What's Said in Silence

Sera-XXXXXXXVI

"You're late." Vessel greeted Jessie as he entered the kitchen, wine in hand. He traded the suit for a crisp black button down and a pair of jeans. I hadn't seen him dressed so casual since before his college graduation. It was a nice change.

"Fashionably late." Jessie quipped back before setting the wine down and throwing his arm around my shoulder for a casual hug. 

"I thought that someone as wound tight as you would have a better sense of punctuality." I said, turning the stove off before I burned our soup. Jessie held his hand over his heart, feigning hurt before turning back to Vessel.

"I guess what they say is true: couples that live together start acting like each other." He took a seat at the bar while I made everyone a bowl and carried them to the bar one by one. Vessel strode from the living room and took his usual seat. 

"When one person points out a habit, its an observation. When two people point it out, its a problem." Vessel said as casually as he would talking about the weather. I stifled a laugh, although I should be used to his bluntness by now. 

Jessie shrugged him off and blew on a spoonful of soup before sipping it carefully. Vessel left his untouched until I had sat down and started eating, myself. It was my first attempt at potato soup and, in my own opinion, it had come out great. And to think that just under a year ago I had barely been able to make anything more than gravy and toast. 

"Have you given citizenship any more thought?" Jessie asked, referring to one of the topics that we had discussed just after I had began speaking again. 

Citizenship, right. The first time he had asked I hadn't considered becoming a legal citizen. Up until that point I never knew if I might have to flee to a different country so work visas made the most sense. It had come through my mind off and on but I couldn't commit to the idea until I knew I could get past the trauma of what happened without destroying what Vessel and I had cultivated in doing so. 

They both stared at me expectantly. I cleared my throat before answering, "I have actually. But the requirements state that I need to live here for five years before applying. Though, papers or not," I looked towards Vessel. "This is my home and I intend to keep it that way for a very long time." 

"I'll drink to that." Jessie raised his glass of wine in cheers. I raised mine as well and Vessel reciprocated. We all took a sip and it felt like more than a toast, it felt like an unwritten agreement. 

Truth was, there was nothing for me back in america. There hasn't been any attempt at contact from my father, not that I expected one. I didn't have any friends there that would want me to come visit. Evelyn's grave still remains unknown to me. 

Part of me feels that I should find out, if only to pay my respects at least once. A much larger part has come to the conclusion that I'm still not quite ready to open that door. As much headway as I'm making in therapy, that part still hasn't left from the confines of my head. 

Eventually, I will tell Dr. Wesley about it and I'm sure she'll encourage me to seek it out to finally have some closure. I'll follow that advice when the time comes. For now, I'll take the healing in the bite sized pieces that I've been taking. After all, I have my whole life to get all healed and whole. 

"So," Vessel spoke. "does anyone want to fill me in on the 'Whisker's' thing or am I to remain in the dark?" 

Laughter erupted from my throat at the same time Jessie let out a groan and started begging not to bring it up. I looked at Jessie, giving my best puppy dog eyes, "Please let me tell him." 

"I'm surprised you've kept it in this long. I was sure you'd have given him the full story the nanosecond I walked out." He leaned back in his chair and swept his hand out palm up in a 'go ahead' gesture.

"Back in his college days, just a little while after he and Evelyn had started hanging out regularly, there was this one Halloween party. Evelyn came up with the idea for the costumes that year and decided 'Dr. Seuss' was our theme." My cheeks began to hurt from how hard I was grinning at the memory. 

"So, Evelyn and I dressed up as Thing One and Thing Two. Which left Jessie here with the wondrous role of Cat in the Hat. He really dressed the part: cat suit, cat ears, and drawn on whiskers." I pointed to my cheeks for emphasis and stifled the giggle that threatened to come out. It was rare that this story got told but I could never keep a straight face for it.

"Well, after the party was over we got some food and went back to Evelyn's dorm to clean up. Evelyn and I were sitting on her bed eating our tacos when all we heard coming from the bathroom was him losing his mind. Turns out when he never went shopping for face paint, he used his roommates left over hair dye- was it Manic Panic? Yeah I think that was it." I couldn't hold back the giggles any more but I pushed through anyways. Even Vessel had begun smiling.

"That dye had been on his face for hours and had left a really dark stain. And-What makes it worse- was that-" I couldn't finish because of the laughing fit. My stomach tightened and I could hardly breathe. 

"What made it worse," Jessie started, picking up where I left off. "was that I had mock trials the next day. I had to go through the entire trial with whiskers on my face. My team won but I didn't live that down until after graduation." 

Vessel was shuddering as low chuckles shook his body. I was wheezing out silent laughs, at a complete loss of control of myself. Jessie's face was slightly pink but the faintest hint of a smile crept over his face. 

I swiped tears from my eyes as I slowly began to rein in my breathing. Jessie and I locked eyes and his smile matched my own, "It's lovely to see you happy, Sera." He said. Vessel nodded in agreement.

It's lovely to be happy. 

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A/N: Late again, I know. Also, I can't believe you guys have stuck with me this long. I'll start working on the next chapter ASAP. 

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