He could hear the music flooding from the nightclub across the street, feel it throbbing through his shoes, up into his chest, matching his heartbeat. He’d only come to the club once before, just to check it out one weekend when Lauren had away visiting her parents, after he’d visited Kerr. All he’d needed was one more little hit, just to prove to himself that it was the feeding he’d wanted, not the Irishman. It had been good, fucking amazing, but not the same, so Ichabod hadn’t gone back.
Ichabod loved university, it had been fantastic. Everything had been going so well, but it had been about a week since he’d found out Lauren had been fucking another guy. Ichabod thought he could have worked through that with her - after all, he’d been with Kerr whilst they’d been together (not that he\'d told her that). It could have meant nothing. But being told you weren’t the one they cared about, that you’d never be choice number one, it was a feeling Ichabod was all too familiar with and it didn’t hurt any less this time around. They were over and he was alone again. He\'d always hated being alone and things had felt so... right. He\'d thought everything had been fine. But then again, he had with Lazarus when the ancient had been growing tired of him. He\'d thought everything was fine with Kerr, but he\'d always wanted Ben more than the human. And he\'d thought everything had been fine with Nikki, but he was another one who\'d got away from him without Ichabod having a clue what he was doing wrong.
His friends had tried to cheer him up, taking him out, trying to get him to hook up with one night stands, but none of it had felt right and Ichabod had come out alone tonight, drawn here by the desire to be wanted, needed. Here he could give someone what they needed, that nourishment and attention - and hopefully would get some appreciation in return, although Ichabod knew that wasn’t a given. He took in a deep breath, trying to mentally prepare himself, wanting to remind himself that this might not make everything better. But the next choice was a last resort. The pet didn’t want to go running home to his owner with his tail between his legs looking for comfort. He’d been so smug, so content last time he’d gone home, so proud. And Kerr had seemed proud of him as well. Ichabod wanted to show himself he could look after himself, he didn’t need someone else to look after him. He just needed… this.
“You planning on going in?”
Ichabod glanced behind him as he heard the British voice, surprised by the silence of the approach, and the close proximity of the owner of the voice. His brown eyes met the piercing blue ones, lifting his chin a little to look up at the vampire before Ichabod gave a small nod.
“Yeah,” he murmured, his mind made up as the smirk on those perfect lips curl into a wider grin and the vampire tiled his head as he watched the human, his perfectly tousled hair falling beautifully across his forehead in a way that made Ichabod want to reach out and play with it.
“Uh… are you?” Ichabod said, his mouth suddenly feeling very dry and wishing he hadn’t said yes, just in case this creature, who had actually approached him, said no. The vampire’s eyebrow twitched slightly, a playful look in his eyes as he slipped an arm around Ichabod’s shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze as he leant closer.
“No. And I don‘t think you should either,” he said. He had already briefly peered into the human’s thoughts just to have a little look and check he wasn’t waiting for someone else and to see what he knew, and had discovered that Ichabod really wasn’t in the mood for a fun night out, dancing and drinking. He wanted distraction and Cole was definitely happy to provide him with one. And finding someone outside was definitely better than heading in and having to pick out someone from the throng. Money wasn’t an issue for the vampire, but it was always better in his opinion not to have to pay for something unneeded.
“Come with me,” he said, steering Ichabod away from the club and waving a hand, almost instantly making a cab pull to a halt to let them in. As Cole opened the door to usher the human inside Ichabod felt a flutter of excitement in the pit of his stomach, one he hadn’t felt for a long time. Vampires were always exciting, and strangers held that element of danger. Clubs were safer, but Ichabod found himself ignoring the little voice of warning in his head and slipped into the cab, eager for the opportunity to make that thrill a vampire promised last longer.
* * *
A few hours Cole was stretched out naked on his bed with the young human wrapped around him and a sheet flung over them, gently stroking Ichabod’s hair. He was warmer than he had been, but he was still savouring the heat radiating from the student.
