Dragon Knights Fan Fiction ❯ My Immortal ❯ UnderCover ( Chapter 13 )

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

Disclaimer: I totally own it. Complete and utter pwnage. Definitely. You believe me, right?

AN: Yes, it's true! I didn't die! Heh. Now let's see how many of you remember me, lol... Oh, wow. It's been about two months, hasn't it? Wow o.o (grovels) I'm really sorry about that; I really am. But if it's any consolation, I've been using (some of) the time constructively for a change—the wonderful Leeayre is now my beta, and because of her this chapter got four whole new scenes (as if it wasn't long enough already, heh). Please don't blame her for the wait—she didn't tell me to write that much, for one thing—in some cases, at least, she brought to my attention things that had already kind of been bugging me, but which I would have been way too lazy to fix without being prodded to xD She's an insightful, encouraging, and ever so very patient beta, and I definitely feel like this chapter is way better thanks to her help. Everybody should go read her DK story and leave her worshipful reviews! Hee... (end gushfest) On another note (almost forgot to mention this o_o): warning, there's another lemon in this chapter :) But, you know, if you're still reading after the first one, you probably aren't too bothered, right...? Okay, now I better gush over my reviewers for a bit instead. I hope some of you are still waiting after all this time T.T

Chizz-muffinChik: First of all, yay, I'm glad you liked the lemon (heart heart) Secondly... I'm sorry Rath broiled your lobster xDD But don't worry, I don't think things are going to be quite as bad as you were thinking... not in this chapter anyway, (cackle)... Sorry for the wait!

Sarehptar: Well, it's been about a month and a half, but I'm sure you can remember everything you wrote me xD Ha, you didn't expect a lemon by chapter 11? Waiting that long's a major achievement for me! (I'm sure I'll grow out of it one of these days ^^;) But in any case, it makes me probably more proud than I deserve to be that you managed to like it in spite of the “squick!” factor (and the Celine Dion; that makes me giggle). Aw, I'm sorry I didn't show as much of Lykouleon and Raseleane's reactions as you would've liked—chronic laziness, y'know—but hopefully this chapter will make you feel a bit better; thanks to Leearye, it at least contains a detailed account of Rune's reaction to Rath being a vampire :) And other stuff picking on Runey-kun, too... Also, I'm glad you liked all the spontaneity; that chapter really had a lot, didn't it? And I'm not just talking about the things the characters did, either; the car thing was totally spur-of-the-moment xD It's pretty embarrassing, though, that Rath's attempted suicide was not my idea at all (I knew that Kharl needed to turn him into a vampire during that chapter somehow but had no idea how until I talked to BulmaWannabe, sweatdrop), when it's so in-character for him... Hmm... yeah, I know that last scene was kind of lacking. In my laziness I decided that I didn't want to try and find a non-cliché way to write it in a normal, descriptive manner, so I decided to try and create a kind of hazy, almost dream-like atmosphere... but, thanks to my laziness, I don't think I conveyed that very well ^^; Hmph; that's something I really want to write, too... But luckily I'll have another chance next chapter! (cackle) Assuming I don't go with Leeayre's other idea, anyway... hmm... But okay, enough rambling, I want to be able to post this tonight xD

Turtle Kid: Well, I'm pretty sure I set a record with this chapter xD I hope you haven't forgotten this silly little story... Hey, have you read offbeat 2 yet? I love that series; it sucks so bad having to wait so long... but oh well; I can catch up on my twenty-odd other series while I'm waiting, sweatdrop. Also, I'm glad you don't think it's too over-dramatic :) Ha, my beta told me I shouldn't worry so much about the drama, but I can't help it...

Raven of Darkness Shadows: Ah! You were the one who wanted me to read your original fiction, right? I read the first few chapters of Beautifully Alone (did I review? I don't even remember o_o) but then I just... got busy...? Oi T.T I'll get back to that sometime... the fact that I can still remember is a good sign, right...? Sweatdrop, but anyway. I'm glad you liked the chapters! And don't worry, I know how school goes, I'm just glad you came back :)

Dark Angel Rath: Heh, another person who didn't like the last scene T.T Like I said to Sarehptar, I was kind of trying to go for a hazy, dream-like feel... but, because of my chronic laziness, it didn't quite work -.-; Oh well—that kind of thing is something that I really want to write, so next time I'll put some effort into it. Maybe I'll find a way to work the fangs in too, hee. Thank you for being honest :) And don't worry, this couple has gotten way too cute to go and make them all angsty now! In fact, this chapter pretty much contains nothing but meaningless fluff, (heart heart). ...(whispers): But don't get used to it, mwuoha...

Ronin-N-Gang: Oh, whee, thanks for the story! I'd forgotten about that until just now; I'd better go read it xD (And I just read Saiyuki Reload 4-6, so I'm all re-obsessed). Hee... I'm glad you liked the mushiness and all ;) And I'm sorry it was so sad... well, I'm not really, it was supposed to be after all xD Don't worry though, it'll get better this chapter! Ah—and, as for Rune and Thatz... well, he winds up having to try very hard not to kill Rune in the last chapter, at least for a minute or two. (cackle) But that's just two chapters away now, so I'm sure you'll be reading all about it in a year or two!

