[R] Shadow of the Past (Ainsley/Samson) [FIN]

[Appeal]

Nestled in the downtown, standing in the front entrance of her older sister's house, was Ainsley McMahon. She stood there as pale as a ghost, her hands a partially crumpled paper resting between two delicate hands. On the twelve year old's porcelain face was an expression that was difficult to decipher. It was flat, and distant of emotion as blue eyes darted across the page to read the words over and over again. Each time she finished reading the letter her eyes lingered on the last word as if in disbelief.

Samson.

It said Samson.

Ainsley's body stood like ice, her heart thumping wildly in her chest with an unsettling presence within her. She needed to see him. Gripping the letter in her hand and pressing it against her chest, Ainsley shut the door to her home and ran down the street toward where Sam used to live. She didn't know if she would find him there but it was the only place she could think of.

Racing against the setting summer sky, Ainsley found herself outside a foreign yet familiar house. She'd been here a million times before but this time was different. The lights inside were on, and a hope glowed inside of Ainsley with the sight of it. If the lights were on then someone was inside and that someone could be Sam. It had to be, right? If only it were so easy, if only her body didn't fight with her heart.

She wanted to walk up to the door and at the same time she wanted to run away. What if Sam wasn't there? What if Sam was there? Ainsley's mind raced with her heart but eventually the young teenager found herself at the door with her hand raised up to the door. Icy eyes looked at it as if it would hurt her if she touched it, water fighting with the corner of her eyes as she struggled. It wasn't that hard, was it? All she had to do was knock! Finally, with all the courage she could summon, she moved her hand close enough that it touched the door. With it, a meek thumping sound echoed off the door as her knuckles befriended the obstacle in her way.

 

[zippedsiren]

The knock was just enough that Sam could hear it from his perch on the couch. He had been taking a break from cleaning the living room. His house was left covered in a layer of dust, no one had been home to clean it in ages. No one had even bothered to hire someone to come clean. His parents were upstairs fixing up what they could, leaving Sam to vacuum and dust downstairs.

His eyes rolled with the echo-y sound of the knock. If it was another person looking for donations to something or other, or coming to ask if they had heard the good word Sam would want to slam the door. The dark haired boy had been laying upside down on the couch, his gangly legs hung over the back while his head was practically on the floor. His sugary brown eyes just stared at the accumulated dust bunnies hiding beneath all the furniture. He sighed, “Hold on.”

Swinging himself up he staggered to the front door. He didn’t much care how he looked to whoever was at the door, he wasn’t really expecting anyone (even if he was hoping for them). Sam’s dark hair was still short and tousled from rubbing his head in frustration. His clothes were wrinkled, ripped jeans and a beaten up plaid button up with the sleeves rolled high up; the buttons were misaligned and the top two left undone. It was too hot to care how he looked while cleaning. He hadn’t bothered to look to see who was there before opening the door.

As the door swung open, he caught the shimmer of familiar flaxen hair. Now Samson wished he thought a bit more about how he looked. All he could do was stand there, staring in silence with a small smirk on his face, unable to say anything.  

[Appeal]

In the time it took for Sam to answer the door, Ainsley had adjusted her rose printed skirt several times. Creases in the floral fabric were pressed against the flat palm of her hand repeatedly as she tried to fix them to her liking. For a moment she'd be satisfied with the skirt long enough to run her fingers through her hair. Light brushing with the tips of her fingers adjusted her bangs until once again her hands settled on her skirt. It wasn't until the door opened that Ainsley's hands clapped together and joined another in front of her.

"Sam..." she whispered, the tears welling up in her eyes finally slipping through the cracks, before the girl's arms swung around the body of the older boy without hesitation. Words were not enough. All she could do was this.

 

[zippedsiren]

She was much taller than Sam had remembered the little girl being, his cheek brushed against her hair. But he supposed it had been a long time since he had clasped an arm around her, let alone seen Ainsley. There was an initial shock at the hug. The boy’s arms were loose for a second before they enveloped the girl in a tight squeeze. Sam was strong enough, or she was light enough, to lift the girl just somewhat off the ground. He did not really want to let go, but he did fairly quickly, unsure of how to really react in such a situation and wanting to play it cool.

