matt couldn't help but shake his head at his girlfriend, "i'm not telling you where we're going. it's a surprise, baby but i promise it'll be worth the wait." at least, he hoped it was. he just wanted to do something nice for the girl that made him so happy. jackie did a lot for him, a lot more than any other partner did and he felt as though she deserved the world. of course, he couldn't give her that so instead he did what he could to treat her. he lifted their interlocked hands and pressed a kiss against the back of her hand, "do you want a hint or do you want to wait until we get there?"
it was normal thing for him and his group of friends to hang out in the basement of one of their friend’s homes even if said friend wasn’t home. he was alone, some random rock album playing and filling the silence. that was, until the door opened and the other girl walked in. a sigh slipped out of his lips and leaned his head back, “don’t you have anything else to do? anyone else to bother?” he doubted she did and he knew that his comment was only going to encourage her further.
TIMING: Beginning of April
SETTING: behind an unnamed coffee shop
PARTIES: @likeamattoutofhell & @rn-zane (+@kitwithfangs)
SUMMARY: zane follows the smell of blood to a strange creature. matty has maybe lost kit... again.
Even though caffeine didn’t exactly hold the same kick as it used to, Zane still like the tradition of a too sweet latte after his night shifts. They usually ended with enough time for him to get coffee and get home before the sun rose, except for that one time he’d crashed in the breakroom for the whole day, so the tradition held its spark. The coffee also did little to quell the hunger starting to brew but it was still manageable, at least for the walk back home.
There were few people out on the streets this early in the morning, a few stragglers at the most, so the scent of blood and sound of… snarling? definitely came as a surprise. Dragged along more so by the scent of blood than curiosity, both of which overpowered any sense of self-preservation, Zane slowly walked into the alley behind the coffee shop. The scent of blood grew stronger as well as the sound of someone sounding like they were gulping up water after weeks of going without. The source of both came into view in the back corner of the close up alley but Zane was still no closer to knowing what was going on.
The creature, human sized and shaped but not-human in every other aspect, was crouched over something that was bleeding. Someone. The bat like ears twitched as Zane drew in a breath, coming to a complete halt at the sight before him. The thing moved, beady eyes now staring him down with ferocity, mouth stained with blood that dripped from sharpened teeth. He should have been more appalled, he knew that, but something more deep sated and instinctual kept his focus on the fresh, sweet smelling blood. Without a conscious thought, Zane took a few steps closer and there was that snarl he’d heard before. This thing was territorial over its meal.
Zane felt his own eyes growing red, fangs springing out from their hiding place without command. There was plenty of blood to share - ‘that’s a person, you should help them, stop the bleeding.’ The beast rose to its full height, another threatening hiss coming from it’s deformed mouth, and Zane saw the human in full view now. Eyes open and glassed over, mouth open in a terrified ghost of a scream. Her throat was a massacre, bits and pieces torn out and blood still spurting every now and then from an exposed artery. His fangs ached. One step closer was all it took for the thing to charge, clawed hands showing and pushing at Zane with surprising force until his back hit the wall. Zane was snarling back, pushing at the hands holding him from the meal, a part of him watching the whole ordeal from far, far away.
—--
Shit, shit, shit. Matty had felt something go wrong. It was there, in the comforting white noise of that connection between him and Kit, back in Eluria: like a record-scratch, loud, jarring, enough to set his fangs on edge. It’d tugged him out of the last set of that gig he’d picked up at the Wormhole, ripping at his attention like a fishhook through the cheek. And here, here was where that animal panic had reeled him. Or somewhere near here. Close. He was getting close.
To a shitload of blood. A waft of the stuff hit like a backhand, the kind that came wrapped in rings; metallic, heavy, snapping his head around to follow the stink. Because that’d be the way, right? That, fuck, just had to be where this went. Wasn’t it always.
Moving fast, too fast, he zigged his way through a warren of unfamiliar sidestreets. The neighbourhood - Deersomething? He hadn’t exactly bothered to read the signs, for all the good they’d do him - was quiet, at this hour. Of course it was. Small town. The alleyways were quieter, still and silent but for the rats who scattered as he tore past. The dark wasn’t a problem, not for him, but… man, it was dark, in a way that made him miss cities. Even if it was fucking convenient. Back here, the way was only lit by slices of moonlight cutting down from above and the yellowy glow of distant street lamps, barely seeping between the brick walls and fire escapes. Good; good. However much of a goddamn mess was out there, waiting for him, at least it’d been made in the shadows. Easier to clean up.
