The boys recruit Mysterious Marilyn to try and knock some sense into our infatuated, misguided spook? Will it be successful, though? Or will they be forever destined to a threesome? (snicker).
Early Evening...Britin
Holding a glass of Beam in my hand and sitting crossways in one of our leather recliners in the study an hour later, I gulped back a large swig of it as I tried to stay out of the way, deciding to leave the ghost busting up to my partner and his cohort in crime, the inimitable Emmy Lou.
I watched as they came walking in with Mysterious Marilyn right behind them, carrying the large satchel in her hands. She set the cumbersome bag down onto the coffee table with a distinct thudding sound before moving her bony hands to her neck to undo the flowing robe she was wearing, revealing a sparkly, red, sequined evening gown underneath.
Emmett's mouth dropped open in shock as I snorted. "Oh, my God! Darren has a gown just like that back home!" he marveled in astonished delight; Justin merely gaped at her in surprise.
"I know!" I volunteered with a smirk. "You're planning on blinding him to death."
She huffed at me, unaffected, as she smoothed the fabric over her tall, lanky body. "You have to show them who's boss. The more confident you appear, the more they'll be apt to leave when you tell them to." She brushed some of her long, flowing hair back from her face, her head now free of the scarf she had worn previously.
"Now why didn't I think of that? Let me go slip into some Prada and he'll be out of here in no time."
"Make fun if you want," she told me defensively. "But you won't be laughing when he decides to stay. Spirits don't know that they're dead," she informed me as Justin glanced over at me with an 'I told you so' sort of look. "You mustn't show any fear around them," she warned me. "Or they won't obey you when you tell them to go toward the light."
"Oh, I'm quaking in my boots right now," I deadpanned as I looked over at Justin. "Tell him and Emmy Lou that." Justin huffed in indignation as I watched our 'guest' take out a stack of small, ceramic bowls and a couple packages of incense. "Uh, uh," I told her with a shake of my head. "I don't want that shit stinking up my house. Garlic is bad enough."
"This shit, as you call it, is sage and cedar," she told me haughtily. "Sage opens up the bridge to the spirit world and helps them to enter." She smirked. "And if that doesn't work, the cedar's a way to yank the welcome mat out from under them and give them a good boot in the ass if they put up a fuss."
She removed a corded necklace with a crystal from around her neck and handed it to Justin. "Here, Sweetie; take this and hang it up over there by the window where the sun will reflect off it; it will only allow positive energy to enter the house from now on." Justin nodded solemnly at her as he walked over and, standing up on the window seat cushion, he looped the corded chain around the old-fashioned lock of the window, the crystal softly bouncing off the glass for several seconds before it came to a stop.
"Now," she said as she turned around and sat down on the couch opposite me. "Your partner tells me you're the only one that can hear and see this ghost."
I stared pointedly over at Justin, who shrugged as he explained, "I had to give her the background information about Nathaniel and Asa."
I sighed in resignation. I had to admit I couldn't explain away everything that had happened even if I wanted to. "Yeah, apparently that's right," I told her finally as she nodded. "He does seem fixated on me. I guess being hot really IS timeless."
My head turned around to glare at Emmett as I heard a soft guffaw escape his lips; he quickly coughed to cover it up as Marilyn continued, "And you've either seen or felt his presence twice now in your bedroom?"
I smirked. "Felt is the right word. Yeah," I confirmed. "About a week apart."
"Any particular pattern you observed?"
I bristled. "Are you trying to impersonate a police detective in drag now?"
"Brian..." Justin warned me with that look of his. "She's just trying to get some background information."
I brushed my right hand through my hair as I told her, "Well...he seems to have an issue with me...fucking Sunshine here." I noticed Justin turning a little red as I reminded him, "You told me to cooperate." I turned back to Marilyn as I informed her, "Both times he's shown up has been when we were fucking or at least in bed together. And we think he's the one who stole our box of condoms out of the drawer."
