archived.

it would have been too easy to fire back, to make a comment about how often she was regarded as tiny and how unoriginal it had become. a bigger part of her knew that emmett genuinely cared enough about her wellbeing however, which was more than she could say for any other tall, brooding vampire in her life. ❝ you realise we’re kind of each other’s kryptonite, right? it could get messy. ❞ with a sigh, buffy reached into her back pocket and handed him the stake she kept for backup. ❝ try not to fall into it. ❞

if  things  could  be  different ,      she’d  try  every  way  possible  to  keep  him  out  of  her  messes .   save  himself  the  trouble  of  witnessing  the  savage  killer  she  has  become  and  falling  victim  to  her  enemies      —      but  it’s  too  late  for  that .

as  much  as  she  wishes  to  break  into  a  smile  at  his  comment ,   she  can’t  bring  herself  to .   the  raw  emotion  of  worry  that  settles  on  her  features  can’t  be  missed .   she’s  living  a  nightmare .      “      coffee  sounds  nice ,      ”      lara  speaks  with  a  heartbroken  smile ,   still  applying  firm  pressure .   she  had  thought  she  lost  jonah ,   she  can’t  go  through  that  pain  again .      “      can  you  keep  pressure  on  your  own ?      ”

❝ if you stop looking at me like i’m about to die ,  yeah , ❞   she has that look on her face .  the one that he’s pretending not to read into .  pretending not to worry about .  but really ,  it ties his stomach into knots .  he’s not going to die .  he refuses .  partly because he’s got more life to live ,  damn it ,  but partly because he won’t be one more name for her to add to her conscience .

people had tried of course ,   to kill her .   her reputation be damned .   and she found it     .  .  .     entertaining .   while tantalus had her devoted loyalty   :   there were people in the organization that would have loved nothing more than to see her head .   (   with the way she trained her powers on some   &   in turn ,   trained them against not giving in to torture .   )   she always found new ways to do her job .   more efficiant ,   keep them allert longer ,   even with what she put them through .   most times she kept her hands clean ,   the space around her clean ,   but most times she didn’t quite     .  .  .     mind getting her hands dirty .   feel the warmth of blood coating her skin .   using one of her knives to cut through skin .   find someone’s weakness and exploit it .   gaze drift down to the gun   &   there’s a grin upon features .   dimples form while watching the weapon ,   something angelic about her .   sweet and alluring if you didn’t know what lived beneath .   except for the dark gleam forming when looking up at him .   count it as a dare .   could drop him before he could finish the thought of pulling the trigger .

❝   me is more efficient .   ❞

elena’s already one step ahead of him, discreetly assessing the situation that’s happening over at the bar. her best friend has The Look on her face. the kind that reads unlike any other and the one she always has around harrison morgan. elena knows it all too well. it’s the look that says i’m with my person. of course, she can’t exactly voice this to tyler who is also her best friend and who clearly feels a certain type of way about the two of them. ❝ no, absolutely not. ❞ she’s not convinced. not at all. but, she hopes he’s unable to pick up on it. elena watches carefully as harrison’s hand slowly extends down to caroline’s lower back and she tries to divert tyler’s attention while he’s rubbing it and whispering something into her ear.  ❝ you’re the obvious right choice, ty.❞ she tells him, out of loyalty more than anything else. shifting focus, she angles herself down toward the pool table, positions her cue stick before she makes her shot. ❝ you’re just overthinking it is all.❞  

             her gaze lingers upon him for several long moments.  and even after they both depart from the store,  she finds he does not easily leave her mind either.  magnolia has often believed some souls are drawn to each other more than others—as if the particles of the universe they are made from are a little too similar.  she wonders,  more than once,  if edric is one of those.  she supposes,  only time will tell on that matter.  all she knows is that even from the short time she spoke with him,  she liked him.  and he only creates just another reason to be glad she came to this place.  with every passing day,  magnolia is certain she chose the right location to seek out her peace and healing.  

