Life Lessons (Original Fiction)
Jul. 21st, 2017 11:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
asphaltcowgrrlTitle: Life Lessons
Fandom: Unnamed vampire fandom (this is what happens when you stop writing something for five years)
Pairing: Ella+Devyn
Rating: PG-13 for some language
Word Count: 812
Summary: At Devyn’s age you’d think he’d have learned from his mistakes, but there’s one bad habit he can’t seem to break.
Author’s Note: Written for the Say What Friday challenge. The prompt was: "Experience is a brutal teacher. You learn. My God do you learn." – C.S. Lewis. I thought it was a good prompt to use to drag Devyn back into the light of day, so to speak.
He slid into his usual booth and watched the bartender move around behind the bar like it was her domain. In a way, it was, he thought. She was lord and master over all the bottles, glasses, and garnishments, she might as well act like it. A smile tugged at his lips as she picked up a rag and began wiping down the bar, humming as she worked. It was what he liked about her best, her ability to enjoy anything she was doing, no matter how boring or mundane.
She spotted him sitting there, staring like a lovesick teenager, and smiled. God, it did things to his insides when she did that. Just when he thought he was well and truly dead inside, he’d met her and she’d proven him wrong on every count.
“Devyn,” she called across the room. “It’s been a while.”
Tossing her rag into the sink, she pulled an order pad out of her apron pocket and strode over towards where he sat. It was still early, just past sundown, and the place was empty. All that would change within an hour but, until then, she was his and his alone.
“Indeed it has,” he said, feeling the smile rise to his face unbidden. “How have you been, Ella?”
At home in her longtime workplace, she leaned a hip against the table. Her bright smile like a ray of sunshine in the dark barroom. “Eh, you know,” she said, shrugging one shoulder. “Same ol’, same ol’. But I can deal with that. I know how to handle the regular stuff. It’s the unexpected things that throw you off balance.”
Unexpected things like him, he supposed. He hadn’t intended for her to find out his true nature, but he’d underestimated exactly how savvy the girl was. Beautiful and brilliant, he was doubly blessed to have her in his life. Which only meant that she was doubly cursed for having met him. As much as he’d like to believe that his good fortune cancelled out her rotten luck, he knew all too well that the universe didn’t work that way.
He gave himself a mental kick before her sweet charm could win him over for the millionth time. Don’t get involved with mortals – it was one of the unspoken rules of his kind. One he’d known even when he’d been no more than a fledgling. It made sense to break all attachments to anything that might grow old and die while you continue living. Friends, family, lovers. Pets, even. Devyn never argued the logic of the decree and yet, he still found himself unable to obey its wisdom.
Damn but he was a fool. After all his years wandering the planet, you’d think he’d have learned that hard lesson by now. And what a cruel punishment it was, forever falling in love and losing the most important person in your live over and over again.
For eternity.
His Ella was talking to him again and he forced himself to concentrate on her words, rather than the beat of her heart, the soft swish of the blood in her veins. Needing a reason to stay planted where he sat, Devyn ordered a cocktail he’d never drink. Sitting back against the cracked leather of the booth’s back, he watched and waited.
The bar filled with men and women of all sorts. Some couples, a few groups, but mostly single men looking for an undeniably beautiful woman. Although Ella was a favorite target of these lonely men, she never let it – or anything – get to her. It soothed his wary soul to watch her so easily rebuff her admirers, gave him hope that maybe someday she’d say yes to him.
That was the rub, however. If she said yes, he’d be forced to watch her grow old and die while he was helpless to stop it. On the other hand, even if she said no, rebuked him fully, he wouldn’t be able to disengage himself from her presence. To put it in the terms of the times, he was well and truly fucked.
His eyes flicked towards the bar and caught sight of Ella laughing at something a good looking redhead said. The urge to rip the ginger’s throat out with his teeth rose in Devyn’s chest. As if she’d felt his jealousy, Ella’s gaze found him. Since the day he’d met her, he’d wondered if she had some sort of sixth sense, she was always so tuned into his moods. She gave a slight shake of her head and winked, sending a flush of something through his dead heart.
Immortality was a bitch, but sometimes, every once in a long while, he found something worth holding onto. Even if he’d eventually have to let this bird fly, he could cradle her gently for the moment. Enjoy every second while it lasted.
