Trip Around the Sun

Paul sighed as he rubbed his face, his mind reeling a bit still.

His imprint and girlfriend was fae. Had wings. Was the embodiment of summer as far as he was concerned with flames that danced in her eyes. Her uncle and cousin were not actually her uncle and cousin, but rather other fae who had followed her after she ran away from the Summer Court. A court that was still after her for reasons yet unknown.

A lot of things were starting to make sense now that he knew the truth about Roisin.

After they had gone back to the meeting last night, they went through a few different options on how to handle the current situation. Roisin seemed to believe Tara was still alive somewhere, which Sean agreed with though from the grim looks on their faces, it wasn't likely that anything good was happening to her, depending on who took her. The fae seemed to be at odds over just who could be behind it. Mae was insistent it was Shadow. Roisin seemed to be leaning this way, though Sean seemed sure it was solitary and had brought up Winter again.

Roisin visibly reacted everytime this suggestion came up. Which confirmed there was a lot more she wasn't telling him, though he now had a bit of an understanding about why she had a panic attack at the movie. He felt very strongly that whatever bad things had happened to her that she didn't want to talk about, they must be related to this Winter Court. And even though she had told him the Summer Court was after her, he still had questions. What did she have that Summer - and possibly Winter - Court would want?

In the midst of all of it, he had yet to tell her about the imprint. He wanted to, but with everything going on, Paul felt like it wasn't necessarily the right time - not in front of everyone. And not when they needed to figure out how to save Tara, which Roisin was vehement about.

The three groups of supernatural beings had talked late into the night and he wanted to stay over again, but Sam ordered him to go home. He did need the sleep, and it was probably a good idea to have some time apart to process everything - he was pretty sure Ro was reeling as well. But he didn't want to be away from her for too long.

At least they were still together, her plan to break things off at the very least temporarily put on hold while they figured out how to get Tara back. It seemed like they intended to stick around long enough to accomplish that.

And now he was here, sitting on his couch, staring at the coffee table as everything settled in his mind. Sam had left some of the other pack members who were less tired to watch over Roisin's house, though Paul wondered if they even needed it. Apparently Roisin was more than capable of looking after herself. Just what else could she do?

Paul looked up as Jared walked into the house, a grin on his face.

"You look pleased," Paul said dryly.

"Well, yea. Everything is good now! You know Roisin's secret - which, let me say, holy shit. But she knows yours too. Everything can move forward like it should," Jared said as he plopped down in the recliner. Paul grimaced. "You did tell her everything, didn't you? You guys were in her room for a spell…"

"We talked about most things," Paul started.

"Are you serious?! You didn't tell her about the imprint?!" Jared nearly exploded.

"Didn't seem like the time. We were both processing the fact that neither of us are completely human. Well, she's not human at all. And then there's everything with Tara," Paul said, frowning. "But I do plan on telling her soon."

"Better. Because it sounds like Sean wants to hightail it out of town once this is resolved," Jared said.

Paul stared down at his hands. He had hoped now that everything was in the open - mostly - that they would change their minds and stay. But just because he knew what they were and they knew he was a wolf didn't necessarily change anything, now that he thought about it. Roisin was still on the run from the Summer Court.

And Paul knew if they left, there was no way he was staying behind. Granted, that would be a lot easier if they knew the full truth about the imprint.

"You're going with them, aren't you?" Jared said. "If they leave and go off somewhere else, you won't stay here." Paul looked over at him, cracking a smile.

"Can't very well let my imprint go running off without me, can I?" he asked.

Jared's eyes were wide, but really, he should have expected that. All the wolves knew how painful it could be to be separated from an imprint. Paul wasn't about to let go of Roisin, even if she had a court full of tempermental, heat-wielding fae after her. Though he wasn't sure just how he was going to convince Sean that he needed to go with them. Maybe he should shift in front of them and show them just what he could do. Prove that he was capable of helping protect Roisin.

"True," Jared said. "And I guess we know why your imprint was so intense."

