Long Weekend

[pinkroses]

Ichabod shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably as he waited outside the door of the apartment in Capital Building. He had rapped firmly on the door and now had no idea what would be waiting for him on the other side. A Ben who couldn’t remember him? A Jack, who had caused all that trouble? Or Kerr?

It was the latter that the human had been looking for. He’d gone to the beach house that Kerr had given him the address for, but it had been completely shut up and black. He knew it was stupid, but he had been worried when he hadn’t found Kerr there. He hadn’t wanted to call before coming, maybe it was stupid, but this had been supposed to be a surprise visit. It felt ridiculous now. Thank God he’d had his car though, otherwise he would have had to get a taxi to the beach house and then back again, which would have been expensive. As it was, Ichabod was a bit annoyed that he’d taken the drive out there to be disappointed. And now he was facing the prospect of seeing one of the silver eyed blondes that Ichabod really didn’t want to encounter.

Ichabod was wearing a black hooded zip top over a dark red t-shirt. His jeans were dark blue and he wore a pair of scuffed red Converse to complete the outfit. His brown hair was tousled and had a little gel in it and he was wearing contacts instead of his glasses. It had been a while since Ichabod had come back to the city, in fact he hadn’t been supposed to come home this weekend, but he’d finished an essay earlier than he’d expected and had been at a dead end. Ichabod told himself he wasn’t here because of the desire to be fed from, he just wanted to visit Kerr. Right. And that was why he hadn’t even stopped off at his parent’s house first to drop off the duffle bag which sat in his car now.

Ichabod shuffled his feet for a moment before lifting his hand to knock again at the door, shoving his other hand into his hoodie pocket.

[Existentially Odd]

The door opened before his fist connected again and there was Kerr, half dressed and blinking at him in surprise.  No doubt the mortal got the impression that the vampire had been expecting someone else, because he had - Ash had been talking about coming down tonight, making noises about them calling Carly (though Kerr was pretty sure she was working, if he remembered the conversation they\'d had three nights beforehand correctly) or doing something to make use of Kerr\'s night off, so he\'d thought it would be him (hence the not checking with his supernatural talents or bothering to dress properly - it wasn\'t like Ash hadn\'t seen it all before and he simply hadn\'t got around to organising himself yet).
 
Clearly, it wasn\'t, and after a few blinks inside a mostly frozen expression, the Irishman\'s face split into a grin and he surged forward to hug the boy.  "Cub!" he cried, wrapping both arms enthusiastically about his official pet, unmindful of the fact that he was only wearing daggy jeans - they were too old and too big for him, the ratty cuffs dragged beneath his bare heels and the waistband clung precariously to his svelte hips, threatening to drop and reveal just where that snail trail of hair did go at any moment.  There were no more sentimental extra tattoos on him, it was visible to see now - though he couldn\'t rightly remember if Ichabod ever had seen them to notice they were gone.
 
"It\'s great to see you, come in!" he enthused, doing the job for him and dragging the boy in bodily.  He released him to close the door and then merely stared at him, arms akimbo, a smile of delight lifting his mouth at the corners.  "What brings you here?" the Irishman queried, in the manner of someone who\'s entirely grateful to see their surprise visitor.
 
He was.  Because he\'d begun making himself a new subset of friends, any reminder of the past was welcome rather than painful, these days.  Jack was dead and Ben was gone and he was still Lazarus\' bitch; nothing changed such things - especially mourning them - so he\'d embraced them and moved on.  Seeing Ichabod was a reminder of the good things, when things were happier (generally speaking) and the one positive thing was that things still had the potential to be worked through.  He\'d always cared about the mortal, even when he was forced upon him by Lazarus - not just because he was the first man he\'d ever picked up and slept with, but also for his demeanour.
 
If nothing else, Ichabod was a positive and enduring force and Kerr respected and appreciated that greatly; his heartfelt response was evidence of that.

[pinkroses]

Ichabod was looking down at the base of the door when it opened and so when he lifted his eyes to look at Kerr’s face he got an eyeful of the entire picture on display. A lopsided grin crossed his face, he had been worried that it would be Ben who opened up, but thoughts of the blonde quickly disappeared at the sight of the Irishman. As Kerr moved forwards so did Ichabod, wrapping his arms around Kerr’s neck enthusiastically, pressing his warm hands against Kerr’s solid, cool body and pressed his face into the crook of Kerr’s neck. God, it felt so familiar, like home, more than his parent’s house did.