Unless, of course, there were witnesses. Not whoever he’d nearly stumbled through as he turned the next corner, ripped open on the blood-blackened asphalt; no, the poor sonofabitch his best friend had just battered into the bricks, the one who was still fighting back? With a flash of hot, hungry-red eyes, which - shit, well. Okay. Okay. Matty bit down, refusing to show fang as his Kit turned. Slowly, drawn by the same damn thing that’d sent Matty racing across town. (Too late.) Careless, dragging whoever was caught in those talons right down to the greasy ground of the alleyway and along as they slumped towards their jackass sire. The gore on that spawn-snout was still dripping, dark. “Come on, man,” Matty sighed, arms open, tight-chested. As if his heart could beat at all, nevermind stutter and stop; like he had a breath to lose, at the sight of that mangled corpse. He tipped his head towards the fanged-up dude they were hauling along, caught in those jagged claws. “Leave him alone. He’s just hungry. Same as you, I know. I know, I’m sorry.” God, he was. Matty sidestepped well clear of that freshly butchered corpse, clearing his throat, hard. “So - uh, how about you, like… finish up,” he directed that spawn-feral attention towards the still oozing body. “And let’s get lost, before daylight. Yeah?” Matty hazarded a glance between the vampires he was facing down, talking to that stranger, too. The devil he didn’t know. “How’s that sound?”
–
It was unusual for Zane not to take notice of everything happening around him - even in the ER, laser focused on a task, he could still hear and feel everything going on around him. Some of it was training, making sure he didn’t miss the first signs of something going awry, the rest was innate, his fast tracked brain never able to completely let go of the things happening elsewhere, always making sure it had its tendrils in every situation. This time, he hadn’t even noticed the stranger enter the alley until he spoke up. The first thought from his now instinct driven brain was threat, competition, but getting dragged along the wet asphalt like a ragdoll did the job of snapping some sense into him.
Sharp claws were digging into his chest, shirt completely ruined and shoes scuffing up from where they dragged along as he attempted fruitlessly to gain his footing. Mind still fogged over from the strong scent of blood, still very pungent as the creature was completely coated in it, Zane at least had the common sense to slowly panic now. The newcomer knew the creature, talked to it like a pet. His hands were clasped around the rough skin of the thing’s arm, wondering how he could get it to let go when the other man, the one that at least looked human but most likely wasn’t, spoke again.
Assessing the situation, or trying his best through the thick sheet of panic and hunger, Zane wondered if that was a viable option. Just walking away, forgetting about this, no harm done (save for the poor woman slumped on the ground). This man seemed earnest in his wish to just leave and Zane, previously half limp in the hopes of not riling up the much stronger creature holding him, gave a nod. He felt the claws loosen in his shirt, in his skin, and when blood red eyes turned on him, he pushed away. In the wrong direction, apparently, feet kicking him towards the more sensible of the creatures. His back had barely brushed against the man’s legs before he was off the ground again, deformed teeth wet with blood now snarling in his face. There was no time to think or react, body only managing a pathetic wiggle in the strong, clawed grasp before his body was airborne.
His head hit the wall first, preferable, his skull smacking into the hard bricks less so. It felt like the whole alley was spinning, pain radiating through his head and body, darkness seeping in at the corners of his vision. It didn’t seep in far enough for Zane not to see the hulking figure heading his way and this time there was no instinctual snarling or baring of teeth. Just a daze and a vague thought of trying to make himself as small as possible, pathetically hoping the thing would back off.
–
Cool. Matty had caught that nod, and mirrored it, gratefully, with a quick, still fangless smile. Whoever Kit had in hand, he seemed - chill enough, anyway. For a glowering, thirsty vampire. (Shit, like… Matty couldn’t blame him. It’d been a minute since Kit and him had opened somebody up. That hunter, in Lublin? Yeah. This one, still leaking, slowly - she’d been all human. And just stank of it. Deliciously.) Blinking, Matty swallowed, hard. He’d deal with that. First, this other vampire. Who was scrambling towards him, at the moment - in a way that made his not-breath catch, as if he needed it. God, but the way they could move still fucked with him, up close. Too fast.
