episodic | this is a chemistry lesson

Oh, little bit of everywhere. Me and my dad moved around a lot.

[He downs the rest of his glass, before shifting to lean back against the headboard of one of the beds.]

Supernatural IDs were only one facet of his business and ... not all of them were legal.

My dad's a lawyer. Not all of his business is legal.

( He has money, too. )

You were brought up in that. He's your real dad?

Yeah?

[He probably shouldn't sound so incredulous about that, but his dad wasn't the type to take on something that wasn't meant to be his responsibility. This isn't to say that they didn't have a good relationship or his father didn't love him, because he did.

He just wouldn't have dragged him all over creation out of the goodness of his heart.]

Mom died when I was six.

( That's a bitter sip he takes from his bed, looking down at his glass. )

I'm sorry.

( Something he's better at doing now, after therapy in London and managing a relationship, is talking about himself. And talking about his parents. )

My parents died in a car accident. My father is my adopted father.

I'm sorry too.

[Dead parents suck.]

Were they good people? Your adoptive parents?

They --

( Hm. )

They were good to me. We weren't a close family. ( He lets that sit with him as he stretches his legs and crosses his ankles. ) I wasn't an easy teen. They did their best. We're closer now.

That's good at least.

[That things are better now.]

I've always been a believer in that things don't have to stay terrible if you don't want them to.

If you make them.

( If you are. )

I was a terrible thing. ( A bad guy. ) I'll never say this to him. But, Scott has a part in why I'm not. Helping these kids. It helps me.

Then I'm glad you're doing it.

[And he also is not going to judge you for being a bad guy. Sometimes the world needs a few bad guys, who are willing to do shady things. It just depends on if you're doing them for good or evil.]

And I'm sure the kids are too.

( The blood on his hands... Another thing he had to work through in therapy. )

Wouldn't know. I offload them and move on to the next.

( If he cared, if he let himself care, maybe some of that hurt and loss he felt as a kid would be drummed up again. He shouldn't be relied on, or connected to. )

I asked where you're from cause I'm not living anywhere right now. I used to live in London. Moved here to be more hands on. I'm in and out of hotel rooms.

( Nicer ones than this room. But, this is free and she gave them booze. )

Haven't picked a city, yet.

( Scott, he's in LA, and when not in LA, back in Beacon Hills. Derek and his family, they're wherever. Stiles is in DC or Virginia, depending, and Lydia's in Boston. He could move to Boston full time. )

[He raises his eyebrow and then, because he can't help himself.]

Are you asking to come back with me?

Do you need help with -- your legal activity?

I mean, we could always use a few extra hands.

[He will never say no to someone who wants to help.]

I just didn't think you were the underground type.

What type do you think I am?

( He's not answering just yet, either way. But, the look he gives when he sets his empty glass down. He's curious. What does the cute criminal think of him? )

[He studies him for a moment.]

You seem like the type to want to leave an impression.

[And that doesn't always work for them.]

I'm memorable.

( And should he do some damage, yeah, they should remember who inflicted it. Maybe they'll think twice. )

Jackson Whittemore's not a name people forget.

( He's convinced Ethan is pining for him somewhere in England. Even if Ethan broke up with him. )

It does definitely set a tone.

[Is he teasing or is he serious? The world may never know.]

But sometimes for us, we have to put aside being memorable to fly under the radar.

( He'd continue to smolder-flirt (flolder?), but there's a knock at the door before it opens. )

You must be Alaric Saltzman.

( "And you must be who I get to thank for rescuing those kids. Normally, I'd say stay here as long as you like, but we received news of an impending plan, possibly an attack." )

[Alexander perks up at that, brow furrowing.]

What do you need?

( "To start, some of your connections. Relocating underage witches, vampires, and werewolves is the easy part. But if they're on to us, they're on to their identities." )

And muscle?

( "Yeah, we could use all the help back here that we can get. I don't want to seem ungrateful." For earlier, that is. )

He should leave tonight.

[He nods, because he agrees.]

Yeah, I'll hit the road.

[A beat, before he points to Ric.]

Any chance I could borrow a car? Stealth and speed is not a school bus's strong suit.

( Ric smirks.

"Yeah, we have a few," and then. "Is that my scotch?" )

[Alexander looks innocent.]

We thought it was a gift?

( Ric just lets himself into the room and picks the bottle and the top to the bottle up.

"I'll be in my office when you're ready, Alexander."

And once they're left alone, Jackson just laughs when he meets Alex's eyes. Alex still has to collect his things, put shoes on, and such, but it still feels like this ended quickly. )

I guess we're going our separate ways.

Guess so.

[He reaches into his jacket before pulling out a card with a phone number on it.]

In case you decide you want to ask more questions.

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illtempered - 2020-10-28 00:05 (UTC) - Expand

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