Thankfully, said newspaper is taking on a life of its own and meeting Riley half-way.
Who would have thought? Given the fact that Aidan himself is rather busy fetching an ashtray, setting it down between them, and reaching into the inner pocket of his coat for his cigars and his matches. It's only after he's done lighting up that he's sliding the case over, and smiling.
"Who was in here before me?"
Because neither of them needed to talk about how Riley is feeling, what he still needed, how much time he had to take off in order to be back up to snuff. Not yet, anyway.
"Alistair," Riley states simply, head inclined in a gesture of thanks as he slides one out for himself.
He turns the cigar over, the length of it balanced between the tips of his index fingers.
"I had heard talk that you'd grown comfortable with," he lets the sentence trail, the smile on his face with the barest hint of teasing -- though there is a look in his eyes that belies curiosity; maybe even surprise.
Aidan, in turn, had the grace to look a little embarrassed. It was written in the soft laugh, that brief, downward turn of his gaze, and the way one hand lifted, absentmindedly, to scratch the back of his head.
"Yeah. Well." A pause. "What is the point of enjoying life if one forces one's self to have so many rules?"
So many others had told him this, with Riley being the first, and the likes of Setsuna, Hikaru, Alistair, Maes and Calintz later on. Now he was finally taking their advice.
"Sound advice given," the smile playing on his mouth is infinitely pleased. He reclines back in his seat, setting the paper down on the blanket draped on his lap.
"Good of you to finally take it."
There is a pause then, Riley's gaze falling to the headline but not really seeing or processing the way the letters have strung together. He's tired.
And at first, Aidan was quiet and watchful, noting down everything in front of him. Then he took a drag from his cigarette, and enjoyed the take in and exhale before speaking.
"You should take a break."
It's a simple suggestion, one that Riley can take or ignore as he wished.
There is a rather... undignified sound that escapes the vampire at that.
Riley leans back into his seat a little more just then, a small smile on his own lips as he looks up at his friend.
"I enjoy that statement about as much as you enjoy being told to go on holiday." He sighs, a long, suffering one. "Do you know how bloody tedious it is to be under house-arrest."
There's a hint of amusement there, if only because at least at one point in their lives every member of the Malice Kings had been told by their comrades that Under No Certain Terms Were They To Leave the Falner Manor for a Specified Amount of Time. They were a family that way.
"Well... I suppose that house arrest, in your case, does not have to mean being holed up in here all the time."
Liandrin was not going to be pleased with him for this but Aidan could deal with her later.
The look that springs to Riley's eyes is a cross between that of a patient being informed that he might be discharged from the watchful care of his doctors soon enough, and that of an inmate being told that there is a clear possibility of freedom.
But it's subdued quick enough when Riley recalls that there is one person in particular who will be displeased. And the fact that Aidan has that look of I will deal with that when it comes.
To that, he simply states: "You may tell Liandrin that a wheelchair is not as undignified as she thinks. Especially where it concerns someone as charming as I."
Unspoken of course, and delivered with a smile: she is going to never let us hear the end of it.
"I will make sure to pass the message to her after we take a turn around the estate."
Aidan's smile is a response unto itself.
No, not at all.
And a moment later, the Voidseeker was standing, building a wheelchair out of nothing with a gesture of his hand. After that, he was moving towards his old friend's side.
Riley's already pushing himself up, one hand reaching out to use Aidan's shoulder as support as he pulls himself up to his feet. It's a visible enough effort because sitting down for too long periods seems to remind his body that if circumstances were different, he should still be asleep.
He shoots Aidan a look from beneath his brows. "Don't even think of carrying me onto that chair, Aidan." And because he can't resist the jab. "You're a married man now."
To Aidan's credit, his own response is swift and easy and so very different from what anyone who had known him back in 2012 and earlier years might have expected.
"Quite happily married, yes." A pause, and then: "Now both of you share in the largest portion of my heart."
How long has it been since they could banter this way? He didn't really want to think about it. What was important was that they could, Vigil headaches be damned.
"You are such a bloody romantic, Aidan." It is really very good though, to hear that retort, to know that the smile behind it is full and true. Happiness is not a road, he's always thought, but the manner by which you deal with the journey -- and he and Aidan have been walking for a very, very long time. It's nice to see that for the rest of the way up ahead, his friend has this, come what may.
The Daywalker maneuvers himself into the chair at that, one look of reprimand at the Voidseeker as if to say Let me try to do this on my own first. You, good sir, can step in if I falter.
That look is, indeed, enough to keep Aidan from moving. He knew, of course, how important it was for Riley to do things for himself. That did not keep him from worrying, even a little.
After just a brief second of laughing at himself for his own hesitation, Aidan moved behind the wheelchair and took hold of its handles. The door to Riley's room is already opening of its own accord.
"You have probably noticed this already, but: you will be pleased to know that Jessiah had an elevator installed in the house."
