I'll Try, He Said
A/N: This is more of a vignette than a story. It's set sometime before Star One.
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Vila stumbled sobbing from the clearing, into the mist-shrouded morning. Like the devils of hell were after him, he dodged trees and bushes in the dimness of forest as best he could. He tripped on a tree root, scrabbled to his feet and fled on. Far behind him, he heard Avon crashing through the underbrush, calling his name when he wasn't cursing the landscape for hindering him. It only spurred Vila on.
He fell one more time and couldn't summon the strength to rise again. Exhausted, he crawled into the center of a clump of bushes and curled up in a tight ball of misery and desperation. When he heard Avon crashing through the undergrowth nearby, still calling his name, Vila only curled tighter, covering his ears with his hands. Silence, blessed silence.
A gentle touch on his shoulder set his heart pounding wildly, panic surging through his veins.
"Vila, stop," Avon coaxed, as the thief tried to rise, to run, to even crawl away. Defeated by his own spent condition, he fell back bonelessly to the leaf-strewn ground, sobbing.
"No more, Avon, please, no more. I love you too much to watch you tear yourself apart over Blake! He's just not worth it and he certainly isn't worth you!" His voice rose gradually from sobbing exhaustion to assertive belligerence. He rose up on his knees, fists on hips and red-rimmed eyes flashing. He made quite a picture, Avon thought, very much taken aback. Not his quiet, gentle, even timorous thief of the past year and a half. More like a defiant warrior doing battle.
For a moment, Avon stared, wide-eyed, in confusion into Vila's hot and glaring brown eyes, marveling at Vila's daring and caring. He felt as though Vila was an onion, with layer upon layer peeling back, each revealing a new person. He feared though that he had better be careful how he peeled this onion, lest he be crying when he reached the heart of the thief.
Avon's words were a soft reply to the thief's vehemence. "Vila, I didn't know. I really didn't know you cared so much. Blake and I have been lovers a very long time. You must believe me, I didn't mean to hurt you." He held Vila's gaze, willing him to understand. "Come back, Vila. Please," he begged, not sure why he wanted Vila to come back so desperately, only knowing he needed Vila by his side.
"Why? What'll change? I'll still be on the outside looking in, watching Blake use you and not be able to change a thing. I can't take it anymore and I won't!" he spate out.
Vila's vehemence and words shook Avon to the core. In silence, he turned away slightly, dark eyes unseeing as his thoughts burrowed down, down, down, into his very soul.
Vila waited, gauging Avon's internal struggles by the flickering emotions chasing across his handsome face.
Slowly, as though returning from parsecs away, Avon refocused on Vila's face. "Vila," he began, "all I can say is, I'll try."
"You'll try what, Avon?" Vila probed warily.
He flashed a tiny smile at Vila's boldness and sobered just as quickly. "I'll try not to let Blake 'use' me anymore. This new obsession he has with Star One has me worried. I don't think I can support him on this crusade," he replied, staring inwardly again.
Shaking off his inner montage, he locked gazes with Vila. "I can't promise to return you love. Maybe I'll learn to love you too. Maybe the friction Blake and I seem to be developing will come between us. I don't know. I can't predict the future. But," he said, pausing for a deep breath that became a weary sigh, his shoulders falling, "if you'll help me, maybe I can change." He looked imploringly at Vila. "Deal?"
Vila considered a few moments, then nodded. "Yes, Avon, I'll help you. As long as you'll let me follow you," he promised with all his heart.
Avon high voltage smile warmed his bleak eyes. He stood, reaching down to help Vila up. "Let's go back, Vila, and start over, okay?"
Hesitantly, Vila's hand reached out, accepting Avon's offer. Together, they retraced their path through the forest. Stepping back into the clearing, they found lances of sunlight breaking through the grey clouds that had dogged their mission.
Vila pondered the portent in silence as they clasped on their teleport bracelets. Did it promise a happy golden future or that, whatever good they could find in the days ahead, it would all come down to storm and darkness and death?
Knowing the answer as surely as if it came from ORAC, Vila shivered.