BT – Chance Encounters – All I want for Xmas
Chapter 5 – The Decision
Everything must come to an end, you know, so here is the finally chapter. Hope you'll like it and won't get mad at me for the little dent I'm making on the original story. This is AU, one of the endless possibilities we get when we go through the looking glass of our imagination ;)
He drifts by one night as you come home from a late show at the local movie theater and then a long session of star gazing on your way home. You're in the process of unlocking the door when he suddenly appears out of thin air right next to you, scaring the shit out of you. You're going to tell him in not so many words as, damn him, he's done it too many times and obviously enjoyed it every single time. But then, you check yourself as you see the look of hurt in his eyes. You've seen it before but never to that point. His body is shaking and you can tell he's barely controlling himself and the vampire in him.
"Henry, wow, you frightened me," you whisper as your hand comes to gently stroke his cheek. He doesn't recoil from your touch but you can see him making an effort not to pounce on you, his pain and is it anger? showing on his face. He's closed his eyes and is endeavoring to check his temper. You drop your hand and sigh, tears clinging at your eyes from the latent rebuke and the compassion you feel for him. He always brings out the strongest emotions in you, often getting you over the edge and this is so new to you. You used to have such a normal and quiet life before he stormed into your life...
"She's hurt you again, hasn't she?" you ask, seething with indignation.
"Don't!" he growls. He opens his eyes in a flash and you can see you've gone too far. You know all too well you shouldn't talk about her unless he's started the conversation but you also know he won't hurt you. The bond between you has grown too strong now. You know he cares about you and he's well aware you care about him.
"Henry, I'm your confidante. Don't shut me out. You wouldn't be here anyway if you didn't want to confide in me..." you point out, smiling fondly at him.
He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes again. When he opens them, you see his anger has abated and you can detect a strong resolve in his gaze.
"May I come in?" he asks you.
"As if you needed to ask!" You shrug. You open the door, hang your coat and drop your bag on the floor and go to settle on the couch, gathering your knees up under your chin. You brace yourself for whatever is coming. He seems pretty upset. Actually, you've never seen him so upset before. He joins you and sits on the coffee table, facing you.
"So? What gives?" you prod him, your nerves on edge.
"I don't want to talk about Vicki," he states coolly.
"Ooo-kay," you agree, knowing more is coming.
"I came because I needed to ask you a question." You can see he's strained.
"OK," you say again, expecting the worst now.
"I'm leaving." He looks you in the eyes and pauses.
Your heart drops. You can feel your eyes filling with tears. "It's not a question, Henry."
"Let me finish..." You nod. "Will you come with me?"
He's said it as if he already knew the answer – that you'd say no. You can feel him shifting, getting ready to leave.
"Why?" It's the only thing that comes to mind as you're trying to process what's happening to you.
"No whys, my lady. I don't intend to explain why I have to leave, at least not for the the time being. There might come a time when I'm ready to open up about it. But not now. Just answer my question. A simple yes or no will do," he adds as he abruptly stands and as he does, you can see the prince in him. He's not used to having his decisions questioned. The sweet young artist barely out of adolescence has disappeared behind the mask of royal disdain.
"You misunderstood me, Henry. I only meant why me?" you answer shyly and hold out your hand to him so he'd agree to sit down. He does and even takes your hand in both of his.
"Because it seems the right thing to do," he tells you. "You're the one I come to when I need company and comfort. You understand me more than most people I've met in my years as a vampire. I don't have to hide my true nature from you. You're not afraid of me and you even graced me once with telling me that I was not a monster in your eyes but only the best friend you'd ever had." He lifts his eyebrows: "Am I wrong?"
"No, Henry, you got it all right. What I don't get is why not her?" You cringe as you see the look of hurt in his eyes.
"She does not wish to come," he confesses, a single tear sliding down his cheek and dropping on your entangled hands. "Please, understand," he goes on, "I need to get away from here but I don't want to live on my own anymore. I'm a lonely old man..." You snort at that as you gaze upon his boyish features. "A man who's lived too long on his own," he adds. "I know it's not fair for you. My rushing to you after she's pushed me away, my dropping out of the blue and expecting you to leave everything behind at a moment's notice... Yet you and I have come to know each other so well, though in such a short time, and it felt so right to think of taking you with me... I shouldn't have come," he adds, his voice barely above a whisper.
If there's one thing you'd thought impossible, it was seeing him losing his smug confidence. You silence him with a finger on his lips and he looks at you enquiringly.
"If I can put my two cents in, your Lordship," you tease him. He nods his approval.
"Sorry," he adds sheepishly. "Please, do..." He motions for you to go on.
