CLOSED ♔ don't know what the country's coming to

[behindcloseddoors]

♬ on an evening in roma - dean martin

WHO || Rafael, Des, Buffy, their best pal in the world
WHAT || An unexpected incident
WHERE || Rome
WHEN || June 7th, 2014
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

Who knows how long unconsciousness has them all swallowed in its grip. But when it finally allows them to resurface, they'd notice the smooth motion of a car indicating they're... still riding in a vehicle. A wis check of 14+ might recognize it's a different limo, however, and it doesn't take a wisdom check to recognize that they are all crammed together on the same side of the seat now. With... hands cuffed to the seat between their legs.

Across from them, a large figure sits grinning manically... wearing a familiar gray cassock. Oh hi. :)

A single glance out the window at the bustling city outside is enough to recognize that is sure as shit ain't London. And Anderson will be quick to clear that up for y'all, waving one hand at the view.

"Well, now. I hope you all enjoyed your rest. Let me be the first t'bid ye welcome... to Rome."

Comments

[nothingsodivine]

It's never gone, Rafael. Take that from an expert. There's dirt in places that's seen less shit than me, and I'm the same as I've always been. Hell, I've just gotten worse in some ways. You choose to fight it or you choose to be better or you choose to take the bad parts of yourself and put them to good use. And I haven't figured out how to do the latter yet- that's probably why I'm such a phenomenal cock-up.

[He laughs, bitterly.] Point is, it's not supposed to be easy. If a decision comes easy to you, there's a damn good chance it was the wrong fucking decision. Life is full of hard choices and you're not taking the easy way out.

[slay]

[ for once, resounding agreement. buffy only has an example to add: ] The Rafael who killed Vittorio would have killed Des, too. He wouldn’t be fighting that instinct. [ she draws her hand back, steady and slow, because it feels almost like he’s elsewhere given that neither of them are looking at her. she recoils until her back is flat against the backseat. ] The fact that you're fighting at all is what matters.

[romanticidal]

[ ♬ demons - imagine dragons

rafael lets out a shaky exhale, as if he's been holding his breath for the last million miles, and it sounds as if doing that is the only way he's keeping from spilling bitter tears out along with the frustration and self-deprecation and regret. one hand balls into a fist again, fingernails digging into his skin, but then he releases it and looks askance back at buffy and des, holding each of their gazes for a long moment as venice comes into view in the distance ahead. ]

I did not say I ever expected them to be gone. I know this is a battle that will never be over. But you are right.

We cannot stop fighting.

If anything, I have only just begun. And I am glad -- very glad -- to have you both fighting beside me. [ it's clear that he means fighting more than just the many enemies they're garnering on this mission. he means beside him in fighting himself, and the darkness that's always there threatening to consume him again. it's not a battle he can drive away from so easily. ] So thank you both.

[slay]

There’s no one I’d rather be fighting with.

[ she says the words simply, but they're jarring in their own way.

vittorio’s history with rafael forced her to reflect inward on her choice in new york—the knighthood, or rafael. family, or love, because they couldn’t both be her priority. the most selfish part of her wanted to pick rafael, to return to chicago with him, but she hadn’t been able to let go of her family—no matter who she’d rather be with, the knights and what they fight for are too important. her family—myri, spike, elena, kat, and even finnick—means too much to her. she’s not physically capable of turning her back or leaving them for any reason.

that doesn’t change the truth: she’d been beyond tempted to do precisely what rafael had done. throw her friends and family to the wayside and pick love, even if that love wasn’t returned in kind.

she hadn’t done it then, and she won’t now. knowing and accepting that doesn’t change what she knows she feels, and she feels far more grounded with these two than at the castle. they’ve done nothing but spend the day being kidnapped and nearly killed, scouring the darkest parts of one another’s souls, and she still feels more at home in the backseat of a car than in the castle because she’s occupying it with them. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[Des considers them both for a moment and then turns back to the road. After a second or two of quiet contemplation, he lifts his hand up, fingers curled- the sort of gesture that says that basically this is the time for manly hand grasps.]

'Til the end of the line.

[romanticidal]

[ he looks over at him for a very long moment, almost like he's gonna leave him hanging. but then he wordlessly slaps his hand into des' with a solid grip. ]

[slay]

[ buffy sits forward suddenly, peering out the windshield. ]

Hey, is that—!? [ she elbows des. ] Pull over. I need something to eat. [ seriously it's gotta be like 3 am by now if they arrived at the vatican at sunset and they left for the airport in the morning ok. THEY MAY NOT HAVE BEEN EXECUTED BUT THEY CAN STILL STARVE Y'ALL. ]

[romanticidal]

[ TIME FOR TIME KILLING PANCAKES OR THE ITALIAN EQUIVALENT UNTIL THE BANK OPENS ]

[nothingsodivine]

[It's an Italian Huddle House AND NO ONE WILL TELL ME DIFFERENTLY.]