Watermelon 6, Blue Raspberry 5 & Green Tea 17
Author: Casey
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy universe, Post NIEE
Challenges: Watermelon 6 (never a dull moment with you), Blue Raspberry 5 (a cunning plan) & Green Tea 17 (schedule)
Toppings & Extras: Caramel (superCaramel), Hot Fudge (Leigh’s POV), Cookie Crumbs (of this)
Word Count: 1,654
Rating: PG
Summary: Leigh’s ready to end it. Miles doesn’t really like her plan.
Notes: This is a reiteration and continuation of the pocky I did during PB week for Leigh. New flavors! Yay for the freezer!
She sent the note to Miles Rees, telling him to meet her alone in three days time in the small village where she already was - the small village Will had left only hours before. Leigh had plenty of time to lay down feelers and wasn’t surprised when Miles showed up a day early. What did surprise her was that he actually came alone. She had expected at least Bex and half-expected his significant other, Maggie Lockholme, as well. Either way, she wasn’t about to complain. Miles was the one she wanted. He, unlike Will’s firebrand little sister, was reasonable.
The next afternoon, she stood just out of sight, watching as Miles loitered in the middle of the town square, just as ordered. His eyes were narrowed as he studied the area and when she stepped out of her hiding place, his gaze darted to her almost immediately. She smiled to herself and walked out to meet him. For a moment, they stood face to face without fire for perhaps the first time.
“Leigh.” They’d all grown too old for nicknames, even ones as apt as hers had been.
“Hello, Miles.”
“I’d like even one good reason not to arrest you right now.”
“We need to talk about Will.”
That stopped him and he reappraised her. She knew he’d caught her deliberate use of Will’s nickname, something she had never done before to anyone but him. “What about Will?”
She studied him for a moment. “There’s a nice café a block away,” she said, turning and heading that way. Leigh didn’t look back until she reached it but was unsurprised to find Miles right behind her. She sat down at a small two person table away from the few other people already there.
He sat down cautiously across from her. “What about Will, Leigh? If you did anything to him…”
“I did nothing to Will. He should be safely off to Gilan on assignment for Dean.” She leaned back in her chair, maintaining eye contact.
“Then what is it about Will we need to talk about?” Then his eyes narrowed freshly. “How do you know he’s in Gilan on assignment?”
“Did dear William,” - some habits die hard - “ever tell you about the time he almost burned to death in a small village inn when you were eighteen?”
Miles frowned, confused now. “Yes. He got home a few days late because he had to recover. Why? How do you even know about that? He said that fire wasn’t you.”
“It wasn’t, but it did happen only a couple of minutes’ walk from my house. I was the one who rescued him.”
The young man stayed silent, watching her, although she could see it dawning in his eyes.
“He stayed with me for those three days. It feels inaccurate to call it an affair, since neither of us is married, but considering the circumstances, it seems fairly apt anyway.”
Miles slumped back in his chair, running a hand distractedly through his hair. “You’ve been sleeping with my best friend for six years.”
“Yes.” She scowled at his tone, bristling. “I assure you, Miles Rees, that it’s completely consensual.”
He let out a laugh. “This is Will we’re talking about. I honestly don’t doubt that. Why are you telling me this?”
“It needs to end.”
“So tell Will that. I’d rather not get in the way of your…Gods’ breath, relationship,” he said and then shook his head. “Damn it, you know full well this means I won’t arrest you, don’t you? Is that all this is? A ploy to get us to back off?”
“No. I want to end this.” She waved a hand aimlessly. “I’m tired of the game. You and Will weren’t even three yet when I first ran into KIN’s first generation. You’re now twenty-four. Twenty years of cat and mouse is quite enough. We all know Dean’s going to step down in favor of Will within the next couple of years. I don’t want to put him in a position where he has to choose between his job and family and me.” She snorted. “I’m getting old too. Dean’s only a couple years older than I am.”
“So what do you want me to do about it?” Miles asked. “If you keep burning things, Leigh, we have to keep coming after you.”
She smiled a little. “I will never stop burning things, Miles, but I understand what you’re saying and I’ve already stopped, in case you hadn’t noticed. Will has…he’s taught me a lot in the last six years, a lot of the time, I think, without even realizing it.”