She nodded as she leaned over to take something else out of her satchel. I watched as she reached in to grab a deck of cards, laying them face down on the glass coffee table. Instead of recognizing renderings of gargoyles or celestial beings, however, I noticed aces, kings, and queens, among others. "What the fuck?" I muttered. I rolled my eyes while my partner and Emmy Lou seem absolutely fascinated by it all, remaining silent as she began to carefully flip certain cards over. An occasional hum or murmur would escape her lips in various tones of what sounded like either surprise or concern for several seconds before I couldn't stand it any longer.
"Will you cut the theatrics?" I groused. "Just get to the point. How do we get rid of this guy?"
"Oh, sorry," Marilyn replied absentmindedly. "I like to play a little Solitaire from time to time to break the tension." She placed a red jack of hearts on top of the queen before shrugging. "What do you think? We need to contact him and find out what he wants."
"No kidding! Of course," I told her sarcastically. "Why didn't I think of that? I'm sure he'll listen to reason. And just how do you propose we do that?" I smirked. "Oh, I know! How about a hand of Go Fish? He ought to like that."
She smiled serenely at me. "That might be one way. But I think a séance would be more effective."
"Ooh!" Emmett immediately gushed over the idea as he clapped with glee. "I've always wanted to do that! Have you ever seen that episode of I Love Lucy where they were pretending to contact that man's wife, Tillie, only to find out that he was really talking about his...mffmppphhtt..."
I reached over and clamped my hand over Emmett's mouth until he thankfully stopped speaking. Or so I thought.
"Well!" he huffed at me like a puffer fish as I removed my hand. "I was just saying that it's a perfectly good way to..." One death-ray glare from me, however, and a pointing of my index finger in warning, and he promptly clammed up again as Justin scowled over at me.
"Brian, don't be so nasty to Emmett. I think a séance would be kind of cool."
I gave my partner a half-suffering look. "Kind of cool?"
I noticed Justin seemed to squirm a little as he admitted, "Well, yeah. How many times do you get a chance to talk to dead people?"
"I don't know," I told him. "How many times have you been to an event at the Gay and Lesbian Center?"
"Brian..."
"I thought this guy gave you the creeps?"
"Well, he does. But until we can communicate with him, we'll never be able to find out what he's thinking or how to get him out of our house."
I snorted. "I know what he's thinking. He's thinking what every other fag always thinks when he sees me. I'm hot - even if he's cold." I shivered at the thought. I wasn't into necrophilia, and this seemed about as close to it as I wanted to get.
Justin rolled his eyes at me. "Gee, I'm so surprised by that statement. Well, don't worry; I don't think you'll have to even participate at all; just stay over there with your Beam and look studly, and he'll come running as soon as we call him."
I grinned. "You have a point. But that's okay; I wouldn't miss this for the world."
Marilyn looked over at me sternly. "Better wipe that grin off your face, Kinney; this will be no laughing matter if I'm able to channel him."
"Channel him? Which one? CNN or Fox? Oh, I know! Let's contact Robert Ghoulet! We could try Phil Spector, too..."
"He's not dead," Emmett pointed out. "He's in jail for making someone else dead."
"Oh," I replied. "Well, he might as well be. He looks like death warmed over..."
"Enough!" Marilyn barked out in a booming voice as she waved a bracelet-bedecked arm. "Everyone, clear your mind..."
"That should be easy for you, Honeycutt..."
"Brian, please...!"
I sighed at my partner as I slid out of my chair, placed my glass of Beam down, and walked over to the rest of the group. "Okay, what next? Should I go get some sheets to wear? Maybe he would be more comfortable with his own kind. I think we're out of frozen fish sticks, though."
"Come with me to the dining room!" Marilyn commanded as, with a melodramatic swish of her red gown, she turned and headed out of the room. In a voice reminiscent of Moses, she declared, "I will need some bread or soup."
What the fuck? "Isn't this a strange time to eat?" I had to ask as I exchanged a confused look with my partner.
