CLOMP-a-saurus
Shirtless Husband
OM NOM NOM
| DERICIOUS BLOOD! |
  
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100.0% | [ 13 ] |
| Total Votes: | [ 13 ] | ||
Luxury Starshine
Star Seeker
►►► M I C A H • C A M E R O N
- Even now it seemed like Jonathan woke up before Micah. Unless it was a special occasion of some sort, Jonathan was always up before him cooking or something. It was truly an exceptional vampire that could roll out of bed in the morning...the sheer willpower it took alone...
Micah Cameron groaned and turned onto his stomach, kicking his feet like a child. It was still dark and he didn't want to get up. He had to go study the bats at the zoo though. Like they really needed studying. They were all fruit bats. They weren't about to mutate into some super vampire bat that would rampage the city looking for blood. It wasn't like he normally fed them either. That was the zookeeper's job. He outranked the silly zookeeper. He was a zoologist! So what if he wasn't in the field and hadn't been in the field for a century?! He had more knowledge on the subjects than...
The alarm started complaining at him.
"I know! I know!" He hit the off button several times with as much force as he could muster, yet with the amount of restraint it took to not break the silly thing. That was the trouble with being a vampire in a human's world right now. He needed to work like he was diurnal, yet couldn't sleep at night...the result was that he slept as much as he could during the day, which was thankfully quite often as long as he got his work done. The blond sighed into his pillow. It was time for a shower. Or he was never going to function.
It probably took him longer to get in the shower than it actually took him to shower. Getting dressed and brushing his hair took even more time still. Still, even with how long it took him, when he wandered into the kitchen/dining area, Jonathan was just putting down his plate. "You always know..." Micah sighed, a sober smile on his face as he reached out to Jonathan and pulled him close enough so that the blond could steal a kiss from him. It never got old, his face still flushed just a little with heat, and he bit his lip happily as he pulled away. "I love you," he whispered softly, stroking the "boy's" cheek and then letting him go. "So much."
He kept on expecting to wake up. Jonathan wasn't his. That had never been what he'd planned, even if it was what he'd wanted. Jonathan was so pure, he deserved better...but he never woke up. Jonathan was always there. His. His lover. The only part was that Jonathan was supposed to be dead by now...but he'd given up his soul. Not the choice Micah wanted for him. He'd never quite forgiven him for that...but he couldn't change it.
The Jewish vampire sat down to eat, he didn't bother to think about whether it was good or not, Jonathan was a kitchen wizard. He ate in mostly silence until he was only a couple bites from a clear plate. "Jada will be up soon, won't she?" As though those were the magic words, the girl wandered in. It was breakfast time for her too...and then Jonathan would take her to school. Then, after school, they would probably go to the park, and then, just after the sun set, Micah would meet up with them as they walked home and take over, so Jonathan could go hunt. Micah would hunt beforehand. They had to be careful, but they weren't the types of vampires that went for the kill. Those were the ones being hunted now...
Micah would have preferred vampires remained a secret, but there was no controlling the mindless Red Court...
"Morning, Jada." Micah scooted over a bit so the poor, orphaned girl could sit next to him. "Did you sleep well? Are you hungry? I know Jonathan made your favorites...Didn't you, Jonathan?" Micah didn't really need to ask. He always did. Jonathan was a sweetheart.
...I love you so much that I sometimes don't think my soul can take it...and then I remember...I don't have a soul anymore, it was traded away for power. Do you love me too? Tell me again, I'm so insecure...
...I love you so much that I sometimes don't think my soul can take it...and then I remember...I don't have a soul anymore, it was traded away for power. Do you love me too? Tell me again, I'm so insecure...
chihari the Kiwi
Precious Blob
JADANA
Jadana squirmed, scrunching her eyes shut and trying to stay asleep. The water in the bathroom was running, which meant Micah was awake and having his shower. That in turn meant that it was time for her to get up and get ready for school. But she didn't want to! Her bed was so comfortable, why couldn't she just stay there?
The water turned off. Now she really had to get up, before Micah or Jonathan came in to wake her up. She was trying to show them that she was a big girl that could get up on her own. She couldn't do that by staying in bed! With a sigh, she rolled off the side of the bed and hit the floor with a thud. The impact and rush of cooler air startled her further awake. She got up and made her bed, a chore that her Mommy had drilled into her before she died. The result was messy, but that was to be expected from a six-year-old girl. Then she picked up the clothes Jonathan had helped her pick out the night before. For some reason they didn't like it when she wore clashing patters, or her thick sweaters in the middle of summer. But that was okay, since she didn't mind the extra time with Jonathan helping her decide what to wear.
She pulled the red t-shirt over her head, momentarily getting tangled as she tried to find the arm holes. It was her favourite. It had a monkey on the front. Jada called him Sam. When the shirt was on, she grabbed her white shorts, checked for the tag, and then pulled them on. Yesterday she'd worn her shorts backwards until lunchtime, when someone had pointed it out. She'd had to go to the bathroom and fix it, but she would get it right today! Now, where were her socks?
When she was clothed she wandered into the kitchen, hairbrush in hand. She had awful bedhead that she wasn't ready to attempt to tame yet. "Morning," she echoed, raising a hand to cover a yawn. She put her hairbrush on the table, then braced a knee on her chair and pulled herself up. "Mm, it was okay," she said, crossing her arms on the table and plopping her arms down on them. "Morning Jonathan," she added, since it didn't feel right to leave him out, even if he hadn't spoken to her yet. Besides, Jonathan was nice. And he made yummy food.
CLOMP-a-saurus
Shirtless Husband
xxxJ o n a t h a nxxx
- Jonathan woke to a dark room and a groggy mind, for the first few moments confused and muddled. This was not a natural time for his body to be waking him, though it was around the usual hour the dark haired vampire rose. He moved slowly at first, pushing himself from bed and toward the bathroom only because he knew he must. Gently, he closed the door behind him before flipping on the light, the sudden brightness helping to shake off the feeling of wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. Micah was still sleeping, of course. Jonathan rose even earlier than the blond, who actually had a place he had to be by a particular time.
After a moment, the turned on the faucet, splashed water on his face and ran his fingers through his hair in a sleepy attempt to tame the mussed locks. No matter how groggy he was, he never failed to appreciate that it was easy, comparatively, to walk across a dark room, to brush his teeth or laugh and play and work. To move at all, with full control of his body, with strength and energy, and without pain. Even after all these years, he hadn’t lost that awareness, and he thought those few difficult years before he’d changed never would completely leave him.
