Feels Like Fate (YaYa)

[connorspaulding]

It may have been the first time ever that Connor was rendered speechless.

He sat dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open a bit, his brow furrowed and his mind working frantically to make some kind of sense out of what he'd just heard. His initial thought was that she was somehow drunk already, and was just spouting off nonsense. It took him barely a second, though, to throw that idea out the window. After all, he'd shared some pretty hard drinks with YaYa before, and there was no way she'd be drunk enough to start talking like this after only a few sips.

The next thing that ran through his mind was that she was crazy. How else could she think up something like that? She had to be just as nuts as he apparently was. But no, that couldn't be it either. If she would have started talking like this a few weeks back, before he'd had his "experience" then yeah, he probably would have been willing to believe that she was insane, but now?

No, he knew better now...

"So..." he began, his lips working frantically to speak words that just weren't coming. "I mean... All this stuff? All this weird, crazy shit... You know about it?" Connor let out a long, slow, relieved sigh. God, that made everything so much easier, and he felt better too, not that he'd gotten it off his chest. Maybe YaYa was the perfect girl for him after all!

He chuckled and downed the remainder of his drink, shaking his head. What were the chances, really? Here was a woman who knew about his less-than-legal career choice and didn't care; hell, she'd admitted to him before that she had thievery in her blood too! And now that she'd told him that she knew about all this supernatural business too, YaYa had immediately become that much more appealing to Connor.

"Ya know what?" he told her, grinning and wrapping his arms around her. "I changed my mind. Let's get married. Right now. We can just run off to Vegas, do the deed, and call it good? Whaddya say?" He gave her a wink, letting her know that he was only half serious.

But still, half was better than not at all...

[imaya]

It took a hell of a lot of self control, but YaYa managed not to burst out laughing at the shock on Connor’s face. Ah, the poor guy; her answer was obviously not the one he was expecting. But then again…did she really look like a normal girl? She was much too crazy to be mistaken as someone without such a flamboyant past; even she understood that fact. Prided herself on it, in fact.

With a little snort, she leaned over and gave the guy a little peck on his cheek. ”Don’t worry; most people think I’m just crazy because I’m anti-societal norm. You’re not the first to have no idea what to say,” She said, before he could reply.

Thinking that he was liable to dump her off his lap and make for the door in the next few seconds, she was tempted to move over to the chair next to his. Having had experience with the whole butt-meet-floor thing, because the guy in question just wasn’t ready for her back story made her want to take the initiative…but she couldn’t make herself move. She really felt bad for the guy, and she had to stay in such a prime hug-area for when he was done figuring things out in his head. Taking a gulp of her drink, she played with her hair and watched the emotion flicker across the older man’s face.

She couldn’t help it; a smile pulled at her lips as she reached over to give his knee a comforting pat. The poor man looked like he was either going to puke or crawl under the table and hide. She felt a bit bad, wondering if she should have just denied having knowledge about the supernatural. But…then again, her and lying just didn’t mix. She tended to start twitching or laughing when trying to pull one off. It was one of the many reasons why Jericho and his friends loved to play poker with her.

”Yeah, baby, it’s all real. Maybe not everything that you’ve heard of in bedtime stories, but most of it’s true. Magic, werewolves, witches…people who can raise the dead. It’s all true and I’m sorry if this’ a really tough pill to swallow.” She’d never had a problem because she’d been brought up around it all…but Connor? Gah, it must be making him want to take back the last 48 hours.

…Or maybe not. Grinning when he wrapped his arms around her, she leaned sideways against his chest and laughed. ”A Vegas wedding? For someone like me? Baby, I’m flattered, but I’m holding out for the Goth wedding of the century. Elvis makes my stomach hurt, I’m sorry to say.”

Giving his cheek another kiss, she shook her head and chuckled again. ”Now, tell me what the ‘long story’ is. How’d you find out about the Dark Side? Did something happen in New Orleans? I have connections, you know; I can make whoever it is regret being born.”

[/blockquote]

[connorspaulding]

Make them regret being born, huh?

Well, that sounded tempting...

Shaking his head to clear it of such thoughts, Connor's expression went from one of relief, to a deep scowl. He hadn't really told anyone else about his experience in New Orleans yet, but he'd certainly mulled it over enough in his own mind to be tired of it. But, at the same time, maybe telling the tale out loud was just what he needed. Wasn't it true that unloading something that was bothering you onto someone else was supposed to help?

Maybe that wasn't exactly it, but close enough.

So, after a moment of silence to organize his thoughts, Connor began telling YaYa about his run-in with the James family. It had started out just like any other heist, though even then he'd found it odd that the estate hadn't had any defenses to speak of. He was used to disarming security devices and slipping in and out of places unseen, and without setting off alarms, but this time had been different.

The James estate had been protected by something utterly outside Connor's field of expertise...

Of course he'd been caught and questioned, and to this day he was certain that the only reason he'd even walked out of that house alive was because he'd been unarmed, and hadn't meant to do any harm to anyone. It was an odd habit for thief, to go around without any means to defend one's self, but for Connor it was the only way to work. He'd known too many good thieves to become murderers in the heat of the moment, and he swore he'd never be one of them.

