Stuck in the Permafrost

Ah. The child was not as she seemed. In appearance? She was a human child of nine or ten. Her eyes reflected curious wonder as she moved about among the throng of people on the sidewalk. But when looking deeper-- and a little help from his Sonic Screwdriver-- it became clear that something far more complex was just beneath the surface.

Blinking at the man that stopped her, she tilted her head curiously at him, brow slowly furrowing as he spoke. He sounded like he somehow knew about her, but the only people who knew about her were from The Mountain. He did not look like a soldier.

Concern instantly filled his features as the girl backpedaled and obvious fear filled her. His brows furrowed, expression going steely as the very few possible causes of that sort of reaction came to him.

finally kissing the person you’ve been pining for.

pulling them in for a kiss while showering together.

a kiss shared during a game  ( truth or dare,  spin the bottle,  etc ).

kissing your lover to show you forgive them.

a coy, chaste kiss meant to say thank you.

an intimate kiss full of relief the second you're finally alone.

wiping away your lover’s tears as you kiss them.

a kiss muffled by laughter in a library, hidden away among the shelves.

lazy kisses on the sofa while the television runs.

kisses while wrapping your legs around your lover.

a quick peck on the cheek as one party rushes off.

a kiss to prove you don’t have feelings for them.

a kiss to convince them not to leave bed in the morning.

a kiss to distract them from stitching a wound.

a parting kiss before one party goes away for a long time.

biting their lip amidst a kiss, drawing blood.

heated kisses while tugging on their hair.

abruptly kissing a stranger to scare off the people following you.

an emotional kiss bringing one party to tears.

a bruising kiss full of desperation and urgency.

distracting your lover from a task by kissing their neck.

standing on your tiptoes to kiss their forehead.

kissing down the column of your lover's neck, leaving marks.

a kiss while being reunited after a long time.

kissing your lover in a moment of sheer joy.

a dutiful kiss with no true feeling behind it.

kissing your lover to take away their pain.

colliding with a wall, then each other's lips.

a kiss placed over their freshly bandaged wound.

a kiss while slow dancing close and intimately.

sharing a spontaneous kiss with a stranger.

an abrupt ,  heated kiss during the middle of a fight.

a kiss motivated by a dare from a third party.

an adrenaline-fueled kiss while standing on the ledge of a rooftop.

kissing them to shut them up.

urgent, messy kisses as both parties scramble to undress.

a kiss to wake your lover up in the morning.

sharing a kiss in a heavy downpour of rain.

kissing your lover just above their waistband.

kissing your partner to seal a marriage.

pushing your love down onto the bed to worship their body with kisses.

a possessive kiss to stake a claim.

a kiss to resolve suppressed ( romantic / sexual ) tension.

a kiss attempting to convince the other party to stay.

kissing the top of their head as you hold them.

a risky kiss between forbidden lovers.

a kiss while hiding away from flashing cameras.

a kiss that means absolutely nothing.

kissing the swell of your lover's breast.

a kiss that leaves lipstick stains.

a kiss shared on a rooftop while the sun ( sets / rises ).

a flirtatious kiss on the back of the hand.

sensual kisses down the length of their back.

kissing them to confess your true feelings.

sneaking off to a public bathroom to make out.

a kiss to forgive one another after a fight.

a kiss on the forehead as the other sleeps.

an  ( accidental / mutually )  drunken kiss.

an unexpected kiss during a fake dating scheme.

kissing your partner after they've given you head.

caging your lover against a wall with your arms to kiss them.

a kiss after receiving good news.

an emotional kiss, relieved to find your lover alive.

crowded, heated kisses in the backseat of a car.

a tentative ,  exploratory kiss between friends.

a kiss shared between enemies during combat.

a kiss that smears blood everywhere.

kissing them even though you know you shouldn't.

kissing your lover after believing you’d lost them.

a kiss after a devastating event ,  meant to comfort.

a possessive kiss in front of a jealous third party.

kisses while pulling them into your lap.

a heated kiss while holding them by the throat.

kissing your lover under the night sky while stargazing.

a kiss to seal a promise that you just made.

kissing your lover lazily first thing in the morning.

holding your lover by the jaw to kiss them.

holding their face, kissing the tears from their cheeks.

a kiss to your lover’s stomach as you travel down their body.

an abrupt kiss that you melt into after a moment of hesitation.

sleepy ,  domestic morning kisses in the kitchen while making breakfast.

a rushed kiss before one party leaves for work.

