triangularity | for Stefan

for Stefan

Maggie spends the first part of the evening on her laptop, liveblogging in one chat window and using the other half of the screen to monitor threads on her section of the After the End Times forum. Maggie's good with people. She never minds a turn on forum duty, and as a beta on the site, she pays her dues just like everyone else who isn't a department head. It's a refreshing change, actually, to have an entirely merit-based system where her last name doesn't mean a thing.

As the first movie winds down, Maggie sets aside the computer, standing up and stretching. She did look around enough to take stock of the room. Almost everyone here is a regular. She knows all of their food and drink preferences, and she fully expects a couple to stay for half the week.

So of course it's the newcomer who caught her attention. He seemed amused by the movie, and she agreed with him on this one. Funny how a horror movies aren't scary at all when the world has turned into one.

Whoever invited him probably pointed her out to Stefan. Maggie got his name from the security scans at the door, but she isn't especially worried about strangers in her house either way. She tosses the remote to another Fictional, letting him take over and set up the next movie.

Stefan's the only one who needs to tell her what he wants, which makes him the logical choice for help fetching it. Maggie makes her way across the room, leans over one arm of the couch, and and introduces herself, probably unnecessarily. "I'm Maggie. Help me carry snacks from the kitchen?"

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"Don't you Ms. Garcia me too," she insists, refraining from making a face at him through sheer force of will. They're still in public, and she's still in full-on heiress mode. "I've been Ms. Garcia for quite enough of the day already. Have lunch with me? If I walk into the cafeteria alone, I'm fair game for anyone looking to secure funding."

Rescue her, please. Some of the research she's heard about today actually sounds like exactly the sort of projects her family would want to back, for either positive impact on the medical field or financial reasons. She even likes several of the doctors personally, having run into them at any number of events over the years. She just needs a break. Short of going back to the hotel and ordering room service, breaks from scrutiny or people wanting things are in short supply for a Garcia.

It was such a relief to find someone who appreciates her writing, someone Maggie knows values her on her own merits and for her own work, rather than just as the Garcia heiress and a means to an end. She wasn't expecting the immediate lessening of tension in her shoulders.

If a researcher thought Maggie was fair game for an elevator pitch, then Stefan thinks they don't know her well. Stefan smothers a smile at the idea of rescuing her, but it's an easy enough request.

"Sure," he says, walking in-step with her. "I was getting pretty hungry myself."

Lies. Beautiful, blissful lies, because his family friend's giving him confused looks (and it's all he can do to mouth `I'll see you later`) as he follows Maggie into the cafeteria. Hazel Gilbert'll be fine. She has her mother's charm, and more importantly, her mother's family friends roaming around. She doesn't need a protector as much as Maggie seems to right now.

But he can't quite help teasing, "Speaking of funding and research and all that fun stuff, I'm giving one of the presentations tonight. If you're mysteriously free, you should drop by."

They don't know her well. That's the point. Except for the people she's known all her life, no one here knows Maggie. They aren't even interested in getting to know her. She isn't part of the medical field except tangentially, through her parents' company and money. Maggie is here as the face of the company in her parents' absence, but she has to toss everything that sounds promising over to someone who has enough training to fully evaluate it.

He gets a grateful smile when he agrees and immediately turns to go with her. Maggie does notice him mouthing something to the woman he was with, though. "I hope I wasn't interrupting." Everyone here is here for a reason, after all, and Stefan wasn't alone.

Then he mentions his own work and Maggie laughs, low and warm. "I wouldn't miss it. Maybe I'll even let you give me the highlights now, once I have food in front of me."

Give her a few minutes to talk about anything but the family business, then she'll be back on track for the day. She had been wondering what Stefan was doing here anyway, and it's always nice to hear details in one-on-one conversation rather than big presentations.

"Nah. Hazel can handle herself." Stefan's more than sure of it, even if a small part of him wants to keep tabs on her. She may look his age, but she's more like his daughter than his friend (and well, Stefan gets protective of her). "If she'll need us, she'll find us."

Stefan can't blame her for wanting a few minutes alone and away from medicine; it's on everyone's minds here. For good reason, since he assumes these people only meet up once a year (and then maybe more, if they're at other conferences). It's a chance for like-minded individuals to get feedback and learn and grow. Or get money. Whatever works.

