Title: A Taste of Lust
Rating: Teen for language (Zo is in it after all) and kissing
Pairing: Leo/Riario
Warnings: AU, Vampire AU, Crack, silly, blood because vampires
This is dedicated to meridian_rose who remarked that it's surprising we don't have more vampire fics in DVD since Riario is fond of biting, licking, tasting, and commenting about blood. Also, the production auction just sold a "Vampire Hunter Chest" from Riario in Season 1 that I still swear I never saw in the show. So, here's a little Halloween crack!fic for her since she's been such an inspiration to me! First posted on my Tumblr, zephfair.
Count Riario stopped his horse on the hill overlooking the city of Florence as the sun set, taking a moment to pat its neck while he peered down on the vile nest of debauchery and decadence. It was exactly the kind of place he was searching for, one where he was sure to find what he required.
Florence had the reputation of taking in all manner of riffraff and disreputable sinners, and as Riario rode slowly through the crowded streets, he could believe it. As captain-general of the Holy Roman Church, Riario had duties that often took him away from the Vatican—duties that were kept secret from all but the highest officers of the church, ones specially blessed by His Holiness Pope Sixtus.
Riario found a decent lodging house and quickly looked over his pack as night fell upon the city. His things would be fine left alone in the room, and his locked trunk containing wooden stakes, crucifixes wrapped in thick wool and holy water carefully stoppered and sealed would deter even a hardened sneak-thief. He took only his blades with him as he left to get a feel for the city and sample its local delicacies.
After winding through several streets, he selected a tavern bustling with activity. His senses were overcome with the stench of the men and women celebrating their own carousing, but this was exactly the kind of place where he often found the most promising prey. He took a seat in a shadowy corner and ordered wine, which he ignored to get a better look at the comings and goings around him.
There were all types in the tavern—sometimes only the richness of their clothing separating the nobles from the commoners. Riario spotted several young women and men whose occupations were unfortunately only too clear as a different kind of predator offered them coin for the pleasure of their company. There were rough mercenaries and cultured merchants, uniformed guards and working men.
Nothing sparked his interest until a loud call for more wine caught his attention from a table across the room. There were two men with their backs to him, but Riario was curious only about the man facing him. He was handsome, that was certain, but there was a spark about him, a vitality that Riario rarely found among men anymore. It was something to that drew his interest, something that aroused him at the same time. He continued to watch the man throughout the evening as he drank an outrageous amount of wine and scribbled constantly in a notebook, only joining the conversation to shout something back or laugh.
There was no question in Riario's mind that this was the type of man he was pursuing. He met all of Riario's criteria—the first in a truly long time—and although Riario knew he should take time to cautiously watch the man and concoct a battle plan, he pushed aside his untouched wine and left the tavern right behind him.
Riario was more careful as he tracked the man through the city, back to a large building he could only glimpse in the shadows. Riario stalked around it, satisfying himself where the exits were and making sure there was no one else in the workshop. Then he knocked quietly on the front door.
He heard some stumbling and muttering, then torchlight blazed in his eyes as the door swung open. "Well, hello there. I've never seen you around here before."
Riario let his lips quirk into a tight smile. "I am a visitor to your city, and I appear to have become lost from my lodgings. May I come in?"
The man smiled at him slowly, eyes flicking down Riario's body then back up to his own eyes. "Yes, please, come in."
Riario smiled at him again and entered, carefully brushing past the man as he closed the door. "My apologies for disturbing you," Riario lied. "I hope I am not keeping you from your... work?" He turned and stared around the workshop in awe. The tables and walls were covered with drawings, some large, some pages torn from notebooks. There were shelves of boxes and models, and over everything hung a contraption that Riario could only describe as the disembodied wings from the largest bird he'd ever seen.
"No, I'm not working right now. I was actually smoking, would you like some?"
Riario held up a hand and shook his head no as he wandered slowly around the room. "Are you an artist?"
The man shrugged. "I'm Leonardo da Vinci. I am an artist, a designer, an engineer."
"A man of many talents."
"And master of them all," da Vinci grinned at him, and Riario found himself wanting to smile back. "Do you like what you see here? Perhaps you'd like to sponsor an up-and-coming artist?"
"That is not what I had in mind." Riario stilled as da Vinci prowled closer to him, blocking off his pacing around the workshop.
"I saw you watching me in the tavern," da Vinci said. "Did you like what you saw there?"
"Very much," Riario admitted. "You are quite unique."
"I couldn't have said it better myself."
"You have a high enough opinion of yourself."
"There is no one else like me."
"I fear you might be mistaken," Riario said, stepping closer to da Vinci. "I have met others like you, although, perhaps none so exceptional."
