Blinking, I actually looked shocked. "No, Ivy..." Damn it. She'd been back, what, an hour? And already I was making her feel guilty for my own selfish miscalculations. The truth was, I simply had not thought about her. I knew better, but I hadn't stopped to think. And now she was apologizing.
"I'm sorry," I said, purposely taking a step towards her, even though my instincts were telling me to maintain that eight foot distance. "I... It's been a while. I forgot..." Everything. I'd forgotten how to live with her. "I'm sorry."
Awkwardly, I stood there for another moment, one hand pushing back my hair and the other stuck into my back pocket, hip cocked to the side as I tried to find a good segue from our little close encounter of the fangy kind. "Thank you for bringing my stuff," I gave her a tiny little half-smile. "Jenks will be thrilled to have a garden again. There's not much here in the way of cultured herbs and such. They're either wild or non-existent." What? Babbling? Me? Only a little while I waited for my pulse to stop racing.
Ivy went to protest when Rachel apologized, but second thoughts made her hold her tongue. She knew, personally, that it felt like every unwanted seduction was a failure on her part, no matter how much the other person didn't resist. With Rachel, Ivy knew she didn't want it, and didn't matter that Rachel tended to put up a red flag for vampires every once in a while. Ivy knew she should know better, should have a better control over herself.
The change in topic was a more than welcome relief. Jenks would be thrilled to have a garden again, and it would be good for Rachel to have a herb garden again. "Like I said, no problem," she returned Rachel's small smile with one of her own.
By the Turn, she'd almost completely forgotten about the fact that she'd also brought Rachel's car. Ivy's smiled widened slightly, from anticipation and from the ebbing away of vampire instincts. "C'mon, I brought something else, too. It's just around the other edge of the castle."
Relaxing slightly, I raised an eyebrow. "What? Did you bring the church with you, too?"
Not that I wouldn't mind having that kitchen again. By the Turn, I missed it. But, obviously, that wasn't possible. Even for Ivy Tamwood. So, at a complete loss as to what this 'something else' might be, I walked with Ivy around the corner and...
Holy shit. It was my car. My beautiful, cherry red convertible. My car.
Absolutely shocked, I stood, frozen, for a moment. That was my car. My brain was not wrapping around that concept. "Turn me and burn me." Walking forward slowly, I slid my fingers along the smooth metal of the door, jaw dropped to somewhere around my knees. "Oh, God, Ivy. This is..."
A huge grin lit up my face and I gave Ivy a quick, impulsive hug. Screw the fact that we'd both just lost control a few minutes ago. She had brought my car. Hugs were needed.
Pulling open the door, I slid inside, hands running along the wheel, the dash, the upholstery, caressing it almost like a lover. God, I'd missed my car. "Hello, baby. Ready to go for a ride?"
Like all hugs from Rachel, this one caught Ivy by surprise, especially considering the situation that they'd just been in. She barely even had time to return it before Rachel was already sitting in her car and all but crooning over it, but Ivy didn't mind. It was good to know that, despite the fact that it kept happening, her vamp instincts weren't going to drive a wedge between them. At least not yet.
Raising an amused eyebrow at Rachel, Ivy ran her hand over the sleek red finish. She preferred her motorbike over cars, but Rachel's car was a thing of beauty.
"I hear obsessive attachment to vehicles can be unhealthy," she commented lightly. Though Ivy wouldn't pass up a drive if Rachel was going to go for one.
"Yeah. Some people even fly back across the ocean to get them." I smiled crookedly at Ivy, eyes glinting playfully. "Wonder what that would be like?"
Reaching over, I popped open the passenger side door. "Come on. Let's take my baby for a spin." My other hand reached into the glove box, looking for something to pull my hair back. Unlike Ivy, with her cool, polished exterior, ten seconds of driving with the top down would reduce me to a frizzy mess. If I'd been worried about something more than my hair, I probably might have noticed that the arm pushing open Ivy's door was the one which the yellow-eyed demon had etched his own mark. Being four inches tall? Also useful for hiding demon scars.
