Friends and Lovers

[Existentially Odd]

Indie snorted, instinctively rubbing his cheek against her smooth hair, liking the sensation so much it almost distracted him from responding straight away.  "I wouldn't count on it.  He's pretty fucking precious about you too, you know.  I think he's... nervous about getting back together with you.  It's been, what?  A couple of hundred years?  You can't expect it to get better in a few weeks, right?" he pointed out, rubbing her back slowly.  She felt surprisingly vulnerable in his arms and his spite about her being so superior towards him faded gradually.  He pulled back to look her in the eye.

"Will and I... we've had plenty of go-rounds, don't worry.  It's taken us a few years to get it sorted; I think it'll go faster for you, because you're connected, just... be patient.  Come back," he entreated, tilting his head in the direction of home and giving her body a gentle tug, his hands clasped together in the small of her back.  "We can all sleep in the same bed, if you want - I'll even wear clothes.  We'll become one big family," he chuckled, winking at her in an effort to make her smile again.

[Saccharin]

Anna quietened while Indie talked and held her, only sniffling occasionally, and didn't resist when he pulled back to meet her gaze. He'd been successful in calming her hysteria, but didn't manage to make her smile as he'd intended. She looked glum still, with her long eyelashes matted together with tears and her face all splotchy.

"I don't think William would like us all sleeping together," she said quietly, and she wasn't sure she did either. It was nice to be held; she'd enjoyed it when Nash had cradled her after their lovemaking sessions, and now with Indie (even if it was only because he felt sorry for her), but she couldn't picture her sire willingly taking her into his arms. She didn't think she could deal with rejection at the moment, not with as frayed as her nerves were.

It would've been best for them all if she'd been able to go to Nash, but his home was farther away than her cabin, and getting there before the sun took to the sky was impossible. William could've driven her to the human, but she wasn't sure she wanted to expose her sire to him just yet.

"I could stay in William's bed, like he offered," she proposed.

[Existentially Odd]

The fact that she took him seriously about sleeping in the same bed as he and Will made him smile but he stifled it so that she didn't think he was smirking at her in her time of distress.  "Yeah, of course," he agreed, taking her words as acquiescence and turning her around so that they could walk together back to the house, his left arm around her waist and his right crossing his body to hold her right hand loosely.  If she showed any sign of wanting to get out of his hold, he would let her go but otherwise he would coddle her the whole way.

"The bed's practically new, too.  Even when he didn't share my bed, he rarely slept in it," he said inanely, making inconsequential conversation as they headed back at a far slower pace than they'd executed their first trip.  He was looking ahead of them, wondering if Will had reacted to the sound of them both thumping out of the house and decided to come after them; he would have felt Anna go, shared her emotions and known she was upset.  Indie assumed he'd met them on their return to make it better.  He envied her that connection, and because of that petty emotion, he didn't ask if she could feel Will coming.  "I dunno' how he does it.  I can't wait to pass out, tonight," the redhead sighed through a laugh, feeling incredibly weary now that the trauma of Anna escaping was resolved.

[pinkroses]

William ran a hand over his face as he felt Anna leaving, swallowing down the pain that swelled in his chest. He should have learnt, she would never follow him when it became difficult, she would always prefer to run away and try to deal with everything herself. It was so fucking frustrating and it hurt, knowing she wouldn’t come back to him. Maybe that was it. Maybe she’d be gone for another few hundred years. Maybe he’d messed up again.

And why should she? He was obviously useless when it came to dealing with people he cared about. How had he even been considering suggesting to Indie they could find someone to sire together? It would just mess everything up even more. He had managed to upset her so much and that hurt most of all, knowing that he could do that to someone he was so connected to.

He sat up with a frown as he heard Indie rushing after Anna, surprised by that and wondering whether Indie might actually be able to bring her back when William would have given up, thinking it was a lost cause.

He slowly followed them, padding barefoot out of the house, the cuffs of his jeans scuffing along the pavement. She was calmer – but that was nothing to do with him, that was Indie. The redhead was so hot and cold with Anna, but he knew how to act when it was needed.

When William spotted the two younger vampires heading back towards the house he felt a weight lifting off his chest. She wasn’t gone again, she was here and coming back. Indie could be such a prick sometimes but apparently he was much better at this than William was and William needed that.

William picked up his pace a little until he met them and without hesitation wrapped his arms around Anna, one over her shoulder and the other around her waist, not quite as comfortably as Indie could with his greater height, but pulling her close, ignoring any attempt she might make to stop him. He wanted to thank Indie for bringing her back, but he had to focus on her first of all.

“I thought I’d lost you again,” he murmured, pressing his cheek against hers, the dampness on her skin sending a sharp throb of guilt through him.

[Saccharin]

When Indie had taken her into his arms, she'd allowed him to do so, but had not held him in return. William, the one she'd wanted so desperately to chase after her, experienced her clutching hands at his back and her arms around his sides. She rubbed her cheek against his in return, and then buried her face into his neck and closed her eyes, savoring the immediate peace she felt when held by her sire. His words made her feel childish and stupid, because she hadn't considered that when she ran, it would hurt him enough that he might not think to come after her. Just like when he'd left her originally, all those years ago, and she hadn't chased after him because why bother? It'd been clear to her then that he didn't want anything to do with her if he'd been able to leave her in the first place.

Oh, what idiots they could be.

She breathed a hiccup of a laugh and hugged William tighter. "Indie found me," she said, opening her eyes briefly to smile at the redhead before she returned to nuzzling William's neck. "I didn't make it very far," she admitted after a moment, sounding guilty. In her anger and haste, she'd barreled out of the apartment expecting that she'd find shelter before the sun rose, but at the rate she'd been traveling, she wouldn't have been able to both locate and ensure a place was lightproof before she passed out.

"I want to stay with you today," she said, and was relieved and nearly brought to tears again when they all three began walking back to the apartment.