“Okay. Then the question still stands. What do you want me to do about it?”
“I think it’s time I made a move, perhaps south to Gilan for a while and, if I get my energy back, to Nerius. They could probably use a Flame in their life.”
He watched her silently.
“Outside of town here, there’s a warehouse full of contraband, owned and operated by a man who takes far too much glee out of cheating the law. You let me burn down this one last thing and I vanish.”
“You’ll just ditch Will like that, after six years?”
She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to ignore the headache that launched the moment she thought about that. She pulled a letter out of her pocket with the other and slid it across the table. “I have to do it this way. You know Will. If I don’t leave without his knowledge, I’ll never be able to. Despite the world, the ages, everything, I love him and this is as much for him as it is for me. He can’t go on like this forever. He needs a normal relationship with someone who isn’t thirteen years his elder.”
Miles winced, but took the envelope anyway. “So why do you need me, other than to deliver the letter?”
She smiled faintly. “Oh, come on, Miles, you’re quicker than this.”
“I know why, but I want you to say it.”
Leigh rolled her eyes. “I’m not a child.”
“Say it out loud.”
“This is why I always liked William better.”
“And yet I’m the one who gets to deal with it. Say it.”
“Very well. I want you to investigate. It’ll have my signature and I want you to conclude that I fucked up and died in the blaze.”
“Leigh.”
“Miles,” she retorted, matching his tone.
“You want me to lie to my best friend and tell him that the woman he presumably loves and has, at the very least, been in a relationship with for six years, is dead, while pretending I had no idea that you were in a relationship at all. Then, you want me to spend the rest of our lives lying, because I’ll never be able to tell him.”
She shrugged. “Yes.”
He blew out a breath, glaring at her. “Of all the stunts you’ve pulled over the years, this one might actually take the cake.”
“This is the only way, Miles, and we both know it,” she said, “short of me killing myself and I’m not ready to leave the world. I want time to use what I’ve learned from William Darcy before I kick the bucket. If it doesn’t happen this way, at some point, someone will catch up with me - someone other than you or Will - and it will end badly. I won’t go down without a fight, but I don’t want to hurt anyone. It’s not like you haven’t lied before in your life,” she added practically.
“That’s not the point. The point is you’re saddling me with your secret and if I ever tell him, he won’t stop looking.”
Leigh wrapped her hands around the mug of tea that had been delivered at some point in the conversation. “Then don’t tell him. I notice you’re not disagreeing with the principle of the matter.”
He sighed, leaning forward, putting his elbows on the table. “That’s because I don’t disagree with the idea. What I disagree with is being the scapegoat, which I have been given no choice in.”
“Either you make up a dead body or there has to be a real one.”
Miles laughed, plainly amused despite his better judgment, and shook his head. “This is why trying to track you down has always been such an experience.”
She smiled. “You’re welcome.” Then she sobered. “Will you do it?”
“How soon?”
“I don’t want Will to blame you.”
“As you probably know, knowing you and your little ferrets everywhere, I didn’t check in here as me. So far, no one knows I’m here.”
“Then tomorrow. You can be in the neighborhood and come riding in.”
He rubbed his forehead. “I’ll go back to Cobell and wait for news to reach us. Is that why you stayed here after meeting with Will? Because you knew I wasn’t far?”
She nodded.
“How long have you been planning this?”
“Since our last meeting.”
Miles studied her for a minute. “I’m sure my opinion doesn’t matter, but…Gods, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I believe you love him and there is precedent. Look at Jakium. Or Sorin.”
“Sorin is completely different and while there are a lot of similarities with Jakium McRuoes, there are also far too many differences. I appreciate it, but let it be.”
He nodded and thrust out his hand, which she took carefully. “Good luck, Leigh Parker.”
She smiled, although it felt like the third time in her life that her heart was being ripped to pieces. “Thank you, Miles Rees. Keep Tira safe.”
“Always.”
Miles stood, glanced at her one more time and then slipped out of the café and disappeared down the street. She watched him go, tossed a few coins on the table, languidly stretched and then strolled towards the outskirts of town. She had one last building to scout.
