Author's Notes: I'm gonna be perfectly honest, I don't know what I'm doing :D I haven't written anything fiction for 10 years, much less with dialog and established characters. I'm apologizing now because I have no idea if the characters are in character, how to actually write or what I'm doing. This is a hot mess and I'm so sorry.
This was edited for , I'll be posting an uneditted version on AO3 once I have an account there. I do not own these characters and this is written for entertainment purposes only.
Lies
The thing about lies was that they were remarkably similar to promises. They usually came back to bite him in the ass, sooner or later. He had promised Jesse that bloodlust wasn't an issue. He had lied to Tulip when he said he didn't really crave blood. Whatever Genesis had done to Jesse, it also had affected the way his blood tasted and Cassidy craved it with every fiber of his being. The hunger coiled in his chest when he and Jesse were near, the need burned his veins. But, being the sly monster he was, he hid it well enough.
Drugs, alcohol, fighting and sex, Cassidy sought these with a renewed passion on the road. His proximity with the preacher couldn't be helped when they were moving so much, but the moment they stopped he would launch into an almost desperate search for relief. This worked well until the night Jesse decided he was tired of Cassidy going off on his own and decided to tag along. "Oi, padre, Don't trus' me anymore? I don' need a babysitter." Even for him that sounded whiny and lame. They used to drink together frequently, they had been best mates. But the hunger was wearing on Cassidy and he knew Jesse was becoming suspicious. With Jesse there, he wouldn't even be able to feed that night, either.
Jesse clapped a hand on his back and smiled, "Of course, I do. What, I can't want a break now and then? Besides, Tulip says she wants to do some shopping and I don't want to be here all alone." Jesse gathered up his discarded jacket from the chair and slid it on. Cassidy chewed the inside of his lip and grumbled to himself, maybe could ditch him after a few drinks. "Fine. But you don' get to complain about where we go. I'm choosin' where we go." Jesse just shrugged and held out his arm and bowed, like one of those snooty bellboys at hotels. Smart ass.
Cassidy chose the seediest redneck bar he could find. He had originally planned on hitting up the red light district but his new burden made him antsy for a fight. After several rounds of drinks, it appeared Jesse planned on staying for the long run and Cassidy's throat was burning. Each swallow of liquor burned but didn't satisfy. He was desperately hungry and the smug preacher seemed oblivious to his discomfort. Half a bottle of Ratwater in the vampire's system and his teeth were itching. The rest of the bottle down and Cassidy was sick of waiting.
Cassidy always knew which buttons to press to achieve an explosive response and hicks were inevitably the easiest to target. The bar wasn't the busiest place but a small group of burly men stood around the lone pool table near the back. Five of them in total, they all wore similar plaid shirts and dusty jeans but the broadest one had the arms of his shirt ripped off. Muscles rippled under the tattooed flesh. Cassidy imagined slicing off the bare-breasted pinup tattoo just to show it to him. He shook his head to dismiss the thought, he was going to need to be in more control if he was going to actually fight and not slaughter these guys.
Luckily, the jukebox rested near the group and it gave him an excuse to head over to them. The leader leaned against the machine, his lip fat with chewing tobacco and the corners of his mouth were crusted brown with the juice. Cassidy openly grimaced as he approached and pointed at the jukebox, "I'd like to change tha' if you don' mind. My brain started comin' out of my ears by the t'ird Shania Twain song." the group had already stopped to turn and watch him speak but now they were deathly silent. The four smaller men were eying their boss and the Irishman closely. Now that he was closer, he realized this guy had a good head and a half on him. Not that it mattered a great deal. Cassidy was a vampire; he could bench press them and their trucks and he was angry his night was not going how he wanted it to. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. The big one was just staring a hole into Cassidy's forehead.
"Did ye hear me, big boy? Yer leaning on the thing that picks teh music. You understand English, don'cha?" he stepped forward again, and the others were suddenly off the pool table and out of their chairs. Pack mentality was so easy to manipulate. The giant one eyed him for a moment more before just shaking his head, nudging Cass back with a little shove to his shoulders. "No one changes this. I like Twain an' you're gonna listen to her and fucking like it, skinny man." Cassidy flashed a toothy smile, "Gonna stop me then, boyo? I jus' wanna change the tunes and you're throwin' a fit like a girl. One of your friends here hold on to your balls for ye?"
