Chapter Text
Aesop’s heart raced. His breath came labored as his heart pounded against his chest. Why was he following after the poor postman? He shouldn’t be doing this, yet he never made an attempt to retreat. It was creepy, Victor barely had any idea who Aesop even was—or his obsession. But when Aesop finally saw his angel again, after weeks of deprivation—he got greedy.
He watched as the postman delivered letters, door to door. Feeling prideful at the fact that he was most likely the only one who's touched the man…Sure—maybe it’s a graze of the hand. But it meant the world to the embalmer. Feeling that warm plush skin kiss Aesop's deathly cold stiff hand. But then— this pride turned to jealousy. Had Victor touched other men? had other men touched him? He bit his lip, chewing the chapped skin off. His footsteps also became heavier and faster.
Victor, also, began to speed up his pace.. huh, why was he walking so fast all of a sudden? It’s almost like he was trying to get away from someone? Aesop's breathing hitched as the postman suddenly paused in his tracks. and predicting the man, he hid behind the yellow rose bush of a neighbor. He must’ve caught on that he was being followed.. And when he peeked back over the bush, Victor had already fled.
Oh well, it was not a problem for Aesop.
It was about time he headed back home anyway. Maybe catch up on some house work.. He had the day off today, might as well use it productively rather than spending it (stalking) the postman around his neighborhood.
…
It was getting pretty hard to ignore the pain in his heart every time he was away from his angel though..
<3
Aesop’s leg bounced. He felt antsy. He was so close to his love, and he felt greedy. He craved what he wanted. He finished all of his housework early.. his home was practically sparkling, due to his absent mind scrubbing. He was sitting at his window side table at the moment, hand tapping onto the surface, leg bouncing, and his eyes somehow always wandering back to the clock. What was he waiting for? Why was the time so special? He quickly stood up, his chair sliding against the floor behind him. His hands gripped the table, and he sighed. He was anxious, and he needed to do something about it.
<3
He stood outside the post office, dressed in casual comfort—along with a black mask to protect him from germs. Usually, he was more formal than this. It wasn’t often he’d be out in public dressed in a sweater and sweatpants… This was a special case though. He stood outside the office, yet he had no plan to enter. Instead he waited, he waited upon the arrival of one man—his angel—his love—victor grantz, when his shift would end and he would go home. Aesop felt creepy for this, he felt gross—yet he was also a selfish man. He had desires that he was willing to fulfill.
He stood right next to the door, earning strange glances from strangers. But he didn’t care, he had a mission to complete, and a few strange looks wouldn’t stray him away from it. However.. It was getting late. and Aesop felt a sense of dread that victor had already gone home..
wait— there he was! Aesop’s grey eyes widened as the sight of a focused Victor appeared. He was slowly walking into the building, looking down at a letter. He seemed curious about it—his thumb tucked under the sealing. But suddenly, Victor looked up, looking left.. then—
!!!
Both men jumped at the sight of each other—as if they were both caught doing something they weren’t supposed to. Aesop's eyes frantically looked to the side, and he felt his heart skip a beat. Victor rushed into the building with his head down.
Aesop clutched his chest, feeling his heart pummel against it. He leaned back against the wall, breathing heavily into his mask. Okay.. maybe being in plain sight wasn’t the best choice of action— he seems to have a lot of close calls. If he was going to follow through with his plan, he’d have to be more careful and hidden. He leaned off the wall with a disgusted grunt, wiping his clothing before walking to a blind spot. This way when Victor would make his way out, Aesop could follow him without issue.
He felt his muscles relax, his breathing slow, and his heartbeat bump at a normal pace as he saw Victor step back out of the building. He looked from side to side, he looked.. wary. He must be a very paranoid man. Aesop could fix that. As much as Aesop detested germs, he could get his hands dirty in order for Victor to feel safe. When he was at a safe distance, Aesop began to trail after him. He made sure to be more quiet this time, walking on light footsteps, taking breaths to the beat of Victor's steps. One mistake could ruin this, it could ruin them.
<3
Aesop was surprised to discover that Victor didn’t live in a home, instead he resided in an old run down apartment.. Well, i guess a post office job wouldn’t pay that well anyway. He didn’t follow him inside.
But, just as Aesop was about to turn back, he noticed the balconies attached to the building. How.. convenient.
He watched as a light suddenly turned on through one of the windows, assuming it was victors he began to climb up to the third floor, second balcony.
He began at a tree that just so happened to be right next to the side of the building. Now, Aesop was not much of a climber, but he had his determination. And so he struggled up the tree, and found his way to the dimly lit apartment, and that’s when he noticed the shake in his hands, and the tremors in his body.
That's when Aesop had realized the weight in what he was doing. A simple crush had turned into full blown stalking. He swallowed the lump in his throat, he had to choose between basic human morals and his desires.
…
<3
It was getting dark, and Aesop had been sitting on the balcony edge, peering into the apartment through the sliding door windows for about an hour now. He was grateful for the curtain from the inside which kept himself hidden.
The room that was connected to the balcony seemed to be Victor's bedroom. Yet, no sign of life (besides the lit lightbulb) was in sight. He was starting to get anxious again, it’s been too long since he’d seen his golden boy.
Aesop’s eyes widened as said man emerged from what he assumed was the bathroom? As Victor's hair was wet and he was now dressed in pajamas. It was completely dark outside now.. And it looked like it was Victor's bedtime, because he flicked his light off and got into his bed.
Aesop felt a bit disappointed, he was expecting more.. He only got that small moment of Victor going to bed.
He stood up from his crouching position, turning to leave— yet his hand reached for the door handle. His breathing picked up again, and his hand shook as it grasped around the handle. He was about to slide it open until—
Aesop fell back in surprise, almost tripping off the edge. Loud barks erupted from inside the house, and Aesop made eye contact with a small yellow bulldog, its paws banging against the glass.
Aesop realized he had been caught, and he quickly fled the scene, crawling back into the tree, he grabbed onto a branch— crack!
He fell to the ground with a grunt, taking the branch with him. The adrenaline in his body didn’t let him notice how bad his back hurt, or the dirt that coated his entire back of his head, arms, and legs. He also never noticed the blood spilling from his palms, no.. he didn’t notice until he got home.
<3
He scrambled into his house, crashing down onto his floor. He noticed the pain in his hands and back as he came down from his high, letting his labored breathing even out. He was practically out of breath, he ran that entire way home. He watched his ceiling until he eventually.. fell asleep.