MiaSwordMaiden

Dresden RP Blog. Original character and aspiring Knight of the Cross Feel free to send prompts, asks, or anything else my way. I don't have anything in the way of triggers. I will try to tag ones that I feel are obvious but I'm bad at tags so just yell...

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[miaswordmaiden]

t-raith‌:

miaswordmaiden‌:

 She’d need to take the dog out and stuff, but she was looking forward to getting more relaxed.

Thomas snickered. “Technically it’s the character running in games. Haven’t had a lot of time for them lately, anyway.” He glanced at Mia again, taking in her costume, and he grinned at her. “Guessing you’ve had more time than me. You a grand master yet? Top 500? I feel like I should be getting your autograph.”

She scolded him for his radio silence and he had the presence of mind to look sheepish about it when she told him to stay in touch better.

“I know! I will. I promise.” He smiled ruefully. “I’ll do my best. I’ll never go years, though. If I do, something’s seriously wrong. End of the world type of things.”

Not that that was an impossibility. Wasn’t that a cheery thought?

Apparently her old mentor had vanished… but was still paying her. Thomas shrugged. Sounded like a best case scenario to him.

“Sweet. Free money then. Hard to argue with that!” He glanced at Mia. “Besides, that guy was creepy. I always felt like he might start trying something. Like he wanted you to feel like you owed him for the money. Maybe I’m biased, though. He never liked me.” He frowned. “Come to think of it, he probably thought those exact same things about me. But I haven’t been paying you off!”

That wasn’t at all the same thing! If anything, he was the one who owed Mia!

He headed towards the building with her, pleased with the way she held on to him. It was nice to feel like someone wanted him around, and Mia was one of the few people he knew would never have an ulterior motive. She didn’t have a single cruel bone in her body. She was entirely too good a person for him.

It was probably unfortunate, then, that that very trait drew him in.

“In theory!” he laughed. “Didn’t have time to go shoe shopping though. The candy place was literally on the way. Besides, I don’t know your shoe size! Or what kind of shoes you like. You never struck me as the type with a huge shoe collection.” Not that he’d ever paid close attention to people’s footwear. “I haven’t tried all the candy yet. Cherry and something like peach so far. Not sure what else.”

Mia laughed when Thomas guessed at her rank. She wasn’t that good! She was hardly good at all! “I just play for fun! I’m dressed like D.Va but I don’t have to play to win.” He had to know that about her by now. She wished she was more competitive, but it just seemed so mean sometimes. Besides, it never got her anywhere.

She nodded when he assured her that if he was ever gone for years it was just because the world was ending. “I get that. Like, I hope that doesn’t happen, but I understand. It sucks that you get dragged into those things, but that’s magic.” She didn’t have to worry about any of it really. It kindof sucked knowing when she couldn’t do anything about it, but it was also cool that she could just zone out if she wanted to and have a normal life.

Thomas had never liked Bertram, and she knew why they didn’t get along. They were both worried about her, and that was sweet, but it was also a little sad. “I’m trying to just leave the money in a savings account in case he wants it back. I dunno. He was really nice to me. I did learn a lot, but I get that it was weird too. Everything in magic is pretty weird. I can’t even keep up.”

She struggled down from the car and led him inside as they chatted about his trip and shoes. “Well, I don’t! But those shoes are famous! I’m a size six by the way. I dunno if that changes in European sizes or whatever. I bet your sisters know though, or Justine.” He had lots of ladies in his life that probably owned shoes from Italy!

“That sounds-” her reaction to his chocolate description was interrupted by Tipsy wriggling through the door of her apartment as she opened it. She jumped up to put her paws on Thomas’ chest to try to lick his face, only to give up and bound around him before trying again.

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[miaswordmaiden]

t-raith‌:

miaswordmaiden‌:

 “I’m sure they’d be much better if they were dick shaped. Where are they from?”

Thomas nodded. “Right, the dog, too. Makes sense.” He smirked. “Running is a good way to clear your head, in my experience. I don’t do it as much as I used to anymore. Just feels like I’m always too busy.” He hesitated, then admitted, “Or too lazy!”

Mia told him why she liked hanging out with him, too, and he laughed, pleased with her compliments. That was the other thing about her; it was never about flattery. She was just sweetly sincere. She didn’t even lie! Well, probably not unless she really had to, but she didn’t seem to think she needed to much. How many people could he say that about in his life? Kai, probably, but not many others. Not even himself.

“Man, I get that,” he said, nodding vigorously. “It’s like that for me, too. Feels like I have to put on a different mask for everyone. There’s the one I have to wear around my family, the one I have to wear around the Court, the one for the wizards, the one for the normals who don’t know any better. Feels like it never ends. There aren’t a lot of people in the world who just accept me like I am.” He fell silent for a moment. “Even I don’t. Not always. But I never have to worry about it with you.”

Even when he’d hurt her, she had still accepted him. She just hadn’t accepted what he’d done, and he understood that distinction. Again he felt a small rush of relief that it had worked out in the end, that she hadn’t hated him forever. That she was even in the car with him now, wearing that spandex costume that nobody at the party had even understood. He shook his head, grinning to himself, as he turned onto her street.

And then she reassured him that she wasn’t planning to leave exactly, just move somewhere else in the city. Somewhere bigger, or with a yard or something. “Good!” he said firmly. “Yeah, I guess that’s not a bad idea. Dogs in apartments don’t always work out well, even if you get a place that lets you have them. Can you afford it, though? You quit with Uber, right? Do you still get that stipend from that one dude? The, uh…” He furrowed his brow. He’d met the man once or twice, but barely knew him, and there’d been a whole lot of mistrust and dislike directed his way. “That guy who was mentoring you.”

The car pulled to a stop at her building, and he looked over at Mia, taking in the sight of her again with a smile still on his lips before getting out of the car. “Italy,” he answered. “There was a little candy shop near my hotel. I stopped by on the way back from dinner and bought a bunch of chocolates. I’ve only tried a few of them but they’re really good. Some of them have those weird fruit fillings that I normally don’t like that much, but they’re actually really good in these.”

