AN: A brief one shot for blacktag189
Avery took quick strides through the flat, stripping away her dusty and bloodied clothes at the same brisk pace. She didn't care about the trail she left behind her, the trail of bodies was a far greater noose around her neck than any pair of pants.
She threw the door of the bathroom open, causing the door to thud hard against the wall and reverberate as it swung back. She didn't pause to look at herself in the mirror, it wasn't that she was afraid to see herself like this — she was almost use to it by now — more frighteningly was the fact that she didn't care.
Turning the taps as far to the right as they would go she awaited the rush of steam and pressure that this luxury bathroom was designed to provide its occupants. When she and Stellan took the flat a few weeks earlier she'd balked at the absurd excess that filled the place, nothing about it seemed like it could be their home. He was surprised of course, figuring that she'd grown accustomed to their lifestyle. Tonight she was thankful for his insistence of the overly opulent rain shower and wall jets spraying out of black basalt tile.
After she slipped off her red Superman boyshort undies she stepped into the shower. The water hit her as she stood in front of its firing squad of jets pointing towards the center of the shower. Touching the dial she turned up the intensity, forcing them to pummel her muscles. She turned her head up and looked into the water steaming down from above, reveling in the feel of every drop trickling down her face and along her body.
Finally she let out a deep exhale, a breath she'd probably been holding in all night. The water flowed into her mouth and she spit the dust and blood back out before swallowing the clear elixir. Tilting her head down she let the water continue to stream through her brown hair, allowing it to run into her ears. The muffled sensation it caused deadened the ringing she'd suffered on and off since the tomb. It dampened everything that had happened since, the struggle to bring the other families into compliance, her grief, and her relationship with Stellan.
They'd opted to take the flat in London instead of the Saxon manor, appealing to the new world order they were bringing to the forefront. They were part of a new generation, a new dynasty and as she liked to remind Stellan she was only 18 and wanted to enjoy having her "first apartment" before rushing into mansion life. He laughed of course at her quip but understood what she was getting at — being normal and doing normal, average people things.
Most days the pair did feel like an ordinary couple. They bickered over who drank the last of the juice or forgetting to turn the dryer on. Then other days, days like today she was forced into remembering that the girl with the purple eyes could never just be left to an ordinary life. And so she and Stellan had once again found themselves under threat from another family, intent on usurping them.
Naturally Elodie and Jack figured out the threat, but only just. Avery leaned back closer into the jets letting them hit her harder. She wanted a drink. Tonight was too close. Looking up again into the water, she focused on each drop as it rained down upon her, mesmerized by its rhythm. The water filled her hair and brought an odd calmness to her. The feeling was similar to when her mother would pet her head as a child, something she'd trained Stellan to do now. The water caressed her scalp easing away the tension.
The shower door opened and she felt his presence as he stepped in behind her, slowly bringing his arms up to her as to not startle her. He didn't realize that he could never sneak up on her, she knew him. His smell was imprinted in her brain. As was his aura. She always knew when he was near, it was like having a six sense.
She didn't protest as he gently tugged on her shoulders pulling her backward into him. Avery leaned into his broad chest and allowed him to swallow her with his body as his arms wrapped around her chest. She let out another deep breath his one different than the previous, it was a breath of completeness. They were still here, together.
She felt the emotions swell up inside and begin to release in the safety of his embrace. He leaned in and whispered quietly "my vse yeshche zdes. vmeste vsegda." She nodded her head against his chest before turning around and whispering back, "vsegda moya lyubov," and then kissing him deeply.