Hypnic Jerk

Date | 5th of March
Time | After dinner
Weather | Spring whether in England, meaning rain
Place | Hopes apartment
Attire | A tight tank-top, training tights

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The sound of a hands connecting with the leather of a punching bag, could be heard in the small apartment of Hope Minerva. It was now three days since they had met Francis Fintan Mccoy at the spring fair. But it hadn’t just been any man, no, it had been her father. Another parent that didn’t remember her.
Another hit against the hard surface that almost pulsated pain through her wrist up her arm. Sweat was gliding down her face and her neck, which was a clear indicator that she had been doing it for a while. “Fuck” the fairy hissed, letting her right arm glide around the punching bag and placed her forehead against the cool surface. She didn’t like not having control over her emotions. She had used so many years to control them, to not let it get under her skin. But with everything that had happened lately, she just needed to get away. Recollect her thoughts, get her back into not caring. Which had ended up with her cutting off the outside world. Her phone had been off, and she had spent most of her time hauled up inside her home.
Her gaze looked towards her door when she heard someone approach it. Already knowing who it was because of the aura radiating from down the hall. Grabbing a towel, she walked over and opened the door. “Hi” she mumbled, looking at him while drying off the sweat by her brow.

Outfit  Black pants, brown t-shirt, blue hoodie, and black jacket.

Even from the hall, Ace could smell that Hope was home, especially how she was training, with sweat radiating more of her scent. She had been off the grid, and mostly he would just let her do her things, but it had been a little too long, in his opinion, which made him chose to go ahead and visit her. She was quick to open the door, and he raised his brows a little when she greeted him. “Hi,” he greeted back with a smile, that wasn’t as warm as they used to be for her. “Can I come in?” he wondered and made a small nod with his head. “You’ve been awfully quiet? Care to get something off your chest?” he would wonder, scratching his neck under the hoodie that was pulled over his head. One could see that he had been walking for a while the way the hoodie was wet

He had come to her quicker than she would have believed. When she became like this, there could easily had gone weeks before she would have contacted him. She made some heavy breaths before she nodded and stepped aside so he could walk into her apartment. Noticing that he was wet, it was probably raining then. “I’ll just open a window” she announced, closing the door and then walking past him, just as he asked if there was something that she wanted to get off her chest. “I just been busy, why, what day is it?” she asked, not because she wanted to fake an innocent, but because she had no idea what day it actually was. She opened one of the metal framed windows, in the giant window mural that made up the entire wall facing towards the outside. Then she turned towards him “Water?” she asked, again walking towards her kitchen and opened the fridge to pull one flask out for herself and one for him, he wanted.

Ace got inside and while she opened a window, he pulled of both his jacket, hoodie, and shoes. It was warm enough in here. He crossed his arms while watching her open the window. He took a bigger breath in as she asked what day it was. “It’s my birthday,” he lied. Not that he had ever told her when his birthday was, nor had he done anything special on his birthday just a month ago. After getting as old as him, he didn’t really do birthdays, unless it was the birthday of someone who meant something to him.
He nodded towards the fridge as she asked if he wanted water. He wouldn’t mind so. He approached her as she opened it. His arm went in the motion to take the flask, but instead he grabbed her wrist and turned it so it was visible to them, but I didn’t even look at it. “You should listen to your body. Why aren’t you?” he raised a brow, healing her, even though she hadn’t asked for it.

“Har, har, what are you, a comedian now?” she said, with an almost stoic expression licking her lips, but as she turned, he was there, grabbing her wrist and turned her arm around. It could probably be his birthday; she wouldn’t know because he hadn’t told her. Besides, he was over eight thousand years old, almost going on nine, if her calculations were correct. So, would he even know? Then he commented on her not taking care of herself.
“If I wanted to get a lecture in how I take care of myself, I would call my mother that doesn’t remember me” she said in a low hiss, coming off as more defensive than she wanted too. But who could blame her for being on edge? There were so many people in the area around now, some people that she wanted to get to know again, and others that she would wish to stay far away. And after they had talked about their aunt, she couldn’t shake the thought that she wouldn’t put it past both Acacia and Heath that they would be stopping by any minute now. "Now, what can I do for you?" she asked, taking her arm back and unscrewed the cap so she could take a sip of the cold water.

