76.1 Leave
Valentine wakes to the familiar coolness of Ellis draped across him. When the vampire sleeps, he sleeps heavy - becoming literal dead weight. While some might find it disturbing to wake beneath a corpse on a daily basis, Val finds it comforting. He brushes a hand over the sleeping vampire's hair, trails his fingers down over his cheek. Ellis never stirs - he does not move, even a fraction of an inch, when Val slips out from under him as he does every day. None the less, he takes the time to arrange Ellis's head onto the pillow, to ease his body down to the mattress so that he will wake comfortable when the sun sets. All summer this has been their routine. Occasionally, when he grows bored during the day - Val will sit and talk to Ellis's still body, confide in him the things that are hard to say when he is consciously aware. Sometimes he will paint his toenails, or arrange his limbs in interesting positions before returning them to a restful state. This has been their routine all summer - but today is the last day. Today is the day that they leave for Seattle, and everything changes. Again.
In the past eight months, they've done this so many times. Coming together for what time they can, then leaving each other for their respective lives in their respective cities. Summer is the most time they ever spent together, and now it is over. Ellis will come with him to Seattle, and after that back to New York - help him get settled in for college and all that. So the actual goodbye is still a while off yet - but this, at least, is over now. This waking up in the familiar bed, in the house he has come to consider home. He makes his way upstairs to have breakfast - two bowls of cereal today, as he is trying to finish off the milk. It'll just go bad before Ellis can return, and even if it wasn't - who would drink it? Ellis couldn't, and they'd learned the hard way that Mister Hairless was kind of lactose intolerant. So he stuffs a second bowl of cereal down, then pours the remaining milk down the sink despite Hairless meowing indignantly in protest. He scoops up the cat and carries him around the house, singing softly to him as they go. He walks through all three floors, telling himself he is only checking to see if he missed anything. Really, he is memorizing details - storing them away so he can think on home and feel less lonely in his Yankee city. His bags are already packed - he has missed nothing. Everything he's left behind, he is leaving for a reason. Up in 'his room', where he does not sleep but still keeps a separate space, he looks through the chest of drawers at all the clothing he is leaving here. He looks at the books he has carried up here to read during the summer, neatly stacked by the sofa. He knows Ellis will come up here, eventually. He releases the cat and settles to write a letter to leave for him.
My Dear Mister Ellis,
Our summer has been lovely. There are few words to express how sorrowful I am that it is over, how heavy my heart is - as always, to leave you. I can only say that I am already looking forward to my return. Thank you for the many lovely times, and for all that you taught me. Take good care of yourself, and Mister Hairless, and the house and the bicycle and all that. I have tried to leave things in relative good order, but you might want to check the refrigerator to make sure I didn't leave behind anything that will spoil. I am writing this on the sofa in 'my room', while you are downstairs sleeping in the basement. Already I feel too far away from you, and that is just a matter of floors and not miles. I have grown accustomed to waking with your arms around me. How will I go back to sleeping alone? That has always been the hardest part - and now? I just don't know.
I will miss you every moment of every day until we are together again. Though we both have so many things to do, doubtless - I know you are likely anxious to return to work, and I must return to school - I wish summer could last longer. But it is like you said, part of me will remain with you, and part of you will go with me. So we are not so very far apart, even when we are. I will think on that, and that will be some comfort. I hope that by the time you come home and find this, we will have had a good time in Seattle and all that worry will be behind. Funny how I am both looking forward to and dreading that. I am so glad you will be with me. It is my sincere hope that my father will like you, and that you will in turn like my father. Hell, it is my hope that he will like me. So much has changed in the time since I've last seen him - and so much of that change has been because of you. You have brought so much to my life, sugar. I cannot thank you enough for that.
This letter is short, and my apologies for that - but I am acutely aware that I am wasting time up here writing when I should be several floors below, crawling back into bed with you. I'm going to go do that now.
All my love always,
Valentine
He folds the letter carefully, writes Ellis on the upside, leaves it lying on the sofa. He hastily leaves the room, descends the stairs, and climbs back into bed. He lifts covers, arms, legs. He fusses, and squirms and wriggles until he has slid back under his immobile vampiric blanket. Here he will remain until the sun sets, and Ellis finally stirs.
Valentine Varner
Original Character
partner: deadwhitemale
words: 1018
In the past eight months, they've done this so many times. Coming together for what time they can, then leaving each other for their respective lives in their respective cities. Summer is the most time they ever spent together, and now it is over. Ellis will come with him to Seattle, and after that back to New York - help him get settled in for college and all that. So the actual goodbye is still a while off yet - but this, at least, is over now. This waking up in the familiar bed, in the house he has come to consider home. He makes his way upstairs to have breakfast - two bowls of cereal today, as he is trying to finish off the milk. It'll just go bad before Ellis can return, and even if it wasn't - who would drink it? Ellis couldn't, and they'd learned the hard way that Mister Hairless was kind of lactose intolerant. So he stuffs a second bowl of cereal down, then pours the remaining milk down the sink despite Hairless meowing indignantly in protest. He scoops up the cat and carries him around the house, singing softly to him as they go. He walks through all three floors, telling himself he is only checking to see if he missed anything. Really, he is memorizing details - storing them away so he can think on home and feel less lonely in his Yankee city. His bags are already packed - he has missed nothing. Everything he's left behind, he is leaving for a reason. Up in 'his room', where he does not sleep but still keeps a separate space, he looks through the chest of drawers at all the clothing he is leaving here. He looks at the books he has carried up here to read during the summer, neatly stacked by the sofa. He knows Ellis will come up here, eventually. He releases the cat and settles to write a letter to leave for him.
My Dear Mister Ellis,
Our summer has been lovely. There are few words to express how sorrowful I am that it is over, how heavy my heart is - as always, to leave you. I can only say that I am already looking forward to my return. Thank you for the many lovely times, and for all that you taught me. Take good care of yourself, and Mister Hairless, and the house and the bicycle and all that. I have tried to leave things in relative good order, but you might want to check the refrigerator to make sure I didn't leave behind anything that will spoil. I am writing this on the sofa in 'my room', while you are downstairs sleeping in the basement. Already I feel too far away from you, and that is just a matter of floors and not miles. I have grown accustomed to waking with your arms around me. How will I go back to sleeping alone? That has always been the hardest part - and now? I just don't know.
I will miss you every moment of every day until we are together again. Though we both have so many things to do, doubtless - I know you are likely anxious to return to work, and I must return to school - I wish summer could last longer. But it is like you said, part of me will remain with you, and part of you will go with me. So we are not so very far apart, even when we are. I will think on that, and that will be some comfort. I hope that by the time you come home and find this, we will have had a good time in Seattle and all that worry will be behind. Funny how I am both looking forward to and dreading that. I am so glad you will be with me. It is my sincere hope that my father will like you, and that you will in turn like my father. Hell, it is my hope that he will like me. So much has changed in the time since I've last seen him - and so much of that change has been because of you. You have brought so much to my life, sugar. I cannot thank you enough for that.
This letter is short, and my apologies for that - but I am acutely aware that I am wasting time up here writing when I should be several floors below, crawling back into bed with you. I'm going to go do that now.
All my love always,
Valentine
He folds the letter carefully, writes Ellis on the upside, leaves it lying on the sofa. He hastily leaves the room, descends the stairs, and climbs back into bed. He lifts covers, arms, legs. He fusses, and squirms and wriggles until he has slid back under his immobile vampiric blanket. Here he will remain until the sun sets, and Ellis finally stirs.
Valentine Varner
Original Character
partner: deadwhitemale
words: 1018