Work Text:
He had Sight. But, it was limited. Like peering through the wrong side of a telescope. A small piece of something larger, something he could never hope to truly comprehend. Distorted. Hard to tell if it was so close that he could kiss it, or so far it'd take him years to finally reach it.
He had known he had come to look for something. And he knew it had to have been painful. Nothing in the world came easy. He knew this for a fact.
And yet.
He sighs.
And yet.
Falling in love was an easy thing, if you met the right person. It was as easy as stumbling. Before you knew it, they held your entire world in their hands.
He remembered when he had first saw Gertrude. It was like falling through spring air.
Gertrude was a lovely memory. The warmth of her hand. Her laughter, like church bells.
Pressed flowers that were slowly losing their fragrance. Photos that were slowly fading from exposure. She was the sun.
And Aesop?
He was coffee, a bitter taste on his tongue. A crescent moon, waning. A thin smile, carefully painted on.
And yet, despite his slightness, the world seemed to grow silent for him, the dead blushing, and becoming lifelike once more because he had coaxed them to do so, ever so sweetly.
And Eli was simply himself. Standing on Earth, eyes locked on the sky.
Watching the moon eclipse the sun.
Falling for him made Eli fill with dread. Slowly slipping, down, down, down.
The world he used to live in hardly existed any more. It felt like a pleasant dream he had woken up from, and one that he wasn't going to return to.
He sighed again, his breath turning into mist in the cool air of the courtyard. A familiar hoot sounds, and he turns.
"Brooke Rose, you're-" The words dry up on his tongue.
Aesop stood in his black striped pajamas, disheveled. A coat was thrown over his shoulders. Brooke Rose was perched on his shoulder, and it felt like betrayal.
He looked so different from how he usually did. Put together, unbreakable. But, now, Aesop looked just as vulnerable as he felt.
"She had flown into my room, and wouldn't leave until I followed her." Aesop says, his voice rasping with drowsiness. He covers a yawn with his hand. Silver strands fall onto his face, and all Eli wants is to reach out and brush them away for him. But, he doesn't.
"I... I see." Eli responds. He steps towards Aesop. "I’ll handle this. Sorry that she interrupted your sleep. She can be a little unpredictable. Come on, Brooke.”
He outstretches his hand, expectantly. But Brooke Rose refuses to budge, sitting impertinently on Aesop’s shoulder. She turns her head away from him, to face Aesop directly. He meets her stare, and Eli can feel the echo of Aesop's gaze through her.
“It’s alright. I usually have trouble sleeping, regardless of any owls that come swooping in.” Aesop smiled faintly. It was slight- it could easily be mistaken for a shadow, a trick of the light. But it was there, a sliver of light, like a crescent moon in the night sky. He reaches up to gently stroke Brooke Rose’s feathers. She coos with delight.
His hand curls. Something seems to have caught Aesop’s eye, however.
“Seems you have your own worries. Do you have someone waiting for you on the outside?”
Eli’s caught off guard, before realizing what had given him away. The silver engagement band that wrapped around his ring finger glinted in the dim light. It was usually covered by his gloves, but he had gone without. He hadn't expected to run into anyone.
The words catch in his throat. Gertrude. His beloved. His fiancée.
"No. I don't."
A boldfaced lie.
"I see."
His head spins, why would he lie, why would he ever say that? Silence settles over them like snow. Guilt floods through him, and he swears, tomorrow, he'd make it up to her, he'd tell the truth. He wouldn't lie again.
Aesop keeps on stroking Brooke, ever so thoughtfully. He doesn't seem to notice Eli's distress- though, he was trying his hardest not to let it show.
"Do you have anyone waiting for you?" Eli blurts out. He wants to smack himself. But he wants anything to keep his mind off of things.
He can't help but want to piece Aesop together like a puzzle, make him say something. Anything.
Aesop hardly said anything about himself. He mostly listened. Anything about his past was obscured. Perhaps he never felt the need to center himself.
"No. Not particularly. Perhaps it's better that way- I have nothing to lose."
Aesop gently prompts Brooke Rose off his shoulder, before extending his hand to Eli.
"Here. I'm sure she missed you."
Aesop stifles a yawn with his other hand.
"Perhaps you should go to bed. Rest is difficult enough to get as it is."
With that, he turns and begins to walk back to the mansion.
Before Eli can stop himself, his name slips past his lips again, unbidden.
"Aesop!"
Aesop turns.
He fumbles. Words don't form completely for him.
"Good night."
A slight smile, tilt of the head.
"Good night. "