Work Text:
The blond haired postman organized his letters at his desk. He had an afternoon match in which he was preparing for currently. He glanced down at Wick, his topaz colored hues softening as he reached down and quietly pet the bulldog’s head, Wick barking happily in response. Victor Grantz’s eyes softened as looked down at a letter that was different from the rest, draped in an envelope of red and white lace. His heart skipped a few beats as he picked it up, looking down at it and smiling softly. The letter was for the seer, Eli Clark, written by Victor. It was a love letter, specifically. Unfortunately, Victor couldn’t give this letter to Eli; Eli was engaged to someone outside of the manor already that he loved with his entire heart, that he gushed about all the time to Victor and the other survivors. Victor knew better than to get in the way of something so beautiful, even despite his own feelings. The postman was never selfish. Wick nuzzled his face against Victor’s foot gently, barking again, but this time, the barking seemed sympathetic, as though the bulldog was aware of the postman’s feelings for the seer. The blond haired boy smiled sadly as he looked down at the letter that was sealed safely in the beautiful envelope, his heart racing a bit as he let out a content sigh. These feelings can never be revealed to anyone, but especially not Eli… I couldn’t do that to him and ruin our friendship.... It was because of their animal companions that the two had originally bonded in the first place.
Things change though, and gradually, Victor fell in love with the seer. Gertrude was incredibly lucky, and Victor couldn’t help but feel envious of her. He hated the feelings of envy though, so he pushed them down, and wrote his feelings for Eli in a letter to get them out in the open somehow without it being harmful towards anyone. Inhaling and exhaling, the quiet postman gathered his letters up and put them into his side bag, his heart racing as he shoved the love letter in the bag as well, standing up and adjusting his clothes. He looked down at Wick, the two sharing a quiet nod of agreement as they found themselves exiting Victor’s room, locking it behind them as they headed towards the lobby. Victor’s heart skipped a few beats when he remembered the teammates he was going to have for this match. He was paired up with Luca Balsa, the “prisoner”, Martha Behamfil, the coordinator… and Eli. The thought of having Eli in the match made Victor’s heart race rapidly in his chest. He hoped he would get to see Eli throughout the match, too. Maybe he’d send his first letter to Eli? Luca would probably need it more seeing as he was the decoder… but Victor couldn’t help himself. If anything, Eli only became slower at vaulting the more times he sent Brooke Rose off to protect someone, so giving Eli the increased vaulting letter first match would work out better most likely. Victor was beaming with delight as he opened the doors to the lobby, beaming a bit as he was greeted with the smiling faces of the other three survivors waiting for him. Victor’s yellow eyes specifically zeroed in on Eli’s smiling face, the seer’s expression happy despite wearing the blindfold.
“Hello Mister Grantz,” Martha said as she smiled, “are you ready for the match?” Victor quietly nodded his head, taking his seat down next to Eli, who turned and smiled at Victor.
“Hello, Victor,” he said softly and gently, “how are you doing today?”
“A-Alright…” Victor said softly, managing to come up with his words. “A-And you?” Victor’s voice was small and shy as he kept his gaze on Eli while Brooke flew over and conversed with Wick.
“I’m doing quite alright, thank you for asking, Victor,” Eli said and chuckled. His chuckle and laughter brought Victor joy, and it made the postman’s expression turn to a much softer one as he smiled softly and slightly. His heart was soaring in his ribcage now as he glanced at Eli, who smiled handsomely at Victor, causing the postman to turn a crimson shade of red and shyly turn his head away. He hoped that Eli wouldn’t be able to hear the racing of his heart; it was a loud pulsating sound though that rang in Victor’s ears.
“Good luck everyone! Let’s do our best!” Martha said and grinned.
“Good luck!” Luca responded and chuckled.
“Good luck everyone,” Eli said calmly, yet gently as Victor nodded his head in agreement. With the sound of glass cracking, their visions went dark in unison as they found themselves transported towards the game stage. When his vision cleared, Victor’s eyes searched at his surroundings, seeing where he was. Ah, the game stage was Eversleeping Town. It wasn’t a bad game stage, and Victor actually liked being here. It was beautiful, the colors and everything. He had spawned in the graveyard however, which was less than pleasant, but he didn’t mind. He’d get the cipher machine done as fast as possible. He decided to send a vaulting letter to Luca. Oh, how Victor wanted to send a letter to Eli first, but he realized Eli would not need a vaulting letter just yet. The postman wished to be rational and respectful, not abandon his other teammates for the sake of Eli. After he sent Wick off to give Luca the letter, Victor found himself decoding now, his mind filled with so many distractions that caused the calibrations that came up to be smaller than usual.