"What does that make you then?"
Riario shrugged and attacked. Da Vinci gave as good as he got, and the two fought hard, crashing into walls, smashing into shelves, rolling across the worktable, papers and quills flying until Riario held him bent back on the wooden surface, legs around his, hips pinning him and one hand holding da Vinci's clenched fist next to his head.
"Finally. I haven't found anyone like you in ages," Riario rasped out and licked da Vinci's neck from collarbone to ear then bared his fangs, biting down far gentler than usual, luxuriating in the act. Leo's body bucked and he yelled, one hand hammering Riario's back but Riario bore down harder.
The taste exploded on his tongue, far more addicting than any food or drink he could remember from his human years. He sucked leisurely, purposefully resisting his strong urge to drink as fast as he could, trying to savor it and enjoy every last drop.
Da Vinci had gone still but was talking, his fingers twitching in Riario's hand as he spoke. "I've calculated that the human body, the average for a grown man, contains about five liters of blood and based on that and the rate of your consumption, I wonder how long it will take me to succumb to blood loss and lose consciousness and after that...do you turn your victims into more vampires? Exactly how much blood do you need to survive? And how often must you imbibe?"
Riario growled against the throat in his mouth, and the sensation made them both grind their hips. Da Vinci's voice was slowly weakening, and Riario felt his pulse grow thready even as Riario felt himself become warmer and warmer. He shut his eyes and enjoyed the overwhelming sensations of hot blood on his tongue, warm flesh pressed against him, hands clasping at his shoulders he could almost pretend were pulling him forward and not trying to struggle against him.
The taste of da Vinci was as strong as he'd imagined and even more heady, but underneath the piquant flavor was something else...something he vaguely remembered from years before. It wasn't until da Vinci gasped and shuddered while Riario felt himself growing heavier and dizzier that he remembered the tears of the poppy and recognized the taste. His eyes popped open, but Da Vinci was staring at a point beyond him, and something hit him on the head, completing his journey into darkness.
When Riario awoke, he didn't open his eyes immediately, trying to figure out where he was and what had happened before he made anyone else aware. The hushed voices told him he was not alone, the weight and heft around his arms and chest told him he was a prisoner and the urgent need to sneeze told him...
"I think he's awake," an unfamiliar voice made him open his eyes and glance toward it. Another inhale and he couldn't keep in the sneeze any longer.
"I always was allergic to mongrel dogs," he rasped out at the bearded man glaring at him. A bright blond peered out behind and Riario bared his teeth. "Oh, look, the bitch has a pup."
Da Vinci stepped between them as the bearded man began to growl. "Zo, he's just trying to rile you. Stand down. And you," he turned to Riario, "almost drained me."
Riario shrugged. "I don't normally have a problem with pulling out but your temptation proved too great."
Da Vinci's pointing finger waggled for a second then he had to slam a hand against Zo's chest to hold him back. "Don't do it," he warned.
"That bastard is pretending to be a holy fucking vampire hunter when he's really one of the fucking monsters himself!"
"Such language, whoever taught you to speak should have stuck to basic commands. Sit, stay—"
Riario didn't flinch when Zo broke away from da Vinci and lunged for him, although he found trying to dodge the blow with heavy chain wrapped around him was difficult. He took the hits and laughed while da Vinci and the blond boy pulled Zo off him.
"Was this all a trap, then?" Riario said once Zo was propelled across the room. "Did you capture me for ransom or will you let the beasts take a shot at me first?"
"What are you talking about?" da Vinci said and Zo made a swift motion behind his back. The boy whimpered, and Riario laughed again.
"You mean, you don't know? I know you aren't one of them, but I thought you were protecting the pack —"
"Don't say it," Zo yelled and da Vinci looked from one to the other.
"They are werewolves," Riario said and all hell broke loose. Zo came at him again, claws and teeth fully bared, and Riario drew in his own power and was on his feet ignoring the heavy chains like they were spiders' silk. The boy tried to get in between da Vinci and the fight, but da Vinci was shouting too.
"Enough! Enough!" da Vinci's voice broke through the haze of anger, and Riario found himself grabbing his shoulders to steady the man as he swayed on his feet. Riario clasped him closer as Zo reached out, but da Vinci was already pushing away from both of them. "I believe I am feeling the effects of my recent blood loss."
"You need to eat," Riario said as Zo spit out, "Don't try and take care of him now, you fucking blood-drinker."
"I am more concerned about whether I will wake up as one of the undead," da Vinci said, sitting down on a stool and rubbing the bandage around his neck.
