callmeemily | Nice night for a white wedding!

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coop!

Nice night for a white wedding!

Years. It felt like years since they'd all gotten together like this -- there had been a while that it was parties and cruises and monsters and--

You name it, and it happened. It had been a lot. Just a lot, for everybody. They'd all sort of drifted apart, after a while; something shifted, and life became less volatile. Less... fraught. You didn't have to worry about your friends dying every day, which, if you asked Raleigh? Definite improvement.

When things quieted down, Siren Cove slipped back to where it started. A little town where tourists came to visit, it was quaint. The local bookshop, bakery, and grocery were open year round, but as soon as it got warm, the knick-knack shops and lobster shacks opened their doors.

Now, everyone had two reasons to get together: the first was a Town Emergency, which Raleigh was more than happy to assume Would No Longer Happen, although she knew full well it may be wishful thinking. The second was a more mundane, but happier reason: Weddings.

Amber, the manager of The Orchard House, was getting married. She and James had been dating for years, and finally she'd popped the question -- and so here they were. The summer night made a perfect backdrop, and they'd invited all of their nearest and dearest -- and as her boss, Raleigh both made sure to be there, and the bakery was closed tomorrow, just so they all could keep their mine on what was important. The wedding was formal enough that the venue had approved catering from Portland, and, to quote the bride, 'Everyone had better show up looking fancy.'

So... here she was. Hair curled, new dress -- and no idea who most of the people here were. The ceremony had been touching (crying may or may not have taken place on Raleigh's part), but it had been dark for everyone who wasn't in the wedding party. Now, the immediate families of the bride and groom, the wedding party -- all of them went off for pictures, and Raleigh picked her way between the seats over to the cocktail area. She was more careful than she usually was, given the dark and the uneven ground -- so much so that she didn't realise that she should actually know some of the other attendees after all.

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Coop tugged at the knot of his tie for what was almost definitely the eight trillionth time since he'd arrived at the ceremony--fashionably late, of course, but only by a couple minutes and he'd managed to sneak into a seat in the back without causing much of a stir. The bride had noticed, because of course she had, and Coop at least had the humility to look properly chastised when Amber immediately called him out on it as soon as he'd gone in for a hug.

Now, he was loitering by the open bar, exchanging pleasantries with vaguely familiar faces he hadn't seen for years now.

Packing up his practice and his dogs and hauling ass out of Siren Cove had seemed like a great idea at the time, and Coop remained sure it was ultimately the right decision, considering the alternative involved a constant barrage of bullshit like demons and fucked up cruises and ex-fiancées. Well, just the one ex-fiancée but even that was one too many.

Still, now that he was back at the beck and call of an old friend, he had to admit it was nice to be here, even if he'd let himself fall out if touch with some of the people he'd once called his closest friends. His house was still his own, at least, he rented it out on Airbnb during the peak season but had kept the next couple weeks reserved for himself the minute he'd gotten the invite. If not for the fact that he was five years older and tired much earlier than he used to, Coop could almost trick himself into feeling like he'd never left.

A flash of blonde hair beneath the soft gleam of the fairy lights caught his eye as he took a sip of his beer, and it only took another half second to recognize her.

"Raleigh." He murmured her name under his breath, almost as if he was testing it out, testing the way it felt to say it again did the first time in a very long time. Smiling to himself, he made the choice to step forward, reaching out as she passed him and just managing to graze her fingers with his own.

"Raleigh," he said again, this time out loud. "Hi. It's been a long time."

There was a moment -- just one, where she looked up at him and it was clear that she didn't realise who she was looking at. She'd opened her mouth to apologize for being in the way, but it transformed into a squeak of joy. "Coop?"

They'd texted off and on when he'd moved his practice, but it'd devolved into the occasionally 'Happy Birthday' or 'Merry Christmas', depending on which one of them remembered. Not because they had any falling out, but just because that's how life was sometimes. People drifted, and well.

Apparently they also just appear at weddings. Raleigh stared up at his face for a second, almost like she wanted to check to make sure she wasn't dreaming. He looked good, honestly. Both of them had a little more laugh lines, but besides that, it was almost like nothing had changed. Her own smile had started small, but by the time she spoke... joy. "You know, if this happens every time I wear a floor length dress, I'll have to wear them more often."

