Built it All • •

[eirwyn skandar shelton]

Eirwyn glanced at the text on his phone and sighed. To the unknowing stranger it would appear apologetic, with the kisses at the end and the sad face emoji, but he knew better. There was no sincerity behind the ‘I’m sorry’ from his wife. She didn’t really care that she was going to be out of town longer than she expected, or that her new plans meant that she would miss their five year anniversary. It didn’t matter to her that Eirwyn had actually booked them a table at her favourite restaurant, or had made plans to last the whole weekend since the special day fell on a Saturday. He had twisted work around and jumped through hoops to try and make something out of the shambles of their marriage in one vain attempt to save whatever it was that they had between them. He felt like a fool. Every time it was him who tried to make it work, and every time it was a failure. They might have a few days where they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, but then it was back to this excuse for normality; an existence where Fi pretended it was fine to flit about between exhibitions, ignoring her husband’s need to talk through the fact that their marriage was crumbling. Eirwyn wanted more to his happily ever after than a quickie when she was in town. Hell, one day he had hoped for a family, but Fi wasn’t interested.

He was working tonight, which might have sounded unusual to someone who didn’t know him. Eirwyn was dressed casually, and seated at the bar of the Marquee. His eyes were focused mostly on the young girl playing DJ, since she was his primary concern whenever he was on the clock, but right now he was itching for a drink. His frustration made him crave something strong. He knew he shouldn’t, but Jeri was less trouble than she tried to be, and not as much bother as he often told her she was. At least that was the case when she was keeping herself happy like this. When she was bored it could be an entirely different matter. However, right now, Eirwyn was seeing more promise in a sly drink than he was in sitting there dwelling on his annoyances. No one had to know. He could down a glass before Jeri was finished and then they could be home and done for the night without anyone being the wiser about this little indiscretion. The sky would not fall in if he indulged just a little bit. It wasn’t like he was going to get steaming drunk anyway. He just wanted something to take the edge off.

Turning his eyes away from the DJ booth, Eirwyn caught the attention of the bartender and ordered himself a JD and coke, light on the ice. It was boyish trouble. He doubted he was the first agent to drink on the job, and he knew a few who kept flasks in their drawers for the really bad days. It was late, and really his job was a glorified babysitter for someone who could only potentially turn out to prove problematic for them. As it was, Eirwyn thought Jeri just liked to threaten to push buttons more than she ever thought about actually doing it. At least, that was the impression he had taken from her in the time they spent together; which was a hell of a lot. His drink was empty in a few minutes, and against better judgement he ordered just one more. He wouldn’t have a third, he promised himself. The first had taken the edge of, and the second was to enjoy, but after that Fi could go and fuck herself for all he cared then. She didn’t need to be the centre of his universe anymore.

• • •

TAGGED! Jericho Eloise Brighten
WORDS! 645!
OUTFIT! Frustrated Fella!
LYRICS! I Defy - - - Tonight Alive
NOTES! <3

[Jericho Eloise Brighten]

Sometimes it sucked being Jeri and sometimes it was the best thing in the world. Downside, she needed to be carefully watched because she could do some serious damage world wide with a few speedy keystrokes. And the FBI frowned upon people doing things like that, especially when they were the same age as some of their own children; and those kids were just learning the basic principles of math. Upside was that she got to do things like this, DJ at clubs she wouldn't normally be allowed to step foot in, even to use the bathroom in an emergency because she had a pretty little badge, attached to a decent bit of eye candy. Another downside was that when their expert team couldn't crack the work, Jeri was called up and given access to whatever the hell they needed to do; no matter the time of day or where the hell she was. They called, she was supposed to drop everything and do their bidding like a puppet on a string. If it weren't for the fact that she absolutely loved her parents and that all her keystrokes were monitored, she would have developed herself a whole new alias and would have been in the wind instantly. But not only was she good at what she did, she was also raised with a conscience.

Sadly, she was a good girl hidden underneath all that hacker persona. She wasn't naïve though, to think if she kept up the good girl act, that they were give her time off her life sentence for good behaviour. She was cuffed to the FBI until she lost the use of her fingers or she died. She wasn't the first and she definitely wouldn't be the last. They claimed she was an asset, what she could do to help was crucial, except they neglected to mention she was basically a prisoner with a better cell. She might have been owed by the government but they paid her very well and allowed her to do whatever she wanted. If she had wanted to pretend like she was some bored socialite in her fancy apartment, she could have but Jeri had never been able to be that vapid and shallow in her entire life. She preferred to be out there in the world, meeting people and having fun. So she played DJ whenever she got the chance and she taught an after school programme about basic computer skills to kids who weren't lucky enough to have tons of computers at their school once a week.

