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[havethings]

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un: Andrea

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[havethings]

That's - not where I was going.

( But she knows what privacy is like. Especially, with Ivy here. And people and demons everywhere. )

But, you're not wrong. We still should talk about it? You almost did with Josie. ( And then. ) Why didn't you?

[moderatelycompetent]

Oh. This is about that.

[The competition. The being stuck between two girls and never knowing the right thing to say to spare both sets of feelings. He sighs.]

Hope, do you really want to talk about this? Are you just bringing it up so you can obsess about it later?

[havethings]

It's not about - Josie.

( Or him and Josie. Or competition. Does he not want to? She doesn't know. )

Obsess about it?

( What. What the -- Yeah. He's right. This was a bad idea. )

You should shower.

[moderatelycompetent]

[Well now he'd be kind of a jackass if he walked out on the conversation.]

If it's not about Josie, then what is it about?

[havethings]

( Well, he doesn't leave with his tail between his legs. Which is an improvement on expectations.

But, her righteous bout of anger is quickly not getting her anywhere. )

Landon, it's about you and me. It's about -- what every teenager thinks about? Do you think I don't think about it?

[moderatelycompetent]

I think you've got a lot of things to think about and that one might end up a little low on the priority list.

....Are you saying it's not?

[havethings]

No, I'm saying it is. And getting us out of here, Josie's ticking time bomb and my dad? All priorities. But, this is -- still one priority. I walked in here in a towel and your mouth practically dropped open. That's okay.

[moderatelycompetent]

I don't mind waiting, if that's what you mean.

[His cheeks darken in splotches partially masked by the splatters on his cheeks.]

We don't have to do anything you're not ready for. That we don't have the time to worry about. And if being virgins is giving us some kind of edge here, maybe it's something we shouldn't be doing anyway.

[havethings]

I'll know when I'm ready and I'd only want to do it if you were. I don't mind if that's until we make it out of hell. ( Especially if virginity is a factor. ) I just -- being here, in this towel and your reaction. It's going to come up and I guess this is my way of saying that, I love you. And I ... know.

( God, she's so much better at fortifying and pep talking. And fighting. Jesus. Shut her up. This did not go well. She still doesn't like the 'obsess' comment, but she still loves Landon. )

[moderatelycompetent]

[There's something kind of sweet in that. Beautiful, in its own way. And coming from Hope, it's a pretty big extension of trust. It's something that should be honored. ]

And if something happens here, then it happens. And that's okay with me if it's okay with you. I love you too, Hope.

[He hesitates.]

This is usually the part where I hug you, but....

[havethings]

Go. Go shower. Please clean yourself and that smell, but, I'll be here when you get back.

( Dressed. )

[moderatelycompetent]

Right. Right, I'm gonna... Yeah.

[And now he's mostly just scrambling. Maybe he can get one of the superheroes to teach him how to make cooler exits.]

[havethings]

( Hope for her part beats herself up for the strangest tangent ever reached in hell, gets dressed, and gets out of there.

She finds her way to Lizzie who is exactly as comforting as you'd expect, but, she does make a few good points. And Hope didn't exactly convey anything well. First getting defensive and then rambling.

So, it's probably after Landon is showered and settled in with whatever book, coming, DVD he's found when Hope makes her way back in to the room.

She toes off her shoes in the doorway. )

Hey, can we talk?

[moderatelycompetent]

[It's calmer when he's clean. She'll find him curled up on the floor around a pile of books -- the local lore, pulled from the library so they don't feel quite as adrift in everything. He looks up when Hope returns, setting a scrap from his notebook in place to hold his page.]

Yeah, sure. Something up?

[He's had enough time to start reading about bossy archangels, and their previous talk seems less pressing.]

[havethings]

( So, maybe she obsesses. Because she went straight to Josie and has been stewing, wondering if she's going to come off as sex-crazed, and Landon's hit the books.

And now she regrets saying it like that.

So, she'll ease into 'What is up,' by taking a seat next to him. )

What are you reading? Find anything useful?

[moderatelycompetent]

Just some stuff on medieval monks thinking St. Michael was the second coming of the angel. [But he leans toward her as she settles, flipping his book back open.]

Any idea how to pronounce this guy's name? [His finger slides over to "Ælfric."]

[havethings]

My gut says Eric. But, I didn't ace Old English. Ancient Sumerian, I aced. ( She settles against him. It's so easy here on the floor. It's almost like they're back in his dorm. And not in hell. ) So. What happened to maybe Eric?

[moderatelycompetent]

Eric it is. [ it makes out as much sense as anything else might be. ]

Seems like maybe Eric was against the idea of angels returning to earth and tried to teach differently. Not at the end, but I figure it's probably going to end with someone getting burned at the stake.

[havethings]

Because angels are witches?

( She'd hate that ending. )

So, in this, angels could return to Earth. Eric was opposed. But, most people wanted their return?

[moderatelycompetent]

Could be something like that. Or Eric could get himself branded a heretic for not going along with what the angel wanted. Seems pretty tense.

[ these books are always incredibly tense. ]

But yeah. Angels could come back as humans and live as saints. Pretty easy way to get a lot of people to do what you tell them to do.

[havethings]

So. Anybody could just say, they were a returned angel. No wonder Eric didn't submit.

( She rests a chin on his shoulder, listening to his commentary, watching his jaw move as he talks, breathing along with him when he doesn't. )

I think that I should tell you more. About how I'm... feeling. And my dad. Malivore. Anything. ( She sighs. ) Everything.

[moderatelycompetent]

[ it's comfortable having her here. When the topic shifts, he sets the book down again and extends an arm over her shoulders. ]

Well I'm here to listen to anything you want to talk about. There's a lot going on.

[havethings]

( Settling against him, she takes a deep breath, knowing it's true. )

I know you are. I'm just not good at saying it. Any of it. It's not... what I do. But. I need to. ( Especially if she expects him to open up, expects any real line of communication to stay open. ) Maybe if you ask a question? That can start? I promise not to shut down or change the subject.

[moderatelycompetent]

I can ask if you want me to.

[And he takes a moment to weigh that responsibility.]

Tell me about your dad? The real one, not the one in the books. [Parents are a huge deal. They're closure, but knowing them can create more problems than they solve.]

[havethings]

( Weigh away. )

For a long time, my dad was a story I heard. He... and the rest of my family were all indisposed. We carted around my uncle Kol, aunt Freya, aunt Rebekah - and uncle Elijah. For... years because of a family prophecy come true. I almost lost them all. And, then, mom found what she needed to save Freya and pretty quickly, my uncles and Rebekah were saved, too. I learned after that dad wasn't in one of the caskets, but captured. He'd given himself over to save his siblings, to give them a fighting chance.

After he was rescued, we met. In person. And... he was my knight. We weren't together long before an ancient evil called the Hollow linked itself to me and then possessed me. But, before that? He was just... my dad. He marveled at how old I'd gotten. How, I'd mastered my power even though that meant secretly taking off my binding bracelet to use it. We painted together. He let me eat as many beignets as I wanted. And every story I'd ever heard didn't matter because he loved me. He would do... anything for me.