Paul nodded slowly, going over everything since the day he met Roisin in his mind. All the things he had seen and experienced around her. It made sense, though he really wanted to talk to Roisin about it more. Compare. He wondered just how the imprint had affected her.

"And why I keep thinking of summer when I'm around her," he commented. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "So much for no more supernatural catastrophes…"

"Got that right," Jared said, suddenly looking rather serious. "So how are we supposed to track down a fae that has no scent to us? And why can't we smell it?"

Paul frowned. It was the one question that no one seemed to understand. And it was strange. Everything had a scent. He could smell Roisin - well, that was obvious. She was his imprint. And Mae and Sean's scents were all over the house along with the other solitary fae as well. But this one… it made no sense.

"You think it knows about us? That's why it masked its scent?" he asked, looking over at Jared. His best friend shrugged.

"First time I've come across something like this. Maybe," Jared said. "But there's a lot about fae we don't know. And what we do know, it's not like they had a ton of explanations. How are we supposed to use salt to protect us from fae magic?"

"Dunno. Throw it at them?" Paul said, frowning. "But looks like I need to go back over today and get some answers."

"And preferably tell Ro that she's your imprint," Jared added.

"Yea, that too," Paul said, though he felt a small spike of nerves. After everything that had happened last night, he wasn't completely sure why he was so anxious about telling her.

Roisin had accepted that he was a wolf. Still wanted to be with him. So why was he struggling with this bit? Was it because of everything else that came with it?

Paul's eyes widened slightly. He knew it happened like that sometimes. Jared had declared his undying love for Kim not long after they had imprinted and gotten together. Same with Sam and Emily. But for some reason, he still wasn't prepared for it. Despite the fact that he had been falling for Roisin from the day he met her. He gulped slightly.

He wasn't ready to tell her that. Even with the imprint, it felt too fast. Too much. But then again, nothing about this situation was normal. Hell, imprinting wasn't normal. But here they were.

He, Paul Lahote, was falling in love with a Summer fae named Roisin.

OOOO

"How you doing, kid?" Sean asked softly from the door to Roisin's room.

She looked up at him from where she had been lost in thought pacing in front of her bed, her eyes wide. She then sighed and shrugged. Sean walked over and sat down on her bed, his dark eyes fixed on her.

"I don't know," she said softly as she turned to him, frowning. "I mean, everything with Paul and the others… that I can handle. We've always known about others out there. And it is good to have help. But… I was so close to getting this fae - it was within my reach. I would have found where Tara was…"

"Hey, you managed to save Sarah," Sean replied. "And there's no telling what would have happened…"

"I know what would have happened. I would have taken it down and forced it to tell me where she is," Roisin snapped, her eyes flashing.

"You should have still told us you were following it," Sean said, frowning at her. Roisin glanced at him sheepishly. "And we still don't know who's behind this. They could have overpowered you."

"This coming from the fae who is constantly reminding me of how strong I am," she said halfheartedly.

"You are strong, but again, we know nothing about this fae," he pushed.

"Other than it apparently has no scent," she muttered. "Any clues on that?"

"Nope," Sean said, his frown deepening. "It's obviously masking it, which makes me think it might know about the wolves…"

The two sat in contemplative silence a few moments, thinking over everything they knew. Roisin glanced at Sean nervously.

"I think Mae could be right," she said softly. "The more I think about it, this does seem like Shadow fae."

"But why, Ro? Why would they bother coming here?" he asked, his voice strained.

Roisin didn't respond at first, knowing that he was struggling with the notion that anyone in the Shadow Court could possibly be messing around in the town where they just so happened to have settled. For centuries they had left him alone, only ever coming into contact with Roisin just after she had left the Summer Court. But that had been Cathal courting her and she hadn't mentioned at the time that she was with Sean. However, Roisin knew that just because Cathal had left them alone didn't mean the Shadow king hadn't been watching them. Thankfully he hated Rian and her family just as much as she did, so she never worried about him ratting her location out to them.