"That is actually a misnomer. We are not undead, as such, it is more of a—"
"Can't you shut the fuck up? Can't we just stake him now and be done with it?" Zo asked, gesturing to the wooden instruments on the table behind da Vinci.
"I have not turned you into one of my kind. That process is far more laborious and dangerous. The decision is not to be made lightly," Riario said. "However, if it is something you might be persuaded to consider, there is a need for one such as you. We could do great things for—"
"For whom? I know who you are. You're Count Riario, and you work for the church. You're well-known for fighting unnatural creatures, or at least, those accused of being such."
"You are correct about my name, at least, although my mission is a bit more complex than that. I do fight to protect His Holiness and his interests."
"And he knows you're one of the very creatures you're supposed to be fighting?"
"But of course. He made me," Riario shrugged.
"You mean that buggering fuck is... that actually explains a lot," Zo swore more as da Vinci stared at Riario.
"Why shouldn't I just stake you now?"
"Because you're curious. You want to know what is out there, on the other side. Isn't that why you've surrounded yourself with supernatural beings?"
"About that," da Vinci leveled a glare on Zo and Nico. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"
Nico looked away, blushing, but Zo crossed his arms over his chest and glowered back. "There was never a need. You didn't notice when we disappeared a few nights a month around the full moon, and you never complained about all the work we were able to do for you that lesser humans couldn't handle."
"Dogs and their loyalty to their masters," Riario whispered loudly.
Da Vinci shared his glare with Riario. "I take it there is no love lost between vampires and werewolves."
"Mortal enemies," Zo said.
Da Vinci rubbed his hands over his face. "I honestly don't know what to do with you both. I find myself with a prisoner who is one of the most powerful men in Italy and a best friend who is a werewolf, and really, why did you keep that secret? It's fascinating. I would love to learn how it has changed you. Are your senses enhanced, like a dog? Do you only undergo a change with the full moon? Were you born like this?"
"If we could get back to the business at hand," Riario interrupted his ever-increasing questions, "you can release me and we can have a normal conversation."
"If you don't mind, I feel safer with you bound," da Vinci said. "And even if you do mind, I'm keeping you chained."
"And yet, the dog does not require a leash?"
"He's never tried to kill me," da Vinci pointed out.
"I hadn't planned to kill you. Your blood was more invigorating than I had expected and then you drugged me. From the poppy juice you had been smoking, I assume?" he clarified to da Vinci's questioning look.
"Way to go, Leo, you found a way to immobilize the prick," Zo said sarcastically. "It's still a good thing Nico and I walked in when we did. A little more, and I don't think you would have made it."
"That brings me back to my point: you tried to kill me."
"You were delicious."
"You're not exactly arguing against me staking you, right now," da Vinci pointed out, and Riario shrugged. "If I were to let you go, what would you do?"
"Stretch," he answered truthfully. "Then I would attempt to sway you to our side, encourage you to return with me to Rome and consider becoming one of us. With your mind, you would make a formidable ally."
"I do not want to become a blood drinker," da Vinci answered and then turned to Zo. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I don't want you to turn into a werewolf," he said quickly. "Even once you can control it, it's not all fun and games."
"More like shedding hair and smelling of wet dog." Riario shut his mouth as all three shot him looks.
"So, we just have to … persuade you to leave Florence and go do your hunting and drinking elsewhere."
"And how do you plan to do that?"
Da Vinci's eyes suddenly glowed red, and Zo took a step back from him. "Leo?"
"I don't normally have to use my other gifts, but this time, it might be worthwhile." All three stared as da Vinci stood and walked toward Riario, his body movements suddenly becoming looser, swaying subtly as he moved closer. He grabbed Riario's chin, tilting his head up and to the side, but Riario was unable to tear his gaze off the rich ruby eyes mesmerizing him.
"Leo, what is going on? What are you doing?" Zo's voice was tight and alarmed, but Riario couldn't look away.
"I discovered some time ago that I inherited some unusual talents from my mother. After the initial experimentation, I vowed not to use them, and indeed, I haven't needed to. But, Count Riario seems the perfect one to test them on again." Leo leaned in, tilting Riario's head the way he wanted, and kissed him. When he pulled back, panting slightly, his lips were bloody. He looked over at Zo and said, "I believe they call it an incubus."
"Oh, fuck, come on, Nico, we're leaving," Zo announced, but Riario and da Vinci weren't listening, eyes locked on each other.
"Shall we see which of our spirits is stronger, Count?"
"I believe we may both be winners here," Riario gasped as Leo kissed him again and let the devil take over.
And they all lived happily ever after doing very naughty things, and Leo didn't even have to use his incubus powers again because Riario was already addicted.
The end. ;D