It wasn’t entirely Victor’s vault; he couldn’t think straight when it came to Eli. Who could really blame him, though? Eli was everything anyone would ever want in a partner; he was kind and loyal… brave and protective… thoughtful and caring… gosh, Gertrude was really lucky that she managed to score someone like Eli. The bubbling of envy crossed Victor’s heart again as he swallowed hard. Don’t think like that, Victor! Eli will only ever see you as a friend, and you need to respect that. He seems so happy with Gertrude, too, and despite the fact we’re locked in the manor for eternity according to the manor baron… he still remains loyal to Gertrude. He’s truly the most precious person… Victor smiled softly as he went back to decoding, a hint of sadness in his handsome yellow hues. To think, when Victor eased into making friends with someone, he ended up falling in love with them despite the fact they were taken. It was truly heartbreaking for the postman. He knew it was sad, but he kept his romantic feelings for Eli a secret from others. The postman did not wish to be pitied nor did he wish for the feelings he had for the seer to escape that precious enveloped letter he kept so close to his heart. The postman blinked as he heard the familiar hooting noises of Brooke Rose. Ah, she came to mark his position for Eli, didn’t she?
“Hello, Brooke,” Victor said softly, his tone not shaky now as he was much more comfortable with animals than he was with people. The owl hooted a bit as she soared around Victor’s head, causing the postman to giggle a little bit as he continued to decode, waiting for Wick to return so he could send another letter to another survivor. He paused decoding to look through his letters to see which ones he could send out next when Wick returned. Brooke remained hovering, causing Victor’s eyes to widen a bit. “Hm? What’s wrong, Brooke?” The postman asked her softly as he glanced at her. The owl’s eyes seemed to catch something that wasn’t like the other letters. It was decorated in a beautiful envelope, which really caught the owl’s eyes. She flew downwards into Victor’s bag, the postman’s eyes widening. “B-Brooke…?!” To his surprise, the owl emerged with the beautifully decorated envelope lodged in her beak, Victor’s eyes widened as she started to fly away. “B-Brooke wait…!” The postman found himself chasing after the winged owl, his heart racing. Oh God, if Brooke brought that letter to Eli… Victor was certain he would be done for. “Brooke please…!” Victor found himself continuing to chase after the bird, panicked. What if Eli was watching Victor right through Brooke’s eyes?
The postman’s heart was racing violently as he stopped moving completely, his topaz eyes wide as he watched Brooke fly over to Eli, who was decoding a machine nearby to Victor. The postman stepped back, his heart racing as a worried expression touched his face. “Brooke? Yes, what is it?” Eli said softly to his bird as the owl landed on Eli’s shoulder. “Oh? What’s this? A letter?” Eli blinked his eyes and turned his head to Victor, apparently seeing where Victor was standing through Brooke’s eyes. “Victor? What’s up?” The blond haired man took a few more steps back, Eli’s expression turning to one of worry. “Victor, what’s wrong?” Silence, before Victor found himself running away. His heart raced as tears pricked his eyes. God damn it! Why did he have to write the letter in the first place? Victor should’ve known one way or another, the letter would get out into the open. He ran back towards his cipher machine, seeing as Wick was waiting for him there. The blond man panted a bit as his heart raced, unable to focus properly on the match. What if Eli opened the letter? No, he wouldn’t, Eli wouldn’t do that, except he might’ve - Eli’s name was written on the letter. The letter was technically for him, so why wouldn’t his curiosity be piqued?
“... Eli has the letter…” Victor said softly to Wick, kneeling down to gently pet him. How did everything go so south for him so quickly? The match literally just started! How did everything go down the drain so quickly? Before Victor knew it, he heard the sound of a bell chiming, and he quickly realized that Martha had just gotten downed by the hunter. She kited for a while; two cipher machines had gotten done within the time. Victor’s cipher machine hadn’t been one of them, however. Who was going to rescue now that Martha had gotten downed? Victor was in turmoil right now.
