descent | 𝐊𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐒 [HIATUS]

𝟎𝟗

"Rory!" a voice similar to hers calls out from down the street. She sees her twin sister for the first time in almost a decade, and she drops the luggage in her hand to sprint towards her. She doesn't think before enveloping Elena in her arms, hugging her against her chest. "You came."

"Of course," Rory's voice is muffled by the fabric of Elena's sweater, a scent that Rory recognises as Damon's more-so than hers.

The twins pull away from the hug, and Rory is surprised to see that Elena looks... older. Softer. She gives credit to the cure, now that Elena is human again. She also hands it to Damon, who has clearly been making her sister smile, judging by the wrinkles in the corner of her eyes. Elena looks happy. Elena looks like a person.

"You look amazing," Elena takes the words out of Rory's mouth, touching the ends of her hair.

Rory looks frozen in time, a side-effect of vampirism. She looks like the same Rory that showed up at the Mystic Falls hospital, in her pyjamas and demanding to see Caroline. She has a headband pushing back her curled tendrils, unblemished skin, and quirk to her lips. But her eyes are no longer the same pair that enveloped you into a hug—no longer warm or inviting.

They seem emptier, like a part of her had been taken and replaced with something else. They looked like Katherine's.

"Are you..." Elena trails off.

Rory is quick to interject, hooking her arm around her sister's. She tugs Elena towards the direction of her renovating house, ignoring the question that she knew was going to fall from her lips. Are you okay? She's tired of being asked that. Truthfully, she's never okay.

"Rebuilding the house, hm?" Rory looks up, squinting her eyes just the slightest bit. The sun is merciless, shining a bright light over both of them.

"Yeah. Damon wanted to do this for me, and who am I to say no?" Elena smiles in her direction. Rory almost sees the hearts in Elena's eyes as she talks about the elder Salvatore.

"I heard about Stefan. I'm really sorry."

Elena's face drops at the mention of the younger vampire. She swallows the ball in her throat—one that seems to always settle whenever someone brings him up. She shakes her head, letting out a sigh.

"It's fine. Damon and I... we're still processing. But we both know that there's no other way Stefan would've wanted to go."

"You're right," Rory nods. "He's always had a thing for the heroics—the hair and everything."

Elena smiles. "Let me show you inside," she says, dragging her older sister past the open doorway. There's still dust everywhere, which makes Rory's nose wrinkle, but she can see the foundation of her old home already.

Built-in cabinets have already been installed; couches covered with plastic to protect it from paint. Rory hears footsteps from upstairs, and not a second later, she sees a dark head of hair walking down the steps. Damon Salvatore's shit-eating grin greets her at the bottom of the steps.

"Look who's here," he says, tossing an arm over Rory's shoulder. "The princess finally made time to see us."

Damon's a lot softer than what he used to be. He's just as fragile as Elena looks. Both of them. Human. With beating hearts, and with a sure death at the end of the tunnel. They're not like her anymore. Oddly, Rory feels left behind.

"The place looks great. Looks like it was never barbequed into ash," Rory quips, looking up at the ceiling. "I could do without the sawdust and paint, though."

"I'm betting it's a far cry from the palace that Lord Voldemort has thoughtfully supplied you with in New Orleans, but forgive us. We're both just day-to-day, tax-paying, employed individuals." Damon taps the tip of Rory's nose, turning to walk into the kitchen.