because the lives of the wicked should be made brief

[somanyadjectives]

Comments

[praevaricatio]

Your thoughts on everything.

( He can see why so many years away could make a difference in what she wants. )

[braveandstupid]

[She nods, exhaling slowly.]

I didn't want to hurt him. I fully intended to keep my promises. But ... when those promises become untenable, it's usually better to be honest.

[praevaricatio]

No, it's always. Well, a lot makes more sense now. Probably does with my life, too, and my invisible husband I swore I have. ...Things were a lot simpler before. I'm not sorry I met you. But, I am sorry how everything happened.

( The real, umprompted apology. )

[braveandstupid]

[Elena offers him a small smile.]

If I got rid of every friend who came into my life under mysterious circumstances, I wouldn't have very many friends left.

[praevaricatio]

We are. For the record. ( And then, he leans back. ) Oh. How's Irina? Has it been an adjustment?

[braveandstupid]

[She nods.]

So, some things shifted around, and we thought with everything going on she might be safer at the school. It's warded to high heaven and Caroline dressed up the paperwork to tie her to a different old witch family.

[She feels bad telling him this way, but she really does believe that Irina is going to be far safer at the school with other witches like her than hanging out in the bunker.]

Our attention is spread a bit thin right now, given some of the things that happened over Thanksgiving, we thought it was best. Plus she can start making some witch friends her own age.

[praevaricatio]

She should be happy. And safe. So, it sounds like you did the right thing. Thanks. ( He taps the railing with both of his hands. ) Now I'm just delaying the inevitable. ( Turning, he pulls her in for a hug. )

[braveandstupid]

[Elena turns and leans into the hug.]

Good luck, Ezra. Be careful.

[She doesn't know it, but they'll be seeing each other much sooner than they think.]

[praevaricatio]

Watch the road!

( And Elena is pulled out pretty abrubtly as her father veers away from someone in their lane with the honk of his horn. But, he's okay! Everything's okay. Ezra just ... feels what's happening on the other side of the dream he shares. All is well.

Good luck, Elena. )

[braveandstupid]

[Elena jerks awake, blinking at the road and shaking it off. She can't help but feel the unsettling feeling that this is the calm before the storm.]

Are we almost there?

[founderscouncil]

We have another hour. You were out like a light. Thought you'd sleep on the plane.

( Emotionally draining conversations do that. )

Sorry if I woke you. Damn truck swerved into our lane.

[braveandstupid]

No, it's okay.

[She's not going to tell her father she was getting a dream message from Ezra. That's a problem for another day.]

And I did. But I guess it wasn't as much as I thought.

[founderscouncil]

Your mom and I are terrible about sleeping now. Up late, up early. It almost feels like we're wasting the life we were given.

( But, he knows it's only natural. )

Did you... how did you find the balance. After yours.

[braveandstupid]

I didn't have time to think about it.

[She would work herself to exhaustion and then she would have to sleep. Or she just didn't do a lot of sleeping because she was busy running for her life.]

It helps to keep busy. And you don't really have a lot of ways to keep busy right now.

[She should really work harder at fixing that.]

I got a text from Lucas. He says he might know someone who would be able to help ... resurrect you guys legally speaking. Would you want us to do that? Or do you guys want to be new people entirely?

[founderscouncil]

( He didn't know either was an option. He knew there were options on the table, but they focused best on the here and now. Now that they have a direction to take. The punk kid inside him would completely take a different name. Try it out. It would be fun for two weeks. A month. But, he would always be Grayson and she would always be Miranda.

Is that what Elena would want them to be? New people? People who didn't keep secrets. People who didn't coldly run Augustine experiments because of how they were raised. People who weren't on town councils. People who see vampires as people. They're starting to. It's just taking time. )

Aren't we? ( It's a hollow, joke that sits between them. ) I'll talk to your mother.

[braveandstupid]

Okay. He gave me the guy's number, so just ... let me know.

[And with that she'll stay quiet for the rest of the drive, until the pull up at the bunker alongside Sam's car, and she brightens when she sees who he brought Allison along with him.]

You're back!

[And she will hop out of the car and go over to hug her, unsure how long she's been back or if she's met her parents yet.]

[matriarchate]

( Allison sits her sunglasses on top of her head before pulling her suitcase out of the trunk.

Grayson pulls in and she looks up, brightening, seeing Elena's face in the window! )

I am back

( Her suitcase flops over as she focuses on the hug coming to her. )

Hi! ( Grayson gets out of the car and nods to Sam. ) Is that your dad?

[braveandstupid]

It is.

[The hug comes first, because she has missed her solidarity sister, but once she's done, she will happily handle introductions while Sam takes over gathering luggage.]

Dad, this is Allison Argent. Allison, this is my dad, Grayson Gilbert.

[matriarchate]

It's nice to meet you, sir.

( Allison was raised right! Thank you, Sam. 🥰 )

You're back, too. So, Battle Creek was...

[braveandstupid]

A lot, yeah.

[She tucks an arm into Allison's as she grabs her own bag and moves away from her father. Sam and Grayson can chit chat as they make their way back inside because she gave Grayson a lot to think about.]

But Dean's ... figuring it out. I think he and Ben will be fine. He's a good kid, it's just ... a lot that he's processing.

[matriarchate]

So, I didn't ask questions, but, Ben is...

( Yes, Grayson and Sam man-chat as Allison and Elena enter the bunker. Girl chat is more interesting anyway. )

[braveandstupid]

Dean's son.

[Allison can know because Allison is going to be family too, if things with her and Sam keep going the way they are.]

They met when Ben was younger, and Dean lived with them for a while after one of the Apocalypses. He didn't know Ben was his then but apparently Ben took a DNA test and it pointed him back to Dean.

[matriarchate]

Which is why he left so suddenly, and why I'm guessing he's staying there. ( Which all makes sense, but it's probably very sudden as his girlfriend, too. ) How are you in all of this?

[braveandstupid]

[As they enter the bunker, she glances around to make sure her mother isn't in earshot before she continues.]

On the scale of bad news delivered by my boyfriends, surprise grown adult son is pretty low on the scale. It kind of gets beat out by "so I'm a vampire with a serial killer reputation" and "surprise, you're sire bound to me."

[If nothing else, it's allowed them to have some conversations that hadn't gotten around to having yet.]

I'm mostly worried about him. He's taking it hard and the way he left things with Lisa and Ben was messy.

[matriarchate]

Both of those are pretty bad. Stefan and... ( Was that Damon? ) Well, it sounds like he's doing everything he can. He's showing up and that's half the battle. He really had no idea? And he'd lived with them years ago?