“Feel better now, kid?” he asked with half lidded eyes, enjoying the feelings of contentedness which flowed from Ichabod which helped improve his own mood, although he barely needed it.
The room was a large one, although Ichabod had noticed the apartment as a whole was not as big as Kerr’s, and didn’t look as though as much care had gone into picking out the furniture. It looked as though it had come unfurnished and Cole had brought along nothing with him other than his credit card and he’d bought items as he needed them rather than putting effort into furnishing the apartment. The television was on a coffee table with the dvd player and digital box shoved underneath rather than being in any kind of cabinet. There was no bookcase, but a couple of piles of book and DVDs scattered around. The laptop which was open, with a random screensaver drifting across it, lying haphazardly on the sofa rather than there being a tidy study with a computer desk like in Kerr’s apartment. Ichabod didn’t mean to compare, but Kerr was, in his eyes, the ideal of what vampires were, and he couldn’t help making the comparisons. He’d lived with Lazarus longer, but that was more like this place - not somewhere which looked like a permanent residence, not a real home.
“Yeah, I guess,” Ichabod replied after a few seconds thought. He did feel better, the happy glow of sex and being fed making him smile, but Ichabod knew it would fade soon and things would go back to normal. These things never lasted. People left, moved on, Cole would be gone at the end of the night.
Cole wrinkled up his nose, disliking the less than completely positive response from the human.
“Well if you’re not happy…” he began, but Ichabod quickly lifted his head and moved to kiss the vampire before he could finish the sentence. Ichabod knew he couldn’t stay long, but he didn’t want Cole to chuck him out and he knew from experience he wasn‘t the best at talking himself out of situations. Cole let him interrupt, but eyed him up suspiciously for a moment when Ichabod pulled back, but in truth he didn’t want to get rid of the owner of that hopeful smile just yet so he gave a small grunt of approval. It was quite nice having someone who was so eager to please, who seemed like they would do just about anything just to get a couple of words of praise.
“Fine, stay for a bit then,” he said, shutting his eyes and settling back on the pillows, letting his mind reach out for Ichabod’s again, seeking a few answers, but not thrusting his way in rudely, not intending letting Ichabod know what he was doing. It was definitely a little mixed up in there. The kid seemed to have no idea what he really wanted, but Cole didn’t mind that. After all, who did these days? And Ichabod was young enough that he had years to figure things out.
“Any time you want to forget about your little girly, give me a call,” Cole said with a smirk and Ichabod instantly stiffened up a little in his arms. He hadn’t told him about Lauren, he hadn’t asked. Ichabod hated the idea of people prying into his mind, that was one of the reasons why he had taken a dislike to Kerr at first, but he guessed he should have expected it really. And it wasn’t exactly a bad offer and Ichabod knew he would have blurted out everything to Cole if he’d asked. And it wasn’t an offer he was going to reject.
“Maybe I will.”
* * *
It had been a good couple of months. More relaxed than with Lore, less on edge than with Lazarus and Ichabod found himself able to focus on his work again - although he didn’t tell anyone the reason behind his change of mood. He was getting black bags under his eyes though, staying up late, not sleeping as well during the day being drunk from more often and more heavily than he knew was healthy, but he didn’t mind. Ichabod was having fun with Cole, and for once he was happy with it being like that. Cole was fun, gave him pleasure - he wasn’t quite as considerate as he could have been, as Kerr had been, but was a definite improvement on Lazarus. When he was more distance, it felt like it was because he had other things on his mind, he just forgot, it didn’t feel like he didn’t care. Ichabod occasionally felt a small spark of guilt, like he was cheating on his owner, but really he was only Kerr’s pet in name. And he knew Kerr wasn’t thinking about him, he was just living his life, fucking other people, drinking from others, so what was the big deal? Ichabod had told Cole a few things, when the vampire had asked, but Cole gave up very little information about himself, brushing off questions with an easy joke, distracting Ichabod some other way, or simply refusing to answer. Ichabod didn’t even know how old her was, although he guessed it was a few centuries since he didn’t need to drink every night, but he knew very well that Cole could be lying to him and feeding when he wasn’t around since he found it so hard to work out what Cole was thinking.
