Disclaimer: None of the Benedicts/the Savant World belong to me – all rights to Joss Stirling.

Chapter Six

Xav's POV

It hurts. The days pass in a misty blur and I try to take as much in as possible because like Crystal said, this is a big opportunity for me. During the day, I manage to focus on work. On taking notes, on bringing my boss coffee, on absorbing information. At night, distraction proves more difficult because the moment my head hits the pillow, the emptiness on the other side of bed becomes too obvious to ignore. It's little things that hurt the most. The fact that I can't steal pancakes off anyone's plate at breakfast. How I have to shower alone (true first-world problem, I'm aware). How I open the door to my room without being greeted by the sight of my beautiful soulfinder lounging on the couch in her sweats. I'm not lacking attention. The young girls at the reception desk who are obviously very new to the job (otherwise they wouldn't be so blatantly obvious and vocal about their desire to 'shag' me) give me the once-over every freaking time I'm in the lobby and bat their eyelids so many times that I'm starting to think they have some fatal eye condition.

It's been three and a half weeks and my heart aches every time I see Crystal on the screen of my laptop when we're skyping. She's stuck to her 'No Skype-sex' rule but thankfully, she's gotten into the habit of wearing … not much whenever we skype. Though that does tend to make it more difficult to focus on what she's actually saying about life back in New York.

A knock on the door brings me back to reality and letting out a groan, I get up to open the door.

"Xavier, excellent news!" My boss strides into my room and without me inviting him to do so, flops down onto the bed and helps himself to cookies. The asshole.

"Has something happened, sir?" I hate having to be such a suck-up and if Crystal were here, she would totally take the piss out of me.

"The urology conference has been cancelled."

"What? I mean, excuse me?"

Does that mean-?

"The old man Danvers took ill yesterday. Poor ol' mate. Ironic, isn't it? At a doctor's conference. You'd think the man would have more –"

"Sir, does this mean we get to go home tomorrow?"

"I've asked Millie to deal with the arrangements –"
"Yes or No?" I interrupt not bothering about his opinion.

"Yes, Xavier. We're going home today actually. Millie managed to - "

I don't even listen to the rest of his jabbering as I tug out my phone to send Crystal a short text and at the same time, reach for my suitcase to start packing.

"You've got someone you can't wait to see?" My boss asks.

No, just the love of my life, my beautiful soulfinder who I haven't seen for four entire weeks! Crystal would be proud of that sarcasm, bro.

"Yeah, my girlfriend."

"That her?" He asks and points at the framed picture of Crystal on my bedside table. Horribly cheesy, I admit, and thankfully, she didn't actually see me put it in the suitcase. It is a photo of the two of us standing on top of Accademia Bridge, shortly after the wedding ceremony. We were unaware of the photo being taken and I'd apparently said something to make her laugh. She looks so happy on that photo that it just had to accompany here to Europe. I'll just have to sneak it back on the window sill in the living room without her noticing.

"Yeah" I say and start tearing the shirts off their hangers and stuffing them carelessly into the suitcase.

"She's a right beauty" He says and manages to make it sound non-pervy.

"I know" I say and can't help but grin. I must look like a total love-sick lunatic.

"Well, I'll leave you to it, Xavier. Cab leaves in two hours. Don't you dare be late."

"How could if I've got her to go back to." I say grinningly and nod towards the photo.

My boss winks at me, heaves himself off the bed and leaves the room. Just then, my phone buzzes and the message Diamond has sent me makes my heart soar. It is a picture of Crystal staring at her phone with a huge grin on her face, a spoonful of cornflakes halfway to her mouth. Underneath, Diamond has written Her look when she got your text! Come back safe, we all miss you xo

Shortly after, my phone buzzes again and this time it is Crystal who's just sent a row of dazed, super-happy smileys and hearts, written underneath is Tell me when your flight comes in – I'll have the car ready, the radio on and Train on full volume :) Love and miss you 3 3

Crystal's POV

"Good mooorning!"
Diamond's annoyingly cheery voice wakes me up completely and I bury my face in my pillows, groaning loudly. It's been like this for the last three and half weeks. Without Xav next to me every morning, it's getting increasingly difficult to get myself out of bed every day. That's why Diamond and Trace decided to visit me, Diamond unofficially assigning herself to be my personal, very irritating alarm clock.

"C'mon, Crystal. There's coffee in the kitchen."