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Chapter Thirteen: UnderCover

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Dawn always came eventually. From the couch Kharl watched Rath watching for the first signs of brightening in the sky. For nearly an hour the boy had paced from one end of the living room to the other, and Kharl had grown exhausted just watching him—now, though, he was still, and his dark form silhouetted by the streetlights put Kharl in mind of some kind of reverse gargoyle, waiting to be unfrozen by the sunrise...

Though Rath had been up and about for several hours, they hadn't really said much to each other. Dawn always came eventually, Kharl wanted to tell him, but he was too tired to break that silence.

A single chime rang out to announce the hour from somewhere in the chaos of refuse—seven o'clock, Kharl knew, because he could see pink clouds around Rath's shoulder. He managed to sit up, and after another moment hauled himself to his feet. “I'd better get breakfast started-”

Somehow Rath was there, grasping his elbow. Fast, Kharl thought, -well, of course... “This isn't going to be like before, right?” he mumbled in the general direction of the carpet.

His fangs, Kharl noted, gave him a slight lisp, rather like someone who'd just gotten a tongue ring. He chuckled, strangely relieved. “I wouldn't have even thought of leaving you if it was, darling.” Rath bared the aforementioned fangs to voice his distaste, but nevertheless did not relinquish his hold on Kharl's elbow.

That touch—he was so hypersensitive right now that even just Rath's hand on his sleeve was enough to make his skin tingle. Just another way in which Turning a human was worse than killing them, Kharl though wryly—and yet he even dared to wrap his arms fully around Rath and pull him close. The sun would be completely up in just a few moments, after all. Rath exhaled, and Kharl could sense his breath brushing over his chest.

The Change back was so anticlimactic that it left Rath raising an eyebrow in surprise. Wings that had previously seemed quite real when ripping free of his skin now dispersed like fog, and it was almost disappointing to return to perceiving the world through the vague suggestions that were all human eyes and ears could give him. Nevertheless, he distinctly heard Kharl breathe a sigh of relief. The man touched his back through one of the long rips in his t-shirt, and smiled. “You're going to need a whole new wardrobe.”

“Hmm, yeah... but not from wherever you shop.”

Kharl just rolled his eyes. “Breakfast,” he said. “I think you'll find that pancakes are every bit as appealing as they've ever been, during the day.”

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Kharl cooked, and Rath lounged at the kitchen table with his head thrown over the chair back. Maybe it was just paranoia, but Kharl thought he sensed a routine in the making. He wondered if the boy had ever cooked a meal in his life.

“Coffee?” he offered as he poured himself a mug.

“Naw.” Rath sat upright at the sound of a plate being set in front of him, and Kharl saw he was smiling. “I'm actually not sleepy at all. So I guess I'll never have to worry about not being a `morning person' again, huh?” Kharl shrugged his agreement, sipping his drink. Rath nodded to himself. “And I definitely can't go home now... so that means no more school.” He grinned wider, but Kharl scoffed.

“I wouldn't be so sure of that. Do you have any idea how many doctorates I've gotten, just for something to do? Not that they're that helpful, mind you, I can't very well put a degree from 1873 on my résumé...”

Rath didn't reply to that, and seemed to become preoccupied with his scrambled eggs for the next few minutes. Eventually he said, avoiding eye contact: “So I guess it's like that every night?”

Kharl took another drink before answering. “'Fraid so,” he said absently. “I told you, didn't I?”

Rath snorted. “Okay, okay... you're pissed at me, I get it.” Kharl sputtered into his coffee mug, but Rath ignored him and continued. “And yeah, you told me.” He smiled cheerfully. “The Council's gonna kick your ass, you know.”

Kharl couldn't help but flinch. “Ah, hmm... Well, I expect I should come out fairly unscathed. The current leader is a close old friend of mine, and at least this absolves my previous crime of letting a mortal see my true form...” He eyed Rath disparagingly. “Though, technically, we're supposed to kill any mortals who see us, not Turn them. I instituted that rule myself, because it was more humane.”

Rath glowered at him. “Hey, stop trying to tell me that I made a mistake now that I can't do anything about it, okay? You're just bitter. Let it go.” He smirked. “Take me clubbing.”

Kharl's expression softened at that. “Okay,” he assented. “But not tonight. I think it would be best if you just stayed in the next few weeks, to get used to it.”

Rath shrugged, and spoke with his mouth full: “Yeah, 'tever. Don't forget.”

The rest of the meal passed in a moderately comfortable silence. Afterwards, Rath made himself at home with his feet up on the table, and Kharl did the dishes. He was busily contemplating the middle distance, wondering just what he would say to Tetheus, anyway, when suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around his waist from behind. “I'm sorry,” Rath grumbled into his shoulder. “I did it for you, though.”

Kharl smiled. “You think that makes me feel better?” he said, but teasingly. He turned around to press a firm kiss to the boy's lips, and he tasted wonderfully like pancake syrup, so they kissed for a very long time.

