Elijah (allintheblood) wrote in worldsapart_ic, @ 2019-02-10 21:57:00 |
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Entry tags: | dawson nolan, elijah ridley-jones |
Who: Elijah Ridley-Jones & Dawson Nolan
What: Suprise!reunion
When: 10th Feb
Where: The White Rabbit
Rating: Low
Warnings: n/a
To say Dawson was relieved that The White Rabbit was still standing was an understatement. Moving back here had been a decision that they'd both made because being where their mom had lived had been hard for Dawson but harder for Drew; he'd grown up in this area so it was filled with memories both good and bad but tainted overall by the final fall out that he'd had with his mom. She'd been in a coma by the time they'd arrived - having to take a break en-route because of the untimely arrival of the full moon - which meant that he never got to say goodbye to her properly. That was probably a good thing, but it hurt no less.
He scratched his hand through his hair and pushed the door to the shop open, immediately hit with the familiar, reassuring (but no less overpowering) smell of the shop itself and, underneath it all, the distinct scent he associated with Elijah.
Unzipping his jacket, he reached up to catch the crystal in his hand and squeezed it once, the warmth reassuring in its own, unique way. Turning his head when he caught another scent he didn't recognise, female, he wondered if maybe Elijah wasn't here. Especially when he saw a head appear from behind the counter that belonged to someone he definitely didn't recognise. She beamed at him and spoke rapidly, but he couldn't quite follow what she was saying as she was moving about and he just sort of blinked at her.
Kitty, when she received no response, just held up a finger and moved into the back where Elijah was fussing with some of his stock.
"I really need to go on lunch because if I don't eat soon I'm gonna die," she told him. "There's a guy in the shop, he doesn't look like he's gonna cause trouble but he didn't answer me when I asked him if he needed any help, so... just thought I'd let you know. I'll be back in forty minutes, hoping to meet Jesse at Jack's."
She kissed Elijah on the cheek and headed out, moving past the customer who watched her go, a little bewildered by what had happened. He stood there for a minute longer, wondering if he was wasting his time. Maybe Elijah wasn't here. Maybe he was on a day off, or maybe he was upstairs at home?
Ugh. He raked his fingers through his hair again and cleared his throat, resolving to wait for another thirty seconds, and if Elijah didn't somehow magically poof into existance he'd leave. And maybe try again another day. Or something.
Elijah was indeed fussing with stock because he was certain he must have some sort of ghost who enjoyed fucking with him in the White Rabbit because he was like 10000% certain that some of the stuff had moved or maybe he'd just been that tired that he didn't recall putting it there. When Kitty appeared and declared there was some guy who was apparently mute in the shop Elijah's face was a picture of "oh dear god kill me now" because he had not had enough coffee to deal with a troublesome customer.
Still, a customer was a customer, and if not for them he wouldn't be able to pay his bills.
Elijah took a deep breath and steeled himself for the awkward exchange about to happen before he came out of the stock room fully prepared to be his normal dazzling and charming self. Of course that went right out of the window when he came face to face with one Dawson Nolan. "You have got to be fucking kidding me. Dawson!?"
Dawson's eyebrow quirked upwards which was the only outward sign of the relief that surged through him as Elijah appeared, the scent of the witch as familiar as a heavy blanket. He saw his mouth moving but had been so distracted by seeing Elijah again that he hadn't really caught all the words.
"I still can't hear you, Elijah" he said with his lips curled up into a playful smile, the words laced with the fondness and relief that Dawson felt. Though he hadn't aged a day, he noticed that Elijah had a little, but he still looked as handsome and fabulous as ever. He lifted a hand and wiggled his fingers in a hello. "But yeah, me, in the flesh, as it were."
Elijah snorted quietly when Dawson admitted that his time away hadn't magically fixed his birth defect because well obviously. The witch made short work of the space separating him from his old friend the werewolf and flung his arms around him in a hug that was nothing short of crushing.
Of course he realised he couldn't talk to Dawson like this and admittedly his ASL was a little rusty. Read: a lot rusty. That meant he needed to rely on his lips. "It is very good to see you," he answered with a smile. "It's been way too long."
Dawson watched Elijah as he talked and lifted a shoulder in a yeah, I know sort of shrug. He'd hugged back tightly - though not so tight as to crush Elijah because whilst Drew appreciated the odd hug that cracked the bones in his back, Elijah was a different sort altogether. He appreciated how slowly Elijah had spoken so he could follow and he ignored the reassuring way that his chest settled and relaxed when it became clear that he'd been missed and that he hadn't been forgotten about.
"You can say that again," he replied, expression a little sad. "I'm sorry I didn't stay in touch. Stuff just... it was- have you ever tried to sort out someone's estate? It's messy. Let alone trying to do two."
Elijah did a double take as Dawson admitted that trying to sort out somebody's estate or rather two was a messy situation. "Wait, what?" He asked, eyebrows lifted.
"Drew got a call saying that mom had been in an accident. By the time we got there she was in coma and, y'know.." he waved a hand demonstratively. "So we had to sort that out, then it turned out that after our dad had died she'd just never bothered to sort out his stuff either, so we spent almost three years fighting with probate to get things sorted."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "But it's all done now and Drew really didn't wanna stay in the place he grew up, too many memories, so we bought a house and came back."
Oh boy that did sound really messy and now the sudden departure of the Nolan twins from Los Angeles made a whole lot more sense than it had at the time. Elijah made a mental note to give Waverley a heads up because well Drew was back and girl would need time to prepare. "God, that's awful. Must have been really rough for you and for Drew."
Elijah squeezed Dawson's shoulder and offered him a small smile. "But you're back now and I am personally very happy to see you and I will do everything I can to make your return a happy one."
Dawson snorted. "You've done a good job of that already by a, still being here and b, being pleased to see me."
He squeezed Elijah's wrist and then glanced at his watch. "And yeah, I guess it was. I mean, first dad and then mom. At least I didn't get to talk to her before she died. That would have sucked if she'd still been all..." He waved his hand demonstratively. "Also, did you stop practising ASL? I notice you're not using it." He didn't look put out, if anything he looked amused. "You're gonna have to start practising again."
"Uh, yeah," Elijah admitted with a sheepish expression as he rubbed at the back of his neck before he smirked. "And yeah apparently I will." He was going to add that to the list of night classes along with cookery.
He tipped his head and smirked. "You look good though all things considered."
Dawson snorted, nudging Elijah's chin with his hand and then shrugging his shoulders and ducking his head a little, bashful. "Nah, it's that whole werewolf thing."
Elijah chuckled and shook his head with a fond affectionate smile. "Well, yeah, the whole werewolf thing and damn good genetics." He grinned a moment later before gesturing over his shoulder. "Do you want a drink or anything?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Dawson replied with a grin as he nodded his head. "Besides, genetics wise Drew still has me beat."
Elijah moved over to the door and flipped the sign from 'open' to 'closed' and then wiggled his fingers for Dawson to follow him into the back and up the stairs that led up to his personal apartment. "What do you fancy, drink wise?"
"Since the drink is like, just a pretext to spending more time with you I'm not really that fussed? Still not a coffee drinker, to my eternal shame."
He followed Elijah upstairs to his apartment and as he followed him through the door, it was just one more thing that felt like he was coming home.
"For shame, for shame," Elijah teased with a wink before he headed over to his kitchen to rummage out a couple drinks. A wine for himself and a beer for Dawson. The beer was handed over while the wine was poured into a nearby glass.
It really was good to see Dawson