Mia laughed when Thomas detailed the reasons he hadn’t been running. “Well you run in video games! That’s like, practically the same thing!” He didn’t seem to really need exercise anyway. He always seemed to stay really fit. He got lots of cardio and all naturally.

It was sad to hear him talking about needing to be a different person with people, especially when he listed himself among the others. “Then you’d better stay in touch!” She reprimanded, but mostly in a playful way. “A few months is one thing, but if you go years I’ll get all grumpy!” That went for her too, but they could get together every now and then! They’d already made some plans for a few months later. They just needed to do that, even if they didn’t talk every day.

She sighed when he wondered if she had enough money for a house. “Not really, but maybe one day. I just want a yard to practice in and let the dog run. Maybe after i get a few raises. That’ll be a few years, but one day!” She could get a roommate, but unless it was Kai or someone she didn’t think it’d work. They’d have to know about magic but not bring too much trouble to the house. It was a delicate balance.

“Umm, kinda? I’ve just put it into an account not to spend? Like, he disappeared a while ago and it’s just on autopay or something.” She shrugged. it felt wrong to spend it and she had no idea if he’d come back one day and want it all back.

They reached her place and she started to unbuckled so she could hop down. “Italy! So you could’ve bought me shoes!” Missed opportunities. “Those sound good though. What sorts of fruits are in them?” She clambered down from her seat and linked her arm with his as she led him toward her apartment. She’d need to take the dog out and stuff, but she was looking forward to getting more relaxed.

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[t-raith]

miaswordmaiden‌:

Mia beamed when Thomas talked about her needing to stop and rest. “Naa, I work out!” Sure she was short, but that’s why she had lots of practice climbing on top of things!” He spoke of keeping a step stool in the back and she laughed. “No! You can just give me a boost!” She cupped her hands to demonstrate and lifted them like he was throwing her up.

She buckled up and Thomas navigated out of the clearing. She remembered how he drove. She wasn’t sure she was ready to handle it again, but she knew that he was a really good driver. They’re probably get home okay. Besides, this thing was a tank.

“What? Why?” She wondered when he mentioned remembering why he liked humans. She shook her head when he talked about her moving. “Nope! Not yet! I’ve got too much stuff. Moving is a pain.” And nothing had come after her there yet so she was probably pretty safe.

“You’ve been travelling around, huh? Did you bring back and souvenirs? I’ve heard the shoes in Italy are amazing.” She’d still never been anywhere like that, but maybe one day. She was making money now, and she had wizard friends who could save her money on flights!

“Oh, you do?” Why did it come as a surprise that Mia worked out? It just wasn’t the impression that Thomas had of her. He realized suddenly that his incredulity could be considered offensive. “Sorry. I just didn’t know you liked working out. Or you mean swords and everything?”

Did she even still do that? Did that count as working out? He just kept imagining tiny Mia lifting weights at the gym or something. Just how much had changed since he’d left for his trips?!

Not that this was an unwelcome change. It was better than coming back to find that she’d gotten seriously hurt or something bad had happened. Man, it was weird to feel like he’d missed so much, even just mundane stuff. Was that what it was always going to be like? Given his projected lifespan, assuming the apocalypse or some demonic force didn’t kill him first, he probably just had to get used to things moving on without him while he was stuck in some kind of pseudo-immortal limbo.

Cheery thought.

He smirked in Mia’s direction at her surprise about his preference for humans as he pulled out onto the highway and zipped towards her apartment building.

“Because you’re charming. Well, I mean humans as a whole, but also you specifically. There’s this cute, playful innocence that you have that you just can’t find in wizards or my sisters or evil demons, you know? And you can actually have a good time without constantly scheming or murdering people. It’s just… a breath of fresh air, if that makes sense. I’ve been dealing with my family so much lately that I almost forgot what the rest of the world is really like.” He paused. “I missed you, you know.”

He almost added that he wished she’d been there traveling with him, but he didn’t really want that. He loved having her around, but he loved it just as much as he hated the idea of her losing all those qualities from exposure to what his family was really like. He couldn’t even imagine her becoming one of those manipulative sorts. He couldn’t imagine her intentionally hurting anyone. That was why he always felt so fucking guilty when he knew he’d hurt her. It was like kicking a puppy.

“…Yet?” he asked curiously. “You were thinking of moving? What’s wrong with your place? I thought you liked it. It’s pretty big, too.” Compared to some of the places he’d been invited to around the city, anyway. And he remembered from his own apartment hunting ages ago that the costs tended to skyrocket for bigger places, not that he could remember exact rent values anymore. Then something else occurred to him. “Wait, you’re not leaving the city, are you? You’d better not!”

Then Mia asked him about shoes and souvenirs, and he laughed. “Sorry. I didn’t really get much time to myself. I bought a bunch of chocolate, if that counts. I have it back home. I’ll save you some. It’s not dick shaped or anything, but it’s still pretty good.”

[miaswordmaiden]

"Yeah, my training," she confirmed, not addressing his surprise at all. She knew that she still looked pretty small, especially to him. "I still go on runs and stuff too. Just to keep in shape, ya know. Well, and tipsy likes it. She needs a lot of exercise."

She listened with interest when he told her why he liked humans, but her response was lost when he spoke of missing her. "I missed you too. I forgot how easy it is hanging out with you. Most people you've gotta try so hard with, ya know? It's like, this isn't even me! But you've never been like that."

He told her that she'd better not leave the city and that made her laugh. It was nice that things hadn't changed too much between them. "Just of I get another puppy I think I'd want a yard or something where they could run. I wouldn't leave Chicago totally or anything! " maybe just move closer to the outskirts. That wouldn't be too bad. It wouldn't matter to Thomas anyway with how fast he drove.

He was sad that the chocolates weren't sick shaped and she grinned at the memory of his chocolatiering phase. "I'm sure they'd be much better if they were dick shaped. Where are they from?"