“Don’t move, I’m coming!” Eli pinged on the quick messages, causing Victor’s heart to race a bit as he heard it. He shifted through his letters swiftly, ignoring the anxiety bubbling in the pit of his stomach. He sent a rescue letter to Eli, making sure he would get it before Martha was chaired. Now that Victor was seeing it, he grimaced when he noticed who the hunter was: the Feaster, Hastur. Of all hunters, why did it have to be Hastur? He wondered how Eli would hold up against Hastur. Supposably they were connected somehow, that Hastur was Eli’s god or something. Victor wasn’t entirely sure; he wasn’t exactly the most religious person in the manor. He didn’t think about it often, but he hoped that Eli would be okay going up against Hastur. After Victor was certain the letter had been set (more of, he got a notification Eli received his letter), the postman went back to decoding, quickly finishing the cipher that originally had progress on it. There were two ciphers left now, to Victor’s surprise. Had he really not been paying attention as the match seemed to fly by? He wasn’t entirely sure, but the postman went to go find a cipher machine, preferably one with progress on it. He hated being the last one to prime the cipher; making mistakes meant people got hurt, and making mistakes also meant getting tormented by other survivors over it. Luckily for Victor, he wasn’t teamed up with any survivors who would berate him for messing up.
“Cipher machine progress at 65%!” Luca called out. It was then Victor noticed that there was a cipher machine that Luca had made a connection to. With that in mind, Victor went over to decode that cipher machine.
“Cipher machine progress at 45% percent!” the postman pinged out. He turned to Wick and nodded his head, inhaling and exhaling as he looked through his letters. Best to send a decoding letter, then? Or maybe an exit gate opening letter? Who would Victor even send that to? There was no guarantee whoever would receive the letter would be able to open the exit gate, especially if a hunter had teleport or detention paired together. It sounded like a nightmare. The sound of a bell chiming rang again in Victor’s ears as his eyes widened, seeing that Eli had gotten downed before being able to rescue Martha, and now her chair was past halfway. This match clearly wasn’t going in their favor, now was it? Victor couldn’t help but blame a part of it on himself, since he had been too worried about the love letter that was no in Eli’s possession. Now it was up to him to rescue, something he really didn’t wish to do against a hunter with a secondary attack. Since he received the rescue letter though, he was certain he had enough time to use it, so he sent off a decoding letter to Luca in hope’s the “prisoner” would be able to get both cipher machines done on his own.
“Sorry…” Eli pinged out, the apology making Victor’s heart clench in his chest. Usually, Eli worked well against Hastur, and since Eli hadn’t used Brooke yet and her protective shield, Victor would’ve thought Eli and Brooke would’ve taken at least some heat off of them to rescue Martha. Swallowing hard as he heard Luca had received the letter, Victor hurried on his way, surprised now that Hastur had picked Eli up and had gone to chair him. Well, that made things easier, except Victor was disheartened Eli was getting chair time. Would he manage to rescue them both? He wasn’t usually needed for rescuing so he didn’t even bring tide turner with him this time. Did Martha use her flare gun, yet? So many panicked thoughts were running through the postman’s mind as his heart raced violently in his ribcage, running as fast as he could to reach Martha’s chair before she was sent back to the manor. Luckily, Victor had managed to reach her chair just in time, and with that, Eli had been chaired.
“Victor, I can go rescue, I didn’t use my flare gun yet,” Martha said and nodded her head at the postman, “please go and decode so we can at least secure a draw or win.” Victor nodded, watching Martha go off. She didn’t want him to heal her? Well, it was as she said, she hadn’t used her flare gun yet, and it seemed the trait Hastur had brought this time wasn’t excitement. Aside from Martha’s flare gun, this wasn’t an excitement match, so it made sense that Hastur brought something else… but what exactly did he bring? He hadn’t used anything all game, so it made Victor quite weary of the trait Hastur was keeping secret at the moment. The two that were most dangerous were teleport and excitement, or at least, to Victor they were. Those two traits made matches huge game changers, game changers that usually favored the hunter. Hastur could go and disrupt the decoding progress right now if he had teleport, and if he carried excitement instead, he would be able to withstand Martha’s flare gun’s stun, and down her right away. The anxious thoughts filled Victor’s head as he swallowed hard, running back over to his original cipher machine as he prayed for the best.
The sound of a cipher machine popped, signalling Luca had finished his cipher machine already. Victor checked the progress of the cipher machine that he had been working, and felt his heart race. He’d be priming the cipher, wouldn’t he? “Cipher machine progress at 75%!” The postman pinged as he began typing away at the keys on the machine, Wick standing by the postman’s side as Victor’s anxieties swelled up inside of him. Did Eli get a chance to read the letter yet? What if he did? Victor’s mind was filled to the brim with negative thoughts as he let out a shaky breath, trying to remain calm and steady his breath. The sound of Martha’s flare gun went off, making Victor jump a bit, but it wasn’t followed by excitement noises, which meant Hastur didn’t have excitement. Then what trait did he bring? Victor’s eyes widened as he paused decoding, realizing he was hardly paying attention to his decoding. He almost popped the cipher by accident, and he would’ve if he hadn’t caught himself. “Cipher machine primed!” He noticed Eli had gotten rescued, and apparently Hastur was chasing them now. Victor waited anxiously for the right moment to pop the cipher, however, to his surprise, he heard the sound of teleporting extremely close. His topaz eyes widened as he slammed his fingers on the keys before thinking, popping the cipher as Hastur had teleported towards the machine. “The hunter is near me…!”
