Elijah (allintheblood) wrote in worldsapart_ic, @ 2019-03-23 19:04:00 |
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Elijah needed coffee like he needed the air in his lungs to breathe especially as he'd spent the evening at his dad's house and his dad was by all intents and purposes an insomniac which of course meant if he didn't sleep then neither did Elijah. This meant that he'd stopped off at the Jam Jar on the way over to harass Waverley to grab himself a coffee and also cake, well, pastries, but still, lots for him and for her because he couldn't get fat all on his own.
Nope. Joint fatness. That was how it was going to be.
With drinks and pastries in hand he swanned over to Waverley's apartment and rapped his knuckles against the door.
Waverley had been keeping herself purposefully busy after she'd run into Drew at Midnight, purposefully busy after she'd impulsively invited him to come swimming with her and purposefully not thinking about how incredible he looked when he'd gotten out of the pool with water running down his chest, shorts clinging to every part of his lower body. Unf. Definitely not. She'd tapped up a couple of her casual hook-ups to try and scratch the itch that had stirred in her but it hadn't worked, so she was feeling a little... more stressed than normal.
When there was a knock at the door, she lifted her head, scowled at it and then got to her feet, gracefully crossing the distance between the couch and the door before pulling it open. Immediately, she was greeted with the smell from downstairs mixed with the smell from the items in Elijah's hand.
"Mm," she waved a hand, "C'mon in. However did you manage to carry all that stuff up those stairs?" she teased, ducking under the sink to get plates. She hated cleaning more than almost anything else in the world, so if she could avoid getting crumbs on the floor she absolutely would. "You look exhausted. Your dad again?"
"I'm just that good," Eljiah drawled before he swanned into Waverley's apartment and in the direction of the couch where he rested the drinks and the pastries down on the nearby table. "And yep, man doesn't know what sleep is. At all."
He stopped for a moment, narrowed his eyes, and waved a hand in Waverley's direction.
"Are you okay?"
"Neither do you," she pointed out, small plates being placed on the counter as she straightened up and swept her hair back from her face with one smooth move. When he waved a hand at her, she felt her eyebrow lifting. "Me? Yeah- yeah I'm fine. What happened with the old man?"
Elijah leaned down to tug off his boots to reveal some very colourful socks before he got comfortable on the couch and clutched the coffee to him like it was his first born. "Got a call at about eight or nine, he'd been going through some of the things in the garage and came across a couple of mom's things so of course that sent him down a rabbit hole of... well, y'know, so I headed on over and then he just wouldn't sleep so I stayed up with him. We watched some of the worst television I have ever seen in my entire life."
"Tends to be standard insomniac fare," Waverley said, following Elijah to the couch and putting the plates down on the coffee table. She tucked a leg underneath herself and turned to look at him, gaze worried. "Are you okay? Can't have been easy, finding some of your mom's stuff."
Elijah leaned forward to rummage in the bag to put the pastures into the plates Waverley had brought over. “Yeah, it was just some of her journals and her book of shadows.” The same book he had tucked away at the White Rabbit. “I didn’t read the journals because even though she’s gone I still feel like I was invading her privacy.”
"It might not hurt," Waverley said, softly, settling properly and pulling a pillow from behind her back to hug it against her chest. "Y'know, to read them. Get to know your mom a little better? You don't remember much of her, right? Since you were so little when she died?"
He'd been ten years of age when his mother had died in that accident that his father never ever spoke of and never let his children ask questions about. "Yeah, I was ten so she's kinda fuzzy around the edges. I mean I remember some things, like the smell of her perfume, but... her voice? And who she was? That's all really blurry these days."
“Maybe her diary’ll help you remember her?” Waverley suggested, leaning forward and resting her fingers on Elijah’s knee. “I’m sorry, it must have been hard, going through her stuff again.”
"I think it was harder for my dad," Elijah murmured as he reached out to cover Waverley's hand with his own. "He never really talked about what happened and hasn't said a word about her since we lost her so... he was definitely struggling."
He pushed a breath out and threaded his free hand into his dark hair. "But contrary to what you think I didn't come here to bemoan my less than fun evening spent at my dad's but to check in with you and find out if you'd crossed paths with the midwestern soulmate yet."
