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Alex Reagan is fairly certain that this just happens to be the smallest elevator in existence. She’s been a lot of places in the world, but the one at the Usher Foundation that leads to the archive is the smallest modern one for sure. It’s barely big enough for three people honestly and that normally doesn’t bother her in the slightest. While Alex has a fair amount of fear for the things that she’d discovered over the last few months (the hunt for example is the one that sticks out the most considering it’s why she’s here) but the Buried wasn’t one of them. Alex was the sort of person who turned her bed into swaddling nests and burrowed into them. Honestly that buried blanket nest is where she felt the safest.

No. The elevator itself wasn’t the issue here. Alex Reagan has ridden it more than a few times since she’d started working in the archives a month or so ago. While she would rather be out there being a reporter, Alex had blown out all of the credibility that she’d ever had when she’d told people that the things that went bump in the night were real. In the end Tannis Braun was right about how her skills would be valuable here investigating the validity of the statements. In some ways it was almost freeing—when she was working for Usher, Alex didn’t need to worry about pesky things like journalism ethics. Instead she could lie and make someone believe whatever they wanted in order to get their story from them.

In a way it was all kind of freeing.

So if it wasn’t the elevator itself, and it wasn’t the confined space that bothered her what didn’t bother her exactly was the man who she was currently sharing the elevator with. His size in it, with the foot of height that he had on her, the more bulk that he’d had on his frame (not that Alex was calling him fat by any means) instead it was just the way that he loomed over her and seemed far larger in the space than he actually was. And the fact that he was attractive and god was he attractive. Alex has said hello when she’d gotten into the elevator with him, and saw that he’d already pushed the floor for the sub basement level archives.

But the problem was that somewhere between the archives and the first floor, the elevator had just decided to stop. Not just stopping which would be bad enough, but stopping and losing all power. Normally the dark wouldn’t have been a thing, because Alex would have just pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight app or call someone even if her phone didn’t have great service here. That was part of the reason it was still plugged in at her desk. Artifact storage was only three elevator stops away, and Alex was delivering some information she’d had on a statement. But now here they were in the small and dark with the extremely attractive man she doesn’t know.

This is fine. This is all fine.

But Alex just gives a grin that she knows that he wouldn’t be able to see in the pitch blackness so deep that it feels like she could hold it in her hands like dirt. “Well, I guess this is one way to avoid that meeting with my boss.” There isn’t fear in her, just the bad joking tone that Alex makes to lighten a situation. The meeting with Tannis was supposed to be in half an hour and she was supposed to be meeting someone important to the Foundation.

The fact that it could be the person in the elevator never even crosses Alex’s mind. After all, that man had been described to her as being ‘Old Man Strand’ and this man definitely wasn’t old in the slightest.

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Richard is sitting behind his desk sipping on the tea he ordered - it's one of his favorite Delis after all. When she says go back down he smiles, and then she says she wants to wash up-

"You seem fine. You seem like you've been working. Which is good. I think you look fine-"

And then she says go back down and he sets down his tea.

"You're okay with that?"

“Yeah. I mean why wouldn’t I be? I’m down there all the time.” Alex just shrugs a little bit and she gives him a small grin when he says that she looks fine. It’s a nice boost of confidence even if Alex doesn’t feel particularly fine when the two of them are in the richness of his office.

There’s no small part of her that wonders if anyone else has ever seen the inside of it. Somehow Alex doesn’t think so.

Picking up her coffee (because of course Alex is going to have coffee, some things never change) she just takes a sip of it before adding, “but we don’t have to if you’d rather stay down here.”

"I'd like to go with you."

Something human flutters in his heart, "I mean if you feel comfortable doing so. It's rare to meet someone who is so...engaged with study as I am."

He rises, picking up his tea, "Lead the way Ms-"

A phone rings and he stops. Staring at it, he frowns before tucking it away, "Let's go."

Alex's grin grows a bit, and she picks up her food container as well as the coffee as she rises to her feet. "I'm definitely comfortable down there, really, Dr. Strand. I promise." Her face is guileless, she actually really does mean it; she's not bothered by the depths down there at all, or the way that the earth closes in around them.

The archives is encompassing and enclosing and labyrinthine, but that's one of the reasons that Alex does actually like it. It doesn't scare her; it makes her feel safe almost.

