Under Different Circumstances
Don't Go
Disclaimer: KJEFN ERHJ
Under Different Circumstances
Don't Go
Jean-Pierre sighed, as he woke up that morning. His lover was clinging to him and he was seriously hoping he could make things as easy as possible for the both of them, but with Vincent's arms wrapped tightly around his midriff, this would be difficult. He sighed again.
He found out, a while back, the company he worked for was sending him on a business trip in Sweden, for two weeks. He was enthralled at the prospect of traveling and even happier when his boss told him he could bring someone along with him.
After he told his other boss (the unfortunate man who helped him lead his province, God how he hated politics) and "le mouton" (that's what he and Vincent called him), said he could take the time off, Jean-Pierre told Vincent the good news and they were both looking forward to the little trip. However, Vincent's boss wasn't as lenient about the time off and with a last minute, emergency, four day convention of some sorts that was sprung on him; he wasn't able to go.
It was the day of Jean-Pierre's departure and a day that would prove to be emotionally draining. Surprisingly, or maybe not that much so, Vincent wasn't in that much of a good mood, ever since he was told he couldn't leave with Jean-Pierre. The other man tried making jokes about Swedish girls and boys, but when he saw those tears glistening in his partner's eyes, he stopped with the comments and assured Vincent he was the only one for him.
Vincent offered to drive Jean-Pierre to the airport and he accepted. However, his intention always was to leave quietly, while Vincent was still sleeping and slip out of the house, avoiding having to say goodbye. He hated goodbyes. Always had and still did. He didn't tell Vincent and he would have picked up and left, but he became extremely clingy somewhere during the night.
Even when they were younger, whenever Vincent would feel distressed, he would always go looking for the extra hug or comforting embrace. Jean-Pierre could remember countless nights from his childhood, when their father had to sleep in their bedroom, because Vincent wouldn't let go of Matthew's nightshirt.
Jean-Pierre thought after last night, his lover would have been too numb to revert to his clinginess, but apparently, it was not the case. He made sure every one of Vincent's needs were filled during the night, assuring him both mentally and physically he would return. In exchange, Vincent showed exactly what it was he would be missing for two weeks. Now he wanted to get up and leave, but he couldn't.
He tried to pry Vincent's hands away from his body and even though he tried to be gentle, by the time he thought he succeeded, Vincent turned over and furrowed his head in the crook of his neck mumbling something. He waited a moment.
"Vincent?" He was hoping not to get an answer, but instead, his partner's arms only tightened back their hold around him.
"Jean… you weren't leaving?" He sighed. So much for that plan.
"Non, j'm'en allais me doucher, veux-tu venir?"/ "No, I was going to take a shower, d'you want to come?" He waited as Vincent nodded and he then headed for the bathroom. At this point, they took their time with everything, enjoying their last moments together, languid kisses here and there, a little quick exchange of love, before having breakfast and then it was pretty much time for Jean-Pierre to close up his suitcase and head for the airport.
When Vincent offered to drive him to the airport, they came to the agreement, or more like, Jean-Pierre convinced him they should keep their displays of affection to a minimum. At first, Vincent accused him of being ashamed of their relationship, but then Jean-Pierre mentioned they would be in a very open area where people from all over the world could see them and not everyone was as open as they sometimes thought.
Whether because he agreed, or whether Vincent simply wanted to avoid a conflict with Jean-Pierre, he agreed and the topic was never brought up afterwards. However, he made it his point to be as affectionate as possible the night before.
When they got to the airport, Jean-Pierre checked in and got rid of his luggage. He then returned to where Vincent was waiting for him. They stood silently, as they looked at each other, for a moment, before coming to the understanding they should go to the gate.
They finally got in line and even got to talking a bit, but it was evident to them there was tension. The line continued to advance and Jean-Pierre tried to get the conversation flowing, to no avail.
"I guess I'll go now… no point in me staying." Vincent finally said. He nodded. He was about to hug him and Vincent even half raised his arms before they stopped.
"Merci."/ "Thanks." He finally said. Vincent nodded, turned around and started walking away. Jean-Pierre watched for a moment and felt the resolve in him slowly crack, before it was finally completely vanished.
"Vincent!" He called back. His lover stopped and slowly turned around to find him with his arms open to the side and a small, half smile on his face. Vincent didn't even need to think twice, before running to him and hugging him tight. He relished the feel of those strong arms around his frame and buried his face in Jean-Pierre's shoulder, taking a deep whiff of the aftershave Jean-Pierre used that morning.
When Jean-Pierre put him down, he looked straight into his eyes, look softening visibly so, before drawing his face close and kissing his lips. Vincent wasn't expecting the gesture, but he welcomed it.
