Then they can find someone else to watch after them for the time being. [He certainly doesn't care.
Dorian watches Larus closely. Watches the way he pulls away.]
I'm going to twist your arm about this whether you like it or not, Larus. [His tone rounds, softening slightly.] However much you do or don't care about your life, I do.
And if that's not enough, I'll give you a rationalist's reason for thinking again: anything you happen to do, or that happens to you, that creates problems, I'm now responsible for. [But that isn't the reason why he's being firm now.]
[ he's conscious of the slightest pressure in his jaw as he grits his teeth, entirely too aware of how trapped he is now. ]
Only if I sign that contract with you. [ which is a surprisingly petty response, but it's out before he can quell it. then, he sighs like he's just realized. ] I said I wouldn't be an inconvenience to you or cause you trouble. I'm not pleased with the idea of someone being responsible for me or watching me. [ no matter how logical that is, his tone implies. ]
Is that what you want? For me to stay here?
[ larus doesn't know why he asks or cares so much, but there's a firmness to dorian's words that implies something else. it can't be that he'd want control over him when he's obviously pointed out very real reasons not to go in the down. still, there's only so much freedom he has anyway, and he's always going to test those limits. ]
Yes. [He levels a look at the vampire.] Give it a week and a half or so for interest to die down, and I'll leave it alone.
Anyone you need to look in on isn't going to face catastrophe before then.
[Except that they might, but they're only people he doesn't know and that Larus can't know overly well by now, either. If something happens the other man will adjust in time, and he'll also be in one piece. It's a worthwhile tradeoff.]
[ larus slides to the edge of the cushion, clearly uncomfortable but not particularly in the mood to argue further. ]
If that's what it takes, fine. I'll stay here.
[ but he isn't going to be very happy about it. he's not happy about it now, though most of it is just circumstantial, and larus will just bide his time until he can get back to doing something useful. with that decision, too, he looks away and stares idly at some sliver of sunlight across the top of the ceiling. ]
[Larus might not be happy, but Dorian is grateful and able to move past the moment of conflict that had sprung up between them. He follows after the other man, motivated to try and smooth things over now that a decision's been made.
Reaching out, Dorian lays a hand on Larus' forearm and then leans further, slipping his arms around him.]
[ he's not in the mood to be placated so easily, but there's always been something about dorian's presence that's drawn him in. maybe it's the warmth, dropping his gaze so he's looking at him rather than nothing at all. his fingers brush the curl of his hair, his body still somewhat rigid in dorian's embrace. ]
My time outside is limited by half the day, [ he points out, fingertips resting against his jaw now. ] And I don't expect you to stay in here with me.
[ they're supposed to try to have lives in this place, so. ]
[He turns his head to kiss the pads of the other man's fingers, his hand wrapping around the small of Larus' thigh.]
During the day you can help me plan for the sorcerer that's going to be putting a spell on that [his gaze flicks to the closed door at the far end of the kitchen] room. Exit strategies. Backup plans. [Things it seems like Larus would be good at or at least motivated to see as important, given his strong emotional response to the whole idea and how much Dorian's noticed that the other man's thoughts seem to be centered around survival.]
I don't think you're going to be able to be here for it, so the second opinion would be useful. [Probably.]
That won't take long, [ he points out, eyes lowering just slightly as he watches dorian's mouth press against his skin. ] Even if this idea of yours isn't a very smart one, I'll do what I can. I've already decided it would be very easy to climb through any of these windows. Getting out would be even easier.
[ so that's nearly all of his planning for that. larus still doesn't approve of this stranger helping with something obviously important, but he won't bring it up again. not now. he's far more focused on the fact they're so close and it'll be hours before the sun goes down again. ]
What about the rest of the time? [ a curl of his mouth, somewhat sardonic. ] Should I just wait for you to come home?
[Longer sentences are a positive development.] That's an option. And seeing as magic obviously exists in this place, I was thinking it stands to reason that dispelling does, too.
[He grazes teeth over the pad of Larus' thumb and then smiles up at him, taking the vampire's hand out of the way smoothly with his free one.
Larus can think his plan's stupid all he wants, if it means the other man's starting to think of ways to accept being trapped in the high rise during the day rather than getting morose over it.
Dorian drops a kiss on the curve of the other man's neck, pressing at him.]
You strike me as a capable man who knows how to entertain himself if need be. [Not a sex joke, despite how he's coming onto Larus. But there are articles of interest -books, mostly- building up in the suite, as well as the network.]
