Meeting

Meeting
An Alec/Vincent fiction by Setsuna-Jikan

'So....cold.'
Alec coughed harshly, feeling his shoulders shake. Oh, gods, that hurt. Steadily, he placed one sneaker-clad foot down in front of the other, slush splashing on the sidewalk. Someone brushed past him, checking him with their shoulder; Alec felt his lungs creak as another attack hit him.
"Move, asshole," the person barked listlessly, already past him. Alec turned his head to glare, green eyes flashing beneath black eye liner.
"Jackass," he wheezed, coughing into his hand. Slowly, he kept moving.
'You better be right, McArthur.'
Rooting around in his hoodie pocket, Alec bypassed the cigarettes and lighter wistfully, pulling out a scrap of lined paper.
"Okay, he should be here. I tracked him as far as I could." The maroon-haired girl sighed, running a pale hand through short locks. "It wasn't easy, and by the time you get there, he might be gone. But this is where he is now. Here." She rooted around in her desk, pushing aside the many printouts, disks, and old food wrappers; Alec remembered when that used to be his desk, when he was the obsessive one. He blinked out of his musings when an envelope was handed to him. "It's around three hundred dollars from one of your ghost accounts; should get you as far as the city if you stretch it." She fell silent, looking up at Alec through her bangs, playing with an old sock hat--his old sock hat--before shoving it on her head, turning around abruptly. "There you go. You're all set. You should leave now." Her voice was slightly husky, head downcast as she resolutely focused on her computer screens. Alec stared at her for a moment before holding her tight, feeling her body shake as she started to sob.
"Thank you," he said with sincerity, petting the back of her head. She clung to him for a moment more, pulling away and wiping the tears from her dark blue eyes.
"It's nothing. The least I could do after Cedes left to chase after Vincent, and you took me in..." Her voice dropped off and she sniffed slightly.
"Have you--"
"Nothing. She's off the radar. Never mind about me, you go now." She shoved him slightly, pushing him towards the door. Nodding once, he left, stopping only long enough to grab his bag.
Body shivering with a bone-deep cold, he peered at the scrawled address, checking his location with weary habit. This building...
He shoved the paper back into his pocket, slowly climbing the front stairs. He wanted a cigarette with the same physical need that he wanted warmth and food. Glancing mournfully at the ashtrays by the door, he didn't pause while he opened the door, moving into the main lobby. Spotting the front desk, he made his way across the open area.
"Ex...cuse me," he said softly, voice rasping loudly in the silence of the lobby; the girl tending the desk jumped slightly.
"Dear god, sir!" she exclaimed in a faint accent, placing a hand over her breast. "Gave me a fright! Now, what can I help you with?" She folded her hands onto the desk, looking at him with a gentle intensity. Alec coughed, bracing a hand on the desk.
"I...need...to find...a...Mark...Renalds," he wheezed. He took out the scrap of paper and handed it to her. "Floor...8, apartment...816..." The woman glanced at the paper before turning her attention back onto him, frowning softly.
"Are you alright sir? You look half dead," she asked quietly. Before Alec could flinch, her hand darted out to feel his forehead. "My god! You are burning right up! Do you wish to see a doctor first? I'm afraid it might be something serious." Alec shook his head, coughing harshly.
"No," he croaked. "No. Just take me up to Mark's...apartment..." The ground seemed to heave up underneath him and he flung his arms out, clinging to the desk. The receptionist jumped out of her chair to hold him up.
"If I take you to Mr. Renalds' room, will you then see a doctor?" she asked worriedly, one hand brushing his hair back while the other rubbed soothing circles on his back; Alec slumped into her. "After...I...see him."
Slowly they made their way to the elevators, the receptionist taking more and more of his weight with every step.
"Alright, but you simply must see a doctor young man." Her voice was stern; Alec wearily nodded his head.
"Fine."
She flashed him a quick smile, pressing the (8) button a few times before the elevator started to move. "Blasted button's sticking again. I'll get maintenance on that." Alec ignored her low mumblings, trying to catch his breath, the world swimming about rather unpleasantly. A song he'd heard Arlen play before was starting to sound in his head, adding a slightly surreal feeling to this already strange situation. From almost faraway, he heard the sound of a lock opening and he realized they were already standing in front of the door.
'Damnit, can't focus.'
"Now, deary, I want you to sit down over here on the couch." The receptionist was already helping him down onto the battered beige couch, clearing aside the few clothing articles. Looking about, she grabbed an old and ratty flannel blanket to wrap around him. "There we go, snug as a bug! Do you want anything to drink?" she asked him, brushing aside his damp hair. Alec blinked at her for a moment before shaking his head slowly.
"....n...o...." She nodded and patted him on the head. "Okay sweetie. Now, let me see if I can get a hold of Mr. Renalds for you."
