A.N.) This was originally suppose to be a one-shot, but considering there is something's that have to be addressed, I've decided it is going to be a two-shot.
First, I had this new idea to parody Alice in Wonderland for the Night World archive. I have most of the role filled, but I'm missing my Alice. Please vote on the poll on my profile to give me your two-sense.
Also, I was thinking of pasting my casting list, but I figured you guys would get mad over spoilers, so let me know if you want to see it and I'll PM it to you.
Disclaimer) I do not own Night World.
Age May Not Be Everything, but Is Most Certainly a Factor Here
Some say age doesn't matter in a relationship, and at times that could be considered true. Unfortunately for Rashel though, age became a noticeably huge factor in her relationship with her very handsome soulmate, Quinn. She loves the guy and all, but this is something that is understandably bothersome.
Believe it or not, it is weird for her to know that the guy she kisses on a daily basis pretty much walked through nearly all American history: 1639 to now. (He was around when John was actually an extremely common name.) Think about it, the Boston Massacre—he was there. He was around when the guys on the dollar bills were in diapers. He could tell her exactly what in those heavy history books she had in high school was accurate and what was bull—and this is just assuming he stayed in the United States the whole time. Who knows where else that one guy has been in the last few centuries?
The guy could have gone to Woodstock for all she knew… She doubted it. But it was possible.
And comical when she pictured it.
He's over 300 years old and she was 17… In this day in age, it was hard for a girl to date anywhere over three years without someone objecting…
Let's see, that's an approximate 283 year age difference between them…
Now that Rashel thought about it, he's way older than Grandma Harman was, and she had looked like she was about to turn to dust. She silently thanked that he still looked like an 18 year old pretty boy.
However, the idea of specifically where he had been wasn't what was bothering her, but the fact that he knew so much and she knew so little compared to him.
Rashel sighed, remembering how much smarter he was than her, and how that can be kind of humiliating. She knew she wasn't dumb, but she wasn't exactly Honor Roll material in high school and was extremely happy to have dropped-out to go underground with Quinn. Once again, she wasn't dumb, but there wasn't much she could find that they could talk about. Besides fighting and… other physical things… what more could they do together without the awkwardness? Him telling her grandfather-like stories about "Back in the day—300 years ago—our founding fathers…"?
Poor Rashel felt like tearing her hair out at the thought.
Plus, she didn't exactly have any support from her "fellow maidens", because none of them had this type of situation with their soulmates. Even Hannah's relationship with Thierry didn't count considering she, in all technicality, was with him through those couple millennia before this lifetime.
It just isn't damn fair!
How was Rashel possibly able to deal with this anxiety and move on in her relationship?
By ignoring it and hoping she'll just forget it in time, of course.
What else was she going to do? It wasn't like she had the ability to shave 283 years off his immortal, pretty boy shoulders. Plus, this didn't seem to bother her when she first got together with him, so she assumed that if she just looked the other way, things would go back to normal (well, normal for her).
But it wasn't working.
Instead, Rashel had let her insecurities get to her and eventually ended up sulking in the kitchen, lying her cheek against the cool granite counter.
At sunrise of the day, Quinn tried to give her a kiss good morning but met the surprise of her freaking out. By that, she meant kicking him in the stomach, which forced him out of the bed and then just cleaned herself up without a word or glance at him, finally to leave in a hurry and avoid him the entire day.
This girl, who was known for being a complete badass, was about to lose her mind over relationship problems. Her thoughts trailed in a sea of merely misery and "Now what do I do…?"
"You've been with him how long and you're just now noticing the age difference?" said a familiar friend who was behind her rummaging through the fridge for some pouches of blood.
She sat straight and turned to the boy with a blonde head and ever-changing eye colors, appearing more angered that someone had been eavesdropping than embarrassed for the vulnerability.
"Well, you were getting loud but I only heard because of how close the distance," Ash said in his defense while keeping the bags of blood out of direct sight, because everyone knew how the Cat would get upset, then Quinn would bother him about it the next day.
"And back to you: yeah, Quinn's nearly four hundred, but he's always going to be eighteen years old. I've known him long enough to figure that out. As for the 'him being smarter' thing… you're a weird person so he's always interested and curious about you. You're not a very open, so he's been talkative to get you talking yourself. Remember, the guy loves you more than anything." After that, Ash gripped four pouches and left to go feed in his room.
Ash wasn't an idiot, so Rashel decided to take his advice and see what she could make out of it. She left the kitchen silent and headed to the training room where she knew he was waiting for her to show up. She had been avoiding him all day, so when he finally decided to stop chasing her everywhere, he just went to wait and catch her upon her evident arrival.
And there he was when she made it in the room. Everyone else there was working hard on a machine to evade being caught as Quinn's new sparring partner, or punching bag as the majority called them.
He had packed up his gear in a bag and was ready to leave until he paused at the sight of her. She was blank, as he would describe it, where he couldn't tell by her expression what she was feeling. He'd have to pick her thoughts a little. An enjoyable task for him because the best way to go about doing that was to get her flustered. His bad nature began to show when a smirk graced his lips.
"Hey there, Kitty, want to come back to the room with me?" he asked lazily grinning at her green eyes beginning to glow, her lips frowning.
"I think I should stay for training, John," she replied with her tone saturated with sweetness at the use of his name. She was playing hard to get again. Okay then, Quinn thought, I'll win though.
"Well can I persuade you to change your mind by offering the opportunity to have a shower with me?"
Without a word, she turned a walked out with him eagerly following. She led him into a secluded spot in the mansion hallways, because the last thing she need was people overhearing her again, and him too if he was going to be so direct.
That might have been was too blunt for her, it seemed, as he could see her look of confusion, processing what he said, before turning into something along the lines of uneasiness. She was nervous, which was the perfect time to hear her project her own thoughts without realizing.
Rashel finally realized what Ash meant to say, and it was completely the truth. No matter how long he lived, Quinn was still an 18 year old. A mischievous, hormonal 18 year old, mind that.
That was never going to change.
Quinn had heard that entire train of thought and found no need to think it had to do with her kicking him out of bed that morning. (So he's a dense 18 year old too.) Not at all was he offended, but found this reminiscing to be somewhat adorable for the girl who was always so sure of herself.
Instantly, his black eyes signaled his big bad nature getting stronger. "Is it a crime to find my soulmate—" He licked his lips. "Appealing."
"You should take that shower you mentioned cold." She stepped back
"Isn't that going to bother you?" He stepped forward.
"I'm not going to be there, old perv." Her back hit the wall.
He didn't try holding back; that smirk never once faltered. Rashel found herself trapped between Quinn's arms that extended to the wall by her shoulders. "Why not? You do kind of owe me for kicking me out of our bed this morning."
"You shouldn't be sneaking up on me then."
"I was watching you sleep a little and just couldn't help myself."
"You know, some people might think that's romantic. I think it's creepy."
"That's not going to stop me. I've got you exactly where I want you after all," he said, leaning down to finally kiss her. To both their egos, Rashel didn't freak out and kick him this time.
A.N.) You know, I have noticed the WE, of the Night World Series fandom, are at an extremely unfair position! This place here on FF is the only place to get fan-done work because, well, what else is there we can go? Night World is nearly impossible for artists to express fandom, because it's a book and the pictures on the LJ Smith website are just not appealing to some tastes. I feel cheated that I can't go on Deviant Art and find artwork for Night World. Instead, I see Night World Elves from World of Warcraft (I believe that's the game). It's frustrating!
Anyways, have a good day! ^_^