[Mad Muses] November 1.3 - Iris Murdoch Quote (for heroslayer)

[thepainted_lady]

"Love is the difficult realization that something other than oneself is real." ~ Iris Murdoch

She was going to die.

This wasn't exactly news, given it had happened once already, but the follow up was one she hadn't really considered, even though she'd seen proof of it in her trailer that night she didn't like to dwell on.

He wasn't.

The two sentences rolled around in her head as she stood in the kitchen mixing up batter for muffins because she couldn't stand to just sit staring out the window at the cold winter waves beating on the empty shoreline anymore. She was going to die. He wasn't. It could be strung together as one sentence and the horrible implications became all the more clear. She was going to die, and he wasn't.

After the cold reaches of the darkness she liked to dwell on even less than that night, she would have thought the contemplation of her own mortality would be the far more upsetting of those two propositions. He'd expected her to hate him for it, or feared she would grow to, but when she thought about it, all she felt was this ache that caught at her throat and twisted up around inside of her making it hard to breathe.

She was going to die, and he wasn't. Someday, someway, despite all of her promises, and no matter how hard she tried not to...she was going to leave him, just like everyone else had. Her own body would betray her, and him, and she'd simply...cease to be, and he'd be alone. The little fears and vanities that reared their heads in the back of her mind, the will-he-still-want-me-when-I'm-not-as-young-and-pretties and the how-could-he-stay-if-I-get-old-and-sick-at-the-ends, faded under the lines of pain at that.

She didn't want to leave him alone, didn't want to leave him to watch the centuries stretch out in front of him in a string of loss or loneliness. The fact that Claire might be there was hardly a consolation, and one she dismissed. The fact that he might fall in love again...to what end? To lose love again, as well? That hurt, too, both personally, and for him.

She was crying again, as she had the night before, though it wasn't for the same reasons this time. The fear that had lingered wasn't really gone, but it wasn't at the forefront of her mind. Pain for him, for what he'd go through without her, for knowing that he had to live with that everyday...it left her gasping a little for air, and clinging to the counter until her knuckles were white.

She was going to die, and he wasn't. That meant she had to find a way to make every day he did have with her count, so he'd never doubt in all those years to come that he'd been loved. No matter what anyone else had done, or would do, no matter what happened or what he faced after she was gone...she wanted him to know that and have that as a surety. For as long as she had, he'd be loved, he'd have a home. They'd have a life, and by god, it would be a good one. No regrets. No looking back. No doubts. No second-guessing. No more what-might-have-beens.

She wiped her tears and gave the batter a vicious punch with the spoon. She wasn't exactly sure where to start, but making muffins to rival Mrs. Comey's waffles seemed to be as good as anywhere, even if she was still figuring out the cooking things after years of not. If she was going to die, and he wasn't, she didn't want to waste any more of their precious time on tears.

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[heroslayer]

He hummed, amused, and pulled back to rest his forehead against hers again, his eyes sliding closed. All his work in front of the mirror this morning had exhausted him, and it was apparently catching up with him faster than he thought it would. It was pathetic almost, given that he'd only been out of bed for a few hours, and then he remembered he hadn't actually slept much if at all the night before. He'd been too afraid she'd slip out of bed right there and then and leave him for someone she could grow old and die with.

Sighing, he pushed the thought away, and muttered, "You know, I'm half tempted to go back to bed."

[thepainted-lady.livejournal.com]

Lydia knew he hadn't slept well the night before. Neither had she, though she liked to think maybe she'd faked it better. Now, though, she sighed a little and ran her fingers through his hair. "Its not a bad plan..." Maybe curling up and really sleeping would make the world twist to be all right again.

[heroslayer]

"We can still get hot chocolate later." He wasn't going to deny either of them that, he just wanted to try and get some sleep, first. At least, he reasoned, as physically demanding -- and therefore exhausting -- as his shapeshifting was, he'd likely be able to manage a few hours. "If you still want it, anyway."

[thepainted-lady.livejournal.com]

"Later is good," she agreed. Granted it wasn't really possible to get out of his arms when he was holding her, so she stayed where she was, waiting for him to either let her go or carry her that way. "It can be an afternoon treat...or evening."

Depending on how late they stayed in bed.

[heroslayer]

"Sounds good."

He offered her a worn, crooked smile and shifted to the edge of his seat, readjusting his hold on her so he could scoop her into his arms as he stood up. He stole another quick kiss from her, sighed, well and truly worn, and then carried her into the bedroom, setting her down on the bed gently as they reached it. He threw himself down on it next to her, face first.

[thepainted-lady.livejournal.com]

Lydia gasped a little at the scooping, wrapping her arms around his neck more securely. She chuckled a little when they hit the bed, and shifted to wrap her arms around him again, snuggling up to his side.

"Sleep...I'm not going anywhere."

[heroslayer]

Rolling onto his side, he draped an arm over her waist and pulled her tight against her chest. "You, too. I'm not the only one who didn't get much sleep last night."

[thepainted-lady.livejournal.com]

Lydia shifted with him again, resting her head on his chest, her fingers brushing idly over his heart. She was immediately contrite that he'd noticed, worried her restlessness might have fed into his, but she just nodded. "Sleep for both of us. I could use it..."

[heroslayer]

"You could." And so could he. He'd already said that, of course, but how tired he was was made all the more obvious by the fact that he was already starting his descent into sleep.

[thepainted-lady.livejournal.com]

Lydia fought hers for a few more moments, wanting to watch him sleep, make sure he made it, before she finally let herself slide under, listening to the sound of his heartbeat under her ear and letting it soothe her for the moment, at least.