"Only if you want," he says, completely meaning it. "Hazel and I've been continuing her mother's work, so it was important for me - for us - to bring it over here."

"I didn't know you were in the medical field, Stefan. Or is this sentimental on your part, and you're just here to support Hazel?"

Maggie would appreciate it if everyone here were just interested in feedback. Plenty of them are, fortunately. They make the rest of her day, and the few bad apples, tolerable. "Give me two minutes of poetry first and I'll listen to anything you like. I just need a tiny bit of an escape. You know I generally avoid the family business."

Or she supposes she could flirt with him. That would also be a welcome escape.

“A bit of both.” Stefan shrugged. Technically, he had been studying to be a doctor, and his heart would always partially belong to medicine. The blood thing kinda took priority, though.

He brightened at the mention of poetry, “Sure.”

Truthfully he probably hasn't read anything that she doesn't know of - classics not withstanding - so he goes for what he thinks is a safe bet. “What kind of poetry, though? Are we talking classics or something new or anything in between?”

Maggie nods, curious in spite of herself, but she'll hear all about it once she's finished relaxing back into her own skin. She hates putting on a show. Sometimes it feels like that's all she does at these conferences.

"Anything. You could recite a dirty limerick, as far as I'm concerned."

She props her chin on the hand that isn't currently wielding a fork and offers Stefan an encouraging smile.

A dirty limerick, huh? Any other time, he would've risen to the challenge - but in this setting, he would risk other people overhearing them.

After a moment of deliberation, he sets his utensils down and recites, “Most conflicts and tensions arise from language.
Don't pay so much attention to the words.
In love’s country, language doesn't have its place.
Love's mute."

Maybe his friends were rubbing off on him, because a few years ago, he wouldn't have even considered Shams.

Feel free to save a dirty limerick for later and surprise her with it at the most opportune moment, Stefan.

Maggie sighs happily, any lingering tension sliding out of her jaw and her shoulders. It's blatantly obvious how much better she feels firmly back in her own element rather than her parents'. Smiling, she replies, "And what if I love words, Stefan? I spend my life working with them because I believe in how powerful they are. There are people I'll love on an even footing with them, or maybe more, but words will always have been my first love."

That being said, she probably ought to express some gratitude for the ones he chose to share. He gets a soft, sincere, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He leans forward, as if he's about to share some big secret, "I care about words too, you know. So did Shams. It's more... reminding us that sometimes, words hide people's true intentions. Words have too much power."

Or so personal experience had taught him time and time again, particularly when it came to the power of love. He laughs. "Not that these scientists would know. Shame that they're not taught how to articulate things that well."

She smiles warmly, resting her chin on one hand. She likes Stefan very much already, and more so the more they talk. "Georgia always says that the truth is more powerful than any lie. But then, she is a Newsie." Maggie loves her boss. She thinks the whole staff of After the End Times does.

"Words sometimes don't seem to be enough when I feel things deeply, but saying so feels like a betrayal. Perhaps the right ones are waiting patiently for me to find them. In the meantime I keep writing them down, even if what I come up with is just barely askew."

"You'll find them eventually." That, Stefan believes in just as much as anything else in this world. He's seen more than his fair share at this point in time. True, it's getting harder and harder to falsify his life.

But it's worth it, if only to see the look on her face. He's almost memorizing it as he smiles back at her.

"If not... act upon those words. The other person should get what you mean."

Maggie is quiet for a moment, her steady gaze on Stefan appreciative. What a lovely reassurance.

When she does speak, her voice is warm and sure, no hint of nervousness. "I haven't been struggling with any in particular lately, though there is one thing I could act on. Have dinner with me tomorrow. The rescue today was very much appreciated, but I'd like to spend time with you more intentionally and with less cafeteria food."

Setting down her fork, Maggie folds her hands and waits calmly for Stefan's answer.

A date? Was she actually asking him out??

Stefan blinks back surprise, because honestly, he wasn't expecting that. He liked Maggie, sure, and her company was always pleasant. But a date. He can't remember the last time he'd ever indulged in such a thing. He had Zara and Hazel to babysit, and research to fulfill and - and he was honestly holding back. Why hold back, when he wasn't even guaranteed that this would work out?

