Once we enter Virgil's room, I notice that he has newly hung drapes around the bed. They look thick and heavy, with barely any wrinkles at all.
"Virgil," I ask, brushing my hand along the fabric. "What is this for? Is there some kind of special purpose?"
He smiles sweetly. "Yes. I knew you'd notice. You've never seen a play, right?"
I shake my head. "No, of course not. You know that."
"Come here. And close your eyes," he replies, tugging me forward.
"I'll run into something-"
"I'll guide you."
I let my eyes flutter closed and hesitantly reach for him with my other hand. When my hand meets his chest, I feel his hand wrap around me as he guides me to the bed. I hear him move the heavy curtains aside, and almost stumble, but he lifts me with ease onto the mattress.
"Don't open your eyes yet," he murmurs into my ear. Despite how quiet his voice is, I can feel the excitement radiating off of him. He positions me juuust right, and settles next to me. "Okay."
When I open my eyes, I'm greeted with a dazzling sea of stars before me. But it's filled with colors I've never seen in the sky, swirling and dancing across the screen. Well, it must be across the screen, but…
I reach out hesitantly and brush against the fabric. Even though I feel the texture under my fingers, the "sky" before me seems as endless and untouchable as the real sky. "Incredible," I breathe. "You made this?" But when I look back to Virgil, his expression almost makes me crack up.
He's smiling, but it's half smug and half happy. He looks like a fox that's just done something mischievous, but knows it'll never be punished.
"Virgil," I giggle. "Your expression-"
His face immediately falls, and after a moment, he hides behind his sleeve. "Did...I really look that funny?" he asks.
"No, no, it was a very good expression," I tell him truthfully. "It was impressive, really."
He glares at me from over his arm. "That doesn't sound like a compliment, either."
"It is, I promise," I giggle, ruffling his hair. "You'll just have to believe me."
Virgil catches my hand in his hair. "Why are you doing that?"
Ah, it might bother him. "Sorry," I begin, and start to withdraw my hand, but he keeps it there. "Ummm...is it not bad?" I ask.
"It's not bad…" he mumbles, turning a little pink. "But-" He focuses his gaze on me, but doesn't say anything else. I can feel him trying to analyze me just with his eyes.
"Virgil…" I lean in, head tilted to the side. "What's bothering you? I can stop if it's something I'm doing…"
WIthout answering, he leans forward and catches my lips in a kiss. I can feel it there, in how hesitant he is even now. I reach forward and cup his face with my hands.
He pulls away slightly to lean his forehead on mine, but his eyes are still searching mine.
"You know," I murmur, "we don't have to force anything…"
But as soon as I say that, his eyebrows crinkle in worry. He tries to draw away, but I pull him into an embrace. "Not...like that, Virgil. I'm not forcing my feelings for you." I sigh as he nestles against my shoulder. "I have more of the opposite problem, really," I add dryly, "but what I meant was…" I sigh again, trying to find the right words.
"Am I pushing you too hard?" he asks quietly.
"It feels more like you're pushing yourself," I admit.
He squeezes my waist. "I don't want to lose."
"...Lose?" I ask, even though I think I already know.
Virgil squeezes tighter. "I want you. I want you to want me too."
At his phrasing, I feel myself immediately flush. Virgil takes immediate notice, and climbs up over me, staring me down. "I didn't mean it like that, you know."
"I...know…" I mumble, averting my eyes as much as I can. "But the way you said it..."
"Adelaide."
I force myself to look him in the eyes, and he leans in even closer.
"I don't just want that from you." I start to speak up, but he shakes his head slightly and continues. "I want everything. I want to make you mine."
I try to ignore my racing heart. "You don't...I mean, I just...I want-"
He interrupts my stuttering with his mouth, pressing me into the bed again. He finally releases so I can catch my breath. "I said before that I could force you. But I don't want that. Show me, please-" His voice almost breaks on the last word.
"I care about you!" I cry, squeezing him close to me. "I do, I do!" He tries to pull away, to look at my face, but I hold him down as best as I can. "Listen Virgil, it may not seem that way, but I am shy, too! Nothing in my life has ever happened this quickly before! You, I thought you understood how insecure I am!"
He finally breaks my grip and pins me down with his eyes. "I know. But you are also confident. I want more of that from you. I know it's there."
I shake my head. "It's...really not."