She wandered off, presumably to find a phone, but Alec had already stopped paying attention to her. His entire focus was on the front door; somehow he knew that Vincent would be coming through that door soon. A part of him attacked that piece of hope viciously attempting to tear it to shreds, but he hadn't the energy to care anymore. Either Vincent would be here, or he wouldn't. Nothing Alec could do would change that.
Like through cotton padding, he heard the door unlock and watched it swim open. Laughing, a young man and woman entered the apartment, hanging their coats and scarves up on hooks while knocking the slush and snow from their shoes. Alec felt his breath lock in his chest as he saw familiar black hair and red eyes; he waited for them to notice him.
"Mr. Renalds!" The receptionist came running over to the two in front of the door, heels clacking. Vincent blinked, confused.
"Mrs. Neviel? What are you doing here? We paid our rent, right?" Alec felt a slight shudder go through his body at hearing that voice. Over a year...
Mrs. Neviel shook her head. "No no no, you're rent's been paid off. I need to inform you that you have a visitor, and he's very sick. He seemed quite determined to see you, so if you could just speak to him..." she dropped off, pulling Vincent over to the couch. Alec's breathing was getting worse now; he couldn't even cough anymore.
Their eyes met and they stared at each other. Blinking slowly, Vincent turned back to Mrs. Neviel.
"Sorry, I don't know who this is. I think maybe he has the wrong apartment or something," he said coldly, ignoring Alec. Mrs. Neviel handed him the scrap of paper.
"This is the address he had with him," she said softly, glancing back at the poor sick boy. Was it just her imagination, or did he look even worse? Vincent shook his head and handed the scrap back to her.
"Well, I have no idea who the--" he bit his lip "--heck he is, and I'd rather not catch his germs so Mrs. Neviel, if you could just escort him out...?" Vincent moved aside, sweeping his arms towards the door. Mrs. Neviel stared at him a few moments before turning back to the boy, helping him up again.
"You are a cold man, Mr. Renalds," she said quietly, keeping the blanket wrapped around the boy. "I didn't think a man could be that cold." He shrugged a shoulder, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, well, what do you know?" he said defensively, looking out the window. The girl by the door came forward, moving to help Mrs. Neviel with her burden.
"Here, Laura," she said quietly, wrapping an arm around his waist. Mrs. Neviel gave the girl a grateful look.
"Thank you, Gina. Now, I have a doctor waiting in the lobby so if we can just--" She stopped talking as the boy in her grip seemed to collapse into himself, dropping to the floor. Both women struggled to keep him from smacking his head on the way down. "Oh, no! Sir, sir, please wake up!" She shook him, feeling her heart sink as his head lolled about limply. The girl reached a hand over to feel his forehead, pulling the limb back sharply.
"My gods! He's burning up! Mark, get your fucking ass over here and carry him; Laura, can you call 911? He needs to get the hospital now." She scooped up Alec, shoving him into Vincent's arms, ice blue eyes piercing him with a glare. As they moved into the hall, she snarled at him.
"Christfucker, V, could you be any more of a fucking dick?" she hissed, pressing the button to call the elevator with a sharp jab. He glared right back at her.
"What, you expect me to welcome him with fucking open arms? It wasn't even a real goddamn relationship! He had no business with throwing love into the damn thing." Vincent strided into the elevator, bracing himself in the corner. The girl followed him in, hitting the (>|) button.
"Do you have any fucking idea what the goddamn hell you are doing?!" she shouted, raking her hands through her short blonde hair before throwing them into the air. Vincent sneered at her.
"Please. It's my fucking life, Sets, so I think I have a better idea than you," he said, voice dripping disdain. She took two quick steps closer to him and decked him.
"You are the biggest fucking moron! Ever! You want to flip out about Alec finding you, fine, whatever, but at least have the decency to explain to him why the hell you left! It's Alec, V!" Vincent snorted and shifted uncomfortably.
"So?" She stared at him.
"So? So?! V, Alec doesn't fucking love people! He can barely fucking tolerate them on a good day! Now, Chloe and I know that Alec loves us in his own way, but he's never said as much and frankly, I might die if he did. But he told you. And what do you do? Fucking run. You fucking asshole! And when he shows up, looking like he's about to drop dead--and he might, you know, his fever's too damn high--you blow him off! If it weren't for the fact I'd drop him if I carried him, I'd fucking make you leave." She felt Alec's head again, frowning. "Gods, Vincent, could you fuck up anymore?" she asked sadly, pressing her cold hands against Alec's flushed cheeks.
Staring down at the body in his arms, Vincent felt his heart lurch and his arms clutched the bundle closer. Lungs weakly heaving for air, lips cracked and bleeding, face flushed and damp; Alec didn't look good.
Sets watched Vincent carefully, taking in his expression.