There's a dramatic rolling of his eyes before he takes a pointed step closer to the other. "I fail to see where your accusation holds truth," he scoffs. Sure, he shared information with certain others when asked, but he was far from some gossip girl as it seemed to be implied.

He's tempted to say something snarky about why he was there. Make Cain more annoyed than he was already. He did enjoy a good game of chicken. He wasn't actually going to, but it was tempting.

Rowena? Look at that, the king of hell consults Cain for an audience with the witch. It must be urgent. Keeping Crowley pinned with a stare that might burn holes into his skull if such was one among his many abilities, the former knight finally deigns to stand up. Grip around the tool in his hand maintained. If he feels delighted by the aversion Crowley's admission accompanies, he makes an effort to suppress it. "I might not be up to date with the current state of your", cue a circling gesture in the king's direction with the torque wench. "Family dynamic. Staying away from the drama, you know", he adds that last bit while crinkling his nose.

"But I can assure you that if Rowena doesn't want to be found?" Tongue clicking behind teeth, Cain cants his head while donning a fake apologetic mien. "She won't be found." All he knows is that Rowena does well— enjoying a deserved vacation alone, away from men, including her lover from hell. "I can give her a message, if that helps." Once she returns. He won't bother her unless it's a case of emergency nobody else can handle.

If he was uncomfortable, it doesn't show. He keeps his expression blank, waiting for the response through all the unnecessary dialogue. When, at last, the answer is presented he finds himself frowning at the sheer lack of helpfulness. "Of course," he drawls, a small sneer fleeing across his features. "I won't be leaving a message with you, but I-- appreciate the offer." Giving Cain anything that could be later used against him was not on his roster for the day.

His years of experience in the CIA, and the several as a hunter, had trained him to notice a tail almost immediately. It was very rare that anyone-- or anything-- ever got a jump on him. So when the same face started appearing in multiple locations, he clocked it. Knew that, whether they were a danger or not, he was being followed.

By the fourth location, he had a plan made. Waiting until nightfall, he put himself in the middle of a busy part of town. Sat at a table outside a local restaurant, he sipped a coffee while working on the crossword puzzle in the day's newspaper, ever aware of his surroundings.

Finally, the hair on the back of his neck stood at attention. In his peripheral, he could see her lurking nearby. That was his cue. He finished his coffee, waved over the waiter to pay his bill, and wandered off with the paper tucked under his arm.

After ducking down a small side-street, he settled against the wall, lighting up a cigarillo while he waited. At last, he caught sight of her. He pushed off the wall and moved to a previously scoped out hiding place, and stayed still until she passed by him. He slipped out, grabbing her bicep with one hand while the other rested on the butt of his side piece.

Until one day, in a sudden stroke of genius, she decided the best way to learn how to behave more like a human would be to follow one. Watch what they did, how they acted, how they spoke. Being herself wasn’t working, so she would have to imitate someone else.

The man was chosen at random. She’d looked around, spotted him, and decided to follow him for a while. It probably would have been smarter to do so invisibly, but she’d though she was being subtle. Apparently not.

She lost sight of him. Frowned to herself as she looked for him, only to pause when fingers curled around one of her arms and a voice spoke lowly in her ear. Brow furrowing, she looked to see who had pulled her attention away from her search—she gave him a bright smile when she saw it was the very man she’d been looking for.

But he didn’t look happy. Hadn’t sounded happy either, now that she thought about it. Oriya’s smile fell away as she blinked at the man, eyes wide. “Oh,” she said after a moment. “That was a threat, wasn’t it? You’re being threatening.” Her lips twitched upwards again at the novelty of it. “I haven’t been threatened before.”

Bewilderment flashed over his features before he managed to school his expression. The reaction was enough to tip him off to the fact that this was definitely not a human woman he was dealing with. At least, not entirely. Her jovial response to the threat alone would have made anyone suspicious, let alone a hunter.

"Yeah," he replied, tone irritated. "That was a threat." His eyes narrowed but he released her arm and took a single step back. His hand still rested on the butt of his gun, but he'd bet using it would end up being as useless as the threat.