"Oh, shut up," Ivy grumbled, though her grumping was largely good natured. "It can go right back on the place, if you keep teasing me about it."
Though, the offer of going for a ride made a smile break her cranky expression. It was only after Rachel opened the passenger door that Ivy's gaze caught onto the new demon mark, and a mixture of surprise and anger touched her eyes. Fortunately for Rachel, Ivy composed herself and slid into the passenger seat, though she folded her arms across her chest as soon as she did so.
Another demon mark? The thought was infuriating and worrying at the same time - what had Rachel felt the need to deal with another demon for? Ivy knew that Rachel was smart enough to avoid dealing with them for stupid reasons; it must have been something huge. Something important.
Closing the door a little too sharply behind her, Ivy frowned, glancing again at the new mark and then up at Rachel. "When you said you can't talk to Dean...?" She trailed off, obviously expecting Rachel to fill in the rest.
As soon as Ivy slid in, I started the car, grinning hugely at the familiar rumble of the engine, and popped it into gear. Turning the car around, I headed out towards the road that ran in front of the castle grounds. Already humming under my breath to some tune, I was completely unaware of Ivy's mood shift. Even her question didn't fully register for a moment.
But when it did, my entire body tensed up. Uselessly, far too late, I clapped my left hand over my right wrist. Turn it. Jaw clenching, I didn't say anything for a long breath of silence.
"I mean I can't," I said finally. Reaching forward, I flipped on the radio and began scanning through stations, searching for anything but static. Subject officially closed.
Logically, it was a really bad idea to question Rachel about something she didn't want to talk about while she was driving. Having a car accident just because they got into an argument wouldn't be preferable - but neither would waiting until later to talk about this.
Stretching her legs out as the radio came on, Ivy sighed softly and watched the scenery passing by, giving little thought to the hair constantly flying in her face. Her jaw tightened in worry. She couldn't believe Rachel had made another deal.
"I'm trying to talk to you," Ivy warned, reaching out and slapping Rachel's hand away from the radio. She turned it off quickly, and glanced across at Rachel. The scenery wasn't as interesting anymore. And working in the Homicide department at the I.S meant that Ivy didn't like to let things go. "I'm getting the feeling that these are connected," she said, faking a casual tone. "The new demon mark and your inability to talk to Dean. What did Dean do to you, and where can I find him to rip him a new one?"
I actually laughed. Both hands now white-knuckling the steering wheel, driving far too fast (but not nearly as insanely as Ivy did on normal occasions), entire body tense, I nonetheless expelled a short, helpless laugh. "You think that Dean...?"
Oh, God. It was so wrong it was almost funny. Almost. Worrying my lower lip, I shook my head, making a sharp left turn and opening up the throttle as we hit open road. "You don't know him." My voice was low, a warning hidden in the tone. "You have no idea. Just drop it Ivy. It has nothing to do with you."
I regretted those last words the second they left my mouth. But I was too angry to take them back, too stupid to make it right. Instead I turned the radio back on and refused to look over at her. Yeah. This was going great.
"I'm sorry," I said, purposely taking a step towards her, even though my instincts were telling me to maintain that eight foot distance. "I... It's been a while. I forgot..." Everything. I'd forgotten how to live with her. "I'm sorry."
Awkwardly, I stood there for another moment, one hand pushing back my hair and the other stuck into my back pocket, hip cocked to the side as I tried to find a good segue from our little close encounter of the fangy kind. "Thank you for bringing my stuff," I gave her a tiny little half-smile. "Jenks will be thrilled to have a garden again. There's not much here in the way of cultured herbs and such. They're either wild or non-existent." What? Babbling? Me? Only a little while I waited for my pulse to stop racing.
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The change in topic was a more than welcome relief. Jenks would be thrilled to have a garden again, and it would be good for Rachel to have a herb garden again. "Like I said, no problem," she returned Rachel's small smile with one of her own.
By the Turn, she'd almost completely forgotten about the fact that she'd also brought Rachel's car. Ivy's smiled widened slightly, from anticipation and from the ebbing away of vampire instincts. "C'mon, I brought something else, too. It's just around the other edge of the castle."
