Victoria & Alex Pt. 07

First of all, a huge thank you to all of you kind readers who've waited patiently for this episode. I'm sorry for the wait, but life and earning a living gets in the way of writing.

I had anticipated writing the whole of the rest of their weekend in Bristol as one chapter, but it became very long and, after some nagging by a few readers, I've split it into two shorter chapters.

Unfortunately, that means that this chapter is a little light on sex, but Chapter 8 will make up for it and it should follow in 2 to 3 weeks, as it is mostly written.

For those of you that can't read back through all the other episodes to remind themselves of the story, I've added a little recap, so hopefully will also make it a little standalone chapter.

Once again, my apologies for making you wait.

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In 'Victoria's Secrets' , whilst visiting a ski show, a mysterious woman calls Alex by his name and emerges out of the crowd to beg for his help. She introduces herself as Vicky and proves she knows all about Alex. After a brief explanation, Alex escorts her to safety to share a coffee with her.

Over their coffee, she teased Alex with snippets of his history while hinting at her secret. In frustration, she reveals she is in fact his closest college friend 'Mike' who disappeared six years previous to live in London as a trans woman.

Throughout their conversation, she admitted to having had a long crush on him, as he'd often been her knight in shining armour at college, saving her from homophobic bullies and unwanted attention. Her largest secret is that, even as 'Mike' she'd always sent him a Valentine's Day card and still does to this day.

With it being Valentine's Day, Alex invites her to dinner. Alas, with it being central London, all the restaurants are busy, and Vicky invites him back to hers for a takeout. He spends the night with Vicky and the following day.

Over the next chapters of `Victoria and Alex' the couple become lovers and Alex realised he'd been attracted to 'Mike' before meeting him as Vicky. Throughout the chapters, they share their lives and dreams together.

We also meet Vicky's friends, amongst which is her closest friend and confident, Sarah, who is also a trans woman, who she met upon first arriving in London. The tall Blond, despite being defensive of her bestie, she befriends Alex and the three remain close friends throughout.

In chapter two, the lovers dine at Vicky's boss's house. Alex meets her boss and work colleagues. He discovered Vicky is the hot office girl that all the single men are chasing after. Vicky receives a promotion and they're invited by her boss to join her with her husband at their ski chalet in April for some end of season skiing.

In chapter four, the lovers work over the weekend, as part of some temporary work Vicky does to pay back an employer who helped her when she first moved to London. They meet a co-worker, Karen, who is a tall, red-haired, brash, straight woman with an ample bosom and didn't approve of Alex.

After a few little misunderstandings, professionally and socially, the three become friends, with Karen latching onto Vicky as a role model. Vicky takes Karen under her wing to help her gain some confidence and a man.

Vicky's mother hides in the background throughout. Whilst initially supportive, she's slowly become over protective and living her life through Vicky, desiring to control her. Amanda becomes overpowering as she tries to encourage her to fully transition, despite Vicky having no desire to.

Since moving to London, Vicky had avoided returning to her hometown of Bristol, partly driven from her experiences at college but also because of her toxic mother and her previously close brother who now shuns her. Unfortunately, a weekend arrives when she can no longer avoid it and she conspires with Alex to lessen the impact. She arrives on Thursday to have a night out with Alex with them both staying in a hotel, and then spend Friday shopping.

Returning to her old home, her mother's house mid-Friday afternoon, she and Alex get into a huge argument with her brother. Despite the three being inseparable during college, Rich pushes his luck in the ensuing argument, insulting Vicky and, in an uncharacteristic move; she punched him on the nose.

That evening's night out with Rich, her mother, Amanda, and her boyfriend gains no new ground with everyone remaining entrenched in their opinions. The night falls apart in the restaurant with Vicky storming out, demanding Alex to take her at the train station so she can return home to London.

Alex saves the weekend by taking Vicky back to his parent's house and they spend the night tucked up together in his boyhood bedroom. The following morning, Alex gets up early to help his dad, Brian, service the family's three cars and his mother, Sophie, finds Vicky in his bedroom.

Far from being upset, Sophie befriends and supports her, and Vicky confides her troubles in her. Sophie acts as a go between and convinces Vicky to meet with her mother that morning. The two women leave Alex and Brian working on the cars, to meet Amanda at a city centre coffee shop.

