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The rosary wrapped around Ricky's wrist rattled as he jiggled his key in the lock of his apartment door, and he cursed softly as it stuck and refused to give. When he finally managed to maneuver the door open, he sighed wearily as he dumped his bag by the shoe rack and barely remembered to kick off his Vans before flopping face-first into his sofa with a groan. Vinny looked at him and scoffed from where he'd nearly face-planted directly into his dick.
"Hello to you too, Rick."
Ricky's reply was muffled by the cushion, but his annoyed tone was unmistakable, especially when paired with the middle finger he raised in Vinny's general direction.
"Fuck off. I hate everything. Fuck everyone."
"Even me? Rude."
It was Ricky's turn to huff as he languidly drew himself up into a seated position and ran a hand down his face frustratedly.
"Fine, not you. Everyone else, though, especially the new bitch at the pawn shop. He only gave me twenty bucks for that necklace I showed you the other night."
"Wait, seriously? That's fucking bullshit, that thing was nice!"
"That's what I said! Anyway, fuckin' here, here's that for the electric bill."
"Thanks. Don't worry about the last ten, Ryan persuaded someone to give him their wallet earlier. He's here, by the way."
"Oh, shit. Where?"
"My room. He's asleep 'cause I sucked his soul out of his body earlier, too-"
"Vinny!"
"Hehehe."
"This house is a fucking nightmare."
"You're just jealous 'cause you haven't gotten laid in a while."
"I'm not jealous and that's not even factually accurate."
Vinny's eyebrows damn near shot up off his face as he turned to look at Ricky with his mouth slightly agape.
"What the fuck, man, I thought you'd given up turning tricks after that one guy-"
"I did! Is it so unfathomable that I've fucked someone for the fun of it?"
"When you use fancy words like unfathomable, yeah, it is."
"Dude, fuck off."
Vinny stuck his tongue out, but predictably scooted closer in pursuit of details, because he loved being a nosy bitch.
"You can't just fucking say that and not give me anything, come on-"
"Well now I don't want to!"
"If you don't tell me then I'm gonna get Ryan to shake you down."
"Threatening me with your criminal boyfriend is crazy work, Vin."
"What's crazier is that you're fucking again! Presumably not for money! Come on, at least tell me his name!"
Ricky suddenly looked very guilty and a little embarrassed, his pale blue eyes going slightly wide with the realization that he didn't actually know.
"I-I…I do-"
"'Ido'? That's a weird name."
"No, asshole, I don't know!"
"…Pause, you don't know?"
"…No."
Vinny stared at Ricky in disbelief (and a little concern, to his credit) before shaking his head and gesticulating with his hands for gay emphasis.
"…You mean to tell me you're not fucking for money, but you don't even know the name of the dude you're fucking? How does that even work, what the fuck?"
"…It's complicated."
"Bitch, don't start with me-"
"I don't know because I call him something else instead!"
"You already know what I'm gonna ask."
Ricky kept silently glaring at Vinny, who just rolled his eyes and reached over to smack Ricky on the thigh.
"I'll fuckin' hold you down and force feed you some of my edibles until you tell me."
"The fuck are you growing in there, truth serum weed?"
"You're stupid and gay and stubborn and I hate you."
"Fuck off!"
"Come onnn, tell me! You already know what I call Ryan!"
"Yeah, because you're so fucking loud when you two fuck that you might as well be screaming 'Daddy' directly outside my door!"
"Not my fault he fucks me so good. Tell me or I'm gonna actually stand outside your door at night and just yell 'Daddy' so you can't sleep."
"Fine! He's my lord, okay?"
Vinny blinked, processing the antiquated title, then grinned mischievously.
"Cute. Even if it makes this dude sound super fucking old."
"He's not. I think."
"You don't know that either? Ricky, what the fuck? Why are you letting some random mystery dude fuck you-"
"I-"
Ricky nearly started to explain how he'd really met Chris, but realized just in time that Vinny would be absolutely horrified and entirely skeptical.
"…Met in the cemetery."