[ or maybe it is, restless as always when he's stuck too long in one place. it's also why he'd slowly built up an extensive list of safe houses in the dusk, different areas to come and go from depending on where he was and what he'd been doing. he could have that here, though that means he'll certainly have to work for it. even harder since he'll rely on dorian for some things.
he isn't going to be seduced by sweet words, but he does close his eyes, his hand now smoothing down dorian's back. ]
You can believe I'm waiting for you if that's what you want. It's not like I have anywhere else to be. [ he pauses then, considering. ] I doubt I would want to be anywhere else either.
[He takes it as the statement of fact that he's getting used to receiving from the vampire (he has nowhere else to be, so there's nothing to want or compare between), rather than a comment on himself. It has the opposite effect of being charming and interesting anyway, because it's how most people don't react to him.]
It'll go by faster than you think. [The kiss he has for the other man is sweet.] I promise.
If it helps, and it would, I'm happy to lend myself to exhausting you with each rising of the sun. [Unlikely, but the attempt would be diverting.]
[ he's familiar with time passing as it always does: slowly, meticulously. there's more to keep him occupied there, that's true, and dorian already helps with that. it's not as if he couldn't spend time speaking to other people or meeting with them in this suite during the day as well, though that would come at a later date when he actually felt the need to invite anyone inside where he's living.
the tenderness that's reflected in the way larus returns the kiss is deep. ]
Every day as long as we're together? [ there's a note of amusement in his voice. ] I don't want to kill you.
No. I just wonder if you're overestimating yourself trying to impress me again.
[ it's the small things that stick with him, after all, and that's all he's really going to have after they're gone. larus runs his knuckles against the line of dorian's jaw before pushing his fingers into his hair to gently grip the strands. he wants to press his mouth right against the pulse in his neck, but he refrains. barely. ]
I'd lost about three and a half pints of blood, maybe more. [It's happened often enough that he knows how the losses in different amounts feel, and he's relatively sure he's correct about that.] It's not an invigorating feeling.
But, no. Exhaustion doesn't rate, and I don't recover my stamina unless I've slept or had something like a cup of coffee.
[ maybe it's not a good topic to discuss considering the way he's beginning to feel—guilt only part of it. larus is quiet as he takes all of it in and realizes now how dangerous a thing that particular knowledge is, especially if other vampires or creatures requiring blood learn of it. he frowns, trailing his fingers down to the back of dorian's neck. ]
I'll be more careful next time. [ a silent promise, and he presses into his skin, changing the subject again. ] Although, I can't say I'm not interested in learning some of your other limits.
[Dorian's fine with them skating over the blood and gore part of the conversation. Yesterday evening had been intense enough that he's had his fill of the sight, smell, and feeling of blood all over his skin for some time.
He smiles.
And amazingly, any potential lewdness in that second comment sails right over Dorian's head thanks to the tone.]
Well, for one, I can't keep a bruise. They fade away like disappearing ink. [He offers Larus his hand.] Everything starts purple, and then cycles quickly through red, green, and yellow, like a kaleidoscope. [On the canvas of his white skin, he thinks it's fetching.]
[ as fascinating as it is, it's not something he can bring himself to do just to see it happen. he's witnessed it on other vampires, on himself, and while it's interesting because dorian is not undead as far as he's aware, larus is more intrigued by other things. he takes his hand, but rather than apply pressure or bruise him in a way he knows he easily could, he brings it to his mouth for a kiss. he presses his lips to the palm, the wrist.
his heartbeat is strong, and larus listens to it as he looks at him. ]
I said I wouldn't hurt you, and I especially won't do it intentionally. I'll take your word for it and leave it at that. [ there's something beautiful in the fragility of people, a reminder he doesn't always have to feel so monstrous. ] You should take more care than you do.
[ never mind he's done and will do equally foolish things, like return to the down at some point. ]
[His eyes follow the progress of the kisses Larus presses down his palm, and then his wrist. The sweetness of the gesture contrasts against the cold of Larus' fingers, the reality of his being. It's a reoccurring realization that he finds moving each time it crosses his mind.]
I was, [he says, not missing a beat.] Didn't I put myself in your hands?
[ there could be something more in those words, but larus isn't certain how to process it or how to begin understanding it. he hasn't had much time to think about dorian alone specifically when it's always been a situation or their current circumstances. such a thing implies a sort of trust he wants to hold onto though, leaning to rest his forehead against the hand he holds. everything else is muted to him but this and the hypnotic thrum of dorian's pulse. ]
Are you trying to tempt me? [ since that's what it feels like too. ]
More often than not, Larus treats him with gentle care. The kind that someone with super strength must, he imagines, have to consciously moderate their own movements and grip to manage. Someone who can't hurt him even minimally, even if encouraged to and when the hurt won't stick, is at the very least a friend, if not something more tender.]
