Disclaimer:
Anything you recognise does not belong to me; I'm simply playing around with Alan Ball's & HBO's lovely universe and delectable characters.
xXx
3
It took three weeks before the sex dreams cooled down enough in intensity for me to actually get some proper rest once in a while, a month more after that before I could doze off without being guaranteed to have one, and two months after that before they started to feel more like dreams rather than confusing, X-rated reality.
When I met Godric again it had been more than half a year since the events at the Fellowship of the Sun, and the dreams had pretty much been MIA from my nightly, subconscious cinema listing for about a month.
My colleagues at the New Age shop I'd been working at since I arrived in Dallas eight months earlier had decided that it was time for us all to have a 'company outing', consisting of a night on the town. So a Friday night in early November I was sat in a stereotypical 'fantasy metal bar' filled with people dressed primarily in black, accompanied by my boss Dennis and the two other shop attendants, Skye and River (Yeah, I know, but as I mentioned, I worked in a New Age shop; these things gotta be expected), chatting away about Skye's newest tattoo, the weird customers we encountered in the shop and other normalities.
I've never been that good at letting people get close to me – something relating to my constant 'moving-state' tendencies as well as some suppressed abandonment issues from my childhood, which I actively and deliberately ignored, because I'm smart like that – and therefore I didn't have any close friends. I could, however, small talk like a mother-fucker, which is a skill that'd been necessary for me to develop in order to deal with the little human weakness that is the need for some level of social interaction.
And so I was in the middle of a, if I may say so myself, rather funny parody of a customer I'd helped that same day, who looked like she'd stepped directly out of one of the Harry Potter novels, when River and Skye simultaneously uttered something that closest resembled a weird cross between a lengthy sigh and a wail, all the while staring at the entrance to the bar.
"Now what?" Realising that I'd lost my captive audience I twisted my torso around to see if I could spot what'd made their ovaries start tangoing on the table.
"If he is a vampire I'd let him taste me," River sighed longingly, while Skye continued to make noises not produced by her brain.
And I... I croaked unattractively in surprise, which seemed to catch his attention.
Mercury eyes locked in mine before he started moving his lithe body towards our table.
I flew out of the booth, a giant smile plastered on my face. "Godric!"
He stopped in front of me and answered my overenthusiastic grin with a small smile. "Sophie."
And this was where my smalltalking abilities chose to get off the bus – and he seemed content to just stand there, looking at me with that intense vampire stare, which of course made me uncomfortable after a few minutes.
"So, uh… you pub-crawl?" my brain finally managed, after an awkwardly long period of complete, conversational silence, enthusiastically overseen by my colleagues.
The corner of his mouth crept up just a fraction more. "I would not go that far. And yourself?"
I suddenly remembered that we weren't alone. "Oh, I'm here with my colleagues. Won't you please join us?"
His eyes briefly flickered to the table. "I do not wish to interrupt."
It was at that moment that Skye seemed to regain the ability to form actual words. "Oh, you disturb nothing!" she chirped, scooting over so there was room on the bench next to her. "Come, sit! It's always great fun to meet Sophie's friends!"
They'd never met any of my friends, mainly because I didn't have any, but I couldn't really blame the girl; she was clearly smitten.
Godric shot me a questioning glance, and I nodded enthusiastically.
"In that case I would be happy to join you. Excuse me for a moment, please." He turned around and disappeared up to the bar, and I sat back down at the table.
"How do you know him?!" Both Skye and River, who sat on the other side of the table from Dennis and me, eagerly leaned in. "He is a vampire, right? And... is he your… boyfriend, or something like that?"
I snorted appealingly and shook my head at them before taking a sip from my Jack D & Coke. "Yeah, he's a vampire and no, in no way, shape or form is he my boyfriend. I haven't seen him for like half a year. .." I stopped talking when Godric eased himself down between River and Skye to the –suddenly – only available seat at our table. Smooth, girls.
He put a bottle of TruBlood down on the table. O negative, I noticed.
"Godric, this is Dennis, Skye and River," I introduced. "My colleagues. Guys, this is Godric."
And that seemed to be all the encouragement my colleagues needed in order to start bombarding him with every possible question known to man. Apparently, he seemed much less intimidating when you weren't bleeding and locked in a cage with him. Even Dennis, whom I'd expected to partake in my eye rolling over our female colleagues, was deeply fascinated by the immortal, so I spent the time watching Godric politely answering, or smoothly avoiding, the rapid fire session of questioning, while I sipped my drink. - It should be pointed out that his manners were impeccable; my patience would have worn out after just half an hour of the questioning and the not-particularly-well-disguised flirting.