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[miaswordmaiden]

t-raith‌:

miaswordmaiden‌:

“Hi! You remember where I live?”

Thomas felt rather entertained watching Mia, and he laughed as she climbed her way into the passenger seat beside him. He pulled his own door closed and started the car once she was safely inside, not bothering with his seatbelt.

“Glad you made it,” he teased her. “I was starting to think you might need a rest before reaching the summit. Should I start keeping a step stool in the back?”

He couldn’t help grinning at her, not really wanting to look away even though he didn’t have much of a choice if he wanted to get moving. Mia was just incredibly, effortlessly cute. Everything she did was unfairly endearing. He shook his head and directed his gaze out the windshield, a crooked smile still on his lips as he drove, navigating them out of the clearing and from the woods out to the road.

“You always remind me why I like humans,” he remarked. Then he chuckled. “Course I remember where you live. Unless you moved without telling me, anyway.”

Mia beamed when Thomas talked about her needing to stop and rest. “Naa, I work out!” Sure she was short, but that’s why she had lots of practice climbing on top of things!” He spoke of keeping a step stool in the back and she laughed. “No! You can just give me a boost!” She cupped her hands to demonstrate and lifted them like he was throwing her up.

She buckled up and Thomas navigated out of the clearing. She remembered how he drove. She wasn’t sure she was ready to handle it again, but she knew that he was a really good driver. They’re probably get home okay. Besides, this thing was a tank.

“What? Why?” She wondered when he mentioned remembering why he liked humans. She shook her head when he talked about her moving. “Nope! Not yet! I’ve got too much stuff. Moving is a pain.” And nothing had come after her there yet so she was probably pretty safe.

“You’ve been travelling around, huh? Did you bring back and souvenirs? I’ve heard the shoes in Italy are amazing.” She’d still never been anywhere like that, but maybe one day. She was making money now, and she had wizard friends who could save her money on flights!

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[t-raith]

miaswordmaiden‌:

Mia frowned at Thomas’ explanation of the Warden’s reasoning, but nodded along with the theory. She understood that made sense to a lot of people, but to her it made more sense to just talk to them and convince them that they were on the wrong path. Most people weren’t unreasonable if you gave them a chance.

She nodded emphatically when Thomas spoke of how the faeries twisted deals. It sucked. They just glossed over so much of the fine print! How could anyone trust people like that?

They walked quickly through the rest of faerie and then came out the other side. She breathed a sigh of relief when they crossed over and flashed Thomas a smile. “I’m glad that’s over with. I like it better when they have parties I can drive to.” At least she was done with that for another year.

He pointed the way toward his car and Mia turned with him, keeping an arm around him. It was cooler here than wherever they’d been, but she knew that sort of thing didn’t bother him. “What are you driving now?”

Thomas chuckled. “Yeah, this one was a bit remote,” he agreed. “Maybe next year it’ll be something in Chicago. Someone’s bound to be doing something. I didn’t hear of any good parties otherwise, though, but I wasn’t around much.”

He had to release Mia as they walked so that he could pull his wings off. It wasn’t really possible to drive with them on. He’d had to toss them in back on the drive here. Which meant that now he just looked like a dude in an odd waist wrap. A ridiculously attractive dude in an odd waist wrap, but still.

“Mostly the Hummer,” he answered when Mia asked what he was driving. He nodded ahead of them. “That’s what I’ve got here. But I bought a Maserati before my last trip. Left it at home since I didn’t want to abandon it in the woods here. Never know who might come by and try something.” He grinned. “Beautiful car, though. I haven’t gotten to drive it enough yet.”

The white Hummer was parked up ahead, the first car visible through the trees as the made it into the clearing. A couple other cars were parked carelessly around it, but there were only three or four, and the Hummer dwarfed them. They looked too new to be driven by especially strong wizards, which suited Thomas just fine, because that meant it was highly unlikely anyone with enough juice to cause serious damage had been in contact with his car. Probably just minor practitioners and others from the Paranet.

He unlocked the car and tossed his wings inside before climbing in. And maybe it literally was a bit of a climb, it occurred to him as he glanced over at short little Mia with amusement in his gaze.

[miaswordmaiden]

Mia took Thomas's cue as he began to pull away and dropped her arm. He shrugged out of his wings in a gesture that was more graceful than it had any right to be. Muscles flexed that she didn't even know people had, but that was Thomas for you.

It wasn't surprising to find out he'd gotten a new car. He'd probably bought two since the last time she'd seen him. They just seemed kinda disposable, and she guessed they'd have to be given all the wizards. She'd probably get something cheaper in that situation, but Thomas had way more money than she could imagine.

They reached the hummer and she waited for him to unlock it before reaching up to grab the sides of the door for support. Even the handle was a little tall, but she could manage.

She was about halfway up when she realized Thomas was waiting on her. "Almost there! O got it!" He didn't need to worry.

When she finally reached the seat beside him she flashed Thomas a wide grin. "Hi! You remember where I live?"

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[miaswordmaiden]

t-raith‌:

miaswordmaiden‌:

 he’d always made a point of protecting her in the past.

Thomas smirked at the reference. He had no idea how accurate it was, but the reasoning made sense. He shrugged. “I guess. Well, it’s like killing Hitler in their minds probably. Like if you could stop him when he was just a kid who didn’t know any better, except they don’t actually know for sure that every wizard who screws up is going to be the next magical Hitler. I don’t know. It just sounds extreme.” He snorted. “And that’s coming from a vampire.”

And more than that, he’d seen how they treated even Harry. And from everything he’d heard about the Council from his brother, he was even less inclined to think fondly of them.

He shrugged at Mia’s musings over the cost of the passage through Faerie. “Yeah, I wondered that, too. I wouldn’t risk a deal. You never know how they would twist it.” Hell, they both knew that only too well. “I guess as a body, the Council probably already negotiates with the Fae Courts from time to time, though. Maybe they just tied it into whatever their normal negotiations involve.”