Why do you do that? [he asks, changing the subject. It's obvious why, but he wants to hear it in Larus' own words.] You like touching my wrists, and that first time on the couch between us the same feeling was in the way you kissed my neck, [he explains. Is it the warmth? The desire to feel halfway close to being alive by being close?]
[ he'd already known the answer to his own question, but he's not exactly prepared for the one dorian asks in return, abruptly aware of the placement of his hands even as he tilts his head back to look at him. why is it so easy to nearly lose himself when he's with someone else? or, more specifically, when he's with him? other people don't interest him nearly as much. ]
It reminds me that you're alive, [ he settles on after a few moments, smoothing his thumb over dorian's wrist before freeing his hand. rather than skirt away from the topic, he feels the need to elaborate. ] Not that you aren't. I can hear your heart beating without even thinking about it. It's more – I don't know. A conscious effort to keep my teeth where they should be and not take what isn't mine.
[ which is a different sort of reminder, always aware of that primal instinct to bite and claim but desperate to prove that he has control over something he never wanted in the first place. ]
[This kind of restraining of oneself is something Dorian understands, but mostly in an abstract and secondhand sense.
Most of his familiarity with this kind of abstinence comes from Toby. But Toby didn't want to resist for the sake of other people, where Larus makes it sound as though some of his reasoning is motivated by a kindness and awareness of others.]
By giving into some of the temptation but not all of it?
[What is a heartbeat to a vampire but a calling that burrows from one body deep into the core and most primal instincts of another?]
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Dorian watches Larus closely. Watches the way he pulls away.]
I'm going to twist your arm about this whether you like it or not, Larus. [His tone rounds, softening slightly.] However much you do or don't care about your life, I do.
And if that's not enough, I'll give you a rationalist's reason for thinking again: anything you happen to do, or that happens to you, that creates problems, I'm now responsible for. [But that isn't the reason why he's being firm now.]
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Only if I sign that contract with you. [ which is a surprisingly petty response, but it's out before he can quell it. then, he sighs like he's just realized. ] I said I wouldn't be an inconvenience to you or cause you trouble. I'm not pleased with the idea of someone being responsible for me or watching me. [ no matter how logical that is, his tone implies. ]
Is that what you want? For me to stay here?
[ larus doesn't know why he asks or cares so much, but there's a firmness to dorian's words that implies something else. it can't be that he'd want control over him when he's obviously pointed out very real reasons not to go in the down. still, there's only so much freedom he has anyway, and he's always going to test those limits. ]
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Anyone you need to look in on isn't going to face catastrophe before then.
[Except that they might, but they're only people he doesn't know and that Larus can't know overly well by now, either. If something happens the other man will adjust in time, and he'll also be in one piece. It's a worthwhile tradeoff.]
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If that's what it takes, fine. I'll stay here.
[ but he isn't going to be very happy about it. he's not happy about it now, though most of it is just circumstantial, and larus will just bide his time until he can get back to doing something useful. with that decision, too, he looks away and stares idly at some sliver of sunlight across the top of the ceiling. ]
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Reaching out, Dorian lays a hand on Larus' forearm and then leans further, slipping his arms around him.]
It's appreciated. [He draws Larus closer.]
Besides. It isn't as if there's nothing to do.
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My time outside is limited by half the day, [ he points out, fingertips resting against his jaw now. ] And I don't expect you to stay in here with me.
[ they're supposed to try to have lives in this place, so. ]
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During the day you can help me plan for the sorcerer that's going to be putting a spell on that [his gaze flicks to the closed door at the far end of the kitchen] room. Exit strategies. Backup plans. [Things it seems like Larus would be good at or at least motivated to see as important, given his strong emotional response to the whole idea and how much Dorian's noticed that the other man's thoughts seem to be centered around survival.]
I don't think you're going to be able to be here for it, so the second opinion would be useful. [Probably.]
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[ so that's nearly all of his planning for that. larus still doesn't approve of this stranger helping with something obviously important, but he won't bring it up again. not now. he's far more focused on the fact they're so close and it'll be hours before the sun goes down again. ]
What about the rest of the time? [ a curl of his mouth, somewhat sardonic. ] Should I just wait for you to come home?
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[He grazes teeth over the pad of Larus' thumb and then smiles up at him, taking the vampire's hand out of the way smoothly with his free one.
Larus can think his plan's stupid all he wants, if it means the other man's starting to think of ways to accept being trapped in the high rise during the day rather than getting morose over it.