The turned the faucet off, changed into the clothes he’d set out after his shower the night before, and pausing to give his eyes a moment to readjust to the darkness as he turned the lights back out, shuffled his way to the kitchen. Breakfast. That was his first task for the day. It was a wonderful way to really wake up, cooking. The smells curling around his brain like so much warmth and comfort. It was the feeling of home.
All the motions were automatic. He didn’t need to be fully awake, to coherent think, to pull together that familiar meal. Fresh cut fruit, including a bowl of strawberries for the girl in the house. Pancakes, half of which had bananas cut up and stirred into the batter for himself. Blueberry muffins, which would still be warm from the oven by the time anyone else got up. Freshly cut fruit and a few sausages, again cooked especially for the girl of the house. It was important that she got some protein with her breakfast, too. For him and Micah. . . a bit less important, given the difference in their bodily needs. The options of juice and milk would complete the meal.
Jonathan had just set down Micah’s plate when the blond wandered into the kitchen and dining area, and the dark haired vampire smile warmly when the blond spoke, leaning slightly into the brief embrace. “And I love you,” he murmured back, lingering against the blond’s warmth a moment before pulling away to make a plate for Jada, who no doubt would be along soon. "I just hear you up and about, is all.” Or at least that was part of it. The dark-haired boy had always had an acute awareness for where the people he’d loved were through out the day. And Micah was someone he’d always been able to sense, due to his own special abilities. Now that Micah was his most important person, his world near-revolved around the other male. Of course he always knew.
The dark-haired vampire made a plate up for the girl and himself, then poured drinks for all three of them and sat down to eat. He’d just started to cut into his pancakes when the blond spoke again. He looked up, grinned when he saw the girl enter the room before he could really answer the question. Right on time, and her breakfast was still warm and waiting for her – and as always, there were more pancakes and muffins if the girl wanted more than what was on her place already.
“Good morning, Jada,” Jonathan said softly, nodding slightly when the girl greeted him. He gently pushed her plate and glass in front of her, waiting for her to show interest in the food before returning his attention to his own. “Of course, I did,” he added, taking on a slightly smug tone. He liked to make yummy things for the people he loved, and the moment they’d taken in the girl, she’d qualified. The little girl was adorable, and they’d been friends of the family for ages. When her parents had died, it had only been natural to give her a home. He liked having a kid around. He liked walking her to school and helping her pick out her clothes at night. He was happy they’d had the opportunity to have a kid in the house, even if it had resulted from such tragic circumstances. . .
Jonathan ate at a leisurely pace, but still finished pretty quickly, automatically rising to clean up after breakfast and put the extra food away. Once he’d finished cleaning up and the girl was ready, he would walk her to school, and then he supposed he’d stop by the restaurant, though today was an off day. Not that anyone there actually expected him to stick to a schedule, anyway. They’d learned that quickly, when he’d bought out the place a few years back. He tended to stop by with little or no notice, but he was forgiving and patient in the face of mistakes. . . to a point.
And then he might come home for a nap before he had to pick the girl back up again. They’d probably go to the park, or maybe they’d go to the zoo to look at giraffes and other animals until Micah was off work. Jonathan wanted to take the girl to the zoo sometime soon. He wanted to share the things that he loved with her. But that was already obvious, since he was willing to share Micah.
“You’ve got twenty minutes,” he announced to the girl, glancing at the clock as he bagged up the extra muffins. “Twenty minutes,” he repeated with a small smile, “and then we need to get you to school.”
Luxury Starshine
Star Seeker
►►► M I C A H • C A M E R O N
- It was okay. A typical child response. It was a typical adult response too, except that an adult usually went on unless they wanted to be asked what wrong. Children were not like that. So wishy washy when they didn't know the strict answer. Micah didn't press though. The girl needed time, he could not blame her for being wishy washy about...everything. Her entire world had collapsed around her in one horrific night, and he was sure he and Jonathan were not enough to fill her heart.
He waited until the last possible moment before getting up from his seat and going over to Jonathan, wrapping one arm around his waist and pulling him close to kiss him on the cheek. The other male was an affection fiend, he didn't need to worry that he was being too touchy...he needed to worry he wasn't cuddly enough. "I have to go now, I'll be back early this evening. Say hello to everyone at the restaurant...and don't tell me it's your day off. I know better." He gave the other another kiss, on the top of his head this time, and then withdrew.
"Have a wonderful day." He drew back, and paused at the back of Jada's chair. "You too, kiddo." He picked up the brush and ran it through her hair exactly five times before setting it down again. "Listen to your teacher." The blond then went to the door, grabbed his keys and went out to the...car, if such a thing could even be called a car. It flew...or hovered. Whatever. To Micah, a car was something that rolled on wheels. On the ground. But whatever it was, it was the transport he used to get to work, and it would take him about twenty minutes to get there, even with any traffic he got once he got into the thick of the city.
The one good thing about being assigned to bats? It was dark. The illusion of it allowed him to pretend it was night and allowed him to function a bit more normally. Without the need for light at all, Micah watched the megabats, all of varying sizes...sleep, mostly. It was dark, but they still knew it was daytime too. Despite the dark environment, Micah hoped something was born soon, so he could request transfer. Bats didn't do much of anything, and none of them were sick...
In the afternoon, after sleeping for two hours while "working" he came back in with his notes to write it all in the records, and overheard a couple of his colleagues talking about the recent vampire attacks, and saying how vampires were the scourge of the earth...well...Micah agreed for the most part, but he still rolled his eyes. How not informed they were. They spoke only of what they knew - The Red Court. They knew nothing of Micah's kind...not to say that the White Court wasn't as or more dangerous, it was simply a matter of choosing and coexisting. The number of humans who learned about vampires from the news that knew there were two types was probably very small...
He spent the rest of the day sleeping on and off, always trying to catch up on his sleep. Thank god it would soon be the weekend and he always had those off. It had become a requirement for him. Friday to Sunday, off. That was his sabbath. He wasn't breaking it to study habitual megabats.