“You can bemoan your less than fun evening,” Waverley said, though she did clear her throat and retreat, hugging her pillow when he mentioned Drew.
She wet her lower lip. “He came by Midnight.”
Elijah immediately sat up straighter when Waverley revealed that Drew had come by Midnight. "You're fucking kidding me? For real? Like as a customer?"
“No, he was, uh- he was there as a photographer, doing a promotional thing. He- he didn’t - I hadn’t even told him I was a mermaid you know.”
"Oh wow." Elijah's eyes widened the same way they did when he was watching a particularly reality television show. "How did that reveal go over?"
He literally wanted to know everything.
Waverley chewed on her lower lip and twirled a lock of hair between her fingers. “I mean, he- I- he didn’t really say anything? He didn’t freak out or anything. One of the succubi was trying to seduce him. Which is hardly a surprise. I mean, fuck he still looks so good.”
Elijah’s eyebrow arched. “Yeah? I mean, how good is so good?” Gossip was like chocolate to Elijah, completely and utterly delicious but without all those pesky calories.
“And not freaking out is good.”
“I could have cried, that’s how good.” Waverley told him, though this was hardly proper gossip she still felt a little weird. It was Drew, after all. “The last few years have been kind to him.”
“His brother too,” Elijah agreed. “But was it as bad as you thought it would be or was it better?” He knew that Waverley had been up in her head about Drew’s return.
“Seeing him?” Waverley asked, “A bit of both? I mean, he wasn’t avoiding me so I was glad to get that cleared up but-“ she trailed off, trying to work out how best to phrase what she was trying to say. “If I hadn’t interrupted, Rosalie probably would have successfully managed to convince him to go home with her. Not sure how I feel about that, considering.”
Elijah took a sip of his coffee and snacked on a bit of pastry. “Was she using her succubus wiles on him? Because if so then technically it wouldn’t have been all him.” Sad but true. And Elijah should know.
“She is also gorgeous,” Waverley pointed out, “so she doesn’t always have to lead her partners into bed.” She shook her head, “Anyway, he didn’t spend more time with her after I appeared for my photographic debut. Then he came down to the pool afterwards.”
She leaned forward and grabbed a pastry, pulling it back towards herself. “That was the worst decision I’d ever made in my life.”
“Pffft,” Elijah uttered with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Bet she isn’t anywhere near as gorgeous as you are.” Of course when she mentioned the pool his eyebrows lifted and he wiggled his fingers in her direction.
“Tell me everything.”
“She’s a succubus,” Waverley pointed out, completely deadpan. “Literally the most gorgeous creatures to walk the earth.”
She rolled her eyes. “He came with beer, and trunks, and came for a swim with me.” She lifted her shoulder. “We talked a little about his mom and why he left and then he snorkels with the fish.”
Elijah at this point just stared at Waverley distinctly unimpressed with her reply. “Oh, c’mon, Waverley. You know what I was looking for.”
“You wanna know if he’s as hot in the body as he is in the face?”
“Is the pope catholic?” Elijah countered with a lift of his eyebrow.
Waverley snorted. “Yes, okay? Fuck, yes. He- it’s not fair.”
Elijah let out a satisfied breath as it was nice to be relieved of his curiosity. Too frequently his curiosities were not sated.
“Really not fair but at least he didn’t disappoint?”
“Oh there was definitely no disappointment. Only in that he left, and he and I still aren’t... well, you know. It left me feeling kind of wound up, to be honest.”
“Ugh.” Elijah could more than sympathise with that feeling. He was all too painfully aware of how it felt to be wound up with nothing but your own hand for relief. “Have you managed to work it out of your system?”
“No. I mean, I’ve called some of my casual...Uh, stress relievers and it helped a bit but it’s not enough.” She sighed heavily, “I just- I saw him and suddenly it was 2014 again.”
Wow, that was bad because normally Waverley hit them up and she was fine, sorted even. "That's rough." He shifted to reach out to catch her hand, lifting it to his mouth to press a kiss to the back of her hand. "You need anything, beautiful?"
Waverley smiled a little as Elijah kissed her hand and she leaned forward, cupping his cheek. "Other than for you to maybe make me a tonic that'll stop me pining after someone who isn't interested?"