Panicked, the postman found himself running as fast as he could, pulling a pallet down to avoid Hastur’s swing for a short period of time, the hunter’s eyes lit red from detention. His heart was beating violently as he turned around, Wick lunging at Hastur and gnawing at his lower tentacles as though he were calamari. It didn’t change anything though as Victor found himself stumbling. His mind was ruined with thoughts and anxieties. “Get away from me…!” Just as Hastur had broken the pallet and was about to slam his tentacles down on Victor, the sound of an owl appeared and left as soon as Victor was supposed to get hit. Eli had sent Brooke out to protect him… not that it would matter too much, since Victor didn’t think of himself good at kiting, not to mention the fact Hastur had detention. That and… Victor’s mind was still very full of anxieties for Eli receiving the love letter. That was anything but good. Why was that Victor’s biggest concern? Maybe because it would ruin the friendship he had built with Eli. No doubt about it that Victor was certain their friendship would ruin now. Distracted, he found himself downed in seconds as Hastur had swung his tentacles down on the postman, inevitably tying Victor to balloons and carrying him towards the nearest rocket chair. “Don’t rescue me…!” Victor pinged as he was chaired, his heart swelling as he sighed softly.
Wick laid down next to Victor’s feet, barking sadly as Hastur seemed to move away from the rocket chair. Why wasn’t he camping? Maybe it was because he had already lost… or maybe it was because Hastur had something else going on in his mind. Victor sat shakily in the rocket chair, looking down. He was sure they already all had the exit gate open, so why hadn’t they left yet? It was considered mocking to wait at the exit gate for no reason when it was open. So why were they waiting? Victor couldn’t understand; he was so confused. They could’ve had a win. Next thing he knew, Hastur had teleported towards the exit gate, Luca getting downed right away. Wasn’t the exit gate open? Unless… Luca had been taking time putting progress on the other exit gate and that was why the gate wasn’t open yet. When did Hastur’s teleport cool down finish so quickly? Victor’s head was spinning a little bit from the racing thoughts in his head, as though he hadn’t been paying attention due to the worries of the love letter. Moments afterwards, it seemed Martha had also gotten downed as well, seeing as Hastur decided to attempt for a tie - he certainly had one right now, and a win, maybe.
“Victor!” Victor’s topaz colored eyes widened, his heart skipping a few beats as he watched the seer appear from behind one of the buildings in Eversleeping Town, running to Victor’s chair, panting and out of breath. Victor’s cheeks turned a bright shade of red as Eli untied the postman from the rocket chair, grabbing Victor’s hand in his own. “You alright?” Victor hesitantly nodded… surprised that Eli had come back for him. The two ran towards the other exit gate that Hastur, Martha, and Luca weren’t at. “Mister Balsa was putting progress on to this exit gate, so we’ll get this open and secure a draw since Hastur used up his teleport.” The postma beckoned his head, blushing as Eli stopped in front of the exit gate, using his free hand to put the rest of the password in. Victor looked down at their hands linked together, Wick and Brooke exchanging knowing looks with one another. Where was the love letter that belonged to Victor? His topaz eyes hesitantly scanned Eli, noticing the elegant envelope sticking out of one of the small satchels Eli had at his waist. It looked… opened. Eli opened the letter, didn’t he? No… he read the letter after all… Victor thought and swallowed hard, his hand shaking a little bit in Eli’s. The seer seemed to notice this, giving Victor’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “It’ll be okay, Victor.”
Victor nodded his head a bit, his fair skinned cheeks a rosy hue as Eli opened the exit gate. The two hurried hand in hand through the gate, walking over that invisible line and securing a tie. Martha and Luca were rocket chaired back to the manor while Eli and Victor were transported back to the manor. Before Victor knew it, they had walked into the living room of the manor, other survivors waiting to see how the match had gone. Not once did Eli part his hand away from Victor’s, which surprised the postman, but he wasn’t complaining. I’m still worried about the love letter… clearly Eli read it… does this mean our friendship isn’t ruined, though? He doesn’t seem to be harboring any feelings of negativity towards me but… I always thought that conversations were filled with lies… so maybe he’s just pitying me or something… The blond haired man quickly shook his head. No! I can’t think like that! I trust Eli… he’d never do anything to betray my trust… right…? Victor inhaled and exhaled quietly.