But the frown on his face, makes her frown in return. "Is everything okay, Dr. Strand? And I mean, you can definitely call me Alex you know. Everyone else does."

"I'm fine. That was -"He sighs, "That was a contact from the other institute. It's not important."

It is in fact. It's extremely important but he is going to let it slide and take the punishment because Alex is so very interesting.

He smiles, and his smile is genuine, "Alex then." She likes being down there, she likes it.

Interesting.

"When I was younger I loved being in libraries. I love books. I would read for hours. Being...surrounded by knowledge. Is comforting. It's nice to see someone who shares that."

Moving back down, feeling comforting, he sipped at his tea.

"Do you like working for Tanis?"

"Okay." The curious look on her face doesn't leave even when he tells her that it wasn't important. Granted, she only really calls internationally for her mother, but Alex can't help but to try and do the math to see what time is it in London or China. But it's way above her paygrade, and even if she's curious, Alex doesn't press.

Instead she just grins back at him, because her smiles are almost always genuine, and right now she doesn't have a reason not to be genuine with him. "I always liked libraries as well, because I love learning and just knowing things. I always wanted to learn as much as I could. Still do I guess." Alex just gestures to the fact that the two of them are in an elevator that's going back to what Alex is already privately thinking of as 'the good library.'

For a moment, she just lets the question linger in the silence. Alex doesn't want to be a tattletale or anything, so she just settles on. "It's fine." It's not a lie for a relative value of fine. "I just don't think that he likes me very much."

"You'll work directly for me instead." It's firm as they leave the elevator, back to his tunnels. Back to the buried, "Record statements and report directly to me then. Two people recording statements is better then one."

He nods, satisfied with that, "I could even provide you with an office down here if you'd like. It's...comforting."

Alex is actually surprised by the formality of his offer, because since they'd met in the elevator, she'd found herself working for him and doing research down here. It's something that she'd just assumed was part of being the one archival assistant who didn't shit themselves at the idea of being down here for so long.

Maybe the suspecting of the job offer is one of the reasons that Tannis didn't like Alex so much. That made sense when few other things did. (Alex knows that most people like her, she's very likable, and she's never had a boss not like her before. It's weird.)

But there's probably reasons not to take the job, and one of them is just how much Alex is finding herself liking talking with him like this, liking having him randomly come across her down in the archives. Honestly, Alex had never really liked the cliche of having a small crush on your boss. She'd already done this with professors and teachers her entire life; having a crush on your boss seems like a really stupid idea.

Alex Reagan is someone who knows really stupid ideas.

"Sure. I mean, I'm honored you put so much faith in me--er my work, Dr. Strand."

Edited 2020-09-26 06:10 (UTC)

"So far it's been engaging. I expect high standards. Two to three statements a day if you can manage it." Easy enough to build a third contender for Bouchard's crown.

"...And it's Richard. I want you to feel comfortable doing this sort of work. We will be working together."

When they get down to the bottom of the elevator shaft he smiles, looking relaxed, "You're right. Perhaps I do feel better down here. Drawn to it."

Alex tilts her head a bit, the confusion evident in her face at that. Honestly, she doesn't understand why two or three statements a day might be difficult for her to do. They don't take all that long, and it's simply reading copy. Alex's been reading copy for her show for years, and she doesn't even need to go through and make edits or anything.

"Okay, Richard." Alex gives him a quick grin when they reach the bottom of the elevator shaft, and she just watches as he visibly relaxes down here. "It suits you." A pause, and there's a bit of pink blossoming in the apples of her cheeks. "Being down here, I mean, and so much more relaxed."

There's no thought to him being an avatar, or Buried aligned; instead Alex just thinks that it's him preferring the company of books to people.

"So, you know this place best. Where would be comfortable to eat?"

Scratching his chin, he smiles warmly and gestures for her to follow him, "This place was used for teaching for awhile. The Usher institute used to teach classes. There's an office down this way that used to belong to a teacher."

It's full of history to him. Textbooks are there, covered with dust and faded. There are faded signs on the walls, a chalkboard. The smile on his face is natural.

"Can you imagine who taught here? Who learned here? It's fascinating right?"

