You're everywhere, except right here and it hurts

Place: Winstons place in Manchester, England.
Date and time: Mat 23rd, 19:30
Weather: Pouring
Outfit: A pink spotted croptop, light blue jeans and some light boots.
Dedicated to: @Ajax
Notes: It is three months since Caroline last saw Ajax. She is 162cm tall and seemingly thinner than usual.

For almost three months Caroline had been asked to stay in Manchester with her parents. Her parents who were never home. Her dad hadn’t been attending the funeral and her mother didn’t really seem to care that much. She had been stripped from her social media and had basically been underground. Her parents had wished that she should cut the connection to the academy, since it was too dangerous for her, and occasionally they had brought her onto smaller work trips, trying to lure her into joining their work. But Caroline wasn’t ready for it. She had felt so alone, so whenever she was in Manchester, which was most of the time, she drove around and even passed the Winston’s estate, hoping that she could see either Atlas or Ajax inside or somewhere. But it had been empty, oh so empty.

So she had gone to bad habits. Or, she had no clue that it was a bad habit, but she had been writing letters to her ex-boyfriend Avery, hoping that he would reply, since the letters Caroline sent to Ajax didn’t seem to get any replies, or maybe the school just threw them out. No matter what, she never got any replies from her letters to Ajax.

But it didn’t keep her from driving past his house. And today, she had success. She had gotten so used to just driving by, that when she saw him passing a window, that she immediately hit the brakes, dropping her jaw. She parked the red car right where she had stopped, and immediately exited it, leaving the door open and rushed to the entrance. She didn’t knock or ring on the bell, she just phased through the walls until she reached him and immediately threw her arms around him in an embrace. “I’ve missed you so much,” she said with a rusty voice.

To say that things had been chaotic was not even going to cover it. He had so much to take care, so much more on his plate than he usually did. This was one of the reasons why Atlas had called him home, she didn't live in their parents mansion, but she knew something was up. Even if they were almost never home, they had never been unavailable for this long. In the end he had taken a plane back to Manchester, it wasn't like anything in Aston was going to keep him there either way. It had been weird beign back, walking into the doors only to be met with the servants, who asked him if he knew when his parents would give some sound. He lied. Ajax hated lies, and yet, he was standing there just lying. Ajax felt less and less like himself. Here he took a mouthful of the expensive bourbon and sighed a bit to himself. The dogs were out in their little dog house, and the servants send home for the next few days.

Glass splintered on the wall as he threw it across the room in a scream. Frustrated and trying to fill up this void caused by loneliness with whatever he could - but nothing was enough. Ajax walked frustrated back and fourth in front of the windows in the living room. In his frustration he barely noticed the red lights from the car parking out front, it wasn't till he caught a scent - a familiar one - that he turned his head to the side. Was he hallucinating now too? No he wasn't dreaming, he would know. Before he even had a chance to take her in, she was in his arms, and like pure muscle memory he found his arms around her. Ajax pulled her closer, not realizing till now how much he had missed that. It wasn't just about missing having someone close, but about having her close. "I've missed you too," he whispered in her hair, closing his eyes to take her scent in. "God, I've missed you so much."

His arms found their way around her and she felt how her body and heart melted. This was home because this was where her heart was. For a moment she just stood there and enjoyed the feeling of being whole again. She felt like her true self when they were able to continue to have contact, whenever they had been away from each other for too long, she didn’t feel like herself. It was like every dreadful thought was rolling off her shoulders, like the rain on the windows. She took in his warmth, smell, feel, posture – everything. He spoke the truth, because everything about him told her just what he had said.

She repositioned her head, so she could look into his different colored eyes. She let one of her hands glide over his hair to let her hand position it self on his jaw. “Where have you been?” she whispered, not wanting to let go of her person yet. For her, it had been troublesome ever since she had started at the academy. Attacked on her first day, reunion with her sister, been attacked by vampires a Halloween night and ‘befriending’ Elenora, blaming Ajax for not being present and for killing Benjamin, even though he was just asleep, been in the middle of a terror action in the museum, helping Ajax when he was beaten black and blue and her sister’s death. Things had been extremely bumpy for both of them, and she only knew so little of what Ajax had been going through. She felt terrible about it. It was almost like some superior godlike creature had been playing with their fate, dragging them through dirt and fire. But now they were here in each other’s arms and absolutely nothing was going to ruin it. She had a burning wish to ask if she could stay there, so she wouldn’t have to sleep alone at her own place – but maybe she had to wait a little, just to be sure.