despite her fixated excitement for him to arrive,  she manages still to lose track of time.  the usual sleeplessness of her nights finds her outside at dawn,  barefoot in overalls with her curls pinned up in buns and a paint roller in hand.  so much of the inside of her little cottage is a long way from the cometic details.  and the outside was such a dull,  chipped white.  she couldn’t help herself but want to cover it up with a brighter,  more vibrant shade of yellow.  she is just working on the finishing touches when she senses her new acquaintance approaching.  a smile is brightening her features even before she turns around,  balanced carefully on her step-ladder.  she waves a free,  paint-stained hand at him.  there is a pause before she pauses.  magnolia glances back at the corner of the wall she was working on and points at a patch too far above her too reach then looks back towards edric with a sheepish,  pleading smile.  

          he spends the better part of his evening and night determined not to think about her. he’s doing her a favor, nothing more. she’ll get herself killed trying to do half the shit that needs to be done in that house on her own. and if she doesn’t electrocute herself by accident, she’ll likely starve. die of malnutrition. the never ending list of tragedies that could befall her doesn’t seem to end, and by the time dawn breaks, he can’t stop himself from loading up what equipment he needs and making his way towards where her house is. ( shack might be a more apt description, but considering it’s her home, he figures it impolite. ) 

❝ i thought rule number one was to not touch anything. ❞  rory retorts with a raised brow as she continues to try and wipe the grimey sensation from her palms, to no avail as she moves up the wall opposite from alex, patting down the stone slowly.  ❝ you and i have very, very different ideas of a romantic getaway, by the way. ❞   she takes careful steps as she nearly scales the walls, leaning up to the tips of her toes to try and reach the highest edge. even with the platform of her hiking boots ( that alex insisted were more appropriate than her usual running shoes ) she couldn’t reach the awkward slanted stone,  ❝ i think there’s something here — just .. can’t … reach it .. ❞

A classic eye roll, grumbled inaudibly as he covered his mouth, rested the other arm across his chest. The ‘he knew he was right but would never dare to admit it’ grumble. Quite often used between dad, Care and Alex but never once thought anything of it. 

“And yet you still stick the fuck around.” Countered with his infamous smirk, “At least I gotta fucking pretty face.” He was too close to the situation with Care to even notice how she felt about him, especially since they argued to no end. 

“Hey, think of Care and I are fucking practice for your soon-to-be little ones.” Sarcasm was constant with him right now. “Oooo, please tell me you’ll name one after me. I’d be fucking honored.” 

Scrunched his features together at the sound of that option, retiring sounded like quitting to him. It made sense at his age for this field though, but when did he ever do anything conventional? Dramatically lulled his head with an obnoxious groan that echoed through the rink. This decision making felt like hell on earth. Reluctantly rose from his seat, stomped his way down the stands like a child, froze in front of him, gaze met with theirs, “Why are you a fucking coach?” Curious more than anything else and most likely selfishly asking for a more sound decision. 

❝ You pay me. ❞  It doesn’t amount to just that, but he won’t give Zayden the satisfaction of thinking otherwise. Especially because the boy has enough of a mouth on him that Edric knows he’d never live it down if he did. At the mention of soon-to-be little ones, his eye gives an imperceptible twitch, but his face otherwise maintains its usual stoic, bored expression as he waits for Zayden to get it out of his system.

He knows better than to assume Zayden will take the thought of retirement lightly. The kid is stubborn. And he’s good. But he’ll do this until he’s burnt out from it and hating every fucking second. Or he’ll do it until his body breaks down on him and he has nothing else to show for it --- and then he’ll be even more insufferable than he already is.

the telltale muted snicker nearly courses a twitch through her wrist just enough to swat the brochure at him, nearly, but she holds back. instead, she turns the glossy paper over, scowling at the actual content before she flicks it onto the coffee table.  ❝ what’s there to talk about ? i’m basically walking around with a neon sign that says ‘ daddy issues ‘  i’d say it’s a bit out of your league, but what do i know. ❞  

If he had an option, he wouldn’t make any decision now. However, they both knew he’d use it as an excuse to extend living by himself longer. A classic eye roll, allowed the other’s touch as he groaned. Neither of those options sounded appealing to him. Figured why start small when he knew they’d get there eventually, “—Ugh, fine.” Muttered before he answered, “—A. fucking. drawer.” 

