@mayfairmonster

Toby still wasn’t sure what made him go back that night… except for the fact that he realized he was running away.  Again.  The first time Dorian hadn’t begged or pleaded… he’d simply respected his choice and let Toby die.  But this time…  The vampire stalked through the streets, angry and hurting.  He’d listened to the man he loved voicing every one of his silent fears; and it had broken him.  A part of Toby was tempted to just keep walking until the sun rose - to let it take him again.  Which was when he’d made the realization, of course.  History repeating itself.  Fear had led to his death the first time - fear that one day (one way or another) he’d lose Dorian.  And now it was happening again.  Only this time… this time he could fight it.  If he chose to.

His thoughts fell to Victoria Lowell.  How she’d played him…  played them both.  Then to Dorian’s pleas and protests.  He thought of how Portrait Dorian had vanished the instant he’d felt something inside himself shatter.  The words of hate and disgust had seemed to come easily… but Dorian had been running out of time.  No.  Toby had been running out of time.  It was these thoughts that the vampire toyed with and replayed inside his head all while he let his feet lead the way.  And yet, when he finally became aware of his surroundings - he was on the steps of Dorian’s home.

So.  That decided things.  He made his way inside and waited for Dorian.  It was time for him to stop running.

That had been almost two months ago.  Now, things were… well, Toby wasn’t sure what they were.  Normal was hardly the word for it - even for them.  The vampire knew it was mostly his own fault.  Despite talking with Dorian - believing him about the stone that had brought his portrait to life - he still heard the echoes of the other man’s words inside his head.  His confidence in their relationship should be stronger than that… but so much time had passed, and fear could be a powerful thing.  Still… he was trying.

Toby arose that night unsure what his time awake would bring.  He shuffled around the attic, getting dressed, but not really to go out.  These days, the vampire was actually devoting a lot of his time to catching up on the 20-some-odd years he’d missed.  Seeing Victoria Lowel pull that tiny phone out of her pocket had been a bit of a wake-up call.  No pun intended.  He was woefully behind the times, and a part of him desperately needed to feel like he belonged here in this new century.  That required lots of media consumption... although Toby was beginning to wonder if it wouldn’t be better to just go out and immerse himself for awhile.  Do some people watching, perhaps.  Would Dorian join him if he asked?