It seemed both of the young teens were lost for words. All Sam could muster was “long time no see” in a deadpan tone. His brown eyes were fixed on staring at her, and how she looked basically the same, just… bigger. Yet still, something seemed different that he could not place. It might not have even been her appearance that changed, but a slow feeling creeping back into the empty lonely void in the boy’s heart.  

[Appeal]

Sam was taller, wasn't he? No, he was definitely taller. Of course he was taller, right? Yes, it had been a year after all. He was stronger too. She could feel her feet lift off the ground, her head becoming slightly lightheaded in the process. She didn't remember him like this, and she found herself wondering what had happened over the year he'd been gone. Wonder and worries misplaced for the moment she found herself lost in his tight embrace.

She smiled softly with his welcome. It had been so long since she'd seen her good friend and now he was here with her again.

"I missed you Sam, it's been too long," she said politely, a hint of wonder at the end of her sentence.

"Will..." she begun, a sting in her heart at the thought. "Will you be staying this time?"

He wasn't going to leave again, was he? Xavier had left and not come back and that still carried with her.

 

[zippedsiren]

“I….” there was a pause. The word missed seemed like a understatement, but there was nothing else appropriate. Living oversees was hard enough, but his insular personality and tendency to be short on words made for a hard time in boarding school. Languages barriers weren’t the only problems, not that it was always a problem at all for an international boarding school, but Sam felt the loss of a close connection while he was away. The boy had preferred to keep a distance and than make many friends there. “I missed you too.”

As to the girl’s question, he struggled to find an answer. His eyes rolled up to the sky away from her face while he looked for an answer. There was no way to really answer properly that didn’t seem like a lie. As a thirteen year old, he was at the mercy of his parents’ decision… and given the city they were back living in, it was hard to know if he’d come home alive some nights.

Still, he returned his gaze to her to say “I’ll try to.” It was the most honest answer. Trying not be totally arrogant, but still cool, he added "Miss me much?"  

[Appeal]

Sam's first answer was more than satisfactory for her. She was absolutely delighted to hear that her friend missed her, and such simple words put quite the thump in her chest. She knew it was right for him to be back in Destiny City, back here with her. His second answer was not exactly what she wanted to hear but she understood. He probably didn't want to leave the first time, or at least she hoped that was the case, but his parents had all sway in that decision. The fact that he promised to try meant the world to her though.

"Thank you," she said with a smile, pressing her face against his shoulder in a hug.

"It truly hasn't been the same without you," she said softly as a reply to his question.

 

[zippedsiren]

As Ainsley pressed her face into his shoulder, he awkwardly pat the back of her head and hair; wondering if there was something more to be said about his absence. “Things okay with you?” An all clear and safe was the best thing he hoped she could say, but he couldn’t help but wonder if any diasters had befallen this girl, his friend, when he was no longer around to watch and protect her in his alter ego form of Ixion.

Before Ainsley could answer, he broke apart from their hug. Standing in the door way, he gestured in large swooping arm movement to usher the girl into his home. Standing on the porch hugging a girl where anyone walking by could see was starting to feel odd, inside was better.  

[Appeal]

Were things okay with her? She was only a twelve year old so most people wouldn't even ask that kind of question but she was also a senshi. Things for her weren't that easy and every day she fought for the very things she believed in and even then it wasn't enough. She chased youma and is chased by youma in return. On a bad day she is chased by Negaverse agents, and on a really bad day she was thrown off a roof top. However, right now things were good. How could she complain? She'd finally gotten buttwings.

Ainsley couldn't tell Sam any of this and instead she said the only answer she had.

"Everything is fine, Sam." She said it softly, and followed him into his home.

 

[zippedsiren]

Unbeknownst to her, Sam had not missed those exact same challenges that faced the girl everyday. He did not miss running around jumping off rooftops (well, maybe just a little) or being chased by bad guys (beating up those bad guys though…). His past year was like a vacation, if it weren’t for being in a foreign school and having to (badly) learn languages.