He quickened his pace for Mia’s benefit, although he didn’t walk any faster than she could keep up. They reached the other end of the Way before much longer at their pace, and he felt better once he was back in known territory again.

“My car’s this way,” he said, nodding towards the short path that led from the Way to a clearing where he’d parked. It was clear from the footsteps that others had come and gone down this path as well already, although he had no idea how many people back at the party had been from Chicago.

Mia frowned at Thomas’ explanation of the Warden’s reasoning, but nodded along with the theory. She understood that made sense to a lot of people, but to her it made more sense to just talk to them and convince them that they were on the wrong path. Most people weren’t unreasonable if you gave them a chance.

She nodded emphatically when Thomas spoke of how the faeries twisted deals. It sucked. They just glossed over so much of the fine print! How could anyone trust people like that?

They walked quickly through the rest of faerie and then came out the other side. She breathed a sigh of relief when they crossed over and flashed Thomas a smile. “I’m glad that’s over with. I like it better when they have parties I can drive to.” At least she was done with that for another year.

He pointed the way toward his car and Mia turned with him, keeping an arm around him. It was cooler here than wherever they’d been, but she knew that sort of thing didn’t bother him. “What are you driving now?”

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[miaswordmaiden]

t-raith‌:

miaswordmaiden‌:

She didn’t want him getting hurt for a mistake.

Thomas felt Mia’s grip on him tighten as they passed through the Way, and he understood why. She had had all sorts of experiences here that few others could even imagine. It was actually remarkable how much she’d survived in her short life so far. But then, trouble did seem to be attracted to her. Hell, she’d befriended him and he didn’t exactly have a shortage of baggage.

“Well, I don’t know how much it happens,” he admitted when Mia questioned him about the Wardens. “I just know they sentence people to death for mistakes, and I feel like newbie practitioners who don’t have anyone to mentor them probably make mistakes like that a lot.”

Okay, so it was just an assumption, but he had reason to believe it. And even if it only happened once a month instead of every day, it didn’t change what hypocrites they were about it!

“They don’t usually stop to talk to me about it,” he went on, “but I did ask one wizard a little about it and was told it’s all for the greater good. Like if they think some novice is too dangerous because they can’t control themselves yet or didn’t know the rules, killing them just ensures they can’t kill anyone else. Like they’re all just assumed to be serial killers.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s stupid. You’d think they’d just get someone to train them instead. Besides, isn’t it a waste of a potential resource? What if the newbie they kill could have grown up to become one of their best Wardens?”

The path crossed an open meadow here, and it looked quite calm and nice. He couldn’t see any sign of the creatures that probably resided here normally. He hadn’t heard any reports of anyone getting bothered, either. There were some sparse trees up ahead, and he could hear the sound of water, probably a creek somewhere where the trees were thicker, where he knew the exit point to be.

Mia nodded along with Thomas’ explanation about Wardens. She’d made a lot of mistakes when she first learned about magic, many of them had nearly gotten her killed. “I get that they don’t want anyone really dangerous running around, but if they are against someone like Voldemort then that won’t be as easy as killing them anyway, right? Like, the ones that just die probably wouldn’t have been much of a threat.”

It wasn’t something she was involved with, butt hat line of reasoning made sense to her. They should try helping people and save their resources for killing the really bad ones!

Man, bad wizards. Why did terrible people get all the cool stuff in life?

“I wonder what it cost them to get passage through here.” She couldn’t help but wonder. Ever since her own deals with faeries she thought about prices other people had to pay. Even something that looked innocent could come at a risk. What did their sponsors have to offer the Summer court?

At least there was nothing around to bug them, but she held on to Thomas anyway. She probably looked like a drunk or a thrall, but she didn’t want to risk being separated, and he’d always made a point of protecting her in the past.

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[miaswordmaiden]

t-raith‌:

miaswordmaiden‌:

 It always sucked when people were mean about things he couldn’t even control.

The Warden looked highly skeptical of Mia’s explanation. Clearly that was something he’d probably heard people say before. It was difficult to tell sometimes, especially in the earlier stages of a vampire’s influence.

But he didn’t actually stop them, as Thomas had expected. Nobody was going to risk causing problems here when there wasn’t any evidence of wrongdoing.

“I know,” Thomas muttered to Mia. “I get it. Not his fault. Not like he’s wrong. You never know when someone’s going to be in trouble. And technically, it doesn’t even matter what I am. Hopefully they get that humans can be just as bad.”

He still wasn’t happy about it, but that didn’t have all that much to do with the situation. He didn’t particularly give a shit what some Warden he hoped never to see again thought of him. It didn’t matter at all. Wardens had a lot of stupid opinions, and it was hard to feel terribly offended by any one of them.

He smirked at Mia as they stepped through the Way and onto the grassy path that ran about a half mile to the exit point.

“It’s not that. I just don’t like Wardens. They’re so smug and self-righteous, you know? How do they get off pretending like I’m some dangerous criminal when they kill their own all the time just for making one tiny mistake? That’s the part that gets to me. I’m just glad I don’t have to accept their authority, personally.”

Mia nodded when Thomas talked about the Warden’s potential prejudice. She was glad that he wasn’t too upset by it. “Yeah, people can suck.” It was hard to tell who was good and bad at a glance. You just had to get to know them and see.

They stepped into Faerie and Mia held Thomas a little tighter. She was still nervous coming here. She didn’t like the reminder of it all. She didn’t like the memories it brought back.

“All the time?” she wondered absently, trying to focus on the conversation instead of her discomfort. It wouldn’t take long to get out of here, and at least she had Thomas along with her this time. On the way here she just ran to the other side and hoped nothing saw her. She got some weird looks, but it was better than getting tricked off the path.

“Do they really kill other wizards a lot? I thought that was just occasional.” Man, did Kai know about that? She hoped he was careful. She didn’t want him getting hurt for a mistake.