When he left work it was still pretty light out, he slept more, until his body started to realize the sun was starting to set, and he actually wanted to be awake. Now was the time he'd go hunting. He didn't want to linger over it, he wanted to get home so Jonathan could go, so they'd have time together this evening before they had to force themselves to try and sleep for tomorrow. That was always his goal, to spend more time with his beloved...
In the end, his victim was a young woman, a little drunk, but still just starting her night of partying. She was an easy pick, but then, by now, most picks were easy for Micah. He'd lived long enough to become an expert. He danced with her, gracefully invited her over to the side, swung her around, closer and closer until...he bit. She was intoxicated enough that she couldn't tell the difference between his drinking and a normal man's being overly forward. Her blood had a sour twang to it that told the blond she drank often. The woman that drank often were very used to having men come forward...they tended to be easy.
He excused himself from her company quickly after getting what he needed, using some sort of an excuse that involved drinks and a lousy song...and he exited the building he'd previously entered...but he did not exit alone.
"I saw that, Vampire."
Ah. Yes. That could only be the voice of someone who was trying to call themselves a vampire hunter. They were so annoying. "Did you now? You must have been watching closely. I'm very discreet."
"Doesn't matter, you drank her blood."
Micah sighed, finally bothering to turn around and breathe in deeply. There was more than one. They weren't in sight, but he could smell them. A whole little pack of them. "I suppose it means nothing that she's still dancing around, in no danger of falling over dead...?" He shrugged, slightly amused. They were idiots to think they could take on him.
"Sure. This time, but what about next time?"
"Next time? Probably a man, I don't usually go for the same type twice in a row." He enunciated in a condescending way, trying to draw out anger that would probably make the man sloppy, perhaps his compatriots too.
"Do you feel no guilt?!"
Micah smirked. That was what they all seemed to say. "Allow me to answer your question with a question: Do you feel bad every time you eat a hamburger?" And that was all it took to set not only him, but two of the three others around off. The one that spoke came at him with a knife. Silver, probably. Wrong creature, stupid boy. It was easy to grab him by the elbow, to crush it in his hand, and then shove him harshly into the next hunter, bringing them both down with groans and moans. Weaklings. They would have been weak when he was still young. Now, now it was like he almost understood how Anluan felt. Almost.
The third one had a wooden stake, correct method this time, and Micah moved just slightly to avoid, and then grabbed the stake, wrenching it from his grasp. Splinters burned like fire as they entered his skin, but it was a small price to pay for getting what was actually a dangerous weapon away from someone who would kill him. "Would you like to back off now?" The answer was nonverbal, and as the third hunter lunged, Micah sighed. Their determination was admirable, but misplaced. One step to the side, trip him, grab arm, twist. Twist farther...and there was the crack and the scream. One spiral fracture coupled with a dislocated shoulder.
He dropped the third hunter to the ground, and he started twitching and sobbing. Lovely. The vampire stepped over the third one and returned to where the second and first ones were. The second one was trying to get up. How cute. He grabbed his hand and cracked it against the street, allowing the blood to flow. "Sleep well now. You'll have a spiting headache in the morning," Micah grinned and chuckled, reaching to take the silver knife from the hand of the first. "And I think I'll just take that..." The fourth one was coming out now, it was a woman, of course, she was smarter and more patient than her male friends...and she was fast. She got a punch in, causing Micah to bite his tongue...and she was also apparently a weak witch, she used a spell, and there was a rush of pain and blood on his right arm. "Of course," Micah sighed, reaching up to slowly rub a bit of blood away from the corner of his mouth. "I commend you, you're obviously the most talented."
"Shut up!"
"But not much for words." Micah shook his head. He wanted to get home. It was really dark now. Far later than when he said he'd be back. "Let's end this, shall we?"
"Yes, let's." And that was all the confirmation Micah needed. He moved, her eyes too slow in the darkness to keep up with him and he moved behind her, gagged her with his hand, pulled her to his chest, and stabbed her shoulder. right where the muscles connected. He let her bleed on him for a moment, then dipped her down the ground and removed the knife before stabbing it in her dominant hand, so she wouldn't try another spell.
And then he got into his car.
"Tsk, I just got his shirt..." he commented as he inspected the arm that her spell had affected. The wound was healing already, but that didn't take back the blood he'd lost to his shirt...nor her blood. He sighed, but then revved up the car and made his way home. The sooner he got home, the less worry there would be, plain and simple.
The blond made his way inside, and stopped at the kitchen doorway, his eyes flickering over to Jada. She couldn't see. She'd be traumatized all over again. He could tell her later, but telling and seeing were two different things. "Jonathan," he called to his partner, beckoning him over with one hand. "I'm sorry I'm late, can you come talk to me for a moment?" It was a good idea to keep it from Jadana...Jonathan, not so much.
...I love you so much that I sometimes don't think my soul can take it...and then I remember...I don't have a soul anymore, it was traded away for power. Do you love me too? Tell me again, I'm so insecure...
...I love you so much that I sometimes don't think my soul can take it...and then I remember...I don't have a soul anymore, it was traded away for power. Do you love me too? Tell me again, I'm so insecure...
chihari the Kiwi
Precious Blob
JADANA
Jada reached eagerly for the plate placed in front of her. Strawberry pancakes and a blueberry muffin! Yummy! She bit into the top of the muffin eagerly. It was soft, and still warm, so Jonathan had to have baked them that morning. He was nice. So, so nice. And he knew Jada's weakness for blueberry muffins. "It's yummy!" she said, blueberry smears on her cheeks. It was her version of a thank you.
"Okay," she said, already feeling more awake. She finished her muffin, since she was the type to eat her food one section at a time. She arranged the sliced strawberries into a neat line on the edge of her pancake, then carefully rolled it up so the strawberries were tucked inside. She took a bite of the pancake roll. Delicious.
Micah got up and got ready to leave, saying goodbye to Jonathan first. Jada looked away quickly, pained. Her mommy and daddy had looked at each other like that... She jumped when the brush went through her hair, tugging out all the snags. She gave Micah a small smile, her eyes crinkling up. "Bye bye!" She reached up and patted his side as he turned to go. He'll be back later, she told herself, nibbling on her pancake and trying to ignore the uneasiness that plagued her whenever Jonathan or Micah left her sight for more than a few minutes. He'll go to work, and then he'll come home. It'll be okay. When she was finished her pancakes she got up and put her plate on the counter by the sink, like her mommy had trained her to do. Maybe Mommy would see her from Heaven and be proud that she was still cleaning up after herself.
