The Empty World | The Empty World Sequence [complete | rewriting]

Seventeen

Julien seemed to have no need of Morpheus except for company. He retrieved his mobile from the pale, green chaise where they had sat together, before Faye entered Angel's tower. The device was taken to Julien's corner workstation, where he put it on a charger, then worked the various keys, touchscreens, and motion sensors necessary to operate the system.

Sometimes he spoke as if to Morpheus. "Athen's in Vladivostock."

Otherwise, he had brief conversations in languages Morpheus did not know, but guessed from context and cadence to be Sindhi or Urdu.

Some of the fruit in the bowl nearby was going soft. Morpheus set the bowl aside, on the floor, and plucked River from his hair to set him down for a snack. Morpheus took up the guitar and began to tune it.

He played songs he'd memorized. Julien didn't tell him to stop, or make requests, but he turned long enough to flash a smile at some, usually if they would have been considered mildly alternative rock or pop in the 1980s or 90s.

"Is that...Face to Face?"

"You know the Banshees? Or, Batman."

"Joy," he said, then swiveled in his chair and smiled softly; even his eyes looked fond. "But, a cute boy in the park used to play it."

Morpheus looked only at the guitar, knowing that had very likely been him. His disguises of the time now seemed rather weak, viewed in retrospect by someone who understood he was a shape-shifter. "And you didn't hit on him?"

"I've heard, 'all goths are bisexual,' but I already had one of those."

Morpheus didn't perceive himself as Gothic, but he laughed. He'd heard the same thing, usually as an example of self-deprecating humor from people who didn't label themselves as anything too seriously. "Not polyamorous?"

Julien considered for a moment, "Not generally. Not while also 'in a relationship'," He finger-quoted.

"I might, if it was understood I were doing it for some important, meaningful reason."

Julien turned back to his computer. "Not sure that word means what I think it means."

"Well, hypothetically, I could have someone I love the most, but maybe I have another friend or acquaintance who is having a really bad day, or who I'll never see again. Maybe being closer is the best way I can make things better."

"I cannot believe you just made cheating sound selfless!"

"It's not even cheating if you know from the start it's gonna happen."

"Hypothetically," Julien added, meaning not him in particular, though Morpheus had chosen his words carefully because his hypothetical one he loved the most was, specifically, Julien. Morpheus took this to mean it was OK with Julien if he sometimes tried to tempt his muse into bed, so long as said muse didn't confess strong emotional attachment or make demands for exclusivity.

Julien left to meet Ganymede and Dolores at the door, then, "do his rounds", as he'd called it. Morpheus took River and the guitar, and moved to a perch atop the railing along the second floor gallery. Julien brought the two teen-sized Vampyres in through the grande hall, with their suspiciously laden duffel bags. Morpheus saw him moving between rooms, checking the exits were locked, or that the others were still safe.

Julien came to him a while later, when it was still night. He rested his forearms along the marble rail and leaned forward, viewing Morpheus from the side. "I don't actually know what I'll do if any of them do come."