The Making of Owen Harper

[Existentially Odd]

Owen was baffled because he had no understanding of why his face would be different; the expression he gave Vincent was rueful as he trotted out of the bedroom.  The house was a wonderland of new things to look at, listen to, touch and smell.  He could hear creaks in the stairs he'd never heard before, see easily into rooms without lights on, feel the texture of the paint on the bannister and smell the sweats he'd left in the laundry after his run yesterday.  When he walked into the kitchen and instinctively switched on the light, he momentarily blinded himself and hastily switched it off.  The windows were letting enough light in.

It was strange to be in a part of the house that had always been his domain because Vincent had no use for it and to feel uncomfortable in it, suddenly.  The smell of previously-cooked food seemed to be everywhere, in a cloying mixture that he didn't find at all appetising, though when he opened the bare refrigerator to extract the last of the butter and ham, he found the fresh objects were easy to handle.  He made three sandwiches with the last few slices of wholemeal bread, cutting them into little triangles and arranging them on a plate before he poured a glass of juice for Yumiko.  He didn't use it all, for he'd likely do the same for Travis, who... Travis!  That was the beat he was sensing in the other room, which had been trying to take his attention but he'd been too focussed on his tasks.  Processing everything from the way the light hit the knife to understanding the texture and scent of the cutting board was keeping him quite distracted.

Picking up the plate of sandwiches (which he expected Travis would finish off, after he fed from him) and Yumiko's glass of juice, Owen diverted into the living room before he went upstairs.  His robe had loosened and was drooping upon his shoulders, revealing a good slice of his muscular torso but still concealing the important things.  His hair - which had been taken from its polite tail by Vincent during their heated lovemaking long before - was curled and messy around his head, though he'd tucked it behind his ears numerous times while he prepared the food.  The right side had escaped, though, and was arched over his eye in such a way that he was instinctively tilting his head to keep his vision clear.  He gave the human that looked up at him as he stepped jauntily into the room a winning smile.

"Won't be long," he promised, "I made some sandwiches for Yumiko - and you, after - and I've got her some juice.  There's more for you, don't worry.  Um... you could come up now, if you wanted?" he suggested.  As he'd been talking, his gaze had slipped from Travis' eyes (which he vaguely recalled finding so sexy earlier) to his throat, admiring his pulse and feeling that need in him stir again, even though he'd barely finished satiating it.  He wanted more, though.  Realising he'd become distracted, he dragged his gaze back to Travis', refreshed his encouraging smile and then turned to hasten upstairs, figuring the man might follow after him.  When he got into the bedroom, he placed the sandwiches beside Yumiko and handed her the glass of juice carefully before he straightened and proudly surveyed his handiwork with his hands on his hips.

[Trillian]

Travis was much slower coming upstairs than Owen likely anticipated.  The mortal was unsure whether he should go, for the request had been made by Owen, not by Vincent, who'd said he would send for them.  As he dawdled at the bottom of the stairs, he reasoned that Vincent could always send him back down again.  He slowly made his way up.

Yumiko had come back to herself a little as Owen made sandwiches in the kitchen downstairs.  She was still happy and relaxed, but now had the ability to converse animatedly with Vincent, about her most recent shopping trip.  Vincent was doing a lot of smiling and nodding while Yumiko related how little of her chosen wardrobe her grandmother approved of.

"Oooh, thanks!" she greeted Owen and his food, taking a sandwich and her glass of juice, and holding one while gulping down the other.  She'd consumed both by the time Travis finally peered into the room before stepping into it, his gaze finding Vincent automatically.

"Am I okay to come up?" he asked, and never mind the fact Owen had told him and that he was already here.  Vincent smile and gave him a small nod, shifting his attention back to Yumiko, who was reaching for another sandwich.  Travis stood awkwardly between the bed and the wall, closest to the door, watching Yumiko eat.

