serein

“Uh...probably? I’m no doctor.” Ingrid offered an apologetic shrug. “Hopefully it won’t. But if it does, that’s just one thing to make you look even cooler, hm?”

Owen immediately took a step back and let his chin fall down when he realized he’d made a mistake in trying to find someone to talk to. “I, uh, was just trying to find another bathroom…” he muttered, glancing over to where his friend was looking particularly sick at the bar. He’d become the Drunk Doctor among his friends, always the sober one tending to those drunk off their asses.

“Oh--- Wait, no.” Ingrid blinked and took a step back just as the stranger did. She was running on two hours of sleep and five hours of coffee along with the constant bothering other patrons were putting her through. There had really been no need to snap, and the man’s reaction made that clear to her. She followed his gaze to the bar and her frown deepened. “I’m--- I’m sorry. I think the bathroom’s at the far back, by the DJ?”

He allowed his hands to wander to her back tentatively, seeking hopeful permission from the brown eyed woman. He grinned as she spoke of the time he serenaded her with the song, and Evan rested his forehead against hers. “But deep down inside you enjoyed it,” he cooed as he moved his body with hers gently. “You were a sucker for me Ingrid, despite hating to admit it at the time” he teased, planting a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose. “I was actually surprised you held out that long.”

“I hated you,” she corrected. There was no denying that Evan had been quite the charmer when they first met, but a stubborn and meticulous teenage girl that simply wanted to get on with an early career had no time for a sixteen year old. She pushed her hands through the hair at the back of his head. “It was too easy to hold out that long.”

“Got it saved in a jar, never really used it” Evan called to Ingrid, his voice barely piping above the crowd. “I don’t even know what I would use it for other than college, really.”

When Evan stopped mid sentence, Ingrid had been ready to roll her eyes and turn to take a seat at the empty table. She hadn’t expected him to turn her back around and pull her against his chest. She almost wanted to pull away, but the way she easily fit into the position kept her from stepping back. The notes of Rock With You rang in her ears and she let herself sway with Evan. “I remember this,” she mumbled. “I hated you for embarrassing me in front of my boss.” 

“That hurts Ingrid,” Evan’s light laughter escaped him as he got pulled along by his wife “But you still fell for me baby and that’s all that matters” he sung. He perked at the question and held up his camera in his other hand. “I was sent here on a mission, my love. I plan on completing it unless you want your son living on the salary of a mechanic.”

“Well, I’m obviously going to start chipping in with financials about Caden,” Ingrid called, moving through the louder edge of the crowd. “And you should still have the money from my supposed death, shouldn’t you? It was a lot...”

He felt a bit shocked at how she responded, but he couldn’t really blame her after hearing her claim. “Jesus Ingrid,” he couldn’t help but smile a bit. “I mean, if I wanted to get lost I would have done that a long time ago in the fucking crowds around this place” Evan teased lightly, hoping to ease her mood.

She let out a quiet gasp when she almost smacked into Evan’s chest at turning. His smile effectively caused one of her own, though it quickly faded as she lightly smacked his arm. “First of all, don’t sneak up on me. Second of all, your jokes are as pathetic as they were when we first met.” Ingrid rolled her eyes and let her hand slip into Evan’s, tugging him away from the center of the crowd. She glanced over her shoulder as she walked. “And lastly: what are you doing here?”

Her shoulders relaxed, but her bothered expression remained the same. “You.” It wasn’t like she had a name to put the the (vaguely recognized) face. All she had to associate this man with was incredibly poor manners. “What do you want?”

A heavy sigh escaped his lips, crossing his arms and listening closely. He took notice of her reaction, and looked away for a split sentence. “You didn’t come home Ingrid! Did you ever even come back for Caden?” he retorted, itching to reach for his neck but instead moving his hands slowly. He needed stimulation, to avoid going for the old habit. He felt something in his throat, he wasn’t sure but it kept him from getting angry, from raising his voice. 

It was like a slap across her face. She hadn’t gone back for Caden. So badly she had wanted to go back for their son, and the pleas holding her at bay had been just as desperate. The cold hands gripping her arms and shoulders under water, warning her that she could never, ever go back had been the only thing that kept her--- and she had forgotten that Evan didn’t know of any of it. Even she had partially forgotten what she was. Now all she wanted to do was leave, run out of the store, and sprint all the way to the nearest body of water. All she wanted to do was go back and make them let her go, let her die. As if close to eleven years hadn’t happened and no one had to deal with the pain of reuniting. 

He felt something grab onto the arm of his jacket and he stopped. Hearing Ingrid’s voice he turned to face her once more, pulling the cart to the far right. “You want to talk now? Fine, we’ll talk.”

She resisted rolling her eyes. What didn’t he understand about somewhere else? As upset as she was getting, she found an odd comfort in the way their first interaction slipped directly into a growing argument. “What the hell just happened?” She demanded, brow furrowing as she finally took her sunglasses off. Her throat was tightening and she took a pause to breathe. “Two seconds ago you were all about seeing me again and now it’s like we split up on purpose?” Trying her best to sound angry, she kept each sentence as short as she could. Which wasn’t very.