[2009 – October]
Like it was common for a large mansion that seemed to be from the age of aristocracy, in front of the large dark wooden doors that served as the entrance of the Hellion Mansion, there were two wide flights of stone stairs that led up to the doors from left and right, which curved in a half-moon shape to face forward.
A wide balustrade made out of stone columns that were carved from solid pieces of rock gave the large entranceway a weathered and robust finish that spoke of old wealth.
It was on this autumn evening, which thankfully had turned out to be a dry day weatherwise, that Elijah was seated on these steps, his right shoulder almost touching the stone column at his side, while Laura herself sat behind the quiet dark-haired teen, leaning against Elijah's back while seated sideways.
The sun was slowly setting, dying the sky a beautiful flaming colour, though she wasn't cold as she was an oversized dark-green parka over her short-sleeved black crop top that left her midriff bare, a pair of skin-tight dark-grey jeans and some black boots finishing her outfit.
Still, she felt an evening breeze lightly caress her cheeks and whistle through her full hair while her head rested on Elijah's shoulder, the scent of fresh soap and sandalwood tickling her nose.
Her hands were busy carving a somewhat rough ring made out of dark-grey rock with the Vibranium butterfly knife that Elijah had gifted her a few days ago while she lazily chewed some gum and listened to Arya's happy hoots with a faint smile as Elijah played with the tiny owlet.
The both of them were waiting for the others to get ready for a night out, Jean helping Celeste with the choice of clothes and some light make-up. Clarice, John, Angelica, Marie-Ange, and Allison were also coming along, in addition to Pietro, Yukio, Ellie, and Rogue, whom they were meeting in the city.
Tonight's destination was a karaoke bar, which naturally was in no small part Yukio's idea.
Laura didn't really care about that though, nor was she nervous. She had never done karaoke but how could the prospect of having to sing in front of strangers give her a fright after all she had experienced? Not to mention that Elijah and Jean would also be there, which freed her of her worries entirely.
She usually wasn't very extroverted and preferred not to be, but that didn't mean that she would shy away from a challenge.
Still, something else was on her mind at this moment and she didn't hesitate to tell Elijah since he was the person closest to her.
"Celeste is interested in me, isn't she?", Laura asked directly, like it was her style, her tone calm and unhurried.
"Obviously.", Elijah replied, his voice reaching her ears with a faint rasp after he let out a short 'hmm' that was part laughter and part hum.
"No laughing.", she remarked with light exasperation while slapping his back, before continuing with a bit of helplessness mixing into her voice as she frowned, "What do I do about that? Why would she like me?"
"She likes you because you're gorgeous and she thinks you can understand her – understand what she has gone through because of your own past. After all, people crave to be understood, maybe even more so than they crave being loved.", Elijah replied quietly, a ravishing smile drawing up the corners of her lips for a quick moment when she heard him say that she was gorgeous.
"Still, if you plan to reject her, then you are asking the wrong person because I don't know how to do that.", he continued, his tone shifting a bit as he sighed softly.
Laura naturally understand that he was talking about her and her heart couldn't help but clench painfully for a moment. At this point though, it was a familiar pain that she gladly accepted in exchange for Elijah's presence and companionship.
One might argue that he was stringing her along but it wasn't like this. Elijah didn't flirt with her, nor was he dishonest in his actions.
After all, she had made no secret of the fact that she loved him but while he hadn't rejected her, Elijah had likewise made no secret of the fact that he would never do anything that might hurt Jean.
There was this line that separated friends from lovers and Elijah was very careful not to cross it, no matter how much this line seemed to blur at times.
Pausing for a moment, Laura just sighed ever so slightly while inhaling Elijah's calming scent before asking him: "Do you think she will get over it?"
"I'm not a prophet, Laura. But she is Emma's daughter, she will be fine.", he replied with quiet conviction, his confidence in his older sister unmistakable.
"True.", Laura sighed, knowing very well about Emma's fierceness. Inwardly shaking her head, she decided to just forget about this for now. She wasn't one to brood over stuff that she couldn't change.
If her claws couldn't solve a problem, then she might as well not obsess about it. There was no doubt that she was highly intelligent, she just wasn't the type that planned and schemed or enjoyed doing so.
Elijah was the same in a way, even if he liked to brood sometimes. He was rational but not a planner, even if circumstances forced him to act like one occasionally. She loved being adventurous and wild, the same as him.
Her eyes lighting up, she looked at the ring made out of stone that lay flat on her palm, dark grey dust covering her pale skin. It was a size that easily fitted around her thumb, though that was naturally not its ultimate destination as she had carved this with a specific purpose in mind.
Turning around, Laura wrapped her arms around Elijah from behind while leaning forward and presented him with the stone ring.
"I finally finished it.", she uttered hints of happiness in her tone as she smiled ever so slightly.
Taking it from her hand, Elijah's fingers brushed over the slightly rough surface of the stone ring, his lips curved in a light smile. She had carved a pattern on the surface of the ring along the pattern in the stone, giving it a wholly unique finish.
"I like it.", he said quietly, a soft look in his dark-green eyes as shadows danced in their depths.
He looked charming beyond compare with his angular features, wild black locks, and eyes that were as unique as they had been on the day when they had first met each other. They might have held less power at that time but the conviction and serene confidence were the same.
"Put it on.", she urged with a smile.
Lightly shaking his head, laughing at her impatience, his forefinger slipped on the dark ring, which seemed to fit perfectly.
"Now the only one left is Arya.", Laura said while holding her smaller hand next to Elijah's, her own forefinger adorned with a similar ring made out of black stone, which was the first that she had made before making one for Jean and then Elijah.
Jean's was of an even lighter grey than Elijah's, and Laura had spent quite a few hours smoothing out the edges since the dainty redhead's skin was at risk of chaffing, which wasn't the case for her, much less Elijah.
There wasn't really anything that could hurt the dark-haired teen at her side so Laura didn't have to worry about that.
"You do realize that this little one weighs hardly a few grams herself, don't you? A stone ring is nothing but an anchor for her, especially since we will start taking flying lessons soon.", Elijah remarked as he held up his other, half-closed hand, Arya resting within.
The tiny black owl had her amber eyes half-closed while enjoying the rubs to her belly and cheek from Elijah, looking incredibly adorable and ready to fall asleep at any time.
Unapologetically, she retorted with smiling eyes: "I am sure it will be fine."