Private Tales Money Talks

[Vincent]

Vincent leaned on his palm and swirled the tip of his spoon in his stew as he studied Lailah's ever-shifting expressions. He set the spoon down and pulled down on his right eyelid, showing the eye off to Lailah.

"Antimage," was his flat response. Georgiana had done it without his knowledge when he was just a kid. Vincent ran away from the bordello for a few weeks when he'd learned. It had turned out to be a great boon, but it came with its inconveniences. "How could you tell? Did you try to put me under a spell?" he humorlessly chuckled, cautiously eyeing her.

 

[Lailah]

Lailah subconsciously chewed on her lip as she studied him and he explained in a single word. She had never met anyone not susceptible to her touch the way Van was, and when he could have used gifts such as hers, it had troubled her to no end.

Her lips pursed as she considered his question again and her head tilted.. "No, well.. Yes but, not like that.." she frowned.. "You remember when Alexandra was, unsettled, and I soothed her? I can't heal but I have this gift that helps in other ways. I can calm people, take their pain away.. Change how they feel. That sort of thing." she explained apprehensively, her gaze downcast but her eyes slowly rising to gauge his reaction.

"I tried to calm you .. "

 

[Vincent]

"You really are kind. Like an angel." he warmly smiled, "I can't even read magic lettering, you know? But magic, any kind, hasn't worked on me since I got these eyes."

Vincent went back to eating.

"You know, I've never seen magic like that. Seems pretty unique, don't you think? Did you learn it, or did it come naturally to you? Even before I got these eyes, I couldn't do squat with magic."

 

[Lailah]

Her heart felt like it sank and melted a little all at once at his words and the smile that followed. She'd thought it'd had come of some sort of a shock to him that she could do any magic at all, or that he'd be angry that she'd attempted to use it on him in the first place. But once again, he just seemed to accept and understand and make her feel like she hadn't done anything wrong.

"Don't be silly.. Angels have wings." her lips twisted and she gnawed on the inside of her cheek as she listened to his questions.

"I was born with it.. I remember, having to learn to control it as a child. It's a manipulation, a dangerous thing in the hands of a child." she laughed under her breath.. "But yes, I suppose it is quite unique. I always wanted to learn how to heal, but it doesn't work that way, it's really all in the mind. It wouldn't stop a person from dying but it would rid them of suffering." she explained.

 

[Vincent]

"Yeah? I've seen your tattoos." Vincent smirked.

"I still think it's kind, even if you can't heal. A part of me is... I don't know- glad that you couldn't use it on me. I think the way things went, even if it took longer than it would have otherwise, is best." He smiled. It had been natural. Their bond was unbreakable now.

"Now, eat. Eat. It'll get cold. I'll draw a bath for you when we're done."

 

[Lailah]

Her lips pressed into a thin line and slowly curled as she gave a huff of a laugh and a sage nod.. "That's true.." she shrugged.

Her gifts were kind, when she was using them to do kind things, but they could be twisted if she wanted them to be. She wished she could see herself the way Van seemed to see her, but the fact that he viewed her that way at all made her incredibly happy, particularly given that she'd once had herself entirely convinced that he'd never want to so much as look at her again.

Even then he changed the way she thought. She had been frustrated and felt like a hopeless failure because she couldn't help him, but she'd been helping him all along and it was evidence even just in the way he looked right now. Lailah was notoriously hard on herself, and she'd have to work on that. She smiled warmly in mute agreement with him, and obliged in happily eating the rest of her stew, her shoulders feeling a little lighter yet again.

 

[Vincent]

They finished the meal with some smalltalk, and Vincent left Lailah with the dishes as he went to prepare her bath.

“There, all ready,” he said as he came down the stairs, ”Left a bottle of wine up there, too.”

He cast a knowing smile at Lailah, and after she went up, he lit a small fire in the fireplace and laid on the couch, covering himself up with fur blankets. As the sun dropped, so did the temperature. The house was comfortable during the summer and spring, but was somewhat unpleasant during the colder seasons. It would only get worse.

 

[Lailah]

Everything was cleaned and tidied neatly away as usual, and Lailah stood looking out of the window at the clear, inky sky reflected it's stars and moons on the sea, a small smile of contentment painted on her lips. It was nice to feel like she had little to worry about for once, it was nice to feel safe and to know she was needed and wanted who she was and not what she could do.

She looked over her shoulder as he spoke and she grinned at him with a desperate groan at how nice that sounded.. "Thank you.. You know, it's really not true what they say about you, little Van. You do know how to treat a girl." she laughed in amusement and sighed as she wandered past him, standing up on her tiptoes to leave a small kiss on his cheek in appreciation before heading upstairs.

Lailah gave herself a little more time than she normally would have. She didn't like to leave him on his own for too long, but the trust was building and she felt a little more sure that he wouldn't relapse. She soaked in the steaming hot water until it cooled to luke warm and sang to herself as she drank the entire bottle of wine, her voice getting progressively louder and less...in tune, as she did so.

By the time she wandered back downstairs in another of Vincent's shirts, she was quite pleasantly tipsy. The bathwater and wine had helped in warming her up, but her hair was still damp and the cold was quick to nip at her. She pranced across the cold floor and climbed up on top of the furry hill on her couch and snuggled into it.

