WARNING: Slight blood splatter (okay, and maybe a bit of gore) and Watanuki swearing more (a lot more :) than usual.
xXx
AN: (nervous laughter) Well this certainly turned out longer that I planned. And quite a bit bloodier (but I was working with a request for more violence ;D). Er...maybe you should just read it? (sweatdrop)
Blood Price
I: Abstinence Sucks
It had taken a lot of time and patience but Watanuki had found it. Doumeki's weakness.
Maple syrup.
Watanuki couldn't understand why the lug didn't have a mouth full of cavities but it was also a mystery why Doumeki wasn't fat from all the vast quantity of food he inhaled on a regular basis. It simply seemed that the laws of the universe didn't apply to him.
Figured.
But at the moment Watanuki was glad of it. He didn't even mind that he had a patch of the stuff sticking hair to his ear or that a trickle of it had dried down the side of his waist. He certainly didn't mind the fact that Doumeki was currently sucking his fingers to get the last of it.
As far as Watanuki was concerned, Doumeki could suck his fingers all night.
Well, maybe not just his fingers...
There was a muffled sound from the apartment door.
Doumeki's tongue stilled its leisurely search and his eyes slowly slid towards the front door.
There was no repeat sound and Watanuki impatiently twitched his fingers to get the other man's attention. It took a moment but Doumeki soon returned to his self-appointed task.
Watanuki allowed himself a smug smile.
It had been three weeks without interruption. Three glorious weeks where Watanuki had been able to drag Doumeki into the bedroom without fear of interruption. The bedroom, the bathroom, the couch in the lounge room, the corridor...It had been a long time and Watanuki was making the best of it.
The bow was still in arm's reach (Doumeki's paranoia couldn't be totally overcome so easily) but Watanuki didn't mind that so much when the archer was pretty much ignoring it in favour of other things. And it wasn't such a dampener on the situation, anyway. Watanuki had to admit that the more violent side of his lover - brought vividly to mind by the sight of the bow - was rather stimulating in a way.
Today it was the kitchen. Watanuki had been making breakfast when Doumeki had wandered in after his morning shower. A glance at still-wet hair and clothes made damp by the water that still beaded his skin and Watanuki decided that the pancakes could wait.
Somewhere along the way the maple syrup had become involved. Watanuki had protested somewhat as the sticky liquid had been poured over his chest. But when Doumeki had begun to tidy up the mess, chasing the runnels that travelled lower, Watanuki had decided to just go with the flow. He could stand a little mess if it led to this.
Now, half an hour later, smears of maple syrup had dried on the cupboards and floor, creating sticky patches that caught at bare skin. Half sprawled on the floor with Doumeki half-lying on him, Watanuki began eyeing the bottle of maple syrup. With admirable foresight he'd replaced the lid before they could knock the bottle over. Now lying on its side, Watanuki could see that there was about half a bottle left.
Just enough.
Maybe he could get Doumeki to make that addictive guttural groan again.
Watanuki reached back and picked up the bottle.
CRASH!
Glass fragments and syrup fanned out in sparkling spread. Watanuki had a good view of it because the force of Doumeki's sudden rise pushed him back onto the floor.
Watanuki pulled himself up with a familiar sense of resignation. Not even the sight of Doumeki's maple-smeared arse rapidly disappearing through the kitchen doorway could cheer him. The bow, of course, was gone too.
Moments later there was a tingle of glass as the front door was wrenched open. From the lack of explosions, however, it seemed that the vamp that had attempted to enter the apartment had finally come to its senses and fled.
Or maybe it had just Doumeki's angry presence and fled.
Either way, it looked like the holiday was over. The effect of the tattoo winding down his arm had stopped and they hadn't even found the next payment to get it renewed.
Crap.
xXx
Watanuki was cleaning up the broken glass when Doumeki got out of the shower for the second time that morning. The process was taking a long time - Watanuki had learned the hard way that even the smallest puncture could draw the unwelcome attention of certain vamps. And now, after this morning's attempt, he wasn't taking chances. He had to collect every fragment without cutting himself, something that was made ten times difficult by the wide puddle maple syrup the shards were imbedded in.
"There was no warning?"
I don't think that there's a dog that warns of imminent sexual deprivation. "No." You bastard.
Watanuki was still somewhat upset about the interrupted syrup session.
He forcefully pushed the mass of glass and maple syrup into the dustpan he held flush to the floor. A brush was useless in such a situation and he was using a ruler to scoop the stuff up. It got most of the glass but there were still streaks of sticky liquid left behind.
Stupid syrup.
A large hand on his shoulder stopped him mid-scoop.
Watanuki looked up to see Doumeki, fully-clothed, standing over him. There was none of the languorous regard that had been so prevalent earlier that morning. He was back to the no-nonsense determined manner that was all-too familiar.