Ace furrowed his brows a little as she asked if he was a comedian. Now, he had been joking with her, but how did she know it wasn’t his birthday? He chose not to say anything about it right now, it could be a discussion for later. He furrowed his brows a little as she mentioned she would call her mother. Even though he wanted to believe it, he didn’t. He didn’t believe that she would call her mother, because she had never mentioned her mother, and definitely not that she didn’t remember her. He did also pick up on how defensive she was, and it certainly made him wonder just what was going on.
Now, what can I do for you?
He let her take her arm back, taking the flask she had taken for him. Almost mimicked, he also took a sip of the cold water. He screwed the cap back on and leaned back against the counter, only to change his mind and put both palms against the countertop to lift himself up to sit on the counter, hunching over and resting his elbows on his thighs. “You can tell me about your family,” he requested. Now she had poked the topic that seemingly were causing trouble.

She looked at him when he asked her to tell him about her family. She let out a small sigh, knowing that she had spoken to much. Told more than she had intended. Folding her lips together she looked down at the water bottle in her hand and started scraping off the small label showing the person what kind of brand of bottled water you had bought.
“My father is a master criminal, goes under the phoenix brothers, maybe you know them, he tends to work with your brother River” she looked up, knowing that it was again showing more cards on her hand than she had told him. But she was a woman that dealt with the underworld and information like that was easy for her to get. “My mother is an ancient nature fairy, whom you might also know, since she was the one creating the land that the Radclyffees now call their kingdom” she breathed out looking down at her bottle in her hand. “I was, sixteen when we had to flee wonderland, because of my aunts crazed jealousy – but something went wrong when we stepped through the portal, I ended up alone thousand years from now, my mother far longer than that, and my sisters also scattered around in the timeline as well, so, and on top of that neither my mother nor my father even remembers me, so over a thousand years spent on trying to find a family where only one of my sisters remembers me – and her and I, just - fucking argue all the time, and then top it off, I found out you two know each other quite well, so that’s just… I just needed a fucking break” she hissed, walking past him and smacked the pouncing bag with a closed fist before she walked over to the window and looked into the pouring rain.

He raised a brow by her sigh. Yes, she had put herself in this situation, she knew that very well. That was how it was with doctors, and psychologists, but he wasn’t the later. You mentioned something and they were good at digging into the things that actually mattered. They did this to get the information they knew they needed. Luckily Hope knew that she wouldn’t just get around just telling the bare minimal, so she had chosen to open up. Wise choice. He noticed how she started scraping the brand of the bottle, which made him aware that it wasn’t that easy to talk about. She opened up and started to explain. Now, he hadn’t known that her father was one of the Phoenix Brothers, but he had heard of them – luckily not been disturbed by them. What surprised him however was that she knew that they worked together with his brother. Now, that wasn’t even anything that Ace knew, but it didn’t surprise him. She then started to explain about her mother, which he believed he had seen and maybe even greeted at some point, but it wasn’t really someone who stood clear in his mind. His eyes shortly looked towards the bottle in her hand as her eyes went there, but his eyes were quick to look up at her again as she explained more. Her family had tried to flee from wonderland, or rather her aunt. They had ended up being scattered and most of them didn’t know her – only one remembered her. They argued all the time. He blinked a couple of times as she explained that he knew her sister. It reminded him, that yes, he did. He remembered having seen Ayah showing a picture of her family, and Ace had been meaning to talk to Hope about it, things had just been a little chaotic.
She didn’t just need a break, she needed a fucking break. He raised his brows a little as she punched the punching bag and walked over to the window again. He took a sip of his water while he waited for the punching bag to settle a little. Then he got down from the countertop, making a little thud as his feet hit the floor. He didn’t do much to be quiet while he moved towards her. “I get the family can be a bummer, but-” he stopped himself as he discovered he was unsure whether or not Hope and him were on the same page. How much of a family person were she? “Do you want them to be a part of your life?” he spoke softly standing within reach, but without letting a hand on her. It might sound like an odd question, but to him, family didn't matter that much. He didn't really care for his siblings nor parents. He liked Clay and his own descension, but that was it.