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[t-raith]

miaswordmaiden‌:

Thomas was cool with going back to her place and Mia nodded eagerly when he gave his reasoning. “Cool. Yeah, I haven’t been home for Halloween in a long time. I dunno if people come by, but they’re probably used to me being gone by now, so it’s cool if we don’t answer.” The reasoning made sense to her. She always put some candy outside the door. Some of it was gone, but it was never empty when she got home. She could refill it so no one knocked.

“Cold enough,” Mia agreed, wrapping an arm around Thomas in turn. This was nice. It was cool to just relax and talk to her friend again. She hadn’t really realized how much she’d missed it. She laughed when he talked about saving the whales. “They need our help! It’s the only way!”

They reached the entrance of the Way and she nodded to the people guarding it. One of the wizards directed a question at her and she blinked. Oh, because they were leaving early? “Yeah, just got tired of dancing, ya know?” She cast him a grin, figuring that was the end of the interaction.

Thomas was still chuckling when they neared the Way portal, amused at Mia’s joking. She was always so easygoing. He liked hearing her laughter. Hopefully there wouldn’t be too many interruptions at her place. He was getting pretty tired of the crowds, and of being around so many people.

The Wardens didn’t help matters, either. The one who’d addressed them just stared at Mia for a long moment, not quite at her eyes, but he was plainly assessing her expression and demeanor. Then his gaze slid to their arms around each other. His own expression was stony.

“Would you like an escort?” he asked her, something pointed in his expression, as if he were trying to communicate silently with her. “We can see to it that you are brought home safely.”

“She has an escort!” Thomas snapped, bristling at the insinuation. “This is none of your business. She isn’t even one of yours.”

“She is one of yours then?” the man asked icily, his gaze still on Mia.

Thomas had the feeling that he should probably let go of her, but he really didn’t like the idea of backing down when he hadn’t done anything wrong in the first place. Well, not recently. Besides, it wasn’t like they had any rights here. And he didn’t think they would risk causing any trouble. On some level he could even appreciate that they were just trying to look out for a girl who could be in trouble–but she wasn’t.

“She’s my friend,” he said archly, moving to brush past them. “Come on, Mia.”

[miaswordmaiden]

"An escort?" Mia repeated in confusion, but Thomas's reaction and the conversation that followed cleared things up for her. "Oh, no, I'm okay. Really, we're just catching up. I know you're trying to be helpful, but he's not gonna hurt me. Try not to be prejudiced, okay?"

Thomas began to move again and Mia went along with them, turning to cast a friendly wave at the wizard. "It was nice of him to worry," Mia reminded Thomas as they walked away. "Like, if I was going with your sister or a faerie or something then I'd want the help, ya know?"

Still, it probably hadn't been fun for Thomas. She squeezed h in m a little tighter and leaned her head against his shoulder in reassurance. "Are you okay?" It always sucked when people were mean about things he couldn't even control.

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[miaswordmaiden]

t-raith‌:

miaswordmaiden‌:

Kinda funny. I know the reasons are different, but still.”

“Sure,” Thomas agreed indifferently. “Your place is fine. Tipsy is cool. Been a while since I’ve seen her. Plus, people might still be doing trick-or-treating in my building. Quite a few people there seem to have kids, so they do an in-building thing every year. I’m good with avoiding all that.”

Sometimes it could get awkward with their parents. And anyway, he’d rather just eat the candy himself than have to deal with all his neighbors coming by. But mostly, he really couldn’t be alone with Mia with constant interruptions. Her place was a secure building, too, and it wasn’t quite as big a complex as his. With any luck, people didn’t try to get candy there at all.

“Oh, is it cold?” Thomas smirked. The temperature really didn’t bother him. It rarely did until it hit extremes. But he wasn’t about to argue with her plan. “Yeah, you know, come to think of it, I have been feeling a bit chilly. Body heat is a great solution. Very environmentally friendly, too. And you know how passionate I am about the environment. Share some body heat, save the whales, and all that.”

He chuckled at her conclusion about the holiday as they approached the Way entry. She had that right, though, and it was kind of funny.

A pair of Wardens flanked the path, casting a watchful gaze upon everybody who passed in either direction, although by this time more people were departing than arriving. Thomas flashed the nearer Warden a bright smile, but the cloaked man’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at him in response before flickering curiously to Mia.

“Everything okay here?” he asked Mia, obviously concluding that there was a possibility that she wasn’t leaving with a White Court vampire of her own will.

Thomas was cool with going back to her place and Mia nodded eagerly when he gave his reasoning. “Cool. Yeah, I haven’t been home for Halloween in a long time. I dunno if people come by, but they’re probably used to me being gone by now, so it’s cool if we don’t answer.” The reasoning made sense to her. She always put some candy outside the door. Some of it was gone, but it was never empty when she got home. She could refill it so no one knocked.

“Cold enough,” Mia agreed, wrapping an arm around Thomas in turn. This was nice. It was cool to just relax and talk to her friend again. She hadn’t really realized how much she’d missed it. She laughed when he talked about saving the whales. “They need our help! It’s the only way!”

They reached the entrance of the Way and she nodded to the people guarding it. One of the wizards directed a question at her and she blinked. Oh, because they were leaving early? “Yeah, just got tired of dancing, ya know?” She cast him a grin, figuring that was the end of the interaction.

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[miaswordmaiden]

t-raith‌:

miaswordmaiden‌:

 It’s weird how cool people are with it, ya know?”

“Netflix and chill,” Thomas agreed with a broad grin. Even in the most literal sense, that still sounded like a good time to him, but knowing Mia, and knowing how things tended to go when they were alone together, the literal sense probably wouldn’t last. “Your place or mine then? You got someone looking after Tipsy?”

He snorted dismissively at her offer for a towel. “More covering? Now why would I want something like that?” His eyes glittered. “Because here I was starting to think I might already be a little overdressed.”

He was eager to be rid of the wings, though. Not that it wasn’t funny to see all of the people ducking around them and making some space to avoid being smacked by giant fake angel wings, because it definitely was! But the straps weren’t very comfortable, and he didn’t like how the weight felt, like it was some unnatural attachment. Which was exactly the case. It just made him feel less balanced.

