[fanfic] pound your stake into the ground; haven; audrey/duke; pg13

[krickets]

title; rating: pound your stake into the ground; pg13
fandom, pairing; count: haven, audrey/duke; ~2580
notes: set after 3.05, for stainofmylove and mollivanders, thank you to kmousie for the beta read!

In Haven, it kind of goes without saying that if you believe in the troubles you believe in magic.

But that's the thing.

It goes without saying.

-

Duke has this irrational belief that if she just wants it bad enough, Audrey can change her fate.

"How is it that you have so much faith?" Audrey asks him. He's leaning over the bow of the Cape Rouge, and Nathan's off somewhere making new allies, and Audrey looks at the glass of wine in her hand and realizes that she's here, again. Wonders why it's taken her 'til now to notice that this keeps happening.

Duke grins, almost laughs at that.

"Not faith," he says, turns and leans back against the railing, crosses his arms, tucking his hands under them. "Blind, reckless, optimism."

"Reckless," Audrey echoes, moves to stand next to him, looking out over the water, her shoulder brushing his. "That sounds like you."

Duke leans, almost whispers into her ear: "Doesn't it, though?"

-

In the morning, Audrey lies, her chin resting on his shoulder, her arm stretched across the expanse of his naked back, warm against his skin.

He stirs, stretches, curls one hand around her neck, kisses her.

This isn't something they'll talk to Nathan about. They both know that without saying it. He's happy. Nathan is. For once. And the unspoken truth is that none of this is permanent because no matter what Duke claims to believe, Audrey's time here is limited.

"You're here," he whispers against her lips, and she grins a toothy grin against his mouth.

"I'm here," she says, and relishes the saying of it, kisses him again.

Because it won't be long until...

It won't be long.

-

Just under two weeks left, and Audrey starts to think of herself as some kind of martyr.

"The whole reason I came here was to help," she says that night at the Grey Gull, with Nathan sitting across from her and Duke perched on the bar. "The reason I stayed. The reason I keep doing what I'm doing here? It's to help the troubled. If I try to somehow get out of this fate," she says the word slowly, watches Duke roll his eyes, falters. "I mean, if I brought the troubles here," she tries again, "if this is all happening because of me, then isn't it cruel to want to stay? When so many good people are suffering?"

Nathan pushes his chair back, stands. "I can't listen to this anymore."

"Nathan," Audrey calls after him, but she doesn't get up, doesn't follow, just watches him leave, listens to the sound of his truck tearing out of the parking lot, the sound of angry tires kicking up rocks.

"He'll be better off," she says out loud. "He'll be happy."

Duke pushes off from his spot at the bar, slides behind it and grabs a glass. "You keep telling yourself that, Parker," he says. "I'll keep pouring the drinks."

-

"Promise me something?" Duke says. They've moved from the bar to her apartment and he's stretched across her couch and she's on the floor beside him, her knees tucked to her chest.

"For you? Anything," she says easily, tips her drink to him, because until now, they've been laughing, and she doesn't notice the heaviness of his words.

Duke sits up, slides his legs around and leans forward as if to make sure she can hear him. "Be selfish."

Audrey knits her brows, cocks her head. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I know it's not exactly a word that's in your vocabulary, but I need you to get comfortable with it. Because if you're gone...," this he lets trail off, lets her fill in the blanks. Audrey's listening now, but she closes her eyes, doesn't want to think about leaving Haven behind. Leaving Nathan. Leaving Duke. He continues, "I know it's in your nature to dive head-first into trouble, pardon the expression, but just this once I want you to think of yourself."

"Duke," Audrey starts.

"No," he says. "Listen to me, Audrey. You have to fight. Screw everyone else. You've done nothing but help, and the thing of it is that you don't owe any of us a damn thing. This is your life. I wasn't kidding about getting out of town. I'd rather you run. It may not make any difference, but it's worth a shot. Better than disappearing and forgetting everything and everyone here. At least I'd know you're still you. At least you'd still remember who you are — remember us."

"But what if nothing I do matters? We don't know that my leaving will change anything. We don't know if it's even possible to..."

"We don't know that it isn't either," he says. "Forget running. What if there's a way to have both? A way to end the troubles and a way to stay in Haven? For good. To live your life here, just like the rest of us?"