Leaning back now and smiling at that bit of information. "I actually hadn't." The wry tone is accompanied by him turning around just a little to squint at Aidan, before he settles back against the seat.
"And how long did he have to wrestle with our lovely Lia to get that done?"
Those two. Forever bickering like children -- at least, when they weren't getting along like the mad little misfits they were.
Glancing down at Riley now, just once, before taking a bit of time out to pat his old friend on the shoulder. He knows exactly where that sorrow is coming from.
"I swear upon my honor that you're going to see a lot of interesting things while you're around, old friend. Some of it might pale in comparison to whatever you end up reading about, or hearing about."
"If what I hear comes straight from you, old friend, I don't think it will pale overmuch."
He lifts a hand to cover the Voidseeker's then. "Take me for a stroll, and tell me of the things I've missed. The young ones," he means those three blades, because they will always be children to him, "they told me much of what has transpired over the last few decades. Perhaps you can 'catch me up' on more recent events."
"Well, what have they managed to tell you so far? That might be as good of a start as any."
He's saying that as they are pulling to a stop in front of the elevator doors. Shouldn't take too long, waiting for it. Most of the people who stayed in the mansion liked taking the stairs whenever they had to move around.
Riley takes a breath. "Things from the last three years, mostly. And then little anecdotes from their lives. We did not have that much time, so I felt it better to update myself on how they all fared in the general sense."
That, and there was time. For as long as he was to be awake, there would most definitely be time for the children to catch him up on things.
Quietly though, just as the elevator bell sounds. "They've grown up beautifully, Aidan." He's not going to feel sad that he'd missed out on seeing that, even from a distance. Or that some of them were now gone.
Aidan doesn't respond to that immediately, as he wheels Riley inside. The look on his face has softened into that bastard child of hope, guilt, happiness, and a touch of helplessness.
"'Grown' is a nice way of putting it. Sometimes I do wonder if what we've actually done is ruin some of them."
That is a burden he will always carry, when he sees the wounds on people he considers his children after a fashion out in the open.
He waits for the doors to close, because it at least gives you both the illusion of privacy, for however short.
"There are things that we regret that we have to live with, Aidan." Saying that matter-of-fact now. "But do look on the bright side, for ever a little while. Guilt will eat you and the precious time you have if you let it."
Yes, he understands the guilt. There are many things that could perhaps, have been done better. But he would like to think that even if the scales do not quite match up, that there were things that they all did to make the best of what they could.
"I suppose it is a good thing that I am awake then," he's casting you a wry look now. "If you're as depressing as you sound now, it's a wonder the others have not come crying to me as of yet."
This is his way of acknowledging that yes, he will as always be ready to listen to you process your feelings on the matter of the children you sometimes feel you might have failed.
That makes Aidan blink, then let out a quiet laugh that's topped with a rueful shake of his head. Part of him really should have expected Riley to say something like that.
"Excuse me: I have gotten much better at being happy."
You could use a little bit more work. You're getting that from the way that he smiles and leans back into his seat.
"I suppose we can say that you've graduated from utterly dour and doom and gloom, to being a needy father dragon draped out on the lawn." He has heard Talk. It amused him, very much. "Empty nest syndrome, Aidan? I never would've thought."
He's not going to bother denying it now, and even if he wanted to, it was rather pointless. This was Riley, after all, and it's been too long since they've been able to talk like this.
No, he isn't going to be able to get over how happy he was over his friend waking up for a while.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
... ;w;
Who would have thought? Given the fact that Aidan himself is rather busy fetching an ashtray, setting it down between them, and reaching into the inner pocket of his coat for his cigars and his matches. It's only after he's done lighting up that he's sliding the case over, and smiling.
"Who was in here before me?"
Because neither of them needed to talk about how Riley is feeling, what he still needed, how much time he had to take off in order to be back up to snuff. Not yet, anyway.
:3
He turns the cigar over, the length of it balanced between the tips of his index fingers.
"I had heard talk that you'd grown comfortable with," he lets the sentence trail, the smile on his face with the barest hint of teasing -- though there is a look in his eyes that belies curiosity; maybe even surprise.
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"Yeah. Well." A pause. "What is the point of enjoying life if one forces one's self to have so many rules?"
So many others had told him this, with Riley being the first, and the likes of Setsuna, Hikaru, Alistair, Maes and Calintz later on. Now he was finally taking their advice.
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"Good of you to finally take it."
There is a pause then, Riley's gaze falling to the headline but not really seeing or processing the way the letters have strung together. He's tired.
It is so bloody frustrating.
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"You should take a break."
It's a simple suggestion, one that Riley can take or ignore as he wished.
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Riley leans back into his seat a little more just then, a small smile on his own lips as he looks up at his friend.
"I enjoy that statement about as much as you enjoy being told to go on holiday." He sighs, a long, suffering one. "Do you know how bloody tedious it is to be under house-arrest."
It's not a question.
