The night had come for the reopening of Addermire. The politicians and upper class mingled as they drank expensive wines and liquors. The night was going well and it was time for Nate to give his speech. Dr Hypatia tasked Ava with looking for him when he couldn't be found. She eventually found him in his office sat at his desk with his head in his hands.
"Hey, what's up?" Ava asked as she crouched beside him.
"I can't stand out there and give a speech to that crowd below." He sighed. "I know you said you didn't want to but you're so much better at this than me." He gripped Ava's shoulder. "I need you to do this."
"Ok, relax." She laughed standing up. "You're going to stand up there though." She offered her hand to help him up.
"Hey, are you alright, I heard that they couldn't find you?" James said as he rushed into the clinic.
"Just nerves. I can't handle this much attention." He frowned. "Ava will handle the speech."
"Yes, now let's get moving." She shooed them through the door to the balcony as the Outsider came up behind her.
"Good luck." He kissed her cheek as she held his arm and followed the guys.
"Thank you all for coming, and we appreciate the generous donations, now Dr. Becker has a few words for you all." She turned and Ava stepped forward.
"Sorry to disappoint, we all know how well Dr. Becker does under pressure, however we cannot say the same for public speaking I'm afraid." She smiled as there was a small laugh through the crowd. "I'm sure you all know who I am; be it through my work here, my personal merits or…" she stared at Vivinne Shatov. "silly rumors. But I'll introduce myself anyway, I am Dr. Pearce, formerly Dr. Hedsworth, and I'm head of the psychiatry and psychology department here at Addermire." She felt the Outsider presence slightly behind her and felt at ease. "Addermire hasn't been a fully operational hospital in quite some time. And as far as I know it's never been widely accessible to everyone." She paused. "But that's going to change. With your help we've not only returned The Addermire Institute to its former glory, but we've open six clinics throughout the city. We've been able to hire and train people to help out. Not only that, we are lucky enough to have the greatest medical minds of our generation working here." She turned and gestured to Nate and Hypatia. She turned back and saw her parents in the crowd and paused. "So thank you. Thank you for believing in us and for pushing Karnaca into a brighter future. Please, enjoy yourselves tonight." She smiled as everyone applauded. She walked away back into Nate's clinic as she felt the Outsider grab her hand.
"Come on." He whispered. "I want you alone." They walked upstairs to her office.
"What?" She laughed as she leaned back on her desk. He locked the door, turned off the overhead lights and shut the blinds.
"The way you command a room. You're so powerful, in a way that people always underestimate." He kissed her and helped her up onto the desk. "I've seen history play out enough to know you're going to leave a mark on this world. You are incredible." He said looking in her eyes. "You drive me absolutely mad, and I can't get enough." He took his jacket off and began unbuttoning her shirt.
"No, wait…" she whispered. "They'll look for us, our friends have no boundaries."
"I really don't care." He said as he wrestled their clothes off.
"What if they come up here?" She ask breathlessly as she laid back on the cold desk.
"I locked both doors, the lights are out, the blinds are shut." He kissed her neck. "We're fine." He murmured against her skin.
"What if someone hears us?" She asked as she felt the muscles in his back.
"Well, you'll just have to learn to be quiet." He smirked.
"Hey." She pulled his face back to hers. "You have to admit, you're just as guilty as me when it comes to our second life." She said thinking about the hard time everyone gave her the night before.
"I'm ok with that." He paused and stared into her eyes. "I love you Mrs Pearce."
"I love you too, Mr. Pearce, now come here." She smiled before pulling him down to her.
Meanwhile downstairs James followed Nate around mingling with the guests and being his support. Since everything that went down in Dunwall James had let loose and began to feel more comfortable being seen out with Nate as a couple. They walked outside to catch a breath.
"Thank you for being here with me tonight." Nate said as he rested his head on James's shoulder. "I'm not good at these kind of things." He let out a small laugh.
"You're doing great." He said placing his arm around Nate. They stood like that looking at the city for a few minutes before Nate lifted his head up.
"Let's head back in and find everyone." Nate sighed. James pulled him in for a kiss. "There's people around." He laughed.
"Yeah but I'm sick of seeing our friends act like couples anywhere they want but we feel like we can't. We can, and if you're ok with it, we will."
"I've never been afraid of being gay, I never hid it." Nate said. "I don't care, I just didn't want to push you."
"Well I don't care anymore either. They can't get rid of me for being with you, luckily for me the Abbey is mainly focused on our dear friend." James laughed. "Either way, I just really don't care anymore, I want to be with you." He smiled. "Let's find our friends."
They made their way inside and over to a where a bar was set up for the evening.
