Sparrow did a bungle @sparrow-the-jesterbackup - Tumblr Blog

May 10

Broken things

Inspired by a recommendation from @amberhimiko, I hope you enjoy it

Dwayne wakes up with a start and a tight feeling in his chest, his mind too foggy with sleep to remember exactly what the nightmare was about, which he doesn't have time to get frustrated over as his shoulders promptly slam into the stone 7 foot below him, he groans as the pain spreads through down his arms and up his neck.

He's the first one up, and the others don't seem to be stirring. Dwyane lays on the floor for a moment, looking up at his boys and trying to gain his bearings when suddenly he hears a snap and a cascade of beads hit him in the face like a plastic waterfall. He takes a breath which comes out more like a growl before standing, pushing up his body with still aching shoulders. He's the only one up, which means time to fuck around before having to do his chores at least

He walks out of the chamber trying not to step on the beads, however failing as one of them digs into the sole of his foot. Dwyane drags his foot against the floor in attempt to dislodge it but no luck. He lifts his leg to manually remove it and flick the bead back into the main body of the room. Putting his foot back down, he stumbles and stubbs his toe on the edge of the rock box David brought in yesterday so he could listen to Mozart while falling asleep.

Dwyane holds a breath to calm down as he finally walks out and down the corridor, trailing his fingertips over the stone which comforts him. The cave might be old and damp at times but it's his home, his scent mixing with the others to provide something entirely unique. Most people can't stand the smell of a vampire, let alone 4 who don't have internal plumbing, but to Dwyane the familiarity and knowledge that the people who love him are within reach is everything, and it grounds him

After walking into a more open area of the cave he looks around for his skateboard. He could've sworn he left it right here before sunrise, but it's not. The boys didn't move it, they all went to sleep together. It's not under any trash or fabric or furniture, not up against a wall, where the fuck is it?

While he's looking, one of Markos pigeons coos. Usually he wouldn't mind but it's incessant and it sounds mocking. He looks up at the bird with a jerk, the action sending pain back down his neck and shoulders. His eyes glare at the pigeon, warning it. Dwayne knows the piegons, and anything else Marko can convince David to let him keep, are off limits. But he's already had a shit morning and a light snack might improve his mood

He walks over to the bird, stalking it like a predator before stopping

No, that's a stupid idea. Marko wouldn't appreciate it and pigeon blood wouldn't taste good anyway, it would just be something else to clean up.

He sighs and the piegon flies down off it's perch, brushing against Dwaynes legs. He follows it's flight to see his stakeboard less than a foot away from him... Even if the bird was trying to help him it didn't have to sound so fucking smug about it with it's chirps. At least he has his board now

He steps onto it and rides into the main chamber of the cave. Right before he gets to the fountain, his footing slips and it comes out from under him. He stumbles forward. Instinctively he manages to turn his body into smoke just before hitting the stone again. If the other boys were awake to see it they wouldn't let him live it down

Slowly, he drifts over to the couch, reforms, and flops down against it. Just as he's gotten comfortable there's a new presence in the cave

Dwyane smells him before seeing him, like wood varnish and too much cologne

"Dear boy, I didn't expect you to be awake, usually it takes you all half the night to get up" Maxes voice, proper and barley containing his dismay, cuts through the silence. The boy clenches his fists and sits up again, looking at Max with a dead gaze. Why was he here? Especially at this time. Especially if he didn't expect them to be awake?

"Where's David, son?"

Dwyane shrugs, the corner of Maxes mouth twitches

"Now that's not polite young man. Go get David"

Dwyane stands up, swinging his legs off the arm of the sofa and letting his feet hit the floor. He walks back the way he just came, all the way back to the coffin. He doesn't want to, but it's easier to just do what Max says. Hopefully it will get him to go away sooner. He flies up only to realize David isn't there. What? 10 minutes ago Dwayne was looking up at them all and he could've sworn David was among them. He pushes Paul and Marko, waking them up

"Uh? What is it bud?" Paul blinks

Marko groans, rubbing his eyes

"Where's David?" Dwyane says through a clenched jaw, forcing the words out

Paul looks around "huh- I guess he went out? Why?"

Dwaynes gaze hardens at the upsidedown blond who's eyes widen in understanding "Oh shit-!" He drops down from the perch "Marko get up, Max is here"

The otherwise incoherent blond suddenly opens his eyes, practically falling as he scrambles to the ground "fuck, why?" He whines, not liking having to function so soon after being awoken

Dwyane shrugs, drifting back to the floor, landing on his toes to avoid the beads.

