Meet Me Under the Tree

[LIAM AVERY]

Liam jumped a little as Flynn began to lean over the rail, bringing her legs gracefully out behind her. Yes, she had wings, and she could stop from killing herself, but she had also admitted she wasn’t the best flyer! He stood ready to catch her, pull her back if she toppled forward, but at that moment she looked lovely, like an acrobat. She didn’t answer his question right away, but that was okay. He enjoyed watching the childlike look on her face, the shape her body took as she held herself up from the railing. At last, he relaxed again as she brought her feet back to the ground. “It’s beautiful!” He smiled more. “I’m glad you like it,” he replied. “Do you sit out here often? I know I would! I sit on my balcony and read a lot. And because I’m on the top floor and there are walls between the balconies I can sit there and…air out.” He chuckled at the way her wing twitched beneath the shirt. He almost wished she would lean against him again so he could hold her, but she moved to the chairs and he followed. “Yes, I do a lot of reading out here,” he said softly, as he moved. He took the one she didn’t and stretched his legs out.

As she spoke about her friend who lived in the building, the arms of their chairs resting against each other, he saw her pull the Fliam fruit salad to herself and pick up a grape. She held it up, almost as if to show him, and he was a little confused at first. “Open wide!” She was going to throw it at him. He had a smile as he dropped his jaw and she tossed it in his direction. Liam had to spring forward a little, but he caught it on his tongue and he broke it between his teeth with a grin. He loved the way she laughed. “Someday we’re going to go explore.” The statement took him by surprise and his eyes widened a little at the statement. She nodded once and abruptly, making him smile warmly. She was making plans for them. There was something so heartwarming in that. “I’ll kidnap you if I must, and take you to all the most breathtaking places all over the world! Especially the ones that are the most beautiful at night! The Arc de Triomphe in France…oh! The Eiffel Tower! We can sit at the very top and watch the world. You really would enjoy it, I just know it.” Liam knew it was unlikely he could handle a flight to Europe; he would turn to stone in the middle of the flight, and then where would they be? But a private jet…that was expensive. But he wouldn’t trouble her mind with logistics. “I’d love to explore with you,” he said softly. He grabbed an orange wedge from the fruit bowl and popped it in his mouth. “Tell me; where else would you take me?”

He let her talk, listening in silence with a warm smile as she talked about all the lovely places she would show him. They slowly moved through the fruit, and when it was gone, it was pretty late, but still several hours from dawn. Flynn looked as though she was losing energy and he felt bad for keeping her awake. With a sigh, he grabbed the bowl and stood. “Let’s go back inside. It’s a little chilly out here,” he suggested. He helped her to her feet and walked back into his apartment. Once inside, he glanced to his bookshelf. “You can look at the collection if you’d like.” He was smiling gently, hoping she would find something she wanted to read and fall asleep doing so. Day walkers did that, didn’t they? Liam didn’t sleep, exactly, but he knew others would read a book to help them fall asleep. As Flynn made her way around, he took a seat on the couch, just watching her move along. She was beautiful. “I have a lot of everything. I have novels and biographies, atlases and textbooks. If you see anything you want to read, you’re welcome to borrow it.”

[FLYNN YOUNG]

Flynn enjoyed telling Liam all about the places she would love to take him, including the caves that she'd explored. They would be dark but they were dark anyways and that's why they had lights you could take underwater! She'd loved the hotter climates but there was so much out there to see and do, there was so much outside of the city and she knew that all they had to do was get there. That was the only problem that there was and Flynn figured they could just go by boat since nobody would bother them and that way during the day they wouldn't have to worry about him shifting. But she could only talk so much as the night progressed, since all she'd done is taken a little nap before night had come. And they had already been at the tree for a good part of the night. She began to grow weary and her talking slowed, enjoying the silence. They'd long gone through the fruit and it was growing cold.

"Let's go back inside. It's a little chilly out here." She nodded and got to her feet but she was a little slower as she let out a yawn, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. "You can look at the collection if you'd like." This pleased her and she headed right on over. Her fingers moved along the spines of the books once again and read the names silently but her lips moved with every title she read. It wasn't until she'd plopped down in front of a group of books stacked on the floor that she found one and carefully pulled it out of the middle without knocking the whole stack down. It was The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a novel she happened to have in her own collection and fell in love with. Flynn loved falling in love with stories!

When she was pleased with her finding she got back up to her feet and walked quietly over to the couch where Liam was already relaxing and sat close to him and reached for his arm. She moved it over her head so she could lay against him allowing her head to rest on his chest. "The Great Gatsby," she told him and held the book up for him to see what her choice had been. "I have this book at home. I have a few of the books that are in your collecting but not many. We could swap," she told him sleepily and fell quiet peeling open the cover and turning to the first page. It was a story that took place during prohibition, where booze smugglers were made rich for their law breaking.

The girl read, feeling Liam's chest heave up and down with every breath he took. It was such a soothing rythm that by the third chapter Flynn couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, exhausted from the busy day and she drifted off right there on him, the book resting open in her lap. She wanted to see him change and just hoped that maybe he'd wake her before the sun came up so she could see.

