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Allison comes home from college with an academic scholarship under her belt and her girlfriend on her arm, and it's the happiest she's ever been.
"Mom, Dad. This is Braeden," she introduces, stressing the name so hard that her eyebrows rise, the reflex kicking in. She always knows that she's spent too much time with Lydia and Stiles when she's raising her eyebrows at something more often than not. It certainly doesn't help that Lydia's her roommate.
"Allison's girlfriend," Braeden adds, when her parents continue not saying anything. Her dad looks like he's recently swallowed an incredibly bitter lemon, while her mom looks faintly amused, if anything.
It's the first time in months that Allison thinks of Kate. It's been a long time since sophomore year, and she's put a lot of effort into clearing her mind of the dreams and the darkness, practicing meditation and trying to bring that single-minded focus she gets when she shoots into her sleeping state. She doesn't think she'll ever forgive the woman who was more like a sister than anything else, but-
Kate would be good here. She can see it so clearly: the way Kate would laugh, nudging her brother like she thought he was being stuffy.
"At least she won't accidentally get pregnant," Allison hears her say, "Unless there's something else you haven't told us." How they'd grin at each other and smile, say no, and besides they wouldn't want kids in college.
"Smart girls," Kate would say, and ask Braeden about the gun strapped near-invisibly to her hip, and-
"Ally. Allison."
She blinks back awake to Braeden standing in front of her, feeling her girlfriend's hands cupping her face. Her thumb is slowly smoothing her jaw, and she closes her eyes just long enough to take a deep breath. She hadn't realised how fast her heartbeat was.
She wonders if being with her family will ever stop being tainted with the ghosts of the ones who've left them.
"It's okay," Braeden reassures, looking towards her parents. "It happens sometimes."
"We know," Dad says. Her mother's lips have thinned; she doesn't look amused anymore, even slightly.
"So this is Braeden," she says, needing to break the silence that is rapidly stretching out between them. It's almost worse than when she introduced Scott, the first time. Nothing could compare to the second.
She never wants to do that again.
"Allison," her dad says, and there's a warning in there that she chooses to ignore. She hadn't thought they would be completely fine with it, purposely hadn't gotten her hopes up, just in case. But her parents had really taken to Scott eventually, inviting him to dinner and making minimal references to all the guns they own and how good they are at using them.
Maybe she had gotten her hopes up.
"Chris," her mom says, touching her husbands arm. Something wordless passes between them, briefr and intangible, and she feels a fondness for them she probably shouldn't be feeling right now, what with their less than enthusiastic response to her finding love.
You can't show your weakness, Allison, Kate says, and she pushes her aunt firmly out of her mind. She has no place here.
"Allison, we've talked about this." Her mother smiles, as if the bare warmth of it will make her see reason.
It doesn't.
"No, we didn't. You said no boys until after college," Allison throws back, her chin lifted firmly and her feet holding her ground. They had sat her down the morning after she and Scott had broken up, and she had nodded. Back then, it didn't feel like she'd ever want to date anyone else ever again, so it hadn't mattered. Now, it does.
"I love her. And the only reason I never mentioned her before is because I was afraid you'd act like this."
The ensuing silence is almost worse than the one that came before.
She meets Braeden's eyes, asking for a permission she knows she'll be given, and the look she gets in return makes her remember why she's doing this in the first place. They'd talked about this, how they wanted to be in each other's lives, and how important Allison's family is to her, no matter what has happened in the past.
"I don't have any family, babe, but you do. You get to choose how we handle it."
They're almost to the door before her dad clears his throat. Allison stops, pulling Braeden closer to her, but she doesn't dare hope. SHe knows how well that worked out last time.
"So, Braeden, what do you do? You don't seem like you're in college." There's still that same disapproval and caution in his tone, but it's a start. And, she thinks privately, her parents and her girlfriend have more in common than they think.
"She used to be a hunter. Like us," she reminds them.
"And now I do some freelance work," Braeden finishes. "Girl's gotta eat."
If she hadn't been watching her parents so closely, she would have missed the slip of a smile flash briefly on her mother's face, and she squeezes Braeden's hand. One, two, three.
I love you.
One.
Good.