"Goth faggot."
"Hey!"
"Shut up, you know it's out of love! And concern for your safety!"
"He's really good to me, it's fine. I trust him."
"Hm. He should come by some time so I can see for myself. Ryan's also an excellent judge of character."
"I don't need your boyfriend menacing m- the guy with his fucking gun, Vin."
"He won't need to if your fuck buddy is cool!"
Ricky huffed and got up from the couch to go to his room, too exhausted to continue the bitching, and Vinny called after his retreating form.
"Just remember, that fucker's not getting in here without an invite, bitch!"
-
A knock at the door startled Ricky out of his half-awake fugue state he'd been in since returning home. He waited at his desk for a few seconds to see if Vinny would get the door, but all he could hear was the rattling of their shitty air conditioning and a distant siren. Sighing heavily, he closed his laptop and shuffled over to the door, too tired to even bother checking the peephole before opening it and immediately gasping happily.
Chris smiled down at him as he leaned against the doorframe, his vampiric eyes hidden yet again behind the same pair of black sunglasses he was wearing during their last time together. Gone was the fancy suit, instead replaced with a sick ass spiked leather jacket and a t-shirt for an oddities parlor that Ricky subconsciously noted hadn't been in business for about two decades. Even his shoes were different - all-black sneakers instead of the fancier loafers he'd come to expect from him. It wasn't bad - in fact, it was very much the opposite, and Ricky stumbled over his words as he properly greeted Chris where he stood.
"H-Hello, my lord."
"Hello, my precious pet. Did you miss me?"
Ricky nodded, because it was true - it had been about a week since he had seen Chris last, and the quick rendezvous and intense makeout session was far too brief for his liking. They'd seen each other a few more times since he'd thighfucked Ricky in Obsidian's alley, but it had been enough time for Ricky to start missing him more and more until Chris invaded every crevice and corner of his mind.
"Good. I'm very pleased."
Ricky felt a warmth spread through his chest at his words, but furrowed his brows a little sadly as he realized Chris wasn't moving to grab or touch or embrace him. Chris noticed and huffed out a laugh, shaking his head fondly.
"You're adorable. Use your brain - what are the rules about vampires?"
"…Is this a trick question?"
"No. I'll let you know if you're correct or not."
Ricky blinked at him, then nodded and started to think.
"Uh…you can't be out in the sun?"
"Correct. Unless I have certain privileges, I cannot be in sunlight. It burns me horribly."
"That…makes sense. Okay, uh…you can't have garlic?"
"I can't have any food. Technically. There are caveats."
"Both of these rules have had caveats."
"Money and power afford you certain exceptions even as a vampire, I'm afraid. Continue for me."
"You-"
Ricky cut himself off as the realization hit him, and he winced before blushing harder and muttering his discovery out loud.
"…You're not allowed in places unless you're invited."
Chris smiled wide, showing off his fangs, and laughed.
"Precisely. Now be good and let me in."
Ricky wasn't sure what sent more of a chill up his spine - the way Chris's fangs glinted in the dim light of his apartment, the tone in which he urged him to be good, or the fact that he'd taken off his sunglasses to reveal an intense, red-eyed, slightly glowing stare.
"Oh- yes, s-sorry- please, come in, my lord."
Chris's smile somehow grew even wider as he finally crossed the threshold of the doorway and stepped into the apartment, pulling Ricky close in a strong embrace. Ricky sighed happily and leaned against Chris's chest, his own hands coming up to clutch gently at the leather jacket, and barely registered the fact that Chris was pressing his nose into his hair and inhaling his scent. Chris pressed a soft kiss to the top of Ricky's head, then pulled away just enough to tilt Ricky's face up towards his with a gentle touch under his chin.
"I missed you, too, my precious pet."
Ricky's smile barely got the chance to form on his lips before Chris was leaning down to cup his face and kiss him. It was sweet and chaste, but Chris eventually deepened it, his embrace around Ricky tightening as if to reassure him that he was truly there and not letting go until he was satisfied. Even as they broke the kiss, Chris's arms remained wrapped around Ricky's small frame as he looked around and scoffed.