There had been a long time where she'd just... had a thing, for him. A weird not-bad thing that she couldn't define, that was couched in a solid friendship. There had always been that yes-no-yes-no when it came to Shea Cooper, but the yes they always agreed on was that they were friends. It was the kind of friendship that had them joking about Disney Princes and her owning part of his kitchen -- seven years ago today, actually, because it'd been on her birthday. Today, she turned twenty-nine -- not that most people knew. Raleigh had always been more concerned with lifting other people up, rather than being the center of attention.

Not that that's here or there. She was just thrilled to see him, and was unable to keep the smile off of her face.

Being away for so long had led to faded memories, that was par for the course, but so many of them came rushing back in vivid technicolor when she flashed that brilliant Raleigh smile. There was an easy charm to it that Coop knew she wasn't even trying for, which only made it all the more endearing. They'd had their ups and downs, like any friends would have, but he's so glad he hadn't left things decidedly weird with her.

That happened all too often with his friendships, and he knew he shared the blame in that because once upon a time, "loose" was a word that could only have begun to describe him. No regrets, though. Well. Some regrets, some he'd come to terms with and some that had sent him packing, but he was still standing all the same.

"If you keep wearing dresses like that, I'll be standing in line just to get a chance to talk to you," Coop teased. He took a step aside, gesturing with his half-empty bottle at the bar. "Join me for a drink?"

"I mean, I don't know if you noticed, but there's hardly a line," Raleigh said with a laugh, her eyes sparkling. "So next time I plan on wearing something like this, I'll make sure I let everyone know, so you'll get the full 'waiting in a line' experience." She moved up to the bar, and pre-emptively passed the bartender her ID. "Jack and Coke, please."

Raleigh was pretty confident that she'd be carded for alcohol until she was ninety, at this rate. The only times she hadn't been was when someone knew her well, or if the bar in question was already serving minors. After the bartender squinted at her face, he finally passed back her ID, nodding once. As he poured her drink, Raleigh looked over at Coop, still smiling. "You know I'd never turn down the chance to have a drink with you, although I left my Grey Goose in my other evening gown."

The bartender slid the glass over to her, nodding once as she tipped him. "Thanks. Oh, and-- Happy birthday." For just a second, Raleigh squinched her eyes closed, because knowing Coop -- and the fact that this happened before -- he wasn't just going to let that slide.

"Thank you!" She flashed a smile to the bartender -- the kind of smile that said why did you have to say that -- and she turned back to Coop. "So! Table? Bench? Grass? Sand? You pick."

"Well, you only just got here," Coop playfully countered with a wink.

He took another sip of his beer as he waited for Raleigh to order, smiling to himself when he saw she'd already anticipated the bartender's request for an ID. It would ever be her curse. Well, he supposed, better to be cursed with a youthful face than any of the other potential shitstorms of this town.

Then he heard it.

Birthday.

Coop snapped his fingers, wholly embarrassed that he hadn't made the connection on his own; but then again, it was really Amber's fault for scheduling her wedding on her own boss's birthday, wasn't it?

"I'm a terrible friend," he said, shaking his head mournfully. "Hopefully I can make it up to you with the quality of my company, which I have to say should be as excellent as it ever was." Coop tilted his head toward a quieter spot on the beach. There'd be no small crowds there, the music would be a little fainter, they could catch up without any major interruptions. "Let's head over there. I'll even lay my jacket down for you so you don't get your dress sandy. Call it the world's shittiest birthday gift."

"Right! Right, so my giant line of people may just be waiting to come out of the woodwork," Raleigh said with a nod, before she one hundred percent got that confirmation that made her kind of squinch up her shoulders in a shrug.

Well, the cat was out of the bag, and it's not like she could actually get it back in even if she wanted too -- and she knew that Coop wouldn't (hopefully?) tell anyone else. "You are not a terrible friend. That's the first thing," she said as she moved towards the spot on the beach. "As long as you don't mention to the bride, anyway. I don't think she knows, and I'd rather keep it that way. Cool?" She paused before they made the way to the looser sand, making sure she held up her hem enough that she wouldn't fall on her face.

