Looks like a solo tonight, Epilogue
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Epilogue - Masterpost
Epilogue
It was a sunny afternoon again, Jo back behind the bar and Old Mike and a couple other hunters on the other side of it, when the door swung open and a familiar figure appeared.
"Surprised to see me?" Bela asked, smirking like a cat.
Jo twisted up her mouth to stop from grinning back. She leaned against the bar. "You just keep stopping by, I'm not gonna be surprised any more."
"Well, I feel extremely welcome. Thanks."
Jo waited for Bela to make some move, to ask for a drink or something so she could stop posing there trying to look cute in her old t-shirt and Walmart jeans. And finally Bela took a seat on a stool, nodding, "Ash," but with her eyes still stuck on Jo.
"Long time no see," Ash said and given Jo a look that meant he was happy for her, that made Jo blush and shake her head.
If someone had told her a year ago that this would be her life, that she'd have this, she'd have called them a fool. But here Bela was, at the bar where Jo'd grown up. Somewhere along the line, Jo had gotten ideas about them, and the spark had turned to a flame.
A door creaked behind her and her momma said, "Jo, offer the girl a lemonade."
Bela arched an eyebrow at Jo, and said, "Thank you, Ellen."
Jo fought an urge to stick out her tongue - she wasn't five - and sighed like it was some big request. She couldn't help but throw a smile over her shoulder when she reached into the fridge for the jug of the fresh-squeezed lemonade.
Ellen had been in the back but she came out to grab the tray from the cash register.
"How's business?" Bela asked. "You're looking well."
"Everything's fine, thanks for asking." Ellen nodded to her. "This one's got some manners, Joanna. You might want to take a page from her book."
"As if I could ever steal from a professional thief," Jo muttered into the freezer, scooping ice chips into a glass.
"What was that?"
She closed the freezer and smiled sweetly. "Nothing, Momma."
Ellen squinted at her and then turned to say, "You make yourself at home, Bela. And don't mind my girl, she was raised to think killing ghouls was an American pastime. All her father's fault, god rest his soul."
"Ghouls, huh?"
"Not by myself, but the final kill was on me," Jo said, trying and failing not to sound pleased. "Dad took me out of gym class on a doctor's note."
Ellen disappeared into the back again. Ash at least pretended to become absorbed in something on his computer, and Bela sat at the bar, her chin on a hand, and watched Jo pour lemonade into the glass. Jo slid it over and then leaned back against the opposite counter on her elbows, casual-like. Bela sipped and nodded once, and Jo felt like making lemonade had been her best decision all week.
"So," she said. Bela met her eyes and Jo felt a curl of happiness in her chest. Pathetic, but Jo couldn't be troubled to care. "Where's the wind taken you?"
Bela sipped from her straw delicately. "I'm a professional, Jo. I can't let on about my private affairs."
"I am asking about business," Jo argued.
"It's all private," Bela said. Jo pretended to pout, until Bela gave in and said, "But maybe a trade."
"What kind of trade?"
Bela's mouth curved up in a smile.
She was gone again in the morning, and this time felt different, like something personal, a subtle but all-encompassing disappointment. Jo stayed in bed, putting a Smallville disc into her laptop and staring at the screen for an hour, barely watching and aware she was moping.
And when she got too hungry to stay in bed any more, she padded downstairs to find Ash.
He was already up, seated at the edge of the pool table, flipping his long hair while he showed Bela something on his jenky laptop that he'd pieced together from a pile of scrap parts and twisted wires one afternoon last fall.
Jo stopped short with her hand on the railing. "You're still here," she said.
Bela rolled her eyes at Jo's surprise. "It seems I am. I thought about waking you, but I didn't want to incur your wrath, so I came downstairs to see about an early lunch."
Jo looking to the dusty clock hanging in a corner. "It's eight o'clock in the morning. It's-"
"Spain," Bela pointed at herself. "Why do you think I looked so unkempt yesterday when I staggered in here."
Jo was blown away by the fact that Bela had been in a different country a day ago, but even more so about her self-assessment. "That was your idea of unkempt?"
"For some." Bela looked Jo over from head to toe, pointedly. Jo was in her hoodie and the same thin jeans as yesterday, because she'd felt that sort of self-pity that meant a warm jacket and a plate of bacon for breakfast.