But this… he was cruel enough. Roisin could definitely see him taking one of her friends in order to force her into a deal that would benefit the Shadow Court.

"Because of us. Or maybe specifically me," she replied simply. "You know what he's been after… Honestly, we should have expected him to do something by now." She frowned. "Goddess, this is all because of me. Maybe we shouldn't have come to Forks."

If they had never come here, Tara would be safe. Megan wouldn't have gotten hurt. Everything would have continued on here as normal if they hadn't arrived, bringing all sorts of trouble with them.

But then she wouldn't have met Paul.

Roisin was a bit shocked that she would think about him right now - there were bigger, more important things to focus on than her boyfriend. Or what his being a wolf meant for them. But yet, there he was, wiggling his way to the forefront of her mind, even though she was still extremely worried about Tara and determined to find her and bring her back.

"You shouldn't blame yourself, Ro," Sean said. She just gave him a dubious look. "There have been wolves and vampires here long before we arrived. I'm beginning to think this area is some sort of supernatural catnip. Even if we hadn't come, something was bound to happen, fae or otherwise."

Roisin rolled her eyes, but then stopped, thinking it over. She vaguely remembered Paul mentioning something about weird deaths - the hikers. Her eyes widened as she put two and two together, realizing that it probably wasn't bears like he had said. They became wolves to protect this area from vampires. Meaning at some point in the last couple of years, there had been bad vampires here. And they had killed people.

Okay, so maybe even if they had never come here, something strange would have happened regardless. Still didn't lessen her guilt.

"We're going to find Tara and bring her home," Sean continued. "And then we're going to figure a way to get everyone off your back."

"You make it sound so simple," she said, a rueful smile on her face. "Like we haven't spent the last 100 years trying to find an out."

"Yea, well, the last 100 years we didn't have vampires and wolves working with us, did we?" Sean replied. Roisin snorted.

What difference would that make?

"You honestly think they can help with the prophecy?" she asked him, not quite seeing the logic in it. The two groups hadn't even known that fae existed before last night even though the fae had long heard of their existence. Well, vampires at least.

"Never hurts to have a fresh pair of eyes," he said. "Yea, they don't know much about us, our ways, our history, but that could be a benefit. They could look at it without centuries of fae bias clouding their thoughts."

Roisin was silent. Could she tell them - the wolves and the vampires? Maybe she didn't have to share all of it. Because she was pretty sure if she told Paul the full truth, he would want to kill Rian and even though he was a wolf, she didn't want to think about how that fight would go.

Not to mention, she didn't want everyone to know what had happened. That was her cross to bear alone.

"Possibly," Roisin admitted, the only thing she wanted to say on the matter at the moment. "For now, my biggest concern is finding Tara. Is Cara back yet?"

"No, but she said she would be back later tonight. Wanted to check in with a few more fae that she knows," he replied. Roisin nodded.

"Hopefully she finds something," she said. They both remained silent, one thought heavy in the air.

What if this wasn't Shadow fae? What if it was Winter?

"Ro… I'll do everything I can," Sean said, knowing where her thoughts were going.

"I know," she said softly, hoping he didn't say anything more on it.

"SEAN! RO!"

They both turned to look towards her open door, waiting for Mae to appear. As soon as she did, Sean stood.

"I'll go… check on stuff," he said before walking past Mae and leaving the two friends alone.

Mae was immediately at her side, sitting down and wrapping her arms around Roisin.

"I know this is hard, but we'll find her," Mae said.

"Thanks," Roisin replied, appreciating the fact that her best friend was fully on her side with this. She hated fighting with her. Mae then let go and sat back.

"So, Ro… I've been thinking… maybe it's time we go home," Mae said. Roisin immediately frowned.

She knew it wasn't Mae's fault. She hadn't been completely forthcoming on the real reason why she wanted to leave. And she knew Mae missed the Fae world. But she was still taken aback. Roisin thought she had told her enough that she would understand.

"Mae… I don't want to go back," she said softly.

