The world was large. It was enormous compared to the ants that marched across its surface and the satellites that spanned overhead. The Earth was constantly growing and changing too. From the landscape to the temperature to the technology that swept through each person's lives and built up skyscrapers and flew beyond the atmosphere, there was no stopping to its progress. For every step, it made there were a dozen more souls sitting on the surface struggling to survive. Through poverty or fame or famine or illness, they waded through the suffering that plagued the world knee-deep from decades before and marched on. The world housed billions of lives, each individual and unique, and within all those lives, Brandy Alva had lived more than her fair share.

She had been to France and London. She'd gone to New York City before the days of the Empire State Building and had hiked and scaled up mountains. There were lifetimes that barely pierced her memory now, of forgotten names and faces that'd once been closer to her than blood. Decades of her life that had turned to static lost in bars, surrounded by things she could no longer bear to believe had been as important as they once were. Brandy had watched the rise and fall of things that now only remained in history books, and one truth she had learned in all her years of living was that you never knew what you were going to remember - what was going to be important - until it had already happened.

Except for this. This one time, she knew.

The sun beat down lazily on the concrete outside. A thick fog of heat sat in the distant, shimmering and making the rest of the road hard to see as cars whipped by at blinding speeds, bouncing glares off their windshields. The smell of smoke rose in the air, cigarettes crushed into and ingrained in the sidewalk beneath the woman's feet. It was no longer something that bothered her nose, but a usual smell that barely registered as she took a long sip of the coffee in her hand, the to-go cup filled to the brim. A few droplets slipped back out of her lips before she managed to swallow, nose crinkled in disgust. It was more sugary milk than it was coffee, and the demon had always preferred it black.

A gentle breeze stirred the warm September air, bringing a fresh chill with it as Brandy turned her head to watch the front doors of the apartment. Already he was running late. It was no surprise, of course. Trying to get a teenager up early was like trying to rip a soul from a particularly stubborn vampire, time-consuming and not nearly as rewarding as you'd hope it would be. Others passed in and out of the double doors, getting their own early starts on the morning as Brandy's foot began to shift impatiently. There were a few tenants she recognized. Ms. Haroldson was out trying to walk her dog for the day, and a pair of boys she knew lived above them - purely due to the never-ending racket - had already ventured to the fast food place around the street and were busy unwrapping and devouring the combination of a pancake and egg sandwich as they disappeared back into the complex.

Finally, after another minute or so of impatient gazing around the neighborhood, Brandy spotted a black haired boy bounding down the front steps with a messenger bag slung over his shoulder. The fabric was brand new still, not a scuff mark in sight as he clutched the strap tightly to his chest. His lips were pulled up in the nervous, quirky smile that Brandy had grown exceedingly fond of over the years, and with a hand put out, she stopped him from barreling right past her and accidentally stumbling out into the street.

"Hold it there, mister," she warned, bending down to give Oz a further examination.

Her short dress brushed the sidewalk, and she leaned on one knee for support so that she was looking up at him with hands on either of his shoulders to steady herself. To Brandy's surprise, he had cleaned up extremely well. The button up was pulled on straight and most of the cloth had kept wrinkle free. Reaching out with a free hand, the woman went to work smoothing it once more for good measure and tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear. She still hadn't got used to the blue yet. It'd been silver for so long that every so often she would catch herself surprised by his appearance again when he walked into the room. It did go well with his eyes, though.

"Mom." The complaint came as Oz reached up to shoo her hand away from the part she was trying to correct. With a defiant whack, Brandy hit his hand right back and continued to work even as Oz squirmed away in embarrassment. Brandy could have cared less. This was her job, after all.

Once the part was finally redone and more of the blue fell away to the right of his eyes, Brandy finally let go. With a satisfying nod, she stood back up and offered Oz a reassuring smile. "There we go. Much better."

"It looked fine," he responded, a pout hanging from his lip as he ran a hand back through his own hair before pointing at the to-go cup in her hand and asking, "Can I have that back now?"

Brandy handed it over without complaint. Her head was filled up with other worries than Oz finally trying coffee. Eyes raked over him again, checking for the bag slung over his shoulder and freshly redyed hair. For the nice pair of shoes tied tight enough around his ankles and the bundle of nerves that was warring against all the excitement, he had been portraying the past few days as they'd begun packing boxes and sifting through unused and long forgotten knick-knacks to keep or toss. "Are you sure you've got everything?" the demon asked, arms crossing tight over her chest.

