Welcome to Gaia! ::

At first the change hadn’t been all that bad. Ruriska seemed to be getting better and the new facility had a delightful garden with a fountain and lots of benches. Of course she would have liked to have stayed at her old apartment but during a relapse episode where she had attempted to take a blood sample off a stalking target with a syringe (sterilized, she always liked to add) had meant she was going to a Home whether she liked it or not. But not to the old Home which housed people she adored, but instead this place with its well maintained lawn and salmon coloured walls.

Nexium had taken the move a little bit harder. While Ruri was easily distracted and constantly forgot she even had friends, Nexi’s self was centred on those he had made connections with. Being with Ruri helped with that, but when she drifted off in her vague way, he couldn’t help but remember those he was desperately missing. Val of course topped that list.

After a while however Ruriska had also grown discontent and had proceeded to leave her new home by various means and run off into nowhere, only to be repeatedly caught and eventually strapped to a bed. But everything was all going to be okay now because The Happy Home had been saved and they were being transferred. And so, sometime during March a bus full of crazy people stopped in front of the Home and the nurses set about reinstalling them all.

Ruriska was standing in the lobby with people moving about her, a nurse directing everyone out into the hallways. Nexium stood beside her, one arm draped around her shoulder. She smiled at him, not bothering to hide her interactions with her invisible friend. “You can go now. I’ll be fine.”

He blinked at her, dark hair falling across his face and then nodded. “Thankyou Ruri. I will come back later.” He gave her an affectionate kiss on the cheek and then slipped away, passing through the wall and making his way through various rooms in search of his old friend.

Nothing would please him more now than to see Val again after so long. He would be happy too, wouldn't he? Unconciously he moved in a direction towards the solarium. It held good memories for him and now with his much more solid form, disappearing in the sun wouldn't be so much of an issue.

Nexium glided through each room, always careful to avoid contact with anyone should the room be occupied. On more than one occasion he stopped to watch a nurse settled in one of the old and even some new occupants; but he quickly moved on and before long he was standing outside the door to the solarium. This was where he paused, one hand tugging down his top and then flicking any errant stray pieces of dark hair from his face. There was no guarantee he was even in there or that the Val would even be happy to see him, which made the little nervous butterflies in his chest utterly pointless.

Don’t be silly. He chided himself; his hand now resting gently against his chest. Nexi desperately hoped that Val would indeed by there, but if not he would simply search the entire building until the red haired friend was located. Nexi had been waiting too long to let a sudden onset of nerves to keep him from seeing Val.

With his shoulders set determinedly he simply walked straight through the door, blinded for half a second by the brightness of the room. And there he was, sitting in a chair, staring broodingly out the window. Nexi just stood there, watching him with a fond smile and drinking in the sight of the first friend he could touch and hug and adore. His hair slipped free from its place again and this time he ignored it, taking a few small steps forward and uttering the others name.

“Val…” That one word was filled with warmth; all his early anxiety vanished.

While Valycinte was drinking in the sight of his old friend, Nexium was doing very much the same, rather covertly from half lidded eyes. The first greeting was hardly ecstatic and the tone could have been used to note the weather; but Nexi didn’t mind. He knew well enough that Val was hardly one for great shows of affections. That was Nexi’s area and he could make up for Val’s lacking for both of them.

When they had first met he had been so new and young; he had developed a strong attachment to the older apparition and he had believed Val to be far more wonderful than anybody else he had met (excepting Ms. Ruri of course) and now grown older he felt pretty much exactly the same. In the space of a few short minutes together Nexi had gone to wariness to adoring Val with every inch of his being. He held the prized memory of Val acknowledging their friendship close to his heart and thinking of it now caused his smile to broaden.

So, what brings you back?

Of course the reason he was back was because two enterprising individuals had chosen to save The Happy Home from a sad, lonely demise and then Ruri’s transfer due to being far too hard to handle. However if the question was why are you back here in the solarium, well of course the answer was Val and that was the one he decided to run with. Unfortunately for the red-haired apparition, Nexium was not flustered and nor did he blush. It was only natural for him to be open with his feelings.

As soon as the smile appeared on Val’s face, Nexi took it as his cue to step forward and throw his arms around his friend’s neck. “I missed you Val.”

This was perfect. This was exactly what he had wanted, what he had needed. Every worry, every stress from the past few weeks that had been building up washed away as if it had never existed. Sure he would have been okay with just Ruri, if that was the only choice, but this was so much better. He finally felt like he was home.

Nexium probably could have stayed like that for an indefinite amount of time, but he allowed Val to pull back without protest. At the mention of his bird, Nexi looked mildly confused before realizing that the feather had given it away. “I’ve fallen in love Val.” Nexi replied with a silly little grin as he plucked the feather out of his hair and twirled it in his fingers. “His name is Blue and every morning when we wake up he sings to me.”

The apparition chuckled as he reached out and tucked the blue feather into Val’s hair instead. “We couldn’t get him on the bus with us, but Ruri organized to have him transported here. You can meet him then. He’s a Budgerigar.” The first budgie that Nexi had owned had unfortunately died and it had taken a while for to want to get another, but now the new delightful little blue bird was already part of the family and could actually see Nexium, whereas the other one had nearly died of a heart attack every time he had filled up the birds food tray.

“No need to be jealous though. His hugs aren’t half as good as yours.”

“Oh Val…” Nexi laughed softly. “I already do love you… even if you can’t sing.” He added the last part with a cheeky smile. The words were said so lightly, rolling easily off the tongue as if he spoke them every day. After all, he loved Ruri didn’t he? This wasn’t any different. Or was it? The only romantic love that Nexium understood was what he had seen in the movies; seemingly far away from his own existence. His expression changed from open warmth to a thoughtful frown; fingers idly playing with the hem of his shirt.

“No, there are no other pets. While I would love a giant aviary of exotic birds, it’s unfortunately not very practical.” Nexi attempted to meet Val’s gaze but the golden eyes would quickly dart away before he could read much from them; after a few moments of this Nexium became somewhat frustrated by the evasion. He had always been the emotional type; quick to smile and equally fast to cry if the situation called for it. And in most cases he understood exactly why he was feeling one thing or another…

But this one, this was something new. There was something strangely tight in his chest. “Of course I love you.” The apparition repeated, almost completely for his own benefit. You’re my best friend and… Then Nexium did something he had never done before; he completely changed the subject. “This place looks like it needs a dust! I’m so glad we got to come back here, though I do hope Ruri can set up a competitive chess club for me. So… so how have you been?”