Work Text:
i. faith in the power of rough and winding paths
It had been a few years since Eliza had left the force, but one of the places she still felt most at home was the back booth of a cop bar in New York.
When she walked into Morrigan's, she waved at Ian, polishing pint glasses behind the bar--he and his mustache as much of a fixture as the pub itself--and he grinned at her. "He already here?" she asked.
"Aye," Ian said. "I'll send a round back for the two of you."
She strolled past the haphazard clutter of tables--it was only a bit past noon, but the morning folks were having their end-of-shift bloody marys--and grinned at the sight of Matt, shoulders up to his ears as he poked through the fried appetizer platter.
"You better keep your mitts off my potato skins," Eliza warned him as she slid into her usual chair.
"Eh," Matt replied. He held up a crispy something-or-other. "What do you think? Mozzarella stick or pickle?"
"Isn't the surprise the best part?" She scooped up a potato skin and took a deep breath. "I missed these."
"What, DC doesn't have deep fryers anymore?" Matt bit into his mystery food. "Pickle," he announced.
Eliza savored her first potato skin before answering. "None with any history to them," she judged. She selected something that was probably a mushroom cap for her next bite.
"You gonna be in town long this time?" he asked. "Or are you out here for the Bureau?"
Before she could answer, two pint glasses landed on the table between them.
"Here you go, Chief," Ian announced.
Matt groaned. "Interim chief," he emphasized, as if weary.
Eliza laughed.
ii. how I got them is a story of friendship and passion
The ground-level security at the Eyrie Building (the human-proofing, a cynical part of Eliza's brain observed) had grown in sophistication exponentially since she'd last been there. Regardless, both the security guard and the receptionist at the front desk seemed to recognize her immediately.
Even as another guard escorted what was obviously a scandal-hungry group of tourists to the entrance, the other staff members waved her on to the next bank of doors.
"Thanks," Eliza said, puzzled.
"We were told to expect you," the receptionist explained, buzzing her through.
"Creepy," Eliza responded as she passed through the first level of security and faced the guardians of the elevators. (They were much less friendly, but she figured their job was much more serious.) Two more rounds, an insta-printed security badge, and a backscatter scanner later, Eliza was exiting the executive elevator--glass-walled and Muzak-free--and stepping into the castle proper.
The corridors, as was typical, seemed empty. "I heard you were expecting me," Eliza called out, while wondering yet again how much the heating on an entire castle in the freakin' air cost.
She heard the familiar schick and whir of an automatic door and ambled toward the sound. Instead of Xanatos's office, however, Eliza found herself in a broad hallway, one side of it walled in glass.
"Detective," Xanatos greeted her. The goatee was peppered with gray and there were wrinkles in the corners of his eyes as he smiled at her. His posture was just as upright, though, and the tilt of his chin arrogant as ever.
"Agent," she corrected him.
"Force of habit," he admitted. He waved her over to where he was standing, overlooking what used to be Wyvern's great hall. "I didn't actually expect you until after sunset."
"I took an earlier flight," she explained. "Met with Matt earlier."
"Ah," Xanatos said. "And how is our interim chief?"
"You probably know better than he does," she grumbled.
Below them, something sparkled, and then Puck popped into view.
"Huh," Eliza said. She'd never get used to that, no matter how many times she saw it. "Something going on?"
"From what I understand," Xanatos replied, "they're practicing translocation."
Another shimmer, and then Alex was hovering in front of them. "Hey, Eliza!" he chirped, then disappeared again.
Eliza smiled. "Looks like he's gotten better."
Xanatos chuckled. "I take it Lexington told you about the St. Louis incident?"
"Work told me about the St. Louis incident," Eliza said. "Lexington told me about the visit from Titania." After a moment, she looked sidelong at Xanatos, who was clenching his jaw.
She looked back down at Puck, who was floating upside down and playing an accordion.
Alex appeared on the ceiling, then behind Puck, then they were both gone again.
"He looks so much like Fox," Eliza observed.
"Practically a spitting image," Xanatos agreed. He cleared his throat. "You know I hate to ask for favors, but--"
"You want to talk about Avalon," Eliza guessed. She tried to keep sympathy out of her eyes as she looked over at him. "Of course." She glanced at her watch. "But maybe tomorrow?"
"Of course." Xanatos looked up at skylights, at the darkening sky. "You don't want to keep him waiting."
"Not when I don't have to," she said. She waved down at Alex, then spun on her heel.
"And Eliza?" Xanatos called out.
She paused on her way through the door. "Yeah?"
"Thank you."
iii. people steal a drop of ore, a native flower, a piece of splendor, day in and day out
Eliza stepped out into the open air. She walked over to the parapets, where most of the clan stood frozen in the last moments of daylight.
She brushed her hand against Bronx's spine, over Lexington's shoulder. She patted Brooklyn on the elbow and brushed a fond kiss against Hudson's cheek. She shot a friendly, "Hey," at Broadway and Angela across the way, for all they couldn't hear her yet.
She climbed the stairs to the highest turret, feeling the strain in her not-quite-as-limber knees. She paused as she reached the apex, gathering herself as she caught sight of wings draped like a cloak, the glimpse of his chin resting against his hand in repose.
As if he'd been thinking of her when the sun caught him.
The hue of the sky shifted from rose to gold to twilight and Eliza stepped forward as the sound of crackling filled the air.
He roared as his stone skin fell away and it was a song in her ears.
"Goliath," she said, her heart thundering in her chest.
He turned to see her, eyes joyful, and pulled her into the circle of his wings.