3. Touching.
T: This is the last chapter, though I do fancy writing a sequel that includes a few more GS4 characters so keep your eyes peeled! Warnings and disclaimers remain the same.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"So you've finally decided to show your face, have you?" The expression on his daughter's face is one he knows well and, twiddling with the edge of his beanie, he responds by saying,
"I'm sorry I worried you, Trucy…I'm afraid I somewhat lost track of time."
"It's certainly not your most creative excuse." She responds before adding, "But I forgive you none the less."
"There's something you're not telling me."
"Maybe…"
"Trucy, what have you been told about teasing daddy?"
"I'm sorry." She responds as she settles onto the sofa and makes a clear gesture for him to follow suit.
Once he has settled comfortably into the cushions and Trucy has pressed herself a little into his side, he enquires,
"So what's happened while I've been away?"
"This man fainted at the bar and I brought him back here and we got talking and became friends and I eventually decided that he should come live in the spare room." The response comes in a garbled stream that can only mean that she is terribly excited about the whole thing and, smiling, he enquires,
"Can that little bolthole really be classed as a room?"
She begins giggling in response to the question, something she explains when, after regaining her 'composure', she says,
"He asked that exact question when I made the suggestion."
Wry smile tugging at his lips, he responds,
"He sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders."
"Unlike you,"
"Ooh, you're going to pay for that!" He remarks as he begins to tickle her mercilessly.
Once he feels that his daughter has been 'punished' enough, he enquires,
"So what kind of person is this new lodger?"
"The right kind," she responds, before informing him, "You'll have to learn the rest from him, I'm afraid."
She gives him a brief moment to absorb that response and then begins detailing her newest set of magical tricks.
oooooo
He'd been playing with Miles when a nap urge had begun to develop and, though he felt a little guilty for 'abandoning' his furry playmate, he'd curled into the couch and proceeded to give into the thing.
He wakes to the disconcerting feeling of being watched and, upon spying the source of this sensation, he enquires,
"Are you real?"
"I'm afraid so." The response is sharp and so very like the other that he is assured that he is telling the truth, that he is not, in fact, still caught up in a dream.
It takes the briefest of instants to learn that his companion and Trucy's lodger are one in the same, something he takes a moment to consider before asking about the other motivation for 'returning'.
He had, of course, known the answer to that question, for it had been there in the other's final letter…yet still he had asked, perhaps because he had begun to believe the words in the letter little more than elegant fiction or perhaps because he had wished the other to confirm their validity. Whatever his reasoning his companion gives the expected response and he, in turn, had given over a truth that, though so very pathetic, he'd wished the other to hear. The other fixes him with confident eyes and dismisses this truth in a swift, yet understanding manner. This show of strength takes a great deal of courage on the other's part and, as some form of 'reward' for this confidence, he makes the choice to move the conversation towards a more comfortable topic.
They talk for what seems like hours after that, learning as much as they can of the 'progression' of their lives without ever making a direct enquiry on the subject.
Ghostly recollections of hazy summers swim through his mind as the easy conversation continues and eventually he forces himself to break away from both the conversation and the other's presence….places a 'safe distance' between himself and those bitter sweet memories.
ooooo
He has made a deliberate attempt to get back to the flat at least once a week since had learned the identity of Trucy's lodger. He wishes that such effort was motivated simply by the desire to spend time with his daughter and yet he knows that there is another motivation for his actions…knows and hates himself for that fact. His daughter has, of course, noted this bout of self hatred and has done an amazing job of 'distracting' him with various tasks. Today, for example, she has asked him to help her work her way through her summer homework, an endeavour that has proven 'entertaining' if nothing else.
For the last few minuets he has been under the distinct impression that he is talking to himself and, feeling just a little frustrated, he enquires,
"You're not listening to a word I'm saying, are you?"
"I'm afraid my mind began to wonder a little."
"Perhaps we should leave this to another day then." He responds.
There is a brief instant of silence and then Miles strolls thorough the door, something that surprises him a little and that leads, indirectly, to the other being invited out to ice-cream with himself and his daughter.
Once Trucy has eaten her fill of frozen treats, she cons them into stopping in on a nearby variety show and then all but begs for the chance to visit the nearby fairground. Aware that such places are not Miles's 'usual scene' he keeps a subtle eye on the other and is pleasantly surprised to discover that, as the evening progresses, his friend is not only beginning to enjoy himself but also beginning to act in a more relaxed, open, manner. He had forgotten what it was like to be around this particular side of Miles, had forgotten how addictively 'intoxicating' he found the other's rather warped sense of humor and warm, playful, smile.
He becomes so very lost in that intoxication that things cross into 'painful' territory without him quite realizing and, his instinctive self defense mechanism clicking in, he places a distance between them and becomes again 'cold'. Miles reacts in the expected manner to this change in character, his own face 'freezing' and his posture tightening enough that the atmosphere becomes again 'tense' between them. Smiling a sarcastic smile, he enquires,
"I'm spoiling the mood, aren't I?" His fingers acting out his particular nervous gesture as he does as such.
"Maybe just a little," though uttered in complete deadpan something in the words catches at him and he responds with a foolish comment that Miles again knocks to once side. He 'accepts' this 'defeat' by sticking out his tongue and Miles begins to laugh.
The levity remains in his eyes for a long moment after that and then, breaking eye contact, he says, "There is something I need to tell you," the tone of his voice making it clear that he will not be turned away from this particular task.
One hand rising to loop, almost causally, about the top of the opposing arm, Miles takes a shaking breath and then says,
"I love you."
Of all the words that the other could have chosen to say these had been the least expected and the most desired. He knows that there are many issues that have still to be aired between them, that there is so much unknown contained in any future they might have together, and yet…
Ever since that wonderful instant on the bank of the Seine he has dreamt of an opportunity such as this and time has taught him to little care about the future, to worry only about making every second of the present count.
Thus, smiling, he steps towards the other, informs him, "I love you also," before he catches him into the gentlest of kisses.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
T: Review?