He laughed as Kerr manhandled him inside, then stepped back a little once he was released, giving Kerr a once over, the broad smile still on his face.

“We have a long weekend and I had nothing planned so I thought I’d come check up on you,” Ichabod said with a grin. “Of course, you had to make it difficult for me. I thought you were staying at the beach house? And what happened to your hair?” he added with a chuckle, gesturing at Kerr’s new haircut (new for Ichabod anyway). “It looks good,” Ichabod added quickly, very sincerely. Kerr had always been handsome, but the new hair made him look more modern and fashionable. Ichabod couldn’t help wondering what had brought on the change though.

[Existentially Odd]

"Oh boy," Kerr rolled his eyes, hooking an arm about the mortal\'s neck and more or less frog-marching him towards the couch that was facing the door - always his favourite and, as it happened, one in which they\'d snuggled a time or two themselves.  This time he merely plopped down with Ichabod in tow, released him and swivelled to face the mortal to talk, idly playing with his foot (it was poking off the edge of the couch, since he\'d raised his knee onto the cushion).

"Where do I begin?" he announced in a beleaguered manner.  Although the news he had to deliver was heavy, his tone and attitude remained upbeat because he was pleased to see Ichabod and also pleased to be able to share such information with someone who would care (even an iota was good).

"Well.  Not long after you last saw me, I made the mistake of making a move on Ben, who took offense to such a weird thing and promptly left me," he joked, widening his eyes ironically at Ichabod.  "He\'s in New York now, making his own way in the world and we\'re officially over."  A baseball umpire making the \'safe\' gesture followed this statement, to reinforce how dead his relationship with Ben was.  Over, done and out, his hands described.

"A couple of weeks after he left, Jack was killed by one of his zealots for spending too much time being with me and not enough ruling the world or ascending or glorifying the Earth or whatever it was he was supposed to be doing.  I couldn\'t stand being at the beach house without either of them any more, so I\'ve arranged to rent it out, moved back here, cut my hair and found a more positive attitude towards life, having fun, relaxing and not taking anything too seriously for a while, so as to preserve my sanity a little!" he giggled, making a cute face that was meant to veer towards crazy but ended up only hitting silly.

"Questions?" he grinned, waggling his eyebrows playfully as invited Ichabod to ask what he wished - though there really wasn\'t a lot more he could say.  Those were the facts and he was determined to stay away from the pain and seriousness of it all by stating just them and holding onto his humour.  Ichabod had certainly seen his emotions raw and bleeding on a platter a few times, so the vampire hoped the boy would be relieved enough by his subtle insinuations enough not to pry down any sort of serious track.  Keeping it light would be much more fun.

[pinkroses]

Ichabod was more than happy to be lead over to the sofa and after toeing off his shoes he pulled his legs up on the sofa to face Kerr, folding them up in front of him comfortably, resting his hands on his knees as he gazed across at the vampire. He was eager to listen and learn what had been going on with Kerr, and by the way Kerr was acting he didn’t at all expect what he heard. Ichabod had opened his mouth a couple of times to ask questions, but then stayed silent, letting Kerr go on. His smile gradually faded away, replaced by a small frown. Ben was gone? Jack was dead? How was Kerr acting like this, like none of it mattered?

At Kerr’s question Ichabod blinked slightly in surprise. He had no idea what to ask, although there was so much he wanted to know. But Kerr looked so… happy. Ichabod didn’t want to risk bringing him down by asking about things that Kerr had obviously tried to put behind him. But he was laughing about Ben and Jack. That wasn’t right, surely? Maybe working towards preserving his sanity wasn’t working too well.

“Well, I’m glad you’re… okay,” Ichabod said hesitantly, reaching out and lightly putting a hand on Kerr’s knee. He would be more than happy to listen if Kerr wanted to spill his guts properly, to tell him more than a brief overview seen through rose-tinted glasses, but if Kerr didn’t want to go down that route then Ichabod wouldn’t press him.

“I guess there’s not much I can ask, you’ve pretty much summed it up,” Ichabod added with a small shrug. There wasn’t much he could ask when Kerr was like this anyway. It was a little bit freaky to be honest. But could be more fun than wallowing in misery all weekend so Ichabod put the smile back on his face (easily, when he focused on the fact that Ben wasn’t going to be turning up to make things more awkward).

