11calls | (no subject)

Nic knows this is goodbye.

Not just goodbye, but a finalized goodbye. The kind of goodbye that means he'll never see her again.

That she's going to leave but does she have any other choice? Her career is basically over and Strand...

Strand doesn't look too bad. For the host to a God he's still standing, blinking blearily. Someone gouged the sprays of scales off his cheeks and chin however. They left deep grooves in his cheeks and across his hands. He had kept his humanity at the expense of his vanity and Alex...

Alex.

"...Before you crazy kids get out of here can one of you drop me someplace? Doesn't have to be far."

"I can."

The voice is dry and hoarse and belongs to Simon, staggering out of the darkness to wipe a hand through his hair and look at the three of them before focusing on Strand. He could apologize. He wants to but he...

Well.

"Wheels within wheels."

Simon and Nic move to embrace Alex at the same time with Richard looking on. Eyes full of exhaustion and pain.

"Next time you're in Seattle look me up okay?" Nic pulls back, "Or give me an address to send your uh-your checks to..."

Yeah.

He's exhausted.

As for Simon, he studies Alex thoughtfully, before bowing, "...This isn't the last we'll see each other."

Alex just frowns at Nic for a moment, because he's acting like this is goodbye. Alex refuses to believe that it is actually goodbye: what this is instead is 'I'll see you soon. Eventually. When things settle down.' But she knows Nic, and she knows that he thinks that it is and she doesn't want to face down the possibility that the last time she's going to see the person who has been her best friend for over a decade is over being covered in blood and having saved the world isn't right. It's not fair. They saved the world, they shouldn't need to say goodbye.

But she's relieved beyond measure to see that Simon is here and okay. Mostly. Probably. Alex knows that he wouldn't tell her even if he wasn't okay. "I--" she pauses for a moment, and then she just hugs both of them and Alex just shakes her head quickly. "Of course it's not going to be the last time we see one another. Either of you. Guys, we just saved the world. I'll see you eventually when things cool down and it's safe to do so." Even if what she'd been told about other power hungry things being true, that doesn't mean that it's their responsibility for them.

Stopping the world and losing being gods is enough for the universe to ask them.

Even if Alex doesn't think that the universe will think so.

"Are you sure you're okay? That you have enough power to do this, Simon? I mean, I thought..." Alex thought that with Tiamat gone, the cult wouldn't have any, and if it does that means that they need to be way more careful about Thomas Warren than they thought.

Again.

With a little sigh, Alex just reaches out for Richard's hand, because she knows that she needs it, and she knows that he probably needs it too.

It's Simon that smiles at Alex, "Listen. Whatever was in my head? Is gone. And it left it's baggage so to speak. Like when a roommate moves out and leaves a bunch of stuff? Speaking of which."

Simon reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pair of glasses - handing them to Richard.

Richard Strand is coming back into his body and everything aches. When Simon - and he knows it's Simon. He can sense it's Simon. Simon hands him something slim and familiar and Richard puts on a pair of glasses with a little grateful sob.

It's so stupid. It's so ridiculously stupid but he wipes away a tear and then gets the first good look at his hands. Carved grooves in his flesh where the scales she forced on him were.

HE can't focus on that though because Alex's hand is in his other hand and he squeezes it before trying to struggle to his feet.

"Simon."

His voice is raw and hoarse, "I...I don't know what to say."

Simon grins, Just ring me. How does it feel to have your mind finally open?

Richard doesn't acknowledge that beyond gripping Alex's hand harder and pulling himself to his feet. Then he laughs.

"Thanks for these."

Alex would have asked Simon how he knew to bring them, but she also knows that because he's Simon, he's not going to say. But she's just relieved that he has them now and Alex peers into his eyes. They're his and they're normal and it's one small thing that she could have done for him. She just wishes that she could have done the rest in order to make sure that he didn't need to hide from the world so badly. But he had missed his eyes and his glasses and thanks to both herself and Simon he had them both.

Alex just thinks to Simon, still working this new muscle of her brain that she guesses must be hers because it didn't go away with everything else.

Thank you, Simon. He missed them.

Then now that Richard is on his feet and standing, Alex just wraps her arms tightly around him, holding onto him for dear life. It feels good to do it when it doesn't feel like the bottom is going to drop out of her world. Maybe it already has, but Alex has just popped a new one into it. They saved the world, she saved the world and maybe, just maybe now she'll finally be able to get some sleep.

Even though Alex has this new ability, she doesn't use it. Her voice, and his own are important to her, and Alex just needs to say it even if there isn't a recorder or something around to catch it. "I love you Richard Strand."