He chuckled at Mia’s remark, although the sound wasn’t very amused because he really did understand, probably better than she knew.

“Yeah, I feel you,” he agreed, squeezing her shoulder gently in reassurance as they headed for the Way in question. “But I guess the Council did make an agreement, and if nothing else, you can trust that they’ll be bound by it. It’s completely safe, at least for tonight.”

Thomas asked about location and Mia shook her head. “No, I didn’t think I’d be out too late. Better go to mine I guess. Is that okay?” He liked dogs and everything, so hopefully he was good with it. 

She giggled when he dismissed the idea of being covered up. She’d kinda been thinking that same thing. “Because it’s cold!” She pretended to think, tapping at her chin with a finger. “Maybe just a big blanket that could cover both of us? That’s more efficient anyway!” She beamed over at him, pleased with her idea. It sounded like a good time, and then she could hide her face if the movie was too scary.

It was weird that movies could even be scary after everything she’d been through, but she knew better than anyone that things that didn’t seem real could hurt you. What if some of the horror movies were based after real things?

“Safe for tonight,” Mia repeated with a little amused huff. “That was the point of Halloween wasn’t it? To scare away all the bad stuff from the world. Kinda funny. I know the reasons are different, but still.”

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[miaswordmaiden]

t-raith‌:

miaswordmaiden‌:

 Ya know, if you wanna?”

Mia didn’t have anything more to say about the wedding, but given how shaky her relationship with her family had been when Thomas had been by sometime last year, he supposed he hadn’t really expected anything more. Not that he was terribly invested–he couldn’t even remember her brother’s name! Only the hilarious revelation that the guy had been a virgin despite his long term relationship. The poor girl.

Then she had another suggestion, and it sounded like she was ready to go. Given that it meant spending time with her with fewer than like a couple hundred people in the immediate vicinity, Thomas had no objections whatsoever. He hadn’t been paying any attention to the music or the actual dancing since she’d kissed him, anyway.

“Sure,” he replied with a grin. “Sounds great to me. I didn’t have anything else to check out here. Got any movies at your place? Otherwise I’ve always got Netflix and I know they have some stuff.”

He slid his arm around her shoulders again and turned to make his way back onto the path, towards the Way that had been set up. Passing through the Nevernever was always an unnerving thought given his broad array of unpleasant experiences there, but nothing had happened on the way over, and he knew that any agreement the Fae had made with the Council to arrange for passage would be upheld.

“Netflix and chill?” Mia wondered with an eyebrow waggle. She’d been thinking the same though, who still bought movies? She didn’t really have any downloaded right now, not scary ones at least.

Mostly she was ready to be out of the costume and into pajamas. It’d be good to be able to feel like she could go pee again without a huge struggle being involved. “I can get you a towel if you want to hang out in something more covering,” she teased, just thrilled to have a plan to hang out again. It really had been too long, and sometimes the mundane stuff was the best.

Plus, this way Thomas could walk with her back through the Way. She knew that it was supposed to be safe, but faeries were still scary and Thomas had way more experiences with them than her. “It’s cool to have company for the way back. I still get worried travelling like this. It’s weird how cool people are with it, ya know?”

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[t-raith]

miaswordmaiden‌:

“We’ll figure out something!” Mia chirped with a cheery sort of confidence. Magic could do anything, and she’d met a lot of really strong magical people! One of them was bound to know something!

Thomas wanted to know the logistics of her plan. She didn’t really know. Kids weren’t usually allowed to go alone, but if she did it too then they’d have to find someone else to take them. “Well, maybe I-” Her words cut off along with her brain when Thomas licked her neck. What had she been saying?

He pulled away and she stared up at him, the gears of her thoughts still grinding uselessly as her body tried to process the situation. Right. They were dancing. They were close. Thomas was mostly naked. It was kind of dark, even with the lights. That’s what happened when you used colored ones.

Right. She had her bearings. Clearly it was time to kiss him. She leaned up, looping an arm around Thomas’ neck to pry herself up to him. he was almost too tall to reach without help, but she’d never had trouble convincing him in the past.

It took a moment for them to come back around to regular conversation, but when they did she realized she hadn’t actually mentioned the wedding or anything. “Umm, yeah, of course. I was in it and everything. It was cool. They waited until after the wedding. She got pregnant pretty soon after, though. I guess they really wanted a family.” They were well suited for it. That was part of why her parents liked him so much.

Mia cut off midsentence when Thomas licked her, and this close he could sense the arousal filtering abruptly into her aura unimpeded. That was very nearly tempting enough for him to repeat the gesture, but he stopped himself and settled for amusement at her dumbstruck expression. She was awfully cute like this, all taken by surprise.

And he rather liked that look in her eyes, too. It all but telegraphed her next movement, and he leaned eagerly into her kiss when she reached for him, understanding her intention perfectly.

Well, that answered his question then. No, she didn’t seem to be minding this at all, and he quickly dismissed the thought that that might only have been due to his own supernatural influence. He hadn’t even done anything! Apart from that lick, but that was all!

He indulged in the kiss for a long moment, and he’d all but stopped dancing, his hips swaying lightly against hers. He had half a mind to just take off with her right now, but that could still wait. They had plenty of time, and it had been far too long since he’d last had a chance to talk with her at all. He was having a good time.

Still, it was with disappointment and no small amount of reluctance that he pulled back at last, licking his lips and looking terribly satisfied, and once Mia had regained her own senses, she was able to resume the conversation.

“Was it all religious and formal?” he asked, trying to imagine Mia involved in something like that. “The wedding, I mean.” He laughed. “Was it as boring as I’m imagining?”

He almost added that he could’ve shown up as her plus one and kept her awake during the whole thing, but he thought better of it at once. Weddings were very much not his scene. Even apart from the whole matter of Love, all of the religious overtones made him extremely uncomfortable. Sure, symbols of faith had no real effect on him, but he couldn’t help feeling resentful and unwelcome all the same. And besides, if there was a God somewhere, he had a giant bone to pick with that particular entity.