Dorian drops a kiss on the curve of the other man's neck, pressing at him.]
You strike me as a capable man who knows how to entertain himself if need be. [Not a sex joke, despite how he's coming onto Larus. But there are articles of interest -books, mostly- building up in the suite, as well as the network.]
But it would flatter me if you waited for me.
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[ or maybe it is, restless as always when he's stuck too long in one place. it's also why he'd slowly built up an extensive list of safe houses in the dusk, different areas to come and go from depending on where he was and what he'd been doing. he could have that here, though that means he'll certainly have to work for it. even harder since he'll rely on dorian for some things.
he isn't going to be seduced by sweet words, but he does close his eyes, his hand now smoothing down dorian's back. ]
You can believe I'm waiting for you if that's what you want. It's not like I have anywhere else to be. [ he pauses then, considering. ] I doubt I would want to be anywhere else either.
[ dorian can take that however he'd like. ]
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It'll go by faster than you think. [The kiss he has for the other man is sweet.] I promise.
If it helps, and it would, I'm happy to lend myself to exhausting you with each rising of the sun. [Unlikely, but the attempt would be diverting.]
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the tenderness that's reflected in the way larus returns the kiss is deep. ]
Every day as long as we're together? [ there's a note of amusement in his voice. ] I don't want to kill you.
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Is putting it that way supposed to make it less appealing?
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[ it's the small things that stick with him, after all, and that's all he's really going to have after they're gone. larus runs his knuckles against the line of dorian's jaw before pushing his fingers into his hair to gently grip the strands. he wants to press his mouth right against the pulse in his neck, but he refrains. barely. ]
But you're welcome to try if you think you can.
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I'm trying to impress you? You just said you that could kill me with sex.
But I know, I know. [He waves off his own words, gesturing airily.] You're being truthful. But you also saw how I heal.
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[ but dorian mentions that, and larus is abruptly aware that his fangs seem heavy in his mouth. ]
Does that include stamina? I could almost feel how tired you were when we made it back here.
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But, no. Exhaustion doesn't rate, and I don't recover my stamina unless I've slept or had something like a cup of coffee.
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I'll be more careful next time. [ a silent promise, and he presses into his skin, changing the subject again. ] Although, I can't say I'm not interested in learning some of your other limits.
[ he very much means it how it sounds. ]
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He smiles.
And amazingly, any potential lewdness in that second comment sails right over Dorian's head thanks to the tone.]
Well, for one, I can't keep a bruise. They fade away like disappearing ink. [He offers Larus his hand.] Everything starts purple, and then cycles quickly through red, green, and yellow, like a kaleidoscope. [On the canvas of his white skin, he thinks it's fetching.]
Help yourself, if you're curious.
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his heartbeat is strong, and larus listens to it as he looks at him. ]
I said I wouldn't hurt you, and I especially won't do it intentionally. I'll take your word for it and leave it at that. [ there's something beautiful in the fragility of people, a reminder he doesn't always have to feel so monstrous. ] You should take more care than you do.
[ never mind he's done and will do equally foolish things, like return to the down at some point. ]
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I was, [he says, not missing a beat.] Didn't I put myself in your hands?
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Are you trying to tempt me? [ since that's what it feels like too. ]
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More often than not, Larus treats him with gentle care. The kind that someone with super strength must, he imagines, have to consciously moderate their own movements and grip to manage. Someone who can't hurt him even minimally, even if encouraged to and when the hurt won't stick, is at the very least a friend, if not something more tender.]
Why do you do that? [he asks, changing the subject. It's obvious why, but he wants to hear it in Larus' own words.] You like touching my wrists, and that first time on the couch between us the same feeling was in the way you kissed my neck, [he explains. Is it the warmth? The desire to feel halfway close to being alive by being close?]
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It reminds me that you're alive, [ he settles on after a few moments, smoothing his thumb over dorian's wrist before freeing his hand. rather than skirt away from the topic, he feels the need to elaborate. ] Not that you aren't. I can hear your heart beating without even thinking about it. It's more – I don't know. A conscious effort to keep my teeth where they should be and not take what isn't mine.
[ which is a different sort of reminder, always aware of that primal instinct to bite and claim but desperate to prove that he has control over something he never wanted in the first place. ]
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Most of his familiarity with this kind of abstinence comes from Toby. But Toby didn't want to resist for the sake of other people, where Larus makes it sound as though some of his reasoning is motivated by a kindness and awareness of others.]
By giving into some of the temptation but not all of it?
[What is a heartbeat to a vampire but a calling that burrows from one body deep into the core and most primal instincts of another?]
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.... forgot about sunlight woops shhh
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