"Duke..."

"Audrey."

"But, it's not that easy. It can't be."

"Of course it can," he says, but he's laughing. "And they call me stubborn. I honestly don't know a single person more stubborn than you. Not a damn bit of this whole thing has made any sense so far, and when everyone else is saying no, you're the one standing there saying yes: it is possible. So why, when it's about you — your fate, your trouble — is it so far out of the realm of possibility? You want this, Audrey. I can see it in your eyes. You know there has to be a way. You want to fight. So what's stopping you?"

"Time," she says, shrugging her shoulders. "Duke, I don't have any more time. Ten days? That's ... that's practically nothing."

"Okay," he says. "But other than that?"

Audrey almost rolls her eyes. Of course Duke would consider her biggest roadblock to be inconsequential. That damn reckless optimism again. She groans, figures giving in is the only option she's got. "Nothing, I guess," she says.

Duke smiles, nudges her shoulder. "That's my girl."

-

In the morning, she dreams.

Lucy Ripley is in a little boat off the coast. It's dark and the waves are tossing her back and forth and she feels sick to her stomach, but she reaches out anyway, grabs the brightly colored buoy from the water.

"Please be here. Please be here," she repeats over and over, tugging foot after foot of water-logged rope into the boat. Tied at the end, she finds a rusted metal box with one word inscribed on the lid:

Teagues.

When she opens it, the box is empty.

-

Three hours later, and Duke's got Vince by the collar and pressed against the Haven Herald copy machine.

"Start talking," he spits, yanks Vince closer, tightens his grip.

"Duke," Audrey puts a hand on his arm. "You're hurting him."

"Audrey," he says. "This jackass knows something."

"Duke, please."

"Fine." He releases his grip, lets Vince catch his breath.

Audrey steps up, moves between them, crosses her arms.

"Start talking," she says.

-

The first time she sees the Colorado kid in the flesh...

she runs.

It's a feeling she gets, one that she can't ignore. Audrey Parker has had it before. Maybe Lucy Ripley too. She's chasing down a lead on the outskirts of Haven when he turns up, just standing there, calm and not at all surprised to see her, like he's been waiting for her this whole time. He's dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt, a picture of the past she can scarcely remember, and she recognizes his wrinkled face instantly — barely having time to register that he is far older than he should be. And behind those jagged features, the thin skin of unnatural old age, he's got this cold look in his eyes that reminds her of the Rev, and every cell in her body tenses.

"You," escapes breathlessly from her lips.

Audrey Parker isn't the type to turn tail and run, but Duke's voice rings in her ears and that's exactly what she does.

-

Four days before the Hunter, and the Teagues lead dries up.

"Dead end," Audrey says, and Nathan leans back in his chair, props his legs on his desk.

"You're not giving up, are you, Parker?"

Audrey squints at him, realizes there's something different about him.

Four more days.

She thinks.

Four more days and he's free of his curse.

But, like Duke, he keeps fighting for her, despite everything it will cost him if things go south.

"No," she says. "I'm not giving up."

It's the least she can do.

-

The next time James Cogan, better known as the Colorado kid, shows up, Duke is with her at the docks. When the old man raises a knife over his head, aiming straight for her, Duke's eyes turn to ice, and before it even begins it's already over.

Is this how it was supposed to happen?, she wonders, even though it makes no sense. Then Duke's got her in his arms, blood all over his hands, and he's shaking, something — adrenaline? magic? fear? — coursing through him, and she thinks maybe he's crying.

Then, he's kissing her with salty lips and saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," over and over again like that, and she's not sure whether it's directed to her, to the lifeless body that lies at their feet, or to Duke himself.

She closes her eyes, pulls him close.

Once again he's broken his vow.

For her.

-

The three of them bury the body under cover of night in the same place he should have been laid to rest nearly thirty years ago.

"What now?" Audrey says, kneeling over the fresh grave.

She looks at Duke, his eyes red-rimmed and looking at her, and then at Nathan, who kicks at a small pile of dirt at his feet.

The door to Nathan's truck slams, and Jordan walks up the hill toward them.

"Food," Duke mumbles.

Nathan nods. "Finally something we can agree on."