She huffed when he told her that he got the part of family being a bummer. It wasn’t really what she had meant, it wasn’t that she was upset with her family. It was the part of them not remembering her that hurt. If anything, Hope needed a family now more than ever. But she couldn’t get that, not in the way she had hoped, and maybe that was foolish. Because she should know that nothing turned out the way that you hoped. That the dreams that you had in your mind wouldn’t measure up to reality. But still, if anything she thought she deserved something good coming her way, and not always ending up with people pushing her aside.
The fairy turned her head and looked towards Ace, when he asked if she wanted them to be part of her life. She shrugged and then looked back out at the rain that was coming down, now heavier than before. “I don’t know, my mother is nice enough, and I like my sisters but – it’s complicated” she whispered, it wasn’t only that, but also the very fact that her mother was dating the surrogate father for the Blanchard boys, and one of those happened to be a husband of hers, that thought that she was dead. Died the same day that their children had been brutally murdered by vampires. Which had also been a reason why she had been so interested in the parties she had gone too.

He raised a brow at her as she huffed at him. He could sense how she didn’t agree with him. He studied her as she shrugged, as if she didn’t know if she wanted them to be a part of her life. He moved closer to her as she replied. “Complicated?” he wondered and stopped when he stood next to her. “I know they don’t remember you, but does that make it complicated?” He was already thinking about solutions about how they could manage the loss of memory. Of course, it could have consequences of them remembering something that she might have forgotten, that would make them angry at her, but who knew? After all, he knew very little of her. Even though he hadn’t been wanting to introduce his life to her too quickly, he had allowed her to show him what her abilities could do, and then there was his sister who had knocked on the door – not to forget the day where Killian suddenly interfered with matter between his parents. For some reason, he believed that she knew a good handful of things about him, while he believed that he knew close to nothing about her. He wished to be more a part of her life, but of course, she had to let him.

She turned around, looking at him with a small, amused huff. “How does it not make things complicated that they can’t remember the part of their life where they had three girls and raised two of them?” she asked, leaning against the window frame folding her hands in front of her. But he was right, it wasn’t that part she had thought of as complicated, she let out a small sigh. Turning around again, it was hard for her to open up. Her sisters and mother still didn’t know that she had almost died in January. Only her mother knew that she had almost died because of the child that she had carried for a very short period of time. Now, she knew that Ayah had a lot of things that she didn’t share either, but at least she seemed to be better at talking with the newfound family. Mariella didn’t really have anything to hide, and besides she had three close brothers that was there for her when she needed it.
“Do you have children?” she asked, opening up for the possibility to know each other more. Maybe that would be easier for her to share things about her then. If he answered she would let her head turn towards him. “And you would do anything for them?” she asked giving him a sad smile; “I had two, three years ago vampires broke in and killed them both, making me watch” it was almost unbearable to say it out loud before she closed her eyes and turned her head away from him. “They were so young, not even teenagers yet” to have seen such young souls die in front of you, it changed something deep inside of you, something that would never be fixed, no matter how hard you tried. But you learned to live with it, someday, she hoped.

His jaw tensed a little as she looked at him asking if it didn’t make it complicated that they didn’t remember the kids they had gotten. Well, she had a point, but the point he had tried to make, was that it could be fixed.
Her question about children stuck him in his stomach. “One,” he replied softly, having an idea about where this was going. “Anything,” replied without hesitation. When she shared the story about two of her children, he could feel a sense of guilt built up in him. No, it wasn’t his fault that her children had died, but the fact that it had been vampires and that they had made Hope watch just made him feel so guilty, as if he could have done something, even though he didn’t know her at the time. He could see the pain she carried. He could only imagine the pain that Primrose had felt when he had almost died trying to protect her. He could even picture Primrose’s children for him, and how he knew that she would do anything for them.
“I’m sorry you couldn’t save them,” he said softly, he felt how it ran cold down his back. “Is this-” he stopped himself. He had so many things he would like to offer for her, but he also knew that it was a sore topic and he had to be careful with what he offered. “Were they enemies of yours?” he wondered. Now, it didn’t have to be, vampires could be unpredictable and kill just for their sick minds, he knew that after all, his parents had been like that. He knew very well, that when it was such a long time ago, you couldn’t really make people come back to life, but it wouldn’t surprise him if Hope was trying to get some kind of revenge on the vampires who had done it to them. She had after all gotten quite involved with vampires.

