FicWad

[Author's Note: Okay, so this is a late bday fic for Holly. It's been completed since her bday, which was the 5th, but it seems like everything in the world was stopping me from putting it out. I got sick, thought it was a chest cold and it got worse, went back, turns out the bitch doctor screwed me over... She never put me on antibiotics like she was supposed to, and since she didn't, it blew up into bronchitis! YAY! -.-..... But yea, anytime I tried to get on I was just too sick, or mom was on and wouldn't let me on, or the comp got high-jacked by Shaun, everything stopped me, UNTIL NOW! So, Happy (belated) Birthday Holly Lolly, I'm sorry it took so long to get up =)]

As she opened her eyes, the first thing Holly noticed was that Ryan was not next to her. She frowned, a little disappointed since his absence meant that she couldn’t follow through with her usual nighttime routine; snuggling into his always-open arms. Although the routine broke every now and then, it happened so rarely that it caught her off guard almost every time. Today only caught her off guard because it was her birthday, and he never had her wake up alone on her birthday, not since they finally got together after years of their kind separating them.

She sighed as she realized that she had made it to the year 2525, making her 536 years old, a good 449 years older than she thought she would ever live to see.

Standing up from the bed, she walked to her closet and took out the new robe he had recently gotten her as an “early birthday present,” wrapping it around her. As she secured it shut by tying the sash around her waist, she headed to the door, pausing to remove from the robe the bit of hair that didn’t stay free as she was pulling it on. Holly opened the door and walked down the hallway, letting her footsteps fall a little bit heavy so she could actually hear it at a normal level. Sometimes it was nice to feel like she was hearing at a human’s level.

She loved knowing that she would have him for the rest of their unnaturally long lives, but at the same time, she missed being able to have and keep friends. She missed the friends he used to hang out with and the girlfriends they all kept, but she wouldn’t give him up for it all. Since she knew now how to make herself “age” she could get friends, but she knew she couldn’t go through watching friends wither and die again.

She was so deep in thought that she hadn’t noticed he was standing a few feet in front of her until he closed the distance between them and put his hands on her shoulder.

“How many times am I going to find you crying on your birthday, Love?” Ryan murmured softly, his concern for her etched into his features as he studied her face, trying to determine what was wrong.

Holly looked at him, confused as she wiped her tears from her face. “I’m sorry… I hadn’t realized I was crying,” she said as she slowly shook her head.

“What were you thinking about, Love?”

“It’s nothing, Ry, really,” she said as he pulled her into his arms and held her close. She rested her head on his shoulder and smiled slightly. “So much better,” she whispered as she closed her eyes. “So, where did you go? If you don’t mind me asking…”

Ryan nuzzled the top of her head before he placed a tender kiss where he had nuzzled. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up, but I was thirsty,” he whispered against her hair. “I hadn’t intended on being gone long enough for you to wake up without me.”

Holly smiled as she kissed the hollow of his throat. “It’s okay, Ryan, I understand, I just wasn’t expecting to wake up and find you gone.” She slowly pulled away from him, linking their hands together as they shared a small smile.

“How long have you been awake?”

Holly shook her head. “Not too long, long enough to pull on the robe and come looking for you. Do you still have room for the both of us to go hunting?”

Ryan smiled at her. “Yes, and I was thinking of taking you somewhere special for us to feed… We haven’t been there before, which actually surprises me.” He walked to their room with her so that she could get dressed for their hunt. “Does it sound good to you, birthday girl?”

Holly smiled at her husband and nodded quickly, showing her excitement, before she disappeared into her vast closet to find an outfit. While she was lost in the fabrics, Ryan sat on their bed to wait for her. He was amused by the fact that she was able to move as fast as she wanted to, but she still managed to take a good half hour, or more, to pick an outfit. He took his cell phone from his pants and linked to the internet, checking his email to make sure the plans he had made were still good. When he was done, he quickly looked up some information and disconnected, putting his cell back in his pocket.