Our story continues outside in the driveway:

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Soon, car number two was done, and they swapped to Alex's car. As soon as they'd mounted his car up on the ramps, Alex crawled underneath to repeat draining the oil.

As the hot oil streamed down into the drain pan, Alex's dad kicked the soles of Alex's boots.

"Er, you've got a visitor."

"Bloody hell, that was quick. What on earth could have gone wrong so soon?"

Alex wormed his way out from underneath the car, trying not to let any oil drip off his gloves onto the driveway. He grabbed an oily rag to wipe his gloves dry and peel them off. He dropped the gloves into the waste bag, now filled with old filters, gloves and packaging.

He looked up, expecting to see Vicky, but instead saw her brother, Rich, walking down the driveway, wheeling his bicycle alongside him, looking sheepish. Alex glanced at his dad, Brian. An unspoken agreement passed between them, with Brian confirming,

"Er, I'll go put the kettle on. Long time no see Rich."

"Ah, yes, thanks, Mr Fisher."

Brian disappeared into the house, leaving the pair of old friends, fidgeting as they stood eyeing each other, and unsure of what to say to each other.

"Er, ah, Sorry Rich, Vicky's not here."

"I know, I heard mum talking with yours on the phone. They're meeting in town somewhere. As soon as she left, I cycled over here."

"Come on through to the patio, where we can sit down."

Alex walked through the garden gate, holding it open for Rich to follow him through with his bicycle. Around the back, Rich leaned his bike against the side of the garage and followed Alex to sit on the woven recycled plastic garden furniture set out on a flag stoned area at the rear of the house.

Despite it still being winter, they soon got comfortable sitting in the sunshine, although Rich didn't relax. He continued to fidget, unable to relax, wearing a khaki ex-army jacket with only a T-shirt beneath and his jeans, avoiding looking Alex in the eye.

Alex couldn't quite understand why Rich had come, after they'd lost touch and Rich's resistance to any overtures of the friendship they'd offered yesterday. Rich looked as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof, despite the chilly winter sun.

"Er... I er, ah... I don't know how to say this." Rich couldn't look at Alex, his eyes drifted around the garden.

"Look... I'm sorry for yesterday, not answering your calls, emails and texts..."

"Hey, that's okay, you're here now." Alex answered, hoping some positivity may encourage more from his old friend.

"Ahh, er. I miss you both and Mike... Ah, er, Vicky, especially."

Alex wanted to reply but preferred to leave a pregnant pause in the air, hoping Rich would feel he had to fill the void. Just as the pause got to the point it became embarrassing, Rich broke it.

"I've been struggling with depression."

Rich glanced back at Alex, now meeting his surprised gaze, as his shoulders lowered in relief.

"There, I've said it. Do your worst."

Rich cowered in the chair, shrinking back, as if expecting Alex to assault him.

"Why would you say that? I've always been your friend. Depression is a terrible thing Rich, it explains a few things, but pushing us away when we could help hasn't been the best route to take."

"I know, but... It's hard enough admitting it to myself, let alone others. It was easier to ignore you and push you away. Late last year, a guy I flipped burgers with realised. He'd struggled with his own depression and gave me a contact in a self-help group. It took me ages to reach out to them, but I've been going for a few weeks now and they've helped."

"But Rich, you've ignored my attempts to contact you for years. This hasn't happened overnight."

Rich averted his eyes again, coughed, and tried to settle deeper into the not-so-forgiving chair.

"That first year at uni. You were full of your apprenticeship and... Mum kept harping on at how well Vicky was doing, and that I should be in the higher grades, whilst I was failing fast. The subjects were so much tougher than at college. We had to research everything on your own. I just couldn't piece it all together. Everyone else was partying whilst coming back with top marks whilst I struggled to scrape through. By half way through, lecturers were warning me to do extra, but there was nothing more I could give."

Rich looked as if he had ants in his pants now, fidgeting, uncomfortable with his confession. His eyes still couldn't maintain contact with Alex.

"Couldn't the uni could help after all their wellness overtures we heard at college? Wasn't there anyone to turn to for support or help?"

"I tried, but it was all just for show. You're an adult now and have to stand on your own two feet, were the overtones I heard. No one helped with the real problem."

Rich lowered his eyes at his last statement. As if he'd admitted to murder. Alex realised his academic performance was only part of the problem.

"So what was it? Your flat mates, the halls? The other students?"

"A bit of everything but... Can you remember Phil Mitching from College?"

