A/N: Aaaaahhh. Guys, I'm soooo sorry for taking this long to update I've been working on final exams, some Les Mis fics, and a new Tamora Pierce one ('tis called Goldflame: Mage's Dream...if you're fans, do check it out! =)), so I've totally forgotten about this one. ::sheepish look::
Anyway, for all fans of NWhere who haven't done so already...READ AMERICAN GODS AND STARDUST!!!!! THEY'RE SOOOOOO FRIGGIN' GOOD!!!! /Neil promo
Dom, Mickey, Jaina Kenobi, mia, Fairytale Dream, Vara, Arian3, Akumu Nakidasu, thank you so much for reviewing! I'm so sorry it's taken this long...it's summer, so I'll try to make less space between updates in the future. Yes, there's more, and I'm hoping to make it quite long. Thanks for sticking with me =)
This chapter's short, and I apologize. I just wanted my NWhere muse back...the next one will hopefully be longer, and the third even more so. ::grin::
Disclaimer: ::groans:: Must I? Wait, wait, don't answer that. All characters used in this production (this chapter at least) belong to the genius Neil Gaiman. ::bowbowworshipworship::
::: Neverwhere: The Journey Continues :::
:: Chapter One ::
Door was pacing along the length of a room in Blackfriar Station. It was the room with the fireplace where she and the marquis had last seen Richard. It was the room she and the marquis had been in when the marquis had gone to retrieve Richard. And it was the room that Door was now in, waiting for both of them to return.
"But are you absolutely sure they'll be here soon?" she asked, rounding suddenly on the short man in the room with her.
The man, a butler of Door's grandfather's who had come to work for the Black Friars upon his master's death, greatly resembled an extremely pompous, stuffy, and monk-robed, Snow White-esque dwarf and was constantly clearing his throat into a black handkerchief. "No, my lady," he said, following a fit of coughing, in overly patient tones. "I am not absolutely sure of anything. But from what His Excellency de Carabas has said, I am hoping that they will return soon."
"Oh, screw you," Door said in the tones of someone who has said this so many times they don't truly mean it anymore. Ignoring the extremely offended look on the little man's face, she returned to pacing.
Door wasn't a patient girl. The fact that they'd been waiting for nearly an hour didn't help matters much.
After several more minutes, the butler made a timid suggestion. "It truly may help my lady's nerves if she were to stop pacing, sit down, and drink a nice cup of tea to calm herself..." A withering look from Door effectively silenced him, and after a few minutes he muttered, "Or perhaps not."
:::::
"The last time I saw you," Richard told the marquis conversationally, "you were in a wheelchair."
"The last time I saw you," retorted the marquis, "you were extremely nosy, damned inquisitive, and wanting to know everything about everything." He turned to face Richard, that inexorable grin on his face. "Obviously, nothing has changed."
Richard grinned. He'd missed everything about London Below, even the marquis's dry humour and sarcasm. "Good to see you too, de Carabas."
The marquis turned back to the street in front of him, still grinning. He'd grown to like having Richard around; he had a good heart, and his ignorance about the Underside and consequency stupid questions were extremely refreshing. It was good to have him back, really.
They hadn't been walking long, but already Richard could feel his blood being infused with the air from the Underside. He breathed in deeply, then choked on the air and began to cough wildly. The marquis paused, amused; he waited for Richard to finish coughing before shaking his head and continuing his walk. Richard didn't care; he was too happy to be back down. He was going to see Door again! And the Black Friars! And possibly any of the other crazy people he had met on his stay in London Below. He set off after the marquis at sort of a skip, humming a various medley of songs under his breath. The marquis just looked up at him, shook his head some more, and walked a little quicker.
Soon, they reached the Blackfriars' abbey. Their welcome there was distinctly warmer than the last time, Richard thought with a grin; two of the friars bowed on either side of them, ushering them in. Richard walked behind the marquis, who obviously knew where he was going (or was doing a very good job acting as such).
They eventually arrived at the edge of a parlour-like room. The marquis opened the door and spread his hand with a flourish to welcome Richard in. The young man had barely had time to register the room's appearance when he was tackled very suddenly by a large weight with dark auburn hair.
"Hello, Door," Richard gasped, rather out of breath, then registered who was hugging him. "Door!" he said again, in an altogether different tone and hugged her back.
Eventually she pulled away, beaming up at Richard. Her fire-opal eyes glittered up at him; he suspected that there was some wetness in them that made them gleam so. She looked slightly cleaner; her hair was tangled, but had less dirt in it; she wore as odd of an assortment of clothing as usual – baggy jeans with a tulle skirt forced over, a sweater with a few holes over a white shirt, and a lacy coat under her usual heavy one – but they all looked fairly dirt-free. It was so good to see her again.
"It's so good to see you again," Door said breathlessly, looking happier than Richard had ever seen her. All he could do was nod and hug her again.
The marquis cleared his throat pointedly. "Lady Door? Now that Mister Mayhew is here, may we go?" Richard glanced at de Carabas; he was rocking from foot to foot, looking impatient (but elegantly so). It rather resembled a large cat tired of being in one place, aching for excitement.
Door looked at him crossly. "Give us time for a proper reunion, de Carabas," she berated him, then turned back to Richard, eyes glowing with joy. "You'll have to tell me everything that happened," she told him, slipping her hand into his. It was a friendly, almost childish gesture rather than a romantic one, and Richard found it comforting. "What made you come back?"
"It's something of a long story," Richard said uneasily, glancing at de Carabas.
Door noticed, and sighed. "Well, it'll have to wait, then, I suppose...de Carabas is right, anyway. We should get moving."
"But where are we going?" Richard asked, confused.
"I'll explain on the way," she replied, shoulding a bag that she'd dropped upon tackling Richard. "Come on."
Confused and realizing that this would probably become his usual state of mind in the Underside, Richard followed Door and the marquis outside of the abbey. He glanced back at it and remarked, "You know, I wish I could have seen the abbot again. It would have been nice..."
As if on cue, the abbot, supported by two friars, appeared out of the gloom and fog at the entrance. "Good to see you again too, young man," the abbot chuckled.
"R-right," Richard said uneasily, waved, remembered that the abbot was blind, and instead said, "See you," before following the marquis and Door away.