Chapter Text
Day 1: Fangs out
‘So how does it work?’ Benjamin’s clear voice suddenly sounds.
‘Hm?’ Blue opens his eyes and looks into a pair of curious honey-coloured eyes, that are quite a bit closer to his own compared to before he decided to take a nap.
The two of them are sitting on top of Benjamin’s bed, leaning against the wall. They’d just returned from the arcade, which Hope, the Salubri Kindred living with Victor, Blue’s Coterie member, had recommended. It was fun to try out the various games, which they both had no experience in whatsoever, making it a shared new experience. Blue had seemed to be good at completely different games than Ben (he sucked at any game having to do with rhythm, while Ben was, surprisingly, considering his father owns a gun shop, horrible at the shooting games), and in some of them they’d been evenly matched (like the racing games). They spent quite some time there, until they eventually returned to Ben’s apartment where they had been… a little occupied before they both decided to rest for a while, just sitting by each other’s side.
‘You know, your uhm…’ Benjamin sits up a little straighter and gestures at him, which causes a frown on Blue’s forehead.
‘My what? You’re not making any sense.’
Ben awkwardly averts his gaze, scratching the back of his head, fluffing his hair in the process. It’s already looking a lot more messy than usual, which Blue is probably to blame for, since he likes moving his fingers through his golden blond locks.
‘Your uhm, teeth,’ Benjamin eventually blurts out.
The Malkavian blinks. ‘…huh?’
‘Oh, come on, are you gonna make me explain it even more?’ Ben’s cheeks redden slightly and Blue has to smile – lately, he’s been seeing his shy side more and more, and it’s a good look. He has no complaints whatsoever.
‘Okay,’ Ben eventually mutters, giving in, and he reaches out, touching the corner of Blue’s lips, catching him slightly off guard. The lupine gently parts his lips. ‘See!’ he then exclaims. ‘Your canine teeth – they’re nothing like vampire fangs. I’ve noticed before. So how do you… uh… you know?’
A chuckle wells up from Blue’s chest and he grabs Ben’s wrist, placing a kiss on his hand. ‘Of course not! That would betray our identities immediately, right?’
Benjamin smiles, resting his hand against his cheek for a moment. ‘I guess so. But that doesn’t explain how you, you know, bite people.’
He’s right in a way. And Blue is quite sure that as soon as he is about to feed, he definitely has fangs like every cringy popular movie vampire. But he also knows they always somehow disappear when he’s done. ‘I never really thought about it,’ he admits. ‘Seems like they change automatically or something.’
‘Huh, really?’
‘Yeah. Maybe it’s something we just do without noticing.’
‘Hm,’ Benjamin hums in reply, and following his gaze, Blue notices he is still staring at his lips, which could have been a romantic thing, if not for the fact that the Malkavian knows the exact reason and – for once – it’s not because Ben wants to kiss him.
‘Really? Are you gonna stare at me until my teeth magically change into fangs?’ Blue grins, pushing against his face playfully.
‘I’m just curious, okay!’ The lupine smiles, raising his hands in defeat. ‘Show me? Please? I’ve been singing for you so much even though it’s embarrassing… So now’s your time to pay me back.’
Blue raises an eyebrow. ‘By showing my vampy teeth?’
‘Yeah!’
Blue lets out a chuckle, shaking his head. He doesn’t mind showing Benjamin, really, but the problem is: he really isn’t sure how to change his teeth into fangs unless he’s feeling the urge to feed. It should be possible, though. After all, he’s now able to control his Discipline powers instead of randomly activating them without realizing. Should work the same with changing teeth sizes.
‘If it helps,’ Ben suddenly says, and when Blue looks up, his face is close, and a gentle hand rests against his cheek, ‘you can feed from me? You know I don’t mind.’ Benjamin’s smile is so warm – Blue wonders if this is what it feels like to walk under the sun. He knows the lupine doesn’t mind, he told him so many times. But Blue’s fear of Benjamin thinking he might just be using him as a vessel hasn’t faded completely. And he wonders if it ever will.
Perhaps it’s because Blue is painfully aware of how much of a monster he is.
Perhaps it’s because he wishes he was instead a simple human born in the same time period as this boy he loves so much, but it’s apparently too much to ask.
Perhaps it’s because deep down, he believes Benjamin deserves better than someone like him, even though he desperately holds onto the thought that the decision to be with him lies with Ben alone.
‘Blue?’ The sound of his voice, filled with worry, snaps him out of his thoughts, and he looks up – Benjamin is holding his face in his hands as if he’s something fragile, which maybe, Blue realizes, he indeed is.
‘Sorry,’ he says. ‘I’m fine. I’m here.’
Benjamin smiles, but it’s a sad smile. As if he knows. He probably does. ‘I love you, Blue,’ he says, and Blue’s heart is suddenly soaring, even though it’s long dead.
‘Geez,’ he says, making an attempt to mask the fuzzy feeling with a grin. ‘Do you want to see my fangs that much?’
Ben’s smile widens and Blue has to look away before it gets too bright.
‘Okay, I’ll try, but I gotta admit having you stare at me makes this all really awkward,’ he says, looking back at him, sitting up straight.
‘I thought we were finally past that stage,’ Ben replies.
Blue chuckles. ‘Never.’
Then, as he stares into those honey-coloured eyes he’s grown to love, he recalls the first time he tasted Benjamin’s blood – which was honestly scary and a little strange – and the second, which was better, because it was followed by their first kiss. He imagines his taste, that he now knows so well - deep and rich, with the exact right amount of sweet.
His eyes wander to his neck - You can taste him again. Do it. Feed, a familiar voice whispers. - and he is about to lean in, when suddenly, the lupine’s thumb presses against his upper lip, and Ben is observing him curiously. He blinks, the voice fades – and he remembers that, right, he wanted to see his fangs or something. Benjamin then lets go and Blue looks at him questioning, but his boyfriend simply gives him a satisfied smile and then gently rests his hand against the back of his head, guiding him towards his neck to allow him to drink.
Blue pulls him closer and kisses his skin before softly biting down.
A little later, Blue is leaning against his shoulder, the Beast inside of him as quiet as his spiralling thoughts – perhaps only momentarily, but it’s enough for now.
He closes his eyes and wonders since when he’s been able to just simply sit and do nothing except be in someone’s presence.
His fear of time slipping away like sand in a broken hour glass is pushed to the back of his mind whenever he is with the lupine. Maybe because every moment with him is something to treasure.