Wrong Place, Wrong Time

[Odin]

When Alexandrea asked Odin if he would give Marta her key, he nodded. He knew it was for the best. He didn't trust himself around her, and as Alexandrea had pointed out, they had both lost someone they loved tonight.

And it's my fault.

Odin felt some kind of remorse; at least he tried to, but in some way what happened didn't seem like such a bad thing. The worst part was that it affected Alexandrea....why did Morgan have to be the one who walked through the door?

After it was all said and done, Alexandrea went to leave. With her Vampiric strength, she seemed to rip his door off the hinges and then told him she'd pay for damages.

"No matter," he muttered. "I'm a carpender, I can certainly fix it myself."

She quickly moved to the elevator. He wondered for a moment if he would ever see her again. He grit his teeth hard and caught up with her before she punched in the button to the ground floor.

He grabbed her arm and spun her around. "Can you ever forgive me?" he asked just above a whisper.

[Alexandrea]

Her body reacted in conflicting ways as the Killer's hand touched her and turned Alexandrea to face him. The suddenness of being grabbed triggered her fighter's responses but the tactile memory of Odin's touch reminded her body of other actions as well.

Alex gave into neither of those impulses however, and just looked up at Odin with her eyes shining as tears continued to run down her face. 'Does it matter?" was the first thing she thought of to say but she held her tongue.

She could almost hear Odin's gruff reply in her head if she asked him that. He would likely say something to the effect of; 'if it hadn't have mattered, he wouldn't have asked'. And he wouldn't be too pleased to have to point out the obvious. The thought actually made Alexandrea grin slightly.

"Of course I could, Odin." She said in a matter of fact way, managing to keep her voice level even as her eyes refused to stop leaking water. "The question is would I?"

"And right now the truth is that I just don't know." Her tone was soft, almost gentle and she looked away from Odin's face and glanced down to his huge hand that made her arm look so small as he continued to hold it. She didn't try to pull away and wondered if she should.

She hiccuped one last time and squeezed her eyes shut, willing the waterworks to JUST STOP. Back under control, she lifted her eyelids and looked away from Odin's hand, back up into his face.

"I have to admit that I am upset about more than Morgan, Odin. I'm tired of losing people I love and this is the second time in a row I'm leaving your place with a broken heart. I have a lot of questions that I don't know if you will ever answer. Questions about why you stopped wanting me. But I know you do care for me in your own way. You would not have ever bothered to tell me about Morgan if you didn't. "

The blonde drew in some air, still a bit shaky and sighed. Just like any stereotypical Allurist, Alexandrea's emotions ran very deeply and she couldn't always keep a level head when she felt overwhelmed by her feelings.

But she did her best to try. She gently and slowly took Odin's hand that still held her arm in her own hand and then gave it a quick squeeze before she let go of it and then met his eyes again.

"It's not that I mind you touching me, normally. I just don't know how to react to it right now. I'm still confused about what happened between us and I am hurting a lot, some of it still from my feeling dumped... and now some, or rather a lot actually, from also from losing someone else who I loved."

"And who really loved me back. And I know Morgan did. Part of me wants to be hugged so badly right now I can't think straight but the other side of me is just so terrified that if someone was to hold me, that I'd fall apart all over the place."

"And right now when I look at you, Odin?" Alex began as a slight grin crossed her lips; "I can't decide if I'd rather kiss you or kill you. So I think I need some time. I need to go home and process what's happened and then figure out what I need to do next."

"Morgan was more than my friend you know. She worked for me, she helped me to take care of things. I could count on her when it mattered. And believe it or not? You had something in common with her. She was always telling me to keep out of trouble, too." Alexandrea's laughter was hollow and she shook her head. "Something I really seem to suck at."

[Odin]

After a pause, Alexandrea responded to his question. She didn't know if she could forgive him or even if she should.

She didn't try to pull away from him either, which he had expected her to do under the circumstances. Instead she looked up at him and spilled.

"I have to admit that I am upset about more than Morgan, Odin. I'm tired of losing people I love and this is the second time in a row I'm leaving your place with a broken heart. I have a lot of questions that I don't know if you will ever answer. Questions about why you stopped wanting me. But I know you do care for me in your own way. You would not have ever bothered to tell me about Morgan if you didn't."

Did I stop wanting her?

Odin frowned for a moment, not at Alexandrea, but at the thought that jolted into his head, though he didn't elaborate on it.

Alexandrea gently removed his hand from her arm, then continued to speak. She was hurt and confused about several topics revolving around him hurting her in one way or another - not that she stated it as such, but to nutshell it, that's what it was. He had taken so much from her.

And I actually feel bad about it

He frowned again. Did he? He thought he did. It felt like he did. Then Alexandrea went on about Morgan.