Richard doesn't say it. He doesn't need to in his mind. Instead he pulls her forward and kisses her. It's a soft and gentle kiss, a warm and loving one. None of it matters.

None of it matters as long as he has her. Not his job or the institute. Not his looks, she and Charlie are alive and he survived and whatever destiny he had...it was over.

"...I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

She kisses him back holding onto him tightly, and when she pulls away with her cheeks red, she realizes that there's nothing to be concerned about: Nic and Simon are both gone, and it's just the two of them. Gone without another word. Well, that's very Simon isn't it. But right now, Alex is just going to hold tight onto the idea she'll see them again.

And the more important part of her life, the most important part: the part where Alex can say: "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Richard. Wherever and however you'd like. And thanks to Coralee, it seems like we won't need to worry about money or the show or anything ever again." Alex is going to assume that this is money that Coralee had siphoned off of Thomas Warren, and it seems like a fair trade for what that fucker put them through.

"We should stay out of Seattle for a while though, Nic's right about that." As she talks, Alex keeps her arms wrapped around his side and she walking him out through the labyrinthine corridors of the tunnels. It's weird how she knows the way and they don't get lost before the two of them are standing in front of some sort of fancy jeep with a man waiting for them. "Dr. Strand? Ms. Reagan? We're here to take you to the airport."

Something that he realizes - his ability to bilocate is damaged. Not damaged, just - there but he doesn't want to. He's been to the edge of reality and back. Still, looking at Alex he holds her tight against him. The sun burns against him.

"...Book two tickets to ireland." He studies Alex, "Green rolling hills? Fog and rain? That's...so much better than sun and sand and all this."

Is that...all right? I've spent so much time lately having people...do my...every whim.

Ireland sounds nice. And we don't need to book tickets. There's a plane waiting to take us to wherever we want to go. Our passports and stuff are there too. I don't know about you but I definitely didn't think to bring mine when I bilocated us here from Geneva.

When the two of them are in the car, Alex just lays her head against Richard's shoulder, cuddling against him in such a way that her feet are on the seat next to her. It feels good to hold him, just hold him with everything that's going on. She knows that there are going to be things that they need to talk about and unpack later, but for right now, all Alex wants is to hold him and be held herself.

"A nice cottage somewhere, I think. Quiet. Maybe they'll be sheep or something. Loads of tea for you. We'll get you some Irish knit sweaters and hmmm. Maybe a dog? Just stay in Ireland for a while until we get sick of the green rolling hills and the fog."

"We can name the dog apophenia."

He holds her, finding himself again. Taking stock. It will take time. He can sense that. His hands look raw and he doesn't relish seeing his face but looking at her is peaceful and sweet and he dozes, waking up when they park, leading Alex onto the plane.

He hopes she can sleep now. He hopes she can rest and sleep for hours at a time. She hasn't slept much since she met him and that tears him up inside. That's why he's punished the way he is. No matter another's actions his dogged pursuit of skepticism, manipulating others to it, is marked across his body but he is still human. Beaten, bruised and alive.

He hums the same tuneless song Coralee would hum with him against Alex's hair, peaceful and sore.

"...You know what I can't wait to do? Take a shower."

"I think some private planes have showers. I'm pretty sure give the bedroom back there it probably does have one if you want to take the first one, love. I don't think that it'll fit two." Especially one that fits Richard's height.

The crew member spoke softly. "There is a rather large shower you can use once we take off, Dr. Strand. And if you like, we can make sure that the stateroom is ready for you to sleep." Sleep sounds amazing to Alex, she feels like she's been awake forever at this point. "If you are hungry, there is fresh fruit and pastries, and we'll arrive in Dublin in about seven hours. A meal can be served whenever you require it."

Alex just blinks for a moment, she's not used to it, and then she looks down at the clothing that she's wearing that's not hers and mismatched and covered in blood. Following her look, the crew member adds: "you have luggage in the hold that we will retrieve for you, Ms. Reagan. And you Dr. Strand. Our orders were very thorough. You two will have whatever you need when you land at your destination. You have identification and credit cards associated with the account you've been given as well. It was..."

The crew member just looks very sad for a moment before they speak again. "It was Coralee's wish that you two have whatever you need to start a new life once the End of the world was avoided."

Alex doesn't know what to say to that, and instead just squeezes Richard's hand.

"You were wrong."

The TA has short blonde hair and her arms are crossed. She looks annoyed and angry.

"I'm sorry?"