Holly finally emerged from the closet in her outfit, a pair of faded blue jeans and a red, long-sleeved shirt; both of which had her own bit of personal flair added to them. The blue jeans had been attacked numerous times with pencils until she had settled on designs that she felt suited her. Having that all said and done, she stitched over the pencil markings, leaving the designs forever in the fabric. The red, long-sleeved shirt had been bought and paid for, before she had realized it was too dull for her fashionista senses. It had taken her close to four hours, with poor Ryan in tow, to find the black pleather material that would be “perfect” for the shirt. She had cut the pleather into four strips of material and sewn a set of two strips into each of the long sleeves, finally giving the shirt her nod of approval.

Ryan smiled at his wife, loving how the shirt and pants hugged her body, showing the curves he loved. “Finally ready, my love?”

She nodded. “Just let me pull on my shoes and I’ll be good,” she answered as she held up the shoes in her hand. She moved to the bed, sitting down next to him on the edge, and pulled on her socks and shoes. “Sorry if I kept you waiting too long, baby.”

Ryan shook his head and stood up, holding his hand out to her. “I’m used to your picky sense of style,” he said with a grin so she would know he was just teasing her.

Holly took his hand and rose to her feet, smiling at him as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail with the hair tie she had around her wrist that he hadn’t noticed. “Where are we going tonight that’s so special?”

Ryan smiled as he led her out, onto the balcony of their town home, looking over the moonlit London skyline. “You’ll see when we get there,” he said with a smile before they leapt off the balcony together, landing silently in the alley behind the home. He held her hand in his own as they began their walk to the destination he had picked out for them tonight. “Oh, I packed up some of your clothes.”

Holly looked over at him, her brow lifted in confusion. “Are we moving?” She questioned, knowing that moving was the only time he packed for her since he could do it much faster than she could.

Ryan shook his head. “No, we’re going on a vacation, and our flight leaves after our hunt,” he said with a smile. “I know we don’t have a lot of time at night, so I was thinking a vacation could be my birthday gift to you.”

“We’re going on a trip?” She asked, uncertain if she had heard him right. It had been a while since they had taken a trip since they had been just about everywhere they could go. They had been given over 500 years, so far, to travel all they wanted.

Ryan nodded. “I thought we could go somewhere new,” he answered. “We haven’t been on a trip in a while and now is as good of a time as any,” he smiled at her. “Getting out of London might do us a little bit of good, maybe scope out some new homes since we have been here a little too long.”

Holly nodded, agreeing with him whole-heartedly. Even though she loved her home in London, England, she was a fiend for trips, and it would be nice to see a new scene for a little. “Can I ask where we’re going, or is that a surprise of some sort?”

Ryan shook his head. “I can tell you, because the surprise is what we’ll be doing when we hit up the two spots I’m taking you to. We’re going to Paris and Athens,” he said as they turned down a road.

“We’re going to Paris, France and Athens, Greece?” She questioned, her eyes lighting up with her sudden joy and excitement. “I haven’t been there since I was still human!”

Ryan frowned a little as he tilted his head, stopping their pace. “Oh…”

Holly’s smile faded slightly, the light in her eyes following her fading smile. “What, oh?”

“I meant that we were going to Paris, Arkansas and Athens, Alabama,” he answered, biting his lip. “I can change the tickets if you would rather go to the countries instead of the cities.” He looked down, avoiding her seeing the slightly hurt on his face.

Holly shook her head, quickly pushing her disappointment behind the thickest curtain she could find, feeling bad for letting him see it to begin with. It was a trip with him and she was looking down at a gift from the man that her world revolved around. “No, no, no, it’s okay,” she said as she lifted his head to make him look at her. “We can go to the cities, it’ll be nice to see some new places.”

Ryan smiled as he looked at her. “Are you sure?”

Holly nodded. “One hundred percent sure,” she answered, smiling at him. “So, where are we going to feed?”

He smiled wider as he moved his hand, motioning to the area around them. “Right here, in this lovely little Whitechapel District… I only stopped because we were where we needed to be.”

“Whitechapel… Why does that sound so familiar?” She questioned as she looked around, spotting a sign that said Durward Street.

“A series of murders in the late 1800s, by a man they called Jack the Ripper,” he explained as he moved to stand behind her, kissing the nape of her neck, lightly grazing his fangs against the flesh there. “We’re going to go hunting on the streets he killed on.”