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Rath had meant to call Rune first thing after breakfast, really, but in the end he wasn't able to get around to it until after Kharl had left for his new tutoring job. He was a bit surprised that the witch hadn't called the house already, and he couldn't help but worry if maybe Rune just hadn't wanted to talk to Kharl.

When he picked up on the fifth ring, Rune's `hello?' sounded rather stressed, but that was normal. “Hi,” Rath said tentatively.

“Rath!” He had to admit he was pleased by how enthusiastic the other boy sounded. “My god... where are you? You're at Kharl's house, aren't you?”

Rath laughed. “Yeah.”

“That's what I thought. I've already been placing some basic veils over the house—even if you weren't there, I knew Kharl would be the number-one suspect, so I did it as a favor—but if you really are, I think I'd better do a little memory modification on everybody on the block, at the least. Hmm... damn, and I'll have to do something about that girl Kharl's tutoring—her whole family...” Rune's voice trailed off, to be replaced by the sound of frantically turning pages.

Rath gaped like a carp. “Y-you mean my parents have already called the cops?”

“Well, you have been gone for slightly over twenty-four hours now,” Rune said distractedly. “And for all they know you could have left of your own free will, or Kharl could have kidnapped you, or some unrelated third party might be holding you for ransom, or who knows what else... Though to be technical, no, they haven't called the police—yet—they've just hired detectives so far. They'll want to avoid a big media stink if at all possible, don't you think?”

Rath had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. “Well, yeah, I guess so...”

“But at least you've been lucky on one front. The very fact that Kharl's a vampire has called for covering his tracks—for one thing, it makes people a lot less likely to realize that he should've died a couple millennia ago—so your parents don't even have his home address. About all I really need to do is modify the memories of anyone who's likely to have seen him often enough to remember him...” He trailed off vaguely again, and gave a sigh that implied that his flippant choice of words might have been rather misleading.

“You're... sure you don't mind helping us out? We'd probably be safe if we left the country...”

“Don't be silly,” Rune scoffed. “I'm indebted to Kharl, and you're my best friend.”

Rath beamed. “Oh, I'm glad. So, would you mind doing one other thing for me?”

There was a long silence, but the sound that broke it was merely that of a book being slammed shut. “What?” Rune sighed.

“Well... I kind of left all my stuff at the mansion, you know...”

“God, no!” Rune groaned. “You can't tell me you expect me to shift through that pit, no-”

“You can teleport and stuff, you're the only one who can do it!” he begged. “Just get my CDs! And my posters, I don't think Kharl would mind... And some clothes, I guess.”

“You `guess'...? Is that it?”

“Well, if you happen to see any of my mangas-”

“Forget I asked.”

“Hey, you give me a straight-line like that, and-”

“I'm just going to hang up now-”

Rath abruptly paled. “Wait. I, um—I haven't actually told you what I called to say.”

“Oh?”

He would have laughed at the irony of it all, if only it had all been happening to someone else. From the guarded way Rune spoke, he might actually have been waiting for this the whole time. “Um. Well... I'm a vampire.”

“Oh.”

After a little while, Rune managed a weak chuckle. “Oh. Is that so. Hmm.” He sighed, and cradled his face in his free hand. “Shit, he really did it?”

Rath, who didn't think he'd ever heard Rune swear before, felt very solemn. “He couldn't resist me,” he said, but the humor was dry.

“Oh. Well... Is he okay?”

Rath choked on air. “Gee, I love you too.”

Rune grimaced. “Sorry. I was just thinking, I've heard what it's like after Turning someone, how hard it is to keep from doing it again or going on a killing spree. I hope you never have to go through that... And also,” he added, softer, “he must be feeling pretty bad about it, don't you think?”

Rath rolled his eyes. Well, he really shouldn't have been expecting to get much sympathy from someone who was also immortal, should he have...? “Oh, he'll be fine,” he said confidently. “He knows he only did what he had to. Really... I'm the one who should feel guilty, you know...?”

“Oh.” Rune smiled. “That's good. Between the two of you, you should work it out...”

“No shit,” Rath agreed, though secretly he was rather comforted to know that someone else thought so too. “But, hey—so now you know, but more importantly... are you going to get my stuff or not?”

“...would you like me to keep the cops away from your house, or not?”

“Please?”

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During the next few days, Kharl stayed by Rath's side through his Changes, which the boy frankly found more comforting than he would care to say. Entirely aside from the fact that he didn't think he could possibly have handled it without Kharl's presence, it also made him hopeful—if a bit embarrassed—to see how the older vampire handled his own transformations with near-perfect composure.

On the fourth night, as Rath was still hastily gulping down his second or third cup of blood, Kharl observed him thoughtfully. “You know, you're really handling this a lot better all ready.”

“You think so?”

“Yes, definitely...” Kharl smiled. “What would you like to learn tonight?”

“To fly,” Rath answered, almost before Kharl was done speaking.

“Oh, of course. I'm beginning to wonder why I ask. I suppose you always have been obnoxiously precocious...”

