londoncallingrpg

The hardest part was keeping the lies straight.

"I thought you were only having one of your eyes done?"

"I did, the other I had done abroad- It was a spur of the moment choice..."

"Your so pale now..."

"The medication, it doesn't sit well with me."

"You're so thin!"

"No appetite. It'll get better though, I'm sure."

He'd anticipated that though. He'd known he'd need to lie and fib left and right, until people just accepted he could see again- And that perhaps he was still a touch unwell. What he hadn't anticipated, however, was the resentment that many of his old friends seemed to suddenly feel towards him. It was one thing when Fin was a rising star- But pitiable because of his disability. Now, however... Now he was already receiving television and film offers left and right, and that... That apparently upset a few people.

He'd been leaving one of his favourite coffee shops when he nearly walked right into Phil. A man he'd worked with many times in small productions. A good actor, but older- Perhaps past his prime in the eyes of many.

"Oh! Phil, how brilliant to see you," Fin had smiled, offering his hand, and looking puzzled when it wasn't taken.

"Brilliant is it?" Phil replied, raising a brow and ignoring the offered hand. "So posh sounding these days, Fin. I don't remember you being posh- Not when you were sleeping on the streets, begging for parts. ...Wouldn't know you were dragged up in Manchester with that posh voice you put on."

Fin's smile faded slightly, and he forced an uncomfortable laugh. "Bad habit, I suppose," he said awkwardly.

"Not a habit," Phil assured him. "Just as fake as the rest of you, that's all."

Fin's smile faded completely then, aware that people were staring now. "Right," he said awkwardly. "Well, I should... I should be off."

Phil smiled then, a vicious smile. "I suppose so. That casting couch wont get warmed without you. ...Catch something, have you?" he added, looking Fin over with a sneer. "Should be a bit more cautious, Fin. ...Or is it Finlay now?"

Fin didn't answer that, he simply turned away trying to hide the embarrassment he felt as he started walking and brushed off a young woman who tried to stop him for a selfie.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

kersen

If Willy hadn't changed him back this would be a very different conversation.

Kersen only nodded, and then said, "I'll go with the assumption that you're a good influence on him." He wouldn't pretend to like the guy. But he didn't want to upset Fin so the least he could do was not badmouth him.

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"Perhaps," Fin allowed with a faint smile. "I'd like to think I've contributed something to his life at least. He's certainly changed mine quite completely. I was no one before Will."

From:

kersen

"Oh, I don't think that's true," Kersen said gently. "You shouldn't tie your identity up into another person." He knew what it was like to be that kind of co-dependent. He still felt it, even with his maker stark raving mad on the other side of the world.

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"It's true though," Fin replied, shaking his head. "I was homeless, barely working. Willy... Well, he made a deal with me. I was his for a year and a day, and in return he gave me a home, and made sure that someone read the play I wrote. Reap. ...If I'd never met Will, that play may have never been put on. I might still be on the streets, begging for parts."

From:

kersen

"Or you might have found another path," Kersen said gently. "I'm glad that he was there for you, but even if someone makes you..." He used that word very purposefully. "You still have to stand on your own."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"I don't think I could ever stand without him," Fin confessed quietly, looking almost ashamed of himself as he said it- As though he knew how pathetic that was, to be so incredibly dependent. ...Though he meant it.

From:

kersen

Kersen hesitated. Then he finally said, "I know what that's like. I had to forcibly pull myself away from my maker and it was the hardest thing I've ever done, I think."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

Fin shook his head, then closed his eyes for a moment, as though gathering his thoughts.

"You don't understand, Kersen- I can't leave him. Even if I wanted to, which I don't, I can't. ...He'll die without me. We're bound or something. He's told me before- I've seen it happen even. Without me, Willy... He fades. He gets weaker and he wastes away."

From:

kersen

Interesting.

"In that case, I hope he continues to be good for you," Kersen said gently.

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"He's remarkable," Fin smiled. "He loves me, but he never makes me feel trapped. I've never loved before Will, and so he allows me the freedom to explore with others. He's generous like that. ...And he always knows exactly what I need."

He got to his feet then, making his way over to a mirror to admire himself. Fin wasn't exactly vain, but he had missed being able to see his own face. There was comfort in his reflection.

"I'm very fortunate, in so many ways. I shouldn't sulk, should I?" he realized, looking over at Kersen. "Even if people who I once called friends hate me now- I should only smile brighter knowing my fortune is that much greater than theirs."

From:

kersen

Kersen found that last statement a little unsettling for some reason, but he decided that it was best to just let it all lie, for the moment. Though it did make him want to watch out for Fin.

"First loves are very special," he conceded with a little smile.

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"Very," Fin agreed, fixing his hair, then coming to sit again, staying close to the heater.

"Are you seeing anyone, Kersen?" he asked curiously.

From:

kersen

"Not... exactly," Kersen said. "Dating can be kind of um, complicated."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"Because you're a vampire?" he asked softly. "Is it hard to meet like minded others of your kind?"

From:

kersen

"It's the like minded part that's particularly difficult," Kersen admitted, and couldn't help but flash briefly to his recent treatment at the hands of some vampires. It made him go paler for a moment, and then he quickly added, "A lot of vampires don't like me. And as for humans... well, that's complicated as well for obvious reasons."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"Shorter lifespans, of course," Fin replied, nodding his understanding. "There are other creatures though. Other sorts of beings."

From:

kersen

"As if being gay isn't bad enough in terms of limiting the dating pool, now I have to try to find like-minded immortals," Kersen said with a weak smile.

Because he didn't want to seem completely pathetic he did say, "There is a human I've been kind of... seeing with some sort of regularity. But I'm not sure how he feels about me." Or even if Michael was capable of feeling much at all.

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"Well that's something," Fin said brightly. "I imagine your bar makes it easier to meet people as well," he added, holding his hands out to the heater to warm them.

From:

kersen

"Sometimes," Kersen conceded. Though lately he was thinking maybe he shouldn't be drawing so much attention to himself.

"It's been quite some time since I've been in love," he said. "I think I'd like it again, even if it tends to end badly."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"Love is always worth pursuing, even if it ends in misery and heartbreak. A sad ending doesn't make the journey any less wonderful," Fin said with a romantic little sigh.