“So with this new, cheerful attitude, what have you been up to? Are you still working for the Oligarchy?” he asked, unsure whether that job would fit into the category of ‘having fun’, but fairly sure Lazarus wouldn’t just let Kerr drop it.

[Existentially Odd]

The extra-cheery edge faded as the unacknowledged tension leaked from him and he relaxed a little more, pleased that Ichabod wasn\'t going to pursue the negative parts of his life.  He slouched sideways against the back of the couch a bit more and pulled a more natural face, still rolling his eyes.

"Oh that," he mocked, then gave a little laugh and smiled at the mortal.  "Yeah, I never see hide nor hair of Lazarus - thank God - but I\'m still there, plugging away.  It\'s occurred to me more and more lately that I seem to be the only idiot doing a whole lot of work around the place and that, without Ben, I don\'t have many reasons to stay here in the city but I feel obligated to keep it up.  Somebody has to keep trying, I guess, at least until I feel I want to move away," he shrugged, biting on his tongue-stud thoughtfully.

"Besides, I\'ve still never found out what happened to Mandy and that\'s some unfinished business I would like resolved," he murmured, a frown marring his forehead as he shared his concern with Ichabod.  He wondered if it was now his turn to broach subjects that were too painful for the mortal to discuss and whether he\'d just inadvertently crossed the fun barrier despite his earlier intentions to keep things positive.

[pinkroses]

Ichabod visibly stiffened up as Kerr mentioned Lazarus, the creases in his forehead deepening as Kerr complained - all the while looking as though he was speaking about how sunny it had been that day. Ichabod glanced down, pressing the tips of his fingers together thoughtfully, until Kerr dropped Mandy’s name into the conversation as well. His fingers linked together and Ichabod looked up at Kerr, his brown eyes widening slightly.

“You… you haven’t heard anything from her?” he asked with surprise. Mandy have been so in love with Kerr, Ichabod couldn’t believe she would disappear so completely as to not even let the Irishman know what had happened to her. Ichabod hadn’t spoken to her since he’d moved out of her flat, after Ben, no, Jack.

His stomach gave an unpleasant lurch. What if she was dead? Like Jack. Just… gone. Fuck, Jack was dead. He hadn’t been human, but that was no reason for him not to even think about it. When Kerr had brushed over it so calmly Ichabod had barely even registered the information but now the blood drained from his face as he felt a wave of guilt wash over him.

“I… I never called her or anything. She made it clear she didn’t want to ever see me again, so… I didn’t want to upset her,” Ichabod said. Maybe he should have tried harder, but he had been angry at her as well. One of the last things he could remember her saying to him was that if he had been physically punished as she had been then she would have been able to forgive him.

“If you go… you’ll let me know, right?” he said quietly, trying to focus on something that Kerr had said that didn’t lead back to him picture Ben (for that was how Ichabod still thought of Jack) as a limp dead body. Or Mandy.

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr smiled tenderly and reached over to cup Ichabod\'s cheek, looking him straight in the eye as his fingertips rested gently against soft, warm skin.  "You\'re probably the only person who\'d care, of course I\'ll tell you - we just have to make sure I have your number in my phone and I\'ll keep in touch," he promised, planning on taking care of such details before the mortal left tonight (but not now, while they were still busy visiting).

"I have made a new friend, though," he continued, back to sounding happier again and dropping his hand down to his own leg - aware the backs of his fingers were in contact with Ichabod\'s mortal heat but ignoring it.  He smiled cheekily.  "Another vampire moved in upstairs, his name\'s Ash.  We\'ve been hanging out, getting along pretty well when I have the time - I thought you were going to be him when you knocked tonight, in fact, because he knew I didn\'t have to work.  He may yet grace us with his presence and you could meet him, of course," Kerr chuckled, his mouth slowly returning to a fond smile as he looked Ichabod over from head to toe (and back again).

"I\'m glad it was you, though.  Tell me, how\'s university treating you, are you enjoying it?"

[pinkroses]

Ichabod lifted his eyes as Kerr’s cool hand cupped his cheek and he took a deep breath, steadying his nerves, focusing on Kerr rather than Mandy and Jack and he gave a small smile, which widened as Kerr assured him he would let him know what was happening. Nikki had disappeared out of his life completely, he didn’t want that to happen again.