They usually spent the nights in Cole’s apartment, but tonight they’d gone to see a movie, since Ichabod had just wanted a change and no one else had wanted to see that movie with him. Ichabod had been getting more distant from them - studying when he wasn’t with Cole or sleeping, but it was better that way. He‘d never been the centre of attention, although he liked being with people, but it was easier to keep secrets when you weren‘t near enough to people for them to ask or suspect. They were walking back to Cole’s since the weather had taken a surprising turn for the better and lacked it’s usual chill, chatting companionably, walking side by side, occasionally nudging shoulders but not holding hands.
“You look tired,” Cole pointed out bluntly, earning him a playful shove from the human.
“That’s you keeping me up all night. You know I have to have a life during the day as well,” Ichabod replied, shoving his hands in his coat pockets. Cole gave a thoughtful murmur. He knew very well that Ichabod wasn’t getting along with his human friends as long as he had been. The chatter about his friends had died away after the first couple of weeks and if there was anything interesting at all happening there Cole knew Ichabod would tell him without prompting. Ichabod was giving up on them, on the hopes he’d had for his future, Cole could see that easily, although he hadn’t really tried to fully understand why. He listened to the chatter and picked up the results, skipping the in between bits and ending up with whatever he wanted the outcome to be. After a few seconds a bright grin lit up the vampire’s handsome face.
“You don’t have to. I could always turn you, then you wouldn’t need to be tired when I want you to entertain me,” he said with a grin. Ichabod stopped dead, staring at Cole in surprise as the vampire kept walking, until he realised Ichabod had stopped and he turned to face him, still with a smile on his lips. He’d had fledglings before, and to be honest he usually got bored of them after a year or so, but it was always fun having someone knew to play with, someone to teach. And everyone took to it differently, Cole found it fascinating to watch. And he guessed Ichabod would leap at the offer, given everything he’d been through with vampires. Every groupie he knew really wanted to be turned, deep down, no matter how much they tried to deny it.
“You… you’re serious?” Ichabod asked, his brown eyes wide with disbelief. He’d never really thought of that as a possibility, after all, who would want to turn him? And he had classes, a family, but suddenly he was coming up with answers to everything. He could change modules, take evening classes, not tell his parents, only go and see them in the evenings. Then he could stay in this city, they never needed to know. Of course, there was the whole not aging thing, but he could deal with that when he got to it.
“I wouldn’t joke about this, Cub,” Cole said, stepping closer to Ichabod and purposefully using Kerr’s nickname for him, reminding him of another positive. Maybe he wouldn’t be Kerr’s pet, but they could get to know each other on a different level, be equals. Well, not equals, but closer.
Ichabod stood in stunned silent, his mouth goldfishing silently. “I… would need to think about it.” Cole waved his hand slightly, brushing it off.
“Oh, of course, I wouldn’t expect it to happen tonight, but don’t wait too long before giving me a reply, or I’ll get offended,” he said with a grin, putting his arm around Ichabod’s shoulders and getting him moving once again. He had no idea what to say, what to do. There were positives and negatives to the offer. And he wasn’t in the city, so he didn’t have to follow the rules of the Oligarchy, but Ichabod found himself needed to get the opinion of the vampire Oligarch anyway, completely unaware that he was now the Luminary. But it was more than just politics and rules. He thought - hoped - Kerr would want to know what was going on with his pet and it had been a long time since the last visit. He had no idea what was happening with Ben and Kerr, but even so he couldn’t help thinking about the blonde suddenly. He’d been jealous of Ben, of everything he had with Kerr, even when everything had fucked up. Ben had screwed it up, he didn’t deserve any of it. If Kerr had been his sire… but it was Cole offering, Kerr never would.
