Rachel Sully (rachelsully) wrote in spinningcompass, @ 2013-10-27 16:34:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, ~rachel sully |
Who: Richie and Rachel
Where: out and about
What: Richie's return
When: Sunday morning
Rating: low
Open: no
Status: complete
Rachel was feeling a little lonely. That had been the case a lot lately. With Richie gone it felt like the entire island was clouded over. Yes, she and Tim were very close friends but lately it seemed like she couldn’t quite talk to him the way she used to. Her decision to get over him had seemed to put a strain on their relationship. She didn’t want to talk to her mom about it because Izzy was still freaking out about her existence. She knew that she could talk to Juliet, but it wasn’t the same as when she used to talk to Richie. She wandered the streets, not really paying attention to where she was going. She wondered if she found Isabel’s lamp could she wish Richie back? But did she really want to be that selfish? Maybe he was happy where he was. He and his dragon. Rachel just shook her head and kept walking, hoping to feel a little less lonely by the time she returned to her empty apartment. Richie stumbled toward the door of the deserted shop, one he knew was supposed to be opened as a hardware store at some point, and the fact it wasn’t making him wonder just when it was, given he’d already figured out where he was. Back on the Island again. But at least this time he knew his work was done back in Alagaesia, and the Dragon Riders were again in control of the lands, and the Darkness banished. The final battle had been harder than he’d ever imagined, and nearly losing Saphira had been a shockingly close call. He scratched his head as he wondered if she was back here with him. You there? His face screwed up a little when he received no response, then remembered that last time it had been a few days before she had arrived. Maybe… Of course. Have we… returned again? Looks like it. I see. I’m in the City, in a store, an old one that hasn’t been reopened yet. That does not limit the search area by much. Yeah, yeah, I know, just give me a minute, I’m heading outside now… ouch! What have you done? Nothing, just barked my shin on a chair. Do be careful. No, I’m looking for trouble, because we haven’t had enough in the last few years! Sarcasm is it now? Gimme a break, my leg hurts. As you wish. Pushing his way through a couple of large piles of books that were blocking the door Richie finally managed to yank the doors of the old store open, and stumble across the step he hadn’t seen, out into the bright daylight, his arm flying up to cover his eyes as he tried to blink to adjust them. “Damn, living in a cave for the last two weeks!” Rachel stopped as soon as she saw him. He looked like a stranger and yet totally familiar. Either way, he was a new arrival on the island. She sighed and crossed the street, making her way over. “Hey. You look like you could use some help.” Richie recognised the voice, his arm slowly lowering and a smile broke out on his face. “Don’t mind if you do!” he grinned, studying her for a long moment, realising she had hardly changed from when he’d last seen her some five years earlier. Before he had returned to Alagaesia, this time through a fully operational portal! “Long time no see!” he added, giving her a wink before pulling her into a hug, before she had a chance to say anything. She was shocked by the hug at first, but then relaxed a bit. Obviously this was someone that knew her. She just wrapped her arms around him. “It’s….good to see you too.” She wasn’t completely sure who it was, but then….there was something very familiar about him. She took a deep breath through her nose, then her whole body tensed for just a second. She moved her nose right next to his neck and took another deep breath. There was no mistaking it. She’d spent too many nights cuddled up with him in her life to ever forget that smell. She moved back a little and put her hands on his cheeks, staring him in the eye. In those beautiful, blue eyes. “Richie?” “Who else looks like … oh wait, yeah, it’s been what, five years?” he laughed, then added, “please tell me I don’t have a half dozen doppelgangers wandering around with my face on!” he added, before scooping Rachel up in his arms and spinning her around, then putting her down again. “Did you miss me, gorgeous?” “I...Richie.” He hugged him tight, sighing. “God I missed you. I mean, it’s only been a few weeks but…” She rested her head on his shoulder and just held onto him. “I’ve been kind of freaking out without you around.” She sighed, then looked up into his eyes, running her fingers through his hair. “Damn, you really did grow up, didn’t you?” She chuckled. “Five years so…..you’re twenty five now?” She still had one arm around him, afraid if she let go he’d vanish again. “Yeah, I tried to keep a count this time, after last time, especially as Dad said that we needed to keep some idea of it for the portal calculations, to confirm that what we came up with was going to withstand the test of time… so to speak!” He laughed. “It was so good going back and being able to fix everything!” Rachel nodded, hugging him tight again. “I’m glad everything was fixed.” She buried her face against his chest, not wanting to let him see her face. Wanting to hide what she was feeling. She really was glad that he could fix things but she was more glad that he was back. “Hey, what’s going on?” he laughed, tucking a finger under her chin and lifting so he could see her face. “No hiding down there, I want to see your beautiful face!” When he finally could, he smiled, drinking in the sight of her and leaning in slowly to press a slow soft kiss to her lips. She kissed back for just a second before moving back. “Richie….what….what was that?” She just looked at him, trying to hide