triangularity | Open RP post for Maggie Garcia

He moves carefully, showing a care for her that he hasn't always been open about. He's learned a lot in Wonderland and he's not leaving that behind in this place. Not when he's with Maggie.

So he helps her get comfortable on the bed before moving to take off his jacket and hang it from the back of a chair before moving to join her once more.

"Least there's that. Though I'm torn between being glad I can just buy them and thinking about the really not fun game of wishing from a closet. I had a trunk full of toy guns at one point."

He considers that and then, being the man he is, he can't help but smile. "So what you're telling me is that Seth Gecko already has a fantastic reputation in a new world. I can live with that," he says, moving to stretch out beside her and drawing her into his arms.

"I know we've talked about this place but what do I really need to know?" It was one thing discussing it in Wonderland and another thing living it.

Maggie laughs, bright and sincere, because of course he doesn't mind that quiet notoriety. It's worth the momentary twinge of pain, having him here, having him not mind being here.

She reaches for his hand and laces their fingers together. "Your name will be spoken of in hushed tones among the security crew for years to come."

But there are a few important things to cover. "If you haven't memorized the name Kellis-Amberlee, do that. One of the effects of viral amplification is cognitive deterioration, and I don't want anyone thinking you've started amplifying based on the fact that you've 'forgotten' the name of the virus that's dominated everyone's thoughts for the past 27 years."

"We should also talk cover story, since we can't tell anyone where you actually came from. My group of friends is pretty eclectic, so we can do whatever you want in terms of background, but might as well give you a choice in things before your new ID comes through." She stops to consider a moment, hating the idea of Seth at risk as much as ever, before she continues.

"...If you want a job with the site, you'd probably make a good Irwin; people would pay good money to watch you shoot zombies in a suit. We just," she breaks off, looking absolutely devastated for a second, "we just lost Becks, so I don't know who your boss would be, but Mahir and I have the authority to hire you. There's obviously nothing saying you need to take a job in the public eye, though. Or at all, really, until you find something you want. It's not like I'm hurting for money. Just let me know if there's anything you want included in your background records."

Somewhere between losing Ritchie and Kate again and dating Satan's soulmate and meeting his own, Seth had come to accept the losses and more than that, the gains that came with this world hopping thing.

He's done all he can in his world. They more or less conquered Wonderland. Now he'd find out what his life here would entail. With Maggie.

"Good. Let them fear me," he says with a smile, his thumb brushing over the back of her hand.

He nods at that, a bit more serious about than he'd been a moment before. "Got it. Kellis-Amberlee."

He's quiet though, absorbing all of that as he pulls her close. Kissing her tenderly, as he smooths his free hand over her hair, trying to be soothing about her loss.

"What would make the best answer if I've suddenly appeared as a... An Irwin and you're pimping me out as a well dressed hottie taking down zombies?" He smiles as he says it, trying to make jokes to ease her pain. It's one thing he knows. Comedy, especially dry humor, never helps. But he still tries.

"My covers are usually in security or law enforcement which ends up making sense of why I know security systems and safes."

The fact that he's kissing her, that they've given up all their precautions, finally makes it real. That Seth is here. That Becks is gone. That the world is even more screwed up than the walking dead made it in the first place. Maggie almost sobs, kissing him desperately.

"God, I'm so glad you're here, love. Everything was too much, and I've been trying to hold it together so my parents don't worry more than they have to, but—" She breaks off, shaking her head and taking a second to get herself under control.

"I'm probably going to fall apart at some point, but not quite yet. Things to take care of first. ... Security works fine, as a background. If you want to work for the site I'll make arrangements for somebody to talk you through the licensing requirements, once your cover is sorted. Obviously the marksmanship ones will be easy. You can stay at my house for awhile first and I'll catch you up on world events and cultural attitudes you should be aware of. We'll sort out clothes and weapons and anything else you need once we're home."

There's so much Seth has to learn living in this world. So much he's going to have to adjust to and a new life he's going to be living. But if his choices had been staying in Wonderland, or going back to his world and Texas, he would chose dealing with zombies so long as it meant being here with Maggie. He hadn't lost her, and that matters the most.

"There was this time, before I found myself here, when I was alone there in the house and you weren't there and..." And he shakes his head, not wanting to think about it. Not any longer, because he's not without her. He's here.

"You can fall apart now, Maggie. I'm here," he points out, wanting her to know he's here for her. Just as he always has been since they came together.