"All right, we're in," Ash said, interrupting the moment. He ran his fingers back through his hair and it stayed there, sticking up straight. "Now you're sure about this?"
"I thought I was paying you not to ask any questions," Bela said, although with some humor.
"I like this one, Jo," Ash muttered to her, tapping away at the keyboard. "Keep her around, don't shoot her."
Jo shifted on her feet. "I don't shoot people."
"Right, right."
"It was only the once! And I was twelve!"
"BB guns don't make friends," Ash reminded her, and then he flicked a glance at Bela. "And neither do DDoS attacks, might I add."
"I can still cut a zero off that figure I offered," Bela said.
"I stand corrected, DDoS attacks are god's gift to my wallet." Ash hit a few more keys with a flourish and then pressed enter. "Et voila. Finito. I'll take cash or money order."
Bela produced an envelope from nowhere and Ash folded it up and stuck it in his back pocket. He jumped off the table and gave them a salute.
"See you around, Bela." He looked at Jo. "And you, watch your balls."
She waved him off. "Yeah, yeah."
They didn't look at each other until he'd left. Bela took a seat on the edge of the pool table, folding one leg under her. "Now that that's settled," she said.
Jo gave her a disapproving look. "What was that about? Paying off my friends before breakfast?"
Bela shrugged, and shifted closer when Jo came to sit next to her. "Setting up dominoes," she told her. "Nothing you need to worry about."
"Over and done with and on to the next thing?"
"Maybe. You going to try to stop me?"
"You wish," Jo said and kissed her quick on the mouth. And then a few times more until Bela pulled her in by the belt loops and made it slow, until there was a creak at the steps outside and the first of the customers trickled in.
"Looks like that's my cue," Bela said and stepped away.
"What's next? Paris? Milan?"
Bela looked at her, face deadly serious as she leaned close. "Stealing your heart, hopefully."
"Never," Jo laughed. But she felt her heart kick up anyway.
Trust a thief, Jo thought. Even when Jo thought she was on her guard, Bela had a way of touching her to the core. They stepped outside together, elbows brushing.
"We'll see," said Bela, her mouth curling at the edges. "But if you must know, I don't do anything for less than twenty grand."
They left each other at Bela's car. That was probably stolen, too.
Epilogue
It was a sunny afternoon again, Jo back behind the bar and Old Mike and a couple other hunters on the other side of it, when the door swung open and a familiar figure appeared.
"Surprised to see me?" Bela asked, smirking like a cat.
Jo twisted up her mouth to stop from grinning back. She leaned against the bar. "You just keep stopping by, I'm not gonna be surprised any more."
"Well, I feel extremely welcome. Thanks."
Jo waited for Bela to make some move, to ask for a drink or something so she could stop posing there trying to look cute in her old t-shirt and Walmart jeans. And finally Bela took a seat on a stool, nodding, "Ash," but with her eyes still stuck on Jo.
"Long time no see," Ash said and given Jo a look that meant he was happy for her, that made Jo blush and shake her head.
If someone had told her a year ago that this would be her life, that she'd have this, she'd have called them a fool. But here Bela was, at the bar where Jo'd grown up. Somewhere along the line, Jo had gotten ideas about them, and the spark had turned to a flame.
A door creaked behind her and her momma said, "Jo, offer the girl a lemonade."
Bela arched an eyebrow at Jo, and said, "Thank you, Ellen."
Jo fought an urge to stick out her tongue - she wasn't five - and sighed like it was some big request. She couldn't help but throw a smile over her shoulder when she reached into the fridge for the jug of the fresh-squeezed lemonade.
Ellen had been in the back but she came out to grab the tray from the cash register.
"How's business?" Bela asked. "You're looking well."
"Everything's fine, thanks for asking." Ellen nodded to her. "This one's got some manners, Joanna. You might want to take a page from her book."
"As if I could ever steal from a professional thief," Jo muttered into the freezer, scooping ice chips into a glass.
"What was that?"
She closed the freezer and smiled sweetly. "Nothing, Momma."
Ellen squinted at her and then turned to say, "You make yourself at home, Bela. And don't mind my girl, she was raised to think killing ghouls was an American pastime. All her father's fault, god rest his soul."
"Ghouls, huh?"
"Not by myself, but the final kill was on me," Jo said, trying and failing not to sound pleased. "Dad took me out of gym class on a doctor's note."
