Under the Sign of Capricorn 5
“Let me guess; an Egyptian mummy is trying to take over the world, starting Toronto in, ten seconds? Nine, eight, seven…”
“Someday that’s gonna happen and you’ll feel guilty.” She replied.
“It’s five thirty in the morning. Tell me you’re dying and I might forgive you.”
“I’m dying.”
“Nice try. You never could lie.”
“Aaaaand back to business, I need you to do a little thing for me.”
“That’s a first.” sarcasm dripped from his voice.
“You don’t even have to get out of bed, Mike.”
“I have no intention whatsoever of doing so, Vic, today being my day off, day I fully intent to sleep through.”
“You’re getting lazy in your old age, my friend.”
“I’m hanging up now, Vicki.” Mike said through a yawn, stretching back on the bed lazily.
“Yeah, yeah. Listen, the only thing I need you to do is call Coreen and tell her to come by Henry’s condo ASAP, no matter the time, even if she knows he’ll be asleep. We’ll deal with it if he is, but we need to deal with it today.”
“Deal with what?”
“The mummy, of course.”
“Of course.” Mike sighed. “Why am I your errand boy at this preposterous hour of the morning?”
“My cell died on me and I don’t remember Coreen’s cell number.”
“And Captain Midnight there doesn’t know how to handle his own phone? This new era must be a challenge.”
“Henry doesn’t have Coreen’s number.”
“Some partner.”
“-you’re not talking to him, Henry, I mean it.” There seemed to be a little struggle over the phone, and Mike smirked. “Mike, could you just call her and get her down here quickly?” Vicki seemed to have won. Mike idly wondered just how much bodily damage the vampire could regenerate.
“You owe me.” Mike sighed, sitting up and ruffling his blond hair wildly. He grinned. “Deal; I call her, you come to the Anniversary.”
“Blackmail!”
“Hey, tit for tat, Vic.”
There was a pause. “You owe me big time, Henry Fitzroy.” She growled. “Fine, Mike. You better be dialing already.” And she hung up.
Mike chuckled, searching on his cell’s memory for the Goth’s number.
“I don’t believe this.” Vicki fumed. “I just got blackmailed for the second time in two days!”
“I guess the detective and I are more similar that we care to accept.” He said. “And I suppose you’re going with him?”
“You have a raw talent for deduction, my immortal friend.”
“Perhaps it’s just practice.” Henry said walking towards the window and staring down at the city. “Territorialism is an instinct I cannot fight, Vicki. I am not as similar to you humans as you seem to believe.”
“And you’re telling me this… because of the goblin or because of Mike? And if it’s Mike, it better had had nothing to do with me.”
“What else do I have to share with him but you, Vicki?”
“Aren’t you arrogant!” she snapped, stomping to his side. “You can’t share me because I’m not yours. I’m not your girl toy.”
“And you think you need to inform me?” he snarled, eyes black. “You think you must remind me at every turn? Trust me, Vicki, I know. I hate it, and it kills me, but I respect your ways, do I not? I haven’t forced you, haven’t imposed myself-and you well know I can!”
“Look, you bast-“
Henry’s condo’s phone ran loudly. His jaw clenched tightly, he stalked away from her and picked it up.
“Yes?” he asked roughly. A pause. “Oh. Yes, she is here. Vicki, it’s your mother.” He said silkily, eyes completely dark from the effort to keep himself on check. He rested the phone carefully on the table and a heartbeat later was across the room, as far away from her as he could manage without allowing her to have the entire room.
Withdrawal from the battlefield implied surrender or defeat.
“Mom.” She glared at him. “You’re jet-lagged, I get it. No, I’m-we’re fine. Just try to get some more sleep. It was pretty bad, but I think we have under control right now. No need, really-he’s fine, mom. How do you know? Yeah you met him, once, mom! Ugh, fine, bring breakfast! The address is on my desk.”
Henry arched an eyebrow.
“You try to stop her.” She said defensively.
“Well, somebody raised you.” Henry said.
“Fuck you.”
“Set the date.” He said darkly. “I’m at your every command.”
A retort burnt her tongue. But she swallowed it.
She called and he came. She asked and he did. Could she say she did the same for him? Yes. But with an attitude. When he did it easily, willingly. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t an equal relationship. And relationships were built on equality and trust, on respect, on consideration.
She sighed, forcing her shoulders to relax. He didn’t move as she made her way to him, his eyes watching her attentively. His body language didn’t repel her, but wasn’t inviting either. Whatever she chose to do she would do on her own. He was making a point with his stillness; he would not always meet her halfway. Not when she hardly ever did.
Her hand touched his arm, warm and gentle. “I’m sorry, Henry.” She said honestly.
