It had been just five days since Damien had accepted the position of Manager for Jake McCloud's campaign for District Leader of Central and he had found his hands full yet again. Besides an email from Damien confirming his decision, no other notice or announcement had been made about Damien Evans taking the position. There were still too many details to work out between Jake and himself before they made any kind of announcement - including how Ben Samson, Damien's employer, would find out about the decision. Jake McCloud didn't seem particularly worried about how that information came into being, something which made Damien have some concerns.
After the first conversation with Jake in the Rabbit Warrens, when Jake had initially offered Damien the position, Damien was uncertain that he would take the job. He had taken the discussion out of Jake's hands and offered it instead to his kin, asking for their input and opinions in the matter. There was no doubt that Damien was capable of running Jake McCloud's campaign - the discussion came down to whether it was a wise idea to do so. Would it draw too much unwanted attention to himself from the powers of the city? With Samson? Galvin? The Sacramentum? And if Laurent were still in the city, wouldn't that be information to draw him out?
They all - Pierre, Jenella, Phineas, and even Rachel - had been unsure as to what the proper decision should be, though consensus leaned towards accepting the role with some accommodating circumstances. Damien and Rachel had spent that night debating on and off between relaxing and cuddling. When Damien couldn't get the matter off his mind, Rachel had been his sounding board. She was the one who knew Damien's true concern - that his information could get leaked to the wrong person and Laurent would finally know where Rachel was after the long years spent living with him. The thought had kept him awake during the day, distracting himself with the preparations of the newly constructed manufacturing facility in Seattle - a task he clearly didn't need to oversee.
In the end, they had decided to go forward with it, knowing that there would be certain advantages to having a District Leader like Jake McCloud as a personal ally. Already the young one had promised to look into the existence of the trafficking ring in the city - and the demon scum who ran it. It brought them one step closer to finding Laurent, even if it wasn't the way that Damien would have preferred it. One step closer to not having to look over their shoulder every day when Rachel stepped outside the house.
There were other perks to be had with having Jake McCloud close, of course. Resources, networking opportunities, the potential to be part of government funded immortal research. Aquillia Industries Inc. already had copious amounts of privately-funded research on the biological exploration of vampiric cells. Reports crossed his desk on a semi-regular basis as to the advances which had been made by his small team of biological anthropologists and structural engineers - one of their most current projects being the development of a window pane that allowed sunlight into a room, but blocked the rays which destroyed vampiric flesh. A major discovery, one that he had been waiting for since the day he watched his own family burn - he had even tested it out himself to ensure its effect. It would be a major cash cow when it came to market, but the research was slow, tiring work for a team of just six people. Funding wasn't unlimited either - a concern that Damien hated. He cared little about money, having more than enough to live comfortably, but he lacked the far-reaching political power which allowed him to access more researchers who were in the know about immortal life.
So he had given Jake McCloud's offices a call and invited the Anarch over to his home for an evening of informal ice breaking. Rachel had come up with the idea to ease the transition for both vampires to adjust to one another before engaging in what was likely to be a stressful campaign to win Central. He had made sure to let the receptionist know that Jake should feel comfortable enough to bring any guest of his choosing, as Damien's fledge and his partner would be present. Jake had responded affirmatively hours later via email, one which had an open and friendly tone.
Thus, he had begun the preparations of the house for the gathering, ensuring that surfaces were cleaned of any debris or dog fur, laundry and other chores were done, Delilah was groomed, and Rachel was on her best behavior. She had teased him all day long, pulling at his attention with loud thoughts of naughty things that would have made him blush, crawling onto his lap when he took a moment to relax, and even coaxing him into the bedroom for a quick romp the same morning of the gathering.
"But what do I wear?" She teased from her position lounging on the couch in just her underwear and one of his tees, a devious smile on her face as Damien set up the apparatus for the plasmatherm fountain.
"Rachel, this is your house," he responded, looking up at her from the island where the fountain would be - if he could untangle the damn cords! "You can wear whatever it is you'd like." He felt her smirk impishly from across the room, her thoughts curling around him in her attempt to be noticed. "But you do have to wear clothes." He looked at her through his eyebrows, though he smiled nonetheless.
After setting up the blood fountain - which was a few pieces of medical equipment used for blood transfusions during surgery (including a warmer) MacGyvered together in an almost aesthetically pleasing way - Damien showered,
dressed, and set about his last few chores before Jake and his guest arrived at his house. There was a slight sense of nervousness about him that he tried to keep down, but Rachel, knowing the classic signs of his perfectionist anxiety, called him out teasingly before setting about and helping him. Upon Rachel's insistence they had showered separately - lest they be tempted to do more than just get clean in the water, a decision which made Damien pout a bit - and she was now clean, smelling only vaguely of him from the night before. When she wasn't looking, he smiled at her, and continued adding blood to the warmer.
Conveniently,
Pierre had made his way to the house after all of the last second tasks were done. Damien scowled and told him so in French as he stepped into the kitchen. Pierre, in his brown jacket of soft leather and plain white tee with blue jeans, smelling strongly of Nadia now that they were back together, told him that that was his intention and picked up a stemmed glass with a crooked grin and dipped it in the fountain. His fledgling then proceeded to lean against the counter and sip at the blood.
Moments later, Damien heard an unfamiliar car pulling up the drive, the engine idling first before settling in a park. "I think that's them. Rachel, would you like to get the door?" He smirked beguilingly at his lover, hoping she would oblige.
