Masks

Chapter 5

That kiss was like a thunderbolt, she had kissed his mask before and that had been jolting, but the touch of her lips on his bare skin was something he had not been prepared for. His mind was chaotic, but he only wanted one thing, and that was her. He needed to get out of there, needed to leave before he ripped of his mask and exposed her to what he really was in pursuit of a kiss, before he scared her away with his mutilated face. The need to extricate himself from the situation was becoming undeniable, especially before he did something utterly idiotic.

She felt him go rigid, his body no longer the warm comfort it had been, now he was simply a wall of rigid flesh. God this was tough, she had made him uncomfortable. She turned herself around, pulling him into an embrace. His arms dropped to his sides like a ragdoll. She began to speak into his chest but most of what she said was lost to his ears. He caught the last of her speech "- monster. But you are not a monster, I know that." With that he brought his arms up returning her hug. All he wanted was to gather her into a deeper embrace, but she began to back away ending the moment. "Thank you for listening to what I had to say V, welcome home."

She turned to leave; he caught her hand "Thank you... I once said that you had said the most beautiful thing I had ever heard, but seeing and smelling those flowers" he gestured to the bundles of roses that she had tied up, he choked up "those are quite possibly the most beautiful thing that has ever been done for me." He brought her hand to his mouth and brushed the lips of his mask over the back of her hand.

In that moment the urge to lift his mask from his face was as strong as it had been the night in which they had shared their last dance, stronger even. But she refrained, and left the room.

V needed a moment to recuperate; he walked over to his gloves and sank to the floor. This was going to make for an interesting living situation. Every single time she was around he felt horribly exposed, he felt as though she would run screaming if he were to show her his monstrous form. All the while he felt as if she were going to rip off his mask and somewhere deep down he hoped that that she would, that was what scared him the most.

Fear was not an emotion he had felt in a good while, yes he had been afraid to die, but that fear was no more than a tickle at the back of his mind. This fear, this mind numbing terror, which he felt for fear of scaring away the woman he loved with the monster beneath the mask, was quite possibly the worst thing he had felt since those days in Larkhill. What made it worse was the devotion he felt in every action she had taken thus far; in every flower she had bound to the irrigation system, every plant she had tended, every single book she had enjoyed in his absence he could feel her tenderness. That devotion placed the fear he felt in sharp contrast.

He could have sworn he had only been recuperating for a few moments, until Evey popped into the room, flowery apron over his clothing. He never really knew how silly he looked in that apron. It was a little bizarre the contrast of the gray and black pants and vest beneath the pink frilly apron, but it was fantastic. The humor of the outfit and the promise of food made him smile beneath the mask, but the way the cloth clung to her soft curves awoke something else. He took his time placing his gloves on top of the fresh produce he had plucked from the vine. "I am assuming you arrived to acquire these?" He brought the basket to her. "I hope you don't mind that I am cooking lunch?" She phrased it like a question, but mostly she was pleased to see he had not replaced his gloves. "Not at all my dear, would you mind if I accompanied you?" She nodded her approval. "I am sorry about stealing your apron... but you weren't here." She was unsure, he could hear it in her voice "It is fine Evey, I will accompany you. But the cooking is all up to you; after all, you did steal my lucky apron." He tucked the basket beneath his arm, ending his statement with an exaggerated bow.

He had watched her cook that afternoon. Yet again he could feel her dedication, her care. Carefully she sliced onion and garlic, zucchini and tomato fresh from the garden. Every move she made was sensual. She allowed them to sauté; she threw eggs into a pan and slowly scrambled them. She had toasted bread, spread pesto and goat cheese on it. The fragrance of basil and garlic permeated everything. The smell was positively heavenly, her movements were beautiful. Everything in this moment was something to be remembered.

She placed the plate in front of him, "I won't be offended if you want your privacy, V." She turned to make up her own plate. He pushed away from the table "forgive me for not accompanying you for lunch, Evey. But even you are not ready for this." He made his way to the living room, where he could still hear her rustling around in the kitchen. He savored every bite, until he heard her beginning to clean up. He shoveled down the last few bites and replaced his mask. She had cleaned up most of the mess by the time he had refitted his mask and made his way to the kitchen to help. She shooed him away from the cleaning, with a "When you cook you clean." So he leaned himself against the counter, and watched her work. Once she finished she grabbed his arm and steered him towards the couch.

The informal touch was difficult to get used to, but he wasn't planning on getting used to it anytime soon. He relished it. And was almost disappointed when she settled him on the couch. She moved away from him and towards the stacks of movies. She shrugged at him "Today is a good day for a movie. Anything in particular you want to see?" He didn't have an answer for her, so he returned her shrug. She grabbed the first thing that came within reach and popped it in the DVD player. She nestled into her side of the couch, but that didn't last long they found themselves gravitating towards each other. After a few minutes with an unspoken inquiry and consent she laid her head in his lap. It did not matter what she put on because right now it was just filler taking up the space of questions left unanswered and questions left unasked.