"Fuck Haskil, again?" James said approaching them.
"Fuck off asshole." He snorted. "This is the same drink I had when you guys went upstairs."
"Where are Pearce and Ava?" Kat asked.
"My guess is up in her office." James spoke up.
"Yeah they rushed off as soon as Ava was done speaking." Nate added as Armand and Margo made their way over to them.
"Do you know where Ava went? I haven't seen her all night." Margo asked.
"She's been busy schmoozing all the donors and thanking them. She hates it." Nate laughed.
"Where is she now?"
"She's doing something much more enjoyable." Haskil laughed to himself before James elbowed him in the gut. "Ouch!"
"Shut up." James whispered.
"She needed a break." Nate said over them. "I'm sure she'll be back down here soon."
"Ava tells us you're staying down here until the babies come." Kat said.
"Just Margo, I have too many responsibilities back in Dunwall to stay down here for four more months." Armand replied.
"Yes, we're thinking about getting a second home down here. That way we can come down whenever and don't have to intrude on their space." Margo added.
"I reached out to my mom." Haskil whispered after a pause. "I-I figured I'm not an Overseer anymore, so I can talk to my family again. She still lives on Saggunto… I have a little sister." Haskil rubbed the back of his neck.
"That's good, I'm surprised you hadn't reached out earlier." Armand patted his shoulder.
"Yeah, well before Oscar died I was pretty much a stick to the rules guy." He stared at his drink. "She wanted to know what happened to Eddie. They took both of us for the trials. I remember one morning Oscar and I woke up and Eddie was just gone." He felt his stomach twist in knots. "Do you know what happened to him Armand?" He asked recalling his last memories of his twin brother. "We were just kids." He whispered to himself.
"Oh, sweetheart." Margo brought him in for a hug, he held on to the woman that became his second mom and felt at ease. "What else did your mother say?" She asked steering the conversation away.
"She and my sister, Evelyn, are coming to visit after the baby gets here." He smiled as he put his arms around Kat. "I'm nervous, but I hope it will all work out." Kat turned around and reached up to kiss his cheek.
"It will." She smiled. "And my parents are making the move down here, I was the only thing keeping them in Dunwall. So, it will be an exciting new chapter for the Haskil's." She smiled looking up at Haskil.
"I'm really shocked that you never reached out to your family." James said.
"Oh, and you reached out to yours?"
"Yes, Armand helped me get a letter to my family my first month there. My grandmother still lives in Pradym. She sends me a handmade blanket for my birthday every year. My father works on a whaling ship and I met up with him when I was sent to Yaro for an assignment. Most people reach out to their families unofficially." He replied. "As a matter of fact you've stolen like three of those blankets! I saw them when we helped you move."
"Well what do you need ten blankets for James! Your grandma knows how to make a cozy blanket, ok." Haskil scowled.
"Fighting like an old married couple again?" Ava smiled as she approached the group holding the Outsiders arm.
"Come here." Kat whispered as she pulled him back behind Haskil.
"What?" The Outsider asked as she stood on her toes and got something off his neck.
"Lipstick, don't worry it wasn't noticeable." She whispered. He mouthed a thanks as he returned to Ava's side.
"I'm so hungry." Ava said with a yawn. "And tired apparently."
"Yeah I bet." Haskil smirked.
"You do realize that I could break your fingers with a single though, right?" She scowled at him.
"Come on let's catch a boat home." The Outsider spoke up as he put his arm around Ava. "We can all hang out at the apartment while Haskil and I go get some food from Santiago's."
"Oh I love Santiago's, I want" Ava began.
"Spicy chicken and rice with extra sauce, I know." He finished her though.
"Holy shit, I love you." She smiled as she hung onto him.
"Anyone else hungry? Or should I just get chips and dip. We literally have no food at the house."
"No that works for me." Nate said and everyone nodded in agreement.
He and Ava walked over to Hypatia and their other coworkers and let them know they were leavening while everyone else waited outside for a boat to take them up the canal to the Upper Cyria District. After a long boat ride they all made their way towards the apartment while The Outsider And Haskil grabbed some food. Eventually they made it back and everyone settled in and talked and had drinks.
"I was so hungry, thank you." Ava said as she sat down and curled up to the Outsider as she ate. Bauble whined for food at her feet. "No, I fed you ten minutes ago."
"Hey, are you guys like officially married yet or what?" Haskil said as he munched on chips and salsa.
"Yeah, Armand wrote up the marriage license and all that this morning." Ava said. "I still can't believe it though." She said as she looked at her ring.
"What are they made out of?" Nate asked.