Cassidy didn't expect it to be quite so easy to get a violent response from these guys but the pool cue cracking against his back told him he was very wrong. It hurt like a bitch and he went down hard, the group now cackling and toasting their success but he was already seeing red. He stood up slowly, sharp teeth glinting in the dim light of the pool table. Slowly the men noticed he was not just standing but smiling. As they quieted they heard the growl emanating deep within Cassidy. That's when the panic began to set in, they understood he was dangerous but their inkling of danger turned into terror when Cassidy launched himself and attached to the man who had hit him with the pool cue.
They scattered like ants. Cassidy brought his fist down into the man's cheekbone twice before the bullets tore into his chest. He took two direct hits to the sternum and one nicked his throat. A thick spray of blood arced, tinting the glass of the jukebox behind him crimson as he fell backward. The thug scrambled out from underneath Cassidy, holding his face. Jesse was up and crossing the floor in great strides but he didn't make it halfway before Cassidy was sitting up. Seeing a dead man sit up was too much for the patrons of the small-town bar and they were fleeing before they could register why. Cassidy grabbed the cuff of the big one's pants and was getting ready to sink his teeth into the calf muscle of him when Jesse's power rattled him, "Cassidy, stop."
Cass froze in place and his prey got away. The power was released from him and he fell backward again, the pain of the gunshots was setting in now that the heat of the moment had passed but the seething anger remained and the hunger coiled tighter in his chest. Jesse ran to him then, taking hold of Cassidy's collar, "What the fuck were you thinking?! Starting a fight like that, they could have died. And for what?! Some goddamn music?"
Cassidy couldn't reply, blood was filling his lungs as he was being jostled around by Jesse. He grimaced and weakly gripped Jesse's wrists, he could feel Jesse's pulse beneath his fingers. He could see Jesse's mouth moving but the words were lost. He saw Jesse's head drop in resignation. They didn't have any blood packs and surely cops would be on their way and no one was left to feed on. Jesse reached down to his boot and withdrew his pocket knife. After rolling up his sleeve he made a shallow cut horizontally in the middle of his forearm and held it out for Cass.
Cassidy's original plan had been to resist. He didn't know if he would be able to stop once he started. Not with how badly he had craved Jesse's blood over the last few months but his resolve was shaky on a good day. This was not one of the good days. He sealed his mouth around the cut, lapping at the blood and sucking hard to extract more when the flow proved to be too weak. Usually, the flavor of blood didn't appeal to him but Jesse tasted like the desert, whisky and sunlight. His throat healed and the wounds on his chest began to knit together. The small cut Jesse had made was already running dry and Cassidy growled in frustration, His head was swimming and the beast was uncurling in his chest. He was preparing to rend the flesh of the preacher when the arm was ripped from his grip and he was being hauled to his feet and the sound of sirens assaulted his ears.
Jesse was panting but he steadied Cassidy, "We've gotta go. Let's take the alley." and with that, Cassidy found himself being dragged by his collar through the back door of the shitty country bar.
They returned to the hotel room to find Tulip was still out. The room was dark and silent and all Cassidy could hear was Jesse's sharp breaths and pounding heart. He leaned against the door carefully, concentrating on the feeling of the wood against his back. After Jesse had caught his breath, he turned his attention to Cassidy, scowling at him. "You care to explain yourself, Cass?" He looked up from the spot on the floor he had been concentrating on, "No, padre, I don'" he said, lowering his eyes again.
This apparently wasn't the answer the preacher was looking for because a breath later Cassidy was pinned against the door, Jesse's breath hot against his ear, "I could make you tell me." The intimacy was too much for Cassidy, and he flinched away, the preacher was much too close to him and he craved the closeness. He wanted to touch Jesse, feel the blood pumping under his fingers. Instead, he gave a feral growl and shoved Jesse away from him.
This took Jesse by surprise, he didn't lose his footing but he stumbled back several steps before squaring up with Cassidy who was again averting his eyes. "Tell me what's wrong." Cassidy felt the words roll over him and the words were coming before he could do anything to attempt to stop himself, "I want your blood, Jesse Custer. And you." He flinched and cursed under his breath, turning his head to look at Jesse fully again, "Ye know what I am. I thought... I thought I could control it bu' yer different. I can't help it." he was already stepping forward to close the distance, but Jesse wasn't moving.
Cassidy expected to see pity, pity for being a weak being that couldn't control his cravings any more than a could. But he just found sadness, disappointment. Cassidy didn't know which was worse. "You should have just said something, Cass." Jesse was the one to close the distance, grabbing Cassidy's collar and pulling him down into a rough kiss. He froze in fear until his senses returned to him and he put his hands on Jesse's shoulders and returned the kiss with enthusiasm.
