It took four more blasted years before that war ended.
On our voyage back to London, I took in every single piece of the Leviathan could possibly think of, the machine room, the gondola, the crewmembers, the bridge, everything. This ship had been my home for the past few months, and it tugged at my heartstrings to be leaving so soon. But still, the lady boffin had promised me flight, despite my status, so at least my flying days weren't over.
After that day, Alek and I hadn't spoken much. Even when we were by each other's sides, our words were limited. It was if we were both still trying to process what had happened, and if fate had any part in it. We never spoke of the array of kisses that happened, nor of how he threw away his letter from the pope. It was as if after that night, we were still Alek and Deryn, the Midshipman and the Fugitive Prince.
Awkward still, whenever we made even the slightest contact, both of our faces would catch fire. Neither of us were entirely used to this newfound thing that most people call love. If our hands so much as brushed one another's, our stomachs would both burst into an overflow of butterflies.
When we arrived in England, my heart swelled as the realization that I would have to say goodbye to everyone, probably for good. That was probably the hardest moment in my life; shaking hands with all the middies I'd come to known. Even that barking loon Newkirk, the one person I'd been with so long it was as if he and I were brothers. I knew I'd miss each and every one of them, forever and of course, the Leviathan itself.
I knew settling down was going to be tough; I'd have new duties, and a whole new world to see. I doubted that anything would compare to my journeys on the Leviathan, but I was just glad to know that I would soar the air yet again. The Zoological Society Of London kept me busy, and even so, Alek was by my side at every step.
But questions came and went through my head. Alek and I were allies, best friends, and maybe something more. But neither of us could address it properly. He would steal glances at me, and I at him. To and fro we rushed, passing each other quite often and sometimes working together. But the only thing I could think of was, where did we stand? Were we…lovers? Or rather, what weren't we?
I never heard from Jaspert, my only guess was that he was still somewhere in the sky, and hopefully not too worried about me. I hoped he'd come down soon, so I could explain the situation at hand. Though, I honestly didn't know how.
There was, however, one night that raised the biggest question of all in my head.
It was the night that Alek and I got locked in that forsaken closet. The lady boffin had asked us to retrieve something, and I swear she must've had this all planned out. When we entered, we were in there for about maybe five or six minutes when the door just slammed shut on us. So there we both were, shrouded by darkness, alone.
The two of us were close together, and the darkness hindered our sight. But soon our eyes adjusted, and we could see the vague images of ourselves. It was at that moment that neither of us dared to speak a word, and the only sounds were our breathing. We stayed like that for a time, unmoving and silent. But slowly, he leaned closer towards me, and pressed his lips against my own.
It was a short kiss at first, and at first I didn't respond. I didn't know how at the moment. It was as if everything that had happened flew out of my mind. He recoiled for a second, and our eyes locked. I think at that was when I figured out that he was just as confused as me.
He kissed me again, and this time, with uncertainty, I kissed back, our hands intertwining by our sides. But even with that blissful moment, the question still laid the same in my mind.
Where do we go from here?
Sooo...I cracked. I wrote a Leviathan Fanfiction :I Sorry if I just spoiled everything for you.
So, I finished Leviathan the other day, and I absolutely adored it. It was a beautiful book series and I don't regret reading it in the slightest. However, there were lots of questions that plagued my mind as I finished the last line. Where would they go from there? So I wanted to write a vague story about Deryn thinking the same thing I felt. I'll probably write a legit FanFiction for them along the way.
Leviathan is (c) Scott Westerfeld