More Than Pen Pals

Commission from Etsy

Summary: Arry, an alien, and Ritty, a vampire, who both were human disguises have been pen pals for years, perhaps it's time they met.

Arry grinned as he opened the mailbox and saw another letter addressed to him from Ritty. He dodged around the other apartment renters who moved to retrieve their mail. They had been pen pals for years. An assignment in middle school to get students to interact with other cultures. No one really expected much to come from it. But before he knew it the assignment was over and he was still writing Ritty and waiting expectantly for her return letters. As they grew up the letters became a bit less frequent. But the feeling of excitement always pulsed with familiarity through his blood whenever he saw the familiar handwriting on the letters.

He tore open the letter as he entered his apartment, comfortable enough in his human disguise that he did not bother removing it anymore. He did a quick scan of the letter, just to be sure there was nothing terribly wrong with his friend. Assured of her well-being he dropped onto his couch and read the letter, letting the other mail land on the table to be dealt with later.

Arry,

I have finally tried hummus. I was not impressed. Perhaps I should have spread it thicker over my meal's neck. As it was I could barely taste it and what I did taste tasted more like dirt than anything even remotely edible. The seasonal store has finally opened. As promised, picture enclosed.

Awaiting a return photo,

Ritty

Arry laughed and pulled out the pictures that had been taken. Seeming to float in the frame on nothing were various alien costumes. The pictures were taken in the mirror, often with the flash where Ritty's head would be if she had a reflection.

=-=

Ritty stuck her tongue out past her fang that never retracted, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder when one of the other vampires in the coven teased her about her secret boyfriend. It was no secret that she and Arry wrote to each other frequently. It was common knowledge in the coven that she cared deeply for the alien she had found as a friend through a pen pal assignment. She could not even honestly say what had driven their connection to the point it was at now. All she could say honestly was that she never felt any kind of connection close to what she felt with him. And they had never even met in person. They had talked about the possibility of either moving their conversations to email or texts but both agreed there was something thrilling about the hand written letters they did not want to loose. They had even considered video chatting until Ritty remembered she would not appear on camera.

Ritty jumped onto her bed with a wide smile while tearing open the letter, the photos falling out of the envelope onto her chest while she bounced lightly. In her excitement, the fang that was normally retracted struck out to indent her lip.

Ritty,

Stunning as always. The flash really brings out the transparent appearance in the mirror. While our own local shop does also sport the little men in green suits, I felt it would be a bit redundant. I hope you like my selections.

Ritty paused reading the letter in order to lift the images up and look at them. There were pictures of Arry in a cheesy count Dracula costume. The fake fangs forced his jaw open while he grinned around them unable to distract from how dazzling his smile was. Arry had the cape pulled up to his face in one photo, covering the fang Ritty could retract. The final picture was Arry dressed in a wolf costume holding a red hooded cape up.

I know you've said werewolves aren't real. Or at least vampires don't have an issue with them. SO I thought maybe I could be the big bad wolf and you could be my red riding hood? There's a festival. I've included a flyer-

Ritty pulled the second piece of paper out from behind the first and discovered it was not more letter like she had thought. She read over the address and realized it was not too far from the coven.

-I thought maybe, if you'd like, but no pressure, you can say no, we could maybe meet up? Just an idea but again, I completely understand if you don't want to.

Arry

=-=

Arry chewed his lip as he walked through the festival. An unusual nervousness curled through his gut as he scanned the crowd. He stood near the Ferris wheel fence, they had agreed to meet near the recognizable ride. He had not expected Ritty to actually agree to meet him, he had fully expected her to turn him down.

Arry,

I'll be the big bad wolf. You can me my red riding hood. See you then.

Ritty

It had been the shortest letter he had ever received from her. He still was not sure if she was actually happy to finally be meeting in person or not. He hoped she was. He reached up and adjusted the tie around his neck holding the red hooded cape up. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to stare at a stunning woman.

"Arry?" Ritty asked nervously, hoping she was not mistaking a stranger for her friend, though that word did not seem to convey the level of feelings she had for the man.

"Ritty." Arry breathed taking in the smaller woman's appearance. He smiled brightly. "You look better than the pictures showed."

Ritty laughed, covering her mouth to hide the fang that never retracted from the humans around them. She slid her arm through Arry's and the two began to walk around the festival. Their conversation was a little jerky at first, neither quite sure how to handle being with the other in person, but it did not take long before they were talking just as comfortably as they wrote letters to each other.

They eventually found themselves on the Ferris wheel. Arry had his arm around Ritty's shoulders. His arm tightened and pulled her closer as they approached the top. Ritty felt a light blush rising to her cheek as she wondered if he was planning on kissing her or if she should kiss him, or if it would even be a welcome action. Soft fingers against her cheek turned Ritty's attention to Arry when the wheel stopped them at the top of its circle. He studied her face for a moment before leaning forward.

Ritty met Arry halfway and clutched at his cloak when their lips met. Her breath hitched and she opened her mouth as his tongue invaded her mouth. His fingers threaded into her hair. Neither noticed the wheel had begun moving again until the attendant cleared their throat once they reached the bottom. Looking up they realized there were fireworks exploding in the skies and it was not all in their heads.