Rath snuck a glance at him. “Is that like a `yes'?”

“Heh. Well, I guess you need to learn sometime soon-” Rath nodded eagerly, and Kharl rolled his eyes, “-have another drink, then, and let's go.”

Soon in to his stay, Rath had discovered that Kharl was obviously an outdoorsy sort of person who was just as comfortable in his yard as he was in his house. That was to say, it was obvious that he spent a lot of time there: it contained a rusty grill; a collection of shovels, rakes, and pick-axes; a partially inflated swimming pool; a variety of lawn furniture; concrete blocks; a collapsed shed; a messy garden—and so on. It did not contain a lawn mower, but hardly any grass managed to grow in between all the junk anyway.

Rath allowed himself a moment to just gape—though this wasn't the first time he'd seen it, he still found it a bit awe-inspiring. “Have you ever been forced to move just to escape your own mess...?”

“What a ridiculous thing to ask. Of course I have. And like you can talk, anyway...”

“Oh, I don't know—this is really a pretty humbling experience for me. I've realized that I still have a lot to learn about the fine art of being a slob...” Rath grinned. “But anyway, how should I start?”

“...being dropped from a great height might teach you a thing or two...” Rath choked back a laugh, and Kharl had to grin too. “Hey, you think I'm joking? It might work, and it's not like you can actually die... But I suppose we should probably try out some less potentially painful possibilities first.”

“How considerate.”

“I try.” Kharl seemed to grow more serious then, however. “Of course, it's not quite as simple as just flapping your wings around. Your wingspan isn't much greater than an eagle's—but not only is your body larger; your bone structure is much heavier. Naturally there is some magic involved, but it's purely instinctive. You already have everything you need; you just need to find it...” He smiled, and gestured up. “Look. I suppose they're not nearly as impressive when they're dimmed by the city's light pollution—but even as a human, I'm sure you had the desire to reach them. It was just an ordinary human who first set foot on the moon, after all.”

Rath stared up. “Sure, they're pretty,” he agreed, and flapped his wings a little. “These're heavy,” he added doubtfully.

“Even the stars aren't enough motivation for you?” Kharl laughed, and with a few lazy flaps rose a few feet above the ground. “I think you're just doubting yourself... Haven't you ever had a dream about flying? I want you to remember what that felt like, but I don't want you to think too hard about it. It's just like jumping from some high place—the more you think about it, the harder it gets.”

Rath watched as Kharl rose in a slow spiral to the tops of the two trees in his yard. He was ignoring him now, just waiting for him to figure it out himself; some help that was. Well...

Of course he'd had dreams about flying. He figured pretty much everybody had. It'd been a while, though. He scrunched his eyes shut, and recalled with difficulty a feeling of weightlessness and moving with the wind-

“Open your eyes,” Kharl scolded, though he sounded amused.

“Hey, shut up, I think it-” Rath started, and then stopped abruptly. For just a moment he was hovering perhaps four feet off the ground—but then he was returning to the ground in a most undignified and painful fashion. Laughter floated down to him.

“That's a great start; don't give up now,” Kharl cajoled, as Rath sat and glowered upward. “Come on. As soon as you master this, I'll teach you how to hide in the shadows—and then I can take you dancing.”

Rath grinned a little at that. “Ballroom dancing, probably,” he accused, but stood anyway. He didn't want to keep Kharl waiting, after all—and he wasn't too happy about the man all of a sudden being better than him at everything, either. He breathed in, closed his eyes for just a moment, and finally flew.

It really was just like his dreams; as soon as his feet left the ground, he seemed to weigh nothing. His wings already seemed to know how to angle to catch the wind, and he made it up to where Kharl was without hardly having to think about it—he was overcome with laughter by the time he got there, and grabbed on to the older vampire's hands for fear of losing his concentration.

Kharl smiled fondly at him. “I personally can't imagine how you made it through the first seventeen years of your life,” he commented. “Can you?”

“No way... It feels like I could just be blown away.” Rath grinned hugely. “And the view is great!”

Kharl glanced down at their clasped hands, and shook his head in wry humor. “You know, I think I must still be affected from Turning you.” Rath looked sharply over at him. “I thought I was getting...” Whatever else he had had to say, however, faded into an absent-minded mumble, as his mouth became otherwise occupied.

“Rath...”

“Hnn...”

“...you're sinking.”

Rath let out a terrified yelp and managed to latch on to the other man's arm just in time. In a display of inhuman ease, Kharl gathered him up bridal style, and began to lower them both back to the earth in a more controlled fashion.

“Sorry; my fault,” he said, but the mischievous glint in his eyes did not go unnoticed. Rath blushed, which made him even more annoyed. “Perhaps we should practice this for a few nights, all the same—but this is an excellent start.”

“Okay...” Rath eyed the ground—which was now about four or five feet below him. He squirmed a bit, and glared. “Put me down!”

Kharl chuckled amiably. “Oh, right, sorry,” he said, and dumped the boy unceremoniously into the dirt.