“So, how did your match go?” asked Naib Subedar, the mercenary, who was chilling on the couch with the forward, William Ellis, and the cowboy, Kevin Alonso. “... Where’s Luca…? Martha, too.”
“... They’re being rocketed back here,” Eli said, “we got a draw, Victor and I escaped.”
“Well, good on y’all for securing a draw, though! You should be proud of yourselves,” Kevin said and smiled, tipping his hat off to Victor and Eli. Victor hesitantly nodded his head, blushing as he looked down at his shoes. Wick barked happily, running off to go play with Brooke somewhere close by. Naib’s blue eyes glanced over, noticing Victor and Eli were hand in hand. Kevin and William noticed it too, and before Victor knew it, the three were staring at their linked hands. Victor’s eyes widened as he blushed, swallowing hard as he glanced at Eli. What was going through that seer’s head right now? Upon the feeling of so many eyes on him, Victor’s hand slipped from Eli’s, causing the seer to turn around to see Victor, who took a few steps back before running off down the hallway. Concerned, the bulldog stopped playing with the owl and chased after his owner, who was already down the hall.
“... What’s up with Grantz?” William asked, raising an eyebrow.
“...” Eli didn’t respond, his hand shifting to his satchel that carried the love letter from Victor safely and securely. Eli didn’t let it go the entire match, and he planned to keep it. Naib sighed softly and stood up, putting his hands on his hips.
“... Eli, a word,” the mercenary said, causing Eli to nod his head, his face expressionless as he followed Naib out of the room out into the hallway where no one could hear them. Leaning against the wall, the mercenary gave the seer a serious look. “You need to stop with Victor.”
“What?” Eli asked, blinking his eyes underneath his blindfold as his lips parted a bit.
“You’re gonna lead him on accidentally one of these days,” Naib began and crossed his arms, heaving a sigh. “Pretty sure that kid’s already got a crush on you.” Eli flinched, and looked down at his satchel carrying the love letter. “Eli?”
“... He wrote me a love letter…” Eli said softly, removing the letter from his satchel, “he didn’t give it to me, but Brooke took it from him and brought it to me herself.”
“... That poor kid,” the mercenary said and sighed heavily. “You’ve been leading him on this whole time, haven’t you? You’ve been gushing about Gertrude like you always do, but you haven’t even noticed the way you light up whenever you get to speak to Victor.”
“Don’t friends always light up with one another?” the seer asked.
“No. No, not in the way you light up when you see Victor,” Naib said, “not the way you light up when you talk to Victor, when you talk about Victor. If Victor already wrote a love letter for you, chances are it’s already too late. He’s developed romantic feelings for you, Eli.”
“I… He…” Eli looked down at his shoes, tilting his head down to look down, his eyes pained underneath the blindfold. “... I love Gertrude…”
“Do you really?” Naib said and raised an eyebrow, “you got some stuff to work out, Eli. Some serious stuff you need to work out. Either way, one of them’s gonna get hurt, but you gotta consider the fact that there’s no escaping this manor; we’ve all tried numerous times. You might not ever see Gertrude again, not to upset you or anything. I’m serious. You need to figure out your feelings. Do you love Gertrude or Victor? You need to decide.”
“Naiiiiiiiiiiib!” the two paused upon hearing the familiar voice of the “prisoner”. Bounding down the hallway was Luca, who appeared to have been looking for Naib after he returned from the match. The chocolate haired brunette ran up and jumped into Naib’s arms, the mercenary just catching the “prisoner” before glancing at Eli, who quietly watched this. “The match went so bad in my favor! I didn’t kite long enough, I’m so upset…”
“Alright,” Naib said, blushing a bit from the pda. It was just Eli seeing this though, so the mercenary wasn’t sure if he really minded.
“Can we go cuddle?” Luca whined.
“... Y-Yes,” Naib said and blushed, averting his eyes shyly. He glanced at Eli, as though quietly saying that Eli really had some things he needed to work out, especially with his feelings and emotions. With that, Naib and Luca disappeared down the hallway, leaving Eli to look down at the love letter he clenched in his hands, his eyes softening. What should he do? Where was his heart at? Did his heart lie with his fiance Gertrude… or did his heart now reside with Victor? Eli glanced at Brooke, his eyes softening and saddening a bit.
