31_days | [Jan. 5][Original] I Missed You

Title: I Missed You
Day/Theme: Jan. 5, 2009 "a tender history in rust"
Series: Original (Navigator, but way post-story)
Character/Pairing: Julian, Stuart
Rating: PG ...this turned out depressing. ^^;

"Hey, Father Stuart," the call was soft and a bit rough. Leaves crinkled under the steps of a man of some size.

Stuart turned slowly, heart leaping into his throat, as he realized who it was. "Julian!" he gasped, his intuition (or memory of the voice) proving accurate. The doctor was a little stooped now, bringing him closer to Stuart's height, his face was creased and wrinkled, but still handsome considering his age. He wore a gray kimono. His white hair no longer seemed out of place. Compared to their days together on Navigator, they were old men now. Stuart hadn't seen Julian in nearly fifteen years. ...Marta had told him the doctor was living on Mars.

"Julian..." he said the name again, sighing, happy with relief. "...Just Stuart's fine with me."

"I wasn't sure. I couldn't say after all these years that it was still right. ...That we were still close enough that I could..." he mumbled. He was as shy as ever. He had opened up to Stuart before, but that was like an old wound, that had been closing over all the years they'd been apart. Julian felt like they were strangers again. The only difference was, this was a stranger he loved. He was lonely. And it was hard at this age to take the loneliness that had once been an everyday part of his life. It didn't matter if Stuart hadn't changed at all- if he was still nosy and sappy and overly talkative- that was just the kind of person he was. That was the Stuart that Julian loved.

"You still can," Stuart answered, stepping a little closer. "We're still friends, you know."

"Um, yeah. I know." Julian looked down at this geta. The pavement was covered with leaves, blurring the line between walkway and garden. Stuart let go of the rake, leaning it carefully against the wall of the rectory. There was white in his hair now too, and various shades of gray. But there was still a remnant of the original chestnut brown, sprinkled erratically here and there.

"Last time I talked to Marta, she said you were living on Mars. ...So what brings you to Ireland?"

"Well, just a visit, I guess. But I've been thinking about coming back to Earth. ...It's not that I had good experiences here, but it seems so...sad...wrong, maybe, to live the rest of my life in space. I was...born...on Earth. It seemed too sad to die in space." What a depressing thing to say. Julian smiled wryly, "If that's too awful to believe, let's just say that I missed you, Stuart."

"I missed you too, Julian. ...You know, you could've written me more than once every few years. ...Or called or something. ...Even just told Marta to remind me you were still alive."

"Oh, this is just like old times," Julian chuckled, "...I'm going to have to say it then- shut up, Stuart."

"Just give me hug," the priest laughed it all off and threw his arms around Julian's neck.