze.  “Cariño, I’m not angry with you, and I know you had your reasons, but you have to realize these excuses, ah, well…they suck.  Jezebel told me the two of you used to be very close.  If that’s true, then don’t you think you owe her better than that?  Talk to her, okay?”  He breathes a quiet sigh, only somewhat relieved when Melanie denies having suffered any physical abuse at the hands of her family.  Not all harm is physical, however, and she makes it clear there’s been plenty of other damage to go around.  He doesn’t like the notion of Melanie fearing such things one bit, and the uncharacteristic volatility of his energy betrays what his genial nature does not.  “I’m not afraid of your family, Mel.  I’m afraid of losing you again.” Marco confesses as the pad of his index finger glides up the length of her thigh.  “And if any one of them plans to hurt you ever again, then they should be afraid of me.”     

  “between you and i marco -- jez is not friendly, she’s polite but with the shit we dealt with growing up and even the years when i wasn’t alive... jez grew up pretty much away from our family and coven, she and kai did. they each have their own issues but -- just everything that’s happened in our past and my horrible move in not reaching out to her -- she’s mad at me not you.” melanie knew it was helping nothing her words, she wasn’t good with things liket hat. explaining herself or the situation. it’s why she enjoyed surgery, the quietness of the room, everything being so perfect in those moments and you felt out of this world. 

   “because i love you, and i... wanted something to be mine if i’m honest. once i tell jez or told anyone about you, you weren’t just mine anymore. i would have to prove whatever choices i was making with you were smart, you’d have some unspoken pressure on you from all of them. that wasn’t fair to you and... it’s so shitty to say all of that but i -- i don’t know if i can explain it any other way.” melanie wasn’t babied, sure she was praised but far from the baby of the family that was for sure. her lips twisted uncomfortably as the weight of her words slowly grew on her, feeling guilty for ever believing such things. “tell me how i tell my sister that without sounding like a horrible person?” she had to swallow down a lump in her throat, for a flash she felt hatred for how the morning was going. what a serious conversation in her home - her bedroom - she was going to sage her place after this. ”you know you throw a girl for a loop of emotions marco.” a dry laugh slipped out as she kissed the corner of his mouth. 

Text | Jez & Mel

[ TEXT ]: Happy birthday, Mellie!

@drdrago

   “a vampire and witch are sitting in a bar -- what should we make the punch line be?” melanie winked at the company she acquired with the seat, the witch was at an all time high with her birthday. dare she say she’ll live it up like it’s her last? the choice of place wasn’t ideal to some but she figured it would be interesting enough to start the bar-jump evening at the vampire spot.

***

Inside the hat box is a small red Cartier jewelry box containing a very elegant platinum diamond encrusted watch, and an envelope containing two first-class tickets to Paris as well as all-expense paid reservation information for a week's stay at a swanky hotel in the historic district, including spa treatments, a private driver, and dinners at several of the most famous restaurants in the city.]

   “look at you kai, training at the gym really buffed you up. you know you could totally dress as captain america this halloween and i would believe it.” melanie remarked as she joined the older sibling at the table. they hadn’t seen each other since christmas, living in the same town that seemed outrageous but life happens. 

   “are you liking it though - your job?”

She’s speaking of her own family, he knows, but for all the implications behind her words she might as well be describing his.  It’s a realization that puts some of Melanie’s past comments about his coven in a new light; perhaps that’s the thing about the people who have endured most of their lives wrapped up in the darkest aspects of such insular collectives…it takes one to know one.  Maybe it’s what had drawn them together in the first place; and why they had both tried so hard to shield one another from all the parts they both wished they could escape.

He holds her close and runs his fingers through her hair, listening as she pieces her thoughts together and shares them in disjointed fragments.  Marco lacks the context in a grander scope, but he’s been in Wolford long enough to have run across Melanie’s siblings, Malachai and Jezebel, and more than a few unsolicited opinions about the Dragoumis family as a whole.  “About that,” He admits reluctantly; not sure it’s the best timing but having come to the decision that it is her right to know, “I met your sister.  Jezebel.  Jez, I mean.  I don’t think I made the best first impression, but she seemed…” Marco pauses, searching for the correct word, “…Well, not nice, but she wasn’t unkind.  I hadn’t realized at the time that she wouldn’t have any reason to know about me, or us, so perhaps she was just surprised.”  He chews lightly upon his lower lip, leaving the rest unsaid; the cat’s out of the bag.  Mel’s siblings are one thing, but something about the way she describes the others raises the warlock’s hackles.  “You’re afraid of them.”  It’s not a question.  “Mel, have they threatened you?  Hurt you?”       

   melanie knew exactly why her stomach dropped when he mentioned jez, she loved her sister that was obvious but she didn’t have time to tell marco nor jez about the other. jez was going to take it personal but there were probably a lot of things jez didn’t tell mel, it was fine for her to have something for herself, for once. “jez seemed jez i’m sure... she’s just... she’s cautious of people, especially with her siblings i really don’t want you -- i hope you don’t take it personal.” she leaned back from him so she was resting against the headboard of the bed. 