"You were wrong. It was the 2nd century. Not the third."

His eyes go wide and he's snappish and by the end of the argument they're both on their feet and by the end of the day they're in bed ripping at each other like animals.

Tenderness. White dresses. Red Wheel Barrels. Red clawmarks.

Tears fill his eyes and he wraps an arm around Alex before he nods mutely and leads her onto the plane before squeezing her hand and nodding at the shower.

"...You-

I need a minute. Before I...I need a minute."

He sits without telling her why, staring at the clouds before his chest rises and falls.

Besides now we can talk like this. How does it feel? He's just - going to be here staring out the window.

Before she goes, Alex just leans over and presses a reassuring kiss to his temple. She knows that this is going to be hard for him--after all she was there the night that Coralee left him that time. Alex had stood in the wreckage and held his hand and they had talked, but not before she gave him a little bit of time to collect himself. She knows that she's doing it again right now and that's okay because he needs it. Besides, it's not like she's going to be anywhere but on the plane right now.

I'll be here when you're ready Alex just promises him silently as she moves onto her feet and to the stateroom with it's bed and luggage on top of it. When Alex opens the bag, there's comfortable pajamas for her on top and she just lets out a relieved sigh. Comfortable pajamas are just the thing, even if they aren't strictly speaking her own. They'll do and she knows without him saying so that Nic will pack up her stuff in Seattle and throw it into storage for eventually.

Alex makes a mental note to send him some money for that, and for upkeep on Howard's house as well.

She's not ready to believe they're not going back to Seattle at some point.

But her shower is quick for Alex, and she takes to heart not leaving the water on while she's soaping up or washing her hair. Wanting to make sure that there's enough water for his shower is second nature, and when she comes out, she's wearing the blue pajamas and she kisses him gently. "Your turn, my love."

Edited 2020-05-28 23:05 (UTC)

Rising slowly he leans against her like a crutch before staggering into the bathroom. One he's in the mirror, he stares.

There are scars. They crease his face along his jaw like he's been burned or had some kind of infection - long red thick lines but it could be worse. A lot worse. Pulling back his hair he stares at the circular burns covered by his hair. They go down his neck and chest dissolving into broader marks, burn marks, down his chest.

Tiamat.

He feels vain. Vain and sad and he shoves it aside because he's alive. The world is alive. Charlie is alive. Alex is alive and they are together and she saved him.

His fingers trail along his jaw before he sets it down. Guess that's it for symposiums and conferences. Maybe I'll write books.

He's thinking to himself but it hits him Alex can pick up on it. You and I can't sit still.

Alex is waiting, because she knows that Richard is a vain man, and she knows that the intense scarring on his face would have been a lot for anyone to handle, as well as the scarring on his chest. She takes a deep breath, and wishes that she could have spared him from that but she knows that she's lucky that she managed to talk Anu into letting Richard have his eyes back.

His eyes, she thinks, are more important than the scars are.

We wouldn't be us if we sat still. Alex just answers him honestly, and just like her normal voice, her mental voice has an audible smile in it as well. She loves him, and Alex knows that it's going to be okay. Eventually. They need time to heal.

But first a very long vacation. We've earned that, Richard.

It's been a very long three years, that was for sure. They need time to rest and reflect and to mourn for what was, and for what could have been and the people that they'd lost along the way.

I'm pretty sure I can just sleep for a week at this point.

Which when you're Alex Reagan, may be the equivalent of people wanting to sleep for a year.

Maybe I'll write too.

A week in bed sounds incredible.

He's adaptable. More adaptable than he was. Alex Reagan has that affect. She's a river that wears people down, a tree with strong roots that can break up soil. She's broken his bedrock and he feels ...renewed.

In a nice little cottage in a small town where no one knows who we are with a little general store and a garden. I've actually always wanted to learn how to garden.

Stepping out of the shower dressed in his pajamas the scarring is a lot more evident but shambling over to her he seems unbothered, sliding beside her to wrap his arms around her waist and hold her close to kiss her neck.

"...Don't tell anyone I'm so ridiculously sentimental Ms. Reagan."

"Never, Dr. Strand." Alex just hums the words, and she means them. It's funny, she'd always thought that when this was done, when they stopped it and stopped hiding that she would record a show and tell people what had happened. Tell the world about how the two of them had saved it. Now that they had, Alex doesn't want to do it anymore. Let people live in their ignorance and let it be bliss and never let them know how close they'd come to ruination, or the cost of what it had taken for them to stop it.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Alex just kisses his cheek softly, gently, as if she's worried that doing it somehow might hurt him, even with the scar tissue. It feels to her like she's hurt him far too many times lately, and all she wants to do is to stop hurting him. And to spend a week in bed with him. Or the rest of their lives, that works too.