"Whatever keeps me close to you, Maggie. I would say your personal security but I suspect your parents will have a say in that." He arches a brow. "I can only stay for a while? I'm almost hurt," he says, trying to tease her, to try and keep this light. For her sake. "You really think killing zombies in a suit would be profitable? Shame I couldn't make a profit off the culebra."

"We're both here now," she tells him, reaching for his hand as she settles more comfortably back onto the pillows. She would've hated being the one left in Wonderland after he disappeared.

She's so tired, and everything hurts. She doesn't think she wants to cry yet, she just wants to rest, and drink in the comfort of someone she thought she'd lost lying next to her in bed.

"You'd go stir crazy eventually I'm sure, even if I distract you with sex and movie marathons. But I do hope you'll always come home to me, once you decide what you'd like to do. And people would definitely pay money to watch you fight zombies in a suit, if that's the route you want to go. Personal security at the house is taken care of, I really like the head of my security team, but my dad will probably appreciate me having another competent and heavily armed person around, as extra insurance."

"Look how powerful you are to draw me out of Wonderland and bring me here," he teases, kissing her temple. "But then I knew you were amazing like that."

He's thought that for a long time about how truly amazing she is. Just that short time thinking he lost her, it has been a lot and to have her back again, he's going to try and do what he can to keep her. Even in this place after the closets and the lack of viruses and everything else. If he can keep her, he'll make it work.

"I want to tell you you're wrong, Maggie. Just not sure I can," he admits. Because she knows him, and she's right.

"I'll have to look into it. Honestly, I never thought of my life beyond robbing banks and I guess that's a bad choice with an heiress girlfriend."

"You're dating the daughter of billionaires, no need to rob banks. You can have time to think about it. The only pressing question was about background information for your ID."

She raises his hand to kiss it. "I don't expect you to stay with me all the time, darling. You can do whatever you want, just be careful." All she wants from him is to stay in one piece and come home to her.

"A couple other things for you to think over, no rush: how do you feel about housemates? I'd planned on asking Alaric and his sister to stay with me as long as they want. Even if you being here will presumably derail the version of the future where I marry him, I still love him a lot. And then, you'd better like dogs, because those are definitely staying."

"Hey, that's your money and I'm dating Maggie who happens to be an heiress. One I don't expect to support me," he points out, not defensive but honest. He loves the girl he met in Wonderland where the money and all didn't exist. He wouldn't rely on her money here if he could avoid it.

He's quiet a minute, thinking about that. "I can come up with a background and sketch up something pretty quick. I'll keep with the same basics so that I don't slip. Like Ritchie and Kate but mostly I'll keep with that I was in security. Bank vaults and the like," he says, shrugging. "Best lies are the ones closest to the truth."

He listens and nods even as she says it, taking her hand and running his thumb over the back of her hand. "Hey, it's going to work out. Okay? Invite them to live with you. I'll work anything out. I'm not in Wonderland without you, and I'm not back home forgetting about you. I'm here with you and that's what matters.

"As for dogs, I have learned to live with bleach spots in my hair, I can learn to live with hair on my clothes."

She doesn't expect him to rely on her financially long term, but he definitely has some time and breathing room to get on his feet here.

Maggie squeezes his hand and leans over to kiss him. "Thank you, darling. Alaric's apartment was bombed, and he's been staying with me for months; he was Dave's roommate." And Seth knows how she feels about Dave, who she loved and lost without ever telling him how she felt when he was alive to hear it. Alaric was one of the people Dave died to save.

"And his kid sister Alisa was the only member of his family who survived the disaster in Florida; it's not safe for anyone there at the moment. They deserve as much time to get back on their feet as they need."

"I'm invading in your world, Maggie," he murmurs softly, stroking his knuckles lightly along her cheek, showing a delicacy towards her that very few other people have ever experienced from him. But for her, it's a part of who he is now.

He nods at that, leaning in to kiss her temple. "I'm with you to support you and whatever you need... and maybe become the next hottest thing in zombie eradication but first making sure you're okay," he says with a grin.

"We'll help them. Okay? We. Together."

And he knows he will. He's learned working together and he's learned leaping from one world to another. He can handle this.

She closes her eyes, leaning against him. "Love you. So glad you're here. Alaric might be prickly and overprotective of me for a little while, but he should be okay once he's had chance to see how good you are to me."

Seth might be in for an uncomfortable first week or two at Maggie's, but she trusts Alaric to get with the program eventually.

"Promise you'll stay right here if I fall asleep?" She'd like to wake up to the immediate reminder that she hasn't lost him after all. That she didn't dream him appearing in her room.

"What? Someone finds me worrisome and side eyes me? I've never lived with that for all my life," he teases, knowing he's going to deal with suspicion from a lot of people. Especially given it's obvious they have feelings for one another. If they're going to show others that.