She scrubbed at her face with a cloth, then went to Jonathan to make sure it was really clean. As always, he seemed to find more places that needed scrubbing, despite how carefully she'd done it. Then they walked to school, hand-in-hand because it was safer that way. "Bye bye, Jonathan!" she yelled from the school entrance as he left. She bit her lip to keep from crying. Some of the kids here cried when their parents dropped them off, but Jada wouldn't! She was a big girl, and she had to be brave! He'll be back, he'll be back...
As she'd been told, Jada worked hard. She knew most of her letters already, since Daddy had taught them to her, but she still got S and Z mixed up sometimes. She knew her numbers and colours, too. Her teacher said she was very smart. Jada was just surprised that some of her classmates didn't know them yet. How could anyone mistake red for yellow? During playtime she played with Allison, since her favourite friend Becka was home sick. She liked Allison well enough, but she was super bossy sometimes. Everything had to be her way. Today was especially bad. Eventually Jada gave up and went to play cars with the boys.
Then it was time to be picked up. Jadana squatted by the door, arms around her knees, waiting with barely-concealed anxiety. Jonathan would be there. He never forgot. And sure enough, he arrived. Jada grinned and ran forward to grab his hand. Yes, she'd had a good day. Yes, she'd been good. No, she hadn't hit anyone in the eye with a racecar like she had last week. But Tommy deserved it! He was mean!
They went to the park, which was one of Jada's all-time favourite places. She played on the slide. Then she made Jonathan push her on the swings, since she had yet to figure out the whole pumping thing, even when an older boy tried to show her. She ran around and played until finally she just flopped down, too tired to play anymore. Then they went home and had a snack, and finally curled up for a nap. Jada curled up into a little ball, pushed right up into Jonathan's ribcage. She liked having naps with him. She didn't have nightmares then.
Jonathan had to shake her gently awake some time later. She mumbled sleepily, stretching and squirming like a cat that had just been disturbed in the middle of a nap. Then she got up and followed him to the kitchen. Jada wanted to play checkers, so they found a checker board. Jada didn't know how to play though, so Jonathan taught her. It was actually really easy! She just had to remember that the checkers couldn't go forward, backward, and sideways, and had to stay on the one colour. She had just gleefully captured one of Jonathan's checkers when the front door opened and shut, and then Micah was calling Jonathan to come out to the hallway.
Jadana frowned. She knew that tone. They were going to talk about things they didn't want her to know about. She didn't like that! Shouldn't she get to go talk too? When Jonathan had gone out into the hallway, Jada slid quietly off her chair and padded over, peeking around the doorway.
She screamed. Blood. Micah was covered in blood. Was he going to die? Mommy and Daddy had been covered in blood, and they never woke up again. Micah couldn't die. He wasn't allowed to! "Don't die!" she wailed, sobbing. "You're not allowed to die!" She ran over and grabbed onto his pantleg, trying to drag him farther into the house as though that would somehow save him. She was terrified. Micah and Jonathan were all she had now. She liked Micah. If he died... if he died... Somewhere, glass shattered. She wrapped both arms around his legs, clinging in desperation as she wailed. She'd grabbed and was digging her nails into his flesh in the process, but she didn't notice or care. Anything to keep Micah from leaving.
CLOMP-a-saurus
Shirtless Husband
xxxJ o n a t h a nxxx
- Jonathan chuckled as the blond spoke, shifting slightly in the other male’s embrace to nuzzle his chin against the blond’s neck. Every morning it was the same. He never wanted Micah to leave, but he knew they be back together soon. “You know me so well,” he teased softly, lightly kissing the nearest area of exposed skin before allowing the other vampire to pull away. “Have fun at work," he added softly as the blond brushed the girl’s hair, knowing perfectly well the other vampire probably wouldn’t. He didn’t seem to be enjoying the bats so much. But then, Jonathan supposed it couldn’t all be fun and games.
The dark-haired vampire paused to watch the blond as he made his way out the door, then turned his attention back to the girl, helping her wipe her face and get ready for school as usual. He liked the walk to school, still preferring to walk everywhere rather than drive, no matter how the technology changed. He liked having a little alone time with the girl, liked less leaving her at kindergarten, since she never quite seemed happy with the separation. He’d have seriously considered homeschooling – he was certainly smart and patient enough for it – if he didn’t think the socialization was probably good for her.
The girl needed to make friends, to learn how to function within society in a way that he and Micah could not. She would age. She would grow old and die. And hopefully, in the meantime, she would live, love, and be happy. Gods knew she’d already had a rough start. Jonathan only wanted the best for her from here on out.
After dropping the girl off at kindergarten, the dark haired vampire ambled on over to the restaurant, managing to waste enough time there that by the time he’d left, it was almost time to pick the girl up again. To be honest, he was happy that she only had partial day kindergarten. He remembered how hard it had been for him to be away for full days so suddenly, and he thought this was a much better transition for new students. Plus it meant he got some time to the girl all to himself. He arrived at the school to pick her up perfectly on time, as usual, smiling broadly when she ran over to grab his hand. She was always happy to see him, it seemed. . . and that in turn made him happy as well. He asked all the usual questions: how her day had been, what she’d learned and done. And upon receiving satisfactory answers, they directed their steps toward the local park. He liked it well enough, though there were other places he preferred, but he knew the girl really loved it there, and as far as he was concerned, that was reason enough to go. She certainly seemed to be having a good time playing on the slide and the swings.
When the girl was too tired to play any more, Jonathan scooped her up, settling the girl in for a piggyback ride home. He was about ready for a nap himself – but first, snackies! Leftover muffins, to be more specific. And bellies full and bodies tired, they curled up for an afternoon nap. Jonathan liked not having to sleep alone even when Micah was at work. He liked the feel of her small body trustingly curled up against his, his fingers against her silky hair as he dozed off. And he liked that the girl slept so peacefully, so completely, during these afternoon naps.
Hours had passed before the dark-haired vampire woke again, and though he didn’t really want to wake the girl from her peaceful slumber, he’d already learned the hard way that if he didn’t. . . no one was getting sleep tonight. Carefully, he shook her awake, smiling as she slowly woke up and followed him out of the bedroom. A little juice and a board game later, and the two were perfectly alert again and, as far as he could tell, having fun.