And her poor, no doubt bored to tears babysitters had to tag along so she didn't get into any trouble around the computers; which always kind of confused her since she was allowed to DJ. Unless the bigwigs didn't know Wyn didn't stick to her like glue. Either way, she wasn't about to spill the beans on that, otherwise she would probably lose this, too. And then she really would go mad. She spotted him at the bar, watching her almost constantly but checking his phone nearly as much. At least from the distance that's what it looked like. She shared the night with the house DJ but he wasn't due to give her a break for another fifteen minutes so a quick text message would have to suffice. "Why the long face, champ?" Of all her previous handlers, Jericho actually liked Eirwyn. He was definitely more laid back than the last guy and anyone looking at him would wonder how that was possible. But then again, back then she'd been at Quantico, at the academy learning how to look after her country and its citizens. And more importantly having the golden rule of "we do not hack our own country" drilled into her head. As if when she'd first done it she had known any better. Most kids her age had been learning to tie their shoes or ride bikes with two wheels and she was doing, well, what she did.

♦ ♦ ♦

Tag || eirwyn skandar shelton
Words || 670
Clothes || Dancing DJ
Music || Burning Up --Marianas Trench
Notes || <3

[eirwyn skandar shelton]

His job kept him busy, and to be honest, that was what Eirwyn needed when the rest of his life was circling the drain. He would stay close to Jeri when he didn’t want to face the hell of his home life, and the building came with a gym and a decent place to grab breakfast just across the street. He could easily shrug and say department cuts and staff vacations meant there was no arrangement for cover while he went and got a few hours of rest. He had done it before, and sometimes it hadn’t even been a lie. They seemed to think he was a robot, and other times they just expected him to be able to drop everything and come in like they did of Jeri anyway. It was the extension of being her handler; wherever she was needed, so was he. He shared in her grumbling sometimes when he was waking her up in the middle of the night for a matter of national security. The only difference was that he had to keep his grumbling internal and remind Jericho that it was part of the arrangement with the FBI, and technically her job. Still, he enjoyed sleep when he could get it as much as the next person.

Jeri was definitely easier to handle when she was happy. DJ-ing kept her happy, but it also made Eirwyn’s job hard. He was supposed to keep his eyes on the crowds for anyone suspicious, make sure she didn’t slink off suddenly and vanish into the sea of dancers and never return, and about six other bullet points on that list. Most were unnecessary, but he didn’t like to slack off in case the worst did happen and he didn’t have an excuse to back himself up with, however unlikely it seemed in his head. Then there was the music. Ugh. Eirwyn didn’t enjoy nightclubs because of their preference for music that sounded like a drumming headache. He could tolerate it long enough to get through a night with Jeri’s set, but then he typically wanted to grab her by the elbow and cart her out of there just so he could think straight again without feeling like his head was about to burst.

His second glass emptied quicker than he would have liked it to, but he was a man of his word and didn’t order a third. He was still working after all, and Eirwyn wasn’t going to completely compromise that. He wanted to be certain that he could still see straight when this was over, and two drinks weren’t going to hinder that. His phone buzzed and lit up in his hand, and he blinked at the message from Jericho, instantly on alert again just in case something was wrong. He didn’t know why he bothered, his eyes reading the words twice before flicking up in her direction. “This music kills my soul. Play some good old country jams?” He replied teasingly with a hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. Eirwyn didn’t mix his home life with his work life. He’d never mentioned Fi to Jericho, or vice versa. He liked to keep a clean line down the middle of the two, and despite his current frustrations bubbling to the surface he wasn’t about to rant to Jeri like she was the perfect shoulder to cry on. He was still a professional.

• • •

TAGGED! Jericho Eloise Brighten
WORDS! 575!
OUTFIT! Frustrated Fella!
LYRICS! I Defy - - - Tonight Alive
NOTES! <3

[Jericho Eloise Brighten]

Jericho wasn't a bad guy, she just had skills that could be very beneficial to the wrong people, and the right ones. She'd not known that when she hacked into the government before she'd even really understood right from wrong. She hadn't known that doing things like that could be traced back, could land her in some serious trouble. She'd been a child with a brilliant mind but a child nonetheless. She hadn't felt like she should be punished, treated like a prisoner because she could get around firewalls and through backdoors that she created where there weren't any at all. She knew though, that she could have promised to stay away from computers, keep a flip phone and find a job that required absolutely no electronics whatsoever but she wasn't in control of that. So she'd agreed to become a prisoner of sorts. She could have a relatively normal life, as long as she kept a babysitter nearby. It was definitely not ideal, no one wanted to date a girl who routinely brought her "uncle" or "brother" with her on every date; couldn't be out of their eyesight unless she was going to the bathroom.