"Believe me, I've had shittier gifts," she said with a laugh as he offered her his jacket. "Besides, I don't think that sand is going to hurt my dress any, but your gallantry is welcome." She smiled wider as they got far enough away from the party that it was still visible, but they couldn't hear anyone else talking any more. "So, you have to give me the update. How's--" She stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening.

"... So, we could totally just compete for the terrible friend thing, right? Because I don't think I actually know where you're living now. Forgive me?" She was torn between apologizing and laughing, since they both were just in a sorry state when it came to The Relevant Facts About Their Friends, apparently.

Coop had to laugh.

That was the way of things, he knew that as well as anyone. Friends drifted, people moved in out of each other's lives, something something ships passing in the night or whatever. It wasn't as if he could complain, he was just as guilty of letting friendships fade as anyone; it was just that faced with it now, the realization that if they hadn't had a history they'd be as good as strangers, Coop felt a wave of guilt wash over him.

He sat on the sand with a grunt that was immediately followed by a sheepish chuckle at what had to be an audible cracking of both his knees. He leaned back on one elbow, his nice suit be damned. Shaking his head, he glanced up a Raleigh with a smirk playing at one corner of his mouth before looking out at the ocean, breathing in the salty air.

"As long as you forgive me, we can call it even. I've moved a few times since leaving Siren Cove, actually, but I'm parked in Costa Mesa out in California for now. Can't stay away from beach towns for too long but it's a little warmer in that one. Friend of mine's babysitting the dogs, they're living the good life, my practice is doing well. Can't complain."

And he couldn't. Not too often, anyway. He was the only one left in his group of friends unmarried and unattached, a strange phenomenon he hadn't spent a great deal of time anticipating when he was younger. Sometimes he missed the smaller town life, he had to admit. At least when everyone knew his business here, they mostly just accepted it without too much judgment or too many questions.

"Anyway. It's significantly less exciting than living here. What about you? What's keeping you busy outside of the bakery?"

She sat down a little less gracefully than he did -- which was saying something, since 'graceful' was probably the last way anyone would have described that maneuver. She used his shoulder to steady herself, but whump, she was in the sand next to him, no worse for wear. "Awesome, so we forgive each other -- I think that means we're starting a little fresh instead." She paused. "I still own part of your kitchen -- I think you owe me back rent from the AirBNB." Looking over at him, Raleigh's eyes sparkled with good humor.

She leaned back on her hands after that, looking up at the stars that were starting to appear in the night sky as she listened. "Is California all it seems cracked up to be? You know, Malibu and rollerblades?" Even as she said it, Raleigh made a face. "You know, I think everything I know about California is from television."

Clearly, and early 2000s re-runs at that. He asked what was keeping her busy outside of the bakery, and well... "I mean, since everyone kind of peaced out, it's been pretty quiet. Oscar's--" She paused. "I mean, I think the fact that he's like a fairy dog or something has made it so he's.. aging slower? Or something. it's really weird. But anyway, besides that, it's just... work." The sound of the ocean on the beach was comforting, and she was trying to find a very nice, very please don't worry about me way to say that she was kind of a workaholic and she didn't have much more than the bakery, her dog, and hanging out with Spencer, Joel, and Mira happening in her life.

"It's exciting, though! The bakery is doing so well that I'm considering open a second location, or..." She trailed off. She really loved the baking part of running a bakery, but the business part of it... it was sort of just the means to the end of making things that people enjoyed. "I don't know, but we've actually got other bakers and stuff so I can take time off, it's a tiny miracle." Taking another sip of her Jack and Coke, she looked over at him. "How long are you in town? Just tonight?"

"I'll send you a check," Coop said, then tilted his head as he considered her question.

It wasn't that California was terrible. The ocean was warmer on the West Coast, the winters were far more pleasant than any in Maine could ever hope to be, and he hadn't recently been magicked into becoming any kind of warped anti-Disney prince rogue, which was always a plus.

"It's..." He trailed off, wrinkling his nose, trying to think of the right word. Coop shrugged a shoulder, finally deciding to go the straightforward route. "It's shallow. Costa Mesa isn't as bad as Huntington, or even Newport, but that's the general vibe. Everyone's faking it 'til they make it in California."