Marilyn huffed as if she were addressing a recalcitrant child. "It is not for me. We must provide a sense of nourishment to our guest. It's time to rid ourselves of this apparition."
"Thank goodness," I muttered as the three of us followed her down the hallway. "I was afraid Emmett was going to cater something."
A few minutes later, we were all sitting at my and Justin's informal, oval dining room table, the only light coming from three, squat, white candles flickering in front of us that sat on a wooden base in the center, along with a loaf of homemade bread that Justin had 'donated' to the cause, a bowl of salt water, and one, lone, turkey feather. I watched skeptically as our hostess carefully placed a slightly scruffy crystal ball down onto a gold-colored, scroll-leaf pedestal; I saw her lightly rub her fingers over it like she was trying to adjust a TV antenna. I kept expecting Calling Captain Drake, calling Captain Drake, come in, Captain Drake to erupt any moment from her lips, but they remained tightly pressed together instead.
She peered around the table at the three of us regally as she droned, "Place your hands on the table and spread them apart. Your fingertips must touch the tips of the person beside you. There must be silence!" she admonished us. I almost guffawed at that, but as I looked at the solemn faces of my partner and Emmy Lou, I somehow managed to squelch the laugh that threatened to burst out of me as she glared over at me as if I were the naughty, little altar boy. "We must approach this with the right decorum. No matter what happens, you must not speak, and you must not move until the séance is over. Do you all understand?"
Justin and Emmett slowly nodded as she looked pointedly over at me. "Yeah, yeah, I understand," I grumbled as I spread my hands out, palm down, onto the white tablecloth and stretched out my pinkie finger so it was just barely touching Justin's, my other pinkie finger extended toward Mysterious Marilyn's.
I watched as she dipped her long index finger into the small bowl of salt water before she rose to her feet and began to stick it in the air as if she were testing wind speed; she seemed to almost float across the room as she drew an imaginary line in the air around the table and around us. I noticed Justin and Emmett watching her, entranced, as, apparently satisfied, she returned to her chair, sitting down smoothly before intoning in a deep, calm voice, "Now...take a deep breath. Take a deep breath and clear yourself of all thoughts and emotions. Feel the silence. Let yourself relax and open yourself up to new possibilities." She spread out her fingers so her pinkie was touching mine now and Emmett's on her other side as she added, "Now there must be no talking. Remember, you must treat our guest with respect. Calm...must be calm..."she droned on hypnotically as I tried not to think about how she sounded like a strange version of Yoda.
"Uh...can I ask just one, quick, little question?" Emmett asked her unexpectedly.
She sighed with barely-restrained impatience, blinking her eyes slowly. "If you must. What is it?"
"If he appears, can you ask him about Natalie Wood?" Justin stared over at him aghast as he shrugged. "Well, he knows all about the water," he hastened to explain. "I just thought he might have some idea how she..."
"Silence!" Marilyn hissed at him then, effectively shutting him up as he held up his hands and whispered "sorry" before making a proverbial 'zipping' motion across his lips. She glared over at Emmett for a few seconds longer, waggling a finger at him in warning before she made a move to calm herself.
The room was absolutely silent now except for our combined pants of expectant breath as she closed her eyes and began to intone, "Nathaniel Drake, we summon you to us. We seek your presence. We bring this bread to you as a gift of welcome. Please make yourself known to us." Despite my skepticism, I felt my pulse quickening in anticipation, not sure if I was wanting her to succeed with her request or not. I had moved beyond the point of not believing the fucker existed; it was hard not to be a convert when I had seen him in his ethereal state and he had spoken aloud, not to mention the tongue action he had bestowed on me earlier. But I wasn't quite sure if I wanted him to appear or not. I only knew I - and most certainly my partner - wanted him out of our house.
For once, however, there was no obvious sign of him. I thought about leaning over and giving Justin's ear a nip just to lure him to us, but I thought better of it. He didn't appear to be exactly malevolent or malicious in nature - just a lovesick, misguided spook - but I didn't want to take any chances, either.