She could see Mae was fighting her frustration a bit. But she took a deep breath, keeping her features smooth.

"I'm sure your parents will forgive you, if that's what you're worried about," she said. "They love you, Ro."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Roisin said, looking away.

"If this is about Rian, you could do a lot worse, in my opinion," Mae said with a bit of a snort. Roisin looked at her, feeling her anger starting to rise, but she fought it off as best she could.

Mae didn't know. She didn't want her to know.

"You don't know him," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Not like I do." Mae stared at her a moment, her eyes hardening slightly.

"You know, I'm sick and tired of you saying that. And Sean," she said with a huff, pushing up off the bed. "When you're ready to tell me just why, you know where I'll be."

She then left the room.

Roisin sighed and rubbed her face, then threw herself back on her bed. Shit. How had this gotten so complicated?

OOOO

When Paul had asked if he could come over that night, he had been hoping that it would be just him and Roisin. He needed to tell her about the imprint after all, and really didn't want an audience. But when she answered the door that night, he could hear Mae and Sean arguing in the kitchen about something completely unrelated to what was going on. For a moment, he thought maybe they would go to her room, but instead Roisin led him straight to the kitchen, declaring they had just finished cooking dinner.

So much for that. But maybe after dinner. And well, it wouldn't hurt to get more familiar with Mae and Sean, as Paul was fully intending to leave Forks with the fae when that day came.

He followed her into the kitchen and found Mae and Sean sitting at a table in a room just off the main kitchen that he hadn't noticed before, a ton of food spread out that had his mouth watering.

"Wanted to make sure we made enough," Roisin said, smiling at him.

As soon as they walked in, the argument died out, with Mae smiling brightly and Sean shooting her an annoyed look before smiling at Paul. Seemed as though it hadn't been a serious argument, whatever it was. He sat down with Roisin, feeling as though this was going to be awkward, though he wasn't completely sure why.

"So, Paul. Now that we know you're a wolf, do you have fleas?" Mae asked.

"Seriously, Mae?" Roisin snapped.

Mae just shrugged and reached for a wine glass full of shimmery, gold liquid, that Paul now assumed was this fae wine. She turned her eyes to him as though she was waiting on an answer.

"No," he said.

"Had to ask. Thought you might like to know since you're sharing a bed with him," Mae said before taking a generous sip as she looked at Roisin.

"As I recall, you once hooked up with a banshee. Tell us, how did that go?" Sean shot back smoothly.

Paul nearly spit out the water he had been drinking as Mae glowered across the table at Sean and Roisin barely contained her laughter. What the hell?

"Amazing, since you ask," Mae shot back, though she grimaced. "Until she started screaming… But that just means I was doing something right. What about you, Sean? Ever made someone scream so loud they broke the windows?"

Okay, this was not the conversation Paul was expecting when he came over here tonight. He wasn't sure if he was more shocked by the fact they were currently comparing sexual escapades or that banshees were apparently real as well.

"There was that opera singer in Austria," he replied, a sly smile on his face. Mae rolled her eyes.

"Cara know about that?" she asked haughtily.

"Yea, she was there," Sean shot back with a smug smile.

Roisin snorted at the look on Mae's face, though Paul was now shoveling food into his mouth, hoping no one asked him anything. He wasn't the kiss-and-tell type - well besides the pack telepathy, but he hadn't wanted to share anything through that - and had a feeling that nothing he had done in his life would compare to the fae. But, he supposed if these were the people he was about to spend the rest of his life around, he should get used to it. He snuck a glance at Roisin, half wanting to know about her and half not.

Apparently Mae saw the look, because a coy smile came over her face as she set her sights on Roisin.

"Nope. Uh-uh," Roisin said, sitting up in her chair. "Don't go there, Mae."

"Please, if Paul is really serious about this, he has a right to know," Mae said, an impish smile on her face. "Your 67th birthday."

Roisin groaned and shook her head.

"Nope," she said. "No. I thought we agreed to never mention it again."