Marko yelps when a few beads dig into his feet " aw man, my bracelet-" Paul grabs both Marko and Dwyanes hands and drags them back out into the main cavern, where Max is waiting impatiently, eyeing the decor of the room. He turns around before they can step foot inside

"Boys-" his eyes narrow "No David?"

The three look at eachother, Paul steps forward "sorry old man, we don't know where he is either. He's not in the nest-"

"Don't make excuses for him, son"

Paul raises his hands and rocks back on his heels.

Something in Dwyanes chest aches and he keeps Maxes gaze out of spite. Beside him Marko tenses, nails digging into the leather protecting his palms

"What do you want David for, Max?" The curly haired boy says the head vampires name like it's bitter and Dwayne is torn between putting himself in between them, or not drawing attention to himself

"That's none of your business" Max straightens his tie, putting back the performative sweetness in his voice "if you don't know, I'll simply come back later when he's returned. Be careful now, and please boys, tidy up will you?"

Paul laughs at the thought before turning around to Marko, his demeanor softening "you ok Marko?"

Dwyane snaps out of it and walks over, taking Markos hands in his. His brown eyes lure Markos hazel ones up

Marko nods and takes his hands back from Dwayne "I'm fine. I fucking hate him coming here, unannounced, being a bitch, it-"

Paul puts his arm over Markos shoulder "relax dude, we know. Makes your skin all hot" he then stretches "we should wash up, no offence Dwayney but you stink" he chuckles

Dwyane frowns, looking Paul up and down

"HA" Marko barks "he's right dude, out of all of us you can't comment on hygiene"

They all start walking off to get ready, Dwyane walks behind the blonds as they keep talking. He feels better being with them, but he didn't like maxes tone. 'be careful' what did he mean by that? What's gonna happen when he comes back?

"Piss off I washed the other week!" Paul nudges Markos shoulder with his

"Yeah, in the ocean. And only because you were covered in blood!"

Dwyane listenes to their banter, allowing it to fill his mind and push his own thoughts out. Almost like he's in a trance, he follows the boys untill they all end up in the room holding all their supplies. Marko calls it the costume cupboard, or simply 'costume'.

Dwayne walks over to the table he always uses, but bumps into Paul. He lets out a noise

"Oh? Yeah I'll be done in a sec man" the fuck? This is his table, what could Paul possibly want from it?

Dwyane pushes the blond out the way

"Oh alright then fuck me I guess" he laughs

"You wish!" Marko chimes from across the room, arm deep in the scrap box, trying to find a suitable shoelace to remake the bracelet from earlier with a sturdier material

Dwyane grunts and goes to pick up his brush, but it's not there. He looks around the table and it's not there either. He closes his eyes, squeezing them shut for a moment before picking up a comb and starting to drag it through his hair. Usually his brush goes through without a problem but this isn't his brush and tonight he hits knot after knot in his hair, getting increasingly frustrated. An uncomfortable pressure starts spreading through his chest, pushing against his ribs, squeezing his heart making it pump faster and faster. Another fucking knot he has to plough through and the pressure spreads to his head, making it heavy and full, he has to fight keeping his head upright as he tugs on the comb.

The handle digs into his palm, the plastic seam rough and uneven and spikey in his callused hand. Another knot. He can hear the hair brushing against his ear, tugging against his swarming skull, breaking as the bristles struggle through. Dwyane has to close his eyes, they feel like they're going to explode along with his undead heart. His arms feel like theyre getting squeezed by the leather of his coat, the material no longer comforting. Now it's like a prison, heavy and constricting like the pressure in his chest. The nails on his feet scrape against the stone and it sets his grinding teeth on edge. Another knot. He can't feel his legs. He feels the denim, the frayed rips, but not the legs it's brushing against.

Another knot. He uses his vampiric strength to rip the comb through his hair, the bristles snap and lodge themselves between the strands. He yanks the handle out and throws it across the room while screaming, the noise being squeezed out of his throat and his hands squeezing clumps of his hair before ripping out locks. It pulls on his scalp again, like the comb, however it both soothes and aggitates him. His legs give out and he falls to the floor. He hasn't noticed yet but the new sensation terrorizing his nerves is tears rolling down his cheeks, accompanied by Paul's voice lunging through his swollen brain.

