archived.

the whole conversation is childish on both ends. for jack, it's a form of arrested development, that's not new. for olympia, it might be something she ought to be growing away from by now. but he won't ever blame her for not doing so. (any memory of himself at olympia's age are hazy at best. it's safe to say he wasn't all that different.) the shared joint, now rested between jack's two fingers, stays otherwise untouched. like he's half-contemplating his life decisions, just for a fleeting moment. something about knowing his own responsibilities as the pseudo-uncle of their dynamic — it could be argued that his very presence is a poor influence on these kids. he drifts in and out of their lives for a good reason, lest they start to expect too much.

"nah. there's no will for me, kid." some potential inheritance now that his brother is dead and his sister-in-law might as well be on her way soon. and of course, with his fucked up version of luck, the primary asset is the haunted house and the property on which it sits. if he lives that long, he might get to be the one to finally tear it down. jack brings the joint to his lips, continuing his thought as the smoke drags out. "ideally, the afterparty is just gonna be a free-for-all. anything left behind is up for grabs, but everyone's gotta fight each other for it in the ring. you and the boy will have to go head to head if you want any of that shit." but he can't imagine either of them would care for the shitty car or the even shittier house.

olympia knows how to dig, she always has. (ellie was a lot like that too. jamie is capable of the same thing when he gets pushed, but tries to pretend he can't be.) at times, it feels like she's too sharp for him. jack contemplates how to turn the tables. in this hypothetical, his body will betray him, more so than it does now. it's darkly funny, a bit sick really, when he remembers the police report. (his brother's blood smeared along the kitchen tiles, comparable to a murder scene. one of ellie bird's teeth found something in the midst. jack likes to think she took a well-deserved bite out of her father before they vanished.) "let's say we do let you live instead of me. what're you gonna do with the rest of your existence once the rest of us are all rotting?"

olympia should have known how difficult it would be to talk about death,   even in some strange alternate reality, without talking about ellie and, by extension, her father.   it's a side - effect of the subject, it forces you to think about something even when it's not at all what you're talking about.   in a way, she's already known what it's like to be in uncle jack's position, having to be the one to inherit the property her childhood home once stood in and what was left of the actual building after the fire, which wasn't much.   not much that didn't go to the trash, anyway.   in a way some might consider fortunate, with jack, the ainsworth house is still in tact.   but who'd want to inherit a haunted house?   not jack, not jamie, certainly not her.   she got lucky in that respect, she supposes.   then again, even if uncle jack were to sell or tear down the house, they would all still be haunted.

she scoffs at the thought of uncle jack's belongings being fought over.   but she doesn't want to think about what she'd even want to keep from him, considering she isn't quite ready to part with uncle jack just yet.   there's still so much time to be had for the three of them that are left, and while none of them are exactly in tact the way they should be, there's still hope to continue.   “   huh, so you want a bloodbath during your afterparty.   fascinating, i like it.   entirely you.   ”   as if she can expect otherwise.   “   not sure i'm willing to get a black eye or fight jamie for any of that stuff, though.   no offense.   ”

even with the wall as a stabilising force, xeno still manages to almost knock them over. it's hard to apologise for it when he's overtaken by unstoppable glee, a happiness the heights of which he once never would have fathomed as possible.

olympia — is — here.

(the words echo through his mind, a celebratory chorus. he wants to grab everyone in the room and tell them that his favourite person in the world is here. he wants to—)

"olympia beckett," a delighted, almost delirious smile, "came to my birthday party? what have i done to deserve such an honour, your highness?" their old stories, old jokes; there is no one as familiar to him as her. xeno can only bring himself to draw back from the hug so that he can see her face, though he holds onto her arms.

even in a crowded room,   olympia feels the world around them disappear as they hug.   these reunions are special.   xeno is special.   and so it's become important to olympia to see him on these days, to be able to celebrate his existence.

“   well, i have to be present for my favorite subject's birthday,   ”   she says with a light laugh, her free hand going to press against his cheek as they pull away from the hug slightly.

suddenly, she remembers the box in her hand with its light blue finish, and shows it to him.   “   and what's a birthday party without a gift?   i got you something,   ”   she says, pulling away from the hug entirely now and retracting her hand from his face as she hands the box to him.   inside of it is a set of keys :   to an ice rink she'd rented nearby, specifically.   she takes a bit of a step back to watch him open the box.

there are moments when he looks at olympia and thinks it's almost like staring at a ghost. only she's older now, less and less of a feral child, far too human to consider a phantom. he wakes up from daze and remembers. it's all different now. maybe it's for the better.

jamie opts for cherry pie and ice cream. (another familiar thing; jack always used to get cherry, but without the ice cream. they haven't seen each other in awhile.) he tries to occupy himself with food to quiet another thought. he's tempted, though he'll never dare, to ask if their childhood selves were real to begin with. yes, there are some elements he's sure of. there are some things about them that still sit locked away, covered by dusty curtains as they've tried to grow and forget. but was it real? it feels like one of those strange dreams that he's never been able to explain. (jack once described a dream of his own and it felt all too familiar as well. less palatable than the cherry pie they get at diners or the old songs that played on the car radio.) the only thing jamie is certain of is this: if there was ever a real version of himself that existed, olympia would know it better than anyone else. it's a bittersweet comfort.

"yeah. i know." despite everything else, there will always be that thing. he doesn't think they can ever be rid of it. a hazy image of ellie bird lurks behind every corner, too foggy to make out clearly, but unmistakable nonetheless. "i think i'll always have you and you'll always have me." even with the bad, because there will always be something bad, whatever it is will be endured by the both of them. he's not sure that will ever be over; if not the same as before, something else will always fill that slot.

if it were any under circumstance, it would be a curious thing to look back and see what of their past had survived into their adulthood.   even now, as olympia stares at the space between them, their choices of dessert echo some part of their past.   uncle jack's choice of cherry pie, olympia's brownie that she'd always get in places like this.   and maybe it's their way of trying to hold onto something that's already gone.   whatever they could hold onto, they would.   it's the only way to live now and still have a part of the few good moments in their childhood.   she and jamie are time capsules from a life that feels like someone else's now.

olympia looks up at jamie as he speaks.   he's right.   if one thing is certain, it's that she and jamie will always stand by one another.   despite her lack of blood relation to the ainsworths, they both lost the same thing:   a sister.   and despite the world being full of people who've also lost their siblings or someone close to them, they would never truly understand what either jamie or olympia had gone through.   while it's wrong, olympia's glad she's not alone, and she's glad jamie's not either, that they have each other, whatever that might look like for them in the years ahead, whether it's seeing each other during the holidays or their birthdays still, or communicating in other forms.   postcards, letters, phone calls.   there will always be a tether between them.   there will always be ellie.

“   you're right.   we'll always have each other, no matter what.   ”   she says with the faintest of smiles.   can it be called a comfort even if it's not so?   yet still, at least there's a hand to reach for, a familiar face to always seek when they feel so isolated by the world around them.   she supposes that despite everything, and maybe without meaning to, ellie made sure that olympia and jamie would at the very least have that.