“You fuc-”

Tragically, Rath was unable to finish his sentence, what with Kharl kneeling over him and kissing him. He also wondered if perhaps Kharl hadn't quite recovered yet... but then he wondered if maybe the man was just proud of him. He decided that, if the latter was the case, he might as well let him show his appreciation.

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When Kharl got home from tutoring several days later, he immediately sensed that Rath was not in the house. For some reason he found that this didn't bother him particularly; in fact, he just went in to his bedroom (though actually it did not have a bed) and changed in to some more comfortable clothes. When he went out to the kitchen to get a drink, he looked out the window to find Rath lounging on the back porch.

`Lounging' was definitely the appropriate word, too; he lay on his back across the length of a picnic table bench, and had draped an arm over his eyes to protect them from the late afternoon sun. “This is some of the best weather we've had so far this year, isn't it?” Kharl commented from the doorway, and Rath smiled to show he was awake, so the older man walked over to him.

“Welcome home,” he mumbled. Kharl smiled too, and sat down across the table.

“Rune would not be happy,” he said. Rath scoffed.

“Of course he would be. Rune is always happiest when he's yelling at someone.” While Kharl was considering that Rath might actually believe this, and how much that would explain about the dynamics of their friendship, Rath stretched and sat up to fix him with bleary eyes. “Anyway, you're just lucky I stayed in the yard, when it's nearly eighty out. How was the brat?”

Kharl rolled his eyes. “She's twelve years old and she doesn't like me very much. The usual.”

“You should tell her you're a kidnapper hiding from the police; that'd put her back in line.”

“Yes, but then Rune would be mad at me. Twelve year olds are far less frightening, thank you.”

Rath grinned. “Then you should just tell her you're queer. You could be great friends; you could talk about dresses and makeup-”

“-and disrespectful boyfriends-”

“...nnnh.”

“Very mature; quite the winning argument.”

The conversation petered out after that, so Rath lay his head down on his arms on the tabletop; Kharl took this as an invitation to play with his hair. The sun was warm on his back, and he found it quite shocking to realize that—had it not been for that brief and silly exchange—he might have been genuinely irritated over his young student...

“What would you like to do tonight?”

“Well, I want to go somewhere...”

“Alright.”

Rath glanced up at him. “What? Really?”

Kharl beamed. “Well, I don't want you to start climbing the walls.” He squinted over Rath's head. “But I think we need to go back in for just a little while; the sun is setting.”

Only the pain of his Change could temporarily dampen his excitement—but it had already returned several times over by the time Kharl lead him out to the back yard. “Is it really safe to fly out of here?” he asked hopefully; Kharl chuckled.

“Of course. We just have to go really high, really fast-” he took Rath's hand in his own, “-don't fall behind.” Rath merely grinned.

Kharl had not yet let him fly higher than the tree in his back yard, so the sight of the city lights rather took Rath's breath away. Kharl smiled at his awed look. "I know they're beautiful," he called over the strong wind that blew relentlessly up where they were, "but they're not for you. Come on..."

The amazing sight only served to increase Rath's disappointment at the back alley door Kharl eventually lead them to; the black-haired boy gaped openly. The door was half blocked with the big green kind of garbage bin, and a small gray sign announced it as 'UnderCover' in plain white letters - a far cry from the neon lights on the main street. It looked for all the world like some place's back door, but when Kharl opened it, it became apparent that it was not.

It wasn't a particularly fashionable night club—you could see, for one thing—but there was rock music playing, and the small dance floor was comfortably packed. The other major difference that set it apart from other clubs, of course, was that every person there, patron or staff, bore jet wings. Kharl set a course for the bar and Rath followed, but halfway there they were stopped by someone calling Kharl's name. Rath watched with guarded interest as Kharl beamed at the young girl who sauntered over. She was decked out in an elaborate cybergoth outfit in neon colors, and looked about seven years too young to be in a bar of any type...

"Lim!" Kharl said with obvious affection. "I didn't know you were in Japan."

She smirked. "With the uproar you've been causing, how could I stay away? I had to find out if it was really true. I'm glad I came, too—guess who I have now!"

"Who?" Kharl asked, clearly more used to the girl's eccentricities than Rath was.

"Your witch!" Kharl arched an eyebrow at that. "Well, he's got some kind of past—when I met him, he said he'd never been to one of these places before—he doesn't really like us too much. But I'll get him."

"Excuse me?" Rath managed to get in, a bit red in the face. "His witch...?"

"Well, I did discover him," Kharl assured him. Lim clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Shit!" she exclaimed. "Is this that boy? The one you Turned, really? I hear Tetheus had a fit... He's the first one anyone's Turned in a century, you know."

Kharl rolled his eyes. "So they keep telling me..."

Lim beamed. "Well, hey - 'Fakcy! Lord Kharl's here, and guess who he brought!"

After a moment, a male vampire, equally shocking in his similarly child-like appearance, disentangled himself from the crowd. As soon as he saw Kharl, he scowled. "Bastard!" he greeted loudly. "You could've at least written-" Kharl bowed his head in an ironic parody of shame, and the boy bared needle-sharp teeth—it took Rath a moment to realize that the expression was a grin. "Gawd, you're as stupid as ever, huh? Bringing him here already—they say you just did him a week ago!"