"...who really loved me back. And I know Morgan did. Part of me wants to be hugged so badly right now I can't think straight but the other side of me is just so terrified that if someone was to hold me, that I'd fall apart all over the place."

Yeah, he felt bad about it.

Odin resisted the urge to hug her tightly. He nodded when she mentioned her particular talent for getting into trouble. He then found himself frowning again.

None of this was supposed to happen

"Yeah, yeah, and that seems to be my ******* mantra," he grumbled under his breath. He thought back to the day he had left his human life behind. He was going to finish Serenity's bookshelves, then kill her. He had it all planned out. That certainly didn't happen after she accidentally knocked the shelf over on him and crushed his chest - not to mention the fact that she was a Vampire. To save him she turned him into one as well, and this life he embraced.

He had a plot to kill Alexandrea as well. Once again, this most certainly did not go as planned. He pondered a moment that his well laid plans as a human usually followed through, but now everything seemed to be in disarray - and he hated being ******* disorganized.

The reality was, what was done was done. He could not reverse time or the actions he took. There really wasn't much he could do about it. The fact was, Alexandrea didn't deserve all that had transpired.

He closed the small space between them and wrapped his arms around her tightly. Odin pressed his face into her hair, the scent of it always welcome and said, "I wish I could take away your pain."

[Alexandrea]

After having her say, Alexandrea felt extremely drained but somehow a little better. She noticed that Odin frowned after she brought up how often she got herself into jams and the thought crossed her mind again that maybe that was what the root of the problem had been between them. The Killer muttered under his breath but even with her sharp ears, the Allurist missed the comment. Not that she would have known what Odin had meant by the remark if she had caught it. She would have just wondered when Odin had become a Buddhist.

Alexandrea had been able to calm down enough that she she was able to meet Odin in the eyes and and was about to say her goodbyes to finally leave when something about the man stopped her. Was she only seeing what she wanted to see or was Odin.. really feeling badly? That he had been sorry, Alex had believed before but there was something more that she sensed from the Killer now. The new strength of her empathy was something she was still getting used to but the Allurist had been around Odin enough to be able to read him somewhat, even without any extra abilities.

Not knowing what to say, Alex just looked up into the tall man's face and blinked back the last few tears. When he stepped close and wrapped his arms around her, she was startled enough to gasp. Her eyes went wide as Odin held her tightly and spoke into her hair, his scent so close she almost got weak in the knees. He wanted to take away her pain? There was so much that Alexandrea could say to that but her resolve to not cry anymore had started to crumble.

For a few minutes she just stood there with him holding her and sobbed silently, shaking as she soaked poor Odin's shirt. After what might have seemed like an eternity to the Killer, the Allurist drew in a quick deep breath, hiccuped once, and then stopped crying altogether.

"That's a kind thought Odin. Not possible but kind. I wouldn't let you even if it was though, that wouldn't honor my friends memory. Share my pain with you, that I would do. And could if you ever really wanted that. There's lots I'd love to share with you."

She chuckled a little and got back on the subject. "But I wouldn't want to diminish my feelings for anyone that I love, just to spare myself a little pain. Not even you."

[Odin]

After a few minutes Alexandrea responded to his comment. What she stated about her pain being nullified not honoring Morgan's memory made sense. Odin nodded. She offered to share her pain with him and then mentioned there were many things she'd love to share. Odin raised an eyebrow.

"Let's go back into the apartment," he stated. He extended his arm toward the door with the shattered frame.

Odin followed Alexandrea into his home and once inside he adjusted the door to close the best it could at the moment. He didn't see Marta and figured she was still gathering some things.

His curiosity was getting the better of him. Instead of addressing the topic on his mind immediately he said to Alexandrea, "I appreciate your offer for Marta to stay with you. Rather than give her the key after you leave, I'd prefer you take her with you."

The strong urge he had, that resulted in Morgan's demise, had lessened considerably but he still didn't trust himself alone with Marta in the apartment.

He paused another moment more before asking, "And what exactly do you wish to share with me?"

[Alexandrea]

She took a quick glance around the apartment building’s floor, as he spoke, relieved to see that they were still alone. But it was only a matter of time until one of Odin’s neighbour's might wander by. It was rather astonishing that no one had noticed any ruckus thus far and had come to investigate.

“Discretion is the key.” Alexandrea mumbled under her breath with a nod, looking in the direction that the Killer had gestured, she imagined feeling a sudden chill as he moved his arm away. Odin was correct, it was time to move the drama back into what was left of the privacy of the his apartment.

Alex bit her bottom lip as she stepped away from Odin and went back inside through the ruined door frame, gently touching what was left of the door itself with an apologetic look over her shoulder up at him as she heard the Killer coming back into the room behind her.

“I guess I don’t know my own strength sometimes?” The Allurist offered weakly.