"Go have a shower."
Not 'join me in the shower' but 'go have a shower'. Watanuki's heart felt like lead. Depressed he simply got up from the folded towel he had been kneeling on and silently made his way to the bathroom, leaving the archer to deal with the mess.
He was going to have a shower. A warm shower.
Unfortunately he didn't need a cold one.
xXx
About twenty minutes later, the kitchen was clean once more and the two men were out on the street. They were dressed in their usual travel gear and Doumeki carried his bow, quiver and a pack slung over his shoulder. Himawari met them soon after they had left the apartment. One quick phone call and she had hurried across the city to join them.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Himawari giggled when she saw them. "I see that you've been getting some quality time together."
Watanuki scowled and tried to pull the sleeves of his jacket down over his wrists. However, there was nothing he could do to hide the studded leather collar round his neck.
It hadn't been his idea to wear the things. Doumeki had cornered him as soon as he emerged from the shower.
"Put these on." Doumeki had blocked the doorway, preventing his escape.
Watanuki had gazed at the jumble of leather in Doumeki's arms with a mixture of disbelief and irritation. Where is he getting all this? Does he have a hidden stash or something?
The other man had taken his surprise for refusal. Doumeki's eyes had narrowed, "You can either put them on or I'll do it for you."
Suffice to say that Watanuki now wore a great deal more leather than he was comfortable with. At this rate his reputation as a free man was going to go down the toilet. He gave Himawari a twitch of lips that was more of a grimace than a smile and changed the subject by suggesting they be on their way.
He wanted to be seen by as few people as possible.
Now the three of them made their way to the borderlands. A few shadows stirred in the alleys and amongst the ruin of old buildings but most kept their distance. With Himawari and Doumeki at his sides, Watanuki was a tempting morsel that had just enough thorns to make them think twice.
Aside from a few downcast glances at Doumeki, Watanuki ignored the ripple of their passage. He'd had vamps trailing him his whole life. It was really the past few weeks that had been the anomaly.
He tried to fight his disgruntlement with that realization for the rest of the way to the borderlands.
The white dog materialized when they neared their destination. Watanuki took the lead and guided them to the right spot. Within moments the portal began to materialize and the white dog sat back on its haunches, mouth hanging open in a canine grin.
The widening portal formed before them, a swirling tunnel of dark shadows and streamers of light.
Watanuki looked at the dog again. White. It's slightly curved tail wagging gently from side to side.
Suddenly the interruption earlier in the morning was a minor setback. A problem that could be solved. Watanuki found himself filling with optimism. They'd get whatever the witch wanted (never mind they didn't know what it was) give it to her (the dog would show them the way) and get back to the apartment and what was left of the maple syrup (there had to be some somewhere).
Watanuki smiled at his companions. "Here we go then." Doumeki barely gave him a glance, checking his bow and fiddling with one of his arrows. But Himawari gave him one of her enthusiastic smiles. With her happy enthusiasm it was easy to believe that it was all going to go smoothly for once.
The portal moved forward and sucked them in.
xXx
Watanuki's good humour had fully reasserted soon after they reached their destination. A new world was alway a cause of interest and the lure of new items to trade was enough to have him striding eagerly ahead, eyes peeled for a bargain.
The world which they had been taken to was familiar in its basic structure. Like many of those they had encountered in the past, it seemed that their immediate surroundings were created primarily for trade. They had arrived at the end of a wide paved road that had numerous brightly coloured stalls set up to either side. A myriad of strangely costumed people and alien creatures strolled up the avenue, peering at the goods laid out on cloth-covered tables.
No one spared a second look at the new arrivals and Watanuki could only guess that portal travellers were not an uncommon sight.
He started feeling somewhat better about the studded leather round his neck and wrists. He didn't think it had the same meaning here as it did back in the city.
Himawari smiled brightly once she had taken a good look at their surroundings. "There are a lot of rare things here. I have no doubt that we will find what we need to allow you two to have some private time." She beamed.
"Yeah." Watanuki's smile bravely persevered. It wasn't that it was a secret why he was doing this. It was just that he didn't want the big lug to get any ideas. He was difficult enough to handle as it was.
A glance to Doumeki showed that the other man hadn't been paying any attention to the conversation. Bow held tightly in his hand, Doumeki was doing his best impression of an over-protective Doberman. An effective impression to judge by the way various individuals seemed to turn aside whenever they reached the trio.
"Do you have any idea of where to start?" Himawari continued cheerfully as if the whole outing was just a shopping expedition.
But the question brought his mind back to their purpose, which seemed the cue that the white dog had been waiting for. Long tail held high in a curve over it's back, the invisible dog started out ahead of then, obviously with some goal in mind.
