I know this update is super late but I hope you all like it! Hopefully there will be another before 2020 kicks the bucket - read and review, as always and thank you so much for reading this!
Reality has exceeded expectations this time.
Somehow, Sophia is still here in his room, contently eating lunch after a shower. It isn't the safest thing for her to be in Seattle hot on the tails of a serial killer, but there's no persuading her otherwise. "What is the agenda for tonight?" She asks him, eyes on the show she's been watching for a while. Regarding that, he isn't planning to go out on the streets prowling for the individual tonight, but taking off on a different route. "I'm planning to go visit a pair of vampires today - I think they can help us." Her eyes light up at the mention of more vampires and she turns to him, excited. "You should come with me."
"Like you have another choice," she says with an impish smile. He really doesn't. He can't really deny her anything, even if he tried. Of course, there are certain things off the table right now - like going off solo behind a murderous vampire, for one, but for the most part, she is a stubborn, persuasive woman and he is smitten with her. "So, who are these vampires?"
"They used to briefly be a nomadic pair, but they've settled back down in Washington State, where they're from. They were part of an army before."
"An army? Not a human one, I'm assuming." That assumption is correct.
"A vampire army, yes."
"And they're going to have some possible intel on this killer?" They're locals, and while Riley Biers is simply no match for his skills, the knowledge that comes from being a local might help him.
"They're locals."
"Gotcha. Do they know you're coming?" They do not, and that should help him to some level. The last time they met, their parting was much less than ideal. "No," he replies, "last time we met, it was under undesirable circumstances, and my employer doesn't exactly do me favors in the likeability department."
"I mean yeah, if you guys are the mafia of your world, I don't see why it would help much. But," she says as she makes her way to him, "you are perfectly likable." She's straddling his lap right now and gods above, she looks beautiful in plain pajamas; beautiful and freshly fucked. By him. This is a sight he wouldn't mind waking up to quite often. "Am I now?" he murmurs, brushing his lips close to her ears, but that doesn't throw her off-kilter as Sophia turns to kiss him. "Mhm - perfectly likable," she reiterates, "and hot. A hot member of the vampire mafia." That makes him chuckle. "I think that's a bit of an oxymoron, love."
"Doesn't mean it can't be true," she counters. "Sure, physiologically you are far from hot and it would be concerning if you were but aesthetically, yes. You are extremely attractive and witty and kind." He's never had anyone call him kind before - heartless or ruthless is usually what they go for. "Am I dating the vampire equivalent of a mob boss?" As always, the comparisons are strangely appropriate but just as odd and funny.
"Not the vampire mob boss, but a vampire mob boss, yes." For some reason, that sends her into a fit of giggles, and she's sitting there in his lap laughing as she runs her fingers through his hair. When has he ever been this easy or carefree with someone he has slept with? They usually end up as dessert and even when they don't, it's been extremely long, perhaps never. It's a wonderful feeling, and he decides it's another one of those things he would like to keep coming back to. "That is a set of words I never expected to hear in a sentence. And, it is dangerous and funny and very, very attractive," she explains once the laughter subsides, "and nothing I could conjure up in my wildest dreams."
"Well, sometimes reality is stranger than fiction," Demetri replies, the look on her face softening. "And so much better too," she says before bringing him in for a kiss. This time, it isn't as rough or hungry as last night, but gentler and loving and he doesn't want it to end, but not for usual lustful reasons. It's been a while since someone has kissed him like that, and the number of changes she's brought with her into his life is steadily going up. Maybe this can be forever. And in his case, it could be if she chooses so. He's not going to get his hopes up for a myriad of reasons, but it's a nice thing to imagine that decades down the line, they could still be just like this. "My boss will kill me if I don't get back to those emails," she says with a breathless laugh as they pull away, "we wouldn't want that, would we?"
"Absolutely not," he replies, deciding to get back some of his own work. The masters have entrusted this task to him alone and with good reason - it's just one lone vampire he has to take out, and that is routine. All he needs to do is get some intel from Riley Biers as to where a rogue vampire on the run from human authorities in the state of Washington would hide, given that the former has experience in that department. The two of them exist in peaceful silence as they work on their respective tasks until the sun begins to set. "Time to leave," he tells her as he quickly gets dressed. It doesn't take her much time either, and she emerges from the washroom eager-faced. They take the elevator down to the parking lot, and he gets to the passenger door before she can.