[Existentially Odd]

Owen had perched on the bed to wait for Travis, finding himself staring at Yumiko's pulse as she ate and drank.  He was reliving the drinking, thinking about how she'd become so incredibly passive, unlike he always had.  He hadn't expected the blood to have such a tenacious hold over him; he was determined he would do a better job with Travis so that Vincent wouldn't have to yell into his head to get him detached.  He wanted to be the one to make the move to close off Travis' throat before it got to that and, on this side of the bite, he was feeling confident he could do it.

When the mortal man just stood there, Owen smiled again and went to him, scooping up his hand in an effort to lead him to the bed.

[Trillian]

Owen had little success pulling Travis anywhere, for the young man was quite self-conscious about allowing himself to be drunk in front of another person.  He took a step back and shook his head, not comfortable about this situation at all.

"Vincent?" he asked, then pressed his lips together and gave Owen a worried look, as though he was aware that his request might look a bit odd to the man's lover.  Travis hadn't let anyone but Vincent drink from him in a long time, and respected the vampire enough to do him this favour - but he wasn't about to follow eagerly or even lightly into the situation.  The tone of voice in the young man pulled both Vincent's and Yumiko's stares.  She was looking at him while holding a sandwich to her mouth, and Vincent near her was frowning, not understanding the sudden negation in Travis.  When Travis looked from Vincent to Yumiko and back again, the vampire believed he understood.

"Yumiko, do you mind going downstairs to finish that off?  We'll come down to join you very soon."

Yumiko was agreeable, though she gave Travis a puzzled look before heading down with her almost-finished glass of juice and her half-eaten second sandwich.  As she left the room, Vincent gave Owen an explanation for Travis' behaviour.

He loses control when he's being drunk from, and he's incredibly self-conscious about it.  You're going to have to pin him down, it won't be as easy.

As soon as Yumiko could be heard tramping down the stairs, Travis gave a go of an explanation himself.

"Um, Owen, sorry, I... um, I get this way when I'm... uh..."

"It's okay, Travis, I told him," Vincent said, then caught Owen's eye and gave a tiny gesture with his head for him to comfort Travis.  It was all part of the process, too.

[Existentially Odd]

"It's okay," Owen assured the mortal, touching his arm but doubtful he should try to take his hand again, not when he'd been pulled away from.  His smile was gentle as he took the time to look away from Travis' throat and up into his eyes.

"I was there just... what?  An hour or so ago?  I know what it's like, how good it feels to be drunk from.  I get it.  I'm not interested in making you do anything you don't want to do.  Look, I should also warn you that I wasn't very good at, uh, drinking sitting up, so when I ask you to lay on the bed, you get it's just because I'm pretty... new at this, right?" he asked awkwardly, pulling an appealing face that begged the mortal to see he wasn't completely confident about what was going on here, either (not until he was biting, anyway).

[Trillian]

"Oh," Travis said stupidly, feeling silly for not having considered such a thing.  Of course Owen knew what it was like from his side, he'd been mortal himself and been drunk from himself (and had sex with Vincent as well, he knew, but such things were different when you were with your lover).  Travis had never had sex with Vincent, nor had he ever wanted to, and he'd been extremely grateful that Vincent had respected his wishes.  The other vampires, well, they'd justified it, and considering how he was with them, he kind of understood it, but he'd still never gone back to them and had been about to give the whole biting scene a miss.  Thank goodness he'd stumbled upon Vincent all those years ago.  "Okay.  Then I guess I don't have to warn you," he grinned, losing his awkwardness suddenly, thanks to his knowledge of Owen's shared insight.

"I think you do," Vincent added from where he sat on the sofa.  He hadn't bothered moving around yet, because he was sure Owen would be able to find where to bite, but when he started drinking, he'd keep an eye on Travis - who would be harder to read than Yumiko, who remained relaxed.

"Oh!" Travis said again, blushing and frowning.  "Um.  Yeah, my warning to Vincent, before he bit me first time... I told him that even when I ask for more, I'm really not."

Travis' warning to Vincent had been a great deal more specific that that, but at the time, his concern had been fresher.  Vincent, intrigued and pleased with the idea of a donor that had no intentions on selling himself for the bite, had been very surprised with the writhing, pleading, sexual creature on his hands.  Of course he'd respected Travis' wishes, but still, if the warning hadn't come before the drink, he would've dismissed Travis as a vampire-whore and not bothered calling on him again.