[LIAM AVERY]

Liam watched as Flynn came back to the couch, a book in hand. He gave a soft chuckle as she moved his arm so she could snuggle into him, and he gladly rested his arm on her shoulders. He shifted to get more comfortable and allow her to rest comfortably on him. When she showed him the book, he smiled more. It was one of his personal favorites, having read it when he was young. He had gone back to it many times over the years and the copy she had was about his fifth over the years. The original copy he owned was practically fallen apart and on one of the bookshelves in his room where he kept his rarer books and more cherished copies. “The Great Gatsby. I have this book at home. I have a few of the books in your collection but not many. We could swap.” He rested his cheek on her head and nodded. “I’d like that. This is actually one of my favorites,” he told her. When she opened the book and began reading, he read along with her. His hand brushed through her black hair, trying to calm her into an easy sleep. She was obviously tired and needed some sleep before dawn.

The way her head rose and fell with his breathing calmed him as well, and for the first time he felt completely at peace. His head wasn’t reeling with different thoughts, he wasn’t pondering the different subtleties of the book, he was just reading, enjoying the words and the way Flynn felt rested against him. He had cooled off over the past few hours and now he enjoyed having her there not just for her beauty but for her warmth, the way her presence brought with it a softness he’d never experienced before. Her hand started slipping on the pages and he gently took the book in his own hand. “I’ll wake you just before sunrise,” he promised in a whisper, kissing the top of her head to assure her she could sleep. It wasn’t long before she was slumped against him, limp with sleep and her breathing soft. He continued reading into the night, enjoying the story and keeping his arm protectively around her shoulders. She made little noises in her sleep, which he found adorable and it made him smile. For the most part he remained still, letting Flynn sleep as she should. Avisailles were day beings, and he didn’t want her to be exhausted at work tomorrow.

Liam spent the night reading and holding Flynn close, but as dawn crept closer, he actually felt nervous. What would she think of his transformation? Would she be afraid? Would he ever see her again? Of course he would. He had little doubt that Flynn would continue seeing him after seeing his stone form. She would be back and she would tell him all about it. He couldn’t deny that he was curious. He had never seen a Gargoyle transform and he wondered what it was like. Dawn was fifteen minutes away when he nudged Flynn’s shoulder. “Flynn,” he said softly. “Flynn, it’s almost dawn. Did you want to sleep or do you want to watch?” When she confirmed she still wanted to watch him turn to stone, he smiled warily and reassured himself that it would be okay. As soon as her weight came off him, he set the book, almost finished now, on the coffee table and moved into his bedroom. It was made up with deep blues and browns of varying shades, and he had a smaller bookshelf filled with old books in there as well as a dresser and a queen sized bed.

He moved to the window, turning to Flynn again. He always transformed near the heavily draped window, though he couldn’t really say why. “Shut the door behind you when you leave, if you wouldn’t mind,” he requested in a soft, polite voice. He took her soft hand and drew her close, kissing her one more time before he changed. One hand moved across her cheek affectionately, smiling as he pulled away. “I’ll see you tomorrow. If you’re not here, I’ll meet you by the tree at sunset,” he promised. One more brief kiss and he released her, standing to face the window. His blue eyes glanced to hers a final time before he turned back as the sun threatened to peak over the horizon. Flynn’s face was the last thing he thought of before he was once again in his stone prison.

[FLYNN YOUNG]

Flynn had a very peaceful sleep. She'd always been one to mumble in her sleep and that night wasn't any different than a night she was in her own bed. "Flynn," she didn't respond right away but the second time Liam said her name she stirred and opened her eyes looking up at him. At first she didn't know where she was or who she was looking at but slowly it began to register that she was in Liam's home and a small smile was planted on her face. After a few yawns and a stretch of her arms she finally got up off the couch and followed him to what looked to be his daytime spot. Her eyes were still heavy and she rubbed at them with the backs of her hands trying to wake up before he turned.

When asked to close the door when she left she nodded silently, realizing that he must have been up the whole time that she'd been laying against him sleeping. It was curious the way he could stay up all night the way he did but then again he didn't go out during the day. That made a difference. His lips touched hers and it was enough to get her to open her eyes enough and be ready for the transformation. Would it be scary? Did it hurt? It was an experience she knew she would never know but just seeing it.. being there with him for it.. it was a great experience. "I'll see you tomorrow. If you're not here, I'll meet you by the tree at sunset," She might have been quiet and still drowsy but her eyes brightened at the thought of seeing him the next night.

Then it was morning. The sun came up and she watched as Liam changed from flesh to stone. The statue that stood there in front of her eyes made her wake up! It didn't move, there was no sound or any evidence that it was actually Liam. She walked around it checking out every side and angle before she touched the Gargoyle's face. Stone. She leaned in and gave it a peck before she made her way back out to scoop up her clothes. She could throw her harness on and go home but she knew she had to work soon and Griffin lived in the same building..

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