Day 55: Male Showers

[lighthearted]

The conversation that Sora had had with Sam had definitely made all of the cleaning far more bearable. It wasn't even that they had talked about anything that groundbreaking, but the man had been kind to him and it had given him something else to focus on. All in all, being forced to clean hadn't been as bad as he'd expected.

And now that it was over, it sounded like it was time to go to the showers. That was for the best, seeing how cleaning actually ended up making you kind of dirty.

More than that, Sora was lucky enough to be one of the first people who was led into the showers. He considered asking the soldier who was escorting him about the pins for his hat, but in the end it made more sense to wait until he was getting dressed again.

Changing out of his clothes, new as they were, wasn't a problem; his own outfit that he wore back home was far more complicated, after all, and so he had the buttons undone and the belt removed in seconds.

After that, Sora quickly moved toward the back of the shower area, turned on the water, waited for it to heat up, and then stepped under the spray. He'd learned some time ago that trying to talk in the showers usually didn't work so well; all the running water was too loud and he was too awkward, even if he'd gotten much better about it over time.

It was still better to just get it over with and then head out into the Sun Room, and so once he was decently clean he turned off the water and headed out to get changed again.

[To here.]

Comments

[prodigalson]

The two years was relatively unimportant in the midst of everything else happening around them, so Edward didn't mind when the topic was left behind. Besides, it didn't change very much. If Stefan had already come to accept this theory of varying universes, he was much further than Edward had been at this point in his stay at Landel's.

In comparison to that theory, Carlisle was a very simple topic to speak about. Actually, he didn't mind that at all - it made him feel like his father was closer than he had felt in a while. Twelve days without seeing him. Of course Edward had gone years at a time without seeing him, but that had been a decision he had come to by his own decisions. This was far from that.

Edward's smile now came very easy, the pride he felt for Carlisle nearly palpable. "His control is remarkable. He's been a doctor a lot longer than I've been alive. Most days the smell of blood hardly even bothers him." Carlisle's control was, nearly first and foremost, the answer to the question Stefan was seeking. If his sire had not been the sort of man he was, Edward would probably not have participated in the vegetarian lifestyle. At least for the most part. After enough time, Edward imagined, the guilt would have eventually crushed him into submission... after a lot more lives had been ended under his hands.

"I may have said that wrong. I don't think my mother knew what he was, she simply knew that he had a way to save me. At the time, I had no idea what was going on. I was completely delirious, and most of the time I was unconscious. I only know what happened because it was one of the first things I heard in his mind when I woke up."

Hm. He had meant his comment about it being personal to only be a jest, but he could see how much more personal it was for Stefan. "I didn't choose to be this. To be honest, I like to think I would have chosen to die. For a long time, I would have preferred to die... but sometimes something came up that made the last century worth it." Someone, specifically. There had only been one thing in his life that had been worth being a vampire for, in order to wait for her.

"I won't ask you to share your story as I see it's a lot more complicated than mine." Edward realized that might sound a little too passive, as if he was trying to lead Stefan's mind there despite it being truthful. There were too many tangles there to sort through. "But I don't mind answering any other questions about me if you have them."

[sainted]

Stefan was silent for a moment, absorbing what Edward had told him. He could sympathize with Edward's situation, at least as far as getting turned without his consent. His own after-death experience had involved waking up in confusion to Emily standing over him with blankets and an explanation. Would it have made a difference, if Katherine had turned him for more compassionate reasons? Honestly, to this day, he still didn't know why she'd done it, or what she wanted with him. Damon, he understood now. But not him. He'd never asked for this, and wouldn't have asked for this even if he hadn't been compelled.

But this doctor sounded like someone completely different from Katherine — someone who Stefan might have wanted to meet, even. A humane vampire who'd spent over a century dedicating himself to healing? If it had been surprising to meet someone like Edward, then it was a revelation to hear about someone like the doctor. Stefan wondered what had gone through his mind when he'd knowingly promised to transform a woman's dying son into an undead creature. Would Stefan have been able to make a decision like that, even for good reasons? To save someone... to save Elena... He didn't know.

