Tomorrow Is the Day

"Talia..." a voice whispered gently, a hand shaking her arm, "Talia...wake up."

She grumbled in her sleep, rolling over to the direction of the voice. The hand shook her shoulder again and she grabbed it, opening her eyes slowly. Vengeance was standing over her, his green eyes piercing. Her heart jumped with adrenaline and she wondered what exactly was going on. The room was still half-dark though there were seagulls crying outside the window. She sat up in bed.

"What?" she asked, her eyes dry and squinting. He didn't move his face any farther from hers when she moved up closer.

"Shadows was telling me you like to run," he whispered, "You can run on the beach with me in the morning, instead of running on the fence line."

Talia was immediately suspicious of the offer until her dream-addled mind made the connection that Shadows had probably told him to offer, maybe at the prompting of Val. She nodded, throwing the blankets off of her body and sitting up. He moved then. His eyes concentrated on looking only at her face because she was in only her bra and panties.

"I, uh, don't know how serious you are about working out," he said, looking away, "But I have some protein shake left over downstairs if you want some."

"Okay cool, I'll have some," she said, cracking her back and fingers now, "Just give me a sec to get ready and I'll meet you down there?"

Vengeance nodded, leaving the room quickly and closing the door behind him. Talia was excited to run along the beach. She hadn't exactly been looking forward to running along the giant fence. She washed her face and brushed her teeth as quickly as she could while still being efficient. Her hair was in a tight ponytail and her body covered with a sports bra and running shorts as she tied her running sneakers. Her cousins knew her well enough to know that she'd need her workout clothes.

She stretched alone in her room for a few minutes before making her bed and leaving her room quietly. The rest of the house was still asleep and she didn't want to wake anyone before sunrise. Vengeance was in the kitchen waiting, as expected. He was shirtless now and wearing only shorts and sneakers. They both took a moment to scan each other's bodies before he handed her a glass of protein with a smirk.

"Bottoms up."

Talia raised the glass in his direction, as if it were a shot, and since there wasn't much in the glass she finished it quickly. Vengeance grinned when she placed it back on the counter hard and he gestured for her to leave out the back first. She cracked her neck as she walked and opened the back door, letting the cool ocean breeze hit her like a wall.

They walked side by side past the pool and down the path toward the beach silently. Stones marked either side of the sandy path, while grassy dunes began cropping up around them. The sun wasn't up yet, though the sky over the ocean was already beginning to lighten. Behind the pair, the colors of the sky became wildly beautiful.

When they reached the small gate in the fence, Talia marveled shortly at the system. It must have taken an insane amount of engineering skill and an even more psychotic amount of money to have an entire electric fence able to be shut down momentarily by one keypad. Vengeance smirked at her and began pressing in the code, using his large shoulder to hide the view from Talia.

"Wow," she said sarcastically, "You're not gonna have me close my eyes and turn around so I don't see your precious code?"

"Nah," he answered easily, smirking deeper as the gate opened and he strode through it onto the beach, "I'll be the one to catch you if you ever get out anyway."

"It almost sounds like you wanna chase me," she flirted gently, following him onto the beach and walking with him down to the water's edge.

"Maybe I do," he answered, lifting an eyebrow and grinning. Talia laughed and then shrugged.

"So come chase me," she said, taking off full speed down the beach. She could hear his laugh behind her and then his footsteps pounding on the sand behind her. After a minute or two of full out sprinting, Talia lowered her pace to a more comfortable jog and tried lowering her breathing rate so that she'd be able to run as long as possible.

After a while, she wasn't sure how long she'd been running. Her runners high had kicked in and eventually, drenched in sweat now that the sun had risen slowly over the horizon, she slowed to a walk and dropped into dry sand to her left. Vengeance stood over her, his breathing just as ragged as her and his black hair falling into his eyes.

"You can go for a long time," he panted. She laughed through her heavy breathing and began stretching her legs as she laid in the sand.

"You should see me in the bedroom," she joked, winking when his eyes flashed over to her. He laughed lightly and then bit his lip, his eyes drinking in every inch of her body now. He wasn't entirely sure where his head was at but he wanted nothing more than to touch this woman in front of him, despite the fact that he'd taken an immediate dislike to her disrespectful, smartass mouth.