the blush creeping up her cheeks. Richie blinked, looking a little confused. “Uh, a kiss? Or at least that’s what I thought it was. Was it that different?” he asked, not sure why she’d pulled away. “I know it was a kiss but...I mean….why?” She ran her fingers through her hair as she looked at him, biting her lip. It had been nice, but they were just friends. “You haven’t ever kissed me like that before.” Now Richie was confused, his fingers running through his hair and down to scrub at his neck as he looked at her, then around where they were standing. “Uh, I haven’t?” he said, the confusion clear in his voice. “Rach, it was the last thing I remember about leaving here, when I went through the portal,” he told her, eyes darting from her face to their surroundings, his mind trying to remember anything about the Island from back when he’d been there before, with the other kids from the future, and had worked with his father and grandfather to rebuild the portal, this time so it worked properly. “You kissed me and said there would another one waiting for me when I came back.” “Oh.” She looked down, then looked back at him. “Richie….you just disappeared. This isn’t the timeline you left. This is….we’re just friends.” She sighed. “Were we more than that….before?” Richie’s jaw dropped and then snapped up again when he heard what she said. “Oh hell, I’m so sorry!” he said, taking a small step back, his hands still on her arms, but now a space between them. He cleared his throat, finally bringing himself to look at her. “Uh, yeah, we were.. well, really good friends!” he admitted, a wry smile twisting a corner of his mouth up as he shook his head. He let his hands drop to his sides, not even sure he should hold her, not wanting to cause her any embarrassment. Not beyond what he’d already done. “I’m sorry, you look just like you did back then,” he continued, “so I thought for once the Island had done a crazy right thing and brought me back to where we’d left off.” He shrugged lightly. “Guess I shoulda known better, huh?” Rachel looked at him and then hugged him again, holding him close. “I’m glad you’re back. I really missed you.” She sighed. “I’m sorry I’m not that Rachel.” She did mean it a little bit. At least that Rachel seemed to be over Timmy. “But….I couldn’t do that to Sarah. She’d never forgive me.” Richie looked a little confused, not sure why Sarah would care what he and Rachel did, but cleared it when he looked down at Rachel’s head against his chest. He felt a real pang of sadness, and again realised the Island had indeed screwed with him. “Yeah, I’m sorry too,” he murmured, holding her close and letting himself enjoy it for whatever it might be. “Now I’ve gotta wonder what else is different,” he continued, his cheek resting on her head. She just stood there on the sidewalk, holding him and being held. Being happy that she had her best friend back. “Guess we’ve got time to figure that out, huh?” She smiled a little, then sighed. “I don’t want to let go.” She’d always felt safe when she and Richie snuggled together. Especially the times that Tony and AJ would babysit her and Sarah and Rachel would have a nightmare. Rather than going to the grown ups, she always went and climbed into bed with Richie. I can tell you of one difference already, it appears Seze’s hunter, Neytiri, has been changed to human form. Seriously? No, I thought I’d just make it up. Richie couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry, Saphira was just telling me of a difference, that Neytiri has been flipped to our body, and Seze is a little confused. Oh, and that’s something, is Jake walking yet?” he asked. “Not quite yet but he’s a lot closer than he was, thanks to you.” She smiled. “Thank you for helping him. It means a lot.” She finally looked up at him. You’re going to need a bed, aren’t you? I’m in that apartment all by myself and have an extra room. If you’d like….” She bit her lip. He looked at her, noticing the worrying of her lip and looked puzzled. “Do you want me to?” he asked, not sure quite how he would go, knowing she was in the other room. Rachel looked into his eyes and nodded. “Yeah, I do. I don’t want to live alone anymore and I don’t think there’s anybody else on the island I could stand to live with. You can stay on the other end of the apartment if you would prefer. That way there’s a whole living room between us.” She smiled. “Or, you know, you could be right across the hall.” She chuckled a little. “Whichever you prefer.” “Uh, lemme see which one has the best mattress, hey?” he joked, having just spent the last five years sleeping on just about anything that was horizontal when the time had come for him to fall asleep. Rachel chuckled and hugged him again. “You can have any room you want. Except for mine.” She grinned, then took his hand. “Come on, let’s get you settled and you can relax a bit and then we’ll let everybody know you’re back.” “Yeah, I’ve gotta go and see Dad and Howard,” he said, reaching inside his leather jacket and pulling out a well worn, dog-eared and stained journal, holding it tightly in his hand. “This has everything we need!” “But you need to relax and get cleaned up, first.” She started walking toward the apartments. “Then you can go get to work.” She smiled, still holding his hand and trying to pull him along. “And, while you’re in the shower, would it be okay if I look through the journal?” She was definitely curious. “Yeah, just don’t let it fall apart, it’s a bit the worse for wear,” he grinned, tucking the book back into his jacket. “Seen a few battles, and saved a few lives,” he murmured, giving her hand a light squeeze as they started walking toward the familiar facade of the apartments. “I promise, I’ll be very careful.” She grinned at him over her shoulder quickly before turning back to watch where she was walking. |