Rath grimaced to himself at the way the innuendo of the phrase made his cheeks color—though he was startled to see that Kharl's cheeks looked a little pink too... The elder vampire managed to keep his composure, however, grinning dryly back. "It's nice to see you again, Garfakcy. It's impossible to keep anything low-key around here, isn't it?"

Garfakcy nodded matter-of-factly, and then looked Rath up and down in a way that made him want to squirm, though he glowered instead. The boy smirked evilly at him, and glanced back at Kharl. "So—you two are getting along alright? 'Cus he seems pretty old for your tastes..." He and Lim snickered together, and Rath blanched. That earlier remark—the double meaning had been purely imagined, right...? He glanced at Kharl for confirmation, and found him squinting awkwardly at the ceiling.

"Ah-" Kharl cleared his throat, and turned his attention back to the two children. "You two," he said sternly, "are imps. Be gone from my sight. Don't worry, we'll probably be back before the end of the week..." Still sniggering—'Fakcy stuck his tongue out, and Lim sneered—the two melted back into the throng. Kharl took them the rest of the way to the bar before allowing himself to be engaged in any further conversation, though the longer Rath festered the more questions he thought up.

He turned to the older man as soon as they'd gotten seated, mouth open, but then the damn bastard had the nerve to smile at him... Rath shut his mouth, sighed in disgust, and settled for: "How old are those two, really? How long have you known them?"

Kharl studied a light fixture in deep thought. "Hmm... 'Fakcy is from sometime in the Medieval Era, I wouldn't be able to remember the exact date to save my life but maybe he could... Lim Kaanna is a lot younger—she was one of the last vampires ever Turned." He smiled a little, and fell to examining the peculiar pattern of stains on the bar instead. "In each case, I've known them for as long," he admitted. Rath made the connection almost instantly, and glared black death to mask the sickness in his stomach.

No, damn him—he couldn't help it—he was inviting this conversation. 'There goes this evening,' he mused, even as he blurted out: "So you Turned them, then?"

Kharl merely shrugged. "Guilty as charged," he said easily. Drinks were set in front of them, and the man sipped his demurely while Rath secretly seethed. Unvoiced accusations raced through his head like squirrels, stopping only long enough to bury seeds of deceit... He was so caught up in the merry-go-round in his mind that he didn't notice Kharl studying him, until the elder vampire hummed rather loudly to himself.

"Ah, yes, how very astute of you—they were my lovers. That was what you were thinking, right?"

Rath sputtered and died, and then gave up and just stared coldly, waiting for an explanation. Kharl sighed, and folded his hands primly in his lap, looking like some morbid parody of his day job. "Now, Rath, don't be childish. I warned you. You know, you couldn't stay a virgin for twenty years—I've been around for millennia... And anyway, it's been hundreds of years since Lim—twice as long since 'Fakcy-"

Rath cut him off with a growl, and turned sharply to glower into his drink. "Oh, just shut up," he snapped. Kharl arched an eyebrow.

"Honestly, now—you're a smart boy—don't tell me you didn't see this coming." He gestured in a vaguely all-encompassing fashion. "Anyway, millennia, Rath. You're going to get to meet a lot more of them..."

Rath barred his fangs. "You don't listen very well," he commented, but without any strong malice. "It's just-" He looked up, frowned doubtfully, opened his mouth, shut it and looked away again. "They... You really don't... love them anymore?"

"Of course not," Kharl assured him firmly. "Most of us get along alright, but you have to understand, they don't even have the passion to hate me for Turning them anymore..."

"That's the problem!" he exploded, gaining one or two sideways looks. He breathed out and said, more quietly, "I mean—they're proof. That this... what we..." His eyes burned, as if daring Kharl to ask him to elaborate. Kharl just chuckled.

"Ah... that sounds awfully familiar—except that I do believe it was me arguing that side, last time..." He settled back, and smiled soothingly. "Well, you're here now; you'd probably prefer the vampires' point of view. You're really going to have to let go of those clumsy mortal ideals. Humans—for reproduction's sake—have gotten it into their heads, bless them, that the only successful relationship is one that lasts a lifetime. If something goes wrong and the relationship fails, they tend to discount all the happy memories they made along the way. And when you have so few memories..." He shook his head at his inability to comprehend. "It's all a bit sad, really."

"Easy for you to say," Rath grumbled.

Kharl smirked. "Again, I warned you." Rath suddenly downed the rest of his drink; when his hands returned to the table, Kharl covered the nearest one with one of his. Rath stared at it, but still eluded eye contact. "Anyway," he said softly, "now that there's no talking you out of it, you should know that it's not quite as bad as I made it out. Not always. The things you'll see—the people you'll meet—with this very hand, I've shaken hands with George Washington. Just try to imagine me in a powdered wig." Rath snorted, and finally looked at him out of surprise; he grinned. "Neither could I, don't worry." Rath laughed a little and shook his head; Kharl beamed suddenly. "Come—dance with me."

