• ~ •

Vox was still standing there without saying anything, tears flowing off his eyes. He was breathing fast now. Alastor said what? He started sobbing harder and harder. He broke down to his knees. He knew he would soon wake up and lose this beautiful dream, and he couldn't stand the thought. He couldn't bear another false alarm. He just knew he was dreaming.

"Oh, dear! Vox? Are you okay?" Alastor asked, startled. He bent over to check on him. Vox narrowed his eyes to Al. 'But he looks... so real.' He could see the dried tears on his cheeks, his hair that was brushed off his forehead. He could feel his breath on his face. Vox slowly reached out and touched Alastor's neck. It was warm. He then slid his hand steadily down and stopped on his chest. Alastor was standing very still. One half of him worried about Vox's sanity and the other half focusing on enjoying that gentle touch.

Vox laid his hand on Alastor's chest some more. He was feeling his heartbeat, which had increased its speed a lot for some reason. "So you are real," Vox said out loud. Alastor sat down the floor so that they would be on the same level. "...what?," he asked. Vox snapped out of it, and his pupils dilated. 'Alastor loves me'. He gasped and started sobbing louder. His tears were dripping on the floor, and Alastor was watching him without knowing what to do.

'Was that too much? He must be very overwhelmed by all this... dump stuff that I showered him with.' Alastor patted Vox's shoulder and stood up. He sighed in sorrow. Apparently, Vox didn't feel the same. He wanted to leave him alone now. Suddenly, Vox started laughing really loudly. Alastor glanced at his side in disappointment. Now he was... mocking him?

Alastor clenched his fists and clinched his mouth. Vox was now rolling on the floor, laughing. He suddenly turned to Alastor. "I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU TOO AL!," he screamed on the top of his lungs. This phrase echoed throughout the whole house, even bounced across the trees around. One could say the walls trembled. The power of Vox's voice was equal with an earthquake's.

Alastor flinched. "... really?," he asked since Vox's reaction was a bit... unexpected. Vox giggled. "Ooh, and for a long time, too!" he added, still yelling in excitement. Al smiled. And his smile turned to a giggle, which turned to a chuckle, which turned to a laugh, which turned to a wheeze. He ended up on the floor, too. Vox flew himself over him and grabbed him. He hugged him, kissing him all over, wherever he could find.

They had both lost their breath due to all the laughter. They just stood there, like a love burrito, in the middle of that room, breathing heavily. Vox caressed Alastor's forehead, slowly moving his hand all over his face. Alastor giggled again and closed his eyes. Vox closed his arms around him, keeping him close to him, protected. He had never been happier his entire life. He couldn't think of any moment ever to have made him that blissful. "I love you," he whispered while kissing Alastor's palm. Alastor's face turned a deep shade of red, and he opened his eyes to meet Vox's.

He could see shooting stars in his eyes, the whole night sky. Alastor sighed. "So, what now?," he asked hesitantly. "I don't know," admitted Vox. The galaxy in his eyes disappeared. "Perhaps... I can stay," he said, still hugging him. Alastor blinked. He was feeling Vox's chest bounce as he was saying, "I can stay here with you. Opportunities come and go, but... this... this is different." Alastor never once stopped looking at those beautiful eyes. Vox continued. "I don't want to lose this. You, Al. I don't want to lose you," he sat up and held Alastor's hands in his. "Oh, Voxy," Al smiled and rubbed Vox's palms with his thumbs. "You will never lose me, silly. You told me that this is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime chance, no? I don't want you to miss out on that because of me." Vox rolled his eyes. "It would not be because of you. It would be my choice... I could tell them that something came up and I couldn't..." Alastor raised his hand, interrupting him. "Wait a minute there, you still haven't told me about 'them'. Who are these people and... what exactly did they offer you?"

Vox slapped his face with his hand. "Oh, right. I'm a total idiot. Okay... let me start from the very beginning... So, do you remember those guys I introduced you to a couple of months ago? Velvette and the moth guy?" Alastor made an expression of disgust. "Oh, that smoking bug? Yes, I do remember, and I very much disliked him. The lady, though, was not nearly as bad."

Vox nodded, agreeing to the dislike of the moth freak and continued. "So, they invited me out for a drink the other night, I think it was, like, two weeks ago, and they told me about their 'big idea'. They said they would form a team to join powers and rise, you know. I was not very impressed until they got into details...Valentino, the moth dude, would sell his love potions, Velvette would make the clothing brand she wanted and, finally,... I would... sell my TVs. I had talked to them about the TV company I wanted to make at some point and the ideas for shows and stuff like that and they... liked it." Vox smiled, looking down. "They loved it, actually. And I couldn't believe it! They were the only ones that looked as if they understood me... my vision." He quickly glanced at Alastor, who was biting his lip and whose shoulders had dropped. "I mean, except for you, of course. You always listened to my chirping," Vox quickly corrected his mistake. Alastor was still in silence. Vox continued a little awkwardly. "Everyone would promote every other: I would promote the other two in my shows, Velvette would promote us with her social skills, and Val would... find a way too, I'm sure."