   “when we were together marco, honestly i lost touch with them. i really just - loved the time we had and when i came back here i had planned on filling them in on at least you  and the time i hadn’t talked to them but, then you came and...” a deep breath came out, threatened by her family honestly would be better than where she was at. melanie hadn’t really spoken to her parents since she came home, her focus had been her siblings and it seemed her leaving for the time strained what fondness she might have had with other family members. “not in a real physical way marco, our family leaves a more emotional and mental damage than anything.”

“I think it could be exciting for people who have never lived in a small town. Or for people who aren’t used to having a town so full of supernatural creatures.” While Meadow reasoned that supernatural creatures clearly existed all over the world it seemed like there was a higher concentration of them either born in Wolford or moving there, like there was some kind of beacon in the town that attracted them. Or maybe somehow they instinctively knew they’d have some kind of support system in place there- that there were other supernatural beings too and that many of the neighbors that were, in fact, human were alright with their less than human neighbors.

“I used to tell my stepfather that people should need to be able to take tests before they were allowed to be in a child’s life. If they don’t pass the test? Then they don’t get to call themselves parents. We’d have far less kids with traumatic childhoods if we made sure they were with good people. Of course, logically I know that would never happen but it’d be nice to think people would try to look out for kids that way. Do you have other family you’re close to though?”

 “that’s true - it’s crazy to think there are towns that have no supernaturals in them, how big yet small the world is.” she shook her head slightly, imagining if her coven dared to be in such a place, what if there were people out there really feeling like they needed to hide? was the world still such a place despite the openness? “i mean sometimes i agree with that statement, depending on the reasoning behind it. it’s going to get all very handmaids tale if we start vetting people on parentage rights and such... oh yeah my cousins once i traveled out to where they were i grew close to but other than that for us it’s really sibling bonds.”

“I had to work to pay for school. The only things I saw were like normal tourist stuff.” Win shrugged not sure how much Mel wanted to hear about the Eiffel tower and the few museums he went to. “Traveling when you’re broke is harder than you think.” Win pointed out rolling his eyes a bit, “You try going to France for school with five dollars to your name. I was lucky I could feed myself honestly, and half the time I didn’t. I ate where I worked and what I’d made at school.” Win shrugged knowing he’d probably eaten better than most he just had felt hungry all the time as a result. “We do have a good time, I just didn’t think you wanted sex as part of that equation?” Win looked a bit confused at the statement.

  “well glad to see paris didn’t change you.” she responded gently, not feeling as though win was going to be diving deep in his tales with her. perhaps the time apart also meant a lack of connection, in truth mel could admit her siblings were better at having friends than she was, her family seemed to be the only ones who could stand her. “i did the same for a minute, it wasn’t as though the dragoumis dynasty is available for everyone though i did it in the us so i suppose i had the safety of that.” her shoulders lifted, a hand running over her face at his remark. “if i say you aren’t my type will this end the sex talk?”

There are certain times when words fail, and all that’s left is to simply be there in the moment.  Marco has always struggled with these; he’s a doer, a fixer, a solver of complicated equations and finder of solutions…but some questions don’t have concrete answers.  So he does what he can; offering comfort in lieu of any tangible means of improving the shit situation in which he and Melanie have found themselves.  It feels woefully insufficient.

“I wish I knew how to make it better,” the alchemist confesses, pulling Melanie a little bit closer.  She can’t even look him in the eyes as she speaks of her family–of whatever past trauma they have put her through–and the realization that she’s kept all of it bottled up and hidden away from him the entire time they have known one another makes his heart clench in his chest.  “You’re not dragging me anywhere, Mel.  There’s no place I’d rather be than right beside you, come what may.”  He runs his fingers through her hair, before leaning in to place a chaste kiss to her lips.  “I love you, too.  We have that, and it’s what matters.  The rest of it…we’ll figure it out.”  He gives them both a moment, focusing on the juxtaposition of their arcane energies and their physical bodies so close together; a sensation both soothing and electrifying all at once.  “Tell me about them?  Your family, I mean…”  Marco asks softly, “Help me understand.”    

  she forced her lips together to hide another sad smile, why were they so attached to eachother? was it the fact they both lived drowning in family baggage and the sight of another was a relief? mel loved marco for so much more than their travels and the fun they had, she loved the rock of a person he was - even when he seemed to have lost himself he was still there, it wasn’t by any means a healthy thought but that was her issue. mel would take anyone would stayed with her. “they are barely a family if i’m honest. it’s a coven ran like a business with disregard to age when it comes to involvement in their... spell work.” she admitted just as he pulled away from her lips. 

   “it’s not like they treated us all the same either, it’s so clear my mom loves kai - she’s always going to see him as some innocent person... some still think my sister jez is going to be the next coven leader... that’s ... i guess not my point in this. it’s just -- i’ve spent years hearing all the comments they make about each other, all the malfoy - dark lord shit they do. if they were simply into dark magic it’d be one thing but they are bad people.”