 

[Vincent]

There was truly no need to relapse with the fresh memory of her kiss on his cheek. The blankets were almost unnecessary as he thoroughly warmed up every time he thought about it.

Her loud singing brought a smile to his face, and his eyes were glued to her when she finally came down.

When she flopped down on the couch, Vincent let out a quiet grunt. He was up to his neck with fur blankets.

”Hey,” his tone was accusatory, but teasing, ”don’t you have your own clothes?”

Not that it was... necessarily an actual problem.

 

[Lailah]

Covered in furs, he was particularly squishy, and she smirked to herself in amusement to herself as she made herself comfortable. "Well... I have some clothes. But you have more. I came here with nought but the clothes on my back, Vincent, everything I do for you..And you would begrudge me a loan of a shirt..." she sighed dramatically and let out a deep sigh as her head shook, but her cheeks dimpled as she grinned.

She stretched out and wrapped her arms and legs around his fur-covered self. "You'd make a decent bear.." she snorted to herself.

 

[Vincent]

”You could at least pick out something bigger,” he grumbled as she made herself more than comfortable, binding him between her arms and legs.

”Oh, thanks,” Vincent smirked, ”That’s what I’ve always wanted to hear.”

 

[Lailah]

"You are -beary- welcome." she rumbled and her lips twisted. Fuck, she was hilarious.

Her eyes closed and she let out a long sigh as she settled. He was in her bed, and thus now part of her bed, and she wasn't about to complain about the extra warmth. "Thanks for looking after me Van." she murmured and squeezed at him.

 

[Vincent]

Vincent groaned at her little joke.

"Well," he said with a smile, "It's the least I can do, after what you did for me. We have to look out for each other, you know? We're all we have left."

He managed to free his arms from under the blankets and wrapped them around Lailah. He gave her back a heavy, playful pat.

"Okay, hop up. I'm gonna go upstairs."

 

[Lailah]

“Mhm...” she answered him sleepily and pat patted at him. He really was all she had. They should both have had more people in their lives and didn’t, but she considered herself lucky to have him still in her life at all considering the mess he’d been in when she’d showed up. When she’d been giving herself one of her many mental beatings, she’d often considered if she’d only been a few days later, if he’d have made it that far. But they were both surviving, and they’d both just have to look after one another to make sure that fact remained.

“Mhhh..” she grumbled irritably as he patted her and made her move, but she did so begrudgingly to let him up before curling up in the warm cocoon he’d left behind.

“Night.” She mumbled amidst a yawn, and quickly passed out.

 

[Vincent]

Vincent smiled back at her as he climbed the stairs. With each step up, fatigue weighed down on him more and more. By the time he stepped into his room at the top of the stairs, he found himself taking off and tossing his clothes aside in a messy pile before collapsing into bed, pulling his covers up. He had been especially warm downstairs, and laying on cool sheets was a special kind of refreshing. For a while, his thoughts lingered over the past several months. A wave of dread washed over him first. There was an hour where Vincent uneasily tossed and turned in bed, and at times his arms and legs shook, though not from the cold.

As his thoughts shifted from his loss to Lailah, the shakes steadily withdrew. He stopped tossing and turning so much. A second wave, one of peace and joy, soothed him.

With thoughts of his white-haired roommate, he drifted off to sleep.

 

[Lailah]

A cold chill woke her with a shiver. She clutched around shut-eyed for the blanket of fur but they’d slipped off of her and onto the floor and suddenly she was shaking with cold. She muttered to herself, still half drunk, and got up to stagger to the foot of the stairs and quickly padded her way to Vincent’s room. Vincent was warm. Vincent had blankets. Vincent had supplied her with too much wine and only had himself to blame for her boldness as she crept to his bed and felt around for his blankets, her eyes still half shut.

She slunk into the bed next to him, trying her best not to wake him up. Lailah little-spooned herself against him and snuggled in with a sly, sleepy smirk.

It took her a moment to realise that what she nuzzled against was bare skin and, well, things that ought not to be ass-nuzzled unless by a lover or wife. Lailah’s eyes shot open and she let out a squeal before rolling quickly away from him and landing with a clatter on the floor.

“oof! VAN! Where the fuck are your clothes?!!!”

 

[Vincent]

Something heavy plopped down on the bed and caused Vincent to stir. He had been sound asleep, and all the sudden movements, no matter how sneaky she'd attempted to be, woke him up. His mind was mush, and he couldn't see anything but a head of white hair through half-lidded eyes. He breathed in the faint smell of soap and let out a quiet, content groan as her back nuzzled against him. Then her rear. The two startled at the same moment, and Lailah pulled the sheets with her as she tumbled out of bed.

"What are you doing?!" the two shouted over each other. Vincent had immediately shot up, alarmed. His posture hadn't been the only thing to abruptly rise, either. His face was a deep, deep shade of red, and he only hoped that in the darkness his utter shock wasn't visible. After a moment, with nothing else around, he covered himself with his pillow.

