It’s been a while.
A hell of a while and Alaric’s still tired. The Winchester brothers are long gone, so now he’s just picking up the slack, but everything’s a little more different than before. Everyone’s settled into some type of normalcy. It’s not super normal but it isn’t at all like it used to be. Ric spends his days sitting in the same desk, at the same school, grading the same old crappy papers. And yes, nights are still spent drinking away at that same old brand of bourbon. Talk about different: Jenna moved on. Yeah, Jenna, she got her memory back and she’s happy from what he can tell. Alaric just sits at home alone with Ric Jr, the Golden Retriever that blesses him with wet kisses when he gets home from work. Not miserable, not exactly joyful but he’s okay. He and Damon are closer than ever, and he can’t remember the last time they fought. It’s been that great. Still, they have their bickering moments but, never a serious fight.
As for the kids, he’s moved out of the house and become a big boy. He’d been tired of relying on teenagers for a place to live, feeling like it was some low form of shitty reverse psychology. So he moved into an apartment just on the outskirts of town, and it’s perfect. Quiet, peaceful.. Sometimes he gets lonely but then he reminds himself that it’s okay to be by himself some of the time. It’s not like he misses the twenty-four-seven vampire hunt. It’s okay.
Everything’s all right.
And still, Ric, Jeremy, Elena, Jenna, they all meet up on the holidays. Even though he doesn’t enjoy her new boyfriend, the plastic faced, double chinned, perfect asshole, he can’t say he isn’t happy for her. He also can’t say they don’t have those same sparks. Because they do. He can feel it, see it, every time he looks into her eyes, but he doesn’t even bother. She deserves happiness after everything they’ve been through. It’s an old flame, the thing the two of them share. He doesn’t think it’ll ever burn out, but its nice to still feel it bright and shiny.
So it may still be the same routine with a little twist. Life isn’t perfect. His hair starts to gray during stress, the crinkles underneath his eyes deepen, and the stacks of Bourbon bottles in the recycle bin grow every now and again, but things are okay in his end of the stick. Ric even thinks he might try to go out again, find is own slice of creme pie.
Everything is all right.. It’s definitely been a while, but its all right.
What do you think?!
Dear Nick, I hope you fail at life.
Go fuck yourself.
—Ric