Holly shivered as his breath brushed her neck. She bit her lip when his teeth grazed her skin again. “Together or are we separating to cover more ground and save time so we don’t miss our flight?” She asked, looking at him when he moved to stand in front of her.

“Together, we can keep it quick,” he said with a smile.

The two took off together, using the map in Ryan’s head to make their way through the district, feeding in small doses throughout so that no one would die but so they would still get their needed fill. Running down Durward Street, which had at the time of the Ripper Murders been called Buck’s Row, Holly and Ryan ran along it until cutting through other streets until they found a feed in Mitre Square, which had never changed its name. Cutting through the Whitechapel District, Holly found feeds on the other streets, Hanbury and Dorset, even Berner Street, now called Henriques Street, and when they were finished they began heading home. Their hands locked together, Holly and Ryan ran, enjoying the few more moments of speed they could have before they got on their plane for her birthday vacation.

He held open the door to their home for her and when they were inside, he turned her to him and kissed her deeply, needing to taste her. He felt her return the heated kiss, melting into his arms as her own arms wrapped around his shoulders, holding him close. When they slowly pulled away they stared into each other’s eyes, smiling.

“I don’t care what that was for, I definitely enjoyed it,” she said as she smiled a little more and gave him a soft kiss before she pulled away from him.

“I craved your mouth on mine,” he answered, shrugging as he gave a sheepish smile. “So, are you ready to head to the airport?”

Holly nodded, noticing for the first time that their bags were sitting by the door. “Do you have the tickets on you, or are they in one of the suitcases?”

“Suitcases, didn’t want to risk you seeing them until I told you about them,” Ryan answered as he picked up two of the four suitcases. “Can you open the door, and I’ll work on loading these into the car?” Ryan watched her as she opened the door and leaned against it, smiling at him, a smile he happily returned. “Thanks, love, I’ll be back in to get the other two in a minute. While I’m doing this, you might want to see if there is anything I might have forgotten to grab for you.”

Holly nodded as Ryan walked out the door, having to walk slow in case a night time neighbor was awake. The last they needed was their cover blow if he should move too fast to the car. She went up to their room and did a quick check of the room to make sure there was nothing else she would need, but he knew her too well so there was nothing he had forgotten. Shutting the door she made her way downstairs to see him coming in to grab the other two bags. “Are you sure you don’t’ want any help with those?” She questioned as she made her way down the stairs.

Ryan shook his head and smiled at her. “I’m good hon, really,” he replied as he looked to the keys on the small table by the door. “Can you grab those and lock the door up behind us?” He asked as he looked back up at her.

Holly nodded and grabbed the keys before she turned off the lights and walked out the door with him. “Did you do any research on these two cities?” She asked, curious if he knew anything about the places she had never even heard of. She walked outside and locked the door behind she followed him to the car, where he was already loading in the last two suitcases.

“Yep.” Ryan smiled at her. “I think you’ll like them, even though they are a bit small. Athens, Alabama barely has twenty-three thousand people, and Paris, Arkansas has even less people. I think the site said under four thousand. Perfect little towns for us to get lost in for a couple days or so,” he smiled more. He opened her car door for her. “I put the tickets on your seat so we wouldn’t have to dig through the suitcases for them when we get to the airport.”

Holly reached in and grabbed the envelope that held the tickets and got in as he shut the door. She lifted a brow when she realized the envelope weighed a little too much to have just two tickets in it. Looking it over, she was still studying it when Ryan got in the car and started it up.

“Everything okay, Holly?” He questioned as he put on his seatbelt, even though it wasn’t really needed.

“Just wondering why the tickets feel so heavy, that’s all…”

Ryan chuckled to himself as he backed out of the driveway and began driving in the direction of the airport. “Because I have more than just the tickets in there, our hotel reservations, our rental car information, and the passports; I figured why not keep it all together, rather than spreading it out and risking the loss of something we’re going to need?”