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Not that I wouldn't mind having that kitchen again. By the Turn, I missed it. But, obviously, that wasn't possible. Even for Ivy Tamwood. So, at a complete loss as to what this 'something else' might be, I walked with Ivy around the corner and...
Holy shit. It was my car. My beautiful, cherry red convertible. My car.
Absolutely shocked, I stood, frozen, for a moment. That was my car. My brain was not wrapping around that concept. "Turn me and burn me." Walking forward slowly, I slid my fingers along the smooth metal of the door, jaw dropped to somewhere around my knees. "Oh, God, Ivy. This is..."
A huge grin lit up my face and I gave Ivy a quick, impulsive hug. Screw the fact that we'd both just lost control a few minutes ago. She had brought my car. Hugs were needed.
Pulling open the door, I slid inside, hands running along the wheel, the dash, the upholstery, caressing it almost like a lover. God, I'd missed my car. "Hello, baby. Ready to go for a ride?"
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Raising an amused eyebrow at Rachel, Ivy ran her hand over the sleek red finish. She preferred her motorbike over cars, but Rachel's car was a thing of beauty.
"I hear obsessive attachment to vehicles can be unhealthy," she commented lightly. Though Ivy wouldn't pass up a drive if Rachel was going to go for one.
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Reaching over, I popped open the passenger side door. "Come on. Let's take my baby for a spin." My other hand reached into the glove box, looking for something to pull my hair back. Unlike Ivy, with her cool, polished exterior, ten seconds of driving with the top down would reduce me to a frizzy mess. If I'd been worried about something more than my hair, I probably might have noticed that the arm pushing open Ivy's door was the one which the yellow-eyed demon had etched his own mark. Being four inches tall? Also useful for hiding demon scars.
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Though, the offer of going for a ride made a smile break her cranky expression. It was only after Rachel opened the passenger door that Ivy's gaze caught onto the new demon mark, and a mixture of surprise and anger touched her eyes. Fortunately for Rachel, Ivy composed herself and slid into the passenger seat, though she folded her arms across her chest as soon as she did so.
Another demon mark? The thought was infuriating and worrying at the same time - what had Rachel felt the need to deal with another demon for? Ivy knew that Rachel was smart enough to avoid dealing with them for stupid reasons; it must have been something huge. Something important.
Closing the door a little too sharply behind her, Ivy frowned, glancing again at the new mark and then up at Rachel. "When you said you can't talk to Dean...?" She trailed off, obviously expecting Rachel to fill in the rest.
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But when it did, my entire body tensed up. Uselessly, far too late, I clapped my left hand over my right wrist. Turn it. Jaw clenching, I didn't say anything for a long breath of silence.
"I mean I can't," I said finally. Reaching forward, I flipped on the radio and began scanning through stations, searching for anything but static. Subject officially closed.
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Stretching her legs out as the radio came on, Ivy sighed softly and watched the scenery passing by, giving little thought to the hair constantly flying in her face. Her jaw tightened in worry. She couldn't believe Rachel had made another deal.
"I'm trying to talk to you," Ivy warned, reaching out and slapping Rachel's hand away from the radio. She turned it off quickly, and glanced across at Rachel. The scenery wasn't as interesting anymore. And working in the Homicide department at the I.S meant that Ivy didn't like to let things go. "I'm getting the feeling that these are connected," she said, faking a casual tone. "The new demon mark and your inability to talk to Dean. What did Dean do to you, and where can I find him to rip him a new one?"
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Oh, God. It was so wrong it was almost funny. Almost. Worrying my lower lip, I shook my head, making a sharp left turn and opening up the throttle as we hit open road. "You don't know him." My voice was low, a warning hidden in the tone. "You have no idea. Just drop it Ivy. It has nothing to do with you."
I regretted those last words the second they left my mouth. But I was too angry to take them back, too stupid to make it right. Instead I turned the radio back on and refused to look over at her. Yeah. This was going great.
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