"Where would you be taking me if I may ask?"
"Is it of the matter?" He looks surprised.
"Nope, just wanted to know if I needed a passport – which I don't have..." You grin at him.
"Will Vancouver do?" he asks, a sudden twinkle of what looks like renewed hope in his crystal blue eyes. "Is it a yes?" he adds.
"Never been there before but I've been told it's a nice place to live..." You can see he's hanging onto your every word, waiting for your answer. You silently nod. He sighs with relief and lifts your hand to his lips to drop a light kiss on it. You then add: "On one condition."
He freezes then breathe out. "Anything," he states calmly.
"When you crave so much for her that you know you need to see her again..." He opens his mouth to protest but you lift your hand. "I'm not finished, Henry, and this is non-negotiable. The rest, I'll leave it to you." He nods his approval. "When it happens, was I saying, because it will, I want you to tell me. Period. No beating about the bush, no guilt. I'm aware it'll undoubtedly happen. It's part of the package. I know true love when I see it so don't you try and fool me about it, will ya? You don't belong with me. You belong with her."
You see the tears fall freely down his cheeks now. He needed this, needed to be with someone he can talk to about her, about everything. That's why you agree with him that, for the time being, you're the right one for him. You lean towards him and hug him tight and he lets you. He even returns the hug and nuzzles your hair and neck, breathing in your scent. You feel your blood sing in your veins for him and you knows he feels it too. He holds you flush to him and leaves a trail of scorching kisses down your jaw and neck.
"Feed," you whisper to him. "Nobody can think straight on an empty stomach."
He chuckles. "Are you sure?" he inquires.
"Yes, I'm sure, you dummy!"
"Humm," he whispers in your ear, "you smell so very sweet and delicious, love."
"Happy Meal or haute cuisine?" you tease him.
"Definitely the latter," he growls.
You feel a brief and sharp pain immediately replaced by intense pleasure. He's lifted you and settled you on his lap and you let your senses take over your mind. You can feel every emotion spinning through him as your blood flows in his mouth.
He laves your wound closed and wraps his arms tenderly around you as you're trying to regain control of your brain and body.
You massage your temples and you feel him tense immediately. "Headache?" he asks worriedly.
"Yes. No big deal. It's been a long day. I need some sleep."
"And some orange juice," he quips, getting up with you in his arms and heads for the kitchen.
"Put me down, Henry. I don't need you to baby me," you warn him.
"Yes, ma'am." He obliges, grinning.
You open the fridge and pour yourself some juice, gulp a couple of tablets and grab a cookie from the jar then pad back to the couch. He follows you and pulls you back into his embrace as you nibble at your cookie.
"Do we have a deal, Henry?" you prod him gently.
"Are you sure? I was going for a lifetime with you or until you decided it was time for you to move on, not the reverse. It seems so unfair to you..." His voice is ridden with guilt and worry.
"Unfair?! You gotta be kiddin' me, Your Grace!" you tease him. He eases his hug to look at you in the eyes. You laugh out loud at his look of utter amazement. "You could have chosen any woman in the vicinity or elsewhere and she'd willingly agreed to come with you. Any woman, Henry! Instead, you chose me! Living by your side for even a short period of time is worth years with anybody else. Henry Fitzroy, I never would have thought there'd come a time when someone would need to tell you this but here it comes – I think you need a pep talk! She might not realize it yet but you know what? Her loss, my gain. I'll be most happy and honored to borrow you from her until she realizes how stupid she was and comes begging for you to take her back." You grin at him and he cheekily beams at you. He suddenly becomes serious though.
"She's not one to beg..." he states sadly.
"Believe me, she will. She'll take her own sweet time, but she will. Nobody in their right mind can spend so much time with you without getting hooked on you." He chuckles and answers: "I'm hooked on you, for what it's worth."
"Thank you, Henry." You smile at him and caress his cheek. "But until then," you tell him mischievously, "you're mine."
He grins at you and lifts you from the couch and heads towards your bedroom. "Sounds promising. That's settled then. Yours." He adds: "Correct me if I'm wrong. You did say you were tired, right?"
You look at him innocently. "Nope. You must have mistaken me for someone else. Four hundred plus years must have finally impaired your hearing," you tease him. He growls and nibbles at your ear.
"Well then, young lady, in that case, you won't mind showing me what you mean by claiming me as yours, I suppose..." he whispers in your ear, sending shivers down your spine, as he turns down the lights.
THE END (for now)
Hope you liked that one as much as I enjoyed writing it. You'll briefly hear about my original character again in the new story I'm writing called The Affair. See you soon then...