Dragon Knights Fan Fiction ❯ My Immortal ❯ Mess ( Chapter 11 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: Hmm, I just now realized that I stopped doing these a while back... (sweats)... Look! It's the Mr. Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man! (hides)

AN: (deepest of bows) I'm so sorry for the delay! My excuses are numerous: Eragon, gaiaonline, the subsequent e-mail buildup... How long has it been? Precisely two weeks, you cry? (sweats) And after making you wait so long, all I have to offer is a chapter most appropriately named `Mess'. This thing really doesn't deserve to be termed a `chapter', I fear. All plot development grinds to a screeching halt herein; it's pretty much just about cleaning up the `mess' of the previous chapters and setting the stage for some new ones. I beg you, just think of it as an interlude -.-; I'm too lazy to actually do much about the wretched thing, so I'll just try to get the next chapter up on the double in apology... (weeps) And after ya'll left me such wonderful reviews, too!

Chizz-muffinChik: (grin) Glad you liked the fluffiness, and the twistiness. This chapter is pretty much all fluff, lol... Yes, I've always pictured Rune as being something of a drama queen; not so far off the mark, surely? Though I'm afraid we're not going to be seeing too much more of him for the rest of the story, (shuffles feet nervously) Well, no, I lie, he'll be in the last couple chapters... a little bit, heh...

DemonicStormFox: (blushie) Aw, you're a sweetheart, have a cookie. Neat and organized and well-written... (points at review) See this, everyone?! XD And, yes, Kharl/Rath is, in my opinion, God's gift to fandom (so cute! so snarky!); they're one of my favorite couples of all time, and certainly my favorite from Dragon Knights. o.o I just realized, there's at least a moderate possibility that I may have devoted more pages to these two than to any other single couple... even though I've only written two stories about them, lol...

Ronin-N-Gang: (hearts) Two reviews! Thanks :D For the review on nine: (giggle) Or, if I wanted to be authentically Japanese, he could make a giant living octopus hotdog... lol, I can see Rune rushing out like that, too - it probably would've been more in character, actually - but he did need to find that spell... (giggles some more) Hee, dream rape. Ah, but who knows if he's not doing that already...? (giggle, snort) And, I apologize for making your brain explode ;) That scene seemed to have that effect on most people, hee... As for ten: lol, making the spell not work on Kharl probably would've made a lot of sense, actually, sweatdrop. But if Rune could do that, I wouldn't have had a plot! It, erm, would've seemed too convenient, sure... (grin) Yes, poor Rath indeed. I'm afraid the poor boy's troubles have only just begun, cackle...

Yoko Jaganshi: o.o Four reviews! (huggles j00, and you get also get a cookie) lol, I love how every single person was so shocked by Runey-kun's advances, (preens) But, again, this is only the tip of the ice-berg of what I intend to put Rath through in the next few chapters ;) I love the boy, I really do, I just have a... unique... way of showing it, hee...

Vaguely Downwards: Yay, you're back! (tackleglomp) No, but, I understand this whole `things' thing. Gaiaonline springs to mind... must... resist its evil power...! Be grateful you didn't have to endure the heinous delay that brought on, heh. In other news, I'm glad you liked chapter seven :) The ending was my favorite part, too - I had so much fun with Rune's part in this story (as I'm sure you will have figured out by the time you get to this chapter, lol), and bringing him in wasn't even originally my idea... Even more, though, I'm glad you actually enjoyed the trial. I rewrote that once, and I still never was entirely satisfied with it... But I guess it's at least passable :)

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Chapter Eleven: Mess

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Years later, Kharl would uphold that performing damage control after the whole fiasco had been an adventure in of itself.

The first step, more pressing matters at hand or not, had been to explain everything to Rath. This had taken some time, and he had reacted at various times with pure shock, disbelief, angry hysterics, and sulking. Kharl was just happy to get away with minor bruises when Rath found out that he had, as Rath put it, `let himself get kissed' by Rune.

He would've expected to be more worried about Rune at that point, but Rath had merely give the blond a long and thoughtful look. And then he'd said, “Sorry.” Rune, understandably, boggled. Rath grinned awkwardly. “I mean, I'm sorry there's really nothing I can do. Other than not kicking your ass.” Rune, who knew Rath well, couldn't help but grin too.

But all that, of course, was the easy part.

The Council was - naturally - in an uproar. They were also floundering, however, without two of their most influential leaders. Some members demanded, practically foaming at the mouth, that Shydeman and Shyrendora be brought back, but the majority seemed strangely relieved... Another thing the majority appeared to agree on was that attempting to kill Kharl suddenly wasn't very interesting anymore, especially after he announce that he had a witch on his side. His final shocking act at that very memorable Council meeting was the most astonishing of all, however.

“B-But, Lord Kharl...” Tetheus stammered, an event by itself. Kharl smirked in amusement; the other vampire coughed. “Are you sure this is wise, at a time like this?” he asked softly.

“Oh, but you know what they say - no time like the present,” Kharl said airily. “And I'll be around if you need me, you know, not that I think you will.” He chuckled to himself. “I'm sure you'll make quite a competent replacement. Or at least a more popular one, at the moment.”

Tetheus scowled mildly. “Very reassuring, Lord Kharl...”

