Only if you want me to Who: Penny & Derek What: Road trip When August 23 Where: San Diego, CA Rating: High - nudity (NSFW) Status:
I would die 4 U
She coasted the vehicle into the lot. Their condo rental sat nearly on the water. It was a two bedroom but she didn’t mind the extra space going unused, they’d break in all of the available rooms. Nor did she mind taking a turn to drive. Fortunately the windows were tinted enough for day travel - she always drove during those hours if they had to keep moving otherwise they waited until dark.
“We’re here,” she sang.
Penny put the car in park and let the engine die. The place was unique and comfortable. She could smell the water already. “Derek, look!” The moonlight on the waves was spectacular. “It’s so beautiful.”
This road trip was the perfect idea. They hadn’t gotten a honeymoon and leaving their problems behind was ideal.
She stepped out and began to get their luggage unpacked.
Derek grabbed some bags and grinned at Penny. He loved how excited she was, and it felt good to be out of Nevada. They made their way to the entrance. “How about we drop this stuff off, and go swimming?” he asked her, already anticipating the answer she would give. He had seen the way she looked at the water.
“Yes!” She breathed, ecstatic. Nearly dancing, Penny twirled to the front of the condo. Once she was inside she literally dropped what she had been carrying and then her tee shirt was up and over her head.
Her shorts came next leaving her in only lace. “Come on! Let’s go!” The excitement couldn’t be contained. Her hand took one of his and Penny was dragging Derek toward the water.
He had to pause to look at her, grinning as she removed her clothing. He took her example and shed his shirt and jeans, leaving only boxers before following her to the sand. His feet sank into the warmth, and Derek picked her up and marched them over to the water. “Should I throw you in?” he joked, pretending to swing her.
The moon did look pretty reflected in the water. The waves were gentle and calm.
She laughed, throwing an arm around his neck as she was carried to the water. “I’ll drown you,” she offered, playful, doubtful that was even possible. “Get in with me.” Carefully she let herself down from his arms. The tide sweeping her feet was refreshing. His hand would be taken and she backed them into the water.
Penny ached to swim. To be herself and plunge into the depths, the darkness.
His smile faltered briefly as her words reminded him of the motel nightmare. Derek accepted her hands and allowed himself to be led into the water. It carried with it a slight chill, but it felt good. The night was clear and crisp, the sky cloudless and denim blue. She looked beautiful, as always, but her happiness at being in the surf seemed to light her up from inside.
Penny smiled. She didn’t drag him too far into the water - “I’d never hurt you, but I hope one day I can show you what I really look like.” She knew it was a scary sight to behold, the scales and the teeth, but she couldn’t help what she was.
Any knowledge of the dream he had was unknown to her. But the siren was an experience someone needed to be ready for.
“I know,” he told her, kissing her forehead. The water slapped against his calves, and he looked out at the endless expanse of ocean. He couldn’t help it, there was a tiny nugget of dread like a pit in his stomach. Derek felt small compared to everything around him, but he knew how much it meant to her, and he smiled.
“If you want to swim out, you can. I’ll stay here and watch and wave, if you can see me,” the vampire assured her.
“Are you sure?” Her excitement was barely contained. Penny she’s the rest of her clothes and stood naked before the moon. And then she turned and sprinted toward the deeper water, diving into the waves. The change was quick, painful but manageable.
In less than a minute she surfaced, a woman on top but a fish beneath. A wave was given, and she dived again, all sparkling fin as the tide claimed her.
Derek waved back, watching her in her element, literally. The vampire took a few more steps into the depths, letting the water come up past his knees. He leaned down and swished his hand through it, splashing. He was glad they were far away from Vegas, from Searchlight, from that eerily empty storage unit.
Beneath the waves she swam. Eventually she took on her true form and hunted fish for nutrition. She wouldn’t sustain her beauty on fish alone, but for now she would do what she could. There would be no dragging the past into the present.
It took almost an hour and then she surfaced, walking up onto the shore with her fingers running through her wet hair. The smile on her face was one of satisfaction.
He had let himself sit in the shallow surf, cross legged, the waves settling around his stomach. Derek looked up at her. “You look so happy, it’s great,” he commented. He pretended to pat the water next to him. “Sit with me?” The vampire wanted her near him. Pretty much always, but he knew that wasn’t realistic.