And Kit could tell. Of course. The way Kit could tell everything. Their talons lashed out, and Matty lurched forward as they reefed the stranger up and away, crumpled against the alleyway walls. “Hey -” with some monstrous speed of his own, he put himself between the two of them. And… he’d meant to say something, maybe. To tell them to lay off. That there didn’t have to be a problem, here. He’d meant to. Instead, nearly dizzy with the sickening, succulent, clotted-up stench on the air, he growled. The ugly noise of it built up, roiled in his chest. And rattled. A warning. A familiar one. Fading, slowly, as he braced his hands against those wiry, spawnish shoulders. Kit swayed, staggered, stopped. Then, with a ragged crooning, knocked their forehead to his. A muscle jerked in his cheek - holding his fangs in, still - as he leaned into the touch, sticky and just, just barely warm with all the life they’d gnawed out of that broken body. “It’s all good, baby,” he rasped. With another nod, just for them. “Finish up, yeah? Get fed.” This’d keep them for days, hopefully; better than all the pig’s blood in Wicked’s Rest. He brushed a hand against their cheek - nothing like theirs, but - and pointed them off towards the carcass. Then nudged. There. Matty watched as they went, waited until they got back in there with the tell-tale tear of bloody meat and snap of bones, cracked for marrow. Then he sighed, low, shuddery, and scuffed a hand at the mess smeared across his face, turning to eye their almost-victim. Cautiously. That’d been a good hurl, a rough landing; not enough to put a vampire down, he’d bet. Especially not a thirsty one. But he hadn’t got back up, not really, not yet. So. Matty took a step closer, at least, head cocked, fishing out his much-needed pack of Camels. “Sorry about your night, man,” he started, still keeping a careful distance. “You gonna be cool to make it home, or…?”
–
His head was ringing and for a moment, everything in his line of vision blurred. Could vampires get a concussion? Zane was definitely about to find out. The only good thing about the nausea now rolling through his body, amplifying the pain in his head, was that it distracted nicely from the pure impulse that had been driving him just moments before. A loud, sickening part of him was still focused on how to get to the source of the sweet smell but it didn’t manage to pierce through the throbbing pain.
As his vision started to adjust, along with the realization that he wasn’t currently being torn apart by grizzly claws, Zane saw the uneven forms of the exchange currently keeping him alive. It might have been the head trauma talking but it looked… tender. Worked to keep the monster at bay too, as it turned and vanished from Zane’s line of sight, followed by the tell tale sound of feeding. Each move of his head made the world swim around him but he needed to get up with the other man approaching. Scrambling to sit up, he winced and groaned, hand clutching at his side. That was a broken rib for sure. Good thing he didn’t need to breathe anymore.
Tilting his head back against the cold bricks, he finally managed a proper look at the man towering over him. Had to be undead or he would have ended up like the poor woman being finished off in the corner. Seemed mostly unphased by the whole thing, too, lighting up a cigarette as he spoke. Sounding genuine. Zane supposed the man had saved him from being torn apart.
“What is it?” was all he managed to reply with, hazarding a gaze towards the creature. It wasn’t paying him any attention until he started to climb to his feet. As much as it made his ribs scream in protest, Zane raised his arms the second he got to his feet, hoping the thing would know the meaning. With a huff, it settled back into its meal but the young vampire had a feeling he was on thing ice. “Are you… like me? Is that thing?”
