Ichabod felt like a caged rat, unable to go out at night whenever he wanted, afraid of going into certain areas of town just in case he couldn’t get back before nightfall, and jittery whenever Mandy left the apartment at night, just in case. It had been six weeks, an exhausting six weeks, especially as he hadn’t been able to tell Mandy what was wrong, why he refused to go to the shops alone at night when they needed something, why he locked the door so securely even when she was there. He’d tried to behave as normal, and with work and Mandy there was a lot to distract him, but she wasn’t always there. He knew that after so long maybe Ben would just stop coming, but then again what was six weeks to an immortal?
It had been the best six weeks of his life where releationships were concerned. Like Ben, Ichabod had never been with someone so long, but he still couldn’t help being worried.
He desperately didn’t want to see Ben again, but at the same time Ichabod could feel that craving. He wanted to be fed from, it felt like so long since the last time, he just didn’t want it to be Ben. He had been tempted to go to Risk, but that would have meant going out after dark and he’d known Mandy wouldn’t approve and the last thing Ichabod wanted to do was upset her. He hadn’t been drinking, he hadn’t smoked, he’d done everything she wanted and didn’t regret one moment of it, apart from lying to her.
Ichabod froze in front of the door when he heard Ben’s voice. He had been hesitant about going to it at all. After Mandy went to work he usually just went to bed, he could have ignored the knocking, but Ben had to know he was standing just the other side of the door. He could probably hear his heart pounding. Instinctively the human glanced through the peep-hole, just to see if Ben was alone and then after a couple of seconds Ichabod slowly opened the door a little way, meeting Ben’s silver gaze through his glasses.
“What do you want?” he asked, although he already knew the answer as he tugged at his shirt, feeling uncomfortable under Ben’s penetrating stare. There was always the hope that Ben was just coming to say that he and Kerr were going away on another trip, he‘d just say that and then leave. Yeah, right.
“Mandy’ll be home in a few minutes,” he added quickly, glancing down at the floor as he lied unconvincingly. He hadn’t bothered changing after work, so he was wearing a pair of dark trousers and a light blue shirt, unbuttoned at the collar and with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His feet were bare and at the moment one was lodged behind the door, a move which might have stopped a human from pushing in, but he knew wouldn’t stop Ben from entering if he really wanted to.
He slowly lifted his gaze again as he chewed on his lower lip. His eyes were wide and filled with confusion. He wanted Ben to go away, to stop interrupting his new life, but now he was here and Ichabod knew he wouldn’t go away until he got what he wanted. And when he gazed at the vampire he found himself longing for that bite, for the rush of feelings and emotions that came with it. It wasn’t fair.