Travis took a step towards the bed, rethought his instinct, then looked at Owen for direction.

[Existentially Odd]

Owen nodded and encouraged Travis to lay on the bed with a smile.  He arranged him much the same way he had Yumiko (though he did his best to sit Travis on the edge first, hoping he wouldn't notice that small dribble of blood on the mattress) and then lay against his right side, on his left.  The height difference and the feel of the man versus the woman became immediately apparent as he cradled Travis' head and tilted him as he had Yumiko; it could also have been his confidence.

Vincent still spoke into his head as his lips began their search up and down Travis' throat and he didn't sink his fangs in nearly as deeply, thanks to understanding how easy it was now.  No blood escaped his mouth in those first few moments and the fledgling was aglow with pride as he settled into a rhythm of lapping and swallowing as Travis' body pulsed into his mouth.  Owen's eyes closed and he did his best to not become as absorbed by the sensation of the drinking - though he was fascinated already by just how different the man tasted to the woman he'd drunk from.  It made sense that all people tasted different, he supposed, for all bodies were different, but he'd always thought blood would just taste like blood, not people.  How wrong he'd been.

[Trillian]

Travis pulled a pained face when his skin broke, but it quickly turned into exultation.  At first sighing and his hands twitching, he began undulating against Owen a great deal more, whispering needful comments in his ear, mostly beginning with: 'I want...', 'Please do...', and 'Touch me...." with follow up suggestions as to what Owen could do.  He was very specific with his requests, and his hands were groping a path on Owen's body, wherever they could reach and squeeze and press.  He was hard and rubbing himself against Owen or against his own hand, trying his best to relieve the pressure mounting in him.  When people said they 'lost their inhibitions', Travis was the true benchmark.

[Existentially Odd]

As focussed as he was on the texture and taste of Travis' blood, Owen couldn't help but notice everything else that was going on.  The whispers, the pleas - the way his hands got inside Owen's robe and fondled him - caused him to flinch enough that he soon realised Vincent hadn't been kidding when he'd told him to pin Travis down.  For the sake of his own modesty (and Vincent seemed very protective of the mortal's self esteem, too), Owen managed to get hold of Travis' most free hand (his left, because his right was pinned in against Owen's body already) and transfer it to the behind the mortal's head to be held there.  He was quite shocked when Travis fought against it, bucking harder into Owen's hips because he no longer had a hand to rub on his erection.

The fledgling responded by sliding farther onto the mortal and pressing his legs down with his own.  It elicited groans and sighs of frustration from Travis but Owen persevered, knowing it wouldn't go on much longer.  He was suddenly very thankful for the two orgasms Vincent had given him because if he hadn't been satiated, things might have become a whole lot more awkward - and it would only be a purely physical response, because he was oddly detached from wanting the mortal.  He pondered how Vincent had endured this when he was single; how long had he said he'd been drinking from Travis?  Owen couldn't remember in the heat of the moment but filed it away to discuss later.

When he began to hear warnings in his head about stopping, Owen was attentive and thought back an affirmative so his lover would know he was listening (for he certainly didn't have a clue when the right time to stop on his own was).  Proud of himself, he dared let go of Travis' hip in order to bring his index finger to his fang like Vincent had demonstrated.  He winced as it cut him, for he'd not expected it to gouge so deeply (not when he felt so tough) and then he concentrated on bleeding into the holes he'd made.  Travis was still moving feverishly so it was difficult to get his bleeding finger over the second hole - he concentrated on it like his life depended on it (Vincent's respect did, and that was close to the same thing at that moment).

The puncture wounds didn't close nearly as quickly for him as they had when Vincent had done it, which caused Owen to frown in consternation.  He also had to keep lapping and cleaning up Travis' throat while it slowly knitted closed, though that wasn't a negative, he really enjoyed the extra little bits of blood seeping out.  When he was finally sure it was done and the mortal's throat was as smooth as it had ever been, he looked up at Vincent with a beaming smile and then tried to pull back.  His expression became wary, for he had to release Travis by degrees, expecting he'd likely be grabbed at as he eased himself back but ready to link his fingers with any that came his way.

