Tonight
A Charlie Bone ficlet that doesn't star Charlie Bone
By: Suchan deFamine
Category: Ficlet-Drabble
Rating: PG for normal people / R for you homophobes.
Warnings: Just the usual slashiness I rule my writing life by. Ye be warned, ye gay-fearers! And fluff. No one can live without fluff! Oh, dear god, it's like I tore a stuffed animal open! Fluff everywhere! GAH!....
Anyway. Begin.
"I'll see you tomorrow." A pause.
"Wait. Come with me."
"What?"
"Come with me. Please."
It was the please that really caught my attention. Manfred Bloor never said please. It was too much like begging. Come to think of it, he never said thank you either. And tonight, not special, completely the same as all the other nights we went our separate ways to sleep.
That look in his eyes. It was like he didn't want to use his powers to convince me to come with him. He was giving me a choice; this was new. You did what Manfred wanted, when he wanted, and you weren't told again. Should I…?
Each stair trembled as I placed my weight upon it. His face was so… different. You know that scowl he usually wears? Or sometimes a sneer of disgust at some small child spilling their soup again. But tonight… his eyes weren't as cold, the rest of his face was more relaxed. A faint smile, almost.
Suddenly, he turned up the stairs and I followed. We climbed for a while and came to a landing, with a small window that was swung out, allowing drafty fall wind to swirl in about us. I resisted the urge to shiver.
Manfred pointed out the window. The black velvet sky stretched out beyond the castle of the Academy. Countless pinpoints of soft light twinkled gently against the fabric of space. The crescent moon threw a gleam of silver light upon the yard, illuminating the archways and the newly planted oak.
He leaned against the frame of the window and smiled softly at the sky, moonlight accenting the curves of his face, reflecting in his depthless eyes. I felt the breath catch in my throat as he turned to me, stretched out a hand. I took it; he drew me close and his arms encircled me.
We stared at the stars for what felt like hours. I dared whisper nothing to shatter the peace.
But quietly, so softly it may only have been the wind blowing through the cracked windowpanes, I heard, "I love you, Asa."
Fin.
Comments, please?