She might have agreed to it so she could have a life but it was a very sad and very lonely life. She was well aware that it would take its toll eventually and contracts would have to be talked through again. But that could end with her in a far less comfortable jail cell because it was safer in the government's eyes to have her locked up than it was to have her free. They assumed she would do bad things but no one had ever actually asked if she would, and she absolutely would not. She wasn't someone who was interested in being hired by the highest bidder to do their dirty work. There were certainly people out there that were but she was actually far more interested in helping to find and catch them. Jeri hoped that eventually, she would prove to her superiors that she could be trusted to at least be able to live alone and not have agents in and out constantly. It wasn't like her keystrokes weren't being monitored, she could do that.

At least she had music and Eirwyn. He didn't complain when she picked up a gig. At least, he didn't complain too much and mostly it was about how watered down the booze was or how he wished she would get a DJ job in a country bar every once in a while. It was something to consider but not too thoroughly. She liked country music just fine but she was not so interested in turning it on a table. Eirwyn was the better of all her handlers. He allowed her to go out and not just stick around where she can't run away. Honestly, she felt bad for him. He seemed like he actually enjoyed being an FBI agent until he was assigned to play babysitter to a girl who looked like she belonged in a rave but could topple the government with a couple of keystrokes, and do it all with such an innocent smile on her face. Packing up her gear was easy enough, she hadn't really brought anything with her this time around because the house DJ had good stuff and allowed her to play with it when she was in. What she did have were a few little things and her headphones, which were easy enough to shove in a bag and be done. A wicked grin curved Jeri's scarlet coloured lips when she caught what Eirwyn had to say. "If it works in a nightclub and no one notices but you, it's not terrible." She said loudly to be heard. Flipping the top over her bag, she looked up at the tall FBI agent in charge and tilted her head towards the exit. She didn't want to stick around much after she was finished, the noise actually gave her a headache when she didn't have her headphones on so she was more than ready to leave the building. "Milkshakes?" She asked with a hopeful smile twisting up the corner of her mouth.

♦ ♦ ♦

Tag || eirwyn skandar shelton
Words || 704
Music || Burning Up --Marianas Trench
Notes || <3

[eirwyn skandar shelton]

Life was stale. Everything was grey and cold, like steel. Eirwyn didn’t feel his heart race, didn’t feel that rush of adrenaline. Everything was just flat, one tone, the same tone, over and over again. It was monotonous, dull. He worked for the FBI and yet he was bored with his life; the life that was spiralling out of control. All the things that had once made him so happy were slipping so far from his grasp and he had no way of holding onto them. Eirwyn could only watch it all fade away now, and with every passing moment he felt his desires just vanishing one by one. He needed something to revive him. He needed that shot of adrenaline straight to his heart. Eirwyn just didn’t know where to find it. He didn’t even know where to start looking for it. His life in New York City had knocked him down and now it seemed intent on keeping him down.

Eirwyn was surviving though. He didn’t know how to give up; not completely. He might be crawling along these days, but he was still moving. He had yet to come to a complete standstill. His life was currently only focused on being Jeri’s handler, but that was better than letting the dark pit swallow him whole. He knew that as devilish as she could be sometimes, she didn’t really need to be watched as closely as some of the agents watched her. Eirwyn saw it as taking the easy road. He knew there were more difficult assignments out there for an agent like him. Right now he knew that he was only able to stay in active work because he had such a good working relationship with Jeri. If he had been with any other assignment he knew he probably would have been removed already. His distracted, melancholic mind was not exactly what the FBI looked for when it selected its agents for duty. Hell, Eirwyn didn’t even think they’d want him at a desk stamping papers and signing off on his own reports right now. It was in his best interests to keep out of his superior’s way – at least until he was in a better place.