“... It seems I have a lot to think about, hm?” the seer said quietly, Brooke hooting in response.
***
Victor was in his room, the postman anxiously organizing his letters, just to try and keep his mind off everything. He swallowed hard, Wick sleeping in his comfortable little doggy bed. The blond haired man heaved a quiet sigh, annoyed with himself for having written the letter in the first place. That letter… Victor should’ve never written it. He regretted it already, since it ended up in Eli’s hands in the end. Victor sighed softly as he laid his head on his desk, sulking quietly. Having romantic feelings for someone one can’t have is exhausting work. Victor wished he had never fallen in love with Eli in the first place. It was exhausting, and Victor wasn’t sure how much of the pain the postman’s heart could take. Victor was certain he was delving into the depths of madness with these romantic feelings, having bottled them up so long and kept them away from Eli as much as possible. The seer didn’t deserve to have to pick between his fiance and Victor, not to mention Eli actually had a fiance. This shouldn’t be even up for debate; Eli had a fiance so the one he should be with his fiance. Victor was just the friend that had a crush on Eli. Truly uncomfortable circumstances.
“Mister Grantz,” Victor heard a stern voice from his closed door. It was the doctor, Emily Dyer, who had come by. “Dinner will be ready in ten minutes, so please come down in ten minutes if you’re hungry.” With that, the sound of Emily’s footsteps faded away, signalling she had gone away from his bedroom door. Victor heaved a soft and gentle sigh as he thought for a few moments. Was he even hungry? If he went down to dinner, chances are, he’d be seeing Eli again, and Victor was very anxious about seeing Eli again. Eli was a seer, maybe he already foresaw that the love letter would come to him? Maybe he already knew what was in the love letter? If that was the case, why open it in the first place? Victor groaned softly as he kept his face rested on the desk. Was he even hungry? It would be important if he managed to eat something… Victor should eat something so he wasn’t hungry later. He also had to feed Wick whenever Wick woke up from his little nap. Ah, Victor was a mess, wasn’t he? A real fine mess. Writing such a love letter was one of Victor’s biggest regrets. Ah, he really shouldn’t have written it after all.
Victor wondered what had been going through Eli’s mind when he read Victor’s love letter to him. He wondered how Eli was feeling when he read Victor’s love letter to him. The anxiety was eating away at the postman, who inhaled and exhaled shakily. Everything was fine, everything was fine. He’d just go to dinner, no big deal. Victor knew Eli wouldn’t ever humiliate Victor, so chances are, if the seer were to talk to the postman about the love letter and Victor’s feelings, he’d do it respectfully and in private. Victor lifted his head up, holding the vaulting letters in his hands as he replayed the events from the match. How did one deal with things like this? Victor had never been good around people, and to be honest, he tried to avoid conversing with them as much as possible. He never developed romantic feelings for anyone until Eli came along, meaning Victor had no idea how to deal with rejection or deal with any situation romantic feelings brought along. The postman was already very aware Eli was someone he couldn’t have, and he had come to accept that. Yet, it hurt so much, maybe more than anything had ever hurt him before.
The postman stood up, putting the letters and his post bag aside as he went over and lightly woke the bulldog up. Upon Wick waking up, the two made their way out of the bedroom, down the hall and towards the stairwell. The stairwell would lead them into the main room of the manor, which would lead them to the dining hall shortly afterwards. The two trudged down the stairs, Victor wondering if he was one of the last ones to arrive at the dining hall. As Wick and him trudged down the stairs, they eventually reached the dining hall together. There was food laid out in bowls for the animal companions, in which Wick happily went to eat along with Murro’s boar and Eli’s owl. Victor looked around, his heart racing when he saw Eli. The seer’s head seemed to turn Victor’s way, causing the postman to quickly look away in hope’s he could avoid being found out about looking at Eli. The blond haired postman looked for an empty chair, and when he found it, he plopped down there, sitting in between Patricia Dorval, the enchantress, and Helena Adams, the mind’s eye. Victor and Helena were already friends, even if they weren’t nearly as close as Eli and Victor were to one another.
“Hello Victor,” Helena said softly, her head turned into his direction. She had exceptional hearing… so maybe his silence let her know who had just sat next to her. The postman’s topaz eyes softened as he nodded his head a bit, looking down at the food placed in front of him.
“H-Hello Helena…” Victor said softly and shakily. He definitely wasn’t used to talking to people often, but sometimes it was hard not to speak. After all, Helena was blind and Victor couldn’t exactly write in braille for her to read, so he had no choice but to speak to her.
