When mountains crumble to the sea, there would still be you and me Who: Bradley and Linnea Where: Bradley's When: Early evening
There was no denying that Linnea was more than just a little sad to leave Finland behind. It had been far too long since she had been back to visit, far too long since she had spent time with her brothers - the nieces and nephews she had never known before - and among the familiar places from her childhood. But it was all... different now. Kemi seemed so much smaller when she was stood there than it had in her memory. As much as it pained her to admit it, even just inside her own mind, she had outgrown Kemi. The entire flight back she had thought about that despite active attempts to not, talking to none of her children in favor of staring out the window. Except when they transferred and then again when they were actually back in the states. She could have returned home with her children, but instead she gave Dagmar the responsibility of driving them home - it was not that she did not trust Kajsa so much as she had just been acting very oddly - while she had called a taxi to take her to Bradley's house. She had texted him when they arrived in Detroit to let him know that she was back, along with a hint that she wanted to come over and see him. And now she was on her way there.
Exhausted - their flight had left Helinski at six-thirty a.m. on Finnish time - Linnea paid her driver and slipped out of the car. Covering a yawn, she rustled around in her purse so that she could pull out her compact and at least ensure that she did not look a complete mess. Only half of one and a lot less pleasant than she would have preferred when she was seeing Bradley again for the first time in a week, or had it been longer? Her mind scattered when it came to certain types of details. Replacing her compact, Linnea walked up to the front door and knocked. It was interesting to be surrounded by silence again for a time. She had almost forgotten what that was like after sharing such close quarters with her family, not to mention Strike. Who was probably going to have words with her for not bringing him along.
Bradley rarely used his cellphone, though kept it around in case there was an emergency, such as something with work or Eva or even Linnea. He was rather lonely without his water elemental around, but receiving the text from her that she was coming over and wanted to see him? That perked him right up. And in typical Bradley fashion, he immediately ran to the kitchen to see what he had lying around in order to cook up a welcome home dinner. It was the very least he could do. And while earth elementals were slow in nature, he worked as fast as he could to throw something together.
Why are you making something Finnish? Bean had glanced at the recipe book Bradley had opened while he prepared ohukaiset - crepes with berry filling - and lohikeitto - a salmon soup. Didn’t she just come back from Finland? Wouldn’t she want like... a hamburger? “She’s from Finland, Bean. She’d much prefer this.” Or at least that’s what Bradley assumed. He could have shot her a text back to ask, but then it wouldn’t be a surprise dinner, now wouldn’t it? Five minutes before she came knocking on the door, Bradley had just finished setting the table outside in his back garden and serving everything, giving him enough time to light some candles and throw on a button down shirt over his tank top. A little scruffy, but Bradley was always like that. It didn’t take long for him to head over to the front door and prop it open, just smiling when he saw Linnea. “Welcome home, stranger,” he teased gently while pulling her into his arms for a tight hug and kiss. Yup, he really missed her.
If Linnea had known that Bean was wondering why there should be Finnish food then she would have been happy to tell him that it was because she was Finnish, and there was no such thing as better food. Smiling at Bradley after he released her, Linnea straightened out the top of his shirt almost by sheer habit. “I’m going to guess that you missed me,” she declared, the typically light lilt to her voice was back nearly full-force now thanks to the week spent speaking only in Finnish. It would take awhile for her to get her voice back to what had become normal here. “I missed you too. Sorry that I look so worn, but it’s been a very long day. I just didn’t want to go home yet.” That dark presence was still lingering there, Amelia’s work undone by Leif’s hand, and she was not ready to return to it after having spent so much time thinking about everything else. Tilting her head a little she peered into the house, sniffing. “Do I smell lohikeitto or are my senses just playing very cruel tricks on me?”
“It’s a good guess.” Bradley couldn’t stop smiling right then and he had a good reason to. Linnea seemed rather chipper, apart from obviously being exhausted. He could only imagine how long the flight was. As much as he wouldn’t mind seeing Finland one day with Linnea, the idea of leaving his hometown, let alone getting on a plane and flying, was simply one he couldn’t go through with. Maybe one day; earth elementals were slow to kick in. “You have nothing to apologize for. You look beautiful.” Really, she wasn’t the one in a pair of jeans and an old shirt. Even if she did wear that, she’d probably pull the look off quite well. Taking her hand into his, he kept that sweet smile on his lips while gently guiding her out back into his garden. “No tricks, but definitely a little surprise.” He hoped she liked the dinner he prepared for her. She deserved it after a long flight, if anything else. Bradley even pulled out her chair for her in the process.