"Hear me, Nathaniel Drake. Come to us, oh spirit. Appear before us. We mean you no harm," Marilyn reassured him in a monotone sort of voice.
I tried not to scoff at the cheesy speech, although it was extremely hard as I concentrated instead on my partner's soft breathing beside me and the light brush of his finger touching mine. Somehow it grounded me as we waited curiously for any sign that we were not alone.
I focused on the flickering of the trio of candles in front of us as Mysterious Marilyn's voice began to almost hypnotize me as she began to repeat her refrain, "We are calling out to you, Nathaniel Drake. Appear before us, and tell us what you want. Give us a sign you are with us."
Oh, brother, I couldn't help thinking, hoping our visitor couldn't hear the doubt creeping into my mind. Could this woman be any hammier? If I were running the show, I would just tell the damn ghost to get his bony ass in here and be done with it. I'd straighten out this fucker in no time. I bit back my frustration as I glanced over at my partner, whose mouth was hanging slightly open as he stared into the flames in front of him. Justin's face was intriguing as the patterns of light played across his skin and reflected in his eyes. I couldn't help admiring my partner's beauty, my lover oblivious to my thoughts that were dangerously close to being lesbionic as I wondered how long this was going to take - whatever 'this' was.
Suddenly I felt a distinctive chill in the room, and one of the candlewicks blew violently. My breathing quickened slightly as I heard a rush of air in the room, even though the door was closed and there were no windows open to let in a draft.
My eyes opened wider then as I observed the same type of glowing vision I had seen in my and Justin's bedroom before - there he was by the door, except Drake was wearing a different sort of outfit this time. It consisted of a pair of linen-type pants and a round-necked, cable sweater with a billed cap of some type and leather boots. The man's dark hair actually appeared to gleam in the reflection of the candlelight as he floated effortlessly a couple of feet off the ground, silent and foreboding. Apparently the man had access to wardrobe changes.
"Is that him?" Marilyn asked me under her breath as I nodded. "Don't speak," She then hissed under her breath as I stared over at our not-so-welcome visitor. "I'm the expert; let me handle it."
I rolled my eyes, but did as I was told, assuming that she, at least, could see him as well as I could. By the way that Justin and Emmett were whipping their heads back and forth and looking all over the room, however, something told me that they could not.
"Nathaniel Drake," Marilyn droned. "Come closer. Come closer and tell us what is in your heart. Why are you here?"
I watched as he slowly raised his arm and pointed a finger - right at me. "Himmmmmmm," he bayed out mournfully. "Himmmmmmm. Asa..."
I shivered; I could tell that Justin was dying to ask me what was going on, but to his credit he didn't say anything. He reached over to grasp my hand tightly in his as I stared over at our company.
"You seek Asa," Marilyn intoned. "You seek your love."
"Yesssssss..."
I could hear the man, ghost - whatever the fuck he should be called - speaking, but his lips weren't really moving. "Tell him it's not me," I finally said, wondering how we were going to convince this spook otherwise.
Marilyn glared over at me for having the gall to say something aloud, but nevertheless she calmly turned her head to address him again. "This man is not who you seek," she told him in a surprisingly authoritarian, Obi-wan type of voice. I had to give her credit for that, because I suspected my own voice would be breaking slightly at the moment if I were speaking. "He is not your Asa."
"Nooooo..." I heard him moan in protest as he continued to float above the floor. "Soulmate...eternity..."
As I sat there feeling the comforting warmth of Justin's hand in mind, I considered what it would be like to be apart from my own soulmate. I actually began to feel a little sorry for the guy then. Not that I was too sure yet about all this 'eternity' crap, but if there WAS such a thing, I couldn't imagine not spending it with Justin - in some form - by my side.
Marilyn glanced over at me, and I thought I saw a glimmer of epiphany dance across her face as she turned to look over at our guest again. It almost seemed like she WAS psychic as she told him, "Look at him, Nathaniel...really look at him. He is with his own soulmate. This is not your love. Asa is waiting for you over on the other side. Go to him. Go to the light."
