everyonelives | if she'd been covered with glitter

[She pauses for a long time as she tries to process that information, trying to read between the lines. It's hard to read the obvious signs between what she vaguely remembers of him and how he felt, magically speaking, as a child, versus the man who's standing before her now.

But she has spent enough time around heretics with a heretic niece to eventually parse it out (18), and leans back with a frown.]

Oh.

I think he always suspected what I was. He asked a lot of questions. I thought it was because he was mentoring me. ( Taking Shepard under his wing. ) He slipped something into a drink he offered, set me up, and then - ( he uses finger quotations. ) saved me.

That's some bullshit.

[She says it in a way that indicates that she's on Shep's side, because it is bullshit. You can't just run around turning people into heretics.]

But if it helps, the Gemini Coven isn't in the business of sending heretics off into prison dimensions anymore. Jo won't care. She'll just be happy that you're here.

Good to know old habits actually die.

( He continues the rest of his story. )

He used me, I retaliated fatally, and went on the run. There's still a coven in LA that wants my head on a spike.

( And so he ran. )

[Even more of an excuse to stay out of LA.]

Do they need to be dealt with? Or is it a they'll leave you alone if you leave them alone kind of thing?

[It could give the Armory something to do.]

( LA's not that bad. )

I changed my name. I went East.

( He adopted an entirely different persona courtesy of the Venice locals he met along the way. Shipp, the stoner witch. )

And now you take Zoom calls in a bar?

[He's got some kind of people. She's trying very gently not to pry too fast, but she would like him to be a little less vague.]

Or, wherever.

( Or they meet in person. )

I'm on an assignment.

( He has to admit this eventually. Who he fell in with. Which reminds him, he hasn't checked back in, or returned to the room. )

Assignment for who?

[And what kind of assignment involves video calls in a bar. Please speak in longer sentences, or Liv might lose her mind.]

The Underground. We're a collection of supernaturals.

( A few odd ducks out. )

[Recognition lights her face almost immediately (17).]

Oh. I know the Underground. I'm surprised we haven't run into each other sooner.

[And then, because explanations are probably important:]

I work for the Armory.

( In this instance, no recognition passes across Shep's face, because he's stuck to a very particular corner of their supernatural world. He preferred to sit back, gadget, and smoke.

"It's like - an ancient organization." )

Do I look ancient to you? We're all still the same age here.

( "She does real work." )

You don't even know what I do!

( Siblings going off the rails in.... )

[Deep breath. How is she the least testy one in this conversation? Explanations are in order. For Shep:]

The Armory works with supernatural artifacts. Finding them, cataloging them and making sure they don't cause big problems.

[Then to Luke:]

The Underground works with people. Rescuing and relocating supernatural folks who are in an unstable situation and getting them somewhere where they're safe.

Okay, you both do good work.

( "That's our bread and butter, but we specialize in special ops of the supernatural variety. I stayed under the radar." He needed to, he was convinced it was too dangerous not to. )

And they kept you safe. Okay.

[It makes sense now, why they hadn't been aware that he was alive. But that doesn't necessarily clear up where they go from there.]

Do you want us to tell Jo?

You said she has a husband and kids. She's in Portland.

( Did they say that? If they didn't, he sure knows. But, he stumbled onto that information. That counts, right? )

Me or you. Or, us. I don't know.

She's coming back. Most of the time they live in Mystic Falls.

[Look she doesn't want to push him as he's clearly skittish. But she also doesn't want to do something, thinking she has his consent when she doesn't.]

We can tell her, if you want. But I have a feeling she'll want to come see you so I don't want to open that door if you're not ready for it.

[Being the disaster twin means she's willing to support him in his disaster tendencies.]

We should all do it, then, right? It's not fair to not tell her, and I wouldn't just send you. Other than your disaster date and twin backup, what are your plans?

( He knows his. )

Tyler is driving up today.

[It's the closest she'll admit to needing back up. But she'll try to dress it up like that was always the plan. Luke might see through it, but she would expect that of him.]

I was mostly going to hang out with him once Luke got sick of me.

[She means that with love.]

( Before they part ways, they have to have ways to contact one another, so he forgoes the burner for his personal cell, unlocking it and tapping icons to add a number. He slides it over. )

Both of you, put your numbers in. We're not losing contact again. I don't know when, but we're telling her.

( But he also has an airtight work schedule. )

[Liv takes hers dutifully and puts in her number, before sending herself a text so that she has his.]

I'll text you when Jo gets back from the West Coast. Then we can figure out what to do.

( Luke does the same, unable to keep back a sibling dig. )

It was Tyler's idea or your idea?

( He can hang with his sister, the cavalry does not have to be called in. )

[She gives him a small look at that.]

It was a mutual decision.

[It was Tyler's idea.]

( He sends a middle finger text to his brother, handing his phone back. )

If you say so.

( "I don't know if I'll get more time while I'm in town, apart from work. Do you live here or..." he asks Luke. )

Jonathan. Lives here. We're here overnight. Can we commandeer you for breakfast or are you too important?

( "It's work, and I don't think I'm better than either of you," Shep says, his brother raising his hackles again. )

I think he meant in that in the sense of are you able to get away?

[Liv isn't usually the one smoothing over landmines. She's not sure she likes it. Why is she becoming the responsible twin?]

The Armory is a couple hours west in Virginia proper. Depending on where you're heading, maybe we can meet in my neck of the woods on your way out?

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