Rested his eyes when their foreheads met each other, gently leaned into his boyfriend’s touch as their fingers went through his hair. Found himself yearning for more, a feeling that doesn’t often come for moments like these, “Nothing fucking gets by you, huh?” Mused.

Locked his gaze with his boyfriend’s, “God, you’re so fucking stubborn.” Lightheartedly responded. He’d supposed this was the best kind of match, someone stubborn enough to never leave him. It had it’s ups and downs but what relationship didn’t — especially when someone dated him. 

Squinted his eyes, he had his boyfriend pegged for someone with that description of family and kids. It was more so how the other was, in a way, more sensitive than he was to say the least, and much more obvious about his romantic intentions. Sigh of relief left him before a chuckle escaped, “Care with kids? Fucking help me.” Hard to tell if he was serious or not, likely a mix of both at that nightmare thought.

Never occurred to him how much he didn’t know about what his partner wanted, and the irritating fact that if he got something wrong about his boyfriend, the other wouldn’t correct him. “…What else do you want?” Collected, serious, despite the shocking moment since he’s probably never asked anyone that before. Usually too involved in himself but it hit just a little bit that it was between them. A two-way street. It seemed to revolve around him but he figured the other had to want something else besides him and a dog. 

His grin is immediate and unstoppable. Even if he wanted to try and keep his expression neutral for Zayden’s sake, it would be impossible. Alex grins, and he tugs his boyfriend in for a quick kiss.  ❝ A fucking drawer. ❞  He repeats. He’s nowhere near winning the war, but he’s definitely won a very important, very specific battle.  ❝ Not when it comes to you, ❞  If he sounds a bit smug, it’s only because he knows he’s right. He notices everything about Zayden. He wouldn’t have devoted so much of his time to trying to get the two of them together if he wasn’t going to go all in, all the time.

Alex laughs at Zayden’s obvious turmoil over the thought of Caroline with kids. He doesn’t care one way or the other, but anything that’s liable to stress Zayden out that much, he tends to be a fan of. Luckily for him, that list includes most things. 

As he pulls back slightly, Alex can see clear as day the thoughts racing through Zayden’s head. It’s always been like that between them, he thinks. He spends so much time trying not to build everything up, trying not to idealize this relationship or his partner because he knows that if he goes left, Zayden will go right --- but as certain as he is in the fact that Zayden will always throw him for a loop, he knows that his boyfriend has an entirely different idea of him. Which is fine.

she wonders if it would be considered cruel ,  to make him stand here .  wonders if it’s akin to the way people rub dogs noses in messes to ensure they know not to do it again .  but she also knows  ( and although she would never admit )  that she could not be here without him .  would not have been able to stand ,  let alone provide the glimpse of stoicism and strength that is needed during these times ,  without him at her side .  besides ,  the story is that he returned from some mission .  or perhaps he was kept prisoner .  or perhaps they will just let people tell their own stories of what happened between the time when ben solo disappeared and when he re-emerged .  he is her son ,  and he has always been her son ,  and those who know the truth of kylo ren are few ,  far in between ,  and sworn to silence .  it would look strange if her son were not here for this .

the man wasn’t dead.    wind the years and half-a-dozen bitter learning curves back and that  sickening crunch  might have meant death had come to stay.    but jess was cautious in her brutality,  and she’d be damned if she lost her grip now.    it didn’t matter how familiar amy might have been with frank’s..  ministrations.    she would never do as he did.      “  pshh.  ”      cool wasn’t a word used to describe her all that often; she was lucky if she landed on her feet walking down a flight of stairs.      “  you know, superpowers really aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.    even if they were teachable.    which they aren’t.    sorry kid.  ”      breathing in the evening air, jess tried to ignore the thought buzzing in the back of her mind.    frank should be back by now.      “  hey, unless you want me to throw you into something sludgy and radioactive?    gotta be someplace like that close by.  ”