everyonelives | for the rest of us death will be a relief

[David spends an hour wrangling the remaining witches that weren't murdered by the vampire backup, and then retreats to their rooms to take a long shower to remove all he blood that splattered onto himself and his suit when he was busy stabbing his father to death. It still doesn't feel real. It feels like he's moving on autopilot, scrubbing himself clean the way he did the night Ezra and Damian exorcised Dagon, and recognizing the trauma response for what it is.

Maybe he should sign up for therapy.

That's a problem for far future David, unfortunately.

Once he's clean and dressed, he goes in search of his husband. He walks into the kitchen, catching sight of Ezra and the knife and it makes the hair on the back of his neck stand up, eyes narrowing.]

Ez?

[He's sure it's fine, but he'll draw his attention all the same.]

( David brings him to life, in more ways than one, and he sets the knife down, remembering the sandwich he now presents the two halves to as he faces his husband. Spoils of war, or something like it. )

Hungry?

[He shakes his head as he makes his way closer. His appetite probably won't come back until tomorrow, at least in a perfunctory capacity. Right now the idea of putting something food wise in his mouth turns his stomach.]

I'm not hungry. Are you okay?

( Ezra takes a bite, drops the other half of the sandwich down and takes the lunchmeat back over to the kitchen. )

I'm good. Stitched Elena up, I think our friendship's going to survive.

Good.

[He leans forward, resting his elbows against the counter and scrubbing his eyes.]

Honestly, it's a miracle we all made it out alive.

[He was expecting more casualties. Possibly himself being one of them.]

( He pulls two bottles of water out of the fridge and brings them over, setting one down in front of David. He takes another bite of his sandwich. )

They had us where they wanted us the entire time, but they didn't know we were working behind the scenes. That we've been planning this for years. They underestimated us. ( He points with his sandwich. ) They underestimated you.

Maybe.

[He doesn't think they did. He thinks it's more that they didn't plan for Elton's shifting loyalties. Which, speaking of - ]

Do you know where Elton went?

[A delicate way of trying to see how Ezra feels about that particular wild card.]

No, not since before. I saw red, blinked ( Sobbed, against his husband, on his knees. ) And he was gone. He can't go far, at least. Do you think he knows he can't go outside of a certain radius?

( Not until they finish what's been started. )

If it didn't damn our circle, I'd let him stay lost.

Probably not. He doesn't seem like a guy who was asking a lot of questions.

[David is not thrilled with having to keep the guy who betrayed his husband around, but at least there's someone else they can push him off on.]

He's Max's problem now. But ... do you have any idea where he might go?

His sister might be in town.

( Step-sister, but semantics. )

I can look into it. ( He sets his sandwich down, looking down, like he's contemplating the bite he took. ) On the subject of my ex, I - I was 90% sure I was in a hostage situation when he found me at Pearson Specter Litt ( Etc ) and I said some unkind things about our marriage, things I don't believe, but he'll be coming back here and, so, I just wanted you to know. He... may come with some unkind thoughts. Or, words.

[David raises an eyebrow before shaking his head.]

I tend not to base our relationship on what other people say about it.

[And we all do what we have to do.]

But I think he probably knows that, given everything that came after.

You know, I don't blame him. Get desperate enough, I don't know what I'd do for you.

( No. He knows now. It's clear. The blood on his hands say that. He flashes back briefly to his husband's mother's eyes. The knife in his hand. And then he's here again. )

I would go to war for you.

[David glances up at him, and Ezra can probably see in his husband's eyes that he would do the same. Probably do worse than the same, if he ever lost him.]

I feel like it's probably not healthy to say out loud what I would do for you.

We're not the healthiest people.

( But he can live with it if David can. )

I'm sorry I almost died on you.

You didn't die. So there's nothing to apologize for.

[They knew some people would get stabbed, and while he did bite back some anger when Bela went for Max first, but Max was worse off, and they would have lost Jaqueline if he had died, so maybe for the best things went the way they did.

It didn't matter. Ezra was still alive.]

We just have to make sure you stay that way until Bela's blood is out of your system.

[Unless, of course, he's looking to become a vampire, in which case they should probably have a conversation about it.]

I can stay out of trouble for twenty-four hours.

( He can try, anyway. )

I keep thinking about Irina, that being there for her at all, it's a pipe dream I never knew I might have wanted. And I still don't know if I did want it, or if circumstances just were what they were. She's safer and happier where she is. I know that.

That doesn't mean she won't need a family. And she is technically a Colony witch.

[That comes with promises and powers the Salvatore School can't really help her with.]

We can talk with Caroline after the holidays. See what she thinks would be the best approach. But eventually we are going to have to build lives, Ez.

[Now would be a good time to think about what they want.]

Rebuild.

( He reaches out for his husband's hand, pulling him around the corner and closer to him. )

You think we could do it. Raise Irina. Be parents. Co-represent this coven. Happily ever after?

Nothing to stop us anymore.

[It's truly starting to sink in now that they're free. They're actually free.]

No more pretending we're towing their line. They're gone, Ez. And we're in charge now.

[He knows it's not going to be easy or simple and there's a lot of cleanup to do, but they can do it their way.]

We're in charge.

( The mantle doesn't quite feel like his. But, he'll grow into it. He can already feel the darker parts of that latching onto his heart. Don't ask. )

[He might one day, but before he can, Jaqueline and Max swan in to draw both of their attention.]

We lost your ex.

[To Ezra.]

He seems to have slipped out while we were doing all that murder. So did Hallewell, but he's a separate, less immediate problem.

We?

( Really not a bone of contention Max needs, who shakes his head, like what even are you. This isn't a contest. Pay attention. )

No one had him on a real leash?

No, and I didn't get a chance to get a bead on him because they had us all sequestered.

[Jaqueline is only a Find My Friends for her actual friends. New Guy doesn't count.]

Sierra was tracking down her parents to make sure they were dead, and I was wrangling minions. Do you three have a good excuse for what you were doing?

[David opens his mouth, before sighing. "We'll find him. Max isn't in incredible pain so I'm assuming he hasn't gone far."]

Not that he knows not to go far.

( But Ezra wasn't about to explain everything to him, nor was he able to, having been sequestered himself. )

He probably went to a casino his sister's family owns. There's one here in Baltimore. If we confirm that, then we can let him cool his heels while Max works on his marriage pitch.

( Max flips Ezra the bird.

"He's your ex." )

College ex. I was pre-med and we...

( "Yeah, yeah," Max says, huffing. "How are we going to confirm?" )

I would call.

Great. You do that. Once you confirm, we'll go get him and that'll be that.

[And they can finalize this bullshit so that they can move on with their lives. Success.]

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