Unlikely Bedfellows

[pinkroses]

Will’s grin grew as George explained the way he and his houseguests would play with the coffin. It definitely sounded interesting - role play could be fun, but having people running out screaming? Well, depending on the person, it would either be bad, or fucking hilarious. He could imagine George playing his part well, but Will would much prefer to have his companion responsive, but each to their own. He nodded in response to George’s advice, although he could easily have worked it out himself, but it was the fact that George had relaxed enough to be happy talking about it with him.

“So did they know you were a vampire or not?” Will asked with interest. "I suppose if they do you\'ve got that whole Dracula thing going on..." he added thoughtfully. In Risk it had been obvious that the humans had known what they were dealing with, but there were obviously going to be other humans who didn’t know and if they were so freaked out by George’s act then perhaps they hadn’t known. And it was pretty easy to pretend to be human, as long as you’d had a drink and remembered to breath.

“I should probably go get my stuff soon,” Will said after listening to George’s response, and glancing towards the stairs which lead upstairs. Really he didn’t need to, he didn’t need much, but they might as well get it now and then tomorrow night would be free for whatever they fancied doing and he could get a drink on the way.

[Existentially Odd]

"Oh yeah, they did," George answered with a nod, "but they still had that romantic Dracula vision you\'re talking about, I think - looking too dead made it too real," he scoffed, condemning the idiots who hadn\'t been able to understand that a vampire was dead, even though they got the theory of the \'undead\'.  Fuckwits.

When Will made noises about going to get his stuff, the redhead straightened off the coffin and started walking towards the stairs, figuring those words meant soon.  "My bike won\'t be much help to you, yeah?" he asked over his shoulder, figuring his part in helping Will move in was waiting at the house and making his bed while he was gone getting his stuff.  "I\'ll call you a taxi?"

[pinkroses]

A taxi? Fuck, yeah, he had more stuff than would fit on a bike. Suddenly packing all of his things, then moving it, then unpacking once again seemed like a hell of a lot of work. His hotel room wasn’t messy, it wouldn’t be a hard job to pack it into the couple of suitcases, but he’d properly unpacked, like, hanging stuff up in the wardrobe. And he could move quickly and pack it fast, but it just seemed like so much effort. And it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford the extra night to keep his things in the hotel, or an extra week…

He gave a small sigh as he watched George heading for the stairs, wrinkling up his nose  as he watched him, then took a brief moment to admire that figure as he moved.

“I guess…” he said, focusing once again and moving towards George. “Or you could give me a lift over and I could shove a few things in a rucksack,” he suggested with a small shrug. “I don’t know if I can be fucked actually packing properly tonight. It takes so much fucking effort.” Keeping stuff flat, folding it well, or getting it all straightened out another time. And organising it and dealing with taxi drivers who would complain that moving bags wasn’t there job. This idea was getting less appealing as time went on.

[Existentially Odd]

George pouted mockingly at Will - he\'d stopped on the stairs and turned around to look at the blonde, disbelieving what he was hearing but finding it hilarious all the same.  "Awww, diddums dun\' wanna\' pack all his stuff, he gets too tired," the younger vampire said in baby talk, nodding agreement with himself in a very exaggerated movement (again, like a baby).
 
After that little show had registered, George withdrew a hand from the balustrade and patted his knee with it,  bending forward into a slight crouch, almost like he was calling a dog.  "How \'bout I help you, then?  I\'ll call us both a taxi and come help diddums get his stuff awwwwwl packed up, alright?" he teased, wondering if he\'d get thumped for his effort at mockery and ready to take the blow if it came.  He deserved it, he knew it.

[pinkroses]

Will smirked at George’s little show, walking up the stairs and on the same step as George, giving the younger vampire a shove which should have sent the redhead back against the wall with force unless he dodged, and he would hold him there with a firm hand on his chest. It wasn’t tiredness putting him off, there were just other things he would rather be doing. Like hanging out with his new companion, but George was giving him the chance to do both.

“Well that sounds like a much better plan. I can’t imagine you would really want to bother going to the hotel though. You must really want me to move in quickly,” he said in a teasing voice, pressing his body up against George’s in a way he guessed would make the redhead squirm and be more uncomfortable than a punch would have done. Of course, maybe he’d misread George earlier when they had left the bedroom, but if that was the case then this position shouldn’t be a problem, and Will would be happy with that as well.