Lexi James had been pretty free with her use of magic, pinning him in place and making him feel very vulnerable, and maybe even a bit afraid, but it had been her husband that had really shaken Connor. Tristian James wasn't human. Connor had instinctively known that the moment he'd seen him... And there was something very intimidating, and frightening, about him. The fangs, of course, had done a large part in convincing Connor of the real stakes involved--no pun intended--and when the vampire had offered the thief a job, how could he refuse?

It was probably that or a long, painful death, and Connor had never been a fan of the latter...

"Yeah, well, there ya go," he finished, a few beers and nearly an hour later. "It's nice to be able to talk to someone about this that won't think I'm crazy, ya know?" He shrugged, feeling very tense after relieving those moments. He wasn't sure yet if he felt better or worse, but he figured he'd know soon enough, once his nerves settled...

[imaya]

Leaning forward on the table, YaYa rested her chin on her knuckles and listened to Connor’s story. None of it really phased her, having grown up with a mother who used her dead friends to babysit, and her father who tended to get furry when angry…but for a poor civvy like her new friend? He’d probably shit a brick, the poor guy. Making a sympathetic sound when he got into the description of being ‘captured’ by the James’, she leaned over to give his knee a little pat.

She could only imagine what was going through his mind when Lexi had gotten a hold of him. To go through life thinking that a cup was a cup, and not an immortal being who was cursed into that form by a vindictive witch twelve hundred years ago…it had to make a guy sit back and rethink his take on life. And, if that wasn’t enough, he’d probably be forever wondering if the house he was robbing was owned by another family of ‘freaks!’ Poor Connor. If only he’d grown up Goth; then none of this would have been much of a surprise.

Giving his knee another understanding pat, she leaned back in her chair and nodded. ”I can understand how all of this comes as a surprise, and I’m real sorry you had to find out that way. I actually…well, to tell you the truth, I’ve known the James family for most of my life, so this whole ‘meeting’ thing of ours? So karma. Anyway, they’re really a nice family, once you get to know them. And the magic/supernatural…you get used to it. Not to mention that Tristian James pays REALLY well, when he asks you to do something. Look at it this way; basically, you robbed a house, got captured by a bunch of freaky people and got set up for life.”

Knowing that she was probably babbling a little, YaYa forced herself to stop talking and take a sip of her beer. The poor guy was probably shaken up to all let out and she hoped that what she was saying wasn’t about to make him even crazier…but truth be told, she didn’t know what to say to him. Having grown up with what he just witnessed for the first time made her jaded, she supposed.

So, the big question was; how could she make Connor feel better?

A little spark of devilish heat came into her eyes as a thought popped up. Could she…nah, dragging him back to her apartment to sex him up so good, he wouldn’t walk right for a week probably wasn’t the best way to go. He might compartmentalize everything and deny he’d ever been trapped by a vampire and his witch wife; then where would he be if Tris ever called him in for a real job? There was the ‘drink until we vomit’ idea as well, but she quickly dashed it alongside the sexing. He could also use a drunken haze to convince himself he’d dreamed the James Incident. So, how to make Connor feel better. How to make him feel better…

Right then, the live band on the stage started playing a country rock tune, and YaYa’s entire face lit up. Bingo!

Grabbing the thief’s hand, she threw all of her weight into yanking him out of his chair and toward the dance floor. ”Okay, enough of the freaking out; magic is a part of life, and you’ve always known it, deep down. It’s time to make Connor feel like Connor again, so c’mon, cowboy! Spin me around the room until we wear out the floor.”

[/blockquote]

[connorspaulding]

Karma, huh? That was one way to look at it, Connor supposed.

It did seem a bit strange, that he'd been thrown into this whole mess after a run in with the James family, and then he'd end up meeting an amazing woman who just happened to have known said family for most of her life. Either it was a really, really small world, or there was definitely something bigger at play here. Much bigger, in fact.

Karma? Maybe...

YaYa's words about Tristian turned Connor's mind away from that particular avenue of thought and forced him to think about a much more basic concern: Money. She was definitely right about one thing, Tristian certainly did pay well. Very well. In fact, Connor had yet to do the man a single job, and he had already given the thief five grand, to keep him on "retainer," whatever the hell that meant. Five thousand dollars, just to keep his phone on and be ready at any time of day or night in case Tristian called him, plus another thousand every week, indefinitely. And, if the vampire was to be believed, that didn't even come close to the bonus he'd receive after a successful bit of work.

Set up for life was an understatement.

Finding himself already in better spirits, Connor laughed as YaYa dragged him out of his seat and onto the dance floor. He'd never really been much for dancing, though he'd logged in his time on the dance floor before. He had a natural gift of balance and agility--necessary in his line of work--that made getting out there and just doing it fairly simple, and he wasted no time getting into the swing of it.

Maybe this crazy ass life wouldn't be so bad... After all, he had a load of cash in his wallet, he wasn't rotting in a jail cell somewhere, and there was an amazing, unbelievably gorgeous young woman dancing with him...

What more was there?