Okay, now Paul was a bit intrigued.

"I never agreed to that… It was 1924 and we were in New York City," Mae said. Roisin shot her a glare. "And we had just finished watching Josephine Baker, the famous burlesque dancer, perform..."

Paul couldn't help that his mouth dropped open. He knew that Roisin had been alive a long time, but it was still shocking to hear stories about it. Shit, she had been alive in 1924. Living in New York City at the time. His gaze fell on her, her cheeks now red as she looked across the table.

"Do not finish that story," Roisin said, glaring at Mae, who was now giggling madly. Even Sean was smiling slightly. Now Paul was curious. Roisin looked at him. "It was the Roaring 20s. We ended up at a speakeasy. Things happened. End of story." Sean snorted.

"Things happened," he said. "That's one way to put it." Roisin glared at him.

"Was this the club you accidentally burned down?" Paul asked. A bit of an uncomfortable silence fell over the table.

"Nope, but we did meet Charlie Chaplin that night," Mae said quickly. She then flashed a smile at Roisin and waggled her eyebrows. "Some of us got to know him better than others."

"Oh my goddess," Roisin muttered, and suddenly Mae and Sean were laughing again. Paul noted to himself to never ask about the club burning down again. "For the last time, I did NOT sleep with Charlie Chaplin!"

"We know. But doesn't mean other things didn't happen," Sean replied slyly, causing Roisin's cheeks to flood with color.

"Oh, shut up, Mr. Let's-See-if-I-Can-Seduce-N*Sync," Roisin scoffed.

"Wasn't for a lack of trying," he replied with a shrug. "At least I got four out of five."

"Wait, what?" Paul asked as Sean smirked at him. "But they're…"

"You'd be surprised just what some people are into when they're around Shadow fae," Sean said, reaching for his wine glass and winking at Paul. The wolf couldn't help but cast a worried look towards Sean. "Don't worry. You're off limits. Roisin would take my head off if I messed with you."

"Can we please talk about something else? This is not why I invited Paul for dinner," Roisin groaned.

"I'm fine," Paul said, smiling at her and then looking over at Mae and Sean. "What other embarrassing stories do you have about Roisin?"

Mae and Sean looked at each other, the two of them seeming positively gleeful about teaming up against Ro as the fae in question glared at them and then Paul.

"Beatles. 1961. Blue Gardenia Club," the two said at the same time. Roisin's eyes went wide as the color first drained from her face and then came rushing back in. The temperature in the room rose a few notches as she narrowed her eyes at the two.

What the hell happened with the Beatles?

"You - the minotaur in Greece," she retorted, pointing at Mae. The grin fell off her face quickly. Sean laughed. "And you - two words. Carrot Top." Sean whipped his head over to stare at her, eyes wide.

"Point taken, no more embarrassing stories," Sean said, shooting up from his chair and walking into the kitchen for a bottle of wine that was sitting on the island.

"Agreed," Mae said.

Roisin looked pretty pleased with herself as she sat back in her chair and started eating again.

"Wait, so I don't get to know what happened with the Beatles?" Paul asked. Roisin shook her head. He leaned over, putting on the smoothest smirk he could muster. "Really? You won't tell me?"

Roisin's eyes widened slightly as she stared into his eyes, her cheeks slowly turning pink. She didn't speak, just shook her head. Paul glanced down at her lips and then met her eyes, licking his lips as he leaned closer.

"Please?" he asked. Roisin gulped and shook her head again, her jaw clenched shut. Paul reached out and put his hand on her thigh, squeezing slightly. "Come on, Ro…"

"I… no… Won't say it," she said, fighting with her words. "Too embarrassing…"

"But I want to know everything about you," Paul said. Roisin blinked rapidly as her cheeks turned bright red.

"Fuck no," she said before she shot out of her chair and ran out of the kitchen.

Paul watched her go, slightly surprised by her reaction, as Mae howled in laughter. He hadn't thought he had done anything that warranted her running off. Just how bad was the story?

