title; rating: we stick our fingers in the ground, heave, and turn the world around; pg
fandom, pairing; count: haven, audrey/duke; ~415
notes: mid- and post- season 4

"There you are again," she says, almost passing him outside of her office.

Duke puts on that million-dollar grin. "Where else would I be, sweetheart?"

Audrey laughs and rolls her eyes, lets him follow her into the office. "What's up?"

And she doesn't know why it's always been easy like that with them, but there's a comfort in it that she appreciates, especially now. Because Nathan's still not quite over the whole Lexie thing, and ever since coming back, everybody's looking at her like she's exactly the last person any of them want to see.

It's nice to be the first person, once in a while.

-

Jennifer's inherent jealousy never really throws him, because he gets that more than he would like to admit. Not that he would ever show it. No, that? He swallows that shit down. He doesn't wear it on his sleeve. But it's there, all the same. A bit of armor, just underneath the surface. So he, in turn, can't go blaming Jennifer for that very same impulse.

It just wouldn't be very fair, is all.

And then there's the fact:

He isn't over Audrey.

Not even a little.

-

There's a mark over his heart now.

And the truth is, it's been there since the first time she asked him to sully his hands with blood. It's just one of many. Left there by all the people they couldn't save, by Wade, by Duke himself, alone in the woods, his hands snuffing out a life.

She wants to go after him, but Nathan holds her back.

That's Jennifer's job, this time.

Audrey was never very good at it anyway.

-

Nathan can't deal with Mara.

Duke, on the other hand? Well, he's a little more tolerant.

Even after Jennifer, even after she nearly let him die, he looks at her and he still sees Audrey, trusting blindly that she's still in there somewhere.

Optimistic fool.

Mara likes that about him though.

Reminds her of William.

-

So, as it happens, it's Duke who brings Audrey back this time.

And as it happens, he was right.

She was there. All the time.

"There you are again," she whispers, and he's cradling her on the ground where Mara fell, and she woke up.

Audrey reaches up, touches his face, lets her fingers trail down, rests them at the spot where thin material covers the curse that she gave to him.

He leans closer, presses his lips against her forehead.

"Where the hell else would I be?"

-fin

Follow us:

Applications

COMPANY

PRODUCTS

COMMUNITY

CHOOSE LANGUAGE

Follow us:

Applications

COMPANY

PRODUCTS

COMMUNITY

CHOOSE LANGUAGE

Fandom March Madness!

LJ Video