She felt happy. Not the happiness she felt for Derek, that was different and more intimate, but an overall happiness. At the motion she sat next to him in the water, leaning against his side. “Always.” Penny’s fingers found his and entwined the limbs.
“It’s so beautiful here.”
“We went to the beach a lot, when I was younger,” he told her. “Just to hang out, have a fire, drink and smoke.” Derek stroked his thumb against her hand. “I feel like we don’t talk about when you were younger.” He knew that she had been alive a lot longer than him, had seen things he could only dream about.
Hearing about his family, she tilted her head and listened. “That sounds nice.” It did, and she could understand the appeal somewhat.
“I was born in nineteen twenty in the New York area,” she explained. That was easier even if it wasn’t exactly the truth. Hatching and travel while young she didn’t quite remember. “My sister is older than I am, she was born somewhere else.” A hand would wave dismissively. “But I was created in the era of Jazz music. I loved it. All of the atmosphere of the city at that time was so exciting.”
“I’ve met a few vampires who have lived a long time,” he said. “I think it’s crazy. You have to get used to new technology, new trends. The world just keeps changing around you, and you stay the same.” Derek paused, wondering if he should tell her what he was thinking.
“Sometimes I worry that I won’t make it as long as them. That I’m not good enough, and something will happen, and…” Derek squeezed her hand. “I used to think that could be okay. But now, I don’t wanna leave you.”
“Why wouldn’t you be good enough?” She inquired, looking at him with interest. “You will outlive me.” She could survive as long or longer than most but she was susceptible to death and disease like anyone else. “But until then we will be together.” She was sure about that. “You’ll always be more than enough, Derek. No matter what anyone else thinks.”
A bubble of panic rose through him. He had thought, since she’d been around so long, and still looked young, that... “Wait. Back up. You don’t live forever?” Derek tried to process this. “No, I don’t want that. I don’t want to outlive you. You can’t leave.” He tried to regain whatever composure he possessed, but it was hard. The vampire had assumed that not being human automatically meant immortality. How could he have been so stupid?
She shook her head, “No. we can live for a long time, hundreds and hundreds of years, but we can die just like anything else.” She wasn’t immune to bullets or sickness, injury. “I can heal.” She hoped that was reassuring. Then Penny frowned. “I don’t know how to fix that.” Now she wanted to be immortal if only for him.
Hundreds of years. That sounded a little better. He would just need to protect her. “Okay,” Derek said. “I think I can handle that. And I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.” He leaned over to kiss her, tasting the salt on her lips from her swim.
“Thank you,” she replied. The kiss was returned with ease. Her eyes closed and she smiled into it, looping an arm around him. Of course she would protect him, too. She couldn’t lose him.
“Tell me more,” he told her, his fingers running through her wet strands of hair. Derek wanted to know everything about her. They talked a lot, but it never felt like enough for him. And after giving up killing, it seemed like there was a lot more time in his day that he could fill with Penny, or doing things for her, or thinking about her.
She smiled, trying to think. “I think that’s where I got my passion for music. The roaring twenties.” And over the last century music had changed so much. “I’ve been all over the world leaning about all kinds of music. There are some beautiful pieces in Asia and Europe.”
Derek smiled, listening. “I’ve never even left the country.” He stood up, offering his hand to Penny. He wanted to try something.
She took his hand and lifted herself up easily. “You and I should go someplace exotic some time.” Some place outside of the states. “We could go anywhere. Even the colder places.”
“Well, I guess my secret was going to come out sooner or later,” he said, leading her further into the ocean. “I’m afraid of flying.” Derek had always opted for road travel. He felt a little ridiculous, being undead and afraid of something so mundane, but it was the truth.
Then, he grinned. “Is that a dealbreaker?”
She looked up at him, offering a small smile. “Your secret is safe with me. It’s not a dealbreaker.” If they wanted cold they could crank up the air conditioning in the apartment. “We can drive anywhere we want to go, or take a boat.” A cruise didn’t sound so bad but they had lore control in a compact vehicle like a car.
Into the water she walked with him, though her focus stayed with him and not the waves. .