It wasn't as glitzy as television would suggest. Coop had most definitely had his fair share of celebrity spottings in various Trader Joe's but the site of a famous person getting dogpiled for selfie requests while trying to do their grocery shopping didn't seem at all glamorous.

"I guess I am, too, in a way. Nobody knows I do the witch thing. I've managed to convince just about all my friends that I just make very excellent tea that can soothe any ailment." He leaned in a little closer, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "I don't tell them it's just Teavana. Like I said, fake it 'til you make it."

Coop arched an eyebrow when Raleigh mentioned a second location. He wasn't surprised, if baking was an art form then Raleigh was a true artist, but it pleased him to hear that the bakery was doing so well. "That's great, Raleigh. Seriously. You'd do well just about anywhere you opened another place, if you end up going that direction. I definitely wouldn't complain if you expanded to the west coast, hint."

He was teasing but only half-heartedly. In spite of the fact that they didn't talk nearly as much as he used to, Coop still found himself thinking of her sometimes, mostly when it came to pastries and stepping foot in fancy kitchens. He wanted to ask if she'd ever thought about leaving town herself, if "second location" could become an excuse for her to head somewhere new, but took another sip of his beer instead.

"Wait." He narrowed his eyes. "Did you say Oscar's a fairy dog? I'm going to need you to elaborate."

"Nobody knows?" Looking over at him, her brows furrowed. "Isn't that... hard? I mean, speaking from the point of view of someone who lied to everyone in the world about who she was for like a year, it... sucks." Shrugging, she stared out at the ocean, until he talked about her business -- if she opened another place.

Opening her mouth, she was going to talk about the mess she was thinking about -- that she didn't know if she wanted to be a Small Business Owner with capital letters, or if she just...

She just wanted to bake things. Make people happy. Was there such a thing as a baking sabbatical? Maybe that was the solution. A vacation to the west coast, where she just bakes for everyone she meets.

But then he's asking about Oscar, and her brows shot up too. "I mean..." She shrugged her shoulders.

"I made him. Right? Like there was that weird potion lady who came through before you left, and whatever I thought kind of just... happened, and I thought about a puppy appearing, and he just-- you know. Poof." Poof. Like it was that simple. Raleigh scrubbed her hand over her face with a laugh. "Can you believe our lives? But yeah, so I basically summoned my dog out of stray thought, and he was -- and is -- totally adorable, but he's also like... really healthy. Like, really healthy. Like... is only just now starting to be shaped like an adult Corgi, instead of like a teenaged one, and he's technically like... six years old?"

Sparing him a glance, her mouth quirked up at the corner. "Man, I wish I knew a vet who could take a look at him. Do you know one?" She's teasing him, her eyes sparkling.

Coop ducked his head, smiling wryly to himself. "Yeah, well. It's different here, where most of the town can do weirder shit than me. But I went through it before with Sylvie, you know?"

He realized the circumstances were different, she'd explained to him the truth about why she'd left, but Coop still carried the memory of that with him. How it felt, how it changed him, he couldn't leave that behind. What was normal here was normal nowhere else and not everyone without powers was like Raleigh.

"Anyway, the truth has its place and right now, its place isn't in California." He shrugged a shoulder then, shaking his thought away with a lighthearted laugh. "Not that it's been a problem, life is really... simple out there."

He sits a little straighter when she talks about Oscar, his eyes brightening. Yes, life was simple out on the west coast but he had to admit, sometimes he did miss the excitement--even if excitement came in the form of a magical anti-aging dog.

"Ah, yes, of course, of course. You know, I do happen to know a guy. Really handsome, really smart, and to answer your other question, I plan to stay for at least a week so I'm totally available."

"Still," Raleigh said with a sitter of shrug. "It can't be the easiest thing in the world, is all." After he said that truth doesn't have a place in California, that it's simpler... She thinks for a minute.

Would she give up Siren Cove? In a minute, if she knew her friends would be alright. If she knew that she could get away to where people didn't think about whether they'd all drunk a magical potion that would make them fly or purple or straight up hallucinate-- and that it would be normal...

"I guess I can see the appeal," she admitted, her fingers playing absentmindedly in the sand. "Just... Being yourself, right? The vet, and not all the other stuff?" Raleigh didn't know the extent of what he could do, but at the very least she knew he could heal injuries -- he'd done it for her.