And in that moment, Jean-Pierre did not care they were at the airport. He did not care there was a woman shaking her head, or a man sneering at them. He did not care about the little girl who asked her parents what was going on, he did not care about the young woman who thought it was a very moving scene, he just cared that Vincent was in his arms and he would miss him terribly.
"J't'appelle quand j'arrive."/ "I'll call you when I get there." He murmured, once he pulled away.
"T'es mieux!"/ "You better!" Vincent replied with a small smile.
"Tiens, prends ça et ouvre le quand j'vais être parti, oké?"/ "Here, take this and open it when I'll be gone, okay?" He took the bag he was carrying around with him and handed it to Vincent, who took it with uncertain hands.
"J'dois y aller…"/ "I have to go." He trailed off. Goodbyes were always so awkward. Vincent nodded again.
"Sourit un peu, tu vas voir, deux semaines, ça va passer rapidement."/ "Smile a bit, you'll see, two weeks will go by quickly." He quickly kissed him. Vincent gave him a half smile.
"Je t'aime, Vincent."/ "I love you, Vincent." A final kiss.
"Moi aussi."/ "Me too." The murmured reply. Jean-Pierre nodded and left. He gave a final wave, once he got to the gate and Vincent watched, as his boyfriend left. He stood there for a minute longer, before clutching the bag tightly in his hands and walking out.
When he got to his car, he sat down and before he returned home, he opened the bag. In it, he found Jean-Pierre's favourite, well-worn and well-used, blue sweatshirt. Pinned to it was a note written in his hasty scrawl.
"Vincent,
Je te passe ma veste préférée que je sais que t'aimes emprunter de temps à autre (et oui, je connais ton petit secret) comme ça t'auras un petit bout de moi avec toi jusqu'à ce que je revienne. Retourne à la maison et on se voit dans deux semaines.
Jean."
"Vincent,
I'm lending you my favourite sweatshirt I know you like borrowing from time to time (yes, I know your little secret) that way you can have a part of me with you, until I come back. Go back home and I'll see you in two weeks.
Jean."
Vincent put the note on the passenger side and took out the sweatshirt. He brought it to his face and hummed the odour that was uniquely his lover's. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment, for a few seconds, before heading back home.
He was sitting on his bed, watching some late night program to kill some time, when the phone rang. Vincent picked it up and sat up a little straighter.
"Hello?"
"Salut mon coeur."/ "Hey, love." He heard his partner say, from the other end of the line. His face lit up with a smile.
"Salut toi même. Tout c'est bien passé?"/ "Hey yourself. Everything went okay?"
"Ouais. C'tait long et chu mort de fatigue, mais tout est correct. Toi, ça va?"/ "Yeah. It was long and I'm dead tired, but everything's okay. You, everything okay?"
"Yeah, j'ai rien à faire, mais bon. Et puis, la Suède, c'est comment? T'as fait quoi depuis que t'es arrivé?"/ "Yeah, I have nothing to do, but oh well. And how's Sweden? What did you do since you got there?" He snuggled back down in his bed and pulled the sweatshirt closer to his body. He closed his eyes and imagined he was lying in bed with his lover, just talking as they oftentimes did at night.
"On a eu une petite visite guidée du coin, avant de manger un peu et ensuite on est rentré à l'hôtel. C'est très beau. Le paysage est superbe. J't'enverrai une photo demain. Manque juste une chose pour que ça soit parfait."/ "We had a small guided tour of the town, before eating a bit and then we went to the hotel. It's really nice. The scenery is superb. I'll send you a picture tomorrow. There's only one thing missing for it to be perfect."
"Quoi?"/ "What?" He had a feeling he knew the answer, but he played the game.
"Toi."/ "You." Vincent couldn't help but smile brightly at that.
"Yé quelle heure là-bas?"/ "What time is it there?" Jean-Pierre paused, as he probably looked at the time and then answered him.
"Qu'est c'que tu fais encore debout?! Va te coucher, y faut que tu dormes un peu, allez, ouste, on s'parlera demain, go!"/ "What are you doing still up?! Go sleep, you need to sleep a bit, come on, shoo, I'll talk to you tomorrow, go!" Jean-Pierre chuckled.
"Oui Maman. Bonne nuit."/ "Yes Mommy. Good night."
"Bonne nuit, appelle moi demain."/ "Good night, call me tomorrow."
"D'accord, j't'aime."/ "Okay, 'love you." He never got tired of hearing those words.
"Moi aussi je t'aime."/ "Love you too."
OWARI 10
Done mostly because I went away to New York for a weekend a while back.
I do accept anonymous reviews.
Started writing: September 30th 2010, 10:34pm
Finished writing: October 1st 2010, 11:43am
Started typing: October 19th 2010, 11:08pm
Finished typing: October 19th 2010, 11:59pm