"Yeah why are they black?" James added.
"I don't know if Armand's gonna like..." He said.
"They're made from a part of the void." Ava said cutting him off.
"How?" Armand asked.
"When I left the void I picked up the big chunk of rock and I kept it. I don't know why but that's what these are made from." He paused and looked at Ava while she continued eating. "It seemed perfect for us." He kissed her cheek.
"Every time I think you can't surprise me anymore you do." He sighed.
"Are you ok with all of this Margo?" Haskil asked.
"I don't know why I wouldn't be. Ava is happy and Pearce is a good man. I love them both." She replied. "We really should head to our hotel. Don't worry about us, its only a few blocks away."
"Ok I'll" Ava began before Armand cut her off.
"Don't get up, it's fine, we'll come to you." He laughed as Ava and the Outsider stood up. "We'll see you tomorrow." Armand hugged her and shook his hand.
"Goodnight, you two." Margo said as she hugged Ava and then the Outsider.
"Thanks for coming tonight." The Outsider said as he followed them to the door. They said goodbye to everyone else before they left. He sat back down and Ava move right back to him.
"I think we should give them our apartment." Ava said as she put her empty plat on the table in front of them. "I already found us a house."
"How?" Haskil spoke up. "You've only know you're having twins for like two days. I thought that was the reason you're moving."
"No, I've been looking at houses since we got back home."
"Where is it?" The Outsider asked.
"It's just a few blocks up." She said.
"So where the estates are?" The Outsider clarified.
"Yes." She paused. "There's this older gentleman named Norman Murphy"
"Theodanis Abeles consultant? He must be in his 70's by now." He interrupted.
"How did?" Haskil began.
"I knew everything." He winked.
"Yes, anyway he heard that I was looking at homes and asked me if I would like to buy his since he doesn't need a house that size. He said he respects my work at Addermire and thinks I'll be a great asset to the city. It's pretty final I just have to talk to you about it." She turned to face him.
"Doesn't He have a family?." He asked.
"His wife died last year and both of his sons moved to Morley, he wants to move back home to Morley and spend his last days with family."
"You know I didn't want a mansion." He sighed. "Fine, fine." She kissed him on the cheek as she cuddled up against him.
"That'll be loads of fun, helping you guys move." Nate snorted.
"It comes furnished, we'll probably only make a few changes." Ava yawned as she looked at her watch. "How is it 11 pm already."
"I don't know but I'm really tired." Kat said holding her back as she stood up. "Let's head home." She said as Haskil grabbed the chips and salsa.
"I'm taking these home." He said as he held Kat's hand.
"Yeah we should head out too." Nate stood up. "We unfortunately don't live across the street."
"All right, thanks for coming over." Ava hugged Nate. "We're gonna do great." She said talking about Addermire. They all said goodbye as Ava left to change.
"Ugh." Ava groaned holding her stomach. "I don't fit my favorite shirt anymore." She complained.
"You mean you don't fit my shirt anymore." He corrected.
"Woah." She said startled. She grabbed his hand and put on on the side of her stomach. "Do you feel that? They're crazy." She laughed.
"You make me so happy." He placed his hands on her cheeks and looked into her eyes. "I love you, and I'm sorry I say it so much. You've just given me everything I thought I'd never have and I want you to know how grateful I am. I just love you so damn much."
"I know, you've done the same for me, O. I love you too." She kissed him. "I don't know what I'd do without you." She yawned.
"Me either." He laughed picking her up and taking her to the bedroom.
She sat in bed and got comfortable while he changed and got ready for bed. Once he joined her she stared at him.
"What?" He laughed.
"How many sycophants fawned over you, obsessed over you, wanted you…" she trailed off.
"To many to count, why?"
"You're mine, I got you." She smiled as he turned to face her. "Why did you focus in on me? 4,000 years and you're telling me nobody caught your attention?"
"People caught my attention all the time. Just no one else was quite like you. All of them, the people that vied for my attention, the people I brought into the void. They all were interested in me, all needed or wanted something from me. Most of them were in awe of my existence…" he brushed hair behind her ear. "You, you wanted nothing to do with me." He laughed recalling the night they met. "All you wanted was to leave and be done with me. And that was unlike anything I'd ever witnessed before. I became addicted to watching your life. I began to feel a need for you. I never thought I'd see you again." He paused and let out a laugh. "You wanted nothing to do with me, but now you're my wife." He finished with a smile.
"You must've changed my mind." She said as she moved and laid her head on his chest. "You did intrigue me by the way." She added. "I did however still want nothing to do with you." She smiled. They sat in a comfortable silence until they fell asleep.