hideous thing

i'll be yours to keep || Justleigh

Justice looked more like a walrus than anything as he sat there, index fingers pointed down, his upper body bopping from side to side as he tried his best at calming his own racing heart by being immature. At Raleigh’s consent, his arms dropped and an eerie sense settled over him. He struggled to make eye contact, instead keeping his gaze fixed down at Raleigh’s neck; having the vampires eyes on his own wasn’t something unusual. He was used to the hungry stare and more often than not would tear off his clothes from it, but now the roles were reversed, he lacked the essentials, and all he could think of to do in his inebriated state was caress Raleigh’s pale skin. (And get distracted by how soft it is. That happened a lot, though.)

The main allure for trying Raleigh’s blood was down to the fact he knew it would send him even more over the edge into incoherence. That’s what he needed. From meeting Sia, the memories of Ocasia, and the phone calls with his mother back in St. A, Justice was more than happy to lose his mind and forget about it. He was actually surprised that Raleigh had said yes; although most of him had hoped for it, and counted on it since Raleigh gave him most things, it was different when it came to drugs. The vampire had always made snide remarks about ‘the pharmacy’ in his bathroom and how he tends to taste like narcotics more often than not. V was another drug, one that was easy to get addicted to, but there he was: willing to give Justice what he wanted. Like usual.

Sucking the edge of his lower lip into his mouth, the human reached for Raleigh’s arm, the nerves melting away from his expression as he forced a bravado. He pushed Raleigh’s wrist towards his own lips - where the fangs Tice loved were hiding behind - and said, “Break the skin for me.”

As soon as Raleigh gave in, a calm seemed to settle over Justice, and Raleigh could only hope that it was the impending sense of what was about to happen that was settling the hunter. Justice's gentle touch seemed to weigh heavy on Raleigh's skin, to leave a palpable trace. He could see, could feel Justice's stare on his throat, and unconsciously swallowed, a nervous habit brought back to the surface by so much time spent around the living. He felt something he could only call nervousness in the pit of his stomach, an unsettled prickling sensation.

If there was one reason not to do this, there was a thousand. Justice's addictive personality was only the beginning. There were strings here, ones that would make it even harder for them to pull apart. Raleigh was ready to completely give in to that, but was Justice?

Raleigh turned his wrist up in Justice's grip easily, offering the network of deep blue up for inspection, though Justice seemed more than ready to get the show on the road. Raleigh, on the other hand, wasn't so easily hurried.

"You realize, of course, this will bring us even closer together?" He asked, taking his own wrist in hand, thumb pressed against the inside, feeling out a spot to bite. "There's a... A bond of sorts that forms. We'll be able to find each other. Any where. Sense each other..." And he let it trail off, but there was one more side effect that Raleigh was holding back. It was a muddled, messy sort of magic, this bond between blood drinkers, and Raleigh wasn't too familiar with it himself, but he knew of rumours, of whispers that drinking directly from a vampire would give a human a sense of their emotions as well. Raleigh wondered if, when Justice could feel it, that overwhelming adoration, the deepest love that he knew he could feel, if finally Justice would believe that Raleigh truly belonged to him.

i'll be yours to keep || Justleigh

Alcohol provoked many of Justice’s internalised traits; it brought to light his childish jokes and chattiness that he’d never quite embraced when sober, whilst muddling with his head and changing his attention span in the true name of intoxication. It was a surprise he hadn’t passed out yet since he’d started drinking after his work shift at the bar the night before his birthday and had carried on until now; a warm buzz had settled under his skin and he could very well close his eyes to sleep, but there was an indescribable force keeping him from doing so, in forcing his dark gaze to stay glued to the ceiling even as Raleigh knelt beside him. Without thought, his hand reached out on reflex, fingers sliding between Raleigh’s hair in the softest caress. He felt the man freeze as the slurred words left his mouth and that prompted his head to turn, eyes finally drawing away to settle on Raleigh’s face. “You know what I mean.” he frowned.

Pulling himself up, he moved slowly and far less gracefully that he wanted, resetting his frame upright. He kept a hand on Raleigh’s shoulder, forcing the vampire to stay on the floor as he shifted to sit in front of him. The frown on his expression had turned into something of amusement as his fingertips ran up and down the vampires neck. “It’s not a big black market thing for nothing. I wanna try some — you know, some of your blood,” There was a pause before the alcohol kicked in and forced a quick remark, Justice lifted his hands and feigning fangs with his index fingers as he spoke. “It’ll be good practice for when I’m actually a vampire.”

Actually saying the words aloud caused his heart to skip a beat and fear to flicker in the depths of his eyes. Becoming a vampire for Raleigh was an eternal commitment, one that he was ready to make even though he lived with insecurities that he would one day wake up alone.

"I do." Raleigh amended, turning his head to look at Justice. He couldn't help but lean up into the soft press of Justice's fingers sifting through his hair, eyelids falling shut for the faintest second. "I just wanted to make sure you know what you're asking."

And Raleigh couldn't help if part of him was immediately angry by the question, sick, sick worry curling through him that this junkie had gotten under his skin just for this, had played him out in a long con and made him a sucker. Justice's fingers traced along the veins in his neck, a seeming mockery of Raleigh's hungry gaze on Justice's throat when he wanted to feed.