"What did you do to her?" Sean asked. Paul looked over at him.

"I didn't do anything. Just, you know, natural charm," he replied, finding the question odd as he chuckled nervously. Sean continued studying him.

"No… you were doing something," he said. "Though I guess you didn't realize it." He looked back towards where Roisin had disappeared. "Interesting…"

Paul gulped slightly and then returned to eating, wondering just what the hell had happened. Maybe it was the imprint. He had already gathered that it was different with him and Roisin.

"I'll be back…" Sean said, already leaving the room.

Paul watched him go and then looked over, finding Mae now seated in the chair next to him, causing him to jump and nearly fall out of his chair.

"Shit, little warning there, Mae," he said, frowning slightly. She only tilted her head to the side.

"You're not so bad," she said.

"I… thanks?" Paul replied, not sure where she was going with this.

"But… someday, we are going back to the Fae world," she stated. Paul didn't reply, just blinked a few times. Roisin had very distinctly told him she didn't want to go back. And fae couldn't lie. "And you can't come with us."

"What are you trying to do, Mae?" he asked, feeling confused but angry. Just when he thought they had made amends and all. Exactly what problem did Mae have with him anyway?

"Just felt like you deserved to know," she said lightly, standing from her chair. "This has an expiration date, so enjoy it while it lasts."

Paul just watched as she skipped out of the kitchen, too stunned to speak at the abrupt turn the night seemed to take. Everything had seemed fine until he managed to apparently do something to Roisin. Then this little display. There was no way it was true. Roisin didn't want to go back. He knew this. But.. fae couldn't lie. So Mae was obviously telling the truth. Or well, the truth that she believed. But how did this affect Roisin?

Suddenly feeling constricted and closed in, Paul stood from the table and headed to the door that led out to the backyard. Maybe a short run around the house to check the perimeter would help.

OOOO

"I do not need a cold shower!" Roisin shouted as she and Sean walked into the kitchen, the Shadow fae chuckling. She then came to a stop, frowning slightly as she saw the empty table. "Where is everyone?"

"Maybe he got worried? You did rush out rather quickly," Sean said, looking at her and barely containing a smirk. Roisin rolled her eyes.

Wasn't her fault that her wolf boyfriend affected her in ways that had her this close to ripping his clothes off in front of Mae and Sean. Or telling him every little secret she had. She didn't even know wolves could do that.

She walked over and saw that he hadn't finished his food, then heard a howl from outside. Roisin walked over to the window and peered out, but only saw the empty yard and surrounding forest.

"Guess he needed to go shift," she murmured.

"Hmm. Come on. Let's finish eating," Sean said.

Roisin sighed and walked back to the table where she sat. Picking up her fork, she glanced out the window again before turning her focus back to the food. He'd be back soon enough.

OOOO

Okay, so the last section of this chapter where Paul goes over for dinner – totally unplanned when I was working on the chapter. Realized it was too short and I needed something, so thought I'd have Paul over to learn more about fae stuff (and needed a moment where Mae tells him that they're going back to the Fae world at some point – that's definitely a plot point). And then the ridiculous conversation that ensues happened. And I make no apologies. I had fun with it and felt we needed a lighthearted moment in there. And well, I kinda like having the fae more fluid with their sexuality – especially Summer and Shadow, which I think I mentioned before in one of the first party chapters that they were very much more in open with that. At least they're more sexual than other courts. Though honestly, I could make that a fae thing and not just a court thing, now that I think about it…

And I just finished writing Chapter 24 – which I was super excited to get into and so happy with how it turned out. Gah, I need to write more so I can post more… But it's now my bedtime and I have to get up at 5:30 am, so… hopefully tomorrow I can write enough that I can post the next two chapters – just so I don't leave you guys on another cliffhanger…

Marianka – Thanks so much! Honestly, when I come up with stories, I often see them in my head like a movie, which I guess comes out in my writing a bit. And we're getting there when everything comes out… so close…

Thanks everyone for reading and following!