And then, just when he'd thought he'd had all the loose ends tied up, he remembered his daytime employers. He had entered the mansion on his next teaching day nervous to the point of twitching over a rather pathetic excuse involving a deceased brother-in-law, only to discover that Rath had not confined any of his concerns in his parents. He knew that he probably should have been concerned about the family's chronic communication issues, but as it was he had to admit to being relieved that he merely had to say they must have missed his memo.

And after that, Kharl rediscovered a most wonderful sensation. Though people were still quite edgy around him when he went out at night, no one was actually trying to kill him, and no one was trying to kill Rath either, and his relationship with said boy was at that delightfully tentative stage that never failed to entertain without being too angsty, and to top it all off he'd found a brilliant excuse at last to shirk all of his Council duties. Aside from still feeling the occasional craving for human blood, of course, everything seemed to be right and good in the world, and he actually dared to relax.

Considering how long he'd been around, he ought to've known better.

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Well, Kharl may have considered this to be an enjoyable stage in their relationship, but for his part, Rath was irritated. He usually was, of course, but still.

“Kharl, you know... I'm only mortal.”

Kharl looked up from his book from where he sat at his usual post by the window with a 100-percent innocent expression. “What?”

Rath sighed heavily. “Hmph. Never-mind.” He went back to his homework; Kharl frowned.

What Kharl didn't know was that, once his face was out of sight behind his Trig textbook, Rath smirked. He thought he was beginning to understand how this crazy man worked. If he approached the subject openly, Kharl would just brush it off. But this way...

“Oh, okay,” Kharl said cheerfully, and went back to his book.

Rath's fingers itched. “...I just provide you with endless amusement, don't I?” Kharl beamed at him, but decided that it was wisest not to answer.

Twitch. Okay, he won that one. Bastard. Rath sighed again, rather more genuinely annoyed this time, and resigned himself to the wait.

The problem with vampires, Rath was learning, was that they seemed to possess a never-ending resource of patience in all things. They didn't speak another word to each other until it was time for Kharl to go, each apparently absorbed in his separate activity. Finally Kharl stood, straightening his vest briskly, and hefted his bag of so-called teaching materials onto his shoulder. “Well, I guess that's it for this week,” he said pleasantly. “Until next Tuesday, then...” And with a smile, he leaned down to give Rath a quick peck on the cheek.

Rath grabbed his sleeve, and glared. “Jerk,” he accused; Kharl blinked. “You're taking me on a date this weekend.”

Kharl chuckled, deeply amused. “Oh, am I now?”

Rath nodded vehemently, despite the light awkward blush tingeing his cheeks. “Yeah, you are. You may have all eternity or whatever to take it slow, but I've only got around eighty more years, in case you forgot.”

Kharl shook his head, grinning. Refreshingly blunt as always... “Of course I'm aware of all that; I was merely surprised that you would want to do such a... `coupley' thing.”

Rath smirked. “Yeah. I wanna go to a theme park, the movies, and a fancy dinner; the works.”

“...Really?”

“No, you dork! You're taking me clubbing.”

Kharl frowned. “You realize that I wouldn't be able to go to a... `normal' bar, of course.”

“So?”

“So it's against the Codes to bring a mortal to a vampires' gathering place.”

Rath snorted. “And you doing it anyway would be surprising, at this point, to who exactly...?”

Kharl laughed. “That's `whom', dear.” And while Rath was trying to decide whether or not to be mad about the epithet, Kharl's expression softened. “But you do have a point... we'll see.” That said, he leaned down to give the boy another soft kiss, on the lips this time.

Eighty years... Rath linked his arms around Kharl's neck, and Kharl deepened the kiss, eyebrows drawing together. Oh, gods, eighty years...

Their tongues engaged in a short but heated battle; Rath rose from his chair in a clumsy attempt to win dominance, but Kharl pushed him back down and onto his desk and pulled away, grinning.

“Jerk,” Rath repeated moodily, though the effect was rather spoiled by his breathlessness and reddened lips.

“But that's why you like me,” he returned, and moved in to lap at the junction of Rath's jaw and neck. There was significantly less temptation to do something truly regrettable when he did this during the day, he noted, allowing him to concentrate more fully on the boy's salty-sweet taste... Against his better judgment, because he knew he was at least five minutes late in leaving already, he allowed one hand to skim the top of Rath's leg before coming to rest lightly on his hip, fidgeting with the hem of his ratty old AC/DC t-shirt. Rath shifted underneath him in an impatient grant of permission, so Kharl slipped his hand under the shirt to ghost his fingers across the warm, smooth skin of his stomach. Rath moaned...

“Forgive me, sir, but your father wants... wants you to... right awa...”

Rath could've sworn that everyone in the mansion probably heard the shriek that followed.

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AN: (cackle) ...I seem to do that a lot, ne? But you had to know this was coming. It's so cliché that it's practically inevitable, nervous grin. Incidentally, yes, the maid/butler/whoever may deserve to die, but I promise to make it up next chapter... (evil cackle) Incidentally, I have an important question to put to the readership regarding that chapter. Do you think... I could get away with posting a lemon here? XD Yeah, I feel kind of bad about giving it away, but at least it'll give you something to look forward to... I'm looking for a serious answer, by the way; it'll be up on Media Miner anyway, so if you guys don't think I should risk it, I'll just edit it and put up a link for the unedited version. Basically I'm just trying to get out of the extra work of editing it ;) Plus I don't want to debase my creation, sigh...