"You really don't have to," Sophia grumbles as she settles in her seat, her blood painting her cheeks an inviting red. He's used to working with humans so withstanding human blood and its allure isn't too hard and for that, he's rather glad today. "Oh, but I like seeing you blush," he teases as they peal out into the Seattle streets, only making her blush more.
"It's not fair," she pouts at him, "I can't do that to you." True, but there are things he can't do to her that she definitely does to him. "You do other things to me, so I wouldn't say it's entirely unfair. You also have proof of it," Demetri winks at her and her mouth opens in shock, shutting wordlessly after a moment. "Keep your eyes on the road," she grumbles again, but she's smiling so he knows it's all good. "Or what?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. "You'll punish me for being bad?" Both of them have decided to play at this game as she slides a hand up his leg, looking back at him with a hungry look as her fingers make their way up to his neck. "Believe me, Demetri, if you keep going on like this I will make you pull off the road and give you that punishment right away." Honestly, he just might. They're doing good time on their way to Biers' and can afford a delay, even a fairly long one . "But, we have a killer to catch, so this will have to wait," she adds.
"Rude," he mutters, turning back to the road in front of him. Maybe she's going to be the one who will need a bit of punishment for teasing and denying him. I'll make her beg much more than last night. How was it only last night? It feels like more to him. It's not a very long drive, and they arrive at their destination in under an hour. The Biers house is small and quiet, and it looks like the man in question isn't home, but the girl Bree is. Sophia is the first to exit the car, gathering her things as she walks up to the door, him not far behind.
"Bree Tanner?" she asks the girl, whose face quickly pales as she sets her eyes upon him. She's about to slam the door in their face when Sophia jams a foot in the door. "Hey, hey. We're not here to hurt you. Seriously. We need your help." They stand in silence for a minute before the diminutive girl opens the door, eyeing him suspiciously. "You're human," she addresses Sophia, who nods in assent. "We both need your and your friend Riley's help," she says, "mind if we come in and talk to him?"
"He's not here," Bree offers, letting them in nevertheless. The place is quaint and cozy looking, and it seems like the two nomads have settled down and made a life for themselves here. "What is he doing here with you? Do you know who he is?" Sophia nods as she takes a seat. "I know he's a vampire," she begins, "and I know who he works for." The look on Tanner's face changes to anger as she turns to glare at him. "Do you know what he almost did to me? To Riley?" she counters. His human girlfriend shakes her head but doesn't seem too disgusted at him. "I can only assume it wasn't good at all," she says.
"No," Bree says angrily. "He and his little group almost had the two of us executed, had someone not vouched for us."
"Executed for what?"
"For an army we were unwittingly recruited in. None of us wanted any of it - Riley was manipulated and brainwashed and our entire lives were stolen, uprooted from us. And then these guys wanted to kill us for something we didn't do on purpose."
"You broke major laws," he interjects, "and that would have put all of us in danger."
"None of us knew those laws even existed!" she retorts. "Riley didn't know, I didn't know. Victoria knew, and she never told us what we were getting into. All for some stupid revenge that Victoria had wanted from Bella Swan and the Cullens." Throughout that, Sophia doesn't seem to be pissed at him, but she does look a little angry. "So you execute people who break laws?" the latter turns to him. There isn't much he can offer in lieu of an explanation beyond the fact that his masters ask him to.
"If they risk our exposure and safety of vampires as a whole, we execute them. The Volturi don't give second chances, usually," he tells her. Bree laughs mirthlessly at that, looking at him with baleful eyes.
" 'The Volturi don't give second chances' - isn't that what that girl Jane had said?"
"But we did give you and the Cullens a second chance," he replies smoothly. "We aren't exactly the monsters you would like us to believe. We're only looking out for our safety - for your safety, Bree," he emphasizes. "But yes, we need your help. Yours and Riley Biers'."
"What for?"
"There's a serial killer on the loose in Seattle, and we have very good reason to believe that he is one of us and will strike again."