"Noooooo," he continued to stubbornly insist. "Here. Want to stay...with Asa..."
I huffed over this spook's obstinacy, not too much different than my partner's in a way. Sorry or not, I wasn't about to let him come between Justin and me, and I had no intention of sharing our home with this character. I paused for just a moment to think about the absurdity of that statement. I could just hear me saying to Mikey at the diner afterward in response to why Justin and I inexplicably broke up: "Well, you see...he was jealous of this ghost who just showed up all of a sudden and wanted me to fuck him. Justin said I broke the 'no more tricks' rule we had, and he couldn't handle it anymore, so he left." Yeah...Right.
I took a deep breath before plunging in. "Look, Nate, old boy. I know I'm hot, and I'm flattered and all, but..."
"What's he saying?" Justin whispered at last, too curious to keep quiet any longer. Marilyn flashed him a warning look, but he ignored her, also.
"...he's not listening to her," I explained. "So it's MY turn now..."
"Do not toy with him," Marilyn warned me by my side. "You don't know what you're dealing with."
"I know exactly what I'm dealing with," I assured her firmly as I glanced down at my partner's hand clasped in mine - yes, damn it, my soulmate's hand. I glanced up to see Nathaniel hovering near the door, slowly flowing back and forth as if in indecision.
I took another deep breath, this time striving to be more serious. I cleared my throat. "She's right," I told him as I spoke up, noticing Nathaniel seem to visibly bristle at the statement. I forged on before I lost my nerve. "I'm not Asa. I look like him, but I'm not. Take a good look at me, damn it! My name is Brian, and..." I looked over at Justin and stared into his face, his blue eyes reflecting off the candlelight nearby. I turned to peer back at Nathaniel as I explained before I lost my nerve, "...this is Justin, MY soul mate. Yours is waiting for you, too...but you have to take that first step." I didn't have to turn to look at Justin to know that the smile no doubt lighting up his face in reaction to that outrageously romantic drivel I had just said was probably rivaling the luminosity from the three candles in the middle of the table.
Mysterious Marilyn nodded her grudging approval. "Go," she told him firmly like she was talking to a disobedient child who didn't want to go to bed, but knew it was for the best. "Go toward the light, lost spirit. Reach for his hand on the other side and be reunited with him forever."
"How...? How do I know...?" the apparition lamented, seemingly lost in thought and tormented over what to do.
"You will know. Listen to his heartprint. Feel his presence here; it is strong, I can sense it. Listen with your heart and then you will know."
Suddenly the room was filled with a brilliant, white light. Nathaniel's body began to glow with a dazzling hue, so bright that it almost blinded me. "Asa!" he called out with an emotion-filled voice, startled, as if he had just heard something for the first time.
"My God, look at him!" Emmett cried out as Justin gasped. "I can see him! He IS a dreamboat!"
"I can see him, too!" Justin exclaimed as his grip tightened in my hand. "And...And he's coming closer!"
"Do not move," Marilyn commanded us as Nathaniel began to approach the table. "Let him come. Let him come toward the light; I sense no hostility in him, only uncertainty." She placed her fingers on either side of her temple. "Come," she beseeched him quietly. "Come and be reunited with Asa. Come to the light. Do not be afraid. Let him reach out to you and you will obtain the happiness you seek."
We all watched, partly scared shitless but totally fascinated, as the apparition seemed to float effortlessly toward us; he was so bright now that it almost hurt my eyes to watch, but I couldn't look away. My heart began to pound as I gripped Justin's hand tightly and held my breath. The apparition came closer and closer until we were inches apart. I watched as he seemed to study my face; I thought I saw his eyes actually blink as he seemed to come to a decision. Giving me a slight nod, he turned as I watched him extend his hand toward the center of the table, now alight with both his form's radiance as well as from the candlelight. The wicks erupted forth with a large flame then as if a wind had bolstered them when I saw what appeared to be another, glowing hand slowly rising out of the middle candle, straight toward Nathaniel's. I watched, amazed and astounded, as their hands reached to clasp each other's.
