just_another | Entries tagged with raleigh

They're actually having a baby shower.

Joel is fairly certain his mother wouldn't have let them get away without something, even if he had insisted it be small and consist only of family, but for some reason he and Spencer have allowed themselves to be talked into a real shower. With invitations and food and little baby themed games to play. It's sort of strange, looking at it from his position, given that Erin is the one who's going to be giving birth and therefore is the one in the glowing pregnant woman position at this entire gathering.

She'd sweetly agreed to attend and had even whispered to Joel that she would take the brunt of the attention if she could manage it. He had whispered back that he knew they had picked her for a good reason.

But here they are. Several weeks have passed, the invitations have gone out and the decorations have been put up all over Joel and Spencer's living room. He had agreed to lift the enchantments on the house for the extent of the party, which means that anyone can open the door to their guests, they don't all have to be invited in by either Joel or Spencer, and it makes him a little nervous, but he understands the usefulness of others being able to answer the door. At least for today.

It's the decorations that keep getting to him. Sweet little ducks and zebras and monkeys, little jungle animals all over the walls. The bottle and rattle shaped cookies are pretty cute, but those aren't going to be left when the baby gets here. The animal theme, though, is fairly close to the nearly finished nursery Joel has been working on upstairs and he can't help but grin at the decorations.

Spencer, on the other hand, can't stop coming back round to the center of the living room to stare at the enormous sign that's been strung up above a table already stacked with gifts when a majority of their guests haven't even arrived yet. He'd been worried this morning that the day would overwhelm him, that knowing so many people would be coming into their home would be daunting when just a year ago, he'd never even once invited company over before meeting Joel; but so far, he feels calm, in spite of having had to watch Joel remove the enchantments that act as their security on the house. If someone wishes to crash a baby shower--which he doesn't imagine will happen anyway--then they'll have to face not only the wrath of a room that will be filled with witches and sirens, but the wrath of his mother- and sister-in-law, as well. That's not a sight Spencer thinks would be very pretty to witness.

Still, he feels light, perhaps a lingering effect of the having the chance to fall in love with Joel a second time during the spell that had taken over the town. Certainly, a great deal of his contentment has to do with the fact that he won't have to worry about losing his husband in a crowd but even beyond that, he's excited.

So much has changed in the course of the past year and weeks from now, they'll be holding their newborn in their arms for the very first time without another care in the world but for who they've been looking forward to meeting since they'd decided to take this journey together. There's something a bit strange about realizing that it's all coming to a head, that the waiting will soon be over and they'll be fathers at last, but when the first knock on the door comes, Spencer can't help but smile.

[Baby shower for Joel and Spencer's wee one. Erin, their surrogate, is present and is currently 31 weeks pregnant. If you're even a little friendly with either of them, Joel's mother sent an invitation, but the enchantments have been taken off the house for the event and so it's not an impossible party to crash. If anyone wants to crash a baby shower...]

Despite his mother's warnings, Joel has found himself on the beach once again, not far from where he sailed straight into a storm not three days earlier. She would be furious if she found him here, but this is where he feels most calm, where he's always felt most able to think clearly and lately it seems he's in desperate need of thinking clearly.

So much has happened over the past several days and while Joel is completely certain what he feels for Spencer is real and genuine, he's also truly conflicted for the first time in his life. He has duties. There are expectations that have been placed upon him and in less than two weeks time, he is expected to have picked a bride.

That's something Joel knows he simply cannot do.

Walking along the sand, he looks out into the water for a moment, then begins to shed his clothes. He doesn't care how it might look, if there's anyone nearby to see. His fingers fly over the buttons of his shirt and he drops it to the sand. A moment later his pants follow and he wades into the water in only his breeches, pushing through the waves and then diving under, cutting through with strong strokes. The cold water clears his head and he turns over, floating on his back for what feels like forever before he finally makes his way back to shore.

It's as he's dressing again, his pants once more fastened and his shirt half done up that his vision suddenly goes dark. It's like he's under water, he realizes. Shafts of sun cut through the gently rolling waves, but the deeper he sinks, the darker it gets. There's a flash of a shimmering tail, too big to be a fish, too small to be a shark. Dark laughter. A brief glimpse of a beautiful woman with long, black hair. She's smiling, but Joel doesn't much like what he sees in that smile.

She's saying something, her lips moving, but the voice that comes out isn't hers. It's Spencer's. It's the voice he remembers from that day on the beach and Joel stumbles in the sand, only realizing then that he's still standing on the beach. All of this, everything he's seeing, it isn't really happening.

He directs his attention back to the woman with the tail just in time to hear Spencer's voice whisper two words. A promise.

He doesn't know what any of it means, but as soon as it's begun, it's gone. Joel is left standing on the beach, his hands still on the buttons of his shirt, staring off into the waves as if they can give him some kind of answer.

[Joel's an adopted prince who doesn't know he's also a witch and has no idea he's just had a premonition while on the beach anywhere you want to find him. Enjoy? :D]

It's quiet. That's the first thing Joel notices as he heads downstairs.

He's been busy working in what's going to be the nursery eventually, although he's sure Spencer would tell him not to strain himself. He's still only working half days at the store as his hand heals, but he's feeling better and he'd called Spencer around noon, letting him know he was going to stay home for the whole day so he could get a head start on the nursery.

By the time he quits for a break, he really notices just how quiet the house is.

His parents have gone home, Spencer is at Crossroads and Raleigh is at the bakery, though he imagines she'll be home soon. It's as good a chance as any for him to actually play some of the music he really likes and so he heads downstairs for the living room, Huxley at his heels, and puts a record on the old turntable he refuses to give up.