"Riley and I guessed as much," she says, "we know the signs. But he's not doing this just to feed, is he?" She is more astute than he would have guessed but then again, they had interacted for barely a fraction of time the last time they met. "If he was just feeding, he wouldn't be so meticulous and probably would have even left. But he's still here and still leaving bodies all over, and he's marking them. We had never marked them."
"Which is why we're here," Sophia segues into the main point. "We believe he's a Seattle native who knows the city and knows how to avoid the police. And that is why we need your and Riley's help."
"You help us find this person, and we leave you alone and consider you allies of the Volturi," Demetri adds to her statement. "No offense, but I don't really want to be allied with you all," Bree mumbles, "but yeah, we'll help. We don't want to draw attention to this area and even though the Cullens aren't here right now, they'd not want this to happen either." She looks at the clock before turning back to them. "Riley doesn't get back till early morning, so you two will have to wait."
"That's okay," Sophia says, "if you don't mind having us, that is." Bree smiles at the woman, "Yeah, sure. You're nice, but I still don't trust him much."
"Fair," he acknowledges it with a shrug. "We still appreciate all the help." The hours tick by and he sees Sophia grow tired as her yawns grow more frequent. "I know this is a stupid question, but do you have any coffee?" she asks Bree, who nods. The two head to the kitchen as he paces the length of the living room. Waiting is part of his job, but it's the one he least likes, and his usual ways of passing time aren't at his disposal. Not that he necessarily wants to sleep with anyone else but her for the time being. Gods, Felix would have a lark with this information. They re-emerge with mugs clutched in their hands, the girl Bree holding a hot cup in her own hand as well; seems like an old habit she wants to cling to. They all have their preferences - his is breathing. He likes to be able to smell the air before a thunderstorm, the sharp scent of fresh snow, the rather pleasant aroma of apple orchards. There isn't the stream of questions he expected Sophia to start off with, but maybe she's just trying to be considerate about it, and by the way Tanner speaks of her less than recent past that's probably the right way to go about it. The three of them exist in silence until Riley Biers arrives, opening the door with so much force the thing might as well come off in his hands.
"Bree, are you okay?!" His concern for his fellow nomad is rather touching like he feels some sort of brotherly bond with her. The focus turns back to him and Riley shoots him a venomous glare before turning to Sophia. "You got a meal for the way?" he asks Demetri. "They need our help," Bree offers, "regarding the serial killer."
"She's not my meal, but I welcome the concern after your last very public, reckless human massacre," he answers curtly. He's about to say more but Sophia shoots him a sharp look to keep the peace. "This vampire threatens our exposure, and I'm sure you wouldn't want that after having settled down here. Naturally, the Volturi want it dealt with, so I'm here to get it done."
"Unfortunately, we don't know the region well," Sophia chimes in. "And you lived in Seattle for a fairly decent time, so we were wondering if you could help us understand where this vampire would go or be. There isn't much in terms of a lead because of how elusive they've been, and the only thing we know is that they're possibly male, hunting college-aged women mostly from the University of Washington and is probably a native of the city. All we need to do is catch his scent in the city, eliminate any possibility of other vampires that may be in the area, and Demetri should be able to take it from there."
"The human seems oddly comfortable with all of this," Riley remarks with an intrigued look. "The last time I saw someone so at ease around vampires, I was tasked to kill her." He knows the vampire doesn't have any intentions of hurting her, but that doesn't stop the protective surge going through him. If he did, I'd be more than glad to rip his fucking throat out and set fire to the remains. "Anyhow, I'll help."
"Great" Sophia perks up. "The broadcast for today is largely overcast and raining, so I suppose it'd be okay for us to get a start, right?" Biers nods. "I'll scope out the parks and places I know they wouldn't bother checking much," Bree says, heading for the door. The four of them pile into his car, driving back to Seattle. He can feel Riley's eyes upon the two of them, and his free hand instinctively reaches for Sophia's free one. She pauses the music she's listening to before turning to him, her warm fingers curling upon his cold ones. "You okay?" she asks gently and he gives her a nod, the pit-like feeling in his stomach dissipating for the most part. She doesn't drop his hand, though, and he spends the rest of the ride existing in their own little bubble of companionable silence. As the skyline of Seattle grows larger in their view, he turns to the two in the back.
"So, where to now?"