And then Micah came home. Jonathan heard him, of course, before the blond called out. Those familiar sounds were the brightest point in his afternoons. His smile faltered slightly when the other vampire called to him, and to his surprise, he found he had been so caught up in playing with the girl that he hadn’t realized the other male was late. That bothered him, and more than he cared to admit. He patted the girl’s head, softly assuring her he’d be right back, the headed for the door. He knew that tone of voice. Something was bothering the blond, and he wanted to discuss it privately.
The dark-haired vampire startled slightly at the sight of Micah, then followed him silently into the hallway, positioning himself to be able to merely turn to see what the girl was up to. Deep, indigo hued eyes scanned the blond’s body, searching for some gaping wound, despite knowing how quickly any injuries the other vampire might have sustained would have healed. He just looked bloody and irritated. But before he could ask Micah what happened, or offer to deal with those bloody clothes for that matter, a shrill scream split the air. Jonathan winced. Clearly the girl had followed him, and it was no wonder she was having such a panicked reaction to the sight of the blond covered in blood.
“Jada.” Sparing a brief, piteous look up at the blonde, Jonathan knelt by the girl, pulling gently at her hands as she clung to the blond. His hands came to rest over hers, carefully trying to pry the girl loose from her death-grip. “Micah’s okay,” he said, keeping his voice gentle and calm, though perhaps a bit too soft to be heard clearly over her frantic wailing. In fact, Jonathan didn't know how he could hear anything over her wailing. She was so loud. “Micah’s not going to die. We won’t let him leave us. But you need to let go now.” He directed a begging expression up at the blond, afraid to use very much strength to pry the girl off of him. He didn’t want to hurt her. But Micah needed to get out of those bloody clothes, and sooner rather than later, if he was going to get her calmed any time soon.
Luxury Starshine
Star Seeker
►►► M I C A H • C A M E R O N
- Micah moved out of the doorway when Jonathan started to come over obediently. For the time being, Micah planned to just explain that he'd been attacked, it had been taken care of...but these clothes needed to be treated. He would sit down with his partner and explain the details and discuss what it meant later. Between the two, Jonathan would need to hunt, and at the very least, Jada needed dinner. "The good news is--" he began, but was quickly cut off by a scream.
Jadana.
"Don't die!" she wailed, rushing over to grab at his pants, clearly trying to drag him over to another room. "You're not allowed to die!" Underneath the frustration Micah felt over how the situation had turned out, he felt a pang of amusement. He wasn't allowed to die, huh? For one thing, he was already dead, and he hadn't been allowed to choose his time of passing...and why was it always someone else who said when he could and couldn't die? Shouldn't that have been his choice...? Still, underneath it all, Micah knew the child was traumatized and scared. She didn't want to lose what little stability she had left.
Even as Jonathan tried to calm her, she flung her arms around his legs, sobbing wildly. Somewhere, glass shattered, and Micah's head turned to look to see if he could see what caused it...at least he did until the little tiny nails started digging into his skin. It was painful, but he had to keep his face straight.
Jonathan was failing to calm the girl at all, and Micah sighed at the look given to him. He nodded in understanding and, rather awkwardly, considering how a small girl was restraining his movement, reached down and gently took one of Jonathan's hands, guiding the other vampire up. "Would you be a love and get me a wet washcloth?" He kissed the top of the hand he'd taken and, once Jonathan was heading off to get him what he wanted, he began to unbutton and pull off the upper half of his outfit. He sat the clothing on the ground, and then reached down to grab the girl's hands.
He was not Jonathan. Jonathan was gentle and careful, and he didn't want to hurt anything. The girl was hurting him. She was coming off. He did use a fair amount of restraint though, only pulling hard enough to force the girl to let go. "It hurts when you do that, you know." He said, lifting the girl up and showing her the frown on his face before he sat down on the ground, setting Jada in his lap. "Now, I'm not going to die, Jada. I won't lie. I got hurt. More hurt than I've gotten in a while. But I'm okay now, I heal very fast...Thank you," He accepted the washcloth from Jonathan as the other male returned. Manuevering around the child, he rubbed his arm clean of dried blood and showed her. "See? Nothing. And the other blood...well, it's not mine. But no one's going to die. Not them, not me." Though, they would be hurting for quite a long time, while Micah was already almost pain free, excluding splinters.
The blond stroked the girl's hair, trying to pretend for just a moment that she really was his and Jonathan's child. He hated children, but if it were really there's...if that were possible, he might actually love it. This was as close as they would ever get. "I'm not going to die. Not for a long, long time. Okay?" Once he had Jada's nod to say yes, he turned his head back to Jonathan. "So. You see how my day was...how was yours?"
...I love you so much that I sometimes don't think my soul can take it...and then I remember...I don't have a soul anymore, it was traded away for power. Do you love me too? Tell me again, I'm so insecure...
...I love you so much that I sometimes don't think my soul can take it...and then I remember...I don't have a soul anymore, it was traded away for power. Do you love me too? Tell me again, I'm so insecure...
chihari the Kiwi
Precious Blob
JADANA
Jada could feel Jonathan trying to pull her off, but she refused to let go. His hands were being too gentle to successfully dislodge her, and she buried her face above Micah's kneecap. She didn't want Micah to die and leave her behind. Jonathan's hands let go, and were replaced by Micah's shortly after. He was less gentle than Jonathan, and despite her determination to keep her hold on his pants, he'd soon pried her off and lifted her up.
She stopped wailing when he frowned at her, and quieted until she was sniffling quietly. She tried very hard to keep down the panic and stay calm. "...Sorry..." she whispered, and sniffed again. She hadn't meant to hurt him. Really, she hadn't. But she didn't want him to leave. He said he wouldn't. He said he'd gotten hurt, but he wouldn't die. Jada reached out and patted where he'd wiped clean, as though reassuring herself that he really wasn't badly hurt there and wasn't in any danger of bleeding to death.
She nodded when prompted to. She laid her head tiredly on his collarbone. She felt a little funny, but not in a bad way, and not in a way she could describe. She was glad that Micah wasn't going anywhere, though. "Promise?" she asked in a small voice. Micah would keep a promise, right? She thought he would. Promises were important.