The music that blasts out of the speakers is loud and aggressive and extremely technical. It's like mathematics in musical form and Joel wanders out toward the front hall, then stops for a moment, just closing his eyes and letting himself enjoy the music.

All Joel wants is to go home and sleep in his own bed, but so far the doctor has forbidden it. Even with Spencer's promises to take care of him and make sure he doesn't exert himself, Joel is still stuck in the hospital for at least one more day, but probably two. Besides Spencer, he hasn't been allowed visitors either and Joel knows it's only been a day, but he feels like he's slowly starting to go crazy with boredom.

He understands why he has to stay. Sort of. He's still in a fair bit of pain despite the medication they've been giving him, so he understands why his doctor wants him to stay, but Joel knows he can do better. Especially now that the demon is gone. If they would just let him go home, he'd be able to brew something that would almost entirely do away with the pain in his hand and his chest, but he can't tell them that.

Or maybe he could, but he's fairly certain they wouldn't care.

Spencer has brought him several books, but even so, Joel is bored. He's currently lying in his bed with his head tipped back to look at the ceiling, counting the holes in the tile directly above him. He's gotten as high as six hundred before losing count and having to start over again, but it isn't as if he has anything else to do.

"Good news," one of the nurses says as he pops his head into Joel's room. "You're officially allowed visitors."

He has his phone out and is texting someone to come visit him before the nurse has even finished his sentence. As his vitals are checked, as his evening dose of medication is given, Joel sets his phone aside, picks up one of his books, and he waits.

[Joel is in the hospital post-demon battle. If your character is close to Joel or Spencer, feel free to assume they got a text letting them know what happened and that everyone is alive. Come visit a demon-free Joel for the first time EVER!]

It's not the first dream he's had, but it's the first one he remembers in such great detail.

( Cut for violent imagery )

He wakes up with his heart pounding and a scream in his throat, but it never quite manages to catch hold. It's four in the morning, but Joel lies in bed beside Spencer, staring up at the ceiling until the sun comes up and then he puts on a smile and goes about his day like any other. But the dream lingers. It hangs on and it leaves him feeling deeply unsettled, even as he kisses Spencer goodbye and tells him to take the morning off.

Joel desperately wants to be with him, he needs to be touching Spencer just to remind himself that it was only a dream, he'd never actually hurt anyone he loves, but he needs the time alone, too. He has to do some kind of research, he has to figure out what's happening because something is happening. He can't pretend anymore. Something is very wrong.

As he opens the store, he finds himself thinking of Nerium and wishing he had some way to contact her. She would know, he thinks, or she'd have an idea. She would be able to help him and he wonders if he thinks hard enough about her that she'll know he needs her. She always seems to know.

It's only once he's inside the store that he allows himself a moment. Standing against the door in the dark, Joel closes his eyes and he sees those awful things again. The people he loves most in the world hurt at his hands and he wonders who else he's dreamed off. There are strange, confusing memories of other dreams and he thinks he should be thankful he can't remember all the details.

But he opens his eyes and then he opens the store and he goes about his day, but between customers, he drags out a book on dark spirits and demons, reading every last bit of information he can.

This isn't happening to him. It isn't.

[Joel's demon is getting louder. >:D Come visit the bookstore!]

While Raleigh had definitely done a lot of work in the time Joel and Spencer had spent away, there's still a lot left to be done, which is why he's left Spencer alone at the store today and has decided to spend this time helping Raleigh instead. It'll be good for all three of them, he thinks. Spencer will be able to spend the day completely alone in the store and learn what it's like without Joel hovering over him and watching him do everything as he knows he's prone to doing. And Joel thinks it would be good for him to just let go of his control over the store a little. If he's here helping Raleigh instead of there trying to help Spencer or even just taking the day off and sitting at home, he knows he's less likely to be thinking about what's going on at the store. Having something to do, having work to complete, it gives him a task and it helps take his mind off things.

And it helps Raleigh, too. He'd promised to do everything he possibly can to help her, which is why he's on the floor right now, a dust mask over his mouth as he tears up the linoleum, grunting as a big piece comes off the floor in his hands. There's hardwood underneath and it looks to be in relatively good condition, too, which is good news. The cost of sanding and restoring will be significantly less than if it had been in rough shape.

Sitting back, he lifts his mask so he can wipe some of the sweat from his face and tosses the chuck of linoleum onto the growing pile he's started. "The wood under here looks pretty good," he tells her, leaning against the wall as he catches his breath. It's hard work, but he loves it, and he thinks if he didn't own the store, he'd do stuff like this. Renovations, contracting, painting and building, he loves all of it. He could have made a life doing this, too. "We'll still need to sand it, but it looks nice."

It's actually turned out to be quite a nice afternoon.

Joel's parents have gone to the Lodge for the day and he's not sure their plans, but it had been clear from the start that they hadn't wanted any company, so Charlotte is in Crossroads with him for the day, though she's not exactly being what he'd call helpful. It's not necessary, really, the store isn't particularly busy and whenever someone does want to buy something, she at least has the decency to look up from her own book to ring them through the register so that Joel doesn't have to stop shelving the new inventory he'd received that morning.

It's quiet and warm in the store. Charlotte has propped the door open, which he would normally hate, but the heat of the day isn't stifling and it makes the store look a little more welcoming, which is what he knows he has to do if he wants to keep the business running. Spencer is at work, but has texted to let Joel know he'll be by as soon as he's done and it leaves him with a warmth in his chest that settles in and doesn't leave.

It's a good day, he thinks, pausing to clean his glasses before he pushes them back up his nose, scanning the inventory list in his hand.