"Your enclosure leaves much to be desired."
Ricky pouted a little and shrugged, casting a suddenly self-conscious glance around his apartment. Sure, there was water damage on the ceiling and a few dents in the walls, and maybe the dishwasher leaked when they ran it (but at least they had one), and perhaps the apartment always kind of smelled like cigarettes and weed because both him and Vinny smoked inside when they definitely weren't supposed to, but it was the best they could do together. It also helped that their landlord didn't give a shit, which was bad when their pipes froze one winter but was great for keeping Vinny's whole bedroom operation under wraps.
"I think it's alright. Rent's as cheap as this area really goes, which isn't saying much, but it could be worse."
"You deserve more. I'll convince you of that one way or another."
Ricky blinked up at Chris, unsure of how to respond to his words, and Chris just sighed and smiled back.
"You're so cute when you're not thinking straight. It's okay, I'm here now. And I'm very happy to see this."
Chris stepped back a bit so he could grab Ricky's hand and flicked his eyes down at the rosary wrapped around his delicate wrist, making Ricky blush a little.
"I love it. I wear it all the time."
Chris's full-fanged smile appeared again at Ricky's admission, and he leaned in a little closer as Ricky shivered under his intense red gaze.
"So fucking precious. I could just devour you."
Ricky blinked at him again with wide eyes and slightly parted lips, and Chris sighed as he shook his head condescendingly.
"That was a compliment. What do you say?"
"Oh. Sorry. Th-Thank you, my lord."
Chris pressed another kiss to Ricky's lips and brushed his hair out of his face with a gentle touch and a sweet smile.
"Good pet."
Ricky leaned back into Chris's chest as he cast another scrutinizing gaze around his apartment, then smirked and grabbed Ricky's hand so he could lead him over to the bookshelf that held Vinny's video games and Ricky's physical media collection. Chris tilted his head to better read the titles, nodding approvingly at the assortment, then huffed out a little laugh.
"You have a lot of HIM CDs."
Ricky blushed and looked down at his feet.
"Uh…yeah. They're my favorite band. Ville Valo is a fucking genius."
Chris smiled as he ran a finger across the spines of the jewel cases, then stopped on Dark Light and flicked it open.
"Want me to play this one?"
Ricky nodded and grinned happily. "I love that one."
"I figured. I heard you playing it, you know. In your car, on the night we met."
"Oh. Shit."
Chris inserted the CD into Ricky's shitty little boombox on the shelf above his collection and laughed as the opening track began to play.
"It's cute."
Ricky blushed and looked down at his feet, arms instinctively coming up to wrap around himself. Chris looked over and smiled.
"You're cute."
Ricky giggled softly and blushed an even deeper shade of red as Chris outstretched a hand. He looked at him confused, tilting his head in a silent question, and Chris laughed.
"Don't tell me no one's ever asked you to dance before."
Ricky covered his face with his hands to hide how beet red he was and giggled again awkwardly.
"Uh…well, no one ever has…"
Chris tsked and gently pried one of Ricky's hands away from his face, then grabbed his waist with the other and pulled him close. Ricky was stunned into silence - not that any part of it was unwelcome, but the whole situation was so unexpected and so ridiculously, incredibly, this-shit-only-happens-in-movies romantic that he didn't know how to react except for making a small noise in the back of his throat and leaning into Chris's embrace.
"Well. We can't have that, now can we?"
Chris brought the hand he was holding up to his lips and kissed it gently.
"Will you dance with me, my precious pet?"
Ricky smiled and laughed breathlessly as he leaned in to bury his face in Chris's chest and nodded.
"Y-Yes, my lord."
"I'll never get tired of hearing you say that."
Chris smiled before leading them in a simple waltz - it was really more of a slightly awkward shuffle around the room, Ricky's feet scrambling to keep pace with Chris's confident, leading movements, but he eventually found the rhythm. It was sort of a weird song to do such an antiquated dance to, and Ricky briefly wondered just how old Chris really was before he was being dipped and kissed. When he was back upright, he felt his entire face turning red and he giggled again, unable to really process what was happening.