[Trillian]

Once Travis had been healed and released in degrees, so too did that writhing desire in him.  He lay panting like he'd just been granted what he'd asked for, and the starry eyed look only gave way to an uncomfortable groan as Owen finally left him and Travis was left with a throbbing need left unfulfilled.  Once his gaze sharpened, it was a different story, and blood rushed to his face as he realised how wanton he'd been and how impartial Owen had been in return.

He turned his back and mumbled something that nobody should've been able to catch, but both Owen and Vincent had no problem hearing it:  "Thank you."

Vincent knew Travis was thanking Owen for not taking it further, for keeping him at bay, and possibly it was a thanking in advance, hoping not to receive a comment about it.  Vincent gave Owen a nod and shot him what he was feeling: pride, happiness, admiration, respect and love.  Then he moved to where Travis was facing, crouching down so he was looking at Travis' face, and touched him on the shoulder.

"Thank you.  We're in your debt.  It was a selfless thing, especially when you rely so much on trust."  He nodded encouragingly at Travis, though Owen wouldn't be able to see the mortal's expression from where he lay.  "Do you think you can sit up?"

Travis obviously did, because he sat up, and his hands remained atop his lap, hiding his erection from himself.

[Existentially Odd]

Owen was aglow with Vincent's feedback, unperturbed that he hadn't been able to figure out when to stop drinking, because he'd actually managed to stop at the right time and also to heal Travis by himself.  Already he'd improved, and he was young enough and cocky enough to think that he'd have this feeding business under control in no time.  He slid off the bed and stood at the end of it, righting his robe and watching Vincent interact with Travis.

"We can leave you alone in the room, if you want?" he suggested with some hesitation, not wanting to make Travis more uncomfortable but figuring that if it was him in the mortal's place, he'd at least like to finish by himself and capitalise on all the delicious feelings the bite had given him.  It was said in such a way that Travis might also just think he was saying they could give him some 'calm down' time, which was less offensive.  He did consider suggesting they could send Yumiko up to fuck him, but that image only remained in his thoughts, not on his tongue; he knew that would go down about as well as intimating he and Vincent could fuck on the couch to make Travis feel better about his embarrassing situation (or to give him something to perve on).

Hell, he'd heard them earlier and seemed to like it... a silly grin lifted his lips as his gaze slid contemplatively to Vincent, happy sexy thoughts of his lover overtaking his momentary generosity towards the mortal's sensitive feelings.  He was obviously having difficulty concentrating, though he wasn't sure why and didn't care enough to worry about it.

[Trillian]

Travis was a little surprised when given the option of being alone in the room, for Vincent had never done that, yet it was an appealing suggestion.  There was a throbbing need that he wanted to take care of, and figured if they left him to it, he could get rid of it the quickest and most satisfying way, clean himself up, eat a few sandwiches, drink some juice and be on his way.  He nodded and said thank you again, softly but not as before.

Vincent didn't know what either of the two young men were thinking, and would've been floored in knowing they were thinking along the same lines.  Owen, not so much, but he'd always believed that Travis had a very low sex drive and that was why the bite embarrassed him.  He dismissed the offer and acceptance as being a way of coming around in private, so Travis wouldn't have two vampires watching and fussing over him.  The idea of two vampires hanging around being concerned for a mortal's well being struck him a little funny, and he smiled lightly to himself.

"Alright Travis, feel free to take your time.  We don't want you tumbling down those stairs," he said, and was closest to the door so headed that way - though he put a hand out for Owen to take.  The two of them went downstairs and found Yumiko napping on the sofa curled up in a little ball.

[Existentially Odd]

Owen accompanied Vincent downstairs happily, interested to see how many little triangle sandwiches Yumiko had left for Travis and making a mental note to go and get the last of the juice for him - though he'd be a few minutes.  The fledgling wondered if this was how all his nights would go now and whether they actually should keep shopping for mortal essentials to top his new 'meals' up before they headed home.  He and Vincent walked into the living room, where he could hear Yumiko's slowed heartbeat and he leaned against Vincent, staring habitually at her neck.  In the moment that they paused to contemplate her sleeping form, he had some questions but decided to try them mentally so as not to startle her.