“I would try, though,” he admitted. “Flying. If it would make you happy. Just know that I’ll do a ton of drugs before getting on that plane.” Derek let himself flop into the water once they were waist-deep, letting himself float on the waves. “What’s some cross-continental travel in the grand scheme of things?”
“You make me happy,” she replied, offering a smile. Flying would be the bonus. And then she laughed at his comment about drugs. “Flying isn’t as bad as people think it is.” She didn’t mind it. “I remember I was really nervous the first time - my sister and I flew to Greece and I’d never been that far from home before. But I loved the experience and the trip.”
“If you’ve never been to Fiji, you’re missing out. Panama is beautiful, the Virgin Islands. There’s Iceland, if you prefer the cooler climates, France is nice.” Really anywhere they wanted to go, they could.
“I’ll take your word for it,” he answered with a grin, tugging on her hand. “Come on, float with me.” Derek looked up at the sky, a smattering of stars struggling to peek out. Everything would have been deceptively quiet, without vampiric hearing. Instead, he could hear the rushing of water, the sound of it as it lapped at the sandy shore, Penny’s breath next to him.
Penny nodded and titled her body, floating on top of the water next to Derek. Her green eyes filled with stars. It was beautiful there. Peaceful. “I feel so free,” she admitted. “I never feel this way. You’ve brought so many things out from inside me that I didn’t know were possible to feel.”
The vampire closed his eyes, letting her voice take over the cacophony in his head. He reached out his hand across the water, his fingers finding hers. “I can say the same thing about you.” And Derek meant that. He wasn’t stupid, he knew they hadn’t known each other long. But what was time to them? They had all of it and in some ways, none of it at all. Nothing was guaranteed. “I didn’t think I’d find someone like you. Ever.”
Her fingers caught his and fell between. Legs and feet kicked gently against the water for support. “I never expected you, either.” In her life she knew she would have opportunity - her sister had been married three times - yet nobody ever stuck out to her. Not until she had met Derek that first night at Iris.
“But I’m glad I ran into you. I don’t know where I’d be right now if not.”
“We don’t have to worry about that,” Derek pointed out. “Because we did, and now we’re here.” The smell of a bonfire from down the beach reached him. “What else would you like to do, while we’re here?”
“Although I wouldn’t mind spending the whole time in bed with you,” he grinned.
Her head turned and she peered over at Derek with a smile. “We can’t starve ourselves, either. But staying in bed all the time sounds wonderful.” Could she have survived without humans, she would’ve gladly just hidden in their condo the entire trip. But neither of them had that option. “I want to see some of the sights.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Derek assured her. He swam toward her, leaning down to kiss her deeply. He ran his hand over her skin, watching the way her curves broke the surface of the water, the raised goosebumps from the slightly chilly temperature. A finger made patterns around them, spelling out random letters.
She leaned into that kiss, an arm sliding around him for support. They wouldn’t sink, at least not far, before she would pull him back to the surface. If there was anything she was confident in, it was water. “I love you.”
“I love you,” he repeated, his mouth next to her ear. It was one thing he was certain of. Thoughts of the future might make him panic or worry, but for now, this was enough.
Her arms would wind around him and she did her best not to capsize either of them. “What do you say we go see what the bed situation looks like? Unless you want to visit that bonfire over there and make a friend.” It was up to him.
She’d promised not to kill so things would be fair and he could uphold his promise but neither of them could deny the basic instinct they had.
He paused, thinking about that idea, for the briefest of moments. “You can, I guess,” Derek said slowly. He was aware of the reality of the situation and her needs. But he didn’t want to jinx anything or go back on his promise. “But I wouldn’t be joining you.” His voice was gentle, not recriminating. “Personally, that bed sounds mighty tempting.”
“Then let’s go to bed,” she murmured, offering a smile. “I can figure something else out later.” She wasn’t in any state of dress to meet people. Had Derek not been there and they not been married it would’ve been different. “Come on.”
Gently, she let go of him and began the short swim to shore. Wading into the tide. Penny walked out and onto the sand, the moonlight dancing across her skin.
He followed suit, bending down and grabbing his clothes. They trudged through the sand and back toward the condo. Derek wrapped an arm loosely around her. The bonfire was just visible in the distance, the sound of voices and laughter clear to him. Derek thought of himself and his friends, many many years ago, and instead of a flood of resentment, he just smiled.