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy universe, Post NIEE
Challenges: Watermelon 6 (never a dull moment with you), Blue Raspberry 5 (a cunning plan) & Green Tea 17 (schedule)
Toppings & Extras: Caramel (superCaramel), Hot Fudge (Leigh’s POV), Cookie Crumbs (of this)
Word Count: 1,654
Rating: PG
Summary: Leigh’s ready to end it. Miles doesn’t really like her plan.
Notes: This is a reiteration and continuation of the pocky I did during PB week for Leigh. New flavors! Yay for the freezer!
She sent the note to Miles Rees, telling him to meet her alone in three days time in the small village where she already was - the small village Will had left only hours before. Leigh had plenty of time to lay down feelers and wasn’t surprised when Miles showed up a day early. What did surprise her was that he actually came alone. She had expected at least Bex and half-expected his significant other, Maggie Lockholme, as well. Either way, she wasn’t about to complain. Miles was the one she wanted. He, unlike Will’s firebrand little sister, was reasonable.
The next afternoon, she stood just out of sight, watching as Miles loitered in the middle of the town square, just as ordered. His eyes were narrowed as he studied the area and when she stepped out of her hiding place, his gaze darted to her almost immediately. She smiled to herself and walked out to meet him. For a moment, they stood face to face without fire for perhaps the first time.
“Leigh.” They’d all grown too old for nicknames, even ones as apt as hers had been.
“Hello, Miles.”
“I’d like even one good reason not to arrest you right now.”
“We need to talk about Will.”
That stopped him and he reappraised her. She knew he’d caught her deliberate use of Will’s nickname, something she had never done before to anyone but him. “What about Will?”
She studied him for a moment. “There’s a nice café a block away,” she said, turning and heading that way. Leigh didn’t look back until she reached it but was unsurprised to find Miles right behind her. She sat down at a small two person table away from the few other people already there.
He sat down cautiously across from her. “What about Will, Leigh? If you did anything to him…”
“I did nothing to Will. He should be safely off to Gilan on assignment for Dean.” She leaned back in her chair, maintaining eye contact.
“Then what is it about Will we need to talk about?” Then his eyes narrowed freshly. “How do you know he’s in Gilan on assignment?”
“Did dear William,” - some habits die hard - “ever tell you about the time he almost burned to death in a small village inn when you were eighteen?”
Miles frowned, confused now. “Yes. He got home a few days late because he had to recover. Why? How do you even know about that? He said that fire wasn’t you.”
“It wasn’t, but it did happen only a couple of minutes’ walk from my house. I was the one who rescued him.”
The young man stayed silent, watching her, although she could see it dawning in his eyes.
“He stayed with me for those three days. It feels inaccurate to call it an affair, since neither of us is married, but considering the circumstances, it seems fairly apt anyway.”
Miles slumped back in his chair, running a hand distractedly through his hair. “You’ve been sleeping with my best friend for six years.”
“Yes.” She scowled at his tone, bristling. “I assure you, Miles Rees, that it’s completely consensual.”
He let out a laugh. “This is Will we’re talking about. I honestly don’t doubt that. Why are you telling me this?”
“It needs to end.”
“So tell Will that. I’d rather not get in the way of your…Gods’ breath, relationship,” he said and then shook his head. “Damn it, you know full well this means I won’t arrest you, don’t you? Is that all this is? A ploy to get us to back off?”
“No. I want to end this.” She waved a hand aimlessly. “I’m tired of the game. You and Will weren’t even three yet when I first ran into KIN’s first generation. You’re now twenty-four. Twenty years of cat and mouse is quite enough. We all know Dean’s going to step down in favor of Will within the next couple of years. I don’t want to put him in a position where he has to choose between his job and family and me.” She snorted. “I’m getting old too. Dean’s only a couple years older than I am.”
“So what do you want me to do about it?” Miles asked. “If you keep burning things, Leigh, we have to keep coming after you.”
She smiled a little. “I will never stop burning things, Miles, but I understand what you’re saying and I’ve already stopped, in case you hadn’t noticed. Will has…he’s taught me a lot in the last six years, a lot of the time, I think, without even realizing it.”