-

It isn't meant to be a celebration. Good or bad, a man is dead, she's no closer to beating the Hunter, and Audrey can't think of a single reason to celebrate that. But with the threat of the Colorado kid gone, something in the air in Haven has changed. It's not just relief, it's a return of hope, as futile as it might seem with only one day left. But because of it, the mood in the Grey Gull that night is one that some might call triumphant.

Duke's in the kitchen chopping vegetables, and Audrey sneaks behind the bar, fills Nathan's glass.

"Is anyone adverse to mushrooms?" Duke asks, and gets a chorus of noes.

"Barkeep," Jordan calls through a mouthful of potatoes and cheese, shoving another fry in with one gloveless finger. "Don't forget me," she says, and slides her glass across the bar to Audrey, who catches it easily.

"Think you missed your calling in life, Parker," Nathan jokes.

Even Duke, emerging from the back with a tray full of food, laughs at that.

Audrey puts Nathan's glass in front of him and hands Jordan hers.

Not a single person in the room notices when their fingers touch.

-

That morning is Audrey Parker's last in Haven, last in this world, last in this lifetime.

She's curled against Duke in her bed, and she doesn't know whether to laugh or to cry. She looks down at her hands, wondering if at any moment, she'll start to vanish, like the Cheshire cat from the storybooks, or Marty McFly, before he's able to get his parents to fall in love. It's that thought that makes her laugh, waking Duke in the process.

He rubs his eyes and looks up at her, confused and amused at the same time, and it's then that Audrey begins to cry.

Duke whispers her name in her ear, pushes her hair back from her face, kisses her.

She lets him make love to her, secretly hoping that maybe this will all be over before the end, and the agony of waiting will finally be over, and her last thought will be of this, of the two of them, together.

But it isn't.

-

Duke helps her pack a bag, puts the train ticket in the front pocket himself.

"We've only got a half an hour to swing by the Cape Rouge and get your stuff," she says. "I hope you have a bag packed."

Duke reaches out, grabs her hand. "Listen, we're not swinging by the dock."

"Why not? You're coming. Aren't you?"

Duke shakes his head. "Audrey," he says, his voice cracking up. "I can't."

And suddenly she gets it. He doesn't want to be there when it happens, and it will happen, because why would leaving Haven fix anything at all?

"What about fighting? You said..."

"I know what I said," he starts.

Audrey slaps him.

"You convinced me to fight," she says. "We tried everything else. Nothing worked. This is my last resort. You don't think it's going to work and you're just going to stay behind? You made me hope! You didn't even believe, and you made me promise. You said be selfish, Audrey! You made me...." She looks at him, and her eyes say everything.

"Audrey."

"Get out."

"Don't do this," he says.

She swings the door open and crosses her arms. "I can find the train station by myself."

"Call me when you get there?"

Audrey sighs.

"Please leave."

"Okay," Duke says. "If that's what you want."

"That's what I want."

"Okay."

"Okay."

-

Later, Nathan finds Duke out on the deck of the Grey Gull, a beer in his hand, his feet propped up on a cooler.

He doesn't ask about Audrey, knew what the two of them were planning, knows it won't be until tomorrow that they know anything for sure.

"You got any more of those?"

Duke grins sadly, leans forward, dropping his feet to the deck and pulling open the lid.

"Take your pick, Wuornos," he says.

-

Duke washes his face aboard the Cape Rouge, dries off with a towel.

When he looks up, Audrey Parker is staring back at him from the mirror.

"What are you doing here?" He turns to her, something like shock and anger in his voice. "You're supposed to be halfway to Pennsylvania by now."

"I couldn't," she says. "What if it doesn't work, Duke? I don't want to be alone. I don't want our last conversation to be a fight. I just wanna be here when it happens. I wanna be in Haven with you. I wanna be home."

Duke gathers her in his arms, pulls her tight, shushes her.

"You're gonna be fine, Audrey," he whispers, and neither of them believes a word of it. "You're gonna be fine."

-

Audrey falls asleep in Duke's arms and dreams that she's five years old, happy and laughing and blowing bubbles into the wind.

She traipses through the grass in a red dress and black mary janes chasing after the bubbles, reaching out to catch them.

