Title: Thicker Than Water

Author: Tsutsuji

Fandom: Hakushaku to Yousei (Earl & Fairy)

Pairing: Kelpie (Cain)/Edgar

Rating: Hard R

Warning: bloodplay, rough sex, crack!pairing. not beta'd

Word count: ~3155

Summary: Edgar was cured of poison by a drop of Kelpie's blood, but even though Lydia delivered the cure, another kind of fever still burns in his veins. (For the "bloodplay" square on my Kink Bingo card.)

Author's Notes: This story came out of nowhere, when I was thinking of pairings I could maybe use for that Bloodplay kink and randomly remembered about kelpies eating people (except the liver!). But I never expected to write for this pairing. wtf brain (again)? And another horrible, obvious title - sorry.

Sometimes, even weeks after being healed of the poison knife wound, Edgar found himself unable to sleep at night, restless with dreams, distracted by some kind of sensual longing he couldn't identify. Not for Lydia, although he still wanted her, sometimes wanted her so badly it ached, although at other times, more surprisingly, it was only with a feeling of delight in her presence.

This was different. It felt darker, stranger, almost like something stirring from his time in the Prince's training, but without the sense of horror that should give him.

On one of those nights it finally became unbearable. He threw off bedclothes that felt stifling, got up and went to the window, opened curtains and sash to let in the cool night air. Even the light breeze made his skin tingle as if every nerve was sensitized to the slightest touch. He breathed in deeply; the scent of grass wet with dew was clean and refreshing. Leaning against the frame, he looked out at the garden along the side of the house. His eye was caught by the glitter of moonlight on the fountain, just barely visible beyond the far corner of the mansion. In the still night air he could hear the soft plash of the streams falling into the basin and catch the fresh scent of the water.

Even though the night was cool, Edgar didn't bother with a robe or even slippers; he was outside, barefoot in the wet grass, almost before he knew what he was doing. He wandered through the garden, leaning back to look up at the stars and the quarter moon low in the sky, and the fountain gleaming like quicksilver. The trees at the edge of the lawn loomed overhead like black giants. There was hardly any movement of air, but the leaves rustled softly, as if there were unseen beings moving in the branches.

The yard of the mansion was carefully tended and groomed, but out here in the dark of the night, it felt as wild and strange as the deepest forest. He wondered if there were fairies present, wishing he could see them.

His skin prickled as his wish was seemingly granted. Not a fairy of the kind he imagined, exactly, but a supernatural creature all the same, at first appearing as no more than a darker shadow under the fountain's waterfall. Then a black figure emerged from the water, briefly taking the shape of a horse, and then transforming into the silhouette of a man.

Edgar narrowed his eyes, fist clenched at his side, as the moonlight glancing off the water lit up Cain's face. The unsettled feeling that had been haunting him had led him to order Raven to keep watch over Lydia at night, so he knew she was safe from him, at least. Besides that, the moon stone ring protected her, even if she still refused to wear it. But she wasn't here, and Cain must know that.

The kelpie smiled and tossed his head to throw his wild mane of dark hair out of his eyes. Deep, cold eyes, eerily black. Edgar remembered that the glance of a kelpie could bewitch a person, but he knew that wasn't the danger here. He'd already been caught when he first saw Cain, before he knew what he really was, even before he knew how dangerous a rival he would be for Lydia's heart. All he had seen was a beautiful man, dark and wild in stark contrast to his own fair features and refined manners. He was glad he only had to think of Kelpie as his rival and to hate him for that; it had made it easier to ignore how attractive he was.

He knew Cain thought very little of him, so he assumed that the kelpie had only helped Lydia cure him in his bid to claim her. Edgar could easily understand that kind of manipulation. But as Cain stepped toward him now, Edgar felt the blood tingle in his veins, like the echo of the fever that had been burned out of his blood by the kelpie's purifying magic.

His wrist burned like the touch of ice where the pulse flowed close to the surface of his skin. He lifted his hand even as Cain reached for it. Inhuman black eyes glanced into his face for a moment, and then drew his hand up to study his wrist, the place where Lydia had touched her lips to his skin in order to transfer the healing magic in Cain's blood to him.

"Ah. That's too bad," Cain's deep voice said softly. "I thought that passing my blood through Lydia would dilute it more than this. Perhaps if she'd placed it directly into your mouth from hers as I suggested, that would have canceled out the effect."

Edgar shivered; Cain's voice washed over his skin like the dew in the night breeze, cold and warm at the same time. He tried to get himself to pull his wrist out of Cain's hold, but he couldn't do it.

"What kind of spell did you cast on me?" he asked suspiciously.

"It wasn't a spell. I didn't cast it on you." The kelpie sighed and took a step closer, still holding Edgar by the wrist. Close enough now that Edgar could see the strange white pupils of his eyes and smell the scent of water on his skin. "I thought you had cast one on me. That's why I was reluctant to share my blood with you, even to save your life. Now I can't ignore it any longer."