Ellen disappeared into the back again. Ash at least pretended to become absorbed in something on his computer, and Bela sat at the bar, her chin on a hand, and watched Jo pour lemonade into the glass. Jo slid it over and then leaned back against the opposite counter on her elbows, casual-like. Bela sipped and nodded once, and Jo felt like making lemonade had been her best decision all week.
"So," she said. Bela met her eyes and Jo felt a curl of happiness in her chest. Pathetic, but Jo couldn't be troubled to care. "Where's the wind taken you?"
Bela sipped from her straw delicately. "I'm a professional, Jo. I can't let on about my private affairs."
"I am asking about business," Jo argued.
"It's all private," Bela said. Jo pretended to pout, until Bela gave in and said, "But maybe a trade."
"What kind of trade?"
Bela's mouth curved up in a smile.
She was gone again in the morning, and this time felt different, like something personal, a subtle but all-encompassing disappointment. Jo stayed in bed, putting a Smallville disc into her laptop and staring at the screen for an hour, barely watching and aware she was moping.
And when she got too hungry to stay in bed any more, she padded downstairs to find Ash.
He was already up, seated at the edge of the pool table, flipping his long hair while he showed Bela something on his jenky laptop that he'd pieced together from a pile of scrap parts and twisted wires one afternoon last fall.
Jo stopped short with her hand on the railing. "You're still here," she said.
Bela rolled her eyes at Jo's surprise. "It seems I am. I thought about waking you, but I didn't want to incur your wrath, so I came downstairs to see about an early lunch."
Jo looking to the dusty clock hanging in a corner. "It's eight o'clock in the morning. It's-"
"Spain," Bela pointed at herself. "Why do you think I looked so unkempt yesterday when I staggered in here."
Jo was blown away by the fact that Bela had been in a different country a day ago, but even more so about her self-assessment. "That was your idea of unkempt?"
"For some." Bela looked Jo over from head to toe, pointedly. Jo was in her hoodie and the same thin jeans as yesterday, because she'd felt that sort of self-pity that meant a warm jacket and a plate of bacon for breakfast.
"All right, we're in," Ash said, interrupting the moment. He ran his fingers back through his hair and it stayed there, sticking up straight. "Now you're sure about this?"
"I thought I was paying you not to ask any questions," Bela said, although with some humor.
"I like this one, Jo," Ash muttered to her, tapping away at the keyboard. "Keep her around, don't shoot her."
Jo shifted on her feet. "I don't shoot people."
"Right, right."
"It was only the once! And I was twelve!"
"BB guns don't make friends," Ash reminded her, and then he flicked a glance at Bela. "And neither do DDoS attacks, might I add."
"I can still cut a zero off that figure I offered," Bela said.
"I stand corrected, DDoS attacks are god's gift to my wallet." Ash hit a few more keys with a flourish and then pressed enter. "Et voila. Finito. I'll take cash or money order."
Bela produced an envelope from nowhere and Ash folded it up and stuck it in his back pocket. He jumped off the table and gave them a salute.
"See you around, Bela." He looked at Jo. "And you, watch your balls."
She waved him off. "Yeah, yeah."
They didn't look at each other until he'd left. Bela took a seat on the edge of the pool table, folding one leg under her. "Now that that's settled," she said.
Jo gave her a disapproving look. "What was that about? Paying off my friends before breakfast?"
Bela shrugged, and shifted closer when Jo came to sit next to her. "Setting up dominoes," she told her. "Nothing you need to worry about."
"Over and done with and on to the next thing?"
"Maybe. You going to try to stop me?"
"You wish," Jo said and kissed her quick on the mouth. And then a few times more until Bela pulled her in by the belt loops and made it slow, until there was a creak at the steps outside and the first of the customers trickled in.
"Looks like that's my cue," Bela said and stepped away.
"What's next? Paris? Milan?"
Bela looked at her, face deadly serious as she leaned close. "Stealing your heart, hopefully."
"Never," Jo laughed. But she felt her heart kick up anyway.
Trust a thief, Jo thought. Even when Jo thought she was on her guard, Bela had a way of touching her to the core. They stepped outside together, elbows brushing.
"We'll see," said Bela, her mouth curling at the edges. "But if you must know, I don't do anything for less than twenty grand."
They left each other at Bela's car. That was probably stolen, too.