His icy demeanor seemed to break, and he relaxed too, uncrossing his arms. His hand went to her cheek, tender. “That’s not what I want to hear from you, but it’s a start.” Then he looked away, towards the window. “The cloudy morning will withhold the dawn for a while, but I have an hour at most. Your mother can’t be here when I fall asleep.”
“No worries.”
His eyes bore into her, searching. Vicki wasn’t sure what he was looking for. But whatever it was he seemed to find, because he smiled, and gently took her head in his hands, leaning forward to press a chaste kiss between her brows. She closed her eyes, feeling his cool lips against her skin. She knew how soft his lips were-she had kissed him that night after getting rid of Norman, and he had kissed her before when she had to deal with the incubus.
Startled, she discovered she wanted to kiss him again. She wanted him. It wasn’t the realization itself that rattled her-she knew she wanted him from the beginning, from that first night at his condo when he revealed his nature to her-but the force with which she did had increased in a way such that it made it nearly impossible not to be drawn towards him.
His gravitational force was so great, he was so attractive. Such charm he could display, deceivingly hidden below a visage of young innocence. They way he could sometimes be her knight in shining armor and others be the one who needed to be shielded.
Wasn’t that what all women loved of men?
His eyes dropped from her eyes and his hand gently brushed the hair back from her shoulder. His icy fingers slid below her hair against the back of her neck, reveling in her warm. He then moved them up, through her hair and slid them down, making a slow and efficient work of untangling any knots he found, however small.
Vicki cleared her throat and moved away towards the window.
Henry released a small sigh, and was about to make a comment to lighten the mood when the bell sounded. His head turned sharply, scanning with his senses, and lastly he relaxed. “Her name if I recall correctly, is Marjorie?”
“Yep.”
He disappeared, and in a fraction of a heartbeat stood by the door. He opened it, displaying a gorgeous smile. “Good morning.”
“Well, aren’t you a chirpy morning person.” Marjorie arched an eyebrow. Henry quickly took the bag from her fingers and gestured for her to come inside, all the while smiling charmingly.
Vicki instantly knew what he was playing at. Be nice to the mother? Please. That had to be old even in Henry’s father’s book.
contenido cortado aquí.
Okay I know this is super short, but I've been havign massive troubles and to be brutally honest? I completely forgot about LJ. I'm goin to finish this story, though. I'm sorry it took me ages. I sincerely apologize.
Elena
“Someday that’s gonna happen and you’ll feel guilty.” She replied.
“It’s five thirty in the morning. Tell me you’re dying and I might forgive you.”
“I’m dying.”
“Nice try. You never could lie.”
“Aaaaand back to business, I need you to do a little thing for me.”
“That’s a first.” sarcasm dripped from his voice.
“You don’t even have to get out of bed, Mike.”
“I have no intention whatsoever of doing so, Vic, today being my day off, day I fully intent to sleep through.”
“You’re getting lazy in your old age, my friend.”
“I’m hanging up now, Vicki.” Mike said through a yawn, stretching back on the bed lazily.
“Yeah, yeah. Listen, the only thing I need you to do is call Coreen and tell her to come by Henry’s condo ASAP, no matter the time, even if she knows he’ll be asleep. We’ll deal with it if he is, but we need to deal with it today.”
“Deal with what?”
“The mummy, of course.”
“Of course.” Mike sighed. “Why am I your errand boy at this preposterous hour of the morning?”
“My cell died on me and I don’t remember Coreen’s cell number.”
“And Captain Midnight there doesn’t know how to handle his own phone? This new era must be a challenge.”
“Henry doesn’t have Coreen’s number.”
“Some partner.”
“-you’re not talking to him, Henry, I mean it.” There seemed to be a little struggle over the phone, and Mike smirked. “Mike, could you just call her and get her down here quickly?” Vicki seemed to have won. Mike idly wondered just how much bodily damage the vampire could regenerate.
“You owe me.” Mike sighed, sitting up and ruffling his blond hair wildly. He grinned. “Deal; I call her, you come to the Anniversary.”
“Blackmail!”
“Hey, tit for tat, Vic.”
There was a pause. “You owe me big time, Henry Fitzroy.” She growled. “Fine, Mike. You better be dialing already.” And she hung up.
Mike chuckled, searching on his cell’s memory for the Goth’s number.
“I don’t believe this.” Vicki fumed. “I just got blackmailed for the second time in two days!”
“I guess the detective and I are more similar that we care to accept.” He said. “And I suppose you’re going with him?”
“You have a raw talent for deduction, my immortal friend.”