Having been around family meant that Linnea was not used to being complimented in anything but a completely friendly, innocent way. When Bradley said it? It was very different and she knew it. Apparently so did her cheeks because they had heated up slightly as she allowed herself to be guided into the garden. Oh, this was lovely... even if there were candles. “I think that I like this surprise,” Linnea agreed, leaning in to kiss his cheek before settling into the chair he had pulled out. “I just want to fix one thing.” Pulling moisture from the air to coat her fingers with ice she leaned in to put out the candles. Thank you. “Sorry, I just don’t want there to be candles. It was a lovely gesture however, and I’m glad you made it. Even more glad that you’ve gone through all this effort. You really didn’t have to her.” She would likely eat very little, once she got past a certain level of tired she lost her appetite. Though if Bradley cooked it she would have to at least eat some.
Wow. Candles. How did that one go right over his head? Oh right, because Earth kept on insisting that it wasn’t a big deal and they were just candles. He made a face upon hearing his element snicker in his head. Apparently how dare he try to impress a water elemental. Earth would have to come to terms with the fact he loved her eventually. “I’m sorry, that’s my own fault.” At least she didn’t throw a fit or something. Linnea was always graceful like that. “And I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to.” Bradley took a seat across from Linnea, a smile constantly on his lips as he set his eyes on her. It was so good to have her back, to hear her voice, to see her smile, all of it. Even if she didn’t eat much, he would package it all up for her so she could take home later. Besides, she was also eating for the baby, not just herself. And Bradley had no issues cooking up the most random of meals to satisfy her cravings. “How was Finland?”
“It’s nothing major, Kivi, don’t worry yourself over it.” Linnea had taken care of the problem and besides, it was not as though it had been a raging bonfire. Just a few small flames that had been easy enough to extinguish. Besides that she had just spent the past week surrounded by fellow water elementals without any hint of her opposing element so this little thing was not so large in her eyes. Now give her a month and that might change, but until then. “And Finland was lovely, as it always has been and always will be.” She missed it terribly, even now when she had left not so very long ago. “The children enjoyed it as well, and my brothers were glad to see me. And I them.” She lifted a spoonful of the soup to her lips and sipped. “I saw the graves of my parents for the first time. It was a good thing to do...” Her throat constricted slightly. “How was Scarlet Oak in my absence?”
Bradley didn’t know too much about Linnea’s family back home, but he felt for her when she mentioned their graves. He had no clue of what their relationship was like, but not having them around was tough either way. Bradley had always felt a piece of him missing when he knew both his biological and adoptive parents were dead. Still, he smiled when she mentioned the country was lovely and how her children enjoyed it. That was all that mattered. “Scarlet Oak hasn’t changed much, I can tell you that.” Oh, but it had in some respects. “I’m not sure how things fared in Finland, but it appears we have much more than demons roaming around here.” Maybe angels went to Finland, too, who knew. Or maybe they looked at it, looked back at each other and went, ‘Then again, let’s not go to Finland. It’s a silly place.’
Demons. Linnea’s mouth tried to tug into a frown and she felt her face trying to follow suit, but she fought it off. Thinking of demons meant acknowledging the fact that three of her children were demonic themselves all over again. And when she thought about it she could see it in those three. They had all been raised the same and yet... Kajsa and Valterri were still different from the other three, in ways that one could not exactly define but knew were there. Perhaps Linnea really had always known and not wanted to admit it to herself, to anyone. “The demons don’t concern me as much as they should,” Linnea said slowly. Because most of her worry was for her children and if they were safe from these things because of the blood in their veins then why worry? Oh there was still Kajsa and Valterri, but surely they would be able to keep themselves safe. Satu was the littlest, the one with the most reason to be concerned about, and she was safe from them. “Jokull was demonic, so are the children. They’re as safe as one can claim to be.” And what if - what if - this one is too. Her hand went to her stomach and she had to stop herself from shaking her head to clear the thought away. “But it is good to be back here, with you. My brothers send their greetings. For some reason they trust my judgement.” Kajsa had helped with that. Dagmar had not.
It seriously took every ounce of strength for Bradley not to blab out ‘Well that explains everything then.’ He was better than that, but it really did make sense knowing that Jokull was demonic. The Williamson family had ties with angels, so it wasn’t so far fetched. Though why some of her children were sweet kids, like Kajsa, and the others were literally hellspawns, like Dagmar, was beyond him. All he knew was that this new child - their child - would not have any demonic blood. He did smile upon hearing that her brothers trusted her judgement. Look at that, he won over the family and he hadn’t even met them yet. Though he was more concerned about Linnea at the moment and thus he moved his seat to be closer to her. Taking her free hand into his, he kissed the palm before holding it lovingly in his own. “I’ll make sure you stay safe. And loved. I promise that. And speaking of family approval, I finally told Eva about us. She’s really happy and excited.”
