Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 7

the sound of fabric shuffling provided a companionable noise, as the motions shifted clouds of steam around the room. The sight of the dancing vapours caught with the dying light struck a knotted chord inside him, reminding him of the romantic notions found in fiction. Or was it non-fiction?
    Afraid the dream would end, desperate for it to continue, Jeremy whispered impulsively, "The sun has almost set. It's time for bed. Come, follow me." Refusing to let a cold hesitation grip him, he turned to the damp Jacob and grasped his hand. Completely naked, Jeremy quickly left the room with Jacob in tow.
    CHAPTER 9 – The Night
    I was always held as sacred. Immortality puts everyone in its grasp on a pedestal, or a hermit's cottage. In retrospect, I was lucky my eternal Responsibility was so close to home, for however long it lasted.
    I had no chance to bond with anyone other than my family, so I haven't had much communication with anyone in the flesh for decades, or was it centuries? So watching those floating globes was refreshing. I should've been scared seeing a new manifestation of my unnatural privation, but those globes were inexplicably full of wanting… It drew me like a moth to a flame.
    Until they left.
    I would have assumed that this yearning started the pain inside me, growing from the nagging discomfort that existed beforehand. I don't know anything else: it is just a yearning that I have no capacity to understand.
    Yeah.
    ~ Jeremy, November 16 th , Journal Number -
     
    Moving along the dim, bare corridors, Jeremy felt loathing at the clinical nature of the space in contrast to the bright alternative he and Jacob previously just shared. The off-grey of his room turned into many variations of shadow as he entered, emphasising the starkness of a traditionally personal space. Everything was in its place. In the centre of the room, the large bed had two small side tables at each side; the sliding doors in one side of the wall, painted in battleship grey, housed his entire wardrobe. All other space was empty, like every other room and corridor in his home, with the exception of the sideboard in the corridor behind him.
    Jacob stood awkwardly in the room with no place to puts his hands while Jeremy stood with a look of stone on his face, surveying the space. Jacob already recognised Jeremy's expression as the genesis of an objective decision that will have the capacity to strike fear in the most hardened of men – man – him , when it comes to fruition.
    Breaking his reverie, Jeremy turned to face Jacob with a look akin to shock in his eyes. Jacob, averting his eyes, closed the door with an inaudible thud to break the stare with which Jeremy seemed to reach into his soul. However, his efforts were futile as his eyes soon sought the connection found in their mutual appreciations. Vanities faded as they both stood there without obstruction, looking into each other, flirting with their eyes and similar thoughts.
    Jacob took in Jeremy's slim form, under no illusion of the power in the compact shape, both physical and mental. He was not afraid of whatever the future held for him, or of the position they both found themselves in, only feet away from each other. Nevertheless, he felt on edge standing between Jeremy and the exit. The exit held no attraction for him; however, he could not help but be insecure at what Jeremy may ask after his contemplation.
    Without breaking eye contact, Jacob shuffled and swallowed his unease. Jeremy's awed expression melted to a sweet sincerity as he beheld the divine creature before him. They both could not express the loneliness that kept their lives out of balance – a juggling act for them both between their Duty and necessity.
    The warmth of the handsome figure melted away Jeremy's inhibitions and the inbred dictates of Duty; painless, and without reprieve, he could now understand what it is like to "fall" as his heart leapt into his throat. He could remember the term found in the fiction he protects, but he could not recollect anything else, as he saw his own fantasy before him.
    Jeremy guided Jacob onto the pristine bed, destroying the meticulous order without regret. They both lay down side by side. Jeremy was not reluctant, but neither was he overly impatient as his life began to change, an inch closer at a time. Jacob did not dare to break the temporary peace in Jeremy's trepidation with his deepening and quickening breaths. Gravity seemed to move them together with their