Title: Standing Invitation
Author: ANTchan
Fandom: Rogue One
Rating/Genre: Romance/G
Pairing(s): Cassian Andor/Bodhi Rook
Summary: There's a vampire in Bodhi's house.
Bodhi returns from a late shift to find an unexpected guest has used his home as a safe haven.
Unfortunately for Bodhi, Cassian Andor is entirely too attractive.
This story includes vampires, modern urban fantasy AU (where the supernatural is known), blood drinking, Vampire!Cassian Andor, and human!Bodhi Rook - who has no chill whatsoever.
Written for the 13 Days of SniperPilot event that's currently going on on tumblr. :D
Fic 1: Standing Invitation (Day 1: Fangs)
There's a vampire in Bodhi's house.
He's never met a vampire before, but he's heard enough of the signs (both the exaggerated stereotypes and accurate descriptors) to know what he's looking at. He might not be able to see the glint of fangs or glowing eyes, but the way the shadows of his dark living room seem to lean into the man is telling enough. Bodhi stands frozen in the doorway, wide open and perfect prey, but too dumbfounded to consider it.
The man's head tips gently in Bodhi's direction, the light from the street lamps outside throwing his profile into stark, backlit contrast. The scream builds in his throat.
But before he can even take a breath to shout, the creature is in front of him, pressing him back against the door without so much as a sound. A cold hand clamps over his mouth, smothering the scream into a tiny squeak.
"Shh," the man breathes. The hands holding Bodhi immobile and silent are like iron, but the voice is gentle. Bodhi's heart pounds a heavy staccato against his ribs, a siren song that has the vampire's eyes dipping down and back up involuntarily. Bodhi mentally curses. "I'm not here to hurt you," the vampire says.
'You're in my house!' Bodhi thinks hysterically.
The man smiles. It's a… nice smile, actually. Not hungry or full of fangs. It would be even nicer if the he wasn't currently invading Bodhi's home or his space. "My Keep is being watched by the First Order. They followed me up this way, and I ducked in here. Sorry." There's a tense silence, and Bodhi is increasingly aware of the meager space between their bodies, that shrinks with every rasping breath Bodhi takes.
The vampire breathes - that's not something Bodhi expected.
"I'm going to let go," he says. "Don't scream."
Bodhi nods, and gasps as he's finally released. The intruding vampire takes a polite step back, still watching Bodhi with intent eyes. They're warm - a surprisingly normal shade of brown that only flickers deep, glowing amber when a shadow passes over his face. It's a handsome face, is Bodhi's frenzied thought. All lean angles and a strong jawline covered in what is truly an attractive scruff of a beard.
'Oh... no.' And the man is just… in Bodhi's house?
Bodhi shoves that flustered line of observation away. He thinks instead of the black SUV he remembers seeing on his way up the street. He hadn't even given it a second thought then. "Why's the First Order after you?" he croaks.
The vampire shrugs, and somehow makes it look elegant. "Why are they after anyone?"
Because they're dicks. Fair enough. Bodhi offers his hand and finally introduces himself, because, well, it seems rude not to at this point. It's no less absurd than anything else that has happened in the last several minutes. "Bodhi Rook."
If he's not mistaken, there's a spark of delight in the vampire's eyes. His cool hand slides into Bodhi's own, and he has to suppress a shiver. "Cassian Andor. Thank you for… sharing your home."
"How did you even get in here? I thought you guys needed to be invited into private places."
The smile he gets is less charming this time, more of smothered smirk. Like the man is trying very hard not to laugh. "Did you know your welcome mat says 'Come in!'?"
Bodhi is going to kill Jyn Erso.
Actually, Jyn is probably going to kill him. Because Bodhi?
He invites Cassian to stay for dinner. Not only that, he offers the use of his bedroom for the day.
It's not nearly as illicit as it sounds in his head. Dinner is leftover Chinese that Bodhi had ordered earlier that day. There's nothing glamorous (or romantic, Bodhi thinks wryly) about reheated Chinese food at four in the morning. But his mother taught him better than to kick a guest out without offering them food.
(Cassian seems to be genuinely taken aback by the proffered meal. "Most think I don't eat at all."
Bodhi smiles sheepishly, and adds a second plate to the table. "I wasn't sure, to be honest. But if I didn't offer, I think my mother would come back to life for the sole purpose of telling me she raised me better than this. Uh. Shanghai beef or cashew chicken?")
The offer of a room doesn't come until later, when a surreptitious glance out the window reveals that the same black SUV is now parked down the street. With Cassian forced to either wait it out or attempt to escape before sunrise, Bodhi finds himself gesturing towards his room. "I've got sun-blocking drapes since I work the graveyard shift." And oh, is that some kind of irony. "They're bound to be gone by mid morning, right? I can sleep in the guest room."