Rath scoffed. "To this old song? Culture move too fast for you guys?"

"We prefer to savor things," Kharl allowed. "It's not sappy, I promise."

Rath frowned a little. "Well—what would they say-?"

Kharl waved that remark off nonchalantly. "My dear, must I remind you again that these people have seen just about everything? Done just about everything, too, most of them..."

Rath grimaced as he was suddenly assaulted by unwelcome mental images; Kharl seized his moment of distraction and grabbed his hand and hauled him to his feet. Rath choked out a weak protest as he was half-dragged to the dance floor, but the words died when he got a proper look at it for the first time. So many mismatched couples... so many different dances... When they reached it, Kharl whirled to face him, hanging on to the hand he had grabbed and settling his other hand on Rath's shoulder. The black-haired boy felt painfully awkward for a moment or two—he was aware of people staring, for one thing. He had gathered by now that Kharl was fairly well-known—and it was such an old-fashioned way of dancing... He gradually loosened up, though, as he found his place in the rhythm, and realized that he couldn't actually see Kharl dancing any other way anyway.

"You lied," he said quietly. "It is sappy."

Kharl scoffed. "Oh—by your standards, I suppose. It doesn't even touch on self-mutilation or gang killings..."

Rath willed the audience into the background as he allowed his head to rest on the taller man's chest, and grinned lazily. "Pedophile," he accused.

"It was only a phase," Kharl assured him.

The conversation petered out after that, fading into softness. It should have felt really weird, Rath thought, two guys dancing with each other, but Kharl was such a lunatic to begin with that it actually seemed pretty natural... And the way he smiled down at him, so lovingly; he was almost certain that it was actually genuine for once... At the end of the song, he was struck with a powerful longing for Kharl to kiss him, 'public display' be damned, but he didn't and so they danced a few more songs. They all blended together after a time, just a small spell that somehow kept their closeness simple and affectionate—except at the pauses between, when Rath was certain that the urge got stronger every time.

After some indeterminable time, they were finally forced to submit to the vampiric version of dehydration, returning to the bar. "You exhaust me, my dear," Kharl informed him, drinking deeply. "It must be past one..." Rath's brows furrowed, barely perceptible—not so indeterminable for some people, then...? But then Kharl took his hand once again, and the red tinge around the edges of his irises made Rath's heart irrationally skip a beat. "Have you had enough clubbing for one night?" he murmured.

"Oh... yes," Rath breathed. Kharl sneered in a roguish and, Rath thought, altogether charming sort of way, and led the way to the door.

When they stepped back into the night, skirting around the dumpster, Rath was just wishing dreamily that they didn't have to fly all the way home, that Kharl would just start kissing him right here—or maybe he could get up the courage himself, for once?—when the smell hit him. It stunned him, floored him, repulsed him at the same time it called to him, haunting. Behind him, Kharl stiffened and redoubled his hold on his hand, and he only realized the purpose of the firmer grip when he suddenly found that he'd already taken two steps forward. He looked back at the older man over his shoulder, pupils dilated in agony; Kharl's lips were thinned to a stern line.

"No," he said, firmly enough to break the boy partway out of his daze. Kharl sniffed, and wrinkled his nose. "It's no threat-" he gestured curtly at the heap of limbs in ill-fitting clothing on the other side of the alley, "-it's just extremely inebriated." He frowned at the boy; Rath had started to tremble slightly. "Normally I would warn the barkeep... but perhaps we'll just leave it for someone else to clean up. The lesser of two evils—let's go." He half-pulled Rath into the air, and didn't let go of his hand until they were nearing the outskirts of the suburbs.

On landing silently in their backyard, Rath immediately fell into Kharl's arms. "Shit," he complained. "I was really going to-" He sounded merely pissed, but he was still shaking; Kharl, feeling more like a parent comforting his child than anything else, wordlessly kissed the top of his head and guided him inside.

It's not quite as bad as I made it out. Not always. Rath gave one last violent shudder, and forced himself to relax. As soon as they stepped through the door, he stopped and, when Kharl looked back at the tug on his hand, caught the older man's lips with his. The coppery taste filled his world, and he clung desperately to the front of Kharl's shirt.

"Ah," Kharl said in a breathy sigh as they pulled apart, and licked his lips. Rath's eyes were ravenous, threatening to swallow him whole. Once upon a time he'd been a seventeen-year-old boy; what had happened? He was some kind of ancient, all-powerful demon, surely... Kharl swooped his head down to kiss the boy's neck, trailing fangs feather-light and ghosting breath over his pulse point and closely observing the way Rath squirmed against the fingers on his hips.

Rath tipped his head obligingly back, eyes closed, as Kharl pressed him up against the hallway wall. Because after all, as long as they had each other, all the pain didn't matter. As long as they had each other, it didn't matter that he wasn't the first one. As long as they had each other, it didn't matter if it wasn't meant to last forever... his fingers tightened possessively in Kharl's hair as the man bent lower to nip at his collarbone—how had his shirt come open, anyway...?