Eyes opened weakly before fluttering shut. Noise began to filter in: a droning beeping, a dripping, the hum of machines. Tiredly, Alec forced his eyes open again. He knew he was in a hospital, though he had no clue how he'd got there. The last thing he could remember was Vincent turning away, denying...
"Good, you're awake." Alec stiffened at that voice, turning his head away.
"--" He tried to speak, but nothing came out of his mouth other than a harsh grating noise. A bright red straw appeared in his line-of-sight before being shoved into his mouth. Getting the idea, he took a drink.
"G'...'way," he croaked, pushing the cup and thus the hand away. Vincent put the glass down before moving closer, tilting Alec's head up and kissing him chastely on the mouth. When he pulled back, Alec stared at him. "St...stop joking wi' me, Vin'in'. N' funny." Vincent kept staring at him levelly.
"I've a lot of time to think these past two weeks," he said calmly; Alec jerked slightly in surprise. "You were a lot sicker than anyone thought. You almost died. Sets screamed at me until she started sobbing. It altogether was a singularly horrible experience. And so I just sat here and thought. And I reached a decision."
Alec flinched, expecting the emotional blow. Vincent already shot him down once; Alec had no doubt he'd do it once again. Their relationship was a horribly fucked up--hell, Alec wouldn't stay in it if love hadn't fucked him up.
"I'm sorry. In a round about way, it's my fault you collapsed. Since you came all the way out here, I think I should hear you out," Vincent said slowly, shifting his gaze to his hands. So when you get better, we'll talk. Until then..." Vincent got up and brushed a kiss across Alec's forehead. "I'm going to stay right here."
Staring at Vincent for a few moments, Alec leaned forward, pulling Vincent closer for a small kiss.
"'lrigh' then. Tha's all I ask."
---{{{}}}---
AN: I have no fucking clue where this came from. An alternate story line for EwB. No sex. Completely changed on me a few times. Sorry if the ending's shit.
Alec, Vincent, Setsuna, Laura Neviel, and Arlen all belong to me, as does the story and the building. I've used that building somewhere before; cyber cookie to the one who gets it.

Sets, out.
::end transmission::

EDIT For somereason, AFF cuts off anything after a greater than symbol. Sorry