The look Bodhi receives is nothing short of unreadable. And Bodhi isn't sure if all vampires have such intent stares or if Cassian just an especially piercing gaze. (It's not as if Bodhi has any frame of comparison.) But Cassian ends up nodding and disappearing into the bedroom, quiet as… well, the grave.
Though Bodhi isn't sure that's accurate, now. He doesn't know much about vampires, but Cassian certainly doesn't seem undead to him. He eats. He breathes. He smiles. His eyes light up when something amuses him.
Bodhi settles onto the couch with his phone, intent on wasting as much time as possible before going to sleep himself.
And anything to keep from dwelling on the First Order staking out his street. Perhaps even his house in search of his unexpected guest. The thought sends a truly worrying surge of protective anger through Bodhi. One that he will not examine too closely.
Alright, maybe that's a lie. Bodhi finds himself tossing his phone onto the couch beside him with a frustrated groan.
Cassian is incredibly attractive. And really kind of sweet.
"This is stupid," he mutters, even as he hauls himself to his feet, and walks towards his bedroom. "So stupid."
Cassian is awake, not at all to Bodhi's surprise. The vampire lifts himself into a sitting position at the first hint of light from the hall. He's been lying on top of the covers, Bodhi observes, only taking off his coat and his shoes. Still, his hair falls alluringly around his face now, his dark lashes like soot against his pale cheeks. His eyes burn a gentle amber in the gloom. "Yes?" he asks casually. Not shocked at all to see Bodhi entering the room.
Bodhi isn't sure if that should be infuriating or not.
He opens his mouth, but he finds that no words will come out. So instead he stands there watching Cassian, who merely watches him back. Waiting. He always seems to be watching and waiting, dissecting Bodhi like a particularly interesting puzzle. He wishes Cassian would explain what he's seeing, because Bodhi has no earthly clue what he's doing.
"You're really cute," he blurts, and promptly wishes the ground would open up and swallow him. He rubs a hand over his face, and fights not to groan.
Cassian's expression goes slack now, brows shooting up. "That's… not what I was expecting you to say."
"Y-Yeah?" A high-pitched laugh escapes him. "What were you expecting?"
"For you to ask me to leave." At Bodhi's abrupt, horrified silence, he shrugs. "It would not be the first time."
"I wouldn't do that," Bodhi says fiercely. Again that hot rush of ire, indefensible after meeting the man a few short hours ago.
"Because you think I'm… cute," Cassian adds, though by his tone he scarcely believes it.
"No! Well, yes, sure." His face hot, Bodhi paces towards the bed and sinks down onto the edge near Cassian's side. "But I already told you, you could stay here. I'd be a dick if I turned around and kicked you out."
Cassian says nothing to this. He... hasn't even responded one way or the other to Bodhi's haphazard confession either. He fights not to squirm, or to let it show that his heart is rapidly sinking into his feet. This is fine. He's alright with this. Bodhi casts about for a diversion, which is harder than it sounds when he can barely look the vampire in the face. It takes him a long, agonizing stretch of silence to realize that the other man appears pale and drawn, that the even minimal warmth has gone from him.
"Are you alright?" he asks. "Do you need anything?"
The question seems to catch Cassian off guard. "Sleep. And to feed, at some point." Both are said flippantly. And yet, Bodhi's mouth goes dry. He's having those thoughts again. Those crazy thoughts that lead him to inviting a vampire to dinner, and to stay the night.
The crazy kind of thoughts that Jyn is definitely going to kill him for.
Whether Cassian reads his expression, or his keen senses pick up the sudden spike in his heartbeat, doesn't matter. His eyes actually flash, bright liquid gold in the dim room, and then narrow. "No," he says roughly.
Bodhi swallows. "N… No?"
"You're not offering that."
Well, now that's just insulting. "I could be," he mumbles defensively.
"No. You gave me a meal and a room for the night. I'm not about to let you give me this too."
'You're too goddamn kind,' Bodhi thinks reproachfully, and the voice sounds disturbingly like Jyn in his head. 'You'd give someone the shirt off your back if they catch your attention and it looks like they need it.'
He squares his jaw. "What's the big deal? You guys don't need much, right? I don't believe those stupid stories about vampires draining their prey. It'd be just like donating blood - I bet you wouldn't even take as much-"
He ends in a gasp, swaying back a few scant inches because Cassian is suddenly very close, amber eyes boring into his. "Bodhi," he rumbles. The way his mouth curls around the words draws Bodhi's eyes. Is it a trick of the light, of the proximity, or do his fangs look sharper? There's no hiding his shiver this time. "If I ever drink from you, it's going to be far more intimate than just donating blood."
