project janus, 𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴¹

ten

DEADWOOD, FLORIDA
PRESENT DAY

"WELL, IN ANY CASE," Eliyah said, swallowing down another ravioli, "I'm happy for him. Sutter deserves someone good. He was a good guy when I knew him."

"He was," Jane confirmed before quickly moving on. "Now, Eli, tell us all about your fantastic SHIELD job. Y'know, besides the fact that you're on probation."

Eli laughed. "I wish I could, but sadly, the rest of my life is classified."

The entire Villanueva family groaned. Gianella even had the guts to throw a ravioli at Eli, who caught it and tossed it easily into her mouth. "Nice try," she told her niece, smirking. "But seriously, it's true. I am very, very classified."

The family eventually finished dinner and migrated to the living room, where Rafe put on a movie. Eli stayed in the kitchen to wash the dishes, the window into the living room from the kitchen what she used to watch both the movie and her family.

Rafe had an arm slung around Jane, who was cuddled up into her husband. Peter and Amada took turns tossing popcorn into each other's mouths instead of watching the movie. Joseph was commenting on how the astronaut in the film was most definitely not going to survive if the gateway into his home had just exploded and tumbled halfway across the surface of Mars. Gianella continued to pelt the back of Joseph's head with her popcorn. However, none of the Villanueva's had their phones in their hands; all handheld electronics had been discarded on a table across the living room, the thing at such a point that you would have to cross completely in front of the television to reach it. Eli knew that Rafe and Jane had put it there very, very strategically, which she applauded her sister for. Jane Villanueva was more of a hardass than others realized she was.

As Eliyah watched her family, her heart swelled. Who needed love when they had a family like this? Why would she need something like a boyfriend, a fiance, a husband, when she was perfectly content with her life, with her two absolute best friends and her job and the family she had before her, the clan of Villanuevas who were all, without a doubt, bleeding hearts. She didn't need anything--or anyone--other than she already had.

But as Eli watched Jane and Rafe share a soft, quiet kiss before settling back into each other, as she watched them laugh at their assembled children, biological or otherwise, she couldn't help but feel that she was more than just a little bit wrong.

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The next morning, before the kids and Rafe were awake, Jane and Eliyah crept out onto the front porch, mugs of hot chocolate and coffee (respectively) in their hands, to watch the sunrise.

As early morning light as just barely beginning to trickle across Deadwood, Jane took a long sip of her hot cocoa and stared off into the distance. "You know, one of these, I keep expecting you to come visit us with a boyfriend of yours."

Eli laughed. "We both know I don't date, Jane."

"Haven't dated. We both know you haven't dated, as in the past tense," Jane corrected. "There's still time, Eliyah. You're still young. Geez, you're only twenty-four."

"Almost twenty-five," Eliyah laughed. "I sure am getting up there, aren't I?"

"Don't joke. I didn't wake you up at five in the morning to joke." Jane's voice was sobering. "This path you're going down isn't a good one, Eli."

"What do you mean? I'm happy, Jane. When was the last time you saw me truly happy?"

"When we were teenagers," Jane answered truthfully. "You were truly happy because you were dating Sutter Keeley."