CLOMP-a-saurus
Shirtless Husband
xxxJ o n a t h a nxxx
- Jonathan gave a brief nod, immediately releasing the girl to go retrieve a wet cloth for the blond to wipe blood off with, along with a fresh shirt to change into (not that he actually minded Micah walking around without a shirt on) and a pair of tweezers to pick the splinters out of his hand. Oh, yes, he hadn’t missed that, even if the easiest thing to focus on was the bloody clothes.
To his relief, when he got back with the cloth, which he immediately handed over, the girl seemed a little calmer. The blond had the girl in his lap, and though she was still sniffling, she seemed to be recovering from the sudden panic of seeing one of her guardians covered in blood. He gave a slight smile. Despite the blood, they were both pretty cute with her there in his lap. Not cute enough to be worth the scare the girl had gotten, but very, very cute just the same. He just wanted to crawl up there with them and cuddle.
But first, there were more important things at hand. Getting Micah cleaned up the rest of the way. Dealing with the bloody shirt. And most importantly. . .
“Give me your hand,” he said softly, settling in next to them and pulling the limb towards him to examine. It looked painful. Splinters were always painful, and it had seemed becaoming a vampire had made them a greater evil, rather than a lesser one. Taking up the tweezers, the patiently put himself to the task of removing them.
“Oh, we had a good day, didn’t we, Jada?” His tone was cheerful, but had a bit of a distracted air. Most of his focus was on the blond’s hands, rather than maintaining the conversation. Just the same, he paused to direct a brief, bright smile at the other two before focusing back on the blond’s hand. “Letsee. . . we went to the park, and then we came home and had a nice nap. And after we got up we learned to play checkers. Wasn’t that fun?”
Clearly, the thing to do now was focus on the good points of the day, get the girl relaxed, and later. . . Micah could fill him in on the details.
"Maybe this weekend we can go to the zoo," he continued, seemingly oblivious to the tension that still hovered in the air. "Would you like that? What animals do you like, Jada? The giraffes were always my favourite. I used to harrass my family like crazy to go see the giraffes, when I was your age."
Of course, that had been a very long time ago, before even the slightest touch of tragedy had brushed across his life. In so many ways, he'd been a different person back then. He couldn't even see who he was then compared to who he was now. But life had a way of doing that to you - changing you, and not always for the better. All you could do was be happy with where you were or make an effort to keep changing.
And he was happy. There were ups and downs, of course, like the moment they'd just had. . . but he was happy here, with these people, the family he had found for himself. And that was worth everything.
Luxury Starshine
Star Seeker
►►► M I C A H • C A M E R O N
- Jadana apologized. Micah knew she hadn't meant to hurt him, just the opposite really, but, all the same, it had hurt, and she needed to acknowledge it. She had, and that was enough... "Yes, I promise," the blond said with a nod. It was said a parent shouldn't make promises they couldn't keep to a child, but Micah was positive he could keep this promise. He wasn't going to die in a car accident, or get stabbed to death ( easily ) he was fairly certain he was going to be around long after she was gone.
Jonathan demanded his hand, and with a quick glance Micah noticed the tweezers in his hand. "Ah, so you noticed..." he grinned sheepishly as the other vampire pulled at his arm even before he could offer it. Splinters were the worst. They hurt greatly, and they were small and hard to get out. As Jonathan pulled the first one from his hand his fingers involuntarily twitched with pain. And they hurt just as much coming out as they did going in, but they'd hurt for a long time if he let them work themselves out.
He listened to Jonathan talk about their day. He didn't mention the restaurant, just the things he did with Jada. The park, a nap, and then checkers. "Sounds like a nice peaceful day," Micah admitted with a nod, though, to be honest, checkers wasn't his favorite. He preferred card games and dreidel.
The zoo, giraffes... "I came later, but I still remember Giraffey. You really did love that thing." He smiled, even though he winced as another splinter came out. Micah believed that if Jonathan had been allowed, they would have had a pet giraffe in the backyard...at least when they were younger. Micah liked to think that Jonathan now knew better. He had, after all, matured greatly over the years. He remembered when he'd been a young vampires, and Micah had still been angry at him for it, he'd had such energy and an eagerness that Micah had really been serious when he'd threatened the other with a collar and leash...
Once Jonathan had finally gotten all the splinters out of his hand and had released it, Micah flexed his fingers, the sensation still burning in his hand, but it wasn't painful anymore. "Thank you. That's much better," he gave his beloved a smile and then turned back to the little girl on his lap. "I'm giving you to Jonathan now, it's dinnertime for all little human girls who have school in the morning." And it was time for all bloody vampires to go rub the blood off and put a new shirt on.
Once he had an affirmative from her he sat her on the ground and let Jonathan take her. "I'll be back soon," he promised, standing up, taking the washcloth, the old shirt, the new shirt, and dashing off to the washroom where he scrubbed every part of him that showed bits of blood, whether it was his or not, ran his "wounded" hand under a flood of cold water, pulled the shirt over his head, and brushed his hair before returning to the other two residents of the household.
Jada was still...upset all through dinner. She wasn't her usual self, even though Micah knew she was still grieving and already wasn't her usual self. That was why he hadn't wanted her to see, why he'd called to Jonathan and not to her. A part of him wanted to scold her, for doing something that she obviously wasn't supposed to do, but he knew that would be adding insult to injury, and would only cause more harm...And Jonathan would probably get angry at him.
Normally, Micah did not take part in Jada's bedtime routine, Jonathan helped her pick out her clothes and tucked her in...but tonight, Micah tucked her in, as an extra way of saying that he wasn't going anywhere. "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the orange colored zipperumpazoos bite." The vampire chuckled to himself, remembering very well the book he'd read as a child...it probably didn't even exist anymore...he ruffled the girl's hair and then went to get ready for bed himself. Normally, he was ready to stay up later than this, but he was so tired after the fight that he really actually wanted to rest...
"We should talk, now that Jada's asleep." The Jewish man ran his fingers through his hair as he sighed and then slunk like a snake into bed. "I'll tell you all about my "day" when you come to bed." It was simply easier that way...and he could cuddle the other at the same time which was almost always a bonus that would make him feel better, and he was feeling pretty lousy right now.
...I love you so much that I sometimes don't think my soul can take it...and then I remember...I don't have a soul anymore, it was traded away for power. Do you love me too? Tell me again, I'm so insecure...