"And why sh-" And it was probably better that Raleigh was interrupted, because 'why should I do that for you' probably isn't the right thing to ever say to a significant other, to the one you love more than anything, but Raleigh couldn't help the way this situation had put him on the defensive. It was stupid and it was selfish, because Justice did this same thing for him all the time, opened veins and bared wrists.

The imagined fangs in Justice's mouth gave Raleigh pause, though, settling back on his heels as he took the words in. The loud flutter of Justice's heartbeat told Raleigh that the words hadn't been entirely intended, uttered without thought, but that Justice was now considering the implications. Raleigh was, too. Justice at his side, forever, as long as they both lived, when they could both live forever.

"Alright." He said quickly, low and almost out of breath sounding. "Alright, you can drink from me."

i'll be yours to keep || Justleigh

As they walked through the door and into the familiar house that was beginning to feel like more of a home to him than his own apartment, Justice perked up, his eyes widening to show more alert and dark orbs flicking around. “It’s not bed time, the hell Leigh,” He tutted under his breath as he straightened again, waving his legs to hint at a release and sliding down onto the floor. The previous consumption of alcohol affected his walk as he staggered forward, straying from a straight line as he - for no apparent reason - walked into the living room, humming Ed Sheeran as he did so.

The shock of Sia was still heavy in his bones, his eyes feeling glossy with the tears he’d banished before; the only hint at them was the blood shot lines on his eyeballs. His usual reaction to this was alcohol or drugs, and since it was his birthday and Raleigh would most probably let him get away with murder, he decided to ask for such things. “Hey. Sexy Italian, gedin’ere,” Falling down onto the couch, he sprawled out, legs dangling off the side as his arms stretched above his head, causing his shirt to ride up. He didn’t know whether Raleigh had approached or not, but he prattled regardless. “So I know you drink from me all the time but can we turn the tables?”

#i'm so sorry I have all these feelings #para #para:justice #ibytk para

Raleigh took the hint, let Justice slip down to the floor and turned to face him after, though the hunter seemed intent, weaving his own way forward. "I wasn't saying we would sleep, Tice." Raleigh said simply, taking a few small steps after Justice, lingering in the doorway of the living room. There was something off, Raleigh picking up on the faintest hints, something he couldn't even name telling him there was more going on than he knew. But Raleigh knew Justice's family life was complicated, assumed birthdays were a bit of a sore spot. Raleigh certainly understood. He didn't celebrate birthdays, couldn't remember his human one if he'd tried, and while he remembered the exact position of the moon in the sky and the stars surrounding the night he'd been turned (you have a lot of time to map these things out, lying in a ditch and bleeding sluggishly into the mud) he couldn't name the date. Calendars had changed so much in the time that he'd been alive, there was really no telling what his 'birthday' was. He simply counted each year, tacked it on and told himself he was better for it.

Justice's words roused him from his small worries, a smile slipping across his features. He moved to Justice's side without hesitation, kneeling by the side of the couch. He leaned over, lips inches away from grazing those inches of bared stomach when Justice's question stopped him dead.

"...What do you mean?"

i'll be yours to keep || Justleigh

"I’m just gettin’ started." Justice slurred in response before dropping his chin and nuzzling into Raleigh’s neck. His arms tightened around the vampires body as he muttered incomprehensible sentences against the mans back, muffled by the material of his shirt. Being called to attention only granted a grunt, but a moment later he straightened up. Without adding a comment as he usually would, Justice fumbled as he grasped the keys and set to unlocking the door. He managed to do it and push it open somewhat before his grip on the keys left and he settled back into clinging to Raleigh like a koala. "I wanna be drunk when I wake up, on the right side of the wrong bed…”

"I hope so." He responded lightly, keeping his grip steady on Justice's thighs as the door was opened. He didn't reach out to catch the falling keys at risk of unsettling Justice, and merely kicked them up over the threshold and then to the side as he nudged the door open far enough to admit them both. He kicked the door shut, thumbs rubbing circles against Justice's thighs, a slight smile making his mouth go crooked as he heard Justice's soft singing. He recognized the lyrics, faintly, held a particular emotional attachment for the next three or so, though it certainly wasn't something he'd bring up now.

"To bed then?" He asked, knowing that even as much as he wanted to go he wouldn't deny Justice food if the human really needed it. There was a time when he would have taken what he needed first, bled Justice to the point of dizziness, sating his own hunger first, but a lot of things had changed. It was hard for Raleigh to believe sometimes, after having lived a life of nine hundred years, that he could still wake up surprised.

i'll be yours to keep || Justleigh

"You know," Raleigh said, hands tightening on Justice's thighs, hoisting the drunk human higher up onto his back, "This isn't what I expected when I said you could have anything you wanted on your birthday." He stepped up onto the front porch of his home, one hand digging in his pocket for the keys to the door. Fishing them out by the metal ring, he held the keys up to Justice and leaned with a shoulder. "Get the door?" Justice had asked for a piggyback ride home, and Raleigh's intent was going to take them straight to bed, if Justice didn't complain about being hungry.