[Existentially Odd]

The redhead laughed devilishly when Will prowled up the steps after him, straightening in time to take the shove and grinning wildly when he was pinned against the wall - it was not exactly the retribution he\'d expected, but it wasn\'t far beyond it and he was happy to accept it.

All that changed with Will\'s words and his next move; they elicited a not-so-fond scowl as the younger vampire was... confronted?  Up close like this, he could feel Will\'s greater age, greater strength, greater stability and it was intimidating - which was not something he was used to feeling, so his emotions only became exacerbated and resentful.

Who the Hell was he to push him around?  It was like... fuck, it was like he used to be with Reed, in the beginning, when he\'d use proximity to taunt his mortal friend!  It was exactly how the pair of them had got to where they ended up, with him rubbing suggestively against the handsome mortal so that he could say derogatory things about him being gay, trying to have an effect on his buddy just so he could laugh harder.  The last laugh had been Reed\'s, of course, since Tom had become addicted to that feeling of dominance, succumbed to that thrill, liked far too much the feeling of connectedness he got whenever Reed was around.  Fuck, he\'d fallen in love with that feeling and had never wanted it to end, that\'s how stupid and fucked up he was.

And now Will was trying the same shit?  It was like some sort of disquieting almost-deja vu, except this time he was the bitch and not the bull and that was something he didn\'t want to deal with - yet he was also fairly sure that the older, stronger, faster and wilier vampire would be able to best him without too much effort.  Just like he\'d had the advantage over Reed.  Fuck, he couldn\'t allow that to happen, even if he would lose - he was not up for some sort of revisited dude relationship where he ended up hurt and broken on the inside again.

"Fuck off!" he jeered, attempting to slap the hand off his chest and shove Will away with his hands - he didn\'t want to use the rest of his body because he didn\'t want to give mixed signals.  "Keep that sort of homo shit up and you c\'n fucking not move in at all," he announced toughly, not fully meeting Will\'s gaze as he watched what his hands were doing, attempting to fight the blonde vampire off him.

[pinkroses]

William’s smile grew as the look on George’s face changed abruptly and the redhead shoved at him, but the older vampire stood firm, staring intensely at George as he tried to get him off, using words when his hands didn’t have an effect. He stayed silent for a few moments, tilting his head to one side as George tried to insult him and threatening to retract his offer to move in together, letting the silence to build up between them.

Eventually he leant a little closer, moving his lips to a few centimetres away from George’s ear and his smile fading as his other hand moved to rest on George’s hip.

“You asked me here. I can leave if you want, but then you’ll be left here all alone in this house that you always meant to share with someone. Your buddy is gone, but I’m here,” he murmured, then he took a swift step backwards, dropping his hand on George’s chest. The grey in his eyes seemed to swirl like smoke as he gazed at George, his face expressionless for a moment before his mouth split into a grin once again, showing off his fangs and he hit George more gently on the shoulder.

“Besides, I’m just messing with you, Georgie,” Will said in a playful tone before he headed on up the stairs with a bounce in his steps as he took them two at a time, but he paused at the top one, glancing back down at the redhead.

“When you say ‘homo shit’, does that mean you won’t be happy if I bring guys home to fuck, or is it just when I let you know I wouldn’t kick you out of bed?” he asked, still with the teasing tone. George was pretty damn sexy and Will wasn’t afraid to push him. It was fun seeing how far he could go, and if George did tell him he didn’t want him living here, well, best that happen before he moved in his things.

[Existentially Odd]

George flinched when Will\'s mouth moved towards his head and again when his hand landed on his hip, disconcerted and jumpy because he hadn\'t managed to fight the other off and it was clear to him that he really was inferior here.  The blonde\'s eyes held his gaze as his message was delivered and he pulled back, staring intently at Will.  He swallowed, unsure what to say or do, feeling trapped and nervous... yet strangely excited by the challenge.  That was stupid, but it was there nevertheless.
 
He moved truculently up the stairs after the other vampire, glowering at him as he was further needled, not taking the fact that Will would bed him as a compliment or even a genuine feeling.  He was just saying it to get a rise out of him, as far as George was concerned (again, he\'d been there with Reed, he knew that was how it was).  "Fuck you," he muttered darkly. "And fuck who you want but you can leave me out of it."  When he got to the top of the stairs, he shouldered past Will, his hands shoved into his pockets defensively, and headed for the phone to call the taxi for the pair of them.
 
It was obvious that his threats about Will not moving in were hollow.

