Sometimes, the solution ((Closed RP))

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

Alan Grant hadn't seen much of Laura Palmer in the last month. Besides teaching a class, he hadn't seen much of anyone except for a few short conversations. He had spent his time either in his rooms, his office, or pacing outside the popcorn room, but never daring to go inside. He still hadn't seen her name on the popcorn plaque, but he knew it was there.

He stood outside a dorm room in Hufflepuff. Grant hadn't sent an house-elf ahead of him, or any kind of warning. He knocked on the door, hoping that Laura was in. He still seemed somewhat withdrawn, and tired. His hat was low over his eyes, and he stared at the floor when there wasn't anything to look at.

Today, though, his shoulders were a little bit squarer, as if a weight had been lifted off of them.

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[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

Laura opened the door, a damp cloth in one hand and ink stains on the fingers of the other. The diary and fountain pen Grant had given her for her birthday many moons earlier were visible, sitting open on the desk behind her.

"Alan!" She smiled, but her face reflected a trace of concern along with pleasure. "I wasn't expecting to see you today. C'mon in."

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

He gave her a half-smile, more than he had in a while, and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's been a while."

Usually he was right at home with her menagerie, but he stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. "I wanted to tell you something," Grant said. He didn't want to sit until he'd gotten it off his chest.

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

Laura froze, eyes wide. "Okay. You know I'm always here to listen."

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

"It's nothing bad," he was quick to reassure her. "Really. It's just... something that I've realized."

Grant took a deep breath. "When I was on Isla Sorna, the second island, I called Ellie when we were in trouble. One of the people there asked me who she was, and I said that she was a special person. But, I said, I had never told her that. He said that I should tell her. And I should have."

He stepped closer to Laura, closing the space between them. "I should have told her then, and I should have told her now. It's a mistake I make over, and over, and over again." Grant caught her eye. "It's a mistake that I want to stop making."

"I don't say this enough: Laura, I love you. You mean the world to me. And I wanted you to hear it now, while we're both here. I know that you know this, but I had to say it. Because I don't want to ever regret not telling you."

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

"Oh, Alan. I knew, but I'm never going to get tired of hearing that." Laura's whole face lit up with her smile.

"I love you too. You mean the world to me too. And I've spent the last couple weeks feeling so stupid, because you were hurting and I couldn't figure out how to help you."

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

He smiled now: a real smile, not the broken one he'd been using. Grant wrapped her in his arms and kissed her.

"It hurts. It will for a while. But some things you can't fix, and sometimes I'm one of them." He held her close, enjoying her warmth. The popcorn wave had taken away his closest friend, and he would miss her. Now, though, he was ready to spend time with the woman who was there with him. "If you ride this out with me, you've helped me more than you can imagine."

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

She rested her head on his shoulder. "Oh, I'm in it for the long haul. I still don't know how I got so lucky."

Then she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "She always knew, y'know. Even if you didn't tell her, you showed her. You let her in; Ellie knows what a huge thing that is for you."

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

"I know," he said, "but I still wish I had just said something." He ran his fingers through her hair. "So I said it to you. Now if you go off and get eaten by dinosaurs, or turned into popcorn, or do some other horrible thing to me, at least I've said it to you once."

Grant squeezed her. "Wait a few years, and put some more miles on me. Then you can trade me in for a new one," he joked.

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

"Waitasec..." She leaned around his arm to peek at the desk. "Nope. None of those things appear to be on my List of Things to Do."

She grinned. "A few years. I think I like the sound of that."

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

"So that was my problem," he sighed. "I should never schedule an appointment for being attacked by animals."

He scanned over her head for a glass, but he was pretty sure they had finished off all of the scotch. "That sounds like a toast. To a few more years."

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

"Nah. That's kind of a spur of the moment thing, I think." She turned to look behind her. "I'm fresh out of toastables, I'm afraid. Darn applicants aren't making with the really good bribes anymore. Care to stop at the bar? Say, maybe on the way to your place?"

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

"Sounds like a plan. Is the zoo coming, or can it stay behind for a little bit?" he asked.

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

"You're a fine one to talk! But no, they can hang out by themselves for a while. If they'll promise not to get into trouble," she said with a pointed look at her treecat companion, who was gazing at the windchimes. Galahad favored her with his best 'Who, me?' look.

Satisfied, she turned back to Grant and slipped a hand into his. "Shall we?"

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

"Mine live in the barn," he pointed out. "I think we'll be safe if we snag him some celery from the Bloody Mary fixings." Grant opened the door for her. "After you."

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

"Hear that, Galahad? Incentive!" She slipped through the doorway. "Why, thank you sir." And closed it behind them.