Jake listened to all of what Murphy had to say, enjoying hearing about his human life. He found it all very interesting, as he often only dealt with humans in certain settings. He was far enough away from being human himself to forget what it was like to go through those kinds of struggles, and he felt more connected to the humans of this era after listening.
Jake mixed in a few comments about himself when similar or applicable to Murphy’s tale, specifically, that his mother also died when he was very young, and that his father had been obsessed with the title his family once held, and neglected him expect when he was grooming him for a position that no longer existed.
Jake expressed his condolences for Murphy’s father and couldn’t fight the urge not to kiss his hand as he talked about it. Jake didn’t have many positive father figures, and Murphy’s sounded like a mixed bag at best. Was this another thing they had in common?
Jake asked lots of questions. He didn’t want to miss a detail, and was glad Murphy was happy to answer them. The same sense of openness and relaxation Murphy was experiencing Jake felt too, the human’s heartbeat creating a soothing metronome against his back, and his warmth radiating through Jake’s room temperature body. Was this what it felt like to be safe?
When Murphy showed his risk tattoo, Jake flashed his Oligarch tattoo, located on his lower neck, a shirt collar often covering it. He told Murphy he was also thinking of having it changed and suggested they go together. That way he could also get Sabrina’s approval. He should’ve done that last time too.
He could get used to having Murphy Hilton at his side, talking about his life, listening to Jake talk about his. There was no great drama or chaos that united them like his relationship with Lazarus. That had been all about power; the dance for control. It had been exciting and exactly the kind of man Jake thought he needed. However, as he sat here, simply happy to be with this other person he realized that danger and thrills were his past, and Murphy was, “the future.” The line had been in response to Murphy’s statement of course, but Jake was happy for the double meaning, and leaned his head back, putting their lips within range of one another.
“And you’re the gorgeous one you know, and I can’t give you my whole life in a brief history but I can give you some highlights.”
He wanted to show Murphy he was willing to open up and share, maybe not about the last few days, but in general Jake wanted him to know who he was and for the human to like him in spite of it. He started with what little he remembered of being a mortal, some of the amnesia being time, the rest likely trauma. He talked about how beautiful his sire was, dear Sophie, and how she was ended before Jake was even Ben’s age in vampire years. He talked about spending his youth in London under the tutelage of a clan elder named Mithras.
Murphy would feel Jake tense as he talked about his old master. Jake chose to skip a lot of the messy details and summed up their relationship as, “he wanted me to be him one day. I wanted something else.” He told him a daring story of how he escaped and moved to America, his time in New York, and how he’d gotten mixed up with the Anarch movement. He ended by telling him about his first few years in the city. He spoke about the first time he met Lazarus and Kerr, how Kerr helped him end the Sabbat and how he’d become an Oligarch.
“And then I met this totally gorgeous guy and am laying on him and I won’t lie. It feels great.”
He looked at Murphy, eyes big and doe like. “Any questions?” He laughed, assuming their might be a few.
