Pre-drinks Dinner

[Existentially Odd]

Glad to be of help, Kerr whirled on the appropriate fridge and observed the beverages through the glass door, his hand on the cool metal bar that comprised the handle, ready to fling it open and grasp a juice... damn. There were lots of flavours.

"Uh... orange, orange and mango, apple and raspberry, blackcurrant or..." he was doing his best at impersonating a mortal\'s I-can\'t-see-everything-so-I\'ll-just-bob-up-and-down-\'til-I\'ve-figured-it-all-out refrigerator dance, without being aware of what that was. He just thought that opening the door before he knew what he was going to withdraw was impolite and not very fuel efficient.  "What the fuck... does that... say... oh, pine orange! Pine orange?" he exclaimed, turning to grin triumphantly at Ben... who was glaring at the carpet. If it weren\'t for his supernaturally enhanced hearing, Kerr doubted he would even have heard the petulantly muttered, "Apple and raspberry," that he got for an answer.

Mollified, the vampire extracted the requested bottle of liquid and allowed the door to fall closed naturally as he went and perched on the edge of the couch occupied by Ben, his body turned to face him as much as was possible. He was only more disheartened when the boy took the proffered drink with barely a smile and a glance that might have reached his tie - though Kerr couldn\'t be sure - then opened it, taking an obedient sip.  It felt like... it looked like... he was drinking only so that the vampire could see him taking in sustenance, and leave him alone.

He would liked to have blamed Ben\'s apathy on blood loss alone, but he was pretty sure it had, in fact, coincided with his neat ignoring of Ben\'s declaration that he wanted to see Kerr again, but not here. The more he thought about, watching the mortal take timid little sips of the juice and stare broodily at the carpet, the more this theory seemed accurate. He would have to address it; the urge to smoothe things over was more a way of life than a hobby for him.

"Look, Ben I..." he paused to clear his throat, staring awkardly at the boy\'s stony profile and wondering just how he was going to phrase himself. "I can\'t lie to you," he then admitted, his attitude crestfallen. "I enjoyed you, and I\'m very grateful that you allowed me to... drink from you. I\'m... sorry that you don\'t want it to happen again. Very sorry, though... I do understand it. I guess. But that\'s why I didn\'t say anything when you said... you wanted to meet again. It would be hard for me to just talk with you after... this. But... I guess I could do it," he finished softly.

His own gaze had fallen to stare at the juice in the mortal\'s hands, as he tried to tell himself that he definitely could meet for a chat. Just a chat. Even though Ben would want to know more and more, and it would only get uncomfortable... he\'d have to face talking about the twins and listen to Ben talk about being sired without anything in return but... he had the time. He supposed. He shifted around uncomfortably, trying to put the eventuality of the siring discussion from his mind, frowning as he listened for the mortal\'s response.

[Trillian]

Ben looked up as Kerr began his fumbled comments, and so the mortal came to understand that there had been a misinterpretation of what was on offer.  Ben had not meant to deny Kerr further, he\'d simply not wanted to place himself somewhere that could be misconstrued as available to anyone.
 
As Kerr made his own half-apology and attempting to conform to Ben\'s wishes, it made Ben realise just how lucky he was to have chanced upon this particular vampire.  He still possessed humanity.  Ben understood that this was not always a guarantee when it came to those who were changed by vampirism.  Especially when they had history under their belt.  It would be easier to think of mortals as lesser - especially when they were used to slake an undeniable thirst.
 
His clear blue eyes searched Kerr\'s and he shook his head.  "It\'s only Risk I object to," he said quietly, and this seemed to sum up everything.  He wasn\'t a being of many words, but so there would be no more misunderstandings, he clarified himself further.  "I\'ve already shared with you, and it wasn\'t unpleasant.  I feel... " he was lost for words on that one, so attacked the sentence from a different side.  "I don\'t want to share myself around, and that would be difficult if we continued to meet here.  I don\'t mind offering... the same... again."  Here he blushed.  "I\'d just prefer it to be in a nicer location, you know?"
 
He pressed his lips together and wanted to stare at the drink in his hands, but he couldn\'t pull his gaze away from Kerr.  He was fixated on him, in more ways than one.

[Existentially Odd]

"Oh," the vampire said dumbly, and then again, with more obvious understanding, "Oh!"  His expression brightened into a gentle smile and he felt much calmer as he stared into the intense blue eyes.  He would be able to gain some live sustenance again - and with a lot less effort than he\'d previously had to expend - he simply had to come up with a better meeting location. Quickly.

"Would you like to meet at your home, then?" he enquired politely, willing to go to the greater effort... and do everything in his power from meeting somewhere sordid, or at his home. Ben would no doubt like that, but Kerr felt it was a horrible idea. Still, he knew that he\'d taken too much time dallying as it was, so he was more or less ready to agree to anything at that moment.

He purposefully didn\'t bother entertaining thoughts about what Ben would expect from him in exchange for his blood. Kerr knew it would no doubt involve more information, and as long as Ben wasn\'t sharing it with anyone else - he made a mental note to mention that point before he left - he supposed it wasn\'t too disturbing to tell his stories. It was... almost nice to be someone\'s interest in that respect.