"He sounds like a great man." Even though Edward had tactfully let him off the hook when it came to sharing his history, Stefan wanted to say something more than just prying questions. "It was my dream to be a doctor," he offered. "Before I was turned, I mean. I studied a lot of medicine since then, but I can't... get close to human blood." He looked self-consciously to the side, noticing the nearby dispensers. Stefan squeezed out some shampoo and rubbed it into his hair as he went on: "I tried to find other things to do — to take up my time, I guess. And there were a lot of things I enjoyed, but... when you're eternally seventeen, it's not possible to stay anywhere for—" He abruptly cut himself off with a laugh. "Sorry. I don't need to tell you about this, do I?"

It was odd thing, how he could sometimes forget himself in Edward's company. Stefan could count the people he felt truly comfortable talking to on one hand, and that was including the ones who were dead. He'd accepted that loneliness as part of the package of his existence, at least until Elena. It had been a relief to find her, to realize he could spend hours in her company and not have to hide anything — although he did, for some things.

There was an entire period of his life which she didn't know. He always meant to discuss it one day, and might have done so on that night she'd brought his ring to his cell, but then one thing led to another... Well. One day. Stefan wasn't sure if he could speak of it with Edward either, but he suspected his reluctance had less to do with the fact they'd only known each other a few days than it was... embarrassment, maybe. The word was a gross understatement, but he kind of liked the idea of calling it "embarrassment" anyway. It seemed normal and... teenagery.

"What was it like, getting used to it? Being a... you know," Stefan clarified ineptly. "I'm guessing the one who turned you didn't drink from humans either. Was that... hard?" This was getting into the arena of personal questions again, but he wanted to know more about Edward.

don't judge me for posting to this 23 days later ok.

[prodigalson]

Of course Edward couldn't stop himself from picking over the stray thoughts that drifted his way. The woman's name - Katherine - had come up again, so that at least answered the question of just who it had been that had turned Stefan. If Stefan's brother was also a vampire, had they been turned by the same woman? He was curious. He could admit that. That was different than the way he felt about most vampires, but most also weren't trapped in a teenager's body, vegetarian, and in love with a human. There were obvious reasons for his curiosity. If Stefan did not have a Carlisle to guide his way, how did he become who he was?

He was glad that, while Stefan knew he was a telepath, he didn't expect answers for everything. Edward had also thought of what he would do to save Bella, but when James's venom was surging through her veins... even then, he had hesitated. Now he had agreed to do it as long as she followed his compromise. She wasn't even in danger of dying, and he had agreed to destroy her soul. He had felt so safe with the assumption she would never agree.

"It was my dream as well," he said with a quiet laugh. "Well, one of many. I even tried to become Carlisle's apprentice of sorts. I wasn't very good at it. His control is nearly perfect, and mine is... far less so." He had still been thankful for Carlisle's insistence that he try it, because Edward attributed some of his control to being forced into a room with bleeding, dying patients. It never serve to unnerve him how controlled Carlisle was, even in his mind. The blood hardly distracted him from his work, even when his hands were covered in it. "I admit I did go to medical school a couple of times, just in case I ever achieved that sort of control. I'm still working on it."

Edward had thought many times if he hadn't rebelled - if he hadn't failed Carlisle's way of life - he would have that sort of control. Then again, he was also convinced Carlisle was a much better person than he was.

Stefan creeped into some sort of memory, but quickly backed out for... embarrassment's sake. Don't pry, he reminded himself. Usually it was easy because he didn't care. At least Stefan accepted his offer and asked a question so he wasn't forced to dwell.

"It was a very long, very awful period in my life," Edward answered truthfully. No point in sugar-coating it for another of his kind. "I'm not sure how much we differ, but being a newborn is excruciating. It's nearly impossible to be around humans for the first year." He shut the water off, grabbing a towel off the nearby bench. "It was doubly confusing because I could hear everyone's thoughts and it took me a long time to be able to differentiate between what was spoken and what was thought. I used to think a lot of thoughts were mine; a lot of other people's feelings would bleed into my mind. I had to avoid Carlisle when he was hungry, because it might my own hunger twice as bad. As you can imagine, the thought of eating animals for the rest of my life wasn't appetizing. I was fairly straight-laced, though... for a while."