"That twat, yeah."

"He visited his mates at the Uni quite early on and the old taunts about Mike restarted."

"Yeah, but you know he's a twat. Couldn't you just ignored it?"

Rich's gaze turned to Alex, boring into him.

"Not without you there. I never realised how much you bolstered and supported Mike throughout college until then. On my own, with no one who knew me. Even after he left, they kept up the taunts. Saying I'd caught a disease from my cross-dressing sister."

"The Uni should have supported you."

"Ha, you'd think, wouldn't you? But, no... I'm not gay, so it's not homo-phobic in their eyes and part of the students' union was involved, so they closed ranks. I even went to the LGBTQ+ community, but it made things worse. When they found out, their efforts redoubled, spreading all kinds of rumours around."

Rich clammed up as he heard the back door open and close as Brian came out with three mugs. He'd picked up on the tension and looked as nervous as Rich had earlier.

"I hope you're alright with tea, Rich?"

"Er, yeah, that'll be fine, thanks."

Brian put two of the mugs down.

"I'll carry on with your car, Alex. You two sit and finish your tea."

"Cheers dad."

"Thanks, Mr Fisher."

"Brian will do, Rich. You don't have to be on ceremony."

"Er, okay, thanks Brian."

Brian returned out to the drive and Alex's car, still up on the car ramps. As the gate slammed shut Alex, looked back at Rich, who now cupped the mug of tea to warm his hands.

"Okay, so you dropped out of uni and came home. Things should have been okay afterwards?"

Rich blush and his eyes dropped, pausing as he took a sample sip from his tea, wincing as the scolding liquid touched his lips but kept the mug held high, as if protecting him.

"You have met my mum, haven't you?"

Alex cringed, knowing how much aggravation Amanda had given Vicky.

"As soon as I came back, that's all I heard. How hard Vicky's worked, how successful she is, how she's had a promotion. All she's done is preach to me about Vicky, and why can't I do the same?"

"Ahh, I can see how that would grind your gears."

"Grind them? Smash them to pieces. The one thing I don't want to do is follow Mike."

Rich used Vicky's old name to drive home which direction he wouldn't follow her.

"But there are opportunities here. There're loads of jobs here in Bristol."

Rich tried to shrink further into the chair, blushing harder than before, as Alex realised he shouldn't push too hard after Rich had already admitted to being depressed. It was now Alex's turn to sip his tea, to give Rich time to respond, or at least to back off a little.

Rich lowered his drink.

"Yeah, because it's that easy. Despite mum nagging away at me, night and day. She's always harping away as to why I can't be like Vicky?"

Alex's phone in his pocket vibrated. He placed his mug down on the table and pulled his phone out, hoping it was Vicky on her way back so she could talk with Rich. This thumb swiped the screen into play and he saw the text from the auto-parts shop they'd been waiting for. He opened the text, checking that all the parts were ready for collection.

"I've got to pick up some parts we ordered. Do you fancy coming with me?"

Rich pondered for a while, then smiled and nodded.

"Okay, drink up."

Alex sipped as much of his mug as he dared, got up.

"I'll let dad know. We'll take his car."

Alex walked through the gate into the drive, where his dad was pouring oil into the engine.

"Dad, the ball joints and brake pads are ready for collection. I'll use your car, as they need my credit card as proof."

"Ok. We're about done here, so with those bits, we'll be finished before dinner."

Alex turned, sipped as much as he could from his mug as he could, as he returned to Rich, who was now standing, trying to finish his tea.

"Come on, we'll return these to the kitchen and make a move."

Rich followed Alex into the house, both glad of the extra warmth, and placed their mugs on the sideboard as Alex struggled out of his overalls. Once free, Alex grabbed a set of keys off the table and lead Rich back outside, through the gate to a car out the front.

Once sat in the passenger seat of the car, with Alex concentrating on driving, Rich opened up, talking to the windscreen. He explained about his depression, how he felt trapped, as a failure, whilst almost taunted by his mother about Vicky's success.

Alex wound his way through the busy Saturday shopping traffic whilst absorbing Rich's confessions. Where ever possible, he gave neutral comments, to confirm to his passenger that he was listening.

The heavy traffic slowed them to a crawl and Rich soon ran out of puff. Alex didn't want to press his old friend, so held the silence as they both listened to the radio. Out of the blue, the traffic sped up, then a pedestrian leapt out of nowhere, causing Alex to swerve and slam on the brakes.