"Ignore...?" Edgar started to ask, but he was afraid he already knew. Afraid, but not horrified, not even when Kelpie's face was so close he could feel cool breath with the scent of a woodland stream on his lips.

"Your blood is calling to mine," Kelpie whispered against his lips. The low voice sent a tremor down Edgar's spine. "I've wanted to taste you almost since I first saw you. Now I have to."

Edgar groaned, briefly. Too acutely aware of Cain to resist the pull any longer, he didn't bother to worry about the fact that kelpies devour humans. Cain might actually mean that literally. But this time, Edgar was almost certain that the words had a different meaning than his usual threat to eat his rival.

His blood pounded in his veins; he could feel it racing through his limbs. The magic in Cain's blood had entered his, but it had only released a desire that was already smoldering there. Edgar was the one who brought their mouths together, yanking Cain toward him by the grip he kept on Edgar's wrist, and twisting the front of the kelpie's shirt in his other hand.

Cain made a surprised sound in his throat, but he was not too surprised to respond. His kiss was rough and hungry, thrusting his tongue deep into Edgar's mouth, and Edgar groaned again and sucked on it, tasting the magic that he'd felt searing the poison out of his blood.

Cain dropped his wrist and threw his arm around Edgar's waist, the other arm around his shoulders, and squeezed Edgar's slightly smaller body against his own broad chest. It made Edgar gasp for breath, between the harsh kiss and the supernaturally strong arms wound so tightly around him, but he was relieved to feel the hard shape of the other man's arousal digging into his thigh as he twisted in the tight embrace. He'd been afraid the kelpie might not be human enough for that.

He somehow got his fingers inside Cain's open shirt; he dug his fingers into the muscular chest, trying to claw at his skin with his too-well-manicured nails. Cain chuckled low in his throat and moved into the forceful touch. A moment later, though, he grabbed a handful of Edgar's hair at the back of his neck and pulled, forcibly breaking off the kiss, leaving Edgar gasping.

The swirling centers of his dark eyes held Edgar's gaze for a moment. His broad lips curved upward at the corners, but those dark eyes still looked as cold and solid as a starless sky, or the depths of a well.

"How much am I going to regret this?" Edgar murmured, his head momentarily clearing a little. Not enough to try to stop it now, that was for certain.

"I can't answer that for you, human," Cain said. "I've never felt regret."

He nipped at Edgar's lip, at first just pulling at it with his teeth, and then suddenly bit hard enough to draw blood. The sting of pain startled Edgar even though he was expecting it, and then it went right through his blood to his groin. Cain's tongue felt hot as he sucked on the cut lip and sighed with satisfaction. Then he pulled Edgar's head back more so he could lap at his throat, his tongue following the pulse line down to Edgar's collarbone, nipping here and there along the way. Not quite hard enough to break the skin again, but Edgar had the terrible, thrilling feeling that he was just barely holding himself back from doing so, and only for his own anticipation, not out of any consideration for him.

Cain bit down hard on the tender skin at the base of Edgar's throat, close to his pulse. Edgar cried out this time as he felt his skin torn by the kelpie's sharp teeth, but he couldn't have pulled away if he tried.

All the while, he was still scrabbling at Cain's bare skin, hardly aware that he was doing it until Cain took one of his hands and held it still for a second his chest. He flicked his own sharp nail over the place where Edgar's fingers had hardly left more than light scratches. He hissed against Edgar's skin, with his mouth on Edgar's collarbone, but he made another cut just below the first, then pressed Edgar's fingers to them. The cuts were surprisingly deep, Edgar found. The blood that seeped from them was so cold it burned, like icy spring water searing his fingertips.

Cain nibbled at his collarbone and then his shoulder, then worked his way down across Edgar's chest while holding Edgar's head back with one hand and holding his hand on his chest with the other. Sometimes he sucked on unbroken skin, sometimes he drew blood, alternately making Edgar cry out and making him groan. When it began to get too awkward to go on as they were, he put his large hands on Edgar's hips and forced him down to the ground.

Edgar scrabbled to keep from falling back onto the cold, wet grass. Not so much out of panic, even with Kelpie's greater weight bearing him down, as out of determination to get equal share in this. Cain paused and looked down at him, his face blank and puzzled.

"Isn't this what you want?" he asked, as if every bit of this was Edgar's idea and he was just going along with it.

"Yes, but it's not quite enough," Edgar said, grinning, confusing Cain even further. He pushed himself up and pulled Cain down until he could touch his lips to the cuts Cain made on himself.

"Ahhh," Cain said, nodding, immediately understanding what he'd missed. "My blood is calling to you as well, isn't it? Here..."

He bared his chest completely and nudged Edgar's face forward. Edgar paused to look up him. Framed against the moonlit fountain behind him, Cain was breathtaking, he thought, finally letting himself admit it. His skin looked marble-white in the low moonlight, and his tangled, dark mane framed his face, those cold eyes and broad lips. His body was as toned and sleek as the finest racing stallion.