...I love you so much that I sometimes don't think my soul can take it...and then I remember...I don't have a soul anymore, it was traded away for power. Do you love me too? Tell me again, I'm so insecure...
CLOMP-a-saurus
Shirtless Husband
xxxJ o n a t h a nxxx
- Jonathan quirked a small smile when Micah acknowledged him, allowing him to take the injured hand and meticulously work free the splinters of wood in it. It was the kind of task the dark haired vampire once would have been useless at, back when he was still human. Anything that required fine detail had been beyond him. He’d have just ended up hurting the blond more. But as it was, he could do it now, and the awareness of that difference was still foremost in his mind, even after all these years.
“Yes,” he agreed, his voice warming with the subject. “Giraffey was special.” Not just because it was his favourite animal, or because he’d had it so long, or even because it had been a gift from Nate, who he’d adored for the whole of his life. Giraffey had been a source of comfort for a long time, a gift that had been given to him so that he wouldn’t have to feel quite so alone in that big bed, in that old, empty, lonely house. Giraffey had been that one thing that had made being away from his brother bearable.
He still wanted a pet giraffe, though. A baby one. Of course, it would grow up, but they were so cute when they were babies. Maybe a pregnant one would be best. . . Then he could have two giraffes!
Ah, well, not that such a thing was probable, anyway. It was just one of those goals as children that became nothing more than fantasies as adults. Jonathan would never have a pet giraffe. He knew that. But that wouldn’t stop him from dreaming.
But the zoo still sold those cute little stuffed animals at the gift shop, didn’t they? Maybe there would be one Jada would like.
Finally working free the last splinter, the dark-haired vampire lifted the blond’s hand to lightly kiss his palm before releasing it. The watched as the blond flexed his fingers, then beamed at the girl as the other male announced she was going to come help him with dinner. Jonathan hadn’t been figuring on anything fancy. Macaroni and cheese, maybe. All kids like macaroni and cheese, don’t they? Jonathan sure did. And then carrots for a vegetable, and he was sure he had some meat thawed to make meatballs with. . .
“Let’s go.” Taking the girl’s hand, he led her to the kitchen, only to find himself bewildered by a completely new problem. Broken glass, and a lot of it. His glass lemonade pitcher he’d left to dry in the drying rack was in pieces, as was the few glasses that had been left out on the counter, the bulbs in the overhead light and over the stove. . .
“Jada, do you. . .” He let his voice trail off. Of course, she didn’t know anything about this. She could barely reach the counter, never mind the drying rack without upending everything in it. He had no explanation for this. All he could do was talk to Micah about it later and hope he had an idea.
“Commere.” He scooped the girl up, moving over to the table an depositing her in a chair, luckily far enough from all the broken glass to be safe. “Stay here so you don’t cut yourself, okay?”
And with a small sigh, he found a small box to gather up all the glass in and got to work, finishing up several minutes later with the broom and dustpan. He retrieved replacement bulbs from the hall closet, bringing light back to the room, and then set his attention to making dinner. He put on a pot of water for the pasta, started some butter melting to cook the carrots, then started the over preheating as he pulled the meat from the fridge, mixed in seasoning, and began to form meatballs. By the time the blond rejoined them, the meatballs were in the oven and both pasta and carrots were cooking.
Dinner was a tasty but quiet affair. It was evident the girl was still upset, though he had calmed considerably. Jonathan didn’t try to force the conversation, eating in efficient silence before cleaning up and packaging up the leftovers. And then the girl had her bath, and Jonathan helped her pick out her clothes for the next day and Micah tucked her in. A brief bedtime story was allowed before she was expected to go to sleep, and Jonathan came up with the silliest one he could, determined to make the girl laugh. And then the dark-haired vampire turned out her light, leaving the door cracked as he ducked from the room.
He followed the blond up to bed, plopping down on top of the covers next to him and snuggling up to rest his head on the other vampire’s shoulder. “Tell me now,” he demanded, sounding just a little bit petulant. Of course, he still had to go out and hunt, and he still planned to do so. But if Micah was sleeping when he got back, he knew he wouldn’t wake him, so it was just better to go ahead and talk when they were both already awake.
chihari the Kiwi
Precious Blob
JADANA
Micah promised. That was good. Jada was sure Micah would keep a promise this important. She sniffled, rubbed at her eyes and nodded. "I did good at checkers," Jada said, relatively tonelessly. She was badly shaken, and now she felt very very tired. She watched quietly as Jonathan picked splinters out of Micah's hand. She wondered what had happened, but she didn't think Micah would tell her if she asked. Just as long as he was okay...
"Manatees," she said, still toneless. "I like manatees." They were big and slow and ugly, but Jada liked them. They were sweet. She didn't care much for giraffes, but she wouldn't say so, since Jonathan liked them. She would be nice to the giraffes for his sake.
Jada nodded obediently and let Micah set her down. "Okay..." she said, allowing Jonathan to take her hand and lead her back into the kitchen. She looked back at Micah once, to make sure he was still there. She saw him vanish around the corner towards to washroom, and soon she could hear the taps running. Okay. That was okay.
"What?" she asked, looking up at Jonathan. She hadn't been paying attention, and now he had a funny look on his face. She looked around, and started in surprise. There was broken glass everywhere. That was weird. It had been fine when she and Jonathan left the kitchen...
Jonathan scooped her up and set her on the counter, where she wouldn't walk on the glass. While he was busy cleaning, she picked up on of the shards and examined it, careful not to touch the edges. She still felt odd, but it was starting to fade away now. When he left to get lightbulbs, she slipped the glass into her pocket. She wished her mommy was here to ask about her funny feelings. She didn't think Jonathan and Micah would understand the way her mommy had.
She watched Jonathan make dinner in silence from her position on the counter. Every now and then she tried to perk up, and would ask him a question about what he was doing. Eventually she gave up and just went quiet again. Then she was removed from the counter and set at her seat in the table. She picked at her food, trying and failing to pretend she was interested in it. It smelled yummy, and she didn't want to make Jonathan said, but her tummy felt weird and she didn't want to eat.
