A/N: Hey everyone! N0rthsh0r3 wrote a couple oneshots for this story and they're really great (really!) so you should all go read that, it's called 'Identity'! And just a thank you to everyone who's been reading this/following/favoriting/and commenting! I really appreciate the feedback! (Seriously, it's what drives me to update so often, so keep it up! :) )
They enter the doors of the huge convention center. Sara has never seen so many people in one place as they walk and chat with each other. She is thankful that Tegan has been here before and happily lets her take her by the hand and weave them expertly through the crowd.
"Tegan?" A tall, good looking man with tattoos running up his arm asked as Tegan absentmindedly ran into him.
"Oh hey Hunter!" Tegan happily slugs him in the arm. "How've you been?"
"Not so good now that I know you're here to steal all the competition. Don't you get enough work up in Canada?" He jokes teasingly. He was lucky Tegan didn't set up a booth down here, otherwise she would be getting more clients willing to take the drive across the border. He looks down at Tegan's hand unnecessarily still holding Sara's and up Sara's body to her face. Sara smiles shyly, letting go of Tegan's and pushing the bangs from her eyes.
"What's with the naked baby?" He asks Tegan, referring to Sara's noticeably bare arms.
"Haha! This is Sara." Tegan answers, setting her hand on Sara's head and ruffling her hair.
"Am I actually witnessing the Tegan Quin with a real girlfriend?"
"Heh, no. She's my brother's girlfriend." She says, scratching the back of her head and looking away. "She's a total nerd and wants to see the comic and superhero related work. Have you seen Dave? I know he has some great stuff."
"Yeah actually, he has a booth kind of back by the bathrooms in that little corner, you know what i'm talking about. I gotta get running though so i'll catch you later."
"It was great seeing you. You ever find yourself in Vancouver, stop by my shop and i'll give you a discount."
"We'll see about that." He grins cheekily. "It was nice meeting you, Sara. Watch yourself around Tegan, she'll spin you in her little web and you'll never get out." He winks.
She smiles and nods politely as he walks away. It seemed like every new friend of Tegan's she met, they were warning her. She felt it was perhaps a little to late to heed them.
"Why is everyone always warning me about you? Are you a serial killer or something?"
"Do I look like a serial killer?" Tegan chuckles. She slings her arm over Sara's shoulder as they head in the direction Hunter told them to.
Sara shakes her head no.
"In the whole month we've known each other you've never wondered why I don't have a girlfriend?"
"No. I didn't really want to think about that." Sara says, sadly "One cheater is enough."
"Hey, Sar, don't think like that." Tegan says, gently. It seemed like Sara was trying to stop herself from thinking and admitting a lot of things. "Everything will work out in the end, it'll be okay."
"I hope you're right. So why don't you have a girlfriend?"
"Because i'm the definition of a womanizer and a heartbreaker. No girl wants a long term relationship with someone like that."
"Are you looking for a long term thing?"
"If the right girl came along," Tegan glances at Sara. Sara quickly looks away from Tegan's gaze. She didn't want to be that girl. Well she did, but she didn't. She couldn't. "Oh, I think see Dave! Are you ready to have your mind blown?"
Sara bites her lip, smiling. She nods her head excitedly.
...
Tegan and Sara arrived home late Sunday night. Sara quietly unlocks the door to the apartment, taking her shoes off, and tip-toeing into the bedroom. She is surprised to see a still awake Aiden reading in the bed.
"Oh, hi. I didn't think you'd be awake." She drops her bag on the floor and crawls onto the bed.
"Hey sweetie." Aiden says, kissing Sara on the forehead. She lays down resting her head on his chest, and wrapping an arm around his stomach. "I wanted to stay up so I knew you got home safely. How was Seattle? I missed you."
"I missed you, too. It was pretty good. Some of the people were a little overwhelming, but there were some really talented artists too. Tegan knows how to have a good time. How was your weekend?"
"Lonely, but busy. I did a lot of research."
"Yeah? About what?" She asks curiously.
"About our wedding. We're pretty settled in now and I know you were upset about having to put everything on hold, so I think we can start seriously planning now."
"It's alright. We don't have to rush anything just to have it sooner than later." Sara offers. She feels like she needs a little more time to face her feelings and figure out what it is she really wants. If she marries Aiden and that turns out to be the wrong choice, she wouldn't be able to live with herself. But if she took a chance with Tegan, was she really ready to be known as a lesbian to the world when she didn't even feel like one? None of Sara's initial attraction had anything to do with Tegan being a girl, it just felt.. right.
"I know. I think you should go look at some dresses soon though, just to kind of get a sense of what you want and what looks good." He says. He pulls Sara into a sitting position on his lap, resting his hands on her waist. "You can take Tegan with for an extra opinion, and maybe finally convince her to be a bridesmaid and not a groomsman."