“Buono.” Getting out of speaking bad Italian was hard when it sounded so impressive to him. ‘Girls like that kind of stuff, right? ‘ he mused to himself. Still, he was happy enough with her answer, knowing that she seemed to have survived without him there. Sam was unaware that she faced any extraordinary dangers though, but as he thought about the hazards of the city, for a moment his mind turned away from his young friend to another flaxen haired special friend of his.

Shutting the door, Sam led Ainsley to the kitchen and began busying himself, keeping his mind focused on his favorite guest and off his other supernatural companion. He mentally reminded himself to check up on her later. Opening a cabinet, Sam pulled out two tall glasses and set them on the counter. Moving to the fridge he pulled out a pitcher of plain water and gently shook it, subtly asking the girl if she wanted some; he naturally assumed so.  

[Appeal]

Buono? What was that? Ainsley was a word enthusiast so when she heard a word she didn't understand she was immediately interested and a little bit disappointed. It was a disappointment that challenged her and definitely impressed her that her friend Sam knew a word she didn't. Blue eyes full of interest, she followed him intently.

"Yes please," she said politely before she moved onto business. "Sam, what's 'Buono'?"

 

[zippedsiren]

“Good.” Sam nodded to her acceptance of the water. Gently, he slid the glass to her. Then he realized he both responded to her query and acknowledged the acceptance. Chuckling, Sam said it again. “Good, buono means good. It’s Italian.”

Without a doubt, he was pleased with himself for being able to impress her and show off his smarts. Leaning against the kitchen counter, glass in hand, Sam could feel himself sliding back into an ease with this girl, almost like he hadn’t ever left at all. Except for the fact that he did, and he still didn’t know much about what she had been doing all this time, how her family was or even if she still had that old stuffed rabbit. “School is buono for you too?”

There he went using the word again. “And your sister?”  

[Appeal]

Ainsley watched Sam, carefully taking the glass of water between her two palms and then shifting it to one hand when she had a better grip of it. There she gingerly took it to her lips and took a sip, enjoying the refreshment after the run she had getting over here.

"You can speak Italian?" She asked, genuinely sounding impressed.

"School is great," she said with actual gusto. "I still live in the same house with my sister." Of course, Bell didn't treat her so much like she would a sister and more like a tiny roommate. It had its benefits but Ainsley direly wanted a sister, not another friend.

 

[zippedsiren]

Sam didn’t really drink from his own glass. Rather he shifted it back and forth between his hands, swishing the water around in the glass. “Well. Yeah. I was there. It sort of happens that way, I guess.” What Sam wasn’t divulging was that he spoke the language badly, was horrible with grammar and knew most of the basic words. He knew enough to get by, but languages really were not his cup of tea, luckily he was able to pick up the accent well, so he at least could sound pretty suave.

Even in a foreign language, Sam was still a man… or boy of few words. He didn’t press for any more information on her homelife, believing that if Ainsley wanted to talk about it, she should. He moved on to the text topic like he was ticking off a mental checklist. He was glad that school was going well for her. “Still at Knightside?”

Sam was asking, as his parents were still on the fence of where to send him for the 8th grade, given that he had been enrolled abroad for the 7th.  

[Appeal]

"That's so awesome," she said with a soft coo of admiration. She'd spent some time in Europe as a child but her mother kept her locked up in the villa that she never got a chance to experience the language of the area. It was such a dream to be able to go somewhere and learn the language but it wasn't anything Ainsley was going to be capable of in her current situation. Not just living situation but there was no way she could leave the city when it needed her.

"Yes, I am still at Knightside..." she said but she didn't sound too happy about it. She wasn't challenged there and although it gave her plenty of time for her senshi life, she still longed to do something as Ainsley. Perhaps that was the sacrifice she had to make. Maybe she could only have it one way. She would either be buried under work and unable to do her senshi duties or be unchallenged but capable of doing more than beyond compare.

"You're coming back for one last year, right?"