Succumbing to temptation, I roll myself out of bed and slouch into the kitchen, tying my hair up in the process. Trace is standing at the stove making us all scrambled eggs and Diamond is preparing two bowls of cereal for the two of us. I stayed up late last night skyping with Xav so this morning I can barely keep my eyes open. Seeing Xav on Skype has either been a) a horrible experience because it only makes me painfully aware of the fact of how much I miss him and/or b) a truly bad decision. I look forward to our Skype-sessions every evening but once we end the call, I feel terrible again. I tried not to show my misery when Vic and Uriel came to visit because they don't have a soulfinder at all and it would be really tactless to complain about missing my soulfinder when they don't even know where theirs is.

I half-heartedly start shoving cornflakes in my mouth while Diamond is sitting opposite me, checking her phone. Suddenly, my phone buzzes and I have to rub the sleep out of my eyes completely in order to decipher the miniature writing.

Guess who's coming home this evening?

I can feel a huge grin form on my face and it isn't until I hear that loud 'Snap' and Diamond giggling uncontrollably that I realize she's taken a photo of my reaction.

"Give it to me" I say and hold out my hand for her phone.

Shaking her head, she flees to the living room, me hot on her heels.

"Give. It. To. Me" I gasp as I throw myself on her from behind and try to tickle the phone off her. We're acting like ten year olds and for some reason, it feels really nice.

"No" She sobs as tears of laughter stream down her face. "Traaace! Help me!" Trace just chuckles and walks back to tend to breakfast.

"Give it –"
"Hah! Sent." Diamond sits up, straightens her hair and waltzes off into the kitchen all smug-looking.

I give up and lean over the edge of the sofa to write my reply, the grin never leaving my face.

Why does no one else at arrivals looks as excited as me? Seriously, they all look like it's their duty to be here not their free will. Dimwits, every single one of them. The board changes from 'Landed' to 'Baggage' and my heart rate speeds up slightly. Being the tactful person she is, Diamond suggested her and Trace spend the last night of their stay at a hotel to leave the place to me and Xav. She's an angel, most of the time, just not when she's sending pictures of you with your mouth open, in your pyjamas with no make-up on and your hair in a mess. I'm barely able to contain my excitement and start bouncing on the balls of my feet, earning myself quite a few amused looks from passers-by.

My whole life, I thought of being tall as a curse of some kind. But as I can easily recognise Xav's head behind the security walls, I thank my parents and God for making me a Redwood and not a bonsai like Sky. The moment my eyes meet Xav's, we both break out into enormous, too-big-for-our-faces smiles and I don't care how cliché we look as I start running towards him.

Xav's POV

As soon as I enter the arrivals section, I scan the crowd for a head of frizzy, dark curls, finding them almost immediately. Our eyes meet and I can't stop the beam forming on my face and my heart rate picking up and the aeroplanes in my stomach starting all over again. All I can see is my girl, my soulfinder running towards me, jumping up to wrap her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. I drop my bag to hold her with both arms and press her so tightly against me as if this is our last chance. Soon enough, I feel hot tears against my neck and pull back slightly to give Crystal a proper kiss.

"I've missed you so much" I mutter in between kisses, too focused on the feeling of her lips against mine. A feeling that I've been denied for four weeks. Four unbearably long weeks. She buries her face in my neck again and slowly I bend down to retrieve my bag and walk towards the exit, carrying her like a little child. When we're out of the way of most other passengers, I gently let her to the ground but she continues to hold me, more tears running down her beautiful face.

"Cupcake, sshh." I whisper and stroke her hair in what I hope is a soothing manner. "It's okay. I'm here."

Laughing suddenly, she pulls back, her arms still looped loosely around my neck.

"I'm sorry. I have no idea why I'm crying –"

"Don't be sorry, darlin'. Now, c'mere that I can kiss you some more" I say gently and pull her in for another round of kisses.

"Never again" Crystal breathes as she flops back into the pillows.

"Hey! I wasn't that bad. I just haven't had the opportunity to practice in the last four weeks –"

"Not the sex, you dimwit. Though we do have to do that more often to keep you fit." She smirks and nudges me playfully. "I meant the going-away bit. It is awful."

"I know." I say and lean sideways to ruffle her hair, something I've missed being able to do. "Never again!"

"By the way, Kermit, I totally saw you packing that picture."

Did I do Xav too OOC? I'm not really used to /good at writing from a guy's perspective. Was listening to Red Wine by Lukas Graham while writing that last part - it totally fits somehow :)

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