"You don't want to come with?" Sara asks, worriedly. Something about trying on clothes with Tegan around just screamed 'bad idea'.
"I don't want to know any details of your dress until I see it on you walking down the aisle."
"So how do you know I won't get something poofy and long sleeved with a huge bow on it?"
"I know you won't." Aiden chuckles, messing up her short hair with his hand. Sara concludes that must be a Quin thing to do. "And I trust you."
"You're a great guy, Aiden. I'm gonna go draw for a bit. Don't wait up, okay?" She says, looking away, her mind racing.
Aiden softly grabs her chin, turning her face back to look at him. She looks exhausted, but he blames it on a long weekend.
"Okay. I love you." He pulls her towards him, kissing her goodnight.
"You too. Goodnight."
Sara hops off his lap, turning the light off as she exits the room and enters the spare room. She pulls out her sketchbook, still hidden on the bottom since the last time she touched it, and opens to a blank page.
Pen meets paper.
After weeks of being held hostage in her own home, the woman quickly learned a lot about the villain Voix. It turned out the villain wasn't such a bad person, save for the viciously murdering people at night. All that she needed to be shown was a little love and compassion, as well as receiving everything she asked for. She didn't ask for much, just mostly to hear the woman's voice. But what usually came out of the woman's mouth were questions, and it is quite obvious that holding a normal conversation between the two was out of the question. And when this frustrated Voix, she took her anger out mercilessly on the woman.
They resorted to the woman talking as she would, and Voix writing everything she had to say, but even that proved to be annoying and tiring. So the woman came up with a solution, and after being threatened she would be found and killed if she didn't come back, went out to buy some books for them to learn sign language so they could communicate easier.
"What does 'Voix' mean?" The woman asks, sitting on her bed. So far Voix had been reluctant to answering questions about herself, but she was hoping today would be different.
Voiceless. Voix signs with her hands.
"Clever." The woman smirks. "Were you born like this?"
Yes.
"Your parents?"
Normal. And dead.
"What happened to them?"
I killed them.
"Why?"
It's hard for parents to love a child when they turn out as I did.
"Were they your first victims?" The woman asks. She fears she already knows the answer to this question. Even though she was getting a lot more comfortable around Voix, she knew that if she did one thing wrong her life would be over instantly.
Yes.
"Do you sleep or eat?"
No. How do you think I maintain this lively figure?
The woman laughs. She can tell Voix would be too. Her eyes get squinty and a lighter shade of black whenever something makes her happy.
"Why do you kill?"
It makes me feel powerful. No one has control over me, and everyone fears me.
"Did you ever intend to really kill me?"
Yes. I hated you.
"Why?"
Your voice. It's beautiful. I wanted to kill you for being blessed with such a thing when I was given nothing, but the more I listened to, the more I didn't want it to ever end.
"Do you ever wonder what your voice would sound like?"
It's something I try not to do.
"I think it would be husky and sexy. I think you're sexy, you know."
You need to get your eyes checked.
"Do you love me?" The woman asks after some hesitation. It was the only reasonable answer she could come up with for still being alive.
I don't think i'm capable of loving you, or anyone. Voix shakes her head. But I don't want to rip your throat out anymore.
"Charming. Will you ever stop killing?"
Probably not. It's all I know.
"You know me." The woman says quietly, picking at her nails.
That's not the same. And besides, we couldn't be together. We're too different, we can't be intimate.
The woman recalls a very painful couple nights ago. She didn't take into consideration the condition of Voix's too sharp fingers. The pain overrid the pleasure by a long shot and there was a lot of blood. The woman insisted it was okay, though she was still dealing with discomfort, but Voix disagreed. She angrily punched a hole in the wall and hopped out the window into the night, taking an extra two victims.
"We don't have to be different. You could go out in public, I could take you on a date. You don't have to keep my holed up here, I won't go anywhere." The woman suggests. She was the only person alive who knew what Voix looked like, and using a scarf to hide her face would hopefully prevent any suspicious glances.
I know what you're trying to do, and it's not going to work.
"And what is it do you think that i'm trying to do?"
Be a hero. I'm not your damsel in distress, and I don't need to be saved. I'm just Voix and I do what I need to do to survive. You're not going to change me or make me "see the light" and become good.
"That's not what I was trying to do." The woman retorts defensively. "Excuse me for actually really fucking liking you, no matter how fucked up it might be."
That right there is exactly why I am how I am. It shouldn't be "fucked up". You aren't any different from anyone else out there. Voix stands up angrily from her position on the floor. She tackles the woman off her bed and onto the floor. She swipes her hand down swiftly, slashing four long gashes into the woman's cheek. The woman remains silent as she turns her head back to Voix. I should have killed you when I had the chance.