Will you wake
Did I drink
her up and How do- send her home now?
too much from her? - I know?

Even he heard the jumble in his head and gave his love a look of consternation before he tried again.

Will you wake her up and send her home now did I drink too much from her how do I know when to stop?

It wasn't perfect, but it was better.

[Trillian]

Vincent was curious as to Owen's powers.  He was surprised that a fledgling, not even a full night old, could converse mentally with him so clearly.  He supposed Owen had always been very focussed in his studies, and had never done things by halves.  He'd thrown himself into his schoolwork, he'd thrown himself into his job, and he'd thrown himself into his playtime.  He'd also thrown himself at Vincent many times, and the sire had been surprised at that, too.  Owen seemed insatiable.  He wondered if that would lessen now, as he found a calmer existence as a vampire, or if that would come over time.  They had all the time in the world, now.

She's fine, I'll send her home, he sent back, but found himself looking at Owen more than at Yumiko.  He was both same but different.  Vincent felt incredibly bouyant now that he was sharing a much deeper connection to Owen.  You will learn when to stop, without me needing to tell you.

He touched Yumiko's shoulder gently, and it was enough for her to open her eyes and sit up.  She yawned and stretched, before grinning at the pair of them.

"I ate your chicken."

Vincent blinked at her.

"I beg your pardon?"

"In the fridge!  I found some, and ate it."

"Ah.  Did you want to take something with you for the drive home?" he asked, gently prompting her to be on her way while also offering her more.

"Ooh, there were these nut bars or something that I found in the cupboards!  Can I have them?"

Vincent pictured Yumiko systematically moving through the kitchen and pilfering it for food.  The idea brought a smile to his lips.

"Yes, you can have them."  He turned his amused smile to Owen.

[Existentially Odd]

Owen could only stare from the empty sandwich plate to Yumiko in surprise, until she headed for the kitchen and then he followed hastily.  For such a tiny person, she sure ate a lot of food!  He was concerned that it was because he'd taken too much blood from her but he was also worried that she'd not left much for Travis - and how much would he eat when he emerged?  Owen went to the cupboard that held his remaining protein bars and handed them to Yumiko.  She accepted them with a happy squeak and he thanked her again for coming, subtly reinforcing Vincent's message that she ought to be leaving now.  When she left the kitchen, he set about getting some food for Travis, pouring him a juice and then hunting around for some food he could offer.  He came up with a selection of pop tarts and set about toasting them while Vincent saw Yumiko out.

It was odd to him, how hovering over the toaster no longer caused his stomach to growl or his mouth to water as it once had; the chocolate melting within the pastry still smelled good to him, but he suddenly couldn't imagine eating this.  It seemed ridiculously simplistic compared to the taste of the blood he'd drunk, which had been layered with hormones and meal flavourings.  Each had had an individual taste, too, that couldn't be defined.  Just thinking about it was distracting and made him want more... the toaster popped and he replaced the warmed ones with new ones, saddened he'd have to wait to drink again until the next night.

His timing seemed pretty good, for Owen collected his plateful of cooked sweet treats and the glass of juice and headed for the living room just as Travis began descending the stairs.  He paused, watching him coming towards him and approving of the mortal's more relaxed appearance.  "For you," he announced, holding out the plate and glass towards the boy as he reached the carpet before him.  "It's a bit of a mix; I was finishing off boxes, sorry," he explained, doing his best to look at Travis' eyes, not his throat as he spoke to him.  It was a marginally successful attempt that just left Owen feeling rueful; he rather hoped that the man wouldn't like pop tarts or would declare he didn't need any sort of drink at all and just leave so that he wouldn't have to make so much damn effort to ignore his thumping heart and the taste he wanted again.  Besides, he had something to give Vincent and he didn't feel he could do that until they were alone.

"Do you want to sit in the living room?" he smiled politely.