Slayers were an entirely different breed of difficult. Set in their ways, determined to play hero, while also denying that they are heroes. Exhausting, truly. That Fury had even reactivated the Slayer Initiative still caused him to question a few things, but that was neither here nor there.

Faith made things even more exhausting, especially now that she was married to Banner. Faith Banner. And, of course, he couldn't forget the child. Born of Banner and Lehane, Rip was an enigma he was sure they wouldn't figure out. At least not anytime soon. At all, if Faith had her way.

And they say Bruce is the dangerous one.

Still, Faith hasn't lost her temper, yet. Doesn't even seem miffed. More curious than anything else. None of the big wigs have been exactly forthcoming about their interest in her super absent two-year-old (she's had forty-plus trips around the sun - she's not that fucking stupid), but they're definitely fucking interested. It's an average Sunday, so another head of some creepy shadow organization wants to have a chat about her son. Cool.

His gaze tracks her around the room, not in the least bit unaware of what she's doing. He learned a long time ago not to underestimate anyone that held any sort of interest from S.H.I.E.L.D., but especially Slayers.

Spike.

A pompous ass who enjoyed the sound of his voice far more than anyone else did. Someone Crowley had had far too many interactions with over the years. Truly, he didn't understand what it was about the man that made someone think 'Yes, this is the one I'm going to make live forever'.

Blasted vampires.

A vague wave of his hand toward the corpse pinned up. "No one important," he muttered halfheartedly. "Insignificant cog in the machine." Which begged the question of why he'd been chosen to send a message with.

Course... it had worked. Clearly.

Wade had been suspicious of the duck for three weeks.

Three.

Whole.

Weeks.

Most people would've called it a duck and moved on with their lives. Not Wade. No, Wade had dedicated an entire section of wall space to the investigation. Photographs. Notes. Red string. A hand-drawn timeline. At least four different theories. One of which involved international espionage. Another involved the Illuminati. The third involved the duck being a time traveler.

Honestly, that one had the most evidence.

Wade stood several feet back from the board, arms crossed over his chest as he studied it with the intensity of a man attempting to solve a murder.

"Okay," he announced to absolutely nobody. "Either he's incredibly good at pretending to be a duck, or we're dealing with a professional."

A sticky note detached itself from the wall and fluttered to the floor. Wade ignored it. The duck's photo remained at the center of the board.

Watching.

Waiting.

Mocking him.

Probably.

"Hm." She nodded as if she understood, slipping out of her leather jacket and tossing it aside. Her eyes took in the scene in bewilderment, despite her best efforts. "Tax fraud, you say?"

Stepping forward as she studied the board, Lou cocked an arm up to lean on Wade, brows knitted in a frown.

One arm crossed over his middle, the elbow of the other cupped in his hand, chin resting in his palm, Wade narrowed his eyes as he gave Lou's argument the consideration it deserved.

Don't all ducks commit tax fraud? Wade gasped. "THANK you!" He pointed at her before immediately pointing at the duck. "See? She gets it! Finally, someone with an open mind." Turning back to Lou, he lowered his voice conspiratorially. "The others keep trying to tell me ducks don't have taxes. But that's exactly what Big Duck wants you to think. They're in a very specific tax bracket," he explained with complete confidence before dropping both arms to his sides with a huff. "Good question. If you can eat 'em, they're poultry."

His finger jabbed accusingly toward the unsuspecting duck. "I'm thinking he's operating under a shell corporation." He frowned."...Wrong animal. That's the turtle. Still suspicious."

He goes back to silent contemplation as though the last few seconds never happened, eyes narrowed as he tapped a finger against his lips. "Mallard? That's obviously not his real name. And he doesn't even quack when people walk by anymore."

~Fourth wall break~ You're probably wondering ...What does that have to do with taxes? Nothing. It's just rude."

As she finished with the tie, insisting she'd always been bossy, he cleared his throat and tugged at his collar as if she'd choked him with the tie. "Right, guess I was too busy worrying about my job to notice," he teased. Truthfully, he was always grateful when she covered his classes for him. It had taken a lot of convincing to get the school board to approve him having a student teacher, especially seeing as it was a high school and not a college campus. However, it ended up working out in everyone's favor and therefore became approved.

"Lucky for you, I didn't have much of a choice in that," side effects of being friends with Damon, honestly. But, also, making sure Elena and Jeremy had an adult in their life was of utmost importance to him as well.