“I heard how your match went earlier,” Helena said, “you did good.”
“T-Thanks…” mumbled Victor softly. His heart skipped beats as he could feel a pair of eyes on him here and there. He looked down the row across from him, seeing Eli quickly turn his head away. His eyes were covered by the blindfold, so it was really hard to tell whether Eli had really been looking at Victor or not… but Victor had been certain there was a pair of eyes on him, and he immediately went to thinking it was Eli. The seer had read the love letter hadn’t he…? Victor was expecting some sort of rejection at some point, or maybe Eli wouldn’t even speak to Victor anymore. The postman wasn’t sure, he honestly wasn’t excited about the negative consequences of his actions, of writing that love letter in the first place.
“Victor… you seem rather agitated right now…” Helena said softly. How could she tell when she was blind? Maybe she was able to feel the agitation radiating off of him. Victor wasn’t sure if agitated was the right word to use - he would’ve gone with anxious and worried over agitated, but because Helena was blind, he gave her the benefit of the doubt for not being able to guess correctly what he was feeling. Regardless, she knew something was wrong, and that was all she needed to know right now. Victor flinched at Helena’s words, averting his eyes as he looked down at his food. What could he say? He couldn’t say something like this aloud, not to mention he had originally wished to hide his feelings for Eli from anyone and everyone. The blond haired postman felt like he was pushed into a corner that he was desperate to escape from. He refused to say anything, having lost his appetite completely. “Sorry, I did not mean to push you, Victor.”
“... I-It’s fine,” the postman replied in a small and shaky tone, “I… I’ve lost my appetite though… I-I’m gonna go…” Victor got up quickly, mumbling a brief “excuse me” before shuffling out into the hallway, feeling pairs of eyes on him. He hadn’t even touched his food, the lavish and gourmet meal untouched. The postman exited through the main hall doors, heart racing as he leaned his back against the wall. He couldn’t do this, he couldn’t live his life like this. It felt like… Victor was running away from Eli, in a sense. He was running away from Eli because he was terrified of the unknown, that he was terrified of Eli’s response to the love letter, if there even was a response. What if there wasn’t a response? Well, everything Eli would do was a response… if he avoided Victor, it meant he didn’t want to be friends anymore and if Eli continued to treat Victor like they were friends, well, it meant their friendship was still the same and nothing had changed. A verbal answer was scarier, but unfortunately, it would give Victor closure. He couldn’t bring himself to confront Eli first, however. There was no way the postman would’ve confronted Eli himself; it was a terrifying experience to do that, especially when Victor still wasn’t used to conversing with people to begin with. His breathing was shaky as he put his hand on his chest. He’d wait out here until Wick was finished with his food.
“... Victor,” the postman jolted forward a bit, turning his head, his topaz colored hues widening as he saw Eli close the door to the dining hall behind him, turning to face Victor completely. Victor averted his eyes, his heart racing as his cheeks were a crimson shade of red. “... Can… Can we talk…?” He stepped forward to the postman, causing Victor to take a step back, as though trying to increase the distance between the two of them. Eli flinched, frowning softly as he felt a little heartache from Victor moving away from him.
“... N-No…” Victor whispered softly. What was he saying?! He wanted closure! He wanted an answer! However, Victor was so afraid of the answer, his heart racing as he almost looked terrified to hear whatever Eli had to say. Victor felt panic shoot throughout his body.
“Victor, hold on-” Eli’s eyes widened underneath the blindfold as the postman began booking it. The seer felt his heart drop in his chest, clenching the engagement ring that he held in the palm of his hand. He had removed his engagement from his ring finger completely, having already conversed with himself on what he was feeling and how to deal with it. “Victor wait!” The seer chased after the postman, the postman feeling tears trail down his cheeks as his heart pounded violently in his ribcage. Tears kept falling down his cheek, the sounds of his footsteps echoing in the halls while Eli called out to him. Victor had good stamina due to always going out and making deliveries and sending mail to others, so he was certain Eli wouldn’t be catching up to him any time soon. Where could Victor run to? Obviously, he could run to his room; that was probably the best option. However, Victor wasn’t sure he could outrun Eli long enough to get to the safety of his room, so instead, the postman ran straight into the garden instead. Wait, why EXACTLY did he run into here of ALL places? The garden wasn’t the biggest room in the manor. It didn’t leave a lot of places to escape to - not to mention that there was only one door in and out of the room.