He pulls his hands, still clutching his hair, over his ears. He can't make out what the boys are saying but he feels skin on his, the cool flesh alleviating the pressure under his skin. He feels hands manoeuvering his legs and he cries out again in protest

"Hey, hey it's just Paul. He's gonna help" Dwyane feels smaller hands pull his away from his ears, detaching them from his hair. He looks down though blurry vision at his hands, hovering awkwardly at his chest. Strands. Hair. His hair. He didn't realize- fuck, why does it have to be his hair

He cries harder. Harder still at the piercing sound of metal clinking against metal and fabric rustling and his hips being lifted.

But then he feels better, his legs less hot and tingly and all sounds slow down

Dwyane tried looking up but his head is too heavy to move. More hands again, pulling again. This time at his arms. No, his jacket. Leather scraping skin for just a moment before release. The cool cave air hits his skin and it feels better, good enough that he's not crying anymore.

There's silence and stillness for a moment, at least thats what it feels like. Then there's even more cold gentle hands, this time on his burning scalp. They massage slowly, Dwyane feels the tension ooze out of him and leave fatigue in it's wake. The world feels out of step, like everythings slowed down completely, and through the haze Dwyanes pretty sure he can feel his hair being sectioned and moved. Right over left, left over right, over and over

"Hey Dwayney, you with us?" It's Pauls voice, and it's in front of him. He tries to nod, but he's so tired "good, don't want you going feral on us, yeah? That's Markos job" he laughs, the sound falls from his throat freely before he even realizes

"Damn right it is" the voice behind him, Marko, responds. Paul says something else but it misses his ears, he guesses it's something along the lines of 'do you wanna joint?' by the way Markos voice barks after. His attention is brought up as a kiss is pressed to the top of his head, then his cheek. The tip of a tongue presses into his skin, licking up the tear tracks faintly. He laughs again

The presence behind him leaves, but another takes its place. Paul's braiding skills are sloppier than Markos but the calming effect is the same, especially when paired with his words, Dwayne can't make them out exactly but the bubbly lines feel good against his ear. It takes a few minutes, but it could've been hours, for Marko to return and then things seem to happen in fragments as Dwaynes lifted to his feet, stumbling over a few steps while being supported by the boys untill he's in David's wheelchair and no longer has to think about his legs, not that he was thinking clearly about them anyway.

The cool metal frame presses against his bare thighs. It's sudden, and allot colder than his boys hands, but it's not so bad. He keeps his hands in his lap even when they're all in the main room together. Marko sits on Paul's lap, to keep him in check. They sit for a while untill Dwyane regains his bearings, they can tell as he meets their eyes again. The first thing he sees when the world comes back into focus is Marko smiling at him, and it makes him feel better. The weight of his body and what just happened lifting entirely, almost too much

"Wheyy! Welcome back man" Paul reaches forward, bending Marko who's still on his lap, to affectionatly punch his shoulder.

Later, Dwaynes back in the costume room. And his brush is ontop of the pile of Paul's stuff. He wants to get angry, roll his eyes and groan. But he doesn't. Instead he moves the brush back to his table, and gets dressed again. His jeans don't constrict him anymore, the leather once again feels like armour rather than torture. He shrugs it in over his shoulders, and it grounds him

For a moment he's at peace. Then he sees the strands of his own hair littering the floor and something new swells in his chest. Shit, he's supposed to be the stotic one, what business did his body have crying like that? How dare it. 18 years of being treated like an emotionless alien only for it to be completely invalidated over, what, a comb? Bullshit.

This isn't fair and it's not happening. Dwayne holds a breath all the way until he's outside the cave. He doesn't think about taking his bike, just walking straight past it. His feet follow the same motion as last time, it may be a different path at a different location, but it's still the same. He's not the same anymore, though, and he keeps walking

Back in the cave Paul and Marko are also loosing their shit, looking everywhere for Dwyane. David comes and goes fairly often, but not Dwyane

"Paul, Paul, where the FUCK is he? He never goes out alone" Marko is practically running around the cave, and when that isn't fast enough he's flying, getting increasingly more stressed.

"I don't know man, maybe he went for a piss?"

Marko stops in his tracks, coming to a dead stop in the rafters of the cave near the pigeon nests "don't fucking start"

Paul steps onto the fountain for more height "alright, alright, don't bite me yeah?"

Before Markos able to ask his pigeons, he lets out a frustrated groan which does very little to alleviate his discontentment, however the blows to his head that follow do.

"Hey!" Paul flies up to him, taking his wrists "we don't do that anymore bro" Marko whimpers and Paul can see in his hazel eyes how much dwaynes absence is upsetting him.