Somewhere in the increasingly small portion of his mind that was still caught up in thoughts less interesting than the scent and warmth of Rath's body, Kharl wondered if it was really a good idea to be doing this right now—if they shouldn't talk about what he'd felt... But, he reasoned, perhaps Rath needed this, to ground him and to remind him of who he was. And, if it came to that, it could be that he needed it too, because the guilt that had been lingering in him over the past week was fraying the edges of his consciousness...

Rath's fingers slipped through his hair down his neck, sliding under his collar to caress his back; his claw-like nails dug sharply down as Kharl bit his nipple lightly, and Kharl hummed in pleasure. "Mmm... hurry," Rath moaned softly.

"Patience is a virtue," Kharl intoned in a whisper into his shoulder; the black-haired boy rolled his eyes.

"Been patient... all fucking night..." he gasped, as Kharl's fingers began to lazily undue his pants.

"Such a dirty mouth," Kharl chided, kissing him fondly, and then he sank to his knees before him. Rath caught one glimpse of a witty smirk, before Kharl's mouth opened and took him in.

Rath's head pitched back against the wall as he was rendered completely incapable of speaking, or screaming, or anything. He could feel the hard lengths of Kharl's fangs coming part-way down on either side of him, the points perilously close to piercing the hyper-sensitive skin; the sense of danger only served to increase the feeling that the bottom of his stomach had just dropped out. He grasped Kharl's hair with trembling hands, letting out a strangled little 'uhn!' as he began to move his mouth and cursing the beautiful man for being so obscenely perfect .

Kharl massaged Rath's base with one hand and used the other to hold his hips steady, partially to keep from being choked and partially to keep from touching himself. He'd been wanting to do this all week, and certainly was not disappointed. The taste, and the way Rath buckled and clung to him... and all that blood ... coursing through his mouth, just the thickness of skin away, it... would be so easy to... He shivered, and stood regretfully.

"Sorry," he murmured into Rath's neck. "Couldn't..." Rath gave a tormented little whimper, and he chuckled heatedly. "I want you..."

"Then hurry," Rath repeated, "damn tease."

Kharl undid his pants with difficulty - Rath's hand clenched and unclenched on his sleeve, and his own hands trembled convulsively. Finally he freed himself of the offending garment; Rath couldn't seem to wait any longer, but pulled him close and began to slide himself onto Kharl's length without any preparation. His breathing grew heavy and ragged, and when he was done he rested his head against the wall for a moment, but he recovered quickly as Kharl showered little kisses across his neck, face, and mouth.

"God," he muttered shakily, and Kharl took this as his invitation to move. Rath hooked one thin leg around his waist and Kharl, taking the hint, gripped his thighs securely; Rath brought his other leg up as well, and arched his back in pleasurable agony as the new angle allowed the older man to go deeper.

It didn't seem to take too long after that, though it was no less intense. The boy weakly traced the contours of Kharl's face, memorizing every sharp and elegant curve, and as his hands glided down his neck to clutch weakly at his shoulders, Kharl leaned in and kissed him roughly. The sight of Rath's flushed lips was intoxicating, and when the young vampire jolted and buried his face in Kharl's neck, clenching around him, he couldn't help but fall headfirst over the edge. A moment later Rath sunk his fangs deep into Kharl's neck as he found his own release; Kharl shuddered.

As the aftershocks gradually faded away, Rath withdrew his fangs carefully and rested his head against the wall away, eyes closed and breathing hard. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"You're young," Kharl muttered affectionately, and lapped at a stray trickle of blood at the corner of Rath's mouth as they sank slowly to the floor. "I'm actually very masochistic, anyway." Rath laughed weakly.

They were quiet for a little while, half-clothed and twined comfortably together on the floor. Rath very tendered licked the blood away from the wound he'd made, and Kharl petted his hair in a contented fashion. Eventually Kharl said with lazy irony: "So I suppose, all in all, you would rate this day as a success?"

"Definitely," Rath purred sleepily.

"In spite of the old drunk? And Lim and Garfakcy?"

"Oh please."

Kharl smiled, and buried his face in sweet-smelling black hair. "I'm glad. And you know... I don't want this to ever end. Never think that."

Rath tightened his grip around him reassuringly, or was it possessively? "Of course not."

Xooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooX

AN: Aw, wasn't that cute? :) And... really, really... long... (sweats) By the way, if it seemed disjointed to you, here's the spiel I gave Leeayre: Part of this chapter was written about a year ago... part of it was written more like half a year ago (I probably wrote the lemon around October or November, as I seem to recall that I was supposed to be working on my NaNoWriMo novel at the time xD)... and parts of it were written this month. Also, scene five was originally going to be scene four, and parts of scene four comes almost word for word from scene five from back when it was still going to be scene four. Also, in one case I had to splice together stuff from this month with stuff from last year into one scene, and I'm not really sure how well that went... (heart) And if your heads are still attached to your shoulders after all that, I can't wait to read your reviews! (Only two more chapters to go!)