“Oh, so she’s already pregnant? Does that mean you’re going to be an aunt?” he asked her, then smirked. “Or an uncle, if it’s a boy? Pretty sure that’s how this works.”

[miaswordmaiden]

The dance floor faded away like one of those corny movies, but it was mostly because Mia needed to give the kiss her full attention. Thomas was super good at this stuff and she had to keep up somehow!

When they finished the kiss she noticed the lights first, then that the song had shifted to something else. She nearly asked him if he wanted to leave, but she could wait a few more minutes. There might be more to see here.

He asked about the wedding and there was a word to cover all of his questions. "Yeah, it was all of those things." She laughed at the memory. It was easy to feel relaxed with Thomas, now that things were back to normal with them.

She shook her head at his next question, but the rest of it made her laugh. "I dunno yet. They haven't announced it. I think they're gonna wait for the baby shower."

This music was slower and a bunch of people wandered off the dance floor. "Hey, was there anything else you wanted to see? I kinda feel like pizza and a scary movie. Ya know, if you wanna?"

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[miaswordmaiden]

t-raith‌:

miaswordmaiden‌:

They had a whole year.

“Next year,” Thomas agreed with a laugh. He still wasn’t sure how Mia planned to pull that off, and in truth he wasn’t even sure where he would be in a year, but he always made an effort to make it back to Chicago for his brother’s birthday. “Hopefully we’ll have it figured out by then.”

Right, so some sort of magic that… Wait a second. He frowned.

“Wait, so is it just me that’s doing this? Like are you planning to go as my mom or something?” He leaned in to nuzzle his face against her neck, licking a teasing stripe up her skin, before pulling back with a sly smirk. “Because that could get weird.”

Was that still okay? In hindsight, he realized that he wasn’t sure if she wanted him to stay casual and friendly rather than friendly, so he watched her expression for some reaction. It had been a while since they had last spent any time together at all. He knew how much things could change. She hadn’t spoken of meeting anyone and pursuing a relationship, either, though… not that that had made much of a difference the last time. Maybe it should have, but secretly he was glad that she hadn’t wanted him to step out of the way, even if that made him a terrible person.

In any case, the idea of casually borrowing some kid made him laugh, and he wasn’t so sure anybody would just lend the two of them their kid. Which was probably good. Mia probably could be a good mother if she wanted to be, but when they were together, they didn’t always make the most responsible choices and he knew it. Their shared sense of humor and sense of adventure could cause things to escalate.

But then she told him something else, and he blinked, not expecting the change of topic. “Your brother? Really? Mr. Virtuous actually had sex?” He laughed aloud. “Or maybe not yet if they’re still planning.” He hesitated. Family could be a shaky topic for her. “Did you go to the wedding?”

“We’ll figure out something!” Mia chirped with a cheery sort of confidence. Magic could do anything, and she’d met a lot of really strong magical people! One of them was bound to know something!

Thomas wanted to know the logistics of her plan. She didn’t really know. Kids weren’t usually allowed to go alone, but if she did it too then they’d have to find someone else to take them. “Well, maybe I-” Her words cut off along with her brain when Thomas licked her neck. What had she been saying?

He pulled away and she stared up at him, the gears of her thoughts still grinding uselessly as her body tried to process the situation. Right. They were dancing. They were close. Thomas was mostly naked. It was kind of dark, even with the lights. That’s what happened when you used colored ones.

Right. She had her bearings. Clearly it was time to kiss him. She leaned up, looping an arm around Thomas’ neck to pry herself up to him. he was almost too tall to reach without help, but she’d never had trouble convincing him in the past.

It took a moment for them to come back around to regular conversation, but when they did she realized she hadn’t actually mentioned the wedding or anything. “Umm, yeah, of course. I was in it and everything. It was cool. They waited until after the wedding. She got pregnant pretty soon after, though. I guess they really wanted a family.” They were well suited for it. That was part of why her parents liked him so much.

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[miaswordmaiden]

t-raith‌:

miaswordmaiden‌:

that didn’t feel like it’d be the same.

It was an obvious shift when the crowd thickened, and even if he hadn’t found himself suddenly pressed against Mia, Thomas would have noticed from the vibes he was picking up from the others around him. It was unsurprising that physical closeness would spark emotions in people, especially in such a relaxed setting–and especially in the people that brushed up against his bare skin.

He shivered slightly, the energy in the air alluring, but still subdued enough to ignore for the most part. But he wrapped a possessive arm around Mia’s waist to keep her close and kept dancing. Like this, he didn’t need to speak so loudly–and it was obvious that he had a claim on her and wouldn’t take kindly to anybody interrupting them.

“Not sure,” he murmured, thinking her question over. “Most of them don’t go well when I have to go for family reasons. Sometimes they’re still fun, though.” He laughed. “The other Courts can throw some impressive parties, I’ll give them that.”

Well, less so the Red Court these days, but that still felt like a relatively recent development. Not that he had any tears to shed over it. Cool parties or no, he’d never been eager to spend more time with those vampires than necessary.

Then Mia explained her motive, and he snickered, amused at the idea and also totally uncertain about how the hell he was supposed to pull that off.

“I mean, I’m not saying no, but we don’t exactly have a whole lot of time left for that and I don’t know how to pass for a kid on short notice,” he laughed. “You got any bright ideas for that one?”

Mia grinned up at Thomas as he put and arm around her to keep dancing, oblivious to potential implications, or what might have caused him to do so. Their bodies worked together well, always had. It was nice to see that some things didn’t change.

She tried to focus on the conversation though. He was saying that he didn’t have a favorite party? Well, at least he’d had fun at some of them.

He made a good point about the trick or treating. It was probably too short notice. “Next year,” she stated seriously, pointing a finger at him so he’d know she was sincere. “We have a year to play with the magic so you can look like a kid and I’ll take you around!” yeah, that would work. “We can eve hit up the party after!” She nodded. It was a good plan. Kai would help her! Maybe he’d even come along! “If we can’t figure it out then maybe we can borrow a kid and pretend like we’re taking care of it.”