She brushed her thumb over his cheek and then leaned back, touch slowly drawing away. "I'm okay, I'll get over it, I did before. Clearly I just need to tap up some... other resources."
Elijah hissed quietly. "Oh, honey, if I could I really would." Though he didn't really think it was a case of her pining after somebody who didn't have the feels in return but rather a man who didn't do casual as he got the distinct impression Drew was definitely a relationship kind of guy.
"Other resources?" He arched an eyebrow.
"I'm sure you could," Waverley said, "it's immoral but I'm sure you could do it. You'd actually make a fortune; a potion to remove unrequited feelings." It didn't strike her, then, that it was the first time she'd admitted that her attraction to Drew was a little more than purely physical. "You'd be able to buy an island, so many people would want a piece of it."
She waved her hand, "Other resources, other, y'know, people."
"I was kinda hoping you'd elaborate on who," Elijah pointed out with a smirk. "But at least it wasn't awkward and you know now that he wasn't avoiding you as you thought he was."
He wondered for a moment if he should meddle or leave well enough alone but then again meddling was his thing. "You ever stopped to think that maybe the only reason nothing has happened between you and Drew is because he's a relationship guy and you for the most part have not?"
Waverley chuckled. "You don't know them," she offered, "since I never did get round to introducing you to my long list of supernaturals that I occasionally hit up for a good time." She winked, "Though I've been good and stayed away from incubi. Is it weird that it would feel kind of like a betrayal?"
She rubbed her hand across her face when Elijah spoke again, blue eyes narrowing a little. "Yeah, it did cross my mind. But I- I would, you know? I'd try. I had sort of managed to do it with Leandro, though that was different." She shrugged again and sank back into the couch, pillow tight against her chest. "I mean, I also need to just remind myself that not everyone would- y'know, wanna be with me like that."
After all, she was pretty sure Drew hadn't even checked her out when she was at Midnight. And she was generally pretty good at knowing when people were attracted to her.
Eijah tipped his head to give Waverley a soft smile when she made that comment about incubi. "It does but I love you for it."
He snorted quietly. "Sweetheart if somebody didn't want to be with you that way I'd worry about their sanity I really would." Waverley normally did have a sixth sense but when it came to Drew Elijah was certain that man broke her internal compass and made it act as if it was stuck in some sort of magnetic shitstorm.
Waverley rolled her eyes. "I thought about it a lot, you know, just... leaving to go travelling with Leandro. But I like my life here." And though she'd stopped hoping quite so strongly after the first two years, she hadn't wanted to leave just in case Drew came back. And now he was back, she had no idea how to actually process that.
Or how she felt.
She shrugged. "I just gotta admit that maybe I'm not his type?" Or even if she was, maybe he didn't want to take a chance on an actual... thing with her because of the reputation he knew that she had? "Besides, it's not exactly an easy conversation to start. And I've got no desire to come across as crazy."
“You’re everybody’s type,” Elijah pointed out. “I mean I’m not even just talking physically because that is smoking but you’re also sweet, friendly, compassionate and know how to have fun. It’s infectious.”
If he was straight he would have snapped her up in an instant. Alas.
“You could just ask him out you know, see if he wants to get dinner or something.”
Waverley looked at Elijah like he'd grown a second head. "Like, ask him out on a date?" She opened her mouth, then closed it a second later. The idea had, in all honesty, never occurred to her. She shifted on the couch and sighed heavily, tightening her arms around the pillow. "I mean- I guess it couldn't hurt? But what if he doesn't realise it's a date? What if he doesn't want to?"
It astounded Elijah that the thought hadn't even crossed Waverley's mind. She was normally so confident with guys but Drew? Well he seemed to do something to her. It was kind of adorable but he very wisely kept that thought to himself.
"Just do it, Waverley. Trust me you won't regret it."
"If this all goes wrong and it crashes and burns..." Waverley warned, not even needing to go through with her threat before she just wiggled her toes underneath Elijah's thigh and flicked the television on. "But for now, talk to me about your weekend and your dad and we'll get drunk on wine."
Because friends helped friends cope poorly with emotional things.