❝ The real you? ❞ His voice is low. ❝ The real you is a badass who doesn’t take shit from anyone; not even me. The real you is someone who fights for what’s right on her own terms. The REAL you won’t let anything happen to the ones you love and you’d do anything for them to keep them alive. Lara, the real you never left. The real you is still there. Minor changes make the real you stronger. Powerful. Able to kick my ass even harder. ❞ A smile spreads over his lips. ❝ The real you is still apart of you. ❞
He steps forward, putting a hand on her check as his other hand snakes around her waist. A slight tug and she’s pulled tightly against his frame. He can feel her breath against his neck. A kiss is laid on the top of her head. ❝ The real you is still the person I fell in love with. ❞ His voice is now a whisper, lifting her chin up just a bit so that she could feel his emotions deep in his dark irises. ❝ Okay? ❞ / @exfirefly | a very old meme i’m not going to try and find
“i thought everyone knew how to play uno, c’mon, are you letting me win on purpose?” the last of his cards are thrown into the stack on the old wooden table, a shit-eating grin PLASTERED on his face as he does so before he leans back and stares at the woman, brow cocking. “guess this means you are on watch tonight after all.” even though nick would easily switch with her before too long, he just wants to make her squirm.
“ People disappear all the time anymore, s’not like they’re gonna’ miss me. ‘Sides we make a pretty good team, maybe we should stick together, y’know?”
A meta for Miles & Lara Miller.
written for @sicarea / @exfirefly
Lara Miller is dead.
It was a voice from her father, Tommy, that told him. And after that, no other voices broke through the silenced ring that poured through his ears. It blocked out everyone trying to sympathize with him. He didn’t need it, he didn’t want it. He didn’t want voices telling him it would be okay. He didn’t want people making sure that he was okay. He didn’t want Maria Miller telling him that Lara loved him so much that she would do anything for him. He didn’t want to hear Tommy Miller telling him how he thought of Miles as a son. He didn’t want to think about the life they could’ve had. Lara Miller was dead. She was nothing now.
It was at the funeral that the people in Jackson decided to stop talking to Miles. It was a week since they found her dead and he hadn’t shaved. Someone came up to him, Jesse, one of the scavengers that went out periodically. Someone that Lara grew up with here. His voice broke through the ring in his ears, “Hey man, you good?” It was a soft whisper from the other. “I know what you’re going through. It can be tough to lose someone.” His man didn’t have a clue what Miles was going through. Lara wasn’t just someone, she was his someone. “But, you can’t let this shit get to you. You gotta keep moving forward. That’s what Lara would’ve wanted.” And he felt a pat on his back.
His hand moved fast, grabbing Jesse’s arm and yanking in a direction that an arm shouldn’t be pulled in. There was a scream from him, the scream that broke through the room and rained down silence. “What do you know what she would’ve wanted?” Miles snarled, getting close to Jesse’s face. “You didn’t know her. You didn’t know her!” His voice was rising as though he was the only one in the room screaming at this boy that said things when he had no place. “You don’t know what I’m going through. You didn’t know her. She was mine. She made a promise. You didn’t know her. How could you know what she wanted?”
“Please man! Let go of my arm!” Jesse cried, trying to get through Miles’s rage.
“Miles!” Tommy’s voice broke through. “Miles, let go.”
It was then that he realized what he was doing and he finally let go of the boy, who scrambled away from him holding his broken arm. He stared at those who stared at him. All eyes were on him, he was in the center of the chaos that he caused and he couldn’t get out of it easily.
“Miles.” Tommy’s voice felt as though it were far away. The ringing of his ears returned to cloud the noises around him. Tommy’s mouth was saying his name, for him to calm down, but he couldn’t hear it. His heartbeat was pounding against his ears, he heard his breath rapidly increasing. Tommy took a step toward him and Miles launched himself away from it all. He shoved the man aside and ran out of the room.
Lara Miller was dead.
There was nothing he could do now. He didn’t protect her, he couldn’t. She told him to stay here, to rest. He had been on every run since they returned home, it was time for her turn. If he had only known that her only run would’ve killed her. She was everything to him. Lara Miller was Miles Perich’s world. She had brought him from the darkness of his mother, the darkness of the military, the darkness of the hunters, the darkness of his mind. He nearly killed himself after knowing he lost her once, what would he do now?
––––––––––––– ➵ ➵ ➵ Gripping the bow she made out of sticks and string found by searching, her feet move silently against the leaf covered ground. Not wanting to give up her location to the girl that was walking, wandering aimlessly in a place that even Lara didn’t know by the back of her hand. This wasn’t London, the plane crash made that perfectly clear. After losing track of how many days she’d been on this part of the world, she had yet to find another living, human being that didn’t want to kill her. She was still cautious though, as one HAD TO BE in a world like this.
❝ Stop! Don’t move any closer or else you’ll regret it. You’re going to answer me some questions. First off, who are you? ❞
SURRENDER YOUR TRUST TO ME - it was a hell of a lot to ask he knew that & he wasn't at all certain she had enough faith in him to place her life in his hands. Cos there, in that moment, the nightly breeze whipping against them. That's exactly what he was asking her to do. & in truth - given the soldiers, employed by a corrupt corporation, who were hot on their heels. It was a decision she had to make quickly. A youthful heart beating rapidly ( it only escalating into further frenzy at her close proximity ) , handsome attributes littered with severity. The blond haired survivor gave her palm an affectionate squeeze in reassurance as she entwined their fingers. His gaze flickering from her to the ledge of another buildings roof - a fair few feet from their own. The tips of his boots so close to the edge of the ledge they were standing upon, it was almost dizzying. Him taking the sound of wicked's men, breaking through the last barrier that stood between them and captivity - as cue to push onward with his risky plan.
" Hey, it's alright. I've got you. You're not going to fall cos I won't let you. When I say jump, push off as hard as you can, got it? & when we touch down on the other side, you have to keep moving. " he declared with a stern edge to his tone that proved both clear and grounding. Him not even giving her a second to let fear in before he was shouting ' JUMP!!' before knees were bent and he was performing a half stride to leap off the ledge towards the roof opposite. His hand still gripping hers tightly to guide her along with him.
HE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE THIS WAY. Didn't wish for the brutality of the world to swallow him whole. He knew what their world was about. Understood the risk. But if he could choose his way to leave the Odmortal plane upon which humanity roamed, he'd go out surrounded by his friends. He'd go down fighting for freedom. For a better tomorrow. & despite unwavering composure, fear crept in to the darkest corners of his consciousness. The devil of possibility, of the notion that this was a situation from which neither of them was going to escape with their lives, clinging to his back. Chest heaving with exerted exhalations. Defined brows furrowing in evident concern. The contours of his back pressed flush against the vibrating door. A hoard of festering cranks pushing against the other side. & he was certain it wouldn't hold for long. " As soon as we let go, we won't have much time... " was all he could think to initially pant. Intense hues ablaze with purified adrenaline. His instinctive desire to survive, kicking in.
Honestly? He knew it was the best option out of a bad bunch, it certainly was better than standing there. Booted soles & lanky limbs bracing themselves to run. He nodded in her direction, mouthing a countdown that he knew she'd be able to see. 3... 2... 1! He sprinted across the room. Blond locks shifting from the high intensity motion as he made a beeline towards the door with a faded sign suggesting it was ' roof access ', a stairwell of some kind. It being the only chance they had to survive. Him knowing that if they barricaded the door. They'd have a brief few moments, to think. The entrance they'd been guarding giving way with a bang behind them. Although he daren't look - the sounds of screeching and clicking cranks, filling the large room. & all he could do was run.