Holly nodded and put the envelope in the glove compartment before she put on her own seatbelt since the car’s seatbelt chime had begun to go off since the seat sensor could tell she was there. She didn’t like seat belts, but she disliked the chime even more since it wouldn’t stop, no matter how long she went without wearing the seat belt. “I suppose that does make sense,” she said as she looked out over the London scenery, wondering how long they were going to be gone this time since he had yet to say so. “Did you find out anything else about the cities?”

“Neither one of them are known for being tourists traps, mostly industrial cities with little to look at, but the change of view will do us some good,” he answered, smiling as he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the music that was playing softly on the station. “Plus, as I said before we started on our hunt, we might be able to find a new home while we’re visiting the other country.”

“It would definitely be a totally different change of scenery,” she said, still staring out the window, trying to imagine multiple factories and businesses instead of the home and businesses she had gotten used to lately.

Ryan pulled into the parking lot of the small airport he had made the flight plans with and turned off the car. He smiled at her before he got out of the car, walking to her side of the car to open the door. Linking their hands together, he walked with her to the building they were parked near and walked inside, smiling at the receptionist that sat behind a large, oak desk.

“Good morning, Mr. Ross, it’s nice to see you again,” she said as she stood up and reached out her hand, shaking his when he put it in her own. She let go after a firm shake and picked up her phone. “I’ll let your pilot know that you’ve arrived. Would you like assistance with your bags?”

“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, ma’am,” he answered. “we would greatly appreciate it. Is the jet already prepared?”

“Everything is as you requested, Mr. Ross, down to every detail, as promised,” she answered before she turned her mouth to the phone she was holding. “I need some baggage assistance at the main building, as soon as possible. You’ll be taking it to jet six-five-a-r-p-seven.” As she gave the instructions, she studied the paper with their information on it. “Yes, they are. Thank you.” She hung up the phone and smiled at Ryan and Holly. “Mr. and Mrs. Ross, your help with be at your car shortly. Just give your tickets to your pilot and have a safe flight. Enjoy your vacation.”

Ryan led Holly out of the building, walking towards their car. “Did you want to get the tickets out of the glove box and make sure everything is in there? I think I might have left the hotel reservation papers at the house.”

Holly couldn’t help but smile at his forgetfulness. “So much for keeping it all together for safe keeping,” she playfully chided before she opened the door and leaned in, taking the envelope out of the glove box. She shut the door and leaned against the car as she flipped open the envelope and took out the contents. She looked through the papers, ignoring the tickets and passports, and held up the folded hotel reservations. “Hon, you didn’t leave the reservations at home,” she said as she put the papers back in the envelope and held it out to him. “Silly man,” she smiled.

Ryan grinned and shook his head. “Silly girl,” he said with a smile of his own as he popped the trunk for the boy that had come over to them with a bag cart.

Holly frowned in confusion. “Why am I silly?”

“I had you look in the envelope for a reason, hon,” he answered as he opened the envelope and started going through its contents.

“I know, to look for the hotel info, which you didn’t leave at home like you thought you had…” She replied, a little confused.

Ryan shook his head and took out the two tickets, holding them out to her. “Look at the tickets, Holly love,” he said as she took them from him, lifting her brow in confusion. He smiled as he watched her eyes skim over the tickets, stopping as a look of realization filled them.

Holly looked at the tickets in her hand, that read Athens, Greece, not Athens, Alabama. She looked up at him and then to the tickets, then up to him again. “You lied to me!” She exclaimed as she jumped at him, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

Ryan laughed as she placed kisses all over his neck and cheeks before planting a deep, passionate kiss on his mouth. He smiled at her when she broke the kiss, smiling wide at him. “Happy birthday, Holly,” he chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. “I love you baby.”

Holly couldn’t stop smiling wide, even if she tried to, as she studied his face. “I love you too, Ryan, so much,” she said before she closed her eyes and pressed her mouth to his, kissing him deeply.

[Author's Note(again lol): Yes, I know I had RyRo play a trick on you and I'm sorry but it begged to be done lol I haven't done that in a while to a couple so I figured why not. =) Hope you liked it lady! And all you others out there who read this, hope you liked it too. It's a nice break from the FOB Horror Show, isn't it? lol Have a good day folks!]