Once Vox was done, Alastor felt a little guilty. It was true that he always listened to Vox's passion for television, but he never quite understood it. Neither did he encourage him to follow it. He always thought, deep down, that selling talking, 'visual' boxes was a stupid idea, but he knew how important that was to Vox so he was trying very hard to keep his thoughts to himself whenever they talked about it.

Vox stopped waiting for Alastor to react. "They seem quite professional and supportive with one another, but I just... I don't know..." Alastor finally spoke. "You don't know what? Whether they will be good business partners? Me neither. You hardly know these people." Vox shook his head. "No, it's not that. I just think..." he paused to place his hands upon Alastor's once again and squeezed them a little bit. He chuckled, still unable to process his luck. "I just think that my priorities have... changed over the last couple of hours." he concluded, smiling at Alastor, who had felt that smile like an electric shot throughout his whole body. He was very afraid. He still hated how fragile Vox always makes him feel. He could picture himself breaking to a million pieces if Vox were to come close to him again.

"You know what?" Vox said suddenly, breaking the silence. He stood up and rushed to the phone. He grabbed the receiver and started pressing buttons, forming a number. Alastor stood up too and got close to him. "Vox, what are you doing?" he asked, a little worried. "I'm calling them, I won't go." Alastor grabbed his hand. "Wait, Vox, you are not thinking clearly. How can your priorities actually change so drastically all of sudden?" Vox smiled as if Alastor wouldn't understand. "It was not 'all of sudden', I've been waiting for an excuse to stay with you the entire time," he admitted, blushing.

Suddenly, his hand froze, still hovering above the phone. The realization struck him. "...I can't stay," his voice sounded really serious. "I already signed the fucking contract..." His gaze was unfocused and his mouth had been left slightly open. Alastor was watching him. He slowly placed his arms around him. Vox buried his head into Alastor's bare chest.

"Vox... this was not a bad decision, you know," Alastor said after some moments of silence. "How is this not a fucked up decision, Al? I just found out that you have feelings for me too, and now I will leave you for who knows how long!" Vox's voice was scratching his throat. His hands were clenched upon Alastor's body. Al placed his hand on the top of his head gently, trying to calm him down. "Leaving me won't be a problem at all. I can... wait. I will wait for as long as it's needed for you to come back." Alastor sat up and took a deep breath. "But..., will you promise that you'll come back?" he asked, looking embarrassed. Vox's eyes gleamed. "I promise that, whatever happens, I will come back to you, Al," he reassured him. "And you know why?," he added playfully. Alastor shook his head. Vox placed his hands onto his cheeks again. "Because I've never ever loved someone more than I love you. Always remember that. For as long as we're apart. For as long as we exist. Always." Alastor exhaled, feeling more tears coming. Vox continued. "I will send you letters every single day so that I'll make sure you will never forget." Alastor's eyes were hurting. His heart too.

• ~ •

Charlie's face was half-buried into the tissue she finally let Alastor give her. "He did send me some letters. But the promise... he didn't keep." Alastor concluded, expressionless. "Have you... kept any of the letters?" Charlie asked a little hopeful. Alastor flinched. "Why, of course not! I burnt them all... obviously." Charlie glanced at the Vox-box, noticing that was clearly full of letters. "...riiight." She didn't want to push Alastor further. Him spilling the tea between himself and Vox was enough already.

When she turned her head back to him again, he was wiping his cheek. "Oh my! Awwww, poor Al! That bitchy TV asshole made you all emotional..." she said in a baby voice, her eyes dilated, leaning forward for a confront hug. Alastor raised his hand, stopping her. He finished wiping that single tear and stayed silent. Charlie fidgetted with the end of her coat a little bit. "Just for the record, Al, I didn't make fun of you... it's that... seeing you sad and heartbroken is something... really new to me, I don't know how to react... I don't-," Alastor interrupted her, "I know you have good intentions, dear. That's why you're the only one hearing this tale. The others, I assume, would, indeed, make fun of me. Not that I can't handle it, I just would rather not." Charlie nodded. "I understand." She stood up.

"Now, now, where exactly are you going, dear?," asked Alastor confused. "I... figured you would like to be alone. Now that you told me the tale," shrugged Charlie. Alastor giggled. "Well, I'm not quite done yet, silly. I didn't even get to the photograph yet!" Charlie was positively surprised by Alastor wanting to continue sharing his story with her and sat down again quickly. "Oh! Right! Well, I'm all ears," she smiled, eager to learn more about this 'sad and complicated' love story.