Cassidy backed Jesse to the bed and eased him down onto it, straddling Jesse and breaking the kiss to bite his throat. Just hard enough to leave a mark but without truly breaking the skin. Jesse groaned under him, turning his head to give the vampire better access. Cassidy teased the skin there, sucking a spot above Jesse's pulse then soothing it with his tongue. Jesse was panting against his shoulder, his hands working on Cassidy's pants. Cassidy licked the spot his teeth had nicked, savoring the trickle of blood. However, Jesse wasn't the most patient of men. "Feed," Jesse growled the command into Cassidy's ear and the vampire obliged. He aimed his sharp bite at Jesse's shoulder and drank in the intoxicating crimson.
Once he came down, he carefully moved off of Jesse, standing on shaky legs and enjoying the sight of a thoroughly debauched holy man - there was blood on his shoulder and neck, sperm ruining the perfect black of his shirt.
That was how Tulip found them, Cassidy surveying their delicious mess, Jesse laying out on the bed with his pants open. A hot mess. Cassidy was frozen where he stood with his loose jeans beginning to creep down since they weren't fastened and were large on him anyways. His head slowly turned so he could look fearfully at Tulip but what he found was an exasperated expression on her face, eyebrows raised and a grin, her hands on her hips. "Jesse Custer, you broke our vampire." Jesse was already sitting up, leaning to look around the lanky vampire, "I did not. I jus'... forgot to mention some stuff. He's the one who tried to die in a bar tonight."
Cassidy's brain was short circuiting, Tulip seemed awfully calm for finding her boyfriend and travel companion in a very compromising situation. Blood everywhere, no less. Cass turned his head back to Jesse and saw the puddle of crimson where they had been laying. "What?" was all he could croak, finally fastening a hand on the top of his jeans to keep them from sliding off of his frame completely. Tulip heaved a sigh and spoke to Jesse again, "Forgot to mention we had planned this? God damn you, Jesse. And you're covered in blood, it's all over the sheets. Now we're gonna have to pay for those." as she said this she moved around Cassidy, taking a spot next to Jesse to begin inspecting the bite on his shoulder, "he got you good. You didn't tease him too much, did you?"
"Nah he just got a little worked up. Instead of asking, he picked a fight in a god awful bar, got himself shot and scared the hell out of the locals." Jesse sucked in a sharp breath through gritted teeth when Tulip prodded the bite, "and I may have made him bite me." While they spoke, Cassidy finally felt like his brain had started working again and he righted his pants, suddenly aware that he was still exposed. And covered in blood. He could taste it on his lips and smell it with every breath. He cleared this throat, holding up a hand with his index finger in the air, "Now.. h-hold on a minute. You all... planned this?" Tulip was eyeing him through thick lashes,"You never would have asked. You've spent weeks all pouty and broody. We were starting to think you'd turned into one of Anne Rice's vampires."
Cass scoffed, looking away quickly and running his tongue over his teeth. He could almost hear the shit-eating grin on Jesse's face when he said, "Besides. You seemed to like it. Could have done without the bar fight, though. Tul' and I talked about it. We can share." If he had been capable, Cassidy was sure he'd have been beet red. As it was, all he could do was shift weight to his other foot and look at Tulip and Jesse again. Tulip was now resting her chin on Jesse's shoulder, the preacher was tracing patterns on her upper arm with his fingers. They were both looking at him expectantly. Another minute passed before Cassidy could move, but when he did he moved to lean down and kiss Jessy gently on the lips. Tulip tugged on his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss of her own. When they separated, Cassidy was grinning again, "Right then, love. Time for a shower. We made a mess."
Cassidy had quickly become addicted to the taste of Jesse. He craved the closeness. He loved being with them both but the blood of the preacher called to him. His hunger had never really been a problem before; he could tamp it down with alcohol and drugs. Now there was a mostly open line between the three of them, there was no reason to hold back, not really. He could ask for a sip and Jesse had taken to drawing vials for Cassidy to savor while on the road. But the beast wasn't satisfied with that. That monster wanted to claw, rend, tear. Cassidy hated his weak moments but he found himself staring at Jesse's pulse, the sound of his heart blocking everything out. They had caused a bit of trouble in the last town. They had been on the road for three days straight with the only stops being for gas and food. Before they had to run, Cassidy had gone through their supply to heal more bullet wounds. Now they were in a speeding tube of metal, unable to stop for long periods of time and a starving vampire in the back seat. Cassidy swallowed hard, running his tongue over his teeth and raking his eyes away from the sight of the preacher. Lies and promises always came back to bite him in the ass.