The pedestrian maintained his focus on his phone, unaware of the confusion raging around him as other cars braked and honked their horns. Both Alex and Rich shouted expletives inside the car, as with the road clear, Alex drove on.

The pair shouted their frustration at the idiot who almost caused an accident. They both laughed at their anger, as they heard themselves, reminding them both of their previous friendship. Halted by a red light, Alex had time to look at Rich and the years of separation slipped away and they began where they left off almost six years ago.

They filled the rest of the journey with more random discussions and jokes reminiscent of their conversations in the distant past. Once parked outside the auto-part trade counter, Alex went in, leaving Rich sat in the car. It didn't take long for him to emerge with a few boxes and a receipt to deposit them in the boot.

For the return trip, Alex used a more indirect route to avoid the busy Saturday traffic. The longer journey gave them a chance to continue in their old routine. The pair chuckled at their ability to remember Monty Python scripts as they arrived back at Alex's parents' house. After Alex parked and switched off the engine, Rich asked.

"Er, are you visiting Vicky next weekend?"

Alex was unsure of which answer Rich was hoping for, but he couldn't lie.

"Yes. A friend of ours is coming to stay at Vicky's and Vick's got a weekend of partying and shopping lined up for her. Why?"

"Ah, never mind."

"Hey, no, what were you going to ask?"

"Dad's been pestering me to visit him for the weekend. Next Saturday, Harlequins are playing Exeter and he'll be able to get us tickets, if you're interested."

Alex turned to Rich and could see the hope in his eyes.

"What, and miss the chance of seeing those two play? You've got me, mate. The girls will only be shopping during the day, so you've rescued me from endless clothes shops, changing rooms and carrying bags."

"You sure?"

"Hell, yeah. Look, you could join us on Saturday night. Karen's your type, large up top and scatty."

"Er, no offence, but I don't think I need to get involved in any of Vicky's friends."

Alex caught the inflection in his voice as he said 'friends', knowing full well what his doubts were.

"Ahh, it's okay, Karen's straight as a die. We met her last weekend at the ski show. She worked on the stand with us. Someone had warned her, one of us wore women's clothes and because I had Vicky's shoes in my bags, she thought it was me!"

"Ha ha. Serves you right. So she's straight?"

"Yeah, hang on, I've got a few pics of her at the show."

Alex dug his phone out of his pocket and flicked through the screens. Once he found the right photo, he showed Rich the screen and his eyes bulged, appreciating Karen's shapely body, as Alex expected.

"Phworrr, you're not half joking, are you? Those melons are just bursting out of her blouse."

Alex chuckled.

"And she's straight?"

"Yup. Crap dancer, so she'll make you look great!"

"Fuck off, ha ha."

"After the match, you could come back to Vicky's with me and we'll all go out together. There'll be room enough to crash at Vicky's Saturday night."

"Mmm, not so sure, but it sounds good. But I'm not sure if Vicky would agree."

"You're joking. She's told me several times she wanted you to visit her. Look, I've got to push on and help dad fit these ball joints and a couple of brake pads. Why don't you sit and watch TV, wait for Vicky to come home. Regardless of whether she's had a bad time with your mum, she'll be pleased to see you."

"Ahh, do you think?"

Rich rubbed his nose that still looked raw and swollen after Vicky punched it yesterday.

"She'll forgot and forgive that, if she finds you here to talk to, even if she's wound up."

"The way they were arguing last night, I don't think Steve will be an issue."

"Now that is good news and I'm sure it'll cheer Vicky up."

"Ha ha, he is an arse, or I should say was."

"Come on."

Alex pocketed his phone and got out of the car. Rich joined him and helped carry the parts to the garage, leaving Alex's hands free to lock it behind them. Alex's car was already off the ramps with the near side front corner jacked up and the wheel off.

"Got it all ready."

Brian announced as the pair walked up the drive and into the open garage. Alex took the boxes off Rich and deposited them in one of the few bare patches of floor.

"It's okay if Rich hangs around until Vicky returns with mum, inside isn't it, dad?"

"Yeah, of course."

Alex smiled at Rich, knowing he couldn't back down now and lead him into the kitchen and into the lounge, showing him the TV remote. After a brief struggle to pull back on his overalls, he returned outside and began replacing the ball joint.