Talia watched his reaction with interest and then rolled over onto her stomach, doing a few push ups and then standing back up to stretch some more. He followed her lead and they silently stretched side by side, preparing themselves for the run back. Talia dipped her fingers into the cool ocean water and splashed it onto herself before turning and splashing it playfully onto Vengeance. He chuckled and opened his arm, letting the water splash onto him.

"You know, I think I might like you yet," he commented and Talia couldn't help but think that today would most likely be a better day than yesterday. There was nothing she enjoyed more than people having the wrong first impression of her because, even though she projected a hard exterior, she knew that she could be anything but.

"Don't get soft on me now Vengeance," she teased, "I'd still cut off one of your fingers if I had the chance."

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree then, huh?" he pushed, referencing the fact that her own father had made plenty of people lose fingers in the time before Talia's birth. As a young man, her father had supposedly been brutal and this obviously must have appeared somewhere when they'd dug up what they could. Talia shrugged, trying to remain lighthearted.

"I was talkin' about The Sopranos but yeah, sure, my dad too," she joked, trying hard to keep her tone light. Vengeance laughed and cracked his neck.

"I hate that show," he commented. Talia's mouth dropped open.

"Are you serious? I love it."

"Brian's girl, through and through," he commented quietly and Talia cocked her head in confusion. She knew an explanation wouldn't be forthcoming when his face became stony again. The breeze coming off the ocean ruffled through her ponytail as she looked at him. "Ladies first," he gestured, signaling that he wanted her to run. She dipped her head and then granted his wish, taking off at a steady pace down the sand they'd already passed over.

Her muscles screamed at her to stop running but after another ten or fifteen minutes, her runner's high was back and she was pumped with enough energy to bring her right back into the sight of the ugly iron fence. She wasn't aware of how long she'd run though a few times she'd imagined this as her escape and Vengeance as her pursuer. That pushed her further.

This time she didn't fall into the sand. Instead she stretched her aching muscles and only glanced at Vengeance through her peripherals to catch him doing the same. They let their breathing calm down as they stretched and then, without a word, Vengeance began walking back up toward the fence. She watched him until he turned his head a bit to glance at her before she followed him.

The sun was up now but barely spilling over the roof of the house. It couldn't have been later than seven in the morning and Talia noticed a drowsy looking Syn standing in front of the coffee maker through the windows of the house before she entered behind the large man in front of her. The air conditioning in the house felt wonderful against their hot skin and Vengeance was passing Talia a water bottle before she could even collapse into a chair at the counter. Syn, shirtless and wearing only boxers, glanced suspiciously between the two.

"Nice run?" he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Russo can go for miles," Vengeance commented. The fact that he'd called her Talia earlier and had now reverted back to using her last name did not escape her notice. "We almost made it to the fucking boardwalk before she dropped."

"That has to be about five miles," Syn gaped at the girl, "Did you run back too? That's ten fucking miles!"

Talia shrugged at their praise. She'd always kept in shape and it wasn't a big deal to her.

"I don't normally run that far, usually only six miles total but today I just felt like running," she brushed off, finishing the water and letting her head drop onto the cool marble of the counter. Her breathing was normal now and her skin cooling, though the salt water and sand was sticky against her legs. She really needed a shower and then, the biggest breakfast she could muster. She relayed her immediate plans to the men in the kitchen before excusing herself upstairs into her room.

She showered, dressed, and styled herself as quickly as she possibly could. Her muscles ached dully as she pulled her long, straight hair over her shoulder and padded gently down the stairs. Syn was still in the kitchen when she entered, his eyes reading over a large stack of papers and his hand holding a spoon dipped in cereal. He smiled lazily at her when she entered the room.

"Cold cereal, now isn't that a treat?" she smirked sarcastically, looking through the pantry and coming across pancake batter. "How about a real breakfast?"

"Fuck, I might be in love with you," he moaned in delight, pushing the soggy bowl of food away from himself and towards the sink. Talia laughed quietly, glancing at the clock on the oven which proclaimed a proud 7:57 in the morning. She sighed and began searching for ingredients. Syn's attention was completely on her now, though he was still holding a paper in one hand from the stack in front of him.

"Business?" she asked, nodding her head at the papers as she stirred eggs into her mixture. He glanced away from her and at the paper.

