14. Chapter 14 (1/1)
sorry gang, it's a very short last proper chapter, but the epilogue - coming soon, i hope - will be in the spirit of the interludes so don't hate me too much. enjoy!
disclaimer: none of this is mine.
"are you sure about this, robin?" he nodded at his dad, grinned at his mum, and dragged his suitcase decisively over the threshold."yeah. i've got loads more friends at garside, and they've got a great art programme. you'll be alright, mum, won't you?" mrs
anagh was dabbing at her eyes with a tissue, but she nodded before leaning in to speak quietly to her son."is that him?" he glanced round to see bertrand waiting at the gate; it had got dark while he wasn't paying attention."what do you mean?""your new boyfriend, of course. you didn't think i wouldn't work it out? mums know these things." and then, while he gaped at her in disbelief, she waved at the bemused vampire, who waved back, and continued. "just be careful, love. but he looks nice."
they walked around the corner together and robin stopped, waiting for bertrand to grab him and take off for garside. but the vampire kept walking, still carrying robin's suitcase as if it weighed nothing, and the boy himself had to run to catch up with him."we're not flying?" bertrand shrugged easily."of course we are. but not until we're a little nearer the station, and not yet." he regarded him thoughtfully for a moment, then glanced around as if to check they hadn't been followed. "first, we're going to that bus shelter." and with that, he strode off, leaving robin to scurry after him once again.
"why are we going to a bu-" he was cut off a
uptly as bertrand pressed him up against the clear plastic of the shelter and kissed him. ah. that would explain it.
bertrand knew he was taking a risk, kissing robin in the street not three roads from his parents' house, but the boy had been in stokely for the last week of summer, saying goodbye to the place and packing his things, and bertrand had had to leave him to it. was it any wonder that he couldn't get him back in his arms soon enough?
robin, it seemed, had missed him too, if the way he was clutching at bertrand's back was any indication. when the vampire finally pulled away, robin followed him, turning them so bertrand was trapped between the
eather's body and the bus stop. bertrand let himself be trapped, accepting that robin wasn't quite done expressing his joy at seeing him again yet, unwise though his feelings might be. finally, the boy stepped backwards, and bertrand simply stooped to pick up the suitcase and wrapped robin in his cloak.
"come on. let's go home."