“Okay. Then the question still stands. What do you want me to do about it?”
“I think it’s time I made a move, perhaps south to Gilan for a while and, if I get my energy back, to Nerius. They could probably use a Flame in their life.”
He watched her silently.
“Outside of town here, there’s a warehouse full of contraband, owned and operated by a man who takes far too much glee out of cheating the law. You let me burn down this one last thing and I vanish.”
“You’ll just ditch Will like that, after six years?”
She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to ignore the headache that launched the moment she thought about that. She pulled a letter out of her pocket with the other and slid it across the table. “I have to do it this way. You know Will. If I don’t leave without his knowledge, I’ll never be able to. Despite the world, the ages, everything, I love him and this is as much for him as it is for me. He can’t go on like this forever. He needs a normal relationship with someone who isn’t thirteen years his elder.”
Miles winced, but took the envelope anyway. “So why do you need me, other than to deliver the letter?”
She smiled faintly. “Oh, come on, Miles, you’re quicker than this.”
“I know why, but I want you to say it.”
Leigh rolled her eyes. “I’m not a child.”
“Say it out loud.”
“This is why I always liked William better.”
“And yet I’m the one who gets to deal with it. Say it.”
“Very well. I want you to investigate. It’ll have my signature and I want you to conclude that I fucked up and died in the blaze.”
“Leigh.”
“Miles,” she retorted, matching his tone.
“You want me to lie to my best friend and tell him that the woman he presumably loves and has, at the very least, been in a relationship with for six years, is dead, while pretending I had no idea that you were in a relationship at all. Then, you want me to spend the rest of our lives lying, because I’ll never be able to tell him.”
She shrugged. “Yes.”
He blew out a breath, glaring at her. “Of all the stunts you’ve pulled over the years, this one might actually take the cake.”
“This is the only way, Miles, and we both know it,” she said, “short of me killing myself and I’m not ready to leave the world. I want time to use what I’ve learned from William Darcy before I kick the bucket. If it doesn’t happen this way, at some point, someone will catch up with me - someone other than you or Will - and it will end badly. I won’t go down without a fight, but I don’t want to hurt anyone. It’s not like you haven’t lied before in your life,” she added practically.
“That’s not the point. The point is you’re saddling me with your secret and if I ever tell him, he won’t stop looking.”
Leigh wrapped her hands around the mug of tea that had been delivered at some point in the conversation. “Then don’t tell him. I notice you’re not disagreeing with the principle of the matter.”
He sighed, leaning forward, putting his elbows on the table. “That’s because I don’t disagree with the idea. What I disagree with is being the scapegoat, which I have been given no choice in.”
“Either you make up a dead body or there has to be a real one.”
Miles laughed, plainly amused despite his better judgment, and shook his head. “This is why trying to track you down has always been such an experience.”
She smiled. “You’re welcome.” Then she sobered. “Will you do it?”
“How soon?”
“I don’t want Will to blame you.”
“As you probably know, knowing you and your little ferrets everywhere, I didn’t check in here as me. So far, no one knows I’m here.”
“Then tomorrow. You can be in the neighborhood and come riding in.”
He rubbed his forehead. “I’ll go back to Cobell and wait for news to reach us. Is that why you stayed here after meeting with Will? Because you knew I wasn’t far?”
She nodded.
“How long have you been planning this?”
“Since our last meeting.”
Miles studied her for a minute. “I’m sure my opinion doesn’t matter, but…Gods, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I believe you love him and there is precedent. Look at Jakium. Or Sorin.”
“Sorin is completely different and while there are a lot of similarities with Jakium McRuoes, there are also far too many differences. I appreciate it, but let it be.”
He nodded and thrust out his hand, which she took carefully. “Good luck, Leigh Parker.”
She smiled, although it felt like the third time in her life that her heart was being ripped to pieces. “Thank you, Miles Rees. Keep Tira safe.”
“Always.”
Miles stood, glanced at her one more time and then slipped out of the café and disappeared down the street. She watched him go, tossed a few coins on the table, languidly stretched and then strolled towards the outskirts of town. She had one last building to scout.