Summary: The urges were strong. Pulling, like the sea rushes to shore with a racing certainty. Arthur struggles against the want deep within him knowing that one bite could end it all.
[usuk]
For @inkwells-writing !!! Not as fluffy as I wanted it to be. It had a mind of its own. BUT IT’S NOT ANGST BECAUSE I CAN’T DO THAT AND THERE IS A BADLY WRITTEN KISS. Enjoy!
Available on ao3.
A body gently rams Alfred against the door the moment it shuts behind him. It’s late, well past midnight and dipping into early morn. Familiar fingers lace through his hair jerking his head back exposing his throat. Their shared flat is dark yet fully visible to the person against him. Not even moonlight dares to pry into their business. Emerald eyes muddied by crimson fixed at his neck, unseeing. Jaw wide open, poised to tear into soft flesh.
‘Arthur.’
The vampire stills and pulls him closer. His thoughts are frenzied and wild. Desperate. Animal blood isn’t working. It’s not working. It’s not working. It’s not working. Arthur draws in a sharp breath.
Regret swarms his mind as Alfred’s sweet smell fills his senses, drowning him in want. He can tell. He can feel it. The unique quality to Alfred’s blood that lets it run like an endless stream. He needs it. Craves it. To drink and drink until he drains it all. Alfred’s body would let him. The venom in his bite would make it worse. It wouldn’t stop. He’d bleed until there was nothing left. Just an empty shell. A husk. Dead.
His head falls to Alfred’s shoulder releasing his stranglehold. His weight dropping with it to drag them both onto the floor. That was too close.
‘I’m sorry,’ Arthur mumbles into the fabric, still pressing Alfred against the door. Not fully willing to let him go just yet. He bares his teeth again. Maybe just a taste...
He stops breathing, praying that would curb his hunger, even if it was for just a bit. ‘You need to go.’
The silence that follows is deafening.
‘I’m not going anywhere,’ Alfred retorts, strong in his conviction.
He leans forwards crashing his lips into Arthur’s. The peck is hungry and fierce. It develops into a hurricane of desire, sweeping and powerful. Arthur readjusts to straddle Alfred’s lap and they put deeper into one another. Alfred’s hands move to cradle Arthur’s back as the vampire’s wandered upwards to tangle in blond locks. A soft moan slips past Arthur’s lips granting his lover access to his mouth. Alfred’s tongue rushes in to map the hot cavern. Arthur lets his mouth hang open, trying to keep his teeth away from Alfred’s tongue.
A sharp fang nicks Alfred’s lip drawing blood. The smell permeates through the air, thick and heavy. Something stirs within the vampire. The lip keeps bleeding. Arthur quickly licks the small wound slowing sealing it shut. The metallic tinge stays on his tongue as he pulls away running his tongue across his lips to savour the taste. His hands resting on Alfred’s shoulders keeping them apart. Arthur trembles at the first taste of human blood in a long time. His eyes muddy again before he slides them shut dropping his head trying to get ahold of himself.
‘You can’t be here. The substitute blood isn’t working,’ Arthur whispers. The words resting heavy in the room.
‘You told me yourself that it was going to take a while to get used to.’
‘But I’m still craving you!’
Alfred eyes him suspiciously and waggles his eyebrows. Arthur cuffs him on the head for good measure. ‘Shut it you dolt. You know what I mean.’
‘Ow! I didn’t say anything!’ he pouts. Glasses still askew from their previous escapades.
‘I can see it on your face.’
The two share a soft smile. Arthur buries his head into Alfred’s chest pressing them together. The vampire listens to the steady drum of his lover’s heart pumping his blood through thin veins. It’s home. A point of focus when the thrumming in his own ears drowns him in waves of endless noise. Fingers carding through his hair rubbing gently at his scalp.
Safe.
Delicious. His eyes begin to trace up thicken veins looking for a place to sink his teeth into supple flesh and— No. He can’t.
Alfred spies his partner’s eyes flicker to his throat occasionally before flicking back down to toy with a stary piece of thread on his collar. He can see the subdued thirst behind his eyes.
‘Feed on me.’
Arthur stills and sits up properly to look Alfred in the eye. Searching.
‘Alfred…’ he starts. He looks away and moves to lift himself off his lap. ‘I can’t. You know I can’t.’
Alfred holds him firmly in place. He needs him here.
The vampire sighs and remains where he is, ‘Isn’t the point of all this to get me off human blood entirely.’
‘It is.’ The statement feels unfinished. A “but” lingers in the air. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Whatever for, my love?’ Perplexed, Arthur cups Alfred’s cheek rubbing his thumb in soft circles. Arthur's affections send shivers down his spine yet it’s accompanied by so much heat.
‘You wouldn’t have to drink those substitutes if it wasn’t for my condition.’ It is Alfred who looks away in shame this time. He knows that other vampires can feed on their human partners without too many issues. It wasn’t unfair that it was life-threatening to him.
‘Weren’t,’ Arthur corrects with a smirk that disappears as soon as it emerges, ‘This is a lot of apologies for one day…’ He trails off letting the statement hang. It wasn’t fair that Arthur has to trade his natural diet with a substitute. A substitute that wouldn’t give him the full nutrients he needed. To redirect a menacing instinct onto a different source. To keep Alfred safe.
‘Art… let me help you.’
Alfred takes Arthur’s hands into his own giving them a light squeeze. Arthur looks up at him from beneath long lashes before he speaks, ‘I can’t heal you quickly enough.’
‘Then we’ll pick a small vein. Small enough that you can heal it before I lose too much blood.’ Alfred offers a reassuring smile, excitement threatening to bubble over. Soft baby blues sparkle in the warm glow of the room, illuminated by the rising sun behind the curtain. ‘Just to ease you off it since going cold turkey isn’t working for you,’ he quickly adds,
#project hail mary
#photography
#nature
#writers on tumblr