"Are you crazy?" he stammered and hissed, not so much angry as he was embarrassed.

 

[Lailah]

She buried her scalding hot face in her hands in embarrassment, her shoulders rising to her ears as he yelled too and she quickly sobered. What was she doing?!

"I was cold I.. I'm sorry. Fuck. I'm sorry!" she stammered and growled at herself as she rubbed at her face.. "Damn it Van who the fuck sleeps nude in the cold months?!" she snapped, spinning a little of the blame to try and dissuade from her own.

She used the bed to pull herself to her feet, her eyes catching a glimpse of him standing there with his pillow, the moonlight illuminating his sinewy skin. She only looked for a moment and dropped her gaze, crouching to pick up his blankets and tossing them at him aggressively and muttering a quiet "Fucking hell." to herself under her breath.

She bit down on her lip, feeling some deep notion to grin but she tried her best to suppress it rather than embarrass either of them any more than they already had been. "I'll just..." she grumbled and made her way toward the door, not daring to look at anything but her own bare feet as she passed him.

 

[Vincent]

"Ah, wai- humph!" the bundle of blankets hit his chest and face, which he caught and used to cover up a bit better. What in the moons was happening right now?! As she looked down and rushed out, Vincent quickly hobbled to the pile of clothes he left and quickly retrieved his pants. "Look, I always sleep like that, it's just habit, alright?!"

Before she could head down the stairs, he grasped her arm above the elbow.

"If you just... leave now, it's gonna be far more awkward in the morning." He cleared his throat and slowly released her arm. "You, uh... you didn't... see... anything, did you?" He asked, almost shyly.

Vincent was used to women, and he wasn't the most modest individual. But with Lailah, he had been. For the most part. But with her, there was an attraction that he hadn't had with other women. While he may have played it cool with anyone else, he just couldn't with her.

 

[Lailah]

Lailah tensed as he grabbed hold of her, but she quickly eased with a frown at herself for doing it. It was Van.

She glanced down at her arm though, and as he released her she awkwardly pulled the cuffs over her hands and hugged at her ribs with a shake of her head.. She didn't want to look at him, she didn't want him to see the colour that she was certain her face was right now. Lailah wasn't as used to bare skin as Van was, but it was ridiculous how nervous she felt around him now. It was just a body, right?.. Wrong. It was his body.

She rubbed at her brow and fixed her hair.. "No I just..." she huffed. "No." she assured and cleared her throat before finally lifting her eyes to his face with a sheepish smile.. "Go back to bed. Sorry I woke you.." she sighed and chewed idly on her lip.

 

[Vincent]

"Look, I don't like it when you get all..." he waved his hands at her as if he were casting an intricate spell, "mopey."

Vincent frowned. She had definitely seen enough to have been acting like that. A part of him was... maybe disappointed at her reserved reaction.

"Sorry you had to see that," he nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, "look, if you're cold, you can stay up here. If- if you want, that is."

 

[Lailah]

"Mopey?..." Lailah blinked at him with a look of indignation and she lapsed into an affronted silence.. Fuck. She really could be mopey.

The last thing she wanted was things to change between them. She'd already made it awkward and she was mentally kicking the shit out of herself for it. She'd crossed a line when she'd crawled into his bed, and it was a line she didn't know if she could come back from, but also a line that she didn't fully regret crossing at all.

Her lips twisted into a wry smirk and she shrugged a shoulder at him. It had felt nice to lay next to him for however brief a time, it beat sleeping alone on the couch. Truthfully she'd been a little disappointed he hadn't suggested it sooner, but she had, up until now, respected those boundaries.

" I want to." she answered quietly with a shudder, though it was unclear whether it was caused by a chill or something else entirely.. "But you can keep it in your pants..... 'Little Van'...." she teased, her lips bursting into a grin. Apparently, he didn't exactly live up to the nickname.

 

[Vincent]

Vincent's face lit up a hot-red, and he finally averted his gaze to the side.

"That's... not where the name came from, thank you very much!" he turned with a huff and flopped back into bed, turning away from Lailah, though he did leave an obvious space for her to crawl into.

 

[Lailah]

She couldn't help but laugh and she quirked a brow with a slow nod at him as she watched him return to his bed.. "Mhm.. Sure."

Her bare foot twisted into the floor and her arms flapped by her sides as she considered that empty space in the bed, casting a glance to the door before a cold chill gave her the nudge she needed to make up her mind. She skipped over and slipped in beside him, pressing her back against his.

Her jaw ached from grinning, and she lay staring at the wall for a little while before forcing her eyes to close. She cleared her throat and gave a subtle grind to get some more room, her lips twisting in amusement.

"Night Van.." she sighed innocently.

 

[Vincent]

"Goodnight, Lai," he quietly responded, and soon found himself back asleep.

Morning came too soon, and as Vincent's eyes fluttered open, he found Lailah wrapped up in his arms. One arm was slung over her waist, his other comfortably tucked under the pillow that they shared. Against his rational thoughts, he pulled her closer, tightening his hold on her, and breathed in a noseful of soap-scented hair. He contentedly sighed and nuzzled the back of her shoulder, and laid there half-awake for a while until Lailah stirred.