Nothing ever stays the same, and yet some change takes place over so much time that one almost seems to miss it happening before their eyes. In the end, it’s almost as if there was never a change in the first place. The streets of Harper Rock just before sunset seemed to demonstrate it so perfectly. The lower the sun dropped in the sky, the faster people seemed to move. It spoke to the tightrope wire it seemed to be balancing on without a clear tip in either direction. But the approaching summer promised and delivered longer days that many were taking advantage of. There was little chance that Maria would have agreed to meet this late, otherwise.
The small cafe located about a block away from the office had always been a favorite spot for a quick pick-me-up after a hard day, be that food or coffee. Bodies crowded into the small space, each waiting impatiently for their vice as the paladin worked his way through them. Maria’s curly head of blonde hair bobbed as she waved at him from her small corner table, two drinks in hand. ”Maria.” he greeted as he slipped into the chair opposite her own, accepting the paper cup she nudged towards him and the bittersweet aroma filled his nose as he took a deep breath. A slow smile took up residence on his face as he gazed at the woman across the table. ”I trained you well if you still remember how I take my coffee…” he commented as he lifted to the cup for a sip with an appreciative sigh.
Maria snorted into her own cup, a shoulder lifting it in a careless shrug. ”I worked with you long enough to know you’re much more pleasant after a caffeine fix. I doubt you’ve changed that much.” She paused for a moment, eyes roaming freely over his face as if searching for an answer she was going to find. ”How’s the family?”
Flynn’s eyes shifted to the window without a thought, watching passerby as he considered his answer to her question before responding. They hadn’t been back for very long, yet, but things were starting to fall into place. Routine. As he brought his green eyes back to the blonde, he offered a vague smile. ”We’re adjusting,” he finally settled on, discreetly glancing around her person for the reason behind their meeting. There was no rush, but he’d had every intention of making it back sooner rather than later, and he’d warned her of his intention for a stop and go scenario. ”Speaking of family...?”
A soft huff followed the question as if he had insulted Maria by even insinuating she wouldn’t have accomplished what she set out to do. Reaching down beside her chair, she shuffled around in what Flynn would only assume was her bag before straightening out with yellow envelope in hand. Without explanation, she held it out over tabletop. ”Greg took care of everything. All it’s missing is a signature.” Her eyes took on a misty quality as she spoke, like she might just cry at any second.
He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at her sentimentality --she had no idea what this truly meant for them-- even as he stared down at the packet in hand with finality. One of those doors that had slammed shut in the year prior could finally be opened again, and it was only a signature away. It was stupid, really, but a knot of anxious energy settled in the pit of his stomach at the thought of handing them over, his leg bouncing as he sat in silence. It wasn’t that he expected a negative reaction. In fact, he expected the exact opposite. Still, that one signature made everything real. And after that, there was only one other matter to attend to in order to bring the whole thing full circle. It was...a little terrifying, frankly, but in a good way.
The sound of a bell ringing at the counter broke his quiet reflections, only to find himself looking up into Maria’s knowing gaze. ”Oh shut up…” he muttered, rising to a stand with packet and coffee in hand. Swinging around the table, one free arm wrapped around her shoulders in a brief hug before stepping back. ”Thanks, Maria...I owe you one.” With that, he turned and walked back out the way he’d come with her laugher trailing along behind him.
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When Flynn had first moved to Harper Rock, Veil Tower and the apartment he’d purchased had been perfect. It was small enough that he and Athena lived comfortably without the sensation of being locked in a closet, but not so big that it felt like too much open space. Azraeth came along and less time was spent there and it had once crossed the paladin’s mind to sublet it to someone else. Now, with his family taking up residence there until a more permanent solution could be found, he’d never been more glad for keeping the apartment vacant the entire time. Three bodies and two canines (one of which was the size of the smallest body) was a lot to hold in a space that had never been intended for so many. He itched to get out, to find something that would suit them all rather than simply what was convenient.
Patience was a virtue, and he was working on that. Really.
As he pushed the door open, he was immediately greeted by the pounding of eight paws against the hardwood. As Ares and Athena raced to his side, he knelt down to give them some attention while being mindful of the envelope in his jacket before glancing around the space for signs that his vampire had woken up in the time it took him to get back. ”Az?” he called out, pausing only a second to allow for an answer if there was one to be given. He didn’t need to announce himself, really, but it was a force of habit. With a pat for each pup, he straightened out and stepped further within. The familiar prickle under his skin told of a vampire’s presence but Flynn knew better than to expect a reply from Liam. There had been only one stipulation on his part before the move back to Harper Rock and that was that he continues to see his friends. With no argument to be had against it, he’d taken the boy to St. Catharines earlier that afternoon to spend the next couple of days with his friend’s family for the weekend. The text he’d received on his way home confirmed that the boy was having ‘so much fun.’ Naturally.
”I’m not sure I know what to do with a kid-free weekend, anymore…” That bit was muttered, more to himself than anything, but still out loud. If the universe didn’t have an answer for him, then maybe Azraeth would. Wandering aimlessly throughout out the apartment in search of the man, he continued on, "He sends his...request that you call or text him goodnight since he didn't get to say goodbye before we left."
