Graveyard: Sunday Night

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

Another night, another patrol, another evening sans monsters.

True... That's supposed to be a good thing but it still doesn't put Mel at ease.

Regardless: Mel Fray + Graveyard seems to becoming an OTP.

[ooc: Open]

Comments

[withoutverona]

Romeo was not brooding. Honest.

The fact he was hanging out in a graveyard after dark, letting his usual obsessive thoughts of Juliet be crowded out by ones of Yurika, was simply happenstance.

Hearing a noise, he scrambled to his feet. "Who goes here?"

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Just you're friendly neighborhood slayer," Mel said holding her scythe over her shoulder. "Romeo, right? What are you doing hanging out here?"

[withoutverona]

"Thinking, nothing more," Romeo said, defensive. "Mel? You came to I Never, I think. What is a slayer?"

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Demon fighter," Mel answered nodding to the scythe. "Mostly vampires but it's a catch all thing. You okay? Hanging out in a graveyard is usually my thing."

[withoutverona]

Romeo shrugged, a little embarrassed. "It seemed like a quiet place to think," he said. "And I did not wish to walk all the way to the beach, where I would normally go. Was I at danger of a vampire attack?"

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Probably not," Mel said hopping up on a gravestone to sit. "Last one we had was in December and it's been pretty quiet since. Mind if I ask what you were thinking about?"

[withoutverona]

"You may ask, but I may not tell you," Romeo resisted, before giving in. "I was wed, and she is dead, and now my thoughts turn to another. That is what has me walking abroad so late."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

Mel winced in sympathy. "Sorry, I had no idea," she said, "And yeah, that have me pacing around too. If I wasn't already pacing around. I take it the new girl is here in Fandom?"

[withoutverona]

Romeo nodded. "I took her to the dance, and I have not yet told her any of this, and ... I don't even know why I'm telling you any of this."

He shuffled his feet. "If you were seeing someone who had such a story, how would you want to find out? Right away, or bit by bit?"

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Sometimes strangers are easier to talk to," Mel reasoned. "And I guess it depends what kind of relationship you have. If it was serious? Right away. If it was just a casual thing, bit by bit."

[withoutverona]

"So far most of our talk is light," Romeo said, thinking. "We spent most of the dance feigning concern for each other's clothes. So, perhaps it is not time yet for me to tell her all."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Of course there's another thing to consider," Mel said cracking a grin. "Can she kick your ass?"

[withoutverona]

Romeo laughed at that, weakly. "Not a chance. She had never fired a gun before Fandom, even."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Okay then as long as she won't cause emotional damage you're in the clear," Mel replied. "However that's just my opinion. She might think otherwise."

[withoutverona]

"You mean, can she break my heart?" Romeo mused. "I have not yet handed it over."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Yeah... well sometimes you do that without thinking you actually did it," Mel said kicking a rock across the ground. "Not that I know how that works."

[withoutverona]

Romeo shot her a look. "You, maybe. I always know." He wasn't bragging, just stating a fact.

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"That's very possible," Mel admitted. "I can be difficult that way."

[withoutverona]

"Most people who are difficult have a reason to be so," Romeo told her. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"You don't want to hear my issues," Mel said with a grim smile. "I lost my sister last year and there was a guy but it ended in flames. Plus there was other stuff. Turns out when I care about someone either I or they end up hurt."

[withoutverona]

Oh, ow. "That must have been horrible," he said. "I know how cruel death is. My friend was killed, last July, then my wife, and my mother died of grief at it all." Why yes, he was skipping past a couple key details.

"I sometimes almost wish I could stop caring, and thus stop losses."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Yeah if it was only that simple," Mel agreed. "Still if we didn't care we still wouldn't get up in the morning... or hang out in graveyards."

[withoutverona]

"And I am here because I care for the dead, and you are here because you protect the living," Romeo had to note.

He paced a few steps. "Do you have a route I could walk with you on?"

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"And ironically I protect the living because of the dead," Mel said grimly. "This is actually my last stop before I head back to the dorm. You going that way?"

[withoutverona]

"Aye, I do not plan to have a headstone for a pillow tonight," Romeo confirmed. "I am in room 502. May I walk you?"

Because clearly, he was the one protecting Mel.

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Sure, beats talking to myself," Mel said hopping off the gravestone. "So who's the girl? If you don't mind me asking."

[withoutverona]

Romeo shook his head. "I don't. Yurika Dojima? She was my date at the dance. She makes me smile."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Haven't met her myself," Mel said with a nod. "But if she can make you smile it's probably a good sign. Is that your only criteria for a good date?"

[withoutverona]

"The easiest part to explain, perhaps," Romeo said. "She is lovely."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Lovely on the inside or out?"

[withoutverona]

"Both, I would hope."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"You haven't figured it out yet?" Mel teased.