The evening ended when Skye – who, in her defence, was rather drunk at the time – cheerily put a hand on Godric's bicep, squeezing lightly, and suggested that he should come with "everyone" to a nightclub.
The vampire froze under her touch, and I felt a second's worth of fear for my colleague when a memory of Godric's black eyes and deep snarl flickered in my mind. It was easy to ignore that the young man at our table had a different nature than humans, beneath the layer of courtesy and manners.
"Actually, I think I'll go home," I interjected, getting up from the table with an apologetic grimace. "I'm completely wiped."
Godric gracefully got up from his seat. "Let me take you home, Sophie."
I assumed he needed an excuse to hightail it, so I gave him an appreciative smile. "Thanks, that would be great. You never know what lurks out there." I winked, causing a low chuckle to emanate from his chest. "I'll see you next week!" I waved at the table as Skye blew a silent raspberry at me from behind Godric's back.
We exited the pub and went out in the street crawling with happy, drunk people. I led the vampire about a block away before I stopped and turned to him with a teasing smile. "Alright, the girls aren't following us so you should be safe. You don't actually have to walk me all the way home – it's pretty far."
"I would nevertheless like to."
Huh.
"Okay then, but don't complain to me if your feet start to hurt," I teased, as we continued walking.
His hoarse laughter made my already-present smile bigger. "You did not listen when I explained about the vampire's more sturdy physique?"
My expression fell a tad, and I stole a glance at his face. "I'm sorry they bombarded you like that. It's not that easy for us regular people to get a hold of a vampire who's willing to sate our curiosity. Most of us only learn about vampires from Nan Flannigan when she appears on TV, and I think it's safe to say that she leaves out the juicy bits."
"I am not insulted, Sophie." His face became pensive. "I wonder if more openness would help decrease the hatred for my species."
"Humans fear what we don't understand. And we tend to hate what we fear," I agreed. "But your patience is very impressive."
He shot me a long, side way look but didn't comment, and we walked in silence until the alcohol in my blood eventually gave me enough courage to ask: "So, Godric… does vampire blood have any… side-effects?"
The way he stole a glance at me from under his dark eyelashes made me suspect that he was fully aware of what I was referring to.
"There can be some, yes. What exactly depends on the blood and the receiver," he answered vaguely. "Do you still feel any… effects?"
I decidedly shook my head, thankful that I hadn't run into him while the dreams still plagued me (yes, plagued), because then I would never have been able to supress the hefty blush I felt trying to overtake my face now. "And it is actually really annoying," I sighed dramatically.
Godric's eyebrows shot up in what I assume was surprise. "Oh?"
"I didn't need foundation for months! It was amazing!"
He chuckled.
"Seriously, though. You could market that stuff in the beauty industry." I wasn't serious at all.
His smile withered. "Sophie, you can never accept vampire blood from a dealer. The punishments are… severe."
I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm not completely retarded; everyone knows what happens if a vampire finds out you've been doing V."
He watched me intently, as if to make certain that I really knew how serious it was. "That does not mean that there is not a flourishing market for it."
I shrugged; he was probably right about that. "Drugs have never really been my thing; I don't even drink that often."
We continued walking in silence for a bit until I remembered a question I'd wondered about ever since he sent me home from his house that night half a year ago.
"Godric?"
"Hmm?"
"Why do the other vampires call you 'sheriff'?"
He thrust his hands into the pockets of his canvas trousers in an oddly human gesture. "It is what we call the vampire in charge of the local area."
So he was boss.
I glanced at his youthful face. "You are older than you look, aren't you?"
The corner of his mouth quivered. "Yes."
I noisily blew out air, causing my bangs and the strands framing my face to shift. "That is pretty difficult to relate to."
"I can imagine. We have another way than humans of judging age."
"Length of fangs?" I suggested with a grin.
His laughter rumbled in the air around us. "Charisma."
I contemplated him through narrowed eyes, trying to sense something that would reveal his age. "Hmm… Thirty… seven?"
"No."
"I looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to reveal the final number, but he didn't bite.
...
"C'mon, how old are you, oh wise one?"
An uncharacteristic smirk graced his sculptured lips for a moment, lending a downright wicked look to his features. "Older than you, little one."
I made a crude sound, which brought back his laughter. "And how old am I, then?"
"Twenty four," was the immediate answer.
Huh, that age-telling trick vampires used was apparently spot on.
"Yeah well, I'm still taller than you," I sulked, sounding all kinds of mature.
"I'm stronger," he retaliated, and I laughed at his teasing tone.
"Only because you cheat."
"And faster."
"Pth! Well, I can eat chocolate ice cream, so I win!"
His nose crinkled up as if it wasn't something to envy.