"Oh! Awesome, I totally should have realized you knew a guy," she teased with a laugh, leaning to the side to bump his arm with hers. "So you being here a week -- what day would work for you to introduce us? I'm always on the lookout for handsome veterinarians, since that's the number one priority. The second one, I guess the 'smarts' part of it can manage." She's entirely too amused with the joke, and it might have something to do with her mostly empty Jack and Coke -- she wasn't drink, but it has been a while since she's got the state of Just a Bit Tipsy.

Edited 2021-08-10 05:09 (UTC)

Coop smirked, shrugging a shoulder. "Yeah, I guess 'Dr. Coop on El Camino' doesn't have a terrible ring to it. Whether or not it's easy... ah, I don't know, nothing's ever really easy. Easy and simple, there's a difference there. I think I stopped looking for easy a long time ago, nothing was ever really easy here, either."

It was a deeper conversation than he'd been prepared for this evening, especially considering he was only two beers in so far, with this second bottle nearly drained. Granted, he hadn't showed up at his friend's wedding with the specific aim of getting plastered, but he shifted in the sand, pushing himself up and draping his arms over his knees as he looked out at the reflection of the moon on the ocean.

It was rarer and rarer these days, having discussions like this. Because Raleigh was right, in a big way, it wasn't easy to have to keep his power to himself, to stop himself from speaking as freely as he might have here in Siren Cove. On a day-to-day basis, it didn't bother him, maybe because he'd gotten even distance between himself and Siren Cove over the last few years for it not to really matter anymore. Raleigh served as a very real reminder of what he'd left behind--what he regretted leaving behind.

Then her arm bumped his, and he was transported out of this thoughts and back to the beach, where bright eyes and a bright smile could do nothing but brighten and widen his own.

"Why, Ms. Raleigh Harper, do I detect a hint of buzzed in that tone?" Coop teased. "Don't you worry, handsome vet will be at your beck and call all week and beyond. From what I hear on the grapevine, he has absolutely no plans to get entangled into anything other than a good time while he's here, so that's plenty of time for him to provide you with his impeccable services."

"Just a hint," she admitted with a laugh, turning the glass in her hand before finishing it off. "I have tomorrow off, for once -- since I don't have to get up with the sun..." The statement spoke for itself, the fact that she was letting herself live a little was obvious.

"I feel like you could just go by handsome vet if you wanted -- the way Aoife keeps calling me 'Baker girl' even though she's known me for, like, a decade." For just a second, she thought about asking him something crazy. Like... Like what if they just... Went somewhere? Like they did a million years ago, it felt like-- exploring on a cruise ship in the middle of the night. What if they just packed up Oscar and went on an adventure for a couple of days? She knew, though, that kind of thing wasn't reality; besides, it was one thing for Coop to say he was at her beck and call, and a total other thing to actually take him up on it.

"Tomorrow," she said finally. "I'll make you something nice, and Oscar will slobber all over you, I'm sure. He likes people." Honestly, Oscar was as good (if not way better) of a judge of people than she was. Sometimes, she wondered if it was instinct, or if he really was magic.

No way to know, probably. Maybe Coop could tell, but she's not banking on it since she's not even sure how he exists at all.

Coop let out a dramatic, wistful sigh. "Gone are the days when I could drink the night away and get up with the sun without consequence. You know, you'd think with the ability to do some good ol' fashioned healing, I'd at least be able to avoid a hangover." He shook his head. "Pulled the short straw on that one."

At the mention of Aoife, his head fell back as he barked a laugh, clutching his arm over his stomach. "Oh, my god, so Aoife is as Aoife as ever, then? Good to know. I don't even think 'handsome vet' would fly with her, though, too complimentary."

He glanced at her, beaming broadly, then reached for her to squeeze her hand. "That sounds good. Really good."

And it did. Siren Cove was home to him, no matter how far away he was. Hell, he'd hauled himself off to Europe and still found his way back, that was the pull of home, wasn't it? Or maybe just the pull of Siren Cove, he wasn't altogether certain. Still, he felt more content now for being in Raleigh's presence than he had been a mere hour ago. Maybe it wasn't just the place that felt like home anymore.