She nodded, keeping her eyes closed for a while. Listening to the rain that came pouring down outside. The damp air that folded through the window and almost lulled them into a false pretense that there was no one in the world but them right now. “It could have been enemies of me or my husband, we were living in London, where the humans usually don’t know a whole lot about the supernatural, meaning that there was never an investigation that led to anywhere” licking her lips “he was a hunter, I a protector of the supernatural. Vampires usually don’t like either” she chuckled, even though there was no humor behind the soft sound that left her. Before she turned and looked at him, knowing it might be hard to hear since he was a vampire himself. “Just know, I don’t hold every vampire accountable for what happened that day, I can see past that it wasn’t the species that made them kill my children and tried to kill me. But the person that was sick and needed a fix of fairy blood” children in particular was very high demand in some circles. She knew that all too well.
“Would you like a cup of tea?” she asked, even though the topic wasn’t closed, she knew that. But she needed, she had no idea what she needed. But it was a lot for her, to open up like that and reopen old wounds she tried to pretend weren’t there.

She explained that it could have been enemies, and he started thinking if there would be a possibility for him to figure out who it was and show them how not to treat people… But at the same time, it wasn’t something for him to do or dig into. It might only make a greater wound, and none of them needed that right now. She explained how the city they had lived in didn’t know much to the supernatural, so the case didn’t get anywhere. Tragic.
He didn’t think much about the fact that she chuckled. He was way more occupied with the things she said, and how she turned to look at him right after. It made a small smile spread on his slips, to tell her that he appreciated what she told him. Now he hadn’t specifically asked if she judged everyone of his species, but it had been a passing and nagging thought, that he somehow was the only one she could tolerate. Her words gave him some comfort. Even though he knew that she hated the fact that fairy blood was a delicatesse for vampires, he understood very well why the vampires had felt like they had needed a fix, after all Ace hadn’t been all that sweet all of his life. Learning to control hunger was definitely not something he was born with, like his mother almost had.
She asked him for tea, which made him blink a little. He hadn’t even finished his bottle of water. “Yes please,” he replied. Even though he wasn’t sure whether it was because she was actually offering him some of it was a distraction for herself, to think of something else, just for a moment. He would follow her to the kitchen where they could put some water over for a boil. “And what about your husband?” he wondered.

She turned on the tap and filled the electrical kettle with water. Her eyes looking straight ahead, almost as if she was trying to see something that wasn’t there. When the matter of fact was, that she wasn’t thinking about anything. Taking the time to just depress her mind, trying to calm herself so she wouldn’t burst into an anger tantrum or anything alike. Which usually happened to people that repressed trauma and didn’t talk about what was going on in their mind. Which was something that Hope did beautifully.
Then he asked about her husband, and she had to turn back on her mind. She moved towards where the kettle needed to be placed to boil the water. “He thinks I’m dead” she answered a little curtly breathing out. “When I was married to him my name was McKenna Blanchard, and she died the same day as her children did” she turned to look at him, taking her flask of water and took a sip before she screwed back on the cap. “Making him my youngest sister adoptive brother” she shook her head with closed eyes “it’s a bloody mess really” she whispered, letting her fingers glide over the bridge of her nose. But she had done what she felt was the best at the time, and the medics at the sense had pronounced her dead, it was only because of contacts at the hospital she had managed to fake her death and start her life anew. Knowing she would ever be able to look at Jamie the same way again. There was still a part of her that blamed him, because he had left after their argument and not made it back in time to safe their kids.