'Is that a promise?' The words don't leave his mouth, thank god. He wets his lips, mouth feeling bone dry. And his heart leaps, because Cassian's eyes follow the movement.
Oh. Oh.
"I'd let you," Bodhi rasps. He manages not to jump as Cassian moves closer, as arms slide around his waist and pull him in, almost onto the other man. Cassian's hair is soft against his face, and Bodhi's hands twitch in the air with the urge to bury them in it. But the hint of cool breath against his throat freezes him in place. His heart pounds, his entire body thrumming with it.
"You're afraid." The whisper against his skin almost goes unnoticed.
He laughs, not just from nerves but how absurd this all is. "That and other things."
Cassian's body jolts, arms cinching tighter around him. It takes Bodhi a second to realize that he's laughing. "Yeah, I can feel that." Bodhi's face goes hot, but Cassian doesn't sound too put off about the whole thing, so he shifts, settling more fully across the vampire's lap and balancing his hands on broad shoulders. Cassian's hands tracing up and down his spine has a dazed smile spreading across his face; incredulous and giddy.
Soft lips finally press against his throat, painfully gentle and electrifying and intimate. "I shouldn't," Cassian sighs, sounding conflicted.
Bodhi finds himself scoffing, tugging at Cassian's shoulder. "Do you need a personalized invitation for this too? Do I need to bring my welcome mat in? You seemed to get that one."
Cassian huffs, and draws back. His smile is downright wicked, entirely too beautiful. "Maybe I'd like you to give me one, Bodhi." His head tilts, eyes crinkling at the corners. "What would you give me, if I asked?"
His heart says everything, a thought too riddled with dazzling lust and with no restraint whatsoever. So Bodhi leans in and kisses him instead. It's hesitant and chaste, Bodhi's hoping it comes off sweet, but he quickly sinks into it. Cassian cups the back of his neck, keeping him there, lips parting to deepen the kiss. Bodhi melts into the embrace, losing track of the minutes, kisses blurring together until Bodhi feels like he's going to shake right out of his skin.
The shift comes slowly, Bodhi isn't sure if he's the one who tips his head up or if Cassian guides him back. The kisses trace along his jaw, lingering longer and wetter along his throat. "S'it going to hurt?" he whispers, and tries to cover up the note of apprehension in his voice with a playful, "Those teeth of yours look really sharp."
"Only for a moment," Cassian soothes. The point of fangs scrape against his pulse point, and Bodhi gasps. "I won't hurt you, querido." It's a mirrored promise from the first words he'd spoken to Bodhi hours earlier. Bodhi swallows thickly, and tells himself to relax.
He's not aware of the fangs sinking into his flesh until a few seconds after the bite. Cassian's grip tightens, restraining his jolt, but the pain is only a flash of sensation. And then it's a shivery ache soothed by the hands stroking his back, keeping him close. His breath comes in sharp, shallow bursts, sagging into Cassian's hold. The world narrows into the exceedingly gentle mouth at this throat, drinking greedily from him but so heartbreakingly careful about it, and the throbbing of his own heartbeat in his ears.
Bodhi isn't sure exactly when Cassian pulls away. He's dizzy, and not entirely sure that can be blamed on the blood loss. But fingers - warm now, but still so tender with him - stroke along his cheekbone and card through his hair. A soft "Thank you" is pressed in kiss to his forehead. The world tips, and Bodhi finds himself laying on his bed, curled beneath the covers. He blinks, wondering just how many minutes he's lost. Cassian is coming back over to the bed from somewhere, though for the life of him Bodhi can pinpoint at exactly which moment the man had gotten up.
Cassian slides in next to him, the flush back to his skin now. "Hi," he greets softly, his smile so soft and breathtaking. "Back with me?"
"Didn't realize I was gone," Bodhi says, reaching up to rub at his eyes. The exhaustion hits him all at once. It has to be close to sunrise now.
"It happens," Cassian explains. He rubs a hand along Bodhi's arm. "It can be overwhelming for most people. You're alright?"
He nods. But now that the moment is over, now that the rush has been cooled, the silence seems to grow between them. "So… what now?"
"Now? Now…" Cassian trails off, but doesn't give him the chance to second guess the pause, because he leans over and kisses him softly. His mouth tastes of mint. "Now I'd like to take you to dinner. ...Once you've slept it off."
"Mm. I'd like that." Bodhi smothers, no doubt dopey, smile against the pillow. Maybe he can blame the erratic swoop of his heart on the bite. After a moment, he glances back up, and finds Cassian still gazing at him with warm eyes. "Did you... use my mouthwash?"
That is definitely a flush rising in Cassian's cheeks. "I didn't think you'd want me to kiss you tasting like blood."
Bodhi laughs. "Maybe I'll try it next time. No promises."
END.