"You know," she says softly, with a little bit of an Alex Reagan laugh. "I can garden. I can't cook for the life of me." Which is something that's not exactly a secret considering everything. "But I can grow things, as long as I'm like actually around to make sure they're weeded and watered and stuff. I used to grow tons of things at my parents house. I can teach you. You know, once we figure out what grows in Ireland other than like. Potatoes or something. Even you can't work miracles with constant potatoes."

"Sadly you're right." He laughs, "Stews get really boring after awhile."

He could hold her forever. Brushing a lock of hair from her cheek his eyes are full of love, "I'd get bored. But I'd like to learn to garden. My mother was a lot of things but she wasn't...the dig in the dirt type."

He actually manages his breathy chuckle, her laugh, just for her, "You though. You move heaven and earth on a regular basis."

The plane is smooth and crisp but there's food laid out on the table that makes him smile.

"...I heard you. When I was in the other place. I heard you ask for my eyes back." His voice is soft, gentle, "Thank you."

Alex just brushes her hand lightly against his face, his eyes before she says entirely honestly: “I’d miss them.” Not as much as he did obviously, but it had twisted something inside of her heart when he had gotten her out and had told her that Tiamat had stolen him. Everything twisted her heart, but she’s fairly certain that the sound of his voice when he’d said that is going to become a permanent fixture in her nightmares for a while. In the past nine days when she could sleep and Tiamat wasn’t looking for her, they already had.

Alex wants to question him about what Anu had said about her having gifts of her own, but she also doesn’t and for the first time in a long time Alex Reagan doesn’t ask the question that’s on her lips. That can come later. For now all she wants to do is be them and they can leave any and all gods at the door until they’re ready to talk about it.

For now, she just kisses him softly. “Well, I’ll teach you to garden and you can try and teach me to cook. We’ll go the village store and lament the fact that they don’t have good sushi and Mexican. We’ll read too many books and watch too much Netflix and just be for a while. With a week in bed.”

Edited 2020-05-29 05:55 (UTC)

His smile is positively roguish as he kisses her back, slow, ever so slow, "...Might be looking forward to that part the most."

The certainty in his voice when he next speaks is strong and clear.

"And you'll be able to sleep. I'm not letting you sleep alone again for as long as I'm alive."

"Well, that's good because I'm not letting you sleep alone for the rest of our lives either, Richard." Alex believes that her sleep will get better. It might never be great, but it also is something that won't be as bad as it had been for the last three years. It definitely won't be anywhere near as bad as the last nine days where when Alex had set a clock to wake her up every twenty minutes or so that she didn't stay asleep long enough for Tiamat to find her location.

Laying here, warm and next to him, Alex feels safe and she can feel some of the barriers to her lack of sleep falling away already as she just lets out a little bit of a yawn. "I guess talking about it reminded my body that I've probably got a sleep debt that's like a hundred years long at this point." Alex just curls up against him more fully in the bed, and she rests her cheek against his chest. This is new, and she likes it more than she can say actually. "Is this okay?" She asks at the last moment, starting to half-sit up while she's doing it.

"It's perfect."

It feels right, and good, "...I never thought there'd be magic in the world until I met you Alex. And here we are. Living our own fairy tale filled with magic and wonderful. The world's brighter with you in it."

Not Tiamat, though he does mourn her. It may be a long time before he wakes up without steam on his too-hot cheeks crying for some long lost...

He sighs with content and kisses the top of her head.

"We fit together. Do you feel that?"

“Of course I do, my love? How could I not?” Alex just says the words softly, and she nuzzles her cheek against his chest again. “I always thought we would you know. Fit together I mean.” Because Alex has thought that the two of them were heading this way for longer than she wanted to admit either to herself or to him. But she had, there was no doubt of it. Alex Reagan has loved him since she walked into his office and refused to let him give her the canned lecture that he gave to everyone else.

But when he mourns Tiamat, he won’t be the only one. Alex will too, she will mourn what Marduk did and how he had betrayed her and how he had created the monster of chaos that she’d become.

There’s always going to be a small part of her that blames herself for that. But those are later thoughts.

You should try and sleep my love. I know you must be exhausted.

I'm not letting you go while I do.

He almost deflates, but he wraps his arms around her, twisting to his side and holding her against him.

And he sleeps deep, hoping she's sleeping just as deeply.