Her former husband believed that she was dead. Incredible. What a good way to end a relationship. Surely, he shouldn’t speak too highly of himself since Michelle had done that too and she didn’t take it quite well when he appeared. Honestly, he wouldn’t even dare to think how Michelle would react if they met again. The mere thought gave him chills. Hope explained that the woman that he had been married to died the same day as the kids. It sounded a little harsh. She continued to explain that he was now her youngest sister’s adoptive brother. See, that was a mess. “That does indeed sound difficult,” he agreed and moved over to her. “Have you met him since?” he wondered, trying to figure out if it was because she stood in a pile of shit, or if it was because she knew it was coming. Hope and Ace were good at keeping secrets to each other after all, so it wouldn’t surprise him if she had met her former husband. Nothing had to have happened after all.

She shook her head when he asked if she had met him since. “No” she hadn’t even kept taps on him, knowing that if she had she would have tried to find her way back. “He’s from a hunter family, he went back to them after we lost our children, and I stopped keeping taps on him, it was only by some sick coincidence that Faith, or Mariella as she is called now, was found by that family and grew up getting them to know as brothers” she had to fill her lungs with air when she was done talking.
There was a small click from the kettle, and she walked over and started making the tea for them, taking another sip form her water when she waited for the moment, she could take out the teabags. It was then it hit her, that she had no idea which leg she should be standing on. She didn’t know how to approach Ace, as if she had been reminded off just how much it had broken her when he had more or less thrown her out. How he had handled the fact that she had been pregnant. “I need a shower” she whispered, throwing the teabags in the sink and turned around to escape from her emotions upstairs.

Ace followed the story and nodded a little. It surely sounded complicated, and he understood why it wasn’t anything pleasant. Especially now that she was connecting with the family again and the former husband was such a close relation to her sister. He raised his brows a little by the deeper breath she took.
He kept his eyes on her as she brewed their tea. She seemed uneasy, but he didn’t want to push her with everything that she was explaining, then she suddenly needed a shower. Once again he pushed his brows up, and his eyes followed her as she moved upstairs, “Hope,” he spoke softly and grabbed each mug before he followed her. “Your tea is going to get cold if you take a bath first,” he said before he started to follow her upstairs, trying to balance the liquids in the mugs. “Please, sit down and drink your tea,” he said and turned his gaze too wards her as he got upstairs. He chose to put the mugs on the nearest surface, before he approached her, clearly not second guessing anything. He grabbed her by her arm and pulled it until she was turned towards him, so he could wrap his arms around her. “Breathe,” he told her, not letting go of her.

“It’ll be fine” she mumbled noticing that her legs were moving on their own accord. Her whole body feeling so heavy all of a sudden. It was hard understanding how she survived, especially with all that unresolved trauma weighing down on her heart. The mental scars still bleeding begging for her to open up and just let someone close enough to heal them for her. But she could never let herself burden anyone with how she was actually doing.
As he didn’t go to stop her, she started walking up the stairs, shaking her head when he asked her to sit down. She didn’t want to, she couldn’t, not right now. She needed to be alone, gather herself.
But she never got that far, as his hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Feeling how he pulled her close. Because of the fact that they were almost the same height her cheek was automatically pressed against his. Her eyes wide open, as she; just like he noticed, had forgotten to breathe. A shaky breath left her, then her eyes closed as she let herself get pulled into his embrace. Lifting her arms up and folding them around him.

Ace noticed a lot of things, even though he wasn’t looking directly at her. The beat of her heart, how her steps sounded as she walked, her breathing and also how quickly she walked compared to normal. She was trying to get away from something and for some reason he had simply chosen not just to let her ache alone. He wanted her to feel safe enough to let every guard down, even though he knew it was very, very difficult for both of them. Even he himself had so many guards up right in this moment, but he still seemed so open and caring, but she had simply unlocked a few of the things he had difficulty with finding and being with her only strengthened how those things appeared in him.
He got her in his embrace and could feel how she moved her arms “I’m here,” he whispered to her, knowing very well his mouth was close to her ear. It was awful, how he felt like he was being vulnerable. He feared getting hurt again and therefore mostly hoped that she wouldn’t hurt his feelings, now that he was trying to be better at showing them. “Take your time,” he whispered, doing so himself.