He straightened up slightly as Kerr began to tell him about Ash, watching his with interest. Not many of his experiences with vampires had been good so he was a little nervous about meeting a new vampire, but he trusted Kerr enough to not let that worry stay with him for long. “That’d be cool. I’d like to meet who you’re hanging out with now,” Ichabod said with a grin, believing Kerr when he said that Ash was his friend and not thinking yet that it might be something more.

Ichabod gave a chuckle at the question and nodded enthusiastically.

“I am, I love it. It’s amazing,” he said, perking up as his attention was brought to topics he was happier about discussing. “I’ve made loads of friends, there’s always something going on. And, despite what everyone expects, I’m really enjoying the classes too. There’s lots of work, lots of reading to do, I’ve got a pile of books in my car to get through this week, but it’s brilliant. It’s all so interesting. And the classes are better than school ever was,” he added, taking a deep breath as he finished his babble of enthusiasm.

“And whilst we’re talking about new friends… I’ve kind of been seeing this girl, Lore… Lauren. I mean, it‘s not serious, but it‘s nice,” he said, his eyes sparkling as he mentioned her. They had only been on a few dates, but they had been friends before that and it was just so different from any of the other relationships Ichabod had been in. It felt peaceful, there was no pressure.

“But no one knows any of… this stuff. I miss the weirdness a bit,” Ichabod said in a teasing voice. It was nice to be around ‘normal’ things, people, humans. But at the same time, there was so much he couldn’t tell people. Things he remembered that he had to keep to himself and that was strange.

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr laughed warmly, responding instinctively to Ichabod\'s good-humoured teasing.  "Weirdness?  I resemble that remark," he joked with a wink, then became more serious.  "So there\'s no supernatural element lurking about your university?  That strikes me as strange, considering what lovely hunting material exuberant and frequently inebriated teenagers make - it\'s weird in itself, don\'t you think?" he pondered.

Perhaps it was just him, but it seemed like a university - an institution bustling with diversity - would be a beautifully anonymous feeding ground for any vampire.  It was also odd to believe Ichabod wouldn\'t have sensed - and then teased out - such an element if it was in place there, though, for he was a confirmed feeding fan.  The Irishman was eager to hear the mortal\'s theory on why this didn\'t seem to be happening, however (discussions about their respective interests in women alone - for the time being, anyway - could wait a moment).

[pinkroses]

“Maybe,” Ichabod said, giving a small shrug. “I haven’t tried to find any, maybe if I looked I’d find something, but…” Ichabod’s voice trailed off and he gave a small shrug. He had considered trying to find out if there was some sort of variation on Risk, but then he’d thought it best not to. There was enough to do at night at university without trying to find vampires and he got tired out partying and studying without enough sleep without losing more of it and losing blood as well. And he had hockey practise and games, and he didn’t want to feel worn out for that. Besides, although Ichabod liked being fed from, but he preferred it being with someone he knew. Like Kerr.

“There are a few people who usually look kind of washed out, but I reckon they’re just hung over all the time,” Ichabod said with a grin. “There are so many house parties and stuff, I haven’t drunk so much since… living with Lazarus,” he said, blinking as he realised that. He’d never drunk before Lazarus had started encouraging it so that he could drink alcohol infused blood. Then when Ichabod and the blonde had parted ways he’d stopped drinking again.

Ichabod cleared his throat, glancing down for a moment before looking up at Kerr with a broad smile again, “And I got on the field hockey team. I played at school and I haven’t since then. I didn’t realise how much I missed it,” he said, clearly pleased with himself although he wasn’t trying to boast, he was just happy to have someone new to tell all of this to.

[Existentially Odd]

"Ahh," Kerr nodded his understanding as he was told that Ichabod hadn\'t sought out any vampire contacts and that was why he thought there was nothing about - in Kerr\'s opinion, there had to be, but it seemed his young pet was officially off the \'weird\' scene and playing it straight A, Mr Normal.  In some ways, the vampire envied him that he had that luxury; the best Kerr could do as far as stay away from weirdness was to watch his relationships didn\'t become too deep and to attempt to embrace a tougher, more austere attitude towards the world at large.

Weird kind of came with the life description, in his case, no matter how enigmatic he was attempting to be.

He laughed at the notion of teenagers being constantly hungover and was intrigued to learn that Ichabod had drunk a lot of alcohol when he was with Lazarus; it wasn\'t immediately clear to him why.  "Congratulations!  I didn\'t know you played hockey," Kerr grinned, speaking amiably about something he had no clue about - team sports hadn\'t really existed when he was young enough to get about in the sun (and he\'d always been more interested in the indoor variety of sport-like pursuits, anyway).  He figured it was a good thing though, simply because Cub was so pleased about it.