"It definitely is." That's a good smile on his face, and it makes Alex smile in return, and she sets her food down on the desk in favor of looking at the faded signs on the walls. The care in which she touches them is matched by what Alex had shown when the two of them were down among the other more historical and serious artifacts: a healthy amount of respect that Alex definitely has for them.

"Do you have any theories on it? I mean, if we're studying the paranormal and the Entities, it probably had to do with that, right?" Alex isn't exactly looking at him as she follows the line of the walls towards him, her attention focused on the faded papers in front of her, the section of outdated maps.

Alex really doesn't realize how close to him she is until she actually bumps into his chest. "Oh my god, I'm sorry, Richard!"

When she bumps against him it's like a jolt to his chest, No. No no no. His heart is fluttering and he coughs. He grunts before hesitating and patting her on the shoulder.

"No need for apologies Alex." His hand lingers and, "That's a fascinating theory. I've often thought of visiting my father's library-"

He pauses, "He managed the institute before I did."

Until he killed him. Until his father had smiled at him as he dropped dirt on him, eyes white, hands clawing, a mole, a mole king.

Looking visibly grim he shakes his head, "...This certainly has the air of a school."

The warmth of his hand on her shoulder is nice. Honestly, it's too nice and it's too warm and it's definitely too many things that it shouldn't be. Richard--Dr. Strand--is her boss, and he's not flirting with her, he's just not. Alex's mind refuses to believe that's what he's doing.

Her heart, however is an entirely different matter.

Alex doesn't move away from being this close to him, or his hand on his shoulder as he looms over her. She hadn't realized just how much larger he was than her. Oh, that's not some sort of snide comment about his weight or the like; she knows that Richard's body is fairly excellent even through the lines of his suits. It's just that he has so much mass compared to how tiny she is. The sensation is an odd one, and Alex blinks it away before she presses ever onwards with her next question.

"If you've thought of visiting his library why haven't you done it before now, Richard?"

...Father? Father-!

A child digging in the earth screaming, hands like little claws. He buried him deep in the rain, the wet earth sinking and pressing down on him...

"We were...estranged." He sits, staring at his cool sandwich, "My sister passed when I was 7. I don't think he ever came to terms with that when my mother found out. She divorced him-"

And was killed.

"I'm sure you don't want to hear about the machinations of a bunch of old and terrible people." He leans back, "I'd much rather know about you truthfully."

He moves to sit and Alex does too, not bothering to try and dust of the chair this time. It seemed to be of no use anyway and she doesn’t want to interrupt what Dr. Strand was saying. Honestly, she’s pretty sure that he doesn’t talk about that with most people.

Without thinking about it, her hand comes out to rest against his arm in sympathy. “I’m sorry.” About his sister and his mother and his father and all of it. It sounds really terrible and it makes her heart go out to him, the empathy etched into every part of her even as Alex leans back to her own sandwich.

“What would you like to know? I mean I’m pretty much an open book. I grew up outside of Vancouver. My parents adopted me when I was three. I always wanted to be Lois Lane so I worked on the school paper in high school and the radio and the paper in college. From there I went to work for PNWS and spent several years there before I got a hint of a story about a werewolf and I couldn’t let it go so I chased her down and now here we are.”

There’s a little bit of a laugh in Alex’s voice. “You know I like learning things. I like libraries. I’m a workaholic who drinks way too much coffee. I like working down here in the archives with you.”

Okay. Maybe she shouldn’t have added that last bit in, but she had and now Alex needs to just accept it. So she doesn’t apologize; there’s not really anything to apologize for.

I like working with you.

His patron speaks and he can hear it's words. Take her. Worn down by her words his normal defenses that keep him away from humans shatter, the buried pours through him.

His hand doesn't tremble when it touches hers, "You like working with me? You barely know me. I'm 'old man strand.'"

His tone is clearly teasing.

Well, if there was one way to get Alex to shut up for a moment and flush from the tips of her ears below her braid to a point somewhere below where her shirt collar is; it’s saying that. Alex laughs, a light warm sound and the hand that he’s not touching brushes over her eyes for a second. As she bites her lip.

“Oh my god, Richard!” Alex’s laugh doesn’t go away, but it does change to fill her voice instead. “I can’t believe you’re going to use that against me when I thought we were doing so well!” She’s teasing him clearly, and in some ways Alex definitely feels like she’s Known Richard Strand forever, and that’s why she feels like here, below the levels of so much above them, down here in places that were secret, she can tease him especially in flirty way.