“-Well, I guess we would be taking care of it technically? Oh! did you hear my brother got married? They’re gonna have a kid, but it’ll be young and far away. We’ll figure it out.” They had a whole year.

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[miaswordmaiden]

t-raith‌:

miaswordmaiden‌:

 Like, a lot younger?”

Mia’s story about trick-or-treating with her brother made him smile almost fondly. It was one of those things he wondered about sometimes, if he would have done normal things like that with his own brother if he’d grown up under different circumstances. Felt like there was so much of life he’d missed out on.

“It sounds like that would’ve been fun,” he agreed, raising his voice over the music. “I’ve gone to costume parties, though! Like this one, but also ones not on Halloween.”

To varying outcome. Some hadn’t been nearly this relaxed… the diplomatic ones generally hadn’t been, given that he’d usually been sent there for a specific reason, and it was rarely a fun one. It was nice to no longer need to constantly play scapegoat for his entire family. Well, mostly. Lara still had a certain sense of humor, but at least she wasn’t genuinely out for his blood the way their father had been.

The lights shining down onto the floor shifted in color and began to slide around in time with the music, and maybe that, too, was magic, because he couldn’t actually see the lighting fixtures when he glanced up curiously. Maybe they were hidden behind beams or something. It was strange to be unable to tell whether all of these things were mundane or magic around here.

Then Mia asked him whether he knew of any spells that could make him look younger. “Are you calling me old?” he demanded, feigning indignation. But then he just laughed. “I don’t know! I don’t know of any, but there was that tea. Or maybe a potion. Though there are a lot of practitioners here. They’d know better than me.”

Mia nodded eagerly when Thomas assured her that he’d been to plenty of parties. “The parties are fun too! It’s just-” She didn’t know how to describe it. The parties were probably more fun, but trick-or-treating just felt like something that everybody should be allowed to do!

They colors looked really cool, especially on Thomas’s costume. The white took on whatever colors the lights happened to be, and his skin did too! They just got lost on her’s. “Do any parties really stand out to you? What was your favorite?” The crowd grew momentarily denser as a new song started playing, probably a crowd favorite judging by the bodies that piled onto the floor. That was fine, Mia didn’t mind dancing close, and it would be easier to hear this way anyway.

She shook her head when Thomas asked if she was calling him old. “No! I want to take you trick or treating! It’s the perfect night for it! You’ve gotta try it at least once!” If they couldn’t find a way then maybe they could borrow someone’s kid and go, but that didn’t feel like it’d be the same.

[t-raith]

PCI Halloween 2018: Your Guardian Angel || Thomas & Mia

[miaswordmaiden]

t-raith‌:

miaswordmaiden‌:

“Yeah! Then you punched that guy!” She liked that part. He was being a dick.

“They can still say something like, thanks but I’m married, right?” Thomas replied with a small shrug. “That doesn’t sound rude to me, anyway. Guess someone else might take it differently.”

It was an odd issue. It didn’t exactly come up a whole lot with him since he didn’t initiate all that often in an inappropriate setting, but he also didn’t take Ubers much. Or at all, for that matter. And in any other situation, it wasn’t like he was a customer for more than a couple minutes. Was it okay? Was it not okay? It was a pretty bizarre question. He’d never thought about it. Just felt right sometimes.

“Well, that’s a pretty broad variety,” he remarked, when Mia listed some of her costumes. It was funny to think of her in some of them. “A ninja turtle? Really?” He grinned. “How’d that go over? That’s adorable.” He shook his head. “No, I didn’t go. We don’t live near anyone anyway, and it wasn’t like any of my sisters were going to take me. It turns out that centuries old vampires don’t care much for things like that, though obviously I didn’t know that at the time. Kids at school talked about going sometimes, and I guess I could probably have gone with them if I had really wanted to, but I didn’t have a costume. I learned pretty quickly to just lie about it and pretend like I’d gone so they wouldn’t think I was weird.”

In hindsight, though, he had the feeling a lot of kids had lied about a lot of things for exactly the same reason. Funny how in many ways he really hadn’t been that different from the other kids. They’d all had their secrets, and he was sure that many had had unpleasant home lives. Although he felt reasonably certain that none of them had been raised in a family of incubi and succubi.

People parted for them as they reached the floor, probably just to avoid taking an angel wing to the face. The music was louder here, loud enough that they had to raise their voices to be heard, and the music was some upbeat tune that Thomas didn’t recognize. Maybe something the band had written themselves. He grinned at Mia and stopped in a spot where they had some room to dance, falling into a rhythm as the music picked up.

“He deserved it!” he called over the music, still grinning at the recollection of the dude he’d punched. Well, to be fair, he couldn’t really remember why it had happened anymore, but since it had happened, it had obviously been deserved. Otherwise he wouldn’t have done it!

Mia tipped her head and considered it when Thomas suggested lying. She was really bad at that so she almost never thought about it as an option. “Yeah, i guess they can. i never really thought about that I guess.” A bunch of places didn’t let people wear rings either, so it was maybe a safe one. Although, some places they could still look and see.

Thomas liked the idea of her ninja turtle costume and that made her grin. it had been pretty fun. “My brother really liked them and I wanted to do everything with him back then. It was fun, but we were missing the other two.” She got to run around acting like a ninja all night, that was the most memorable part to her.

She stopped and stared when Thomas admitted that he’d never been trick or treating. “Never?!?! But it’s the best!” She looked around the party, but even magic couldn’t compare to the anticipation of what sort of candy you’d get or how people would like your costume.

She considered that as they started dancing. He was probably too old to go now. Could they find a kid to take around? Would that be as much fun? Maybe there was a place that allowed adults to do it, or maybe they could disguise themselves with magic! “Hey!” She called over the music. “Do you know of any spells that can make you look younger? Like, a lot younger?”