At least with Jeri he could often get away with being out of sorts. She was busy doing her own thing while they sat in watch just some distance away. Being preoccupied in a club like this one meant Eirwyn had a moment of respite from faking everything. He could slip into his thoughts, be miserable, even if it was just for a few short minutes. He looked up just as his phone buzzed on the wood. Eirwyn glanced across to see Jeri switching back over with the house DJ. He knew she wasn’t about to pull a fast one and vanish into the fog of the smoke machine, but he needed to at least half-ass his job. He slowly made his way closer to the booth, standing to one side while she packed up her gear. “That was a wretched excuse for country.” He told her, folding his arms across his chest and wincing at the fact that he needed to shout just to be heard.

• • •

TAGGED! Jericho Eloise Brighten
WORDS! 539!
LYRICS! I Defy - - - Tonight Alive
NOTES! <3

[Jericho Eloise Brighten]

Jericho wasn't a bad guy, she just had skills that could be very beneficial to the wrong people, and the right ones. She'd not known that when she hacked into the government before she'd even really understood right from wrong. She hadn't known that doing things like that could be traced back, could land her in some serious trouble. She'd been a child with a brilliant mind but a child nonetheless. She hadn't felt like she should be punished, treated like a prisoner because she could get around firewalls and through backdoors that she created where there weren't any at all. She knew though, that she could have promised to stay away from computers, keep a flip phone and find a job that required absolutely no electronics whatsoever but she wasn't in control of that. So she'd agreed to become a prisoner of sorts. She could have a relatively normal life, as long as she kept a babysitter nearby. It was definitely not ideal, no one wanted to date a girl who routinely brought her "uncle" or "brother" with her on every date; couldn't be out of their eyesight unless she was going to the bathroom.

She might have agreed to it so she could have a life but it was a very sad and very lonely life. She was well aware that it would take its toll eventually and contracts would have to be talked through again. But that could end with her in a far less comfortable jail cell because it was safer in the government's eyes to have her locked up than it was to have her free. They assumed she would do bad things but no one had ever actually asked if she would, and she absolutely would not. She wasn't someone who was interested in being hired by the highest bidder to do their dirty work. There were certainly people out there that were but she was actually far more interested in helping to find and catch them. Jeri hoped that eventually, she would prove to her superiors that she could be trusted to at least be able to live alone and not have agents in and out constantly. It wasn't like her keystrokes weren't being monitored, she could do that.

At least she had music and Eirwyn. He didn't complain when she picked up a gig. At least, he didn't complain too much and mostly it was about how watered down the booze was or how he wished she would get a DJ job in a country bar every once in a while. It was something to consider but not too thoroughly. She liked country music just fine but she was not so interested in turning it on a table. Eirwyn was the better of all her handlers. He allowed her to go out and not just stick around where she can't run away. Honestly, she felt bad for him. He seemed like he actually enjoyed being an FBI agent until he was assigned to play babysitter to a girl who looked like she belonged in a rave but could topple the government with a couple of keystrokes, and do it all with such an innocent smile on her face. Packing up her gear was easy enough, she hadn't really brought anything with her this time around because the house DJ had good stuff and allowed her to play with it when she was in. What she did have were a few little things and her headphones, which were easy enough to shove in a bag and be done. A wicked grin curved Jeri's scarlet coloured lips when she caught what Eirwyn had to say. "If it works in a nightclub and no one notices but you, it's not terrible." She said loudly to be heard. Flipping the top over her bag, she looked up at the tall FBI agent in charge and tilted her head towards the exit. She didn't want to stick around much after she was finished, the noise actually gave her a headache when she didn't have her headphones on so she was more than ready to leave the building. "Milkshakes?" She asked with a hopeful smile twisting up the corner of her mouth.

♦ ♦ ♦

Tag || eirwyn skandar shelton
Words || 704
Music || Burning Up --Marianas Trench
Notes || <3

[eirwyn skandar shelton]

His life had taken a detour somewhere in the last few years and Eirwyn had taken too long to notice that he was lost, far from the civilisation he had been looking for, and that his GPS was sending him around in circles. He tried to fix things with Fi, she made empty promises, and then nothing happened. Then, he’d try harder to fix things, her promises became maybes, and nothing happened. They were freefalling into separation and it was like she didn’t even care. Eirwyn was starting to wonder why he did. It wasn’t doing him any good, and he was starting to feel like a fool trying to cling to a dream that was nothing more than smoke and mirrors. They were never going to have a family; not when Fi considered her exhibitions her baby to nurture in every main city across the country. He had wanted that happy family, weekend sports games and a college fund to help his children chase their own dreams. Instead he had a too big apartment with a too big bed and a fish he fed that wasn’t even his.