"I'd die without Haagen Dazs Belgian Chocolate Ice Cream; it's nothing to turn your nose up at!"
His greyblue eyes sparkled mischievously. "I'm already dead."
"I'm really not sure that that is an argument that can win this discussion," I tartly pointed out.
Godric chuckled. "You are amusing when you are intoxicated."
"You laughed at me when I was locked up and sure I'd get eaten alive too," I replied curtly. "That actually doesn't say anything particularly nice about your character."
He sent me a gentle smile. "That is true."
Something in my stomach region melted.
"Godric..?"
"Sophie?"
"Are you really older than me?"
"Is it important?"
Only if I didn't stop having perverted thoughts about him.
"I suppose not."
The quiet settled between us for a while. To my surprise he was the one to break it this time.
"Were you raised in Dallas?"
I shook my head.
"Where, then?"
"Louisiana."
He must have caught on to the fact that I didn't want to talk about it, because he changed the subject.
"What is, in your opinion, the best part about being human?"
"Haagen Dazs Belgian Chocolate Ice Cream," was my immediate reply.
His smile was expectant, and I began thinking of a proper answer. It took me quarter of an hour -something I should probably reflect on at some point.
"Warmth."
"Hm," he grunted pensively.
"What is the best thing about being an immortal, then?" I inquired curiously.
His eyes became distant, and there were a few seconds silence. "Eric." His voice was gentle.
I had somehow imagined that he'd choose something like super speed or, well, immortality. Remembering the Nordic god who'd gotten us out of the church and behaved like Godric was the Second Coming I asked: "Is he your… boyfriend?"
"Eric and I are many things for each other. Lovers is not one of them," was his cryptic reply.
I sent him an annoyed glance from out the corner of my eye for not just answering bluntly, which he either didn't see or simply ignored.
"And you?" he suddenly asked. "Do you have a lover?"
I blinked uncomfortably. Hm, the alcohol was apparently wearing off. Damn that crisp November air. "No."
"Why not?"
What the hell sort of question was that?
"It hasn't really been a priority," I deflected.
"Why not?" he repeated. Stubborn bastard.
I shrugged my shoulders. "I prefer to be alone."
He studied me for a moment. "The subject makes you uncomfortable." It was a statement of fact, not a question.
Rolling my eyes I huffed at him. "Of course! It is pretty personal."
"I am sorry. I am no longer as familiar with humans' social norms as I ought to be. It was not my intent to make you uncomfortable."
His sincerity touched me. "That's alright; it's not really worse than when I less-than-subtly asked you if you were homosexual."
"You didn't; you asked me if Eric was my lover," he pointed out.
Well, son of a..
"Are you..?"
Godric shot me a mildly provoking glance. "I did not think that that was polite to ask..?"
My succeeding scowl only made him laugh.
We reached the top of my road and I remembered something that I had desperately wanted to ask him ever since I saw him for the first time.
"Will you model for me?" I blurted it out with quite a bit less deliberation than I could have wished for.
His eyebrows rose. "Model?"
"Yeah, you know, because I draw quite a bit and… I'd really love to draw your features," I hastily scrambled to explain. "It would just be facial portraits." Probably more chance of a yes if I made it clear that I wasn't hoping for nude posing…
He considered me for a moment, his head cocked to one side. "Could we continue talking while you did this?"
I lit up. "Yes, of course, as long as you sit somewhat still during. Uh, but I'm too tired to be creative tonight so it'd have to be another time?"
Godric looked delighted, which made me feel all warm; it wasn't just me who'd enjoyed our conversation.
"In that case yes, I will model for you, little one."
I beamed a bright smile at him. "Great! When do you have time to stop by?"
His eyebrows furrowed in thought. "I have a couple of hours free after sunset tomorrow. How long would it take?"
"We can interrupt and pick up again as many times as needed." My answer was purposely noncommittal; I was planning on getting as much pencil time out of his face as possible. "So tomorrow is perfect." I stopped in front of my small, one-bedroom rented house. "This is me."
"I will come by tomorrow?" he confirmed as he turned to face me.
I nodded and smiled. "Thank you for walking me home."
"You should not be walking home alone after dark." His voice was as sombre as when he had warned me against ever touching V.
I sensed a conversation like the one we'd had after I got in the way of the stakes at the Fellowship of the Sun under way. "I normally drive, but I knew I would be drinking, and the bus doesn't run this late."
He didn't seem particularly satisfied but refrained from further discussion, so I went ahead and ended the night before he thought of anything else to say on the subject. "Goodnight Godric. See you tomorrow."
The vampire nodded briefly. "Goodnight Sophie."
He stayed in front of my house until I'd gotten in and locked the door behind me. Such a gentleman.
