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 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.

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Nice night for a white wedding!

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