"It's just a friendly reminder." He can give as good as he got it. Smiling, he squeezes her fingers but something in his gaze is distant, "There is something...different about you."

His voice softens.

"Something that makes me want to do better. How strange is that? Normally I'm up there and-"

Damn.

HE can taste The Hunt in the air around her.

"...I do thing you're going to work with me from now on. I will show you...wonders."

Looking thoughtfully confused at him for a moment, Alex doesn’t let go of his hand even as she tries to figure out what the hell could be different about her. Honestly, Alex Reagan is just herself down into her bones; she doesn’t know what he means about wanting him to be better.

So Alex just twists her palm upwards so that her fingers can twine with Richard’s when she speaks. “I think you’re pretty great already you know. But if you want to be better, I support that too.”

A pause and Alex looks down entirely disbelieving that she is talking like this to her boss and not some partner of hers. “Sorry. I know it’s like. Not really my business what you want to do with your life I mean...”

Alex honestly doesn’t know what it is that she means; the idea of it Alludes Alex and she doesn’t know why she almost feels like she’s on shaky and uneven ground.

Alex always did her best when the ground was uneven below her steps honestly.

“You already have shown me wonders though! I mean bodies from Pompeii; the person from the bog; the old Usher library? All of those are wondrous in their own right.”

He lowers his gaze and lets out a soft huffy laugh, "You look at everything with wonder. I collect treasures however, and I would love to show them to you."

He smiles, "I mean it when I say I want you working with me. You're considerably more engaging then that other assistant, what was his name? Nic?"

He bites into his sandwich and chews thoughtfully, "He's all right. You're just...you listen more than he does I suppose."

"You mean Simon?" Alex's voice is soft and amused by the way he mixes up the head of the foundation and the creepy guy who kind of works off by himself in the back corner of one of the offices. But a part of her thinks that Dr. Strand is actually doing it on purpose to gauge her reaction of how she'd respond.

"I think he's okay. He's just really quiet. He doesn't really have much to say to me. I've definitely interacted way more with Tannis." Even if Tannis doesn't like Alex for reasons that she can't put her finger on.

But then as Alex goes to pick up her sandwich, she remembers what Dr. Strand had asked her before about being drawn to read the statements, and the way that Tannis had practically always snatched them from her fingers. Frowning, she sets her sandwich down in favor of taking a sip of her coffee. "Do you think the reason Tannis doesn't like me is because of the way I like..." Struggling to put it into words is more difficult than the reporter who never seemed to be at a loss for them likes in the slightest.

So, there's nothing to do but to admit it. "Because of the way I feel drawn to record the statements he keeps taking away?"

"Which statements does he keep taking away?"

He looks amused, "I mean anyone might be drawn into interesting literature, but - has Tannis said he doesn't like you?"

Clearly he needs to pay more attention to this.

"...I'll be leaving to visit the Magnus Archives in a week but when I get back if he's bothering you we should move you to a different department.]

“The ones that need the analog tape recorders.” The words come with a little bit of a shrug because he’d already told her he’d get her one, and an office down here.

But there’s something entirely disappointing about him going away. It’s really stupid, that flash of sadness on her face and Alex knows it. Boss crush bad, Alex just reminds herself. Boss crush really fucking terrible. But that doesn’t change the fact that she’s going to miss him when he’s gone.

“He hasn’t said anything like that. It’s just a feeling I get. The way he looks at me sometimes when I head back to my desk after being down here all day. Honestly it’s probably just that I’m here rather than up there.” Alex shrugs and maybe she’s being too generous to him, but given Dr. Strand’s talking about moving her office down here it probably doesn’t really matter all that much. And technically she would still be doing what an archival assistant does just down here.

So, picking up her sandwich Alex just asks: “what are you doing in London?”

"There are multiple institutes around the world that ...monitor the sort of activity we do." He nods, "I'm meeting with the heads of them. Since my family has paid into this-"

A glob of muster falls from his sandwich, kicking up dust onto his jacket that makes him frown, "My family has paid into it so I'll be going and just making the rounds and discussing things with the locals."

He frowns, reaching for a napkin, "...Dirt and Dust I don't mind. Viscera and fluids are another matter."