No one really knew what Eirwyn had given up when he moved to New York. He had been a star member of the FBI’s Cyber division who had been bumped across to handler since there were no vacancies. Eirwyn had thought it would be worth it. He thought he’d be happily married, planning a life with the woman he loved, but instead it was take-out meals and watching TV on catch up alone. There were days he enjoyed being in Jeri’s company, days when he laughed and almost forgot the shitshow that was actually his personal life. Those days always came to an end though, and he realised that he was alone in a city he had never loved, pining for a woman he was starting to doubt ever loved him. It was pathetic, and since he felt as such, he tried to bury it deeper under false smiles and vague anecdotes about married life and enjoying the space when Fi was away. It was water cooler banter, but when he was in the FBI’s offices it was what was expected, unfortunately.

He didn’t need to be divorced and babysitting a girl who moonlighted as a club DJ. Eirwyn had his pride, and being in the club alone was enough. He couldn’t think straight with the music, let alone understand how people could dance to something that sounding like a pneumatic drill. “Everyone in here is probably too drunk to know good from bad.” He said, putting his hand out to stop a girl from falling backwards into him. Instead, he gently pushed her back towards her friend and headed towards the door. “Anything if it means we get out of here.” He knew he probably sounded like a miserable man fast approaching middle age, but Eirwyn didn’t care. He didn’t see the appeal in any of New York’s nightclubs, especially if you weren’t young enough to blame fake ideas and cheap-ish drink deals.

• • •

TAGGED! Jericho Eloise Brighten
WORDS! 517!
LYRICS! I Defy - - - Tonight Alive
NOTES! <3

[Jericho Eloise Brighten]

Jericho had been put into a modern-day life of servitude when she'd hacked the system. It was probably only because her father worked for the same government she'd unintentionally hacked that she was able to stay at home and live with her family for as long as she had. Once she'd been old enough to attend any sort of school, she'd been tossed into Quantico, which wasn't even a real school to learn anything but so they could keep a good eye on her. It was stupid and she was angry all the time at them. It was a hard pill to swallow that there were people out there doing what she was doing but were free and able to walk around, enjoy an internet connection without supervision. She'd been a damn child for Christ's sake. How was something she'd done as a literal baby turned into a life sentence? Yes, okay, she had a very cushy flat that was decorated and paid for on the government's dime. She didn't have to worry about paying for the food that stocked her fridge or pantry but she wasn't allowed to grab a coffee at the corner cafe and take a walk through the park with it without a buddy. At least Eirwyn walked with her and talked to her. Whenever he wasn't watching over her, it was tough. She felt all alone, probably because she was.

It sucked and she hated it. If there were any way to go back in time and stop herself from doing it, she would have without a second thought. She wasn't able to live any sort of normal life and it depressed her. She would never admit to that because it meant defeat and she was not a defeatist. But some days, especially in the wee hours of the morning, it really got to her. And she hated how someone who should be out there protecting the city or the country was on babysitting duty. She wasn't a flight risk, she wasn't actually a risk at all because now that she was older, she knew better. She knew the difference between right and wrong. Jericho was not an idiot but she was treated like one regularly. It was bound to get to her eventually. The only saving grace in her life was the DJ gigs she picked up. She was able to let loose and be a regular girl for a little while. And she was good. So, so good but she couldn't travel with it. Her leash was tight and leaving New York was a no-go unless her specific skills were absolutely required on-site somewhere else.

Jeri smirked, shaking her head and tossing out all those thoughts that would land her in a worse position than she was currently in. At least she was, mostly, allowed to live alone. "Probably." She agreed easily enough. There was really no point in going for a night out to dance until sunrise if you weren't completely plastered and unable to recognise that your body was screaming out for water and sleep. Jericho raised her hands in the air and wiggled her hips in a weird victory dance that she got her way and they would be stopping to get milkshakes on their way back to her flat. She didn't hate the place but it was awfully quiet late at night and she didn't like that she couldn't leave it alone so whenever she was able to leave, she wanted to make sure she stretched that time as much as possible. "Chocolate shake, here I come!" She said, practically dancing out the door of the nightclub and onto the street. The cool air was more than welcome as she stepped out of the way for Eirwyn. "I'm getting that Oreo one with all the extras, not just that plain banana nonsense." She said with a giddy laugh.

♦ ♦ ♦

Tag || eirwyn skandar shelton
Words || 649
Music || Burning Up --Marianas Trench
Notes || <3