Watanuki nodded in the direction it was heading. "That way."
xXx
"What about an eye?" The gnarled being peered closer. "Either one would do. Dark blue." Doumeki tensed as the creature leaned in to stare up at Watanuki's face. "Such an unusual shade."
The dog had led them to a slightly shabby tent set up on one of the side streets leading off from the main avenue. It had disappeared almost as soon as they had arrived after nosing at a dark black bag that lay slumped on the table set just outside the tent's entrance.
It was only seconds later that the proprietor, a gnarled little grey creature that looked humanoid in all but size and the number of wrinkles it bore, came out to greet them. Within moments the three of them had been ushered inside the tent and shown more of the wares that were on offer. Watanuki had viewed several items carefully before coming round to the bag that had caught the white dog's attention. It was then that the real negotiations had begun.
And Doumeki had been growing steadily incensed when the direction of the bargaining became clear.
The creature's bright eyes darted to the archer who was fingering his bow. "Or gold. Very unusual."
Watanuki didn't like the way the vendor was eyeing Doumeki. "No eyes."
"Are you sure?" The creature sounded wistful. "You could always share an eye." An evil glint entered its eyes. "It could make sex interesting."
There was a short awkward silence.
"Tempting as that offer is," Watanuki intervened before Doumeki could reply in a more violent fashion. "We're not really interested in trading our eyes or anybody else's."
He glanced at the dog. It had reappeared once the bargaining had begun. It was now looking at him, jaw hanging open and tongue lolling out. An idea suddenly occurred to him and it began to wave its tail double-time.
"But we do have some very interesting blood we might be willing to trade." He ignored Doumeki's suddenly intense stare and concentrated on the sudden gleam in the little goblin's eyes.
"Blood," it said, trying not to seem too eager. "It would have to be very special."
Watanuki allowed himself a small smile. Hook line and sinker (what that mean he didn't know - the witch hadn't gotten around to explaining it). "It is. It's said that a drop will bring extended life to any who drink it."
He mentally rolled his eyes as he saw Doumeki relax fractionally in the corner of his eye. Really. Did the idiot expect him to hand out some of his own blood when he knew what opening up a vein would do. Especially when he was well aware what someone's blood could be used for.
Not damned likely.
The creature's eyes lit up. "The sand of silence is worth more than a drop, though. A pint." The creature's eyes grew sly. "If you do not have that much, some of your own blood would do."
A near-subsonic growl filled the air. The vendor, obviously not in the same hearing range as the humans, didn't hear it but could obviously sense it. It began to shift nervously and look around the confines of the tent. The creature didn't seem to connect Doumeki's murderous glance and Himawari's restraining grip on the arm that held the bow as the source of the unsettling hostility.
Watanuki's evaluation of the thing's intelligence went down a few more notches.
"20 millitres," he countered.
The haggling continued until a price was reached. Watanuki retrieved a small vial of red liquid from a pocket of his heavy coat and handed it over in exchange for the black bag of sand. Whether it was truly life-extending blood, he didn't know. But that was what he had been told when he had bought the vial on a whim on their last traverse through the portals. A hunch that it would come in handy had urged him to pick it up.
Doumeki hadn't given up on the glaring. Perhaps the archer had been more affected by the sudden end of activities that morning more than he had thought. He was acting more territorial than he usually was.
Though he'd never admit it, Watanuki thought it rather sweet in a stupid Doumeki way. Even if it was annoying and had threatened to interrupt the bargaining session, Watanuki made a note to make pancakes again for breakfast tomorrow.
But first he'd need to get some more maple syrup.
He handed the bag of sand to the angry archer and stepped out of the tent, pausing as the others caught up with him. Doumeki glared back at the tent as he stowed the bag of sand in the compartment at the bottom of his quiver. It was the safest place to stow something and was always the destination of small valuable objects.
Watanuki eyed the avenue at the end of the street. "How about we look around a bit? We might pick up something that will come in handy later." Like some syrup. Main goal achieved, Watanuki was already back on track for the important things in life.
Doumeki gave him a narrow glance. "We should get back to the portal so you can make the exchange."
Watanuki waved a dismissive hand. "I've got both of you to look out for me. What's going to happen?"
But even as he said it he became aware of the unsettling feeling that he linked with the manifestation of a portal was growing.
The alarmed widening of Doumeki's eyes was the last thing he saw.
xXx
Well there we go - I managed to let Watanuki have some action but deprive him as well. satisfied grin So I can't be called cruel like last time. Though I suppose it was, anyway...:)
Oh, and Doumeki certainly does know what Watanuki's up to all the time. He has quite a bit of fun creating opportunities for Watanuki to ambush him ;D