"It is." His tone isn't argumentative at all. "You love with confidence. I've never met anyone like that before."
"It's… I try to turn my face away, but he forces it back.
"'Extenuating circumstances'?" he asks. "If that were the case, wouldn't you be more guarded? More insecure?"
"I...suppose...."
"See," he replies, half-triumphantly. "You dive in with passion. I like that. I like that you don't hold yourself back. Don't hold back with me anymore."
When I start to shake my head, he grabs my chin again. "You are." He kisses me again, softer this time. "Show me."
"Virgil..." I sigh, holding his face in my hands. "I'll try. Really…" His eyes rove over my ace and I remember something. "Actually. Virgil, what is your love language?"
His eyes light up.
"Wait, let me guess," I put a finger to his lips. "Many would guess actions, but I would say….time together?"
He nods, a soft smile breaking across his face.
"In that case," I smile, tapping him on the nose, "You really need to get better at controlling your drinking speed."
Immediately his face falls into a pout. "You don't know how hard it is," he gripes. "And, I mean, it's food. I don't want to take any longer than I have to."
I feel my heart sink. Right, I'm just food. I try not to let it show on my face, but he notices.
"You're not food, Adelaide," he scoffs. "You're just full of food."
I stare at him for a few seconds before breaking out into laughter. "I've never heard anyone say that before. You're absolutely right. Oh, Virgil, I love you." He stiffens, and I realize what I said. "Oh, uh. Yeah. I mean, I do, but-"
"I love you too!" he squeaks, burrowing into my chest. I just squeeze him tightly back.
After a few more moments in the silence, I say, "Well, let's meet in the middle. Maybe it would help if…" I think back to Adrian's reaction to the burn. Yeah, that's not gonna work on Virgil. He would probably drink harder if I burned him. "...actually, I don't know," I admit. "I don't know how to make you listen to me any more than what I'm already trying."
Virgil looks up, his eyes wide with realization. "That's it."
"What's it?"
"Listening to you. You should sing for me." His eyes are shining in anticipation.
"Ahhh…." It's a good idea, but…
"You're embarrassed," he says. I nod. "Get over it," he says simply.
Ahh, there's Virgil the director again. Still... "I'll make weird noises," I protest. "It'll make my embarrassment worse…"
He sits up properly to lean over me, staring me down accusingly. "You won't get better unless you do it."
"Yes, but singing normally and singing while you- those are completely different things!" I sputter.
"If you can do it while I feed, then it'll be easy any other time," he replies. "It makes perfect sense. And it has a practical purpose. Besides…" his eyes soften a little. "I've wanted to hear you sing again for so long since that day."
"Okay," I relent. "But...let me find the song first, or I won't be able to." I sit in silence for a while, trying to find something I can sing while Virgil watches with shining eyes. "Virgil, I can't- with you looking at me-"
"Oh." The next moment, we're shrouded in complete darkness, the starry sky drapes no longer filling the space with their soft violet light. "There."
Finally, I find one. "Let me sit up," I tell him quietly. "I'm going to need the air." He doesn't respond. At least not out loud, maybe he's nodding. Knowing him, he already forgot I can't see in pitch blackness like he can. I lean my back against the wall, and Virgil nuzzles against my neck.
"Long ago, I had a lover sweet,
"Her hair was soft as down-" My breath catches for a moment as he sinks his teeth in, and I push on.
"We met upon a glade one night,
"she was paler than the moon.
"She was a sickly child, you see,
"and was taken far too soon.
"But the life of love she left behind-" My voice wobbles a little, and Virgil slows his drinks in response.
"Did far outweigh her pain.
"As once she said, just to be kind
"Will come back to you again…."
We find a rhythm between the song and his drinks, until I feel myself wavering on a brink I can't quite recover from. The note fades as Virgil pulls away, sighing happily as he does. "Yes. That was perfect…"
I mumble sleepily in response, and plant a brief kiss on the top of his head.
"Still," I hear him say, "you really drain easily."
I frown at him. "I do not. I have done a lot of work today. For a thrall."
He doesn't respond, instead pulling me down to lay more comfortably in the bed.
"Ssssstrue," I insist, my consciousness slipping away too quickly. "I actually...."
I don't know whether I managed to finish my sentence before falling asleep, wrapped in Virgil's tight embrace.