[Trillian]

Ben\'s eyes lit up as soon as Kerr\'s second \'oh\' was formed, because it had an uplifting tone to it and he felt that the sound of the word was extremely positive.  He was correct in this observation, for soon it was offered to him that they would meet again.  It was obvious now that communication between them had misfired at some point, but because it was fixed Ben could forget it even happened.
 
"Uh," he thought about his home, "I live in a share-house with three other people," he explained.  "It keeps the rent down, but there\'s no... privacy."  He hadn\'t wanted to live in a shabby apartment, but the only way he could afford a nice place was to find someone who was willing to take him in to cut down their own rent.  "Is... your place okay?"
 
He was hopeful, though would\'ve accepted a private public place if suggested.  Thing was, he was keen on meeting Sawyl - a part of Kerr\'s history - and hoping to get another side of an intimate story, so that he would know so much more of the vampire\'s trials of their unlife.  A tale from the lips of a child vampire would be... priceless, to Ben.  He gazed at Kerr with eager eyes.

[Existentially Odd]

Stupidly, he still felt his face falling and a ball of discomfort settling heavily in his stomach as Ben\'s words were spoken - and he\'d been expecting them! He considered as many alternatives as seemed feasible, but none sounded right, despite him having enough money to afford numerous other arrangements. It made sense that Ben come to his residence, but it would be a very difficult thing for Kerr. The mortal wouldn\'t have to know that - in fact, it would be his mission to have him never learn the limits of mental fire he would endure from his over-interested charges - but the vampire only hoped that he\'d be able to carry it off. And that the heathens wouldn\'t wriggle their way out of their rooms as soon as the mortal got through the front doorway.

He realised his gaze had fallen in his consternation, and he made a concerted effort to sit up, moving his shoulders back and offering as reassuring a smile as he was capable. "Sure; as long as you promise not to wander around too much," he joked, realising belatedly that he meant it too much for the humour to sound complete.

Perish the thought.

Feeling he needed to clarify that, he held his hand out as if to halt any untoward thoughts flying through the mortal\'s mind. "Oh, I just mean that it... well, it\'s not necessarily safe. You could get... uh... I wouldn\'t want you t-to get hurt."

Or die.  Yep, death would be pretty bad.  Definitely not in the plan.

He cleared his throat, feeling thoroughly awkward. "I live in Chapel Street, on the east side. The house at the end of the cul de sac, number fourteen. It\'s pretty hard to miss. When... when do you think you\'d like to... visit?" He attempted another smile.

[Trillian]

"A week?  Maybe two, I dunno, see how my head feels," Ben supplied, unable to hide the light in his eyes from knowing where the vampire lived (such a dangerous truth for Kerr to share with him!  It proved his trust).  He took another swallow of juice to accentuate his point of feeling weak, and then continued.
 
"I\'ll be a polite houseguest," he promised to Kerr\'s directions not to wander around.  "And I\'ll keep our meetings discreet," he added, wanting Kerr to know that he was right to trust in Ben.
 
Setting the box on a flat surface nearby, Ben swivelled on his cushion so that he could face Kerr directly.  "I want to say thank you, and that I\'m honoured."  He grinned sheepishly, but pressed on despite obvious embarrassment.  "You\'re taking a chance in trusting me, and... I recognise that.  I won\'t let you down."
 
He bit at his lower lip and reached a hand out to take Kerr\'s own.  "If it\'s one week, it\'ll be one week from today.  If two, then two from today.  So, you know when to expect me."  He nodded, trying to get Kerr to agree that this idea was a sensible one.

[Existentially Odd]

In truth, it sounded a bit long to Kerr, but he didn\'t directly say this as he shook Ben\'s hand. It felt like he was making a deal with the proverbial devil, though why he should feel so intimidated was beyond him. It would be through no fault of Kerr\'s that anything went wrong.

"You should be recovered in a couple of days," he hinted, then dropped the mortal\'s hand in order to search his pocket for a pen and one of the fake credit card papers that had come in his new wallet. They were handy for writing things down upon, and he removed one to write his mobile and home phone numbers on now. The action made him think about doing the same thing for Mandy the night before, and it became easier to smile as he handed the little bit of rectangular cardboard over.

"These are my numbers. Obviously you\'ll come at night, but I may not be home. Try my mobile number if that\'s the case, though... I shall make every effort to be there to greet you."

Alone.

He stood, replacing the pen in the lapel pocket of his suit coat, straightening his clothing a final time as he looked down at Ben. "Do you have everything?  Think you\'ll be alright to make it home?"

At the blonde\'s smile, nod and utterance of a noise of affirmation, Kerr responded in kind.  He reached out to place an affectionate hand upon Ben\'s shoulder (unable to stop himself from looking at the time on his other wrist as he did) and gave a small squeeze, smiling into the upturned blue eyes.  "I\'ll see you in a week or so, then."  He didn\'t even notice Ben\'s lack of response to that, as he hastened up the stairs, fearing he would be late to meet up with his date.