"I'm glad I ran into you tonight. You never know, you know? Stay away for long enough, can't ever be sure who might be happy to see you. Time can heal, but it can also be a bitch." Coop paused, then rolled his eyes at himself over his own hesitation. It wasn't something he was embarrassed to say. "I missed you the most, by the way. Always knew I would."

While Raleigh didn't mean for her eyes to widen in surprise, they did. It was only a second later that they softened, and even though she could feel her cheeks turn red, she nodded while she stared out in the ocean. That was the weirdest thing about it, honestly. If it had been anyone else, the first thing would be disbelief -- because it's flattery, and it wouldn't make sense to her, but the thing with Coop... the thing that it's always been with Coop, is that he doesn't lie.

Even if he's telling you that you're being an asshole, or that your friendship with his ex-fiance is more than a little weird (because she's heard both from him), he still doesn't lie. Unless being in California somehow fundamentally changed who he was... "You can't think I'd be unhappy to see you." There was a sort of disbelieving laugh behind the words, just a touch.

"I mean..." Looking back at him, Raleigh's cheek leaned against her shoulder. "You have to know I'd never be mad at you for leaving, right? Like-- I want you to have the best life, and if that's not here, then I will totally support wherever you need to land." It was the only thing she could think of that would make her mad at him, so now that's sort of addressed, there was the other part. The very last thing he said, that he missed her the most.

Raleigh had a habit of Avoiding Feelings By Throwing Herself Into Work. It was enough of a thing that it had capital letters in her mind, but at least she knew it was a thing, right? Progress. Bad things happened, friends left, people got hurt -- and every day there was the bakery, the work to get lost in so you don't really have to think. Looking back at the ocean, she shook her head a tiny bit, underlining that there really was no way she'd be mad at him for doing what he'd needed to do. "When you left, I didn't know if I'd see you again, but-- I just really... hoped I would, I guess? Not even that you'd come back, just... Paths crossing, you know?"

A million other people he could have missed more had popped up in her mind -- all the other people who she would have guessed knew him better, or meant more, but finally she just simply reached over and squeezed his hand where it was on the sand.

Coop let out a short hum, an acknowledgment of her words with a smile still playing at the corners of his mouth, but his gaze drifted. Maybe he did know she wouldn't be mad, that most of the friends he'd said goodbye to wouldn't be mad, and he didn't feel guilty for doing what had needed to be done at the time, but Coop was no stranger to having people wander in and out of his life.

Forming attachments had its consequences, not that this was necessarily a maxim he'd ever lived by, just one that he accepted could be true. He almost laughed at the thought. When had he become anything close to approaching a pragmatist? Chalk it up to sentimentality at a wedding and catching up with a dear friend, that was the best thing to do. Though maybe Raleigh was right, maybe hiding parts of himself was harder than he'd thought. Maybe it'd only pushed him to bury things he never would have thought to bury before. Maybe Coop was sick of the introspection he hadn't been looking for tonight.

Sitting up straighter, he grinned broadly at Raleigh. "Yeah, well, I guess that's a moot point now, right? Here I am." He held his arm wide open, gesturing at himself. Sobering a little, he sighed, covering her hand with his free one. "It almost doesn't feel real. Sitting here with you, catching up, looking out at that ocean I used to wake up to every morning. Feels like a dream."

He glanced at her, tilting his head. "You don't think about leaving? I know you have a life here, I don't mean like, pack up and take off tomorrow. It's just that in spite of all the shit that happens here, it's almost like time in Siren Cove stands still. That doesn't drive you a little nuts?"

Turning her hand over, she took his and just squeezed. "Yeah -- I get that. Like... are we dreaming, or did we just fall into six years ago?" Shrugging a shoulder, she smiled. "I mean, not that I would totally doubt that there'd be time travel here."

That sentence -- and the fact, honestly, that you couldn't discount time travel made her scrub her hand over her face before she shook her head. That's not what happened, this time. Amber was married, and when Raleigh looked back at Coop, the smile lines at the corners of his eyes were actually a reassurance.