"I had noticed you\'d got a lot more... toned, though," he added, his manner becoming more intimate as he cheekily lifted his index finger and ran it from the mortal\'s jaw, down his throat and chest to his sternum before he withdrew it.  Only a supernatural\'s vision would pick out such details beneath clothes, especially since they were slight and mostly noticeable when Ichabod moved, but he had noticed.  It didn\'t hurt that he\'d had a prior association with the boy completely naked, either.  "I guess being normal and staying away from weird really agrees with you," he smiled teasingly, lifting his eyebrows.

[pinkroses]

“Thanks. Yeah, I play, well, not ice hockey. I mean, I’m completely uncoordinated on ice,” Ichabod said with a grin, guessing that Kerr was more likely to know more about ice hockey than field. That was more popular for most Americans, and was played in the evening a lot - field hockey was outside, usually during the day for better light.

Ichabod didn’t shrink back as Kerr’s finger made it’s journey downwards, but he glanced down, a shy smile on his lips. He wasn’t sure if Kerr was just saying it or whether he really could see the difference through his clothes, but compliments were always nice to hear. With people his own age Ichabod had become more confident, outgoing and spirited, but he still saw Kerr as who he was. Older, with centuries of experience, someone who’d taken him in when he hadn’t had to, who’d saved him from Lazarus and praise from him meant that much more to the human, Kerr’s pet.

“Thank you,” Ichabod repeated, his heart rate picking up, probably enough for Kerr to notice it and he looked across at Kerr with a grin, leaning forwards a little to rest a hand on Kerr’s folded knee.

“I didn’t want to stay away from weird too much though,” he said, playing with a crease in Kerr’s worn jeans.

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr made a show of rolling his eyeballs so that he was looking contemplatively at the ceiling, with just a slight tilt of his head.  "Hrmm... I think... that might be... a compliment?" he queried playfully, looking back at Ichabod with a grin.  He placed his hand upon the mortal\'s, merely covering a first and then interlocking fingers and releasing, stroking and squeezing as it responded to his touch.

That increased heartrate had him very interested and the desire to lean over and kiss his pet rose within him, despite his recent abstinence with men.  Cub was different; he always would be.  Still, the thought reminded him that he wasn\'t alone in such endeavours and it stilled his ardour... for the time being (though his interest was apparent in his eyes).

"So you\'re seeing a woman, then?" he said, his tone lighter but his gaze more intent as his hand continued to toy with Cub\'s.  "Sworn off men because we\'re too much trouble or... just not interested any more?"

[pinkroses]

Ichabod gave a quiet chuckle at Kerr’s teasing. He had wanted to compliment Kerr, but he’d already complimented his hair and he couldn’t exactly say that anything else had improved about him, Kerr was always going to much the same. Gorgeous always, but he couldn’t really notice a physical change and he hadn’t seen the tattoos of Ben’s name to notice they had gone. His fingers responded to Kerr’s touch, his hand turned over and his fingers wove through Kerr’s easily.

His hand stopped moving when Kerr mentioned Lore, but then he gave a small shrug as ran the pad of his thumb over Kerr’s nails.

“No, it’s not that,” he said softly. Kerr had been interested in women before Ben, right? He should know, he’d been the first man Kerr had been with and there was no way the vampire had been a virgin before him. And there was Mandy, they’d dated, but that didn’t mean Kerr couldn’t fall for someone else.

“Both have their positive points,” Ichabod said, a small pouty smile on his lips as he met Kerr’s gaze, “And, y’know, we’ve only gone on a couple of dates.” It wasn’t like they’d said they were exclusive or anything. Yes, Ichabod liked Lore a lot, but being here with Kerr, if anything happened - not that it necessarily would - that wouldn’t be cheating on her. Not really. And it was Kerr, he was in a completely different category, like Ichabod was different for Kerr.

“What about you and this Ash? Are you… y’know, a thing?” Ichabod asked carefully, lowering his eyes to their linked hands. Kerr had been expecting Ash, dressed like… well, only half dressed. That didn’t exactly imply they were planning on going out anywhere. And if they were an item, or anything which might be considered something like that, Ichabod didn’t want anything like a repeat of what had happened when Ben had walked in on them together. “Or is there anyone else?” he added, cocking an eyebrow at the vampire.