[pinkroses]

“Well, it’s nice to have that all cleared up,” Will said with a grin at George’s shoulder ram, which wouldn’t have had much affect but Will moved back out of George’s way and then followed the redhead to the phone. He was pleased with George\'s reaction. Really it would have been too easy if George had simply accepted everything. Yes, it would have been an amazing night, no doubt, but it probably would have ended there and they wouldn\'t be moving in together. And the fact that George was simply making crappy comebacks and was still going to call a cab proved him right, the move was going to go ahead even if he did push the younger vampire.

“Let me know when you change your mind,” William said casually as he wandered past George into the main living area. Whilst he waited for his companion to call the cab he  examined the high tech equipment, nodding slightly to himself in approval.

“This is an amazing system,” Will said, glancing towards George as the phone conversation ended. He spoke in a friendly tone and gave George a smile which was different from the teasing grin he had been giving him a couple of moments before. It was as though nothing had just happened and he expected George to be just as happy about the topic of the television and stereo system as he was. “When’s the cab getting here? What kind of music do you like?” he asked, changing topics from one breath to the next as he tossed the remotes he had been looking at carefully onto the sofa.

[Existentially Odd]

After an icy glare at his roommate, George ordered the cab efficiently and hung up, putting the phone back on its cradle before following Will into the lounge room.  He felt awkward about being near him now and hoped that the blonde would stop making sport of his discomfort all the time; he\'d definitely suffer under the strain of thinking about Will attempting to fuck him and he was afraid that, knowing himself and his rebellious reactions, he was likely to make the wrong choice if enough pressure was put on him.  He preferred to simply not have to deal with it.

"Cab should be about ten," he answered as he plopped onto the sofa, gathering his remotes and putting them on the coffee table before slouching back into the corner, left leg sideways and under the table, right flat-footed and swinging idly as he looked at all the equipment Will was referring to.  "N\'... I dunno\'," he considered, his lips pooching thoughtfully from side to side.  "Dance music, I guess, cos\' I like dancing - but probably shit with a lot of guitars and drums to listen to.  Anything with a good, solid beat and pounding rhythm," he grinned, used to making jokes filled with sexual innuendo but only processing, as he looked at Will, that that was probably a bad idea.

[pinkroses]

Will copied George and settled down on the sofa in the opposite corner; he sat facing George, his back against the armrest with both legs up (shoes off) and folding up in front of him, his hands resting on his knees. He wrinkled up his nose in distaste as George picked dance music as his favourite kind. Dance music? Seriously? That crap was barely even music. It took good songs and made them shit, or just pretended to make music out of noise. It was alright in a club, when you weren’t there to listen to the music but just to meet people, then it was alright because you could block it out. And when dancing to it you didn’t really need to listen, because all the moved were the same nowadays.

The look of distaste turned into a smile as Will recognised the innuendo in George’s final comment, but William had decided to cut the redhead a little slack… for now anyway. He couldn’t guarantee he’d keep it up for long though, especially not if George made many more comments like that which were just begging for a sexual retort.

“Shit indeed,” William murmured, picking up on the music comment rather than that pounding rhythm. “Dance music should stay in the clubs. It’s barely even music,” he said, shaking his head slightly. “I see I’m going to have to educate you since I’m going to be living here… or simply play my music louder than yours. But by what you said earlier I’m going to have to in order drown out your pounding rhythms anyway,” he added with a smile and a look of innocence.

Okay, so he broke a little sooner than he meant to. But when George set him up with comments like that how could he not respond? And at least he’d referred to George fucking women, not him. He could have made so many jokes which would have made his companion squirm.

“I assume you don’t play an instrument?” he said, restraining himself by keeping the topic of conversation on music before it descended into little more than innuendo. If George did play, William doubted dance music would be his top choice.

[Existentially Odd]

"Only if you call a woman\'s body an instrument," George smirked, confident that Will couldn\'t make anything of that comment.  Plus, it was the truth; he could play a woman like she was his personal instrument of pleasure.

"Really, I don\' spend a lot of time thinking about music - though I have a... friend who plays in a band.  They play Risk often.  You might see her around here on occasion," he shrugged, feeling uncomfortable even talking about Vivi with Will, even though the other vampire deserved some warning that he would see her around.

She was so precious, though... so revered and beloved by him that he could barely talk about her with another undead without feeling jealous and scared he could lose her.  She was his secret vice, but he didn\'t want Will to know that, either, so he tried to play it calm and aloof.