Fandom: Unnamed vampire fandom (this is what happens when you stop writing something for five years)
Pairing: Ella+Devyn
Rating: PG-13 for some language
Word Count: 812
Summary: At Devyn’s age you’d think he’d have learned from his mistakes, but there’s one bad habit he can’t seem to break.
Author’s Note: Written for the Say What Friday challenge. The prompt was: "Experience is a brutal teacher. You learn. My God do you learn." – C.S. Lewis. I thought it was a good prompt to use to drag Devyn back into the light of day, so to speak.
He slid into his usual booth and watched the bartender move around behind the bar like it was her domain. In a way, it was, he thought. She was lord and master over all the bottles, glasses, and garnishments, she might as well act like it. A smile tugged at his lips as she picked up a rag and began wiping down the bar, humming as she worked. It was what he liked about her best, her ability to enjoy anything she was doing, no matter how boring or mundane.
She spotted him sitting there, staring like a lovesick teenager, and smiled. God, it did things to his insides when she did that. Just when he thought he was well and truly dead inside, he’d met her and she’d proven him wrong on every count.
“Devyn,” she called across the room. “It’s been a while.”
Tossing her rag into the sink, she pulled an order pad out of her apron pocket and strode over towards where he sat. It was still early, just past sundown, and the place was empty. All that would change within an hour but, until then, she was his and his alone.
“Indeed it has,” he said, feeling the smile rise to his face unbidden. “How have you been, Ella?”
At home in her longtime workplace, she leaned a hip against the table. Her bright smile like a ray of sunshine in the dark barroom. “Eh, you know,” she said, shrugging one shoulder. “Same ol’, same ol’. But I can deal with that. I know how to handle the regular stuff. It’s the unexpected things that throw you off balance.”
Unexpected things like him, he supposed. He hadn’t intended for her to find out his true nature, but he’d underestimated exactly how savvy the girl was. Beautiful and brilliant, he was doubly blessed to have her in his life. Which only meant that she was doubly cursed for having met him. As much as he’d like to believe that his good fortune cancelled out her rotten luck, he knew all too well that the universe didn’t work that way.
He gave himself a mental kick before her sweet charm could win him over for the millionth time. Don’t get involved with mortals – it was one of the unspoken rules of his kind. One he’d known even when he’d been no more than a fledgling. It made sense to break all attachments to anything that might grow old and die while you continue living. Friends, family, lovers. Pets, even. Devyn never argued the logic of the decree and yet, he still found himself unable to obey its wisdom.
Damn but he was a fool. After all his years wandering the planet, you’d think he’d have learned that hard lesson by now. And what a cruel punishment it was, forever falling in love and losing the most important person in your live over and over again.
For eternity.
His Ella was talking to him again and he forced himself to concentrate on her words, rather than the beat of her heart, the soft swish of the blood in her veins. Needing a reason to stay planted where he sat, Devyn ordered a cocktail he’d never drink. Sitting back against the cracked leather of the booth’s back, he watched and waited.
The bar filled with men and women of all sorts. Some couples, a few groups, but mostly single men looking for an undeniably beautiful woman. Although Ella was a favorite target of these lonely men, she never let it – or anything – get to her. It soothed his wary soul to watch her so easily rebuff her admirers, gave him hope that maybe someday she’d say yes to him.
That was the rub, however. If she said yes, he’d be forced to watch her grow old and die while he was helpless to stop it. On the other hand, even if she said no, rebuked him fully, he wouldn’t be able to disengage himself from her presence. To put it in the terms of the times, he was well and truly fucked.
His eyes flicked towards the bar and caught sight of Ella laughing at something a good looking redhead said. The urge to rip the ginger’s throat out with his teeth rose in Devyn’s chest. As if she’d felt his jealousy, Ella’s gaze found him. Since the day he’d met her, he’d wondered if she had some sort of sixth sense, she was always so tuned into his moods. She gave a slight shake of her head and winked, sending a flush of something through his dead heart.
Immortality was a bitch, but sometimes, every once in a long while, he found something worth holding onto. Even if he’d eventually have to let this bird fly, he could cradle her gently for the moment. Enjoy every second while it lasted.
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no subject
Date: 2017-07-22 01:54 am (UTC)I kinda like this vamp.
He can come out and play more often. ;)
no subject
Date: 2017-07-22 02:49 pm (UTC)Hopefully I can lure him out again soon. :)