"My love," I thought I heard Nathaniel say, followed by a heartfelt cry that sounded like a 'thank you' before his form began to transform into a slim slip of light and then, in a flash, I watched it appear to be sucked into the flame. All the candles abruptly were extinguished then, leaving us all suddenly in the dark. The difference was dramatic and profound as we all sat there, hearing only our ragged breaths now as we all tried to calm our breathing down after what had just happened.
After a few seconds, I heard what sounded like sniffling coming from directly across me. Reaching inside my pocket, I fished around for my cigarette lighter and flicked it to life; it at least provided enough guidance for Mysterious Marilyn to rise from her seat and walk over to the wall to turn up the dimmer switch and cast the room in soft luminescence.
I watched as she flipped back her hair wearily with the back of her hand like Cher would do before she stated melodramatically, "My job here is done."
I let out a breath of relief as I looked over at Emmett. Tears were streaming down his face and he had his hands clasped together as if in prayer while he blurted out with a sigh, "That was so romantic." I looked over at Justin, whose own eyes were glistening, and knew I was in trouble. One sappy, nelly queen was bad enough; two sentimental romantics were one too many. I had to admit to myself, though; it was sort of satisfying in a way to know that the wandering souls had apparently been reunited at last. I would never tell anyone that, though. "Well," I drawled, "that was one hell of a White Party!"
I let go of Justin's hand to scoot back from the chair, surveying the odd collection of items on the table. The candles were cooling off, now looking neglected and forlorn in the new, harsh reality of the light above. They didn't look like anything special now; certainly not the passageway between our world and some netherworld we couldn't see. Had it all really happened? I could almost pretend that it had all been my imagination, but I knew better - it had been all too real.
Emmett sniffled again as he and Justin rose from their chairs, all of us standing there as if we didn't know what to do. Everything seemed so anti-climactic now in light of what had just happened.
"I wonder what they saw on the other side," I heard Emmett muse. He smiled wistfully before he added softly, "Maybe they'll say hello to Godiva for me."
Justin smiled fondly at him as he hurriedly wiped away some unshed tears with the side of his hand before reassuring him, "I'm sure they will." He took a deep breath, probably feeling as relieved as I was that we at last were rid of my admirer. It seemed like such a long time since Justin and I had been alone in our own house. I was going to thoroughly enjoy getting reacquainted tonight. Which reminded me - first we had to get rid of some other unwelcome visitors...
"Uh, it's been...unreal," I told Mysterious Marilyn. "I would say we'll have to do this again sometime, but there's no way in hell I'd want to." I reached over to try and grab the crystal ball to hurry things along, but she clamped one surprisingly strong hand around my wrist to stop me.
"No one touches the sacred items but me," she scolded me as I rolled my eyes. She smirked. "You can keep the feather, though, Honey, as a memento." She scooped up the crystal ball and pedestal carefully, placing it gingerly back into the satchel before picking up the rest of the items to prepare to leave.
"How much is this little ghost extermination trip going to cost me?" I asked curiously, realizing I had never found that out beforehand. I had no idea how much ghost exorcisms went for nowadays on the current market.
She smiled serenely at me. "Already taken care of," she told me as she glanced over at Justin. "And I can tell you that jealousy doesn't run cheap." Justin promptly blushed like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
I could only begin to imagine how much THAT was going to run, then; if it was proportional to my partner's jealousy, it might very well wind up being a fucking fortune. But I figured I would take whatever Justin had paid for it out of his hot, not-so-little bubble butt later. It might take him forever to pay me back, though, but I decided that would be half the fun.
Later that Evening...