And then... then he asked her about leaving. If she had thought of it. Hesitating, Raleigh's brows furrowed. She almost said Oh, no, I'd never think of leaving, but instead she actually thinks. "I... I could just go, you know? The bakery is humming along and I just-- I mean, sometimes I feel like if I don't leave, nothing is ever going to change. You know? Like-- like I'm just sort of living the same day over and over and nothing will change."

It wasn't what he'd expected her to say. Granted, if he thought much on it, Coop supposed he hadn't been sure what he'd thought Raleigh's answer would be, he just knew it wasn't that. Maybe it was because Raleigh was part of what made Siren Cove feel like home, the way Spencer and Joel did, the way Les did, everyone he'd lived and breathed with while he was here.

When he thought of Siren Cove, he thought of them. The only reason he was back now is because of Amber, because of someone who'd called him back, because he'd left people behind he knew in his heart he would never be able to let go.

But he watched Raleigh now, searching her expression as he spoke, and he thought maybe he could find a hint of yearning. It could be so easy, free falling into that feeling of being trapped. Small towns could be like that, were often like that, even though sometimes Siren Cove felt so big it might swallow them all whole.

"I know the feeling," he said, half a wry smile playing at his lips. "It's weird, right? We never knew what the hell this town might throw at us day to day, but it still somehow feels like being in limbo. It's enough to mess with anyone's head." Coop shrugged a shoulder, trying to sound nonchalant. "You know, you can always come out to California, even if it's just to visit. My door's always going to be open."

The hint of yearning that he sees -- it's there, and it's the part of Raleigh that watches life spin past, the birthdays rack up and it's always the same, here. It's like most of the people here either found their way to grow or they left, but when Raleigh thought about herself...

Hell, even her dog barely changed. She was different than she'd been when she'd come here, but her situation... once she'd settled into the bakery, almost nothing had shifted.

Opening her mouth to speak, Raleigh's brows furrowed for a second before she squinched her eyes closed. Was she really going to just say-- Yup. "How about next week?" She opened one cautious eye, clearly trying to get a read on his reaction. "I mean...." Trailing off, she bit her lip for a second. "No, that's what I mean. Next week? Unless you have plans."

What was she doing? Raleigh felt a little like she was two inches from jumping out of a plane, but something in her gut urged her that if she didn't take this chance now, she'd never make it out of Siren Cove, and never live whatever life existed past the town limits. Still, she wasn't one to shy away from what was hard, and maybe this was the push she needed.

Coop's eyes widened at her unexpected proposal. His surprise was clearly written on his face but it softened into something affectionate as he chuckled to himself with a nod, a quick one, just to reassure her that he didn't think she was nuts for asking. It'd been his own suggestion, after all, and not one of those suggestions people make just to be polite.

He thought of the two of them in a different scene, on a different beach, under a different set of stars. Coop couldn't deny the sense of warmth that swelled in his chest at the thought of it. Still, Raleigh looked nervous, and he couldn't blame her. This wasn't quite like her but then, it'd been years since they'd seen each other. Neither of them could possibly be quite like who they used to be.

"You know, I'll have to check my schedule and get back to you," he teased. He paused, pretending to think just for a second. "Hey, what do you know? I'm totally free." Coop let another beat pass as he sobered a little, fixing her with a sincere smile. "Means we won't have to risk another few years going by before we see each other again."

Coop's nod was met by her own -- not a confident yes, this is the way nod, but a Oh, god, at least this isn't a terrible decision. It's been years since she's just tossed her fate to the wind, and this time it felt right. Dropping everything, and leaving one coast for the other -- but this time, she wasn't running away.

Raleigh huffed out a breath she didn't even know she was holding, and smiled. "Yeah. I... I don't think I want to go years between seeing you, honestly." Shaking her head, she bumped her shoulder against his. "I mean, after all, somebody has to make sure..." Trailing off with a shake of her head.

"You know what? No. We don't have to make sure of anything, just...this sounds great, and I want to do it, and seeing you more is just really great." Smiling, Raleigh's eyes softened as she was about to say--

"That's where you two got to!" Amber looked at them pointedly. "Cake. You can catch up soon enough, and you don't have to flirt with my boss, Coop," she said with a wink, clearly joking -- but still, she urged them to stand up and rejoin the party.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nice night for a white wedding!

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