"Oh!"
"Don't worry, I would never drop you."
"I know, but-"
"Shh, just focus on the music."
They continued to dance until the song ended, Chris confidently leading Ricky around his small apartment living room, and when the beginning bars of the next song started playing, Chris led Ricky to his sofa and sat down as he pat his thigh invitingly.
"Come here, pet."
Ricky obediently straddled Chris and sighed happily as he let himself be pulled flush against Chris' chest, nuzzling his face into his collarbone.
"…I missed you a lot, you know."
Chris cooed at him with a smile as he pet his hair.
"Oh, sweet thing. You're adorable. I'm sorry I wasn't able to see you sooner, I was just…employing myself, shall we say."
"…I understand."
"Good. I knew you would. You're so smart."
"Thank you, my lord."
Ricky didn't fully understand, not technically, but he knew that Chris had to feed somehow. He also figured he didn't have a job on account of the whole "being a fucking vampire" thing, so he had to have been getting money from somewhere. Unless, of course, he was the vampire equivalent of a nepo baby, but somehow that seemed the most unlikely of all.
"What are you thinking about?"
Ricky blinked as Chris's words shook him out of his little thought tunnel and smiled softly.
"…You're not secretly a vampire trust fund baby, are you?"
Chris's brows furrowed a bit in disbelief before he tilted his head back and laughed.
"Silly pet. No, I'm not. In fact, while I was still human, I was a lot more like you than you might think."
"…Really?"
"Indeed. It took me a long time to get myself out of the shithole I used to live in. Watching the area get gentrified was an…interesting experience."
"…I can only imagine."
Chris huffed out a little laugh and smirked.
"I've seen a lot of things. I've done a lot of things. But you…well, you've been a pleasant surprise."
"…I have?"
Chris looked Ricky up and down appraisingly, then met his gaze with an amused look.
"I've never met anyone quite like you, pet. You're so…intriguing. So pretty. And you taste so, so sweet."
Ricky blushed and muttered out his thanks before looking into Chris's eyes and tilting his head to the side, exposing his neck. Chris laughed delightedly before leaning forward, but pressed a soft kiss to Ricky's throat instead of sinking his fangs into his flesh. Ricky furrowed his brow in confusion as Chris pulled back, fidgeting with his lip rings a little anxiously.
"W-Wait, you don't want to feed?"
Chris smiled gently at him, running his hands up and down Ricky's thighs comfortingly.
"Not unless you beg me for it. Tonight is all about you."
"Really?"
"Really. I told you, pet, you're special. Special and pretty, remember?"
"Th-Thank you, my lord."
Chris reached up to pet Ricky's hair again and happily noted how easily Ricky leaned into his touch.
"Anything you want, pet, you'll have. Just ask."
Ricky sighed happily as Chris kept running his fingers through his hair, content with the affection, and thought for a moment about what he really wanted. He loved the sex, of course - no one had ever fucked him like Chris and they still hadn't even technically properly done it. But between the last few shitty ass days he'd had at work and the general sadness of missing Chris, all he really fucking wanted was to be held.
"…My lord?"
"Yes?"
Ricky hesitated a little, voice soft and small with trepidation about asking such a silly-seeming question, but managed to get his request out.
"…I'm really tired and I really missed you and all I want is to cuddle in bed with you. So can we please do that?"
Chris cooed softly at Ricky and stopped petting his hair so he could scoop Ricky up in his arms, eliciting a soft noise of surprise from him as Chris carried him to his room and deposited him on his feet. He turned to close the door behind him, then shed his leather jacket and draped it over a chair. Ricky gasped softly as he looked at Chris's tattoos - he'd somehow still never seen the ones on his arms before, and his shoulders and torso were still covered by his shirt, but he was entranced by the sheer amount and colors and variety.
"Like what you see?"
"Yes, my lord. They're beautiful."