Then she had her bath, picked up her clothes for tomorrow, tried to smile at Jonathan's bedtime story, and Micah tucked her in. "Goodnight..." she said, patting at his hair before he stood up and left the room. Then she was left alone in the darkness, broken by her nightlight and the door Jonathan had left partly open for her. When she heard both go into their bedroom and the door close, she slid out of bed and dug the shorts she'd worn that day out of the laundry hamper, pulling the shard of glass from the pocket. Then she padded to her bed and vanished under it, pushing aside discarded socks and jars of spiders that she didn't think Jonathan and Micah knew about yet. She found a little cardboard shoebox, and opened it a crack to slide the glass inside. The she replaced the socks and the jars, squirmed out, and crawled back into bed, staring at the ceiling.
Luxury Starshine
Star Seeker
►►► M I C A H • C A M E R O N
- It seemed that Jonathan was as he ever was, impatient for cuddles. No sooner had Micah said that he'd tell him when he came to bed did the other vampire simply hop into bed with him, snuggle up to his shoulder, and demand the story right now, like a little child. The blond sighed, trying to make it sound like he was in any way annoyed by this reaction, but then wrapped his arms around Jonathan, holding him closely and tightly. "What am I going to do with you?" he mused lightly, bowing his head a little to kiss his neck. "All right, I suppose I can tell you now..." but Jonathan had better go hunting after that. He needed his blood, even if it was still very hard to imagine the younger of two of them hunting in any proper use of the term.
"Work was...fine. Same as it's been since I was assigned to the megabats," And for all he'd actually learned, it might as well have been both the first and last day he'd been with the creatures. He loved bats, but they weren't exactly the creature they knew the least about. It would be different if he was taking care of a few megabats, but that wasn't it. He was just observing them. "And then I got some sleep in the car, and then the sun went down and I went hunting." All that was simple enough, very routine. He could say all these things about most days right now. It was what came after that was interesting.
"My hunt was successful, my victim none the wiser, and perfectly unharmed, able to go back to what she was doing, yet, the moment I left the building I knew I wasn't alone, and..." Micah sighed, rolling his eyes. "I'd apparently become the nightly target for hunters...amateur hunters, mind you, Jonathan, but hunters all the same." He paused for a moment, breathing in deeply, and squeezing the boy in his arms. Despite the storytelling, he did so love holding the other like this. He loved him so much...
"Their leader, heh, tried to pull remorse out of me, I must admit, it's been a while since anyone's tried to get me to admit what I do is wrong..." He minimally shook his head. "And I provoked him and his associates, I admit, I did it on purpose. It made them sloppy. Leader had a silver knife, which always amuses me, I swear they don't do any reading before they take up these jobs. I took care of him and the second very quickly, third one had a stake, and that's where I got the splinters...the fourth one was a witch. I think was fairly weak or untrained, but she got my arm with a spell, I taunted her, and then took care of her, left the silver knife with her." Or in her, as it were, he had stabbed it into her hand before leaving. They had gotten a few minor points on him, his arm, his hand, but they were easily taken care of, and healed quickly. He'd left those hunters in a much worse condition, and he hadn't even tried...
"They were easy. They didn't worry me by themselves, but...Jonathan, this is becoming more common. That's what worries me." The held onto his beloved all the more tightly. Jonathan was a vampire now, but even now, Jonathan was not a fighter. He could defend himself, sure, but he'd really rather not, and was much more prone to getting injured than Micah was. Micah was good at protecting what he loved, but...like now, when Jonathan went hunting, Micah couldn't be there. He wasn't always there. "Stupid hunters can't tell the difference between us and the Red Court," it was stupid, but true. He sighed, his arms lightly and gently releasing the boy. "So...just be careful, okay? Don't get hurt."
...I love you so much that I sometimes don't think my soul can take it...and then I remember...I don't have a soul anymore, it was traded away for power. Do you love me too? Tell me again, I'm so insecure...
...I love you so much that I sometimes don't think my soul can take it...and then I remember...I don't have a soul anymore, it was traded away for power. Do you love me too? Tell me again, I'm so insecure...
CLOMP-a-saurus
Shirtless Husband
xxxJ o n a t h a nxxx
- Jonathan chuckled, snuggling closer to the other vampire’s warmth. He’d always liked the feel of another body against his, but with Micah, it was so much more than that security in warmth. He tilted his head up slightly, watching the blond as he spoke, smirking when Micah talked about work. He knew he imagined something very different than reality when the blond talked about the megabats, but he enjoyed the image giant bats terrorizing the city too much to let it go. In fact, he kind of wanted to make megabat plushies to hang somewhere. That would be fun. Though if he was going to make plushies, maybe he should make a manatee for Jada, instead. . .
The dark-haired vampire pressed his face against the blond’s shoulder as he listened to him speak. He hated the thought of the other male getting seriously hurt, though in this case, there had been no real danger. Micah being in serious mortal danger from a group of amateurs was about as unlikely as Jonathan choosing fight over flight, even when it came to those he could easily overpower. The dark haired boy had hated altercations of any kind, and becoming a vampire hadn’t changed that fact in the slightest.
It would be so easy to fall asleep, lying there so comfortably with the blond next to him. It would be so easy, and yet. . . he still had to hunt, so it wasn’t an option.
“Nothing you couldn’t handle,” he murmured drowsily, seemingly unconcerned with the implications of the story. Micah was strong, and when he needed to be, he could be ruthless. It would take more than a few amateur hunters to take him away. Jonathan had to trust in that. “And I’ll be okay, too.” He smiled sleepily up at the blond, hoping the words themselves would be enough to reassure him, just a little. How could he not know that he’d do anything to come back to him? He could run a hell of a lot faster than a few humans, and if it ever came down to it, he would fight, no matter how much he'd rather not. “I’ll be careful,” he added softly, reluctantly pulling away when the blond released him. He really did need to go hunt, even if he’d rather snuggle up and take a nice nap instead. If he didn’t do it now. . . he would be sorry later. He knew that.
Besides. He liked to hunt. In some way he couldn’t explain, he really did. And he liked that the older he’d gotten, the more he’d been able to control himself through the process. No, he wasn’t much of a fighter, but in this case, he was definitely a hunter.
The dark-haired vampire leaned over to place a chaste kiss against the blond’s lips, the pushed himself to his feet. By the time he got back, he knew, the blond would be sleeping. The younger vampire would put out his things for the next day, take a brief shower before snuggling under the covers for those precious hours of sleep with his beloved by his side, and sooner than he ever liked, morning would come and he’d find himself yawning over cooking breakfast, the pattern begun anew.