"So how are you going to explain this? Me? Us. Any of it." He pauses before adding. "Or do I have to be a good boy around others until we've had time to prove our feelings?"

He hates the idea. He hates it so much but he hasn't lost her, so if that's what he has to do, so be it.

"Of course," he says, pressing a kiss to her brow and then to her lips tenderly. "I'm not going anywhere any time soon."

"Easy enough." She snuggles into his side, head resting on his shoulder. "I do try to keep my new relationships out of the public eye until they've had a chance to get at least somewhat serious. It's a well-known fact that I hate the Garcia heiress media circus. And some people I've dated have been even more averse to it. I think only a couple people knew Buffy and I were together before she died. I always felt a little like a secret agent, dating her."

So really, it's fine. No pretending to care less than he does. "No one but Alaric, who's interested in me and likely to protest as much because he's hurt as because he's protective, will be too surprised."

She wasn't with Seth before her last trip home, so she had no reason to tell Alaric anything about him before. She hasn't seen Alaric since she was dumped out of Wonderland and back into her room at the Agora yesterday, let alone since Seth showed up. There was no way Maggie could have predicted this.

"I haven't had the chance to catch up with Shaun or Georgia yet, so I don't know if they remember you."

It does make it easier.

"Good. I mean, I guess I could have tried but we both know how crap I am about hiding my emotions. Someone would look at you wrong and we both know I'd have something to say about it." Which brings up another point that he guesses he's needs to think about. "I'll try and not do it with Alaric. No promises, but I'll do my best."

Which might mean he can actually say nothing, or he'll defend himself, and Maggie, and cause a whole world, or two, of trouble.

There's a smile at that though. "I hadn't thought about them yet. If they don't, we'll handle it. And I mean that," he says, leaning in to kiss her softly. "We. Together. We handled Wonderland, we can handle this."

"Last time I was here, it seemed like Alaric and I were starting something. But then I went back to Wonderland. And fell for you. I haven't seen him since I got home this time." So please be as gentle as you can with the man who helped put Maggie back together after Dave died.

"Let me sleep for a few, then we should probably face my parents and Mahir." She's exhausted, but it's so nice having him here.

"How long do they think you were gone?"

He hates asking it because depending on how long its been, he knows her parents were likely hurting, but it also is important in the grand scheme of how bad this could be with Alaric.

"Because if it's been a while, not much cover is needed. Love at first sight or something," he says, smiling a bit. He never could make things that easy for anyone but only she knows that. "But if its been like no time... he's going to be hurt no matter what I do."

Because he's going to maybe think she was leading him on.

"I wasn't gone any time at all, and he's going to be hurt, and I hate it." She turns her face to press it into his shoulder.

"He deserves better, but it's not like I can explain that I was living in another world for a year and fell in love with someone there. He would just be more upset that I'm making up transparent lies as excuses. I'm very glad you're here, regardless, but I'm dreading telling Alaric. I'm going to give him as close to the truth as I can. That I'm sorry, and I love you, and I thought we weren't going to be in each other's lives anymore, but you showed up and took care of me while I was recovering."

"If you want, you can put the blame on me," he offers. He's used to being the one to blame, so setting it up so that this Alaric hates him and not her doesn't bother him all that much.

"Maybe tell him I couldn't handle things, it got too serious or something for me and I bolted. But then, thinking about living without you..."

And that there is the truth. He couldn't imagine living without her and he hates the idea of that. Maybe that's how, somehow, they found themselves here together.

"So I came back and begged you for a second chance. Then it doesn't seem to come out of nowhere? You know him well enough to know what might make it easier, at least."

He'd rather worry about it being easier for her, but he's learned enough to know he has to think about her friends and how she'd take care of them.

"Don't need you to be a scapegoat, darling. But thank you. I'm definitely going to claim we'd broken up for some reason, and that you came running when you found out I'd been hurt. But I think there's a middle ground that doesn't entail you unilaterally running out on me." She tips her head to rest on his shoulder again and sighs.

"I'm exhausted," she admits.

He snorts at that, stroking his hand along her arm. Just needing to keep her close to him.

"The truth is that there is a time I would have problem done just that," he admits in a soft voice. Before her. Before Chloe and Lucifer and his bonds in another world that wasn't his own. Before Wonderland.

Not that even he would, he had. More than once, if he was honest.

Bend up slowly, he kisses against her hair softly. "Then go to sleep," he whispers softly. "I'll be right here with you."

Open RP post for Maggie Garcia

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