“You want me to come with you when you go see him?” Cole asked, nosily peering into Ichabod’s thoughts to see which way the human was leaning and not being too surprised to see Kerr near the top of the thoughts although he wasn‘t pleased by idea of Ichabod grabbing the idea of being turned and simply changing the sire. He kept his face happy though. Ichabod shook his head slightly, then paused and changed his mind, nodding.
“He might want to talk to you. I’ll go see him alone, but I want you in the city,“ Ichabod said, not surprised by Cole knowing what he was thinking, although his cheeks coloured slightly, unsure of how much Cole had read. “Just in case.”
Cole gave a small shrug, and smiled as he leant closer, nuzzling against the glowing heat in the human‘s cheek.
“I‘ll miss that heat. You‘re like a living radiator.” Cole doubted Kerr would have an issue with it, after all, he hadn’t shown all that much concern for his pet, in fact Cole could hardly believe Ichabod still thought he belonged to the Irishman. Ichabod had told him briefly about the set up in the city and Cole didn’t have much interest in that. If Kerr refused, then Cole intended taking Ichabod right back here to do it, or somewhere else if Kerr followed them. Maybe Kerr had authority is his city, but no where else as far as the Englishman was concerned. The only issue would be if Ichabod let Kerr’s opinion affect his decision, but Cole thought he could work around that. After all, if Kerr got pissed by Ichabod being turned into a vampire, well, he’d have eternity to forgive his pet. And to be honest, Cole didn’t have any intention of staying around forever. Once he and Ichabod parted ways it would be handy for Ichabod to have someone to go running to. But if Kerr did demand to see him, the company line would be that he was of course going to stay with Ichabod for as long as the new vampire wanted him around, and that was what he was going to be telling Ichabod too. For him it was the fascination of a new fledgling that he loved. Ichabod was entertaining, fawning over him so lovingly, but Cole was starting to get bored of him as a human. He wanted a change, but not too big of a one just yet. Turning Ichabod would be easier than bothering to find someone else so eager to please.
“Of course I‘ll come. I could use a weekend break,” Cole said, dropping his hand to take Ichabod’s and pleased to feel the human respond, squeezing gently. This was looking promising.
“Why do you want to turn me? Isn’t it… something you need to think about more?” Ichabod asked, glancing up at him with a small frown. “I mean, I don’t want to start thinking ‘yes’, if you’re just going to turn around and say you’re changed your mind,” he said and Cole gave a small chuckle in response.
“Haven’t I been good to you? I’ve done nothing but give you what you want. I like hanging out with you, and that’s not going to change soon. I’m not that fickle, Cub. I’m not just going to change my mind if someone else pops up. And there’s no one in my past going to turn up to get between us,” he said, pressing the buttons he knew would get him what he wanted and he gradually saw the frown fading from Ichabod’s face, being replaced by a warm smile.
“Well… I’m not saying yes yet… but thank you for the offer, and I will definitely think about it.”
“Don‘t get all proper on me, Cub. I’m offering you this because I want to. Things are good between us, but change is always more interesting. We can carry on like this if you want, but I don’t think that is what you want. You’re bored, you want more. I can give you what you want and so much more,” he said in a low, soothing tone, lying without hesitation. If Ichabod’s final answer was no, Cole wouldn’t bother looking back. “Now, since you need to talk to your owner before you make up your mind, let’s get back to what we were doing,” he said, moving away and pulling Ichabod along with him with a playful tone. The human was pale under the tan, listless, but there was always a little more blood to get out of these young creatures. And after the change he would have so much more energy. Feeding with a brand new vampire always had that edge of excitement, the risk of death. Fuck, Ichabod was going to kill, he wouldn’t be able to help himself and it would be delicious, truly delicious. Apart from the whole vampire groupie thing, Ichabod always seemed so good, so squeaky clean to Cole, they were the most fun to play with.
((End))