"Yes, mom," a patronizing smile played across Oz's face to try and mask his own nerves as he walked past her and jabbed a handle on the old sedan he was taking for the day. It was a little sticky, and Oz stumbled back after a particularly forceful jerk dislodged the door. Slipping his messenger bag over his shoulder, the boy tossed it into the back seat as brandy shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"You've got the schedule?" Red lips pressed together tight as an eyebrow raised.

Producing a white note from his jeans, the boy unfolded it just enough that she could make out the neat printing at the top. "Yep, and orientation starts at..." Oz trailed off as he uncreased the paper several more times until he could double-check the time again. His eyebrows knit, and his bottom lip disappeared between his teeth as he sucked in a short breath. "Eleven. It starts at eleven, so I need to get going." The paper was brutally shoved back into his pocket as Oz pulled out his phone in its place. Looking up, Oz flashed her a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine," he promised.

Brandy's shoulders relaxed a fraction of an inch, and she let out a deep sigh before helping him close the door to the back seat. Biting her tongue to keep from asking if he was sure again, the woman gave him a reassuring brush of her hand over his back. "I know you will, but you call if the car breaks down or something else happens."

"I will." Oz turned to give her a nod, and then opened the door to slide into the driver's seat. Brandy's stomach was twisted into a knot, which wasn't something she was used to. The nerves couldn't be helped, though. After all, it wasn't every day that Oz would be starting college. It'd leave her with a lot of time left alone too, and with what they'd already packed up into boxes, the apartment was feeling sparse. Still, there was nothing to be done about. He would grow up sooner than later, and all Brandy could do was force a willing smile on her face to support him as she grabbed the door to close it for him.

Another hand stopped her, Brandy's eyes snapping to the fae who had come rushing up behind them. His chest heaved at the pace of a scared squirrel's trying to keep up with his heart as Adam wiped a sweaty mess of hair off his brow. "I'm not late, am I?"

A soft smile slipped onto the woman's lips as she shook her head. "I'm pretty sure our reservations weren't until seven," she reminded him with a teasing voice as she watched as a healthy dose of blush crept up the man's face. "If anything, you're early."

Pretending to ignore her, Adam focused his eyes on Oz directly and gave the boy a wide grin. "I came to see the kid off." He gave the car's roof a double tap with his knuckles, and her son smiled nervously back. "You excited?"

"Aside from the worms in my stomach, you betcha," Oz attempted to joke, his brow knitting in an agitated manner. Both hands were already wrapped around the steering wheel, and it wasn't hard for Brandy to notice the blood draining from his knuckles. For as much as the boy had grown up, he was still very much the Oz she remembered and when he turned his head to her for support, Brandy gave him the warmest smile she could muster.

Adam, however, insisted on leaning over her shoulder and speaking up. "Remember, Oz, the first thing you want to do is the find the biggest guy there and-"

"I'm sure he's got it," Brandy insisted, elbowing Adam away from her to put a small space between them in front of her son. It didn't help that she could already feel his free hand sneaking around the back of her waist.

Offering her a pout eerily similar to one she had seen earlier, Adam protested, "This is important advice."

"What's important is that he doesn't miss his first day," Brandy said. There wasn't much argument against that, and with a strong grip, the woman shut the car's door with a loud slam.

Oz winced at the sound but flashed her a jittery smile anyway. "Thanks, mom. I'll call you when it's over," he promised. Some of the nerves had faded from his body and after they exchanged one last round of goodbyes, the sedan pulled away from the curb and into the ever-moving traffic of Chicago.

Brandy watched for a long moment until the taillights and bumper had completely disappeared from view. This was a big moment, and the bundle of feelings in her stomach didn't immediately disappear. It lingered, gripping her heart tight with a mixture of pride and nerves that wrung her nearly dry.

A brief kiss placed against her cheek helped somewhat, though. Adam stood by her side with a reassuring smile on his face, offering her what she needed as he held her tight on the sidewalk outside their apartment building. There were still reservations that Brandy held for the man, always would hold most likely. But as important as a day as there was, there would be a million of days after this, and she saw no reason to spend them alone. Besides, what was the point of living for a hundred years if it didn't leave her room to make mistakes?

Adam shot her a devious smile. "So, eight hours to kill until dinner. Any ideas?"

A soft laugh escaped the demon as she shook her head and pressed a brief kiss in return on the fae's lips. "Come on." She slipped her hand through his and gave the palm a light squeeze. "I'll pour you a cup of coffee inside." Adam smiled back, his cheeks bright red.

No one said it had to be a bad mistake either.