Love Is A Losing Game

[Black Philip]

For Murphy <3

Jake arrived at the beautiful lake a few minutes before he and Murphy had agreed to meet, the first time since Murphy had come to drop the Lazarus bomb. It was a few hours past sundown, and the water was still and crystal clear. Jake had to be reminded when making the plans Murphy was a new fledge, and couldn't meet before feeding. He remembered those early days, when the hunger was constantly distracting. Jake sat on a bank near a wooden pier and texted Murphy his exact location so the young vampire could find him. Murphy had been available to meet, thankfully, and so Jake had thrown on grey shorts (which was odd enough as it was) a tank top and a blue jean jacket. He waited smoking a cigarette.

He tried to focus on the water, the little bits of life that popped in and out, the ripples that traveled along it's surface. He was moderately successful, only feeling the guilt of what was about to happen mildly. He thought of the day he'd made this decision, about a week before at Brunch with Kerr. He wondered how long things would've gone on between him and Murphy if not for the fateful dance. 

[pinkroses]

Feeding first thing each night was now quicker than it used to be. Although there was that craving, it wasn't all encompassing as it was for most feldglings, so Murphy could keep his head and get through the task swiftly. He was enjoying his time with the Sacramentum, learning what he could, trying to take on lessons even if his skills weren't quite up to it yet. And it was peaceful. There were humans around, but not too many and they were generally pretty calm and happy - not like out in the city where there was such and overwhelming constant roll of emotions.

That was partly why Murphy hadn't asked Jake to meet up again. The White Rabbit was a swirling mass of emotion which had almost been too much last time he'd been there. But there were other reasons too, which Murphy had been trying to work through. Knowing he would always remind Jake of Lazarus. Knowing about Jake and Ben's feud. And Jake had offered to teach him, but then he hadn't suggested meeting up either. They were so different, from different worlds. Jake was overly dramatic and Murphy didn't really know how to deal with that, hopefully tonight he wouldn't need to, not too much anyway. And whilst he enjoyed spending time with Jake, with everything going on, Murphy hadn't really missed him like he'd thought he would.

"Hey," the fledling said as he slid out of his car at the lake and spotted Jake. It was nice out here, Murphy could remember coming as a kid. If he'd had a chance to have his 'last day' in the sun, this would have been one of the spots he would have visited. He was dressed casually, in demin jeans and a dark green t-shirt with the name of a band scrawled across the front. He walked closer, but didn't descend the bank, watiing instead of Jake to come up since it would be awkward standing on a slope.

[Black Philip]

Even with everything going on, and the subject matter, Jake smiled at seeing Murphy. He couldn't help it, and moved so they could speak easier. He didn't know where to begin, but managed a quick, "hey" before finding them an old fashioned wooden bench to sit on. Jake sat, and motioned for Murphy to join him. Once they were sitting, or Murphy chose to stand, Jake looked at him, his expression currently hard to read.

"You look good," he said casually. "I've missed you."

It was true, the second part only hitting him now. There was something about being next to him that made Jake wonder if this was all a mistake. Was he giving up to easy? He didn't know what to do, and hoped that Murphy would be willing to talk a bit before they had THE talk. He wanted to smoke, his right hand playing with the pocket of his jacket.