_
Fuck, the noise of a body being unmade - Matty had only ever got so used to it. Enough, at least, that he didn’t flinch as Kit dug into what was left of dinner. Just snapped a match out of the book and lit up, dragging deep. His French inhale billowed away from him, though, as their unfortunate new acquaintance started wondering shit out loud. That thing. His jaw set, hard, that blood still tacky where Kit’d left it, smeared across his gaunt cheeks. “They happen to be my best friend. Got it? Which is why you’re still unliving, or whatever.” For now, with the way Kit had snapped around to glare and rumble as the man got up from where they’d thrown him. Matty took a step their way, a finger up, then down, directing them right back to the oozing heap of once-person at their feet. Looked more like the slop bucket at that Bremerhaven butcher’s, now. “Go on,” he insisted, with a thin, sore sort of smile. “He’s not gonna be any kinda problem. Hey?” That, he’d turned and told the other vampire. Insisting, again. Then - then he tried to unbristle, measuring out another slow, steady exhale, smoke curling through the night. “Listen, man,” Matty rasped, circling that cigarette, faltering. “I - yeah. Them and me, we’re the same.” He didn’t stop to unpick the exactlies of that. Not even a little. “Don’t know about you, but, like - all signs, uh, point to yes?” He had to be new. Didn’t he? Between how fast those fangs had come out, and the questions… “So. Yeah,” Matty detoured away from wherever the hell that was headed, quick. And repeated himself, seriously. “Can you get home? Without, you know. Another homicide.” Or a few.
–
Even though there had barely been any room left for added tension, there it was, thick between the two vampires as a result of Zane’s bad choice of words. After witnessing the… exchange before, he should have known that there was some bond there. Best friends was still odd and the questions were numerous but in a rare show of self control, he knew better then to throw them out. Just thankful that the smoking stranger didn’t seem fond of his friend hurting more people than necessary. Now that Zane thought about it, he didn’t seem fond over any of this, his stance, his facial expressions, all pointing towards that fact. No matter how sorely lacking Zane’s understanding of the situation was, it was painfully clear that this man was here to protect the other.
Surprisingly, even after Zane’s inadvertent insult, he received answers. Well, some semblance of answers at least. He was rubbing at the back of his sore head when the statement was made and yeah, Zane was definitely not going to be causing a problem. The implication that whatever had nearly killed Zane and was currently enjoying the rest of that poor barista was some manner of vampire… The thought had him spiralling for a moment, wondering if this was an inevitable transformation or something entirely different, if the other stayed like this forever or it was more of a shifting situation… Caught of guard by the question, almost caring in nature if not for the implication that Zane would be heading on a rampage the moment he eft the alley. “What? Oh, yeah, I- Yeah, for sure.”
Feet shuffled sideways, careful now not to bring him anywhere in the vicinity of the other vampire considering how that had gone last time. Zane probably looked only half as confused as he felt, brushing at his torn clothes as he moved, still too wary to turn his back on the two strangers just yet so he backpedaled closer to the opening of the alley. The ‘friend’ didn’t seem to care too much. “I- Thanks. And good luck.” With a curt nod towards the vampire who had saved him, Zane scurried out of the alley, walking briskly the rest of the way home, head swimming with questions.
–
“Stellar,” Matty drawled, absently brushing the side of his hand across the mess on his face. And curling that hand away, so he didn’t lick it off, his tongue - channeled for blood, hungry for it - tracing his lower lip. Maybe… maybe he’d look after Kit’s leftovers. If there were any. Wasn’t like Maine’s newest missing person was gonna get any less lost. Any less dead. First, had to see the company out. “Don’t mention it,” he grinned, not sharp, but close, around that cigarette. And waved, a flicked off salute as the other vampire double-timed away, vanishing between those built-tight brick walls. “You too, man.” With a sigh, Matty turned back to Kit. And the spatter of gore this’d all started with, red-black, gut-pink, bone-white in what little light there was. His nose wrinkled - not away from all that, but towards it, into an animal grimace, a coarse, animal noise chuffing between his goddamn animal fangs as they crunched through. Good luck. Yeah; sure. Bit late, for some people.
Matt was ready to just move on, all they had to do was sign the papers and then they’d be free of each other. Call it conflicting schedules, call it wanting other things, or just life the two had drifted apart this had just seemed like a formality at this point. He had his wife.. ex-wife over to sign the paperwork his lawyer signed over, and he was rummaging through the junk drawer for a pen as he found one he turned around and dropped the pen onto the counter. “I’m sorry what did you just say?”
the man had officially began to unpack his things in the woman’s place, or well, their place. he’d never lived with a girlfriend before and he had pretty much always roomed with nelson but jackie felt worth it. it was easy for him to fall in love with her when they started spending time together. he came out of the closet and his eyes landed on the woman, “hey, babe. i didn’t know you were home.” he leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss against the woman’s lips. “i’m finally hanging my clothes up. i have some other stuff i want to bring out. i don’t want to mess up your fung shui though.”