No matter how she tries, each one disappears at the touch of her fingertips.

-

In Haven, it kind of goes without saying that if you believe in the troubles you believe in magic.

It goes without saying.

And the morning after the Hunter, Audrey Parker wakes up.

"You're here."

"I'm here."

-fin.

Comments

[gigglemonster.livejournal.com]

I love this!
Idk most of what's going on, but I love it! :D

[crickets.livejournal.com]

You're too sweet. Thank you!

[ageless-aislynn.livejournal.com]

Aw, this is beautiful! I love the repetition of believing in the troubles/believing in magic/it goes without saying. This season has flip-flopped my shipping love over to Audrey/Duke so hard, which I never really expected, so this was a real treat to find this! I've loved your writing for ages and ages now but we don't often ship the same people, so it was extra-special to see our shipping tendencies align, lol! ;)

Great work, I enjoyed this a bunch! :D ♥!

[queenmidalah.livejournal.com]

♥

[shadow243ali.livejournal.com]

Wow, this has to be one of the best fics I've read in a while and for these two you've pretty much hit the holy grail of amazing stories. You have such a beautiful way of writing them. I can just imagine this happening for them so easily. This is such a lovely, poignant story and you pretty just tore out all my emotions in the process. I just love this so much. <3

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Thank you Ais! I know, you're right. We hardly ever have ships in common. Nice change. Thanks for reading! I'm glad you liked it. ♥

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Wow thank you! I don't think anyone's ever called my fic the holy grail of amazing stories, haha. I'm going to have to let that one soak in a little while. I am so glad you liked this and thank you for taking the time to read and leave such nice comments. I am happy to give Duke/Audrey fans something to enjoy! :)

[mollivanders.livejournal.com]

This is wonderful balm to last night's episode, though my favorite part is the exchange where Duke asks Audrey to be selfish. It's such a real, honest moment between the two of them and nobody would ever ask her to do that but Duke. Him not wanting to be there when/if she disappears sort of breaks my heart, and the way you frame this fic with believing in magic. It goes without saying.

Also, nice catch on James Cogan and the mark on his arm ;) Just saying.

Absolutely lovely, my dear <3 Thank you!

[stainofmylove.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is so great! I love that everyone gets their moment to be selfish, but also to be scared and strong and supportive and a whole other host of things. I actually especially enjoyed that small section with Nathan where Audrey realizes how close she is to the end and how close he is to being rid of his curse with her gone--so kudos on making those two work for me in a way they never really have on the series, lol. Aaaaand all the Audrey and Audrey/Duke stuff is of course just so wonderful and raw. As much as I liked parts of last night's episode, I loved that you let Duke look out for himself a bit instead of always following Audrey to the end of the earth, you know? What I've always appreciated about them was that they've always been such individuals, they make the choices they believe are right even if it ends up with them pitted against each other from time to time. Awesome work <3

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Aw did you say balm? I am not nearly as cynical about the episode and its promo as some. Especially because I'm pretty sure that Nathan is going to ask for Jordan the second he wakes up. (I LOVE her by the way, and she actually makes Nathan interesting, which has yet to happen until now on this show). But back to the fic. THANK YOU. I mean him asking her that was in part selfish but honestly I think that man would do anything for Audrey and it would kill him to know that she was just giving up.

SIGH. Them.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

love that everyone gets their moment to be selfish, but also to be scared and strong and supportive and a whole other host of things.

Oh wow thank you. I had to go back and re-read my fic but yeah, pretty much. I'm glad I made Nathan and Audrey work for you too. I agree they don't work for me on the show. But I didn't want to write this and completely disregard them and their bond, because it's kind of important, so I tried to work that in a little bit.

I really loved parts of last night's episode too but I did get this feeling of sadness when I realized that Duke is never going to give up on her even if it kind of breaks his heart because we know that he's stupid in love with her. Why would he do all that he does? He wouldn't. UGH that boy.

[mollivanders.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen the promo yet; it was just a really painful scene for some reason. Also, Duke's face after Audrey leaves the room killed something inside me, so yeah, I'm just trying to move past it.

Jordan is awesome but I'm not optimistic. I was hinging my hopes on this episode; whyyyyyy.