"Do... uh you play an instrument?" he asked awkwardly, only because he felt uncomfortable with the topic of Vivianne hanging between them and he was eager to change the subject.  The one that had started this particular line of questioning would do.

[pinkroses]

“I haven’t for some time,” Will said with a small shrug at George’s comment about women. Really women were just too much effort, and they’d turn on you given the chance, or forget about you as soon as they saw someone else. So William figured it was easier to simply cut them out. They could be attractive, yes, and the sex could be good, but Will hadn’t felt that drawn to any female for quite a while.

Will gave a small nod as George briefly mentioned his… friend, wondering exactly what sort of relationship that meant to the redhead. A pet? A fuck buddy? Both? Or, most unlikely, an actual friend? Either way, maybe it would be interesting to have her around. Since George didn’t seem that interested in music, which Will loved, perhaps someone in a band would have more to talk about on that topic. He opened his mouth to ask more about this girl, like how often she would be coming around, but George quickly change the subject back to music. A frown flickered across Will’s face, but then it disappeared just as quickly. If George didn’t want to talk about her now then they didn’t have to. He guessed the topic would come up again soon enough.

“Yes, the violin and piano, but I have neither with me in the city,” he said. He didn’t need to practise much any more, so even though he had enjoyed it he had left those prized possessions in different houses, in case they were damaged by travel and he didn’t trust hotel staff enough for him to have left his violin in one of those rooms. “Oh, and men’s bodies,” he added with another casual shrug, a small smile on his lips.

[Existentially Odd]

George snorted, unimpressed that his line had been used but also okay with it.  It didn\'t really bother him that Will liked guys, just when it was turned around on him.  He wasn\'t used to being the object of a man\'s desire

not since Reed, who you let bitch-tap your ass, don\'t forget

and it was a thoroughly disconcerting experience that someone he\'d only known a few hours would play him like that.  It was a mark too close to home, frankly.

"Good for you," he muttered dismissively, his gaze sliding off Will - who also had a disconcertingly cheeky smile dancing around his mouth - and landing on the remote on the coffee table.  "Why don\'t I show you how to use the universal remote?" he offered and launched into his diatribe without waiting for agreement from the blonde.

The cab arrived before he\'d finished explaining all the tricky stuff - like switching to the console game - so he turned everything off and told Will he\'d explain later.  He locked his house up and bounced out to the cab eagerly after Will, listening to his companion give the address of where he wanted to go before he walked around to the opposite side of the car and slid into the back seat, not bothering with a seatbelt (his longass legs had him wedged in behind the front seat so tight he wasn\'t afraid he\'d fly anywhere if they crashed, anyway).

"So you think you know your way around the city much?  You got any idea how to get back to the house?" George queried as the cab took off, turning from leaning on his hand - his elbow was propped up on the car door, against the closed window, supporting his cheek - to look at Will.  His hand remained suspended behind him, because if the other vampire seemed more interested in watching the scenery than in conversation, he would do that too, it was just that it had occurred to him suddenly that Will may not be able to find the house he\'d agreed to move into, if ever he was lost in the city.

[pinkroses]

Will listened attentively as George explained how to use the controllers and how each system worked and was connected up. Will thought he could have worked it out himself, but he was content to let the redhead rabbit on if it made him comfortable. Well, more comfortable than other topics they had touched upon.

Once the cab arrived Will headed out for it with George, waiting for a moment to watch the redhead lock up his - their - home before slipping into the car gracefully. He, like George, didn’t bother with a seatbelt and sat sideways, facing towards George with his back against the bar door after giving the name of the hotel he was staying at. He pursed his lips thoughtfully at George’s question and glanced around out of the window at the passing scenery for a few seconds before shaking his head slightly.

“No, not really. I could probably find it, but it would take a while to find the right area, I’ve never been in this part of the city,” Will said, turning his gaze back to George. “I have been wandering around, but not too far from my hotel,” he said, giving a small shrug. “There’s been plenty to see in that area to keep me entertained. I would have gradually spread my circle of knowledge though,” he added. His world knowledge wasn’t that great, but when he came to a new place he liked to get to know it pretty well.

“Now I’m going to have to start my circle again though, spreading out from the house,” he said with a cheerful grin, not seeming at all bothered by this prospect. “What sort of stuff is close to the house?” he asked, still not paying much attention to where the cab was headed and their surroundings. "Is most stuff a walk or a cab away?" Will added with interest, liking to get an idea of what sort of thing they would be getting up to.