There was nothing she wanted more than to just break down and let the tears flow. But her eyes were as dry as the dessert. Which only made her even more angry, angry at herself at the world and the people around her. To the cruel fate that kept punishing her for something she had no idea what was for.
He was here, this time she let her heart trust those words. Turning her head pressing her face against his shoulder as her arms pulled him a little closer. She had no idea how much time she needed, or what she needed it for. But she didn’t say anything, just letting herself stand there listening to his small breathing. Noticing how absent the heartbeat suddenly was. It hadn’t been something she had thought about before, but right now she as happy that they were the same hight. Otherwise she would have missed how the beat of the heart could calm a person down when pressed against the chest of another. Hope pulled away, not a lot, just a few inches so they could look each other in the eye. Then she leaned in and kissed him gently against his lips. It was not a long, nor very passionate. But that brief moment of touch was more than enough to make her stomach do a flip. Feel how love spread through her body, words that they hadn’t spoken yet because last time had almost ended up with the same result where he had thrown her out. It was always exhausting to constantly think about what she could do or say. So, she chose not to say anything at all. Leaning in and kissing him again, this time a little longer than the first.

He let her stand in his arms as long as she felt like she needed, trying to make sure to breathe, because he knew how listening to another’s calm breaths could calm one down. Sadly, he couldn’t give her the satisfaction of a beating heart. He would need a little magic before they would ever be able to happen, and who would even know what would happen if one started his heart with magic. He let her pull away, but he wouldn’t let go of her. He wouldn’t want her to turn away and hide everything she felt. She placed a soft kiss against his lips, which he reciprocated, though it might have been a bit warmer and welcoming from his side. Wanting to let her in, to let her feel safe. He could almost feel how something changed, he wasn’t completely sure of how he could explain it, but he had been able to sense it so many times before with younger people who had just fallen in love. The nervousness, but the wish to explore. The little burning flame that wanted more. She leaned in to kiss him again, which he didn’t hesitate with reciprocating, again just a little warmer and welcoming than the last. He didn’t want to push her, and he didn’t wish for her to bury her feelings with the feeling of something else.

It was a whirl of emotions that harpooned its way through her body. Almost as if she had been struck by lightning. After Jamie, she had never thought that there would ever come a time where she would let herself be vulnerable again. Not that it meant she had kept herself from intimacy all together. But she had been gone the next day, or never let anyone in. Not like she had let Ace in, even if it felt like she was only pushing him away.
Even though there was nothing more she wanted, than to just throw away all words and let their bodies talk to each other instead, she knew that they needed to talk about this. About them. As she pulled away a second time, she let her tongue run over her lips before she looked up, into his eyes. Her fingers found his cheek and slowly let it glide over his skin. “I’m sorry I shut you out like that, and didn’t contact you” she whispered, feeling how someone crushed her stomach. She almost never apologised, so this was a giant step for her. Feeling how her heart picked up speed, almost pounding against her small chest.

He opened his eyes as she pulled away and looked into hers, feeling her warm fingers against his cold skin. She apologized. It wasn’t really like he was surprised, but it was odd how alike they were, though they were so different at the same time. His hand found her ribcage and pulled a light smile, “I’m sorry that it took this long,” raising his chin a little before she would argue that he had been quick to get to her. “I should’ve known something was up,” he said and caressed her side gently. “I would like us to be better at not shutting everything out,” he said and let his other hand slowly glide through her hair.

Her eyes closed and a small smile formed over her lips as he told her he was sorry that it had taken this long. That he should have known something was up. Maybe he should have, but she wasn’t in a place where she felt like she could hold a grudge on the fact that he hadn’t shown up or had tried to contact her further. Sometimes she just got these moods, where she could barely get out of her bed. Hope opened her eyes again, when he told her that he wanted them to be better at not shutting everything out, her smile twisted into a sadder expression. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to do that, but I will try” she whispered, mostly because she had been on her own for such a long time. Dealing with everything on her own, which had also been one of the many reasons that her and Jamie had argued as much as they had done. “But I, I get these moods where I, were I won’t even be able to get out of my bed, so, do you want a key to my place?” she whispered, then he could come as he pleased, which was a very big step for her. Giving up her freedom of having a place where no one could enter unless she opened the door and let them in.