"Never a break from it," he answered with a nod. Talia understood that very well. Her father had constantly been busy with his work, which often involved stealing and philandering and laundering. More recently, she'd watched her uncle constantly be consumed by his work even though it was of a more honest nature. He owned multiple construction businesses up and down the coast of California.

"Hey, Zacky was alright to you this morning right? Like, he didn't hurt you or anything?" Syn asked suddenly while Talia was pouring out perfect circles made of pancakes onto the pan over the stove. She turned with narrowed eyes.

"He was actually...really nice. As in, we got along."

"You got along," Syn repeated, "Then why do you look so worried?"

Talia looked down, ashamed that she'd let herself be read so easily. If she'd been paying true attention, she'd have realized that the probable cause behind the breakdown of her unreadable facade was a heightened interest on Syn's behalf.

"I'm not worried," she protested mildly and he shook his head, placing the paper down on the stack and folding his hands on the counter.

"You're obviously worried," he pressed.

"Alright fine; I'm a little nervous about meeting this Christ guy," she admitted, flipping the pancakes and sighing lightly. She hated new people and regardless of the fact that she didn't know any of the people in the house, they were more familiar than the man who called himself Christ.

"Johnny? You're nervous because of Johnny?" Syn repeated, a laugh in his tone. He looked at her with disbelief shining in his brown eyes. She grinned just at the look on his face and flushed with heat at his laugh. She'd never admit it to anyone, she could barely admit it to herself, but Talia might have found herself with a bit of a crush. "You should be more scared of Val than of Johnny."

"I'm not scared!" she protested, pointing the spatula at him meaningfully as she piled pancakes onto a plate. "I just don't like new people."

"I'm pretty sure three out of four people in the house right now are new to you," Syn pointed out.

"I'm about ten seconds away from coming over there and beating your ass," Talia warned playfully. He laughed and shrugged, picking up the paper he'd put down and letting the pancakes sizzle in near-silence. There was still an uneasy feeling over Talia and it wasn't fear, though she was feeling mildly anxious to an extent.

When she'd finished the pancakes she set a plate in front of Syn and another at the empty place next to him, for herself. She'd made enough food for everyone and she was excited to sit down and eat. She hadn't cooked for herself in the tiny apartment she had even though she loved to cook. She hadn't really had the time since she'd worked two jobs.

They both ate in silence, side by side. Syn moaned his delights about how delicious the pancakes were as he ate them and Talia searched the fridge for fruit, finding strawberries to wash and cut up. Talia's muscles ached from her run and her legs felt like they were still running even though she was sat at the kitchen counter. She was glad that she'd started the day productively. She was scared that she'd fall completely idle as she stayed in the house. There was always a lot of thinking to be done and her mind wandered.

"Do you like The Sopranos?" she asked suddenly, thinking back to what Vengeance had said earlier. He turned to look at her with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, I love that show; why?"

*

Talia bolted down the stairs as Val shouted her name consistently. She'd been lying on her bed, dozing in the late afternoon sunlight that had shone through her window. Val had class two times a week, acting workshops that required her physical presence, while her other four classes she took online. The blonde had been home for more than an hour now and Talia found her sitting cross-legged on the floor of the living room surrounded by textbooks.

"What's up Val?" Talia asked, standing behind the couch and gazing down at her friend. Val smiled.

"Matt brought home Chinese food and white wine," she answered.

"Sharing is caring," Talia reminded her, walking around the couch and bouncing down on the floor in front of Val. Val laughed and pulled the large plastic bag over from her side and began pulling containers out. Talia bounced into the kitchen to grab wine glasses from where Val told her they were and the girls started to open the various food containers with excitement.

"I hate to interrupt this picnic but would you mind if I had some food?" Syn's voice asked, startling both girls and sending Talia's heart into overdrive from surprise. He was walking down the stairs with an easy grin on his face. His hair was wet, probably from a shower, and falling into his eyes.

"I mean, yeah I guess," Val said, shrugging and pushing food toward him when he sat on the couch.

"Wow thanks Val," he retorted with playful sarcasm, "You're so generous."

Talia was lying on her stomach on the floor, picking at Lo Mein with chopsticks and sipping white wine liberally. She listened as Syn and Val spoke about classes and how sick she was of writing essays for her sociology professor.

"She's just a bitch," Val complained, "It's online so I don't have to deal with her too much but she assigns so much work, as if I'm not taking any other fucking classes."