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There's a hint of amusement there, if only because at least at one point in their lives every member of the Malice Kings had been told by their comrades that Under No Certain Terms Were They To Leave the Falner Manor for a Specified Amount of Time. They were a family that way.
"Well... I suppose that house arrest, in your case, does not have to mean being holed up in here all the time."
Liandrin was not going to be pleased with him for this but Aidan could deal with her later.
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But it's subdued quick enough when Riley recalls that there is one person in particular who will be displeased. And the fact that Aidan has that look of I will deal with that when it comes.
To that, he simply states: "You may tell Liandrin that a wheelchair is not as undignified as she thinks. Especially where it concerns someone as charming as I."
Unspoken of course, and delivered with a smile: she is going to never let us hear the end of it.
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Aidan's smile is a response unto itself.
No, not at all.
And a moment later, the Voidseeker was standing, building a wheelchair out of nothing with a gesture of his hand. After that, he was moving towards his old friend's side.
"Here, I'll help you."
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He shoots Aidan a look from beneath his brows. "Don't even think of carrying me onto that chair, Aidan." And because he can't resist the jab. "You're a married man now."
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"Quite happily married, yes." A pause, and then: "Now both of you share in the largest portion of my heart."
How long has it been since they could banter this way? He didn't really want to think about it. What was important was that they could, Vigil headaches be damned.
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"You are such a bloody romantic, Aidan." It is really very good though, to hear that retort, to know that the smile behind it is full and true. Happiness is not a road, he's always thought, but the manner by which you deal with the journey -- and he and Aidan have been walking for a very, very long time. It's nice to see that for the rest of the way up ahead, his friend has this, come what may.
The Daywalker maneuvers himself into the chair at that, one look of reprimand at the Voidseeker as if to say Let me try to do this on my own first. You, good sir, can step in if I falter.
And he manages, well enough, thank goodness.
"Shall we, then?"
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After just a brief second of laughing at himself for his own hesitation, Aidan moved behind the wheelchair and took hold of its handles. The door to Riley's room is already opening of its own accord.
"You have probably noticed this already, but: you will be pleased to know that Jessiah had an elevator installed in the house."
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"And how long did he have to wrestle with our lovely Lia to get that done?"
Those two. Forever bickering like children -- at least, when they weren't getting along like the mad little misfits they were.
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It had been amusing to watch, really. A good distraction after all of the pain, the loss, the regret, the anger, the worry.
The Darkest Vigil had not been a good time for any of them.
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He's smiling at that, but there's a sad note to his words.
He hates missing out. He knows there was nothing he could do about going back to sleep, but the regret is there all the same.
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"I swear upon my honor that you're going to see a lot of interesting things while you're around, old friend. Some of it might pale in comparison to whatever you end up reading about, or hearing about."
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"If what I hear comes straight from you, old friend, I don't think it will pale overmuch."
He lifts a hand to cover the Voidseeker's then. "Take me for a stroll, and tell me of the things I've missed. The young ones," he means those three blades, because they will always be children to him, "they told me much of what has transpired over the last few decades. Perhaps you can 'catch me up' on more recent events."
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He's saying that as they are pulling to a stop in front of the elevator doors. Shouldn't take too long, waiting for it. Most of the people who stayed in the mansion liked taking the stairs whenever they had to move around.
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That, and there was time. For as long as he was to be awake, there would most definitely be time for the children to catch him up on things.
Quietly though, just as the elevator bell sounds. "They've grown up beautifully, Aidan." He's not going to feel sad that he'd missed out on seeing that, even from a distance. Or that some of them were now gone.
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"'Grown' is a nice way of putting it. Sometimes I do wonder if what we've actually done is ruin some of them."
That is a burden he will always carry, when he sees the wounds on people he considers his children after a fashion out in the open.
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"There are things that we regret that we have to live with, Aidan." Saying that matter-of-fact now. "But do look on the bright side, for ever a little while. Guilt will eat you and the precious time you have if you let it."
Yes, he understands the guilt. There are many things that could perhaps, have been done better. But he would like to think that even if the scales do not quite match up, that there were things that they all did to make the best of what they could.
"I suppose it is a good thing that I am awake then," he's casting you a wry look now. "If you're as depressing as you sound now, it's a wonder the others have not come crying to me as of yet."
This is his way of acknowledging that yes, he will as always be ready to listen to you process your feelings on the matter of the children you sometimes feel you might have failed.
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"Excuse me: I have gotten much better at being happy."
He would like to think that he has, anyway.
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You could use a little bit more work. You're getting that from the way that he smiles and leans back into his seat.
"I suppose we can say that you've graduated from utterly dour and doom and gloom, to being a needy father dragon draped out on the lawn." He has heard Talk. It amused him, very much. "Empty nest syndrome, Aidan? I never would've thought."
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He's not going to bother denying it now, and even if he wanted to, it was rather pointless. This was Riley, after all, and it's been too long since they've been able to talk like this.
No, he isn't going to be able to get over how happy he was over his friend waking up for a while.
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