Where have you been? The soft whisper ringing over his head, her voice still able to drive him insane in the most incredible way. Yet, he felt guilty, he was molded by guilt at this point, having his own pity party for not being good enough. For simply not being or feeling like he was enough. If he had been better perhaps he could have protected Angel and Mirabelle for meeting their death - he could have protected Cecilia from his father, and just had things be somewhat normal. What was normal these days even? Ajax took a deeper breath in, still holding his arms around her, realizing he hadn't replied to her question yet. Where did he even start? what would she think of him if he told her? He cleared his throat before exhaling, "I bought a penthouse apartment in Aston," he replied in a lower tone and took a slightly deeper breath in. "I'm just here for a few days to check up on some stuff for my parents, I haven't woken them up yet," he confessed underneath his breath. It had been so much more peaceful since he had placed them in that mind prison, he didn't need to be scared of them or what his father would do. "Do you want to stay? I mean, if you have other plans - that is totally okay -- but, it would be nice," he almost stumbled over his words, feeling slightly nervous for a split second. But it had always been them, hadn't it? Despite whatever the world threw at them, they were in this to the bitter end.

He took his time to answer, and she didn’t mind it. What mattered to her right now, was that they were near each other. Things were just so much better and easier to handle when they were together. He had bought a penthouse apartment in Aston. She wondered for how long he had had it and where in Aston it was, but it didn’t matter that much right now. After all, she had just been called back home to USA and hadn’t really been able to visit him either way, since her parents hadn’t wished for her to come back to Gaia. She pulled on a light smile. She would like to see the apartment one day, if she could ever get near Gaia again.
I’m just here for a few days. She tried to keep up the smile, but the smile quivered a bit. She didn’t want him to leave her again. Whenever they weren’t near each other, it felt like eternity. I haven’t woken them up yet. She tightened her grip a bit around him. She had clued things together that nothing was easy for him – just like for her. So, she didn’t think much about him having put his parents to sleep, nor did she think that he had ever done it to her. Not yet at least.
He wondered if she wanted to stay and her eyes lit up, glistening. “No, no, no. I would love to stay. I-I got no plans. Not at all,” she reassured him speaking quite quickly. She really wished to stay for a while. “I-I can cook some food for us?” she suggested slightly slower and once again let her hand comb through his hair, trying to keep a stable eye contact. She was there for him, just like he was there for her.

She didn't have other plans, which made him smile more brightly. It was funny, cause he had preferred being alone for so long, but the only person he always wanted to spend time with was Caroline, no matter what, she was always the person he wanted to have around. Things had been rocky between them, also their lives apart. Everything had just been so messy without any sight of common ground - till now at least. It was like things suddenly was being seen in the same light again. I can cook some food for us? Her suggestion made him smile, and he nodded to conform, "that sounds like a brilliant idea," he replied with a tender voice, while he felt her hand moving through his hair and his eyes locked with hers. He chuckled again, moving his hands to cup her face, letting his thumbs caress her cheeks before leaning in placing his lips on her forehead, closing his eyes for a moment. Sometimes in chaos and pain you forgot the things that mattered the most to you. Caroline being one of the people he valued most in his life, the stable piece that always had made him sure that life was worth living - even when things where hard, like an anchor keeping him from getting lost at sea. He removed his lips from her forehead again and took a slight step back, letting his hands fall slowly down from her cheek, only to let his right hand grab her left hand, inviting her to follow him towards the kitchen.

"So, I'm not sure of what I have in the fridge - uhm," he scratched his neck a little with his left hand before opening the fridge. There wasn't a lot, he didn't cook. Ever. It was an awful long time ago if anything. He was instead really good at buying some already cooked meals or at least order some take out.

His smile was mirrored on her lips smiling brightly. She loved that he had asked her that and that she didn’t just have to go back to the big empty house. Because with no one in it, it didn’t feel like a home. It was just a house. A house which kept her in Manchester. Tying her away from everything she loved.
A slightly flustered smile spread on her lips as he said that cooking some food was a brilliant idea. She could make anything for them, she just needed to know what she had to work with. The way his hands framed her face made her smile even more, making her cheeks pull up, filling his hands with warmth. As he leaned in to kiss her forehead, she closed her eyes and felt how every bone in her body melted. To her, it felt like time stopped. She could stay like this forever. She made sure to caress the back of his neck gently to let him know that it was very welcome and that she had indeed been missing his presence.

He took his lips away from her forehead and it was like someone hit the play button. Back to reality. But he made sure that she wore rose-tinted glasses, the way his hand traveled from her cheek to her hand and invited her to follow him to the kitchen. It wasn’t like she needed guidance because she knew this house in and out. But she wanted him to be with her while she cooked. Not that she needed help with the cooking or to find anything in the kitchen, but because she wanted him to be there.

He opened the fridge right after he had told her that he didn’t really know if he had anything. She tiptoed to look over his shoulder and see what was in the fridge, placing her free hand on his shoulder to support her. Not much indeed, but it didn’t really matter. The hand on his shoulder gave him a slight squeeze, “I can work with this,” she spoke softly. She looked up at him, “Can you grab some vegetables?” she wondered before she gently let go of both his shoulder and hand, only to let her right hand travel across his back as she passed him to one of the drawers. She opened it searching for something they could cook. Pasta of some sort maybe? Her eyes found some noodles which she grabbed smiling widely. She started humming while she found a pot to fill with water so she could heat some water for the noodles.