To Die For

A Short Leash

It was almost surreal, pulling into the damp, slick parking lot of the Hawthorne Mall. He'd just been there last month, back when Edgar and Bowie had dragged him out of the apartment after Victor had to bail on one of their dates for a work meeting, but it felt like it had been years. The pale, white sign atop the overhang above the entrance doors was lit, glowing faintly in the mid-morning light despite the time of day, and he'd never been happier for it.

There hadn't been much conversation happening on the drive there, mostly a bunch of mumbled, semi-interested grunts of acknowledgement from Lucille whenever Noah pointed out something he'd remembered from before they had moved towns. He was glad for it, too; he didn't have any idea what to talk about, mainly settling for leaning up against the window and staring out at the murky fog clouding around the roads. It didn't take a genius to look up at the clouds clinging low in the sky and guess that rain wasn't far off from starting to fall.

Lucille reached low on the car door to roll down the window, sticking his head out with a sigh at the scent of fresh grass, mixed in with the food court inside. For once, all he could think of was getting to rush in for a smoothie and a bag of popcorn to tote around with him. There was something about a mall's food court that had a way of making a person feel like they hadn't eaten in months.

"Eager?" Noah asked him, offering Lucille an amiable smile as the man glanced back over his shoulder at him and nodded. "I suppose we should set the ground rules first?" He unbuckled his seatbelt, folding his hands on top of the steering wheel. "Of course, if you'd like, we could forget the rules and I could fit you into those silly backpacks they sell near the movie theater—those ones with the child leashes on the back?"

The latter gave Noah an awkward smile in return, shaking his head. "Do you know how many times I threatened to get one of those for Edgar? He never stays still in this sort of place," he remarked, which seemed to make Noah hesitate for a moment before clearing his throat. At first, he didn't understand why, but then it hit him; Noah hadn't considered the possibility of Edgar being there, and in his defense, neither had Lucille.

For the briefest moment, he felt his chest lighten with hope, but not before he realized that there was no chance Edgar would be there. Edgar only came with his boyfriend, and if Lucille knew anything about Bowie, it was that you'd have to drop a house on him to get him to open his eyes before two in the afternoon.

"Ground rules, then." Noah drummed his fingertips along the wheel. "I'm not as strict as Vaughn, so I won't police you if you go a bit out of bounds, but I'd like it if you could stay within my line of sight. I think five feet or so would be reasonable, especially if I'm following after you," he began, happy to find that Lucille agreed with him, his smile widening slightly. "And I'd prefer if you let me do most of the talking to any store clerks; no going off on your own, and no talking to any strangers."

Lucille bit his lip. "Is that it?"

Noah considered the question, tilting his head back a bit with a thoughtful hum. "I suppose not. Unless you have anything else you'd like to ask me, we can head in now."

"Um—spending," Lucille said, reaching to unbuckle his own seatbelt, and placed a hand on the car door, rolling the window back up before preparing to open it. "Is there any sort of... range? I know we're here for clothes, and stuff for my—my room." He still didn't like calling it that. "But that's bound to cost a fair amount, you know? So if I could have an idea, I can try to keep my choices a bit more cost effective."

"Cost effective? Lucille, you humor me." Noah chuckled, reaching out to tousle Lucille's unkempt hair and shaking his head in disbelief. "Don't worry about things like that. Vaughn and I are immortal, money is far from being one of our concerns."