Chris laughed and took Ricky's hand to guide him to his bed, lifting the covers invitingly.
"Thank you, pet. Your compliment is appreciated even if some of them are actually really fucking awful."
Ricky collapsed onto his bed with a tired little giggle as Chris got in beside him and pulled the covers up around their bodies. He brought his hands up to rest on his vampire's chest, noting the absence of any rise or fall of it until he spoke.
"Chris."
"What?"
"My name is Chris."
Ricky looked up at Chris, who glanced down to meet his gaze with a soft smile. Ricky returned the expression and buried his face in his chest, already feeling his mind begin to get overtaken by sleep.
"Chris. That's a pretty name…"
-
Ricky woke up to the sunlight streaming in through his curtains and groaned, rolling over and immediately feeling a chill run down his spine as he realized he was alone. He sat up quickly, too quickly for his head to adjust, and moaned in disorientation as his room spun around him before his blood settled and he blinked away the stars. He looked around, an ache in his chest forming as he realized that his l- Chris had left. After a few seconds, though, he remembered that Chris was a fucking vampire, and he'd probably left to avoid the sun. It didn't stop him from being upset about it, though, and he flopped back down to roll over and hug his blankets to his chest sadly. Chris wasn't warm - he was actually ice fucking cold - but he missed his presence in his bed nonetheless. Ricky felt tears prick the backs of his eyes, and despite his pathetic attempt to fight them, began to silently cry.
It was supposed to be fucked up - there was still no guarantee that Chris wanted him for anything other than his body, even if he did keep telling him that he was special, and he was still a fucking vampire. Ricky felt insane, torn between missing the person that Chris had shown him and fearing the possible repercussions of l- fucking a monster.
It couldn't be love. It couldn't be, not yet - and yet there he was, crying over the absence of the one creature in the entire world who'd ever made him feel special. Even if it wasn't his intention, Chris made Ricky feel loved. Ricky buried his head in his pillow and sobbed, unwilling to accept what his subconscious had already started treating as irrefutable fact. Even if Chris didn't, even if it was never his intention, even if his only desire for Ricky was the simple fact that he let Chris fuck him and drink his blood - Ricky loved him. And it hurt.
After he'd cried for a while, soaking his pillowcase with snot and tears in a pathetic display of desperation and loneliness, he sniffled and sat up, wiping away the evidence with the back of his hand. He was about to finally throw the blankets off and shuffle to the bathroom when he saw it - one of his journals, open to where he hadn't left it the night before, with a page covered in handwriting that wasn't his. His heart fluttered as he grabbed it, eyes scanning the page hungrily, and he breathed a small laugh of incredulity as he read what Chris had wrote for him.
My precious pet-
I'm sorry for leaving unannounced, but I'm sure you can understand that I needed to be back in my haunt before the sun rose. Thank you for such a lovely night - I knew you were special from the moment I sensed you, and I was more right than I could have ever imagined. I hope you don't mind that I read some of the contents of this. You have such a way with words. I'd love to hear your pretty voice take ownership of what you write. Until we meet again - my love.
Chris
(I hope you don't think I'm a rude guest - I left you a gift in your fridge. Yes, I put it there so you'd eat something. Please tell your roommate that his yogurt is two weeks expired and that he left his keys in the door.)
Ricky laughed breathlessly in partial disbelief at his words, and hugged the journal to his chest as he processed what Chris had written. He'd called him his love. Ricky screeched to an empty bedroom, finally letting himself give into the feelings that he'd been crying over not ten minutes earlier, and giggled happily like a lovestruck teenager. Once he'd recovered from the initial shockwave of emotions, he gasped and jumped out of bed, running to his kitchen and flinging open the fridge door.
On the top shelf next to a carton of eggs and Vinny's stupid fucking weed drinks lay a silver chain with a simple clasp at one end and a heartagram charm on the other. He gasped again in awe, lifting it up and running his thumb over the cold metal, heart fluttering again at the gesture. Ricky clutched the pendant to his chest and smiled wide. There was no denying it. He was in love.