Linnea knew exactly why two of her children were better behaved than the other and had Bradley asked, she may have told him. Or she may have shrugged and left him to figure it out on his own. She was not proud of the fact that she had been the opposite of a faithful wife even if Jokull had been less than a proper husband. Though she was grateful for Kajsa and Valterri, she would never deny the truth of that. These thoughts scattered easily enough when Bradley took and kissed her hand. Such a sweet man. How had he not been taken by somebody else already? “I never doubted that you would love me as much as I could need,” Linnea assured Bradley, leaning over to kiss him lightly. “But as for safety, I do know a thing or two. I’m a master as well.” Her element would have died if she just allowed someone else to think that they could be her saving grace. Especially an elemental. “Oh and that’s very good, I wouldn’t want Eva to dislike me.” She had met the girl briefly and thought her sweet just based off that initial first impression. It must have been true as well for Bradley had never said anything bad about her. “We’ll have to have a family dinner sometime, let the children mingle. Dagmar and Eva are the same age, or close to it, I believe.” Perhaps they could be friends. Dagmar needed one after whatever it was that Bren had done.
Even if there was something bad to say, Bradley was never the type to flat out say it in blunt words. He was wiser than that. And the truth of the matter was that Eva really was a good girl. Definitely took after her father and that made him even more proud. “I think a family dinner would be excellent.” Now, he knew the idea of it sounded good, but putting the Niemi and Krasner families together under one roof? Who knew what would happen. “Though I must say, your family beats out mine with fairly large numbers.” He didn’t mind those odds that much, nor did he mind the idea of mingling with Linnea, but another thought did pop up into his mind. “Nineteen, right? Eva was actually telling me the other day that she had bumped into Dagmar.” He paused, trying to find the proper words to describe the meeting, then just threw all logic out the window. “No one died, so I gather it went well.”
It was true, Linnea still had a larger family than most, but there was a reason for that. She wanted to have her children. They had brought her the peace that she knew after she had come back from Australia, given her something to focus on. “Yes, well, Leif wouldn’t come to any dinner so we only outnumber you by three instead of four.” And it hardly mattered to her. It was not as though she was attempting to out-do Bradley. Wait, Dagmar and Eva had already met? Linnea felt her heart skip a beat before she heard that last part added in. It was not that Dagmar was the sort to go out and draw blood against people she did not like, but nor was she the sort to be sweet to... well, anyone. “As long as no one died... Dagmar means well.” Linnea bit her lip and looked away. “For me. I’m sorry she doesn’t seem to like you. They’re just very protective.” Every single one of them, again excepting Leif. “It’s not easy for them with how Jokull died, then this so soon after. Had I been putting them first...” As some would say she should have. A sigh and she moved her chair so that she could lay her head on Bradley’s shoulder. “They’ll adjust.”
“No need to apologize.” Bradley reached out to rest his hand against her shoulder, giving it a reassuring rub before he continued. “Not everyone is going to like each other in the world. At least she’s doing it to be protective and not to spite you.” Or maybe she was, who knew. Bradley could understand the protective part more, being an earth elemental and all. He was as protective as they came. “And... I suppose it’s partially my fault, having not waited and all.” A hint of blush emerged onto his cheeks, causing him to look away for a moment. He had known Linnea for all these years and still she had a way of making him coy. “Not exactly the easiest thing to do when you’ve been dreaming of the same girl for ten years.” And now he had her, which made him smile. That was worth putting up with the kids or whatever else was thrown in their direction. He’d stay by her side like a firm, stubborn rock.
No, not everyone would like everyone, that was true, but Linnea wished that at least this could go right. She felt like it was the right way for things to go now that she had complete charge of her life. Linnea liked to think that Bradley had the right of it and that Dagmar was just being protective, but she could not help but think that part of it was also that her daughter was not at all ready to give her up now that she could have her to herself. Or rather, to herself and her siblings. “That’s not all your fault,” Linnea said with a smile, reaching her hand up to cup his cheek and direct his gaze back to her. “I do know the word ‘no’, I just didn’t say it.” Had not wanted to either. Linnea may not have wanted Bradley for as long as he had her, but there had always been that connection and the friendship that she had treasured. That and she had always wondered and in recent years she had wished that he would have been more like other men that she knew, less restrained, so that she could have seen what happened... but now she knew. And she was so glad of it. “Do you mind if I stay with you tonight?”
Ok, he had to laugh a little bit at that. Neither of them had their thinking caps on when it all happen. Everything was spontaneous, rather out of character for Bradley, he knew that, but he had been waiting for her forever. He simply couldn’t wait any longer. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t then.” He reached over to hold her free hand, running a thumb over the back of it while smiling sweetly to Linnea. “And you know you don’t need to ask. I never mind. You’re always welcomed here.” Then he took that hand of hers and kissed it. Dinner with her had Bradley on cloudnine alone, but the whole night with her? If there was a heaven, then this was it right here. Good food, a lovely view, and even lovelier company. He simply couldn’t ask for more.