Justin let out a soft sigh beside me as we lay curled up together, warm and fully sated, our lower limbs twined and my arm curled around his shoulders as he lay his head on my chest. "It's so good to finally have some peace and quiet again," he murmured in post-coital contentment. I could certainly agree with that statement. We had both waited with slightly tense breaths to make sure our ghostly voyeur did not appear again, but at last everything finally appeared back to normal - no ghosts and no raccoons, either.
I smiled as I kissed the top of his head. "And also not to have an audience while we fuck." I never thought I would feel that way - I had always been the ultimate exhibitionist when it came to showing off what I had - and WHO I had - but I found that over time that had changed. Now I found that I only wanted Justin - and what we had - all to myself.
Justin lifted his head to stare into my eyes, a knowing, smug smile lighting up his face.
"What?" I asked, somehow knowing what was going to come out of his mouth before he uttered it.
"Did you really mean it?"
Playing along, I replied innocently, "Mean what?"
"What you said before, Brian. About us being...soulmates." He said the last word differently somehow - almost reverently.
I averted my eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sunshine," I muttered.
I heard him chuckle before he reached up to grasp my chin with surprising strength and force me to look directly into his eyes. Little fucker always DID know me too well...Just like it frequently did, my heart fluttered in response as he asked me softly, "You really think of us as soulmates, Brian? Like Asa and Nathaniel are?" I could hear just a touch of the tentative, vulnerable, teenage-boy in his voice, so like that first night we had met, and I knew I couldn't lie to him, even if it WOULD damage my studly reputation.
I sighed before smiling tenderly at him. "Yes, Sunshine, I meant it," I admitted as his face lit up in reaction. "Are you happy now?"
He climbed on top of me as an answer and began to rain light kisses all over my face and chest, making my cock begin to spring to attention. " Very," he told me as we kissed deeply then, my arms holding onto his as our passion flared once more. As we broke off our kiss, I swooped in for another one, only to have Justin place his fingers across my lips to stop me. "There is one more thing that would make me happy, though," he told me. "I think it's only right."
"I'm almost afraid to ask," I told him as he hit me lightly on the chest with his hand. "...but what?"
As Justin began to explain, I had to grudgingly admit that it would make me happy, too.
Early spring
I stood near the gravesite, watching as Justin carefully tamped down the dirt around the red tulips he had just planted. I had to admit - the stone he had chosen was simple but elegant. The inscription etched on it was sentimental and outrageously romantic. But as he stood up to join me and I placed my hand on his shoulder blade to draw him closer to me, I couldn't help thinking how appropriate it was.
Nathan Drake - Beloved Companion of Asa Wilcox
My Love is Boundless Like the Ocean
"It feels very peaceful here," Justin murmured as we looked around at the flowering shrubs and brilliant green leaves of the shade trees. The elaborate, black wrought iron fence surrounding the gravesite - previously rusty, faded, and forlorn-looking - was now painted a glossy ebony color and shone under the bright sun overhead, and the grass was neatly manicured. Looking at the scene resembling an intricate creation, it was easy to see that an artist's hand had been responsible for it.
"Yeah, it does," I murmured beside him as I leaned my head to touch his and nuzzle it briefly in affection as I cupped my hand around his neck. Since the séance, Nathaniel had never appeared again, but a sense of strength and warmth had prevailed afterward and we no longer feared being spied upon anymore.
"Do you really think there is an afterlife, Brian? One like Mysterious Marilyn described, I mean?"
"I don't know, Justin," I told him honestly as he slid his arm around my waist while we just stood there, gazing at the grave. "At least not like she described. But I don't think I can deny that something exists after we leave here - not after what we saw." I turned him in my arms to face me as I smiled down at him tenderly. "Whatever it's like, though, I know it will be okay. Because you'll be there with me."
He smiled up at me radiantly then as we came together for a deep kiss, the sun seeming to shine just a little brighter as we did.
Chapter End Notes:
That's it! Sorry it's a few days past Halloween; I tried, but it just grew larger than I anticipated.;) Thank you for reading my not-so-spooky tale. Hope you enjoyed it.;)