Before anything else can be said, they hear movement at the entrance to the cave and rush over

"Dwyane!?" Paul flies right into David, who catches him

"Uh not quite, Paul"

Marko drops to the floor, brow furrowed "we can't find Dwayne"

David sighs, pulling both boys against him. It takes a moment for him to decide how to respond "I know how it feels for him to just up and leave on you, but you need to trust that he'll come home when he wants too"

"But dude, how do you know?" Paul nuzzles into David's neck restlessly. David sighs and tilts his head to give Paul room "because he's done it before"

Marko rests his head on David's shoulder, forcing the platinum blond to tilt his head back

Meanwhile, on the boardwalk of Santa Carla one vampire stalks alone tonight. With every step Dwayne feels like he's floating slightly, his body trying to pull away from the ground. His gaze only hardens, knowing the feeling is all in his head. Feeling, he doesn't know how to feel. How would you feel if all your life there was one undeniable truth that damaged the way others saw you, only for it to be completely unwritten in one evening. He looks across the boardwalk, ignoring the lights clawing at his eyes.

His sight lands on a family; a father and daughter. She seems upset, on the floor screaming and kicking and crying. The man sits with her, trying to pull her hair out of her face without hurting her. Once her hair is tied up into a bun she calms down, and instead of getting angry the man pulls her into a hug, letting her relax into him. Dwyane realized he's been rooted in the same spot, staring for too long, so he walks away.

His mind is filled with memories of his own father. Its fuzzy now, because of how long it's been since either of them were alive, but that doesn't take away from the fondness. Days laying on the grass because the sun helped calm Dwyane down. He doesn't get to have the sun anymore, but the warmth from his boys illuminates his unlife much the same.

His thoughts have brought him to the end of the boardwalk. He could continue on, keep moving, not have to go back and face the change, not have to confront his past. Or, he could get over himself and go home, back to his boys. He thinks back to the father on the boardwalk, the understanding he demonstrated. Like his own father, and like David when he found Dwayne, and like Marko when they met, and like Paul.

He pauses, running his hands through his hair. The remnants of a braid Marko left catches on his fingers, and he traces it. Tucked into the plait is a feather and Dwyane can't help but smile a little, of course Marko would do that.

He turns around and walks back across the boardwalk, down the steps, and across the beach.

Marko, Paul, and David are sat together.

David lounges in his wheelchair throne while Paul is draped across the sofa tossing and catching a ball, one foot in David's lap. Marko sits on the floor surrounded by bags and bags of fabric scraps, most of which have been unloaded onto the floor and cut into the closest thing to strips Marko can be arsed to do. The repetitive motion of pulling and pushing the strips into the hessian helps to take his mind off everything

"Oh!" Paul holds the ball still "by the way Davey, Max stopped by, looking for you" the tension in the room worsens

"He can fuck off" Marko chimes, stabbing a strip with particular force

David opens his mouth to talk but is interrupted by the sound of jewelry and footsteps. They all sit up

Dwyane walks into the cave and sees all the mess on the floor, it's unexpected but nothing out of the ordinary. He watched his boys for a moment, seeing all their eyes on him. He can practically hear their anticipation, especially from Paul whos trying the hardest not to jump up. He walks past them, his feet not letting him linger for more than a moment, too lost in his own mind. He's not entirely sure where in the cave he's walking, he's not really thinking, all that matters is that he's home

His body moves on autopilot, his jacket is of now, then his shoes, then he's laying down. Then he's hearing a voice. He doesn't think to listen, much less muster the energy to respond, but the voice doesn't start again. Instead, the mattress dips.

Dwayne rolls over and pulls the other boy against his chest, his eyes focus enough for him to tell it's David. David doesn't resist, letting himself be held

"I-" he starts, but Dwyane puts his hand over David's mouth. The brunette shakes his head, signaling to the other he doesn't want to deal with words right now. The blond understands, which is the last straw snapping and giving way to another round of silent tears from Dwayne. His chest feels tight again, not like earlier when it was red hot with anger, no now it's tight like an elastic band being stretched too far; delicate and trying. And the crying is release

It still doesn't feel right for Dwyane to cry, but he's trying not to think about that. He's focusing on David, holding him and feeling him close. Then the others silently, or as silently as you can get wearing your weight in jewelry, walk in and join them on David's bed. Marko lays on Dwayne, his weight is comforting to the brunette. Paul lays next to him, wrapping his arms around Dwaynes bare torso. Being surrounded by his boys on all sides makes him feel better, the elastic band might have snapped like a cheap bracelet but the bodys around him keep him together. Being dead means the boys don't produce much body heat, but it doesn't matter. The warmth of their affection and dare outshines the coldness of their skin and it's the closets a vampire can get to the sun

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