undergrounds | upon the hill he'll hear my secrets -- open post for october

Cooper's frown deepens when Nancy told him she was with a friend. Now she was just flat-out lying to him. This was no way to have a stable relationship. Then she finally came to the point of being pardoned. He sighs, leaning into her hand despite his anger. He has a less-than-enthusiastic response to the news. "Great. That's really great."

If she had told him what she was going to do, he doesn't know how he would've reacted. Probably badly, knowing his own temper as well as he does. But now it's become a foregone conclusion. "But why didn't you tell me what you were gonna do?" She'd hidden it from him for a reason.

He was cooling a little- good. he'd be better then, hopefully. Not as angry. maybe he'd let her speak her piece, offer an explanation.

And he did.

As for why, there were a million reasons. His temper, her own fear, what I'd he'd gotten himself in trouble? She didn't want him in any sort of trouble in her behalf and truthfully things had come up in the trial that even Cooper didn't know. He didn't know and now Sylvia fucking Redbright knew. But she couldn't say that. Instead, she settled on:

"I didn't want to worry you."

Cooper sighs and pulls away from her hand. Two of his fingers come up to pinch the bridge of his nose like he's got a headache. He didn't want things to go this way, but it was hard when she was keeping such a big secret from him.

"Fat lot of good that did. I've been thinking Redbright was gonna brand you on the hand 'n toss you out of the city for hours now. Or hell, do something even worse t'you." He'd been half-prepared to pull some impulsive, suicidal maneuver if things had gone south for her. Had Cooper also just revealed he'd known what was going on the entire time because he'd been spying on her? Oops.

Her intent is to defend herself. To go to his side and tell him it's okay, because it was worth it now, she'd made the right choice and it had been terrifying and now all she wanted to do was celebrate her good news with him. And she's about to, when his words catch up with her.

He'd known where she was.

How was that...

"How did you have any idea where I was?" She asks, her lips set in a fine line. "John Cooper- have you been spying on me?"

She's using his full name. Uh-oh. He has the decency to look guilty at the accusation, his anger fizzling out in wake of being caught. "Spying is such a strong word. I prefer to think of it as keepin' an eye on you. After everythin' that happened with Midnight being destroyed 'n you still working out there every night, I needed a way t'protect you when I couldn't be there."

So he'd used his authority as Marquess to order lower-ranking vampires to keep an eye on her whenever he wasn't around. They'd done a good job, all things considered. Of course, it was hard to accuse her of keeping things from him when he'd been doing the exact same thing.

"So you had me followed!" She pulled her hair back from her face, exhaling. "Cooper-" that was either the most romantic thing ever, or the most frustrating thing ever, she wasn't sure.

"You can't just do that! You're going to drive yourself mad- you have to trust me. Trust that I can take care of myself." She knew the streets of London likely better than any of his vampire minions did.

"I just don't want t'lose you." Her's was a dangerous job and he'd witnessed firsthand what could happen if she wasn't careful. Hell, he'd been the cause of one of those dangerous moments last year when he'd been high off of fae blood and ready to drain her dry. Cooper would never let that happen to her again. And, if he was being perfectly honest, he wanted to prove to everyone who thought this was an ill-paired match that he cared enough for his girlfriend to protect her with all his might.

He sighed, lacing his fingers behind his neck as he leaned back in his seat. "Think we could both do with bein' a bit more honest in this relationship." There was too many lies between them. This was no way to have a healthy, open love affair.

"I would have found a way to come back," Nancy promised him. If she'd been exiled, Lance had promised he'd help her. She'd be able to work along side Abby and try to find some loop hole, some way to return to her previous life.

Nancy remains standing, but runs her fingers through her hair again. Shit- he wanted honesty. Okay. She could do honesty. She thought- she'd grown up telling lies as easily as breathing, but Cooper didn't deserve that. "Okay," she began slowly. "Honesty. Got it." Which was different from leaving out certain things every once in a while.

"That means no more spying."

Cooper reaches out to Nancy, snaking her hands around her waist, and drawing her to sit on his lap. He looks up at her. "Alright. I'll call off the vamps. But you gotta promise me that if you get into trouble, you call me right away if you think you can't handle it." He'd feel better if she overreacted and called about something small then for her to end up over her head because she hesitated.

"As long as we're bein' honest, I've got something else to tell you." He takes a deep, calming breathe before going on. "Cesare stopped by here a few weeks ago. He was askin' after you. 'N before you can ask, no, we didn't get into another fight." Though Cooper wouldn't have exactly said no if that's what he'd been after.

Nancy moves into his lap easily, placing her hands over his. She leans back against him, happy to be with him still. "I promise," she says, leaning to put her head on the crook of his shoulders.

Then he says he wants to be honest and she's sitting back up again, preparing for the worst.

"he- why? When was this?" She furrows her brow. Things had changed between her and Cesare so much so quickly. From a client to a friend, but what complicated it was when he came by. After the attacked? or after the time he ran into her while she was working? "What did he want?"

She also had to tell him about how she'd gone to Cesare's. And how they were going to try to be friends.

"Lessee." He goes through the timeline in his head of when everything had happened. Things tended to happen very quickly in the supernatural world. "It was after the kerfuffle with Midnight when down and I made Marquess, so it was some point last month."

Cooper scowls at the memory. His hatred of the older vampire isn't going away anytime soon. "He wanted t'know how you were doin', what with Midnight witches bein' rounded up. Smarmy prick thought I was incompetent 'n couldn't do a good enough job of protecting you myself. This after I already put a tail on you whenever you went out by yourself." Being high up in the nest had its perks. When he told the younger vampires to jump, they tended to ask how high.

