𝘖𝘉𝘚𝘐𝘋𝘐𝘈𝘕 ° 𝘈𝘓𝘌𝘊 𝘝𝘖𝘓𝘛𝘜𝘙𝘐

[25] STALEMATE

ALTHOUGH SHE WAS UNABLE TO FALL ASLEEP, RORY MANAGED TO LULL HERSELF INTO THE PEACEFUL DARKNESS. She rested her head on Alec's shoulder as he flipped through the pages of some book. He seemed to be reading at a human pace for whatever reason—probably to abstain from being involuntarily pulled into conversations with any Cullen member. They were pretty hell-bent on getting Rory to spill her secrets, but she remained tight-lipped. It was for their benefit, even if they couldn't see it yet. i'm

Alec had unabashedly arranged their first-class row to be the farthest from the coven's heads and their insistence to make him feel welcomed and included in the overly compassionate family dynamic. He was good, thank you very much.

Rory had been pretending to sleep for the last two hours of their 18-hour flight across the Atlantic. Fake drooling, shifting, cuddling the complimentary blanket in her lap. In her opinion, while some vampires liked doing everything at a vampire speed—she preferred the human pace; feeling like—and quite literally—having all the time in the world to enjoy the little things in life.

"You're quite committed," he commented as he turned another page.

"SHH."

"You did not just shush me."

"And what about it?"

"You're trying to trick yourself into sleeping," Alec pointed out. "We can't sleep."

"Obviously."

He could be so annoying sometimes.

"If you want to be more realistic, don't forget to snore."

Her eyes snapped open.

"I do not." A roll of memories flash behind her eyes, one, in particular, would be making her blush if she could. Regardless of the embarrassment, she doesn't move from his shoulder.

He laughed. Loudly. "Just like how you didn't use to dream of me."

She poked his bicep sharply. "You are a nightmare."

Alec playfully tugged a tendril of hair, a devilish smirk on his face. "Something like that," he said mockingly, reminding her of a nearly forgotten memory.

Her eyes widened, lips pursing in embarrassment. "Read your damn book."

His hand trailed down her arm. "Do you want me to take away your senses?"

To most people, that was a dangerous threat from Alec. Words that promised death. The endless void. Oblivion.

Rory smiled widely, excited at the prospective experience. "Oh my god, please."

"I'll wake you up before we land," he murmured, stroking the side of her face once, fully resigning to her ridiculous notion of human pretenses.

She disliked waking up in unknown territories.

He hummed and then Aurora's head fell onto his lap with a soft thud, going fully limp. He readjusted her to a more comfortable and natural position. Part of him would always miss human-Aurora, the food-loving, impulsive artist of a girl she had been before the cruelty of the vampire world had changed everything. She was the same person as a vampire, but her heart had (literally) beat with an unparalleled love of life and living.

Seeing how the Volturi lifestyle—even without Aro's villainy—had drained her of so much happiness, it had ultimately been what pushed him to be willing to destroy what had essentially been his own life's work.

Picking up her discarded headphones, he slipped it on as he returned to the book, pressing play to the song she had been listening to, drowning out the sounds of those around them. He traced a fold in the corner of the page where Aurora had dog-eared it a long time ago.