"I'll do it for you, if you want," Talia offered. She might have sipped too much wine or maybe she'd been faced with too much free time but she was almost eager to take a class. School had never been something she was too interested in though she'd always been good at it without trying. Had she studied and done work, Talia could have been close to the top of her class.

"What? No way can I let you do that," Val said, incredulous.

"Yeah you can. I'll wither away if I take one more nap, c'mon," Talia persisted. A huge smile broke out onto the blonde's face and she started squealing in excitement. Talia laughed as she leaned over and tried to kiss her face. The dark-haired girl resisted so that the two women were rolling around on the floor, laughing.

"What's going on here?" Shadows' deep voice rumbled. Both girls sat up, still giggling. Val leaped up and ran over to her boyfriend, throwing her arms around his neck. The absolute admiration on his face as he looked down at her made Talia's heart long desperately for the same thing. She'd never been a romantic, at least not a hopeless one, and a boyfriend had never been high on her list. Now that she saw this couple in the middle of their beautiful home, the young rebel almost regretted not looking for the right man for her.

"Tally's gonna take my sociology class for me!"

"Isn't that cheating?" he teased her. His grin revealed his dimples and Talia sighed with discontent. Syn watched Talia as Talia watched the couple and he wondered idly why she seemed so bothered by them. He had his suspicions but he was smart and figured her out pretty quickly.

"Baby," Val whined. Shadows laughed and mocked her, his arms tight around her waist and a smile on his face. He leaned down and kissed the blonde a few times. If you'd shown Talia only this side of the man, she would never have guessed the business he was in.

"You guys are fuckin' gross," Syn commented, looking over his shoulders at the two of them. Val's head snapped over to look at him and she rolled her eyes.

"Shut up Bri," she said, smacking his shoulder before walking around the couch to plop down on the floor next to Talia again, "You're just pissy because you're not shoving your tongue down my sister's throat anymore."

"Oh right," he barked out a laugh, "I went to church to thank fucking god when that ended."

Shadows snickered and Talia hid a laugh, though Val didn't seem too perturbed by the jab at her sister.

"I don't know why I even brought it up," she admitted, "I'm so tired of hearing about it, holy shit."

"I never open my mouth about Michelle," Syn said, raising his arms in innocence. "She's just pissy because no one believes her when she says she ended it."

"We can say the lord ended it and be done," Val answered, pouring both girl's another glass of wine.

"Well, I've been told I am a god," Syn joked, causing Shadows to laugh. Talia rolled her eyes and sipped her wine.

"I'm sure that depends on who you talk to," Talia joked easily. Shadows cracked up at that, ending up seated on the couch next to his friend and scooping up his own container of Chinese food to pick at. Syn winked at Talia.

"Let's talk to you about it then," he flirted. Talia smirked and shook her head, drinking her wine. She didn't mind the attention from him in the least bit and she didn't feel like she was surrounded by her kidnappers. She didn't even resent the two men sitting in front of her. She resented her family and she could feel her father rolling over in his grave just at the thought.

Talia never answered him and let Val go over the pages of sociology that she'd be taking on now. She flipped through the textbook lightly. Talia didn't think it would be too hard to pass this class. She had nothing better to do everyday and without any other classes to worry about, she was sure she'd be able to do it. Shadows and Syn watched the girls for a while before flicking on the TV and arguing over movies.

"The Godfather is on asshole, we're watching it," Syn ended the fight.

"I'm not saying it's not a great movie," Shadows defended, "We've just seen it a thousand times!"

Talia shook her head at the display. She'd seen this movie a thousand times but that didn't mean she was tired of it. Val was finished talking about her class and she took her glass of wine and sat next to Shadows on the couch. Talia leaned her back against the couch, remaining seated on the floor, next to Syn's legs. She sipped at her wine and then leaned her head against his knee gently.

The movie was familiar to Talia and she was at ease, even in a house full of people she didn't know. Every once in a while she would feel Syn's fingers run through her hair. It made slight goosebumps appear on her skin. This unspoken, quiet moment shared between the two was monumental to Talia. It was a subtle encounter.

Talia was never one to be easily entertained by a man, but here she was, sitting on the floor with a glass of wine in silence and also exceedingly entertained by one Synyster Gates.