“Nope, just Paris. And if I was better at it I’d be a girl.” Win joked and rolled his eyes at the wrinkles. “Better than having ones that you cover up with makeup, are those wrinkles near your eyes old woman?” Win pointed to the corner of her eyes a smirk on his face. “Yeah, no kidding. You’re like the cousin I never wanted. So calling me Winnie,” Win shuddered and made a gagging noise. “Gross.”

  “okay so you go over seas and don’t visit anywhere but school? also isn’t that a little sexist to say, there’s a lot of guys who can talk about stuff just fine - maybe you need more interaction other than your family and work... i’m still stuck on the fact you didn’t visit anywhere when you were in europe.” mel slowly shook her head attempting to think of a reason why win didn’t travel, though the way he was talking right now made her think he just didn’t care to. “wow i’m a little hurt, here i thought we always had a good time when we hung out.”

She’s quiet–too quiet for Melanie–and for a moment he wonders if he’s pushed things too hard, too fast.  Not everyone moves at the speed of discovery the way he’s been accustomed his whole life; as though they’re running out of time.  Marco doesn’t know any other way, and as he watches Melanie’s soft features harden to contain the emotions threatening to bubble to the surface, he hates himself for it.  Of all the things the warlock has tried to be for her, in the end, it feels as though he’s only ever succeeded at being the person who makes her cry.   

“Ven aquí, cariño,” He whispers when he cannot take it anymore, reaching over once more to set his mug onto the tray before he slips closer to Melanie and pulls her into his arms.  “I’m sorry,” he murmurs against her hair, tugging the blankets up around them, “I’m sorry I upset you.”  Her arcane energy is dark, and he can feel it receding from his own.  This is a difficult conversation, for them both, but the only way forward is through it.  Marco’s palm cups her cheek gently, turning he face up toward his.  “So you have some baggage.  Mel, I promise, you’re not the only one with a complicated family…” he assures her, though on some level he knows she’s already aware.  “I get it.  You know that, right?  I wasn’t fine.  I wasn’t.  I was disconnected, and lonely, and all I had was my work…and then I had you, and you lit up my whole world.  You still do.  Those were the best two years of my life, Melanie.”  His face tips forward to press his forehead against hers.  “If that’s what you’re worried about now, then ruin me some more.  Please…”      

  melanie didn’t have it in her to cry, she held back a tearless thing, it choked her up but in a way she was simply speechless. if she were to open her mouth nothing surly good would come out, and that’s what it felt like. his words came out just as soft as she spoke, it made her wonder if he questioned things. wondered if he should really come and waste his time here in wolford - with her...though she had worries, doubts on his decisions - she curled up to him, welcoming the warmth from the cold thoughts she was allowing herself drown in.

  “why are you sorry? you didn’t do anything wrong -- you didn’t make me think this it’s just... a result of all the shit before you.” she stated, although her face was turned to meet his her gaze dropped from marcos, unable to hold it while she spoke honestly. it felt wrong, stating all these concerns when they were so happy all the time, it would be a dark cloud over their past time together. “it’s not fair of me, knowing what you have going on in your life and drag you into any mess mine might make. if it could be just my siblings -- even my cousins too to worry over, i would be fine but... opening the door to the others judgement is asking for nothing good.” mel admitted, her thumb began to draw gentle circles on his chest - a form to comfort the both of them for a moment. when he leaned close she shut her eyes, just listening to his voice before she took in a quiet breath. “you know -- i really love you marco.”

“I don’t think the world can be boring in a place like Wolford despite it being a small town.” To most people, from the outside looking in, Wolford probably just seemed like a typical small town- boring, predictable and with only the most mundane of drama. Even with the world knowing that werewolves and vampires existed? They probably still reasoned the town would be boring. Because, why would anyone, especially vampires who, in theory, had eternal life, want to spend their time in a quiet nothing town in Tennessee? But with the way the supernatural seemed to be drawn to that town? Boring wasn’t exactly the term she would use for the town. Though she would definitely say it was predictable in a lot of ways. Or at least for her it was. Perhaps it was different for other people. “The only real asshole in my family is my father and he hasn’t been really around in years. But it’s good you had people in school that weren’t assholes. Did you at least have a good support system?” Yes, her father had decided to pop back up recently but she could ignore him at times- and in some ways she was glad she had been able to live out most of her life without him around. “Well, I think childhood cancer is scary enough that they figured there was no point in making the commercials terrifying as well. People are more likely to donate if they can see hope rather than fear, you know? I think a lot of this town doesn’t realized though how lucky that are to know that none of that will ever be a concern for them with their own kids.”

  “i suppose it depends on where you stand yeah? wolford is boring to some and adventurous to others. though i hope it doesn’t get too exciting, sometimes that isn’t always for the better.” her gaze lingered for a moment, thinking on how there was plenty of darkness simmering just below the illusion of peace in wolford. many people were waiting for the change to flip this imaginary scale. “ah isn’t that iconic for dads though, asshole should be the title given then once proven they are a real dad they earn that one...”

 “definitely.”