"oh." She frowns, that's weird. Must have been before he told her they were no longer working together, before they decided to be friends. "Thank you," she kisses him on the cheek. "Thank you for telling me." She'd have to bring it up to him at some point.

"I want you to know, I'm not working with him anymore." But. There is a but. "We've decided to try to pursue a friendship instead." So now he could stop being jealous, she hopes. "I think it's best for everyone, that way." She was out a big chunk of change and some pretty shoes, but she would have to learn to make due.

Cooper takes in the news with relief. He knows that her patron had been a great source of business and she was giving up quite a bit of money. "Thank you, sweet-pea." He ran his hands over her side. That had to have been her idea. There's no way that Cesare would have agreed to give up such a pretty little toy all on his own.

"Alright, now that we're doin' confessions, do you have anything else to tell me? I'm open and willing t'listen." He couldn't guarantee that he'd be perfectly alright with whatever she told him, but it was better than keeping secrets from one another.

"Anything for you," she says, knowing full-well that this had actually been Cesare's decision, for the most part.

That gets her attention and she stills for a moment. She had a lot to tell him. But it wasn't anything she was exactly open about. He didn't need to know about Fagin or Bill or any of the awful parts of her life she tried to keep quiet. There was a time for that. She wasn't going to just pour out her life of secrets. But when it came to light, she could promise she would be truthful about it.

"Eames gave me his apartment. To work from. It's in Canary Warf, so hopefully I won't be on the street." Thank god, and she would never bring anyone back here. "which... reminds me. Do you want me to move back to Enfield? Now that I can?" it's not really secrets but it's something she wants to talk about.

Cooper knew that Nancy had a bit of a past. Anyone raised by a fae like Fagin was destined to have one. But then so did he. She wasn't aware of everything he'd done in his long life, all the sordid details of how he'd drained more victims dry than he cared to think about. There would be time enough for that later.

"Well, five points for Eames, then." Anything that could keep her safe was good in Cooper's eyes. He and fae dad might not get along, but they both had a vested interest in making sure Nancy made it to her twentieth birthday.

Cooper considers the question carefully. "I wasn't exactly expectin' us t'move in together so soon, but now that it's happened...I like having you around." There was something distinctly satisfying in knowing that there was someone waiting for him when he got home after a long day. It was domestic in a way that made him feel more normal, just a Irish lad with a pretty girlfriend, instead of an old monster who had a life more complicated than he cared to think about.

She shook her head in an odd bit of agreement. "I know- but I agree." She loves coming home to her boyfriend in his big bed, showering and coming to curl up next to him. Now that he didn't have to be nocturnal, it was a lot easier, too.

And Juliet certainly didn't mind.

"Okay. I'll move in." Holy shit. she was moving in with him. She hadn't done something like that since- since Bill. And that wasn't something she's really had a say in. With that news she turns to him, beaming. "Shit! I'm moving in!"

"You're moving in 'n you got pardoned. Things are lookin' up for you, girly!" He takes a sip of the beer, now warm from sitting on the table for so long. As much as things had been strained when she first walked in the door, he was feeling ten times better about them now. This was one of the first big tests of their relationship and it seemed like they were going to be alright.

Nancy is all smiles now, the panic that went through her when she first saw Cooper sitting there, arms crossed, while not completely forgotten was far gone at this point. He loved her, they'd gotten through that without him raising his voice, without him hurting her. All was well.

"You forget- I'm moving in with my extremely handsome Marquess of Hackney," she teases, reaching around his shoulders so she can play with his hair a little, scritching at the spot at the base of his scalp with her long nails almost like he were a cat.

"I think we need to toast to this." Did they have champagne?

"You're right. I am extremely handsome, aren't I?" He breaks up into a cackle of laughter. He leans into her touch as her hands move over his hair. He's a sucker for anyone rubbing his head. "Mmm, yeah, right there."

He points idly at the fridge when she asks about something to drink. It's more full of food now that Nancy has been staying here, but there is still a shameful amount of alcohol in their apartment. Nancy drinks too much and Cooper...well, Cooper is shamefully Irish.

Cooper is Irish. Nancy is an alcoholic. Hey, it works out.

"Yeah, you are," she tells him, and keeps rubbing at his head. She's more than happy to pamper her boyfriend from time to time, and she loves the way he gets all soft and gooey at the touch. It's adorable.

With her other hand, she waves at the fridge, opening it. It's mostly booze, honestly, and while there's no champagne, there is some nice whiskey. Another wave and it's on it's way over, along with two low-ball glasses. Once they both arrive at the table, she manually pours them each a liberal glass.

There's an appreciative sigh from Cooper as she continues to rub his head. If she keeps this up, she'll put him right to sleep.

See, this is one of the many advantages of having a witch for a girlfriend. He doesn't even need to get up and instead watches appreciatively as the glasses float over to them. "Here's t'being pardoned 'n honesty." He clinks his glass against Nancy's and takes a drink.

"To being pardoned an' honesty," she echoes, and takes a nice long drink, letting the cool whiskey slide down her throat.

"I'm sorry I worried you." She sets the glass down on the table, never stopping rubbing Cooper's head. his hair was nice and soft- she was pretty sure her shampoo, cheap as it was, was doing great things for it.

upon the hill he'll hear my secrets -- open post for october

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