Chapter Text
The tall, looming building seemed so familiar and yet so foreign to her, all at the same time. It had been over a month since Sasha had even passed by it. Even being near it brought back all the memories of the tunnels, finding that horrible, sprawling creature by the light of her torch. Its claws, its stretched out, inhuman form; all of it was still vivid in her mind. When she closed her eyes, it all came back in flashes of it tackling her to the ground and digging its claws in.
And then it transformed, leaving Sasha lying on the floor, bleeding and gasping for air. And utterly alone.
But despite herself, she’d managed to crawl her way out even when she felt like collapsing. Then the next few weeks were spent in the hospital with no visitors. No family either-- that monster had lucked out there-- as she hadn’t seen her former foster family in some time and they wouldn’t have thought to check in on her. The nurses had been kind enough to her, reminding her that it could only get better from there once she healed. They pretended not to hear when she cried at night when it all was just too much.
Sasha let out a dejected sigh, staring up at the Magnus Institute. Am I testing fate? That monster was in there somewhere, a poor imitation of her. And it believed it had killed her. It made her shuffle in her place a little uncomfortably, watching the windows cautiously.
Raindrops began to fall, distracting Sasha from her thoughts for a few blessed seconds. She even chuckled, a little, at the absurdity of it all. Of all the problems on her mind, not having an umbrella was a welcome one.
The front door swung open and she turned to look, her heart stopping.
Tim.
He looked good, same as always. It was no wonder he was so popular; he was tall, handsome, and though she hated to admit it, the scars left by Jane Prentiss and her worms looked a lot better on him than the few she had, mostly hidden by her sweater. The only thing she found different about him was that the bags under his eyes seemed darker than usual. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at him struggling to get his multi-colored umbrella open, but he didn’t notice her watching.
Until he did.
“Oh, hey!” He remembers me. He knows who I am. Oh god. Oh god. What am I supposed to say? I’m sorry for disappearing for a month? I’m so glad you’re alive and didn’t get eaten by worms? Have you noticed the monster pretending to be me in there? We should make a plan to stop it. You look really good. No, not that. But he does. He really does.
“You’re going to get wet like that.” Tim jogged over, holding out his umbrella over her while scooting just close enough to be covered too and brush against her arm.
She took a deep breath, trying to ignore the physical touch and how good it felt. “Um… thanks.”
“What brings you out here? Not a lot of pretty girls like to come down here.”
Sasha’s eyebrows furrowed together, slight confusion on her face as she drew out her next words slowly. “Just um… waiting for a lift.”
“Ah.”
They stood in silence, listening to the rain. Is he not going to say anything? Sasha spared a look at him. He seemed blissfully unaware and… quiet. Too quiet. Whenever they were together, it was never this awkward; they would talk and laugh and joke.
“What’s your name?”
Oh.
It felt like the claws were digging in all over again and she felt all the color leave her face. When she finally spoke, her throat felt like it was going to close up.
“S-Sasha.”
Tim’s face lit up. “Oh, that’s the name of my coworker! Small world, I guess.”
Choked up, Sasha nodded. “Must be.”
It went quiet again, leaving Sasha to try and stifle the tears she felt welling up or the pain in her throat. The sound of the rain helped, at least a little.
“Don’t tell anyone about this, but I’ve been thinking about asking her out for ages. I just… I don’t want to make it weird.”
It took everything in her not to break down right there, but her breaths were shaky. “Ah.”
“She’s been kinda different lately though. We used to hang out all the time.”
I remember. At least it wasn’t a perfect imitation of her. She didn’t know if her heart could take it if she imagined him having movie nights or going out to lunch with that… not-Sasha. She straightened up a little, smoothing her sweater down.
“Sounds like she’s not interested.” She managed eventually.
“You think?” Tim glanced towards her.
He looked hurt. She wanted to tell him that she-- the real Sasha-- would always have time for him. That she’d never distance herself from him, even though now she had no choice. So she shrugged.
The silence lasted a few moments longer as the rain picked up. Sasha shuffled in her spot, staring at her shoes rather than his soft, sad expression. She didn’t have a ride coming and she hadn’t seen a taxi go by, making it even more awkward. Lying had never been her strong suit.
“Hey, I’m off work for the day, do you want me to just drive you home?” Tim turned to her, his hand moving to her arm. “I’m not an axe murderer, I swear.”
She managed a smile at that. “I know.”
He grinned in that charming way he always did, holding out his arm for her to take. “Shall we?”
She took his arm lightly as he led her down the pavement to the car. Maybe I’m dreaming. Sasha thought, letting her eyes drift close, trying to remember all the times they had done this before and trying to forget that he didn’t remember it at all.