So once he pulls himself back together, he smiles just as warmly. "Of course. I'd be honored."

She waits out his surprise, though she didn't expect her question to come as such a shock to Stefan.

Maggie smiles, bright and sincere, genuinely delighted by his eventual answer and the smile on his face when he gives it.

"That leaves us three options. The kind of dives where no one notices who's there, the kind of attention that comes with being or dating the Garcia heiress anywhere public, or a room service picnic." Her tone is slightly apologetic, but Maggie refrains from outright apologizing. This is her life, and she isn't sorry about it. She'll leave it up to Stefan what he'd prefer. Alternatively, she could buy out a private room at a restaurant, but she doesn't throw around her money or power very often.

Shit, that's right. He would be dating someone powerful - and while that's not even remotely close to the reason why he'd want to try something with Maggie, it's a reason to keep this close to their hearts. Vampires don't exist in the open, much less date heiresses.

(He has time to tragically fake his death later, he thinks. Or find a backdoor escape route if this gets too serious.) For now, he wants this with all of his heart, so he mulls on her choices.

"Well... a room service picnic always sounded nice." Less people to witness them, for one. A room service attendant he could compel, should push come to shove. "But I'm not against a hole-in-the-wall either. Do you have any preference?"

Maggie values her freedom, and Stefan chooses the same two options she would have.

"Picnic, then. I live out in the middle of the woods for a reason. I'm not big on all the press circus attention," though she's very good at commanding it when she has to. And she's used to dating people who value their privacy more than she does. Buffy is so secretive that Maggie isn't sure anyone at all knows they've dated, and not just been coworkers and very good friends. Maggie may be a public figure whether she likes it or not, but she only drags other people into that if they're willing. "I've never minded people looking at me, but I don't like them doing it just because of who my parents are."

She returns to eating her lunch, asking, "Do you want to tell me about the research you're here for, or should I wait till tonight to hear about it with everyone else?"

"Understandable." Stefan flashes her a grateful smile. Privacy is the last real luxury he has, and frankly, he'd like to keep that as long as he's able. "I wouldn't be either, if our circumstances were remotely similar."

He shrugs at the mention of his research. As much as he loves talking about it, he's also not gonna bore her to death before the time comes. "Up to you. I never mind talking about it, but I also think tonight's version has way more scientific jargon than it needs."

She notes the unspoken gratitude and makes a mental note to keep Stefan out of the spotlight. No mentions of him by name in her blog, unless it's in the context of writing. The carefully choreographed dates that she usually offers anyone skittish about attention. Maggie likes being open about her life, so long as she doesn't feel completely like she's living in a fishbowl. She doesn't need to be open about the lives of everyone she's involved with; protecting their privacy comes, if not naturally, then close enough.

Maggie laughs. "I've had to pick up a lot of vocabulary over the years, but why don't you hit me with the highlights now. I have another meal with you to avoid talking science." She thinks that she'll enjoy an informal conversation much more than a more planned out presentation, and it's nice to go into things with the stripped down core of the science already in mind before she has to juggle terminology.

"The short version? Hazel and I've been working on a compound that could potentially work as a blood substitute."

Stefan should sound more excited about his work, but at this point in his career (and life), he's resigned to the stone-cold facts. Blood, the mana that all vampires consumed, couldn't be fully replicated in a lab. It was thicker than water for a reason, and - and honestly, he wants a source of food that isn't contaminated. He might as well have been asking for the Holy Grail.

His voice gets quiet, "We're not there yet. It lacks some important qualities, but it's a lot closer than it's been in the past - and Hazel thinks that we might have a working formula in the next couple of years." He idly pokes at his food. "We're not presenting on that, though. As part of our research, we've also uncovered a new treatment for von Willebrand disease, or uh - a bleeding disorder. Hazel'll do most of the talking, as usual."

Stefan doesn't trust himself to stay calm with the microphone; no, this hits too close to home, and he'd rather give Hazel the credit she deserves. After all, he's not even the PI: just someone who intends to see this until the very end.

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wow this got lost in tag mountain