She went back over to the couch and sat down carefully on the end of it. As far away from the faint impression on the cushions that were all that remained of her friend Morgan, as she could manage. Alexandrea stared at the floor, feeling too drained to wonder at why Odin had stopped her from leaving and too raw to have hope anymore that such a gesture meant anything at all.

The blonde looked up after a few minutes, nodding quietly to the man that she both loved and hated equally at the moment, once he had made a valiant but pointless attempt at closing the door. “I know.. that you know, that I didn't do that intentionally. Just as I know you didn't… “

Alex couldn't bring herself to actually say it but was sure she didn't have to, that the Killer would understand exactly what she meant. If he even heard her speaking, her voice was so soft and low human ears wouldn't have. Then Odin suggested Marta should leave with Alexandrea, and the woman nodded yet again.

“Yes, of course. And… I’d like that. I don’t much like the idea of being alone tonight. I’m not sure I can trust myself not to act out.”

The blonde drew in another unnecessary breath of air to sigh, before getting ready to ask Odin about how long Marta might be. She wasn't sure what else there was left to say between the two of them, when the Killers next question took her off guard. What did she want to share with him?

Alexandrea blinked in surprise and then stood back up abruptly. Odin wasn't standing too far away but Alex took a long time to cross that carpet between them, eyeing the Killer warily as she went towards him. As if he might bite.

When at last she stood almost toe to toe with the much taller man, the blonde broke into a huge grin that lit up her whole face. Her eyes shone like bright blue-green stars, and even had their old twinkle back in them again for a few moments, as Alexandrea Quartermaine drew herself up to her full five feet and one and a half inches tall.

“Short answer, Mr. Odin Birn? Everything. And I do mean everything. Well, ALMOST everything.” She actually giggled slightly for a split second, but it didn't last.

The smile fell away little by little as her eyes clouded over and her lashes blinked rapidly a few times. Alex squeezed them shut tightly but one stray tear managed to escape and wind it’s way down her cheek unnoticed. Alex’s hair swayed around her shoulders in a golden wave as she shook her head no.

“Bet you just LOVE hearing that, huh?” Alex chuckled and stepped away, turning so Odin couldn't see the pain in her face as she struggled not to lose it again.

After a moment, the Allurist had collected her wits again and turned back to face someone that could make her feel both more pain and more joy than anyone else ever had.

“Do you really WANT the long answer?” Alexandrea chuckled once more, smiling again but it was a sad smile that didn't reach her eyes. “I’m guessing no. Believe me some nights I wish I had an off switch myself.”

“Although right now I’d rather just mourn my friend. And I think Marta is the right one to share that with, not you. But I do believe you that you wish it hadn't been my Morgan.”

She briefly closed her sea coloured eyes and paused for a long moment. “Any chance you could check on what’s keeping Marta? Think I’d just like to just go cry with some Ben & Jerry's for awhile. Maybe in a few days I’ll come back to kick your ***. We’ll see.”

The wide grin she gave him showed both of Alexandrea’s fangs. But it was impossible to tell whether or not the blonde was just kidding or totally serious as she stared up into Odin’s eyes without blinking.

[Odin]

When Odin asked, "And what exactly do you wish to share with me?" Alexandrea stood up quickly from the couch, then took her time walking right up to him to reply. The answer he did not expect, though at this point he wasn't even sure what he was expecting.

“Bet you just LOVE hearing that, huh?”

Odin contemplated how to respond, but before he could, she asked if he wanted the long answer, and then she stated what she thought his response would be. Alexandrea then asked he if could check and see what was keeping Marta, and also commented about possibly kicking his ***, her eyes never leaving his. He figured at this point, no matter what he said, it wouldn't help the situation any. Instead he nodded and turned to go see what was taking his thrall so long.

Odin found Marta sitting on the bed, wiping tears from her eyes. Her suitcase was packed and on the bed next to her. When she saw him enter the room, she sniffled, then straightened herself up, and gave him look of hatred.

"Your ride is waiting," he said with a smirk.

Marta grasped the handle of the case and slowly stood up, still glaring at him.

"Would you rather it had been you?" he growled.

At this comment Marta broken down again, sobbing quietly. She sniffled a few more times and then whispered, "Yes."

Odin signed and put his hand to his temple. He let his hand drop and wondered if the result would have been the same if Marta had been the one to walk through the door. He followed up his thoughts with, "You'd better go now. Alexandrea is waiting. I'm sure you both can comfort each other."

He didn't wait for her, but turned and left the room. Marta followed him quickly, trying to keep the tears from starting again. She needed to be strong for Alexandrea.

She saw Alexandrea standing in the living room, and walked quickly to her side. "I'm ready," she said solemnly to the pretty Vampire.