Victor found a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind, causing his eyes to widen. His heart raced as he felt the slightly shorter man clutch Victor close. “Victor, stop running away from me…” Eli’s pained voice sent shivers down Victor’s spine as a swelling shot through his heart. The postman stopped struggling, hanging his head down a little bit as his arms went limp, tears strolling down Victor’s cheeks and falling to the ground. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, Victor waiting for Eli, and Eli trying to muster up the proper words to say to Victor. He already made his decision, but trying to come up with the proper words to tell Victor his decision was rather hard. It was nice that Victor was so patient, but the anxiety and worry made Victor a bit fidgety as he tried to remain patient and wait for Eli to say what it was he wanted to say. The answer would be terrifying, sure, but at least Victor would know exactly how Eli felt. It was then Eli removed himself from Victor, causing a rush of anxiety to course through the postman, which was quickly replaced with relief when he noticed Eli took his hand and guided him over to one of the benches in the garden, seating him down and joining him shortly. “... Victor…” Eli said the postman’s name so softly and affectionately, one of his gloved hands sliding up to Victor’s cheek and gently wiping away the postman’s tears that kept falling from his handsome topaz colored eyes. “... It seems we’ve both had a lot to think about today, huh…?”
“Mhm…” Victor mumbled softly, his heart racing as he hesitantly leaned his cheek into Eli’s gloved hand that caressed his cheek, resisting the urge to kiss it out of comfort.
“... Your love letter was actually really sweet…” Eli whispered softly and removed it from his satchel. “I… It was really sweet… it certainly made me turn a crimson shade of red when I read it. It was such a strong confession, too…” Victor swallowed hard. Eli was gonna reject him, wasn’t he? He’d let him down gently, surely. That’s what it sounded like, with how this conversation was going. The postman closed his eyes tightly, more tears falling as his lips quivered. The pent up love he held for Eli had come undone, the pain flooding throughout his body as his hands trembled a little bit. Eli’s eyes softened underneath the blindfold as he gently put pressure on Victor’s cheek, gentle pressure of course, as though trying to comfort him. “... You’d be surprised but… Naib was the one who wanted me to discuss this with you, actually.” Eli chuckled slightly. “He told me… that I needed to confront my emotions, and decide who my heart resonated with the most.” Eli retracted his hand from Victor’s cheek, the moonlight shining through the garden windows. Victor hesitantly opened his and blushed as he watched Eli remove the hood from his hood, revealing his short, yet neatly done dark brown hair. His hands reached up behind his head, as though untying something. Before Victor knew it, his heart raced and his eyes widened upon seeing Eli remove his blindfold from his face, revealing incredibly handsome, dark blue eyes. Eli was… so painfully handsome. “... I decided where my heart is, who my heart belongs to.” Eli extended his other hand out, holding out the wedding ring so Victor could see it.
It made the postman flinch. Did this mean that Eli was still with Gertrude? Good for Gertrude, if that was the case, but… it certainly pained Victor, a pain of heartbreak he have an eternity to get over since they were stuck in the Oletus Manor forever. It was then Victor’s eyes followed the ring, Eli putting it back into his satchel. He didn’t put it on his ring finger, why? “Victor, I’ve learned that… my heart resides with you.” The postman’s eyes widened as Eli leaned his face closer, their lips brushing against one another. Victor kept his eyes wide, still trying to process what was happening as Eli’s eyes had closed. Once Victor realized what was happening, he wrapped his arms around Eli’s neck swiftly, excited and eager for the kiss as his eyes closed. Eli placed his hands back on Victor’s cheeks, deepening the kiss slowly as their lips molded together eagerly, as though both of them had been waiting for this kiss for the longest time. The postman was still trying to get over the excited happiness he felt, like some sort of puppy. Did Eli really just choose him over his fiance? The postman almost felt guilty about it; Eli was technically cheating on Gertrude since there was no way of contacting Gertrude and telling her what was happening, how he felt. Of course both of them would feel guilty about Getrude, but… they were following where their hearts were, especially Eli, who had been in love with Gertrude… but two years in the manor without her, and Eli found himself falling for Victor. After a few moments, they parted the kiss slightly, lips brushing against one another still. “... Victor, I love you…” Eli said in a hushed whisper, his breath fanning Victor’s lips.
“I-I love you… t-too…” whispered Victor as well. The two stared into one another’s eyes, before Victor surprised Eli and boldly pulled him into another kiss. The amount of pain that Victor had been feeling was completely gone now, replaced with happy emotions. The two continued to kiss and hold each other underneath the beautiful full moonlight. Maybe writing that love letter hadn’t been so negative after all, hm?