“Perhaps it’s just practice.” Henry said walking towards the window and staring down at the city. “Territorialism is an instinct I cannot fight, Vicki. I am not as similar to you humans as you seem to believe.”
“And you’re telling me this… because of the goblin or because of Mike? And if it’s Mike, it better had had nothing to do with me.”
“What else do I have to share with him but you, Vicki?”
“Aren’t you arrogant!” she snapped, stomping to his side. “You can’t share me because I’m not yours. I’m not your girl toy.”
“And you think you need to inform me?” he snarled, eyes black. “You think you must remind me at every turn? Trust me, Vicki, I know. I hate it, and it kills me, but I respect your ways, do I not? I haven’t forced you, haven’t imposed myself-and you well know I can!”
“Look, you bast-“
Henry’s condo’s phone ran loudly. His jaw clenched tightly, he stalked away from her and picked it up.
“Yes?” he asked roughly. A pause. “Oh. Yes, she is here. Vicki, it’s your mother.” He said silkily, eyes completely dark from the effort to keep himself on check. He rested the phone carefully on the table and a heartbeat later was across the room, as far away from her as he could manage without allowing her to have the entire room.
Withdrawal from the battlefield implied surrender or defeat.
“Mom.” She glared at him. “You’re jet-lagged, I get it. No, I’m-we’re fine. Just try to get some more sleep. It was pretty bad, but I think we have under control right now. No need, really-he’s fine, mom. How do you know? Yeah you met him, once, mom! Ugh, fine, bring breakfast! The address is on my desk.”
Henry arched an eyebrow.
“You try to stop her.” She said defensively.
“Well, somebody raised you.” Henry said.
“Fuck you.”
“Set the date.” He said darkly. “I’m at your every command.”
A retort burnt her tongue. But she swallowed it.
She called and he came. She asked and he did. Could she say she did the same for him? Yes. But with an attitude. When he did it easily, willingly. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t an equal relationship. And relationships were built on equality and trust, on respect, on consideration.
She sighed, forcing her shoulders to relax. He didn’t move as she made her way to him, his eyes watching her attentively. His body language didn’t repel her, but wasn’t inviting either. Whatever she chose to do she would do on her own. He was making a point with his stillness; he would not always meet her halfway. Not when she hardly ever did.
Her hand touched his arm, warm and gentle. “I’m sorry, Henry.” She said honestly.
His icy demeanor seemed to break, and he relaxed too, uncrossing his arms. His hand went to her cheek, tender. “That’s not what I want to hear from you, but it’s a start.” Then he looked away, towards the window. “The cloudy morning will withhold the dawn for a while, but I have an hour at most. Your mother can’t be here when I fall asleep.”
“No worries.”
His eyes bore into her, searching. Vicki wasn’t sure what he was looking for. But whatever it was he seemed to find, because he smiled, and gently took her head in his hands, leaning forward to press a chaste kiss between her brows. She closed her eyes, feeling his cool lips against her skin. She knew how soft his lips were-she had kissed him that night after getting rid of Norman, and he had kissed her before when she had to deal with the incubus.
Startled, she discovered she wanted to kiss him again. She wanted him. It wasn’t the realization itself that rattled her-she knew she wanted him from the beginning, from that first night at his condo when he revealed his nature to her-but the force with which she did had increased in a way such that it made it nearly impossible not to be drawn towards him.
His gravitational force was so great, he was so attractive. Such charm he could display, deceivingly hidden below a visage of young innocence. They way he could sometimes be her knight in shining armor and others be the one who needed to be shielded.
Wasn’t that what all women loved of men?
His eyes dropped from her eyes and his hand gently brushed the hair back from her shoulder. His icy fingers slid below her hair against the back of her neck, reveling in her warm. He then moved them up, through her hair and slid them down, making a slow and efficient work of untangling any knots he found, however small.
Vicki cleared her throat and moved away towards the window.
Henry released a small sigh, and was about to make a comment to lighten the mood when the bell sounded. His head turned sharply, scanning with his senses, and lastly he relaxed. “Her name if I recall correctly, is Marjorie?”
“Yep.”
He disappeared, and in a fraction of a heartbeat stood by the door. He opened it, displaying a gorgeous smile. “Good morning.”
“Well, aren’t you a chirpy morning person.” Marjorie arched an eyebrow. Henry quickly took the bag from her fingers and gestured for her to come inside, all the while smiling charmingly.
Vicki instantly knew what he was playing at. Be nice to the mother? Please. That had to be old even in Henry’s father’s book.
contenido cortado aquí.
Okay I know this is super short, but I've been havign massive troubles and to be brutally honest? I completely forgot about LJ. I'm goin to finish this story, though. I'm sorry it took me ages. I sincerely apologize.
Elena