Edgar's teeth weren't as sharp as the kelpie's, just as his nails weren't quite enough to break his skin, but he tasted blood and felt Cain's sharp intake of breath when he bit down hard enough. The kelpie's blood tasted dark and almost sweet, like spring water that had welled up from the depths of the earth. It was distinctly different from the metallic tang of his own blood that he could taste on his lip, as cold as his was hot. The taste was strangely familiar, like the scent of magic that remained on his skin after he woke from his fever.

Cain's nails, sharp as claws, were burning hot when he dragged them down Edgar's back, down his thighs, as he roughly pulled Edgar's pajamas out of his way. But his hand was surprisingly gentle, warm and wet when he rubbed the palm of it over Edgar's erection.

Edgar felt like his head was spinning; he couldn't quite remember how he came to be entirely naked or on his knees with Cain behind him. He fell forward, panting softly and stared down between his hands with his damp hair hanging over his face. A dark droplet, his own blood, fell onto the grass and melted into the dew.

All at once he realized Cain was pressing a warm, wet fingertip inside of him. He went very still, hardly breathing, remembering those claws that cut so easily and so deeply. When Cain withdrew and then pushed a second fingertip in, he shuddered, and a little whimper escaped his throat before he could stop it.

Cain leaned over him from behind and spoke in his ear.

"Humans bodies are so fragile," he said. He licked the back of Edgar's ear, making him shiver, though not from fear this time. "And so warm."

The kelpie's long, thick fingers wiggled slowly deeper, and suddenly their touch brought on a wave of pleasure that made Edgar shudder, all the more intense because he'd expected pain. Cain nipped at the shell of his ear with sharp teeth. The sudden pain sent another startling wave of pleasure through Edgar's body, making his hips jerk. Cain chuckled low in his throat, withdrew his fingers and pushed something harder, larger and much more pleasurable into him.

Edgar nearly lost track of himself again, overwhelmed by sensations, but not in the agony he'd half expected to feel. After he'd adjusted, somewhat, to Cain being inside of him, he started to move, and Cain moved with him. Edgar's hands and knees slid on the wet grass, and all the cuts and bites burned like little fires in his skin. Cain pulled his face around to kiss again, sighing into his mouth. Drops of water from his hair fell on Edgar's cheek.

Edgar felt as if he'd become part of the wild, deep night, as if the veil of civilization and gentlemanly reserve had been burned away by fairy magic.

Cain lapped at his swollen lip again.

"You taste as good as I expected," Cain said. He sounded as if he was disappointed.

"You were hoping I'd taste like liver?" Edgar asked breathlessly, mildly amused.

"That would have made things simpler for both of us, wouldn't it?" Cain replied.

Edgar realized that he was right, it would have. It was much simpler when they were only rivals.

Cain wrapped his arms around him and thrust into him hard, and Edgar pushed back to meet him. Their bodies slid together, blood and water slippery on their skin. Cain wrapped his large, slick hand around Edgar's shaft and stroked him; supporting himself unsteadily on one arm, Edgar reached back and covered Cain's hand with his own to encourage him.

With his other hand, Cain pulled his head to the side and nipped at his throat again, near the first small bite he took, but now he was groaning and hungry, thrusting faster and harder into him, until Edgar wondered if he was going to be devoured after all.

And then, almost before he knew what was happening, Cain stiffened and groaned loudly against his neck. Edgar felt the ice-hot liquid fire of his release pulsing inside of him, and thrust desperately into the kelpie's hand, determined to not be left behind.

He came hard, spilling onto their hands and onto the wet grass underneath him, panting with his face almost in the grass as well. The dew was cool on his cheek and his swollen lip as he finally sank down to the ground. Cain, almost as breathless, fell down with him.

After a while, when he'd started to catch his breath a little, Edgar rolled back and looked at himself. He was damp and grass-stained, and there were streaks of blood on his pale skin. More blood was smeared on Cain's skin as well; it was impossible to tell whose it was now. Cain's black-ice eyes stared into his.

"That's better, isn't it?" the kelpie said matter-of-factly, as if they had not just run a race to a heart-stopping climax.

"Is it?" Edgar said, irritated at the suddenly cool tone. But a second later he realized that it was. The feverish desire was gone - although, unfortunately, Cain was still as damnably beautiful as ever. He nodded, strands of damp hair falling into his eyes. "Yes, I suppose it is."

Cain nodded too, but then touched his lip and added, "for now."

He stood up, rising from the grass in a single, fluid movement, as Edgar couldn't help noticing, and started to pick his wet clothes up from the lawn. Edgar sat up and looked around, a little too limp to jump to his feet just yet. The moon had fallen behind the trees, almost completely hidden, leaving everything colorless in the dark. He was sticky and slippery and smeared with blood, and starting to shiver. It seemed like a very long walk back to his bedroom. He started to push himself to his feet with a sigh.

"Here," Cain said, and scooped him up from the grass in his arms, as if he weighed no more than all the wet articles of clothing he'd picked up as well.

Too startled to protest, Edgar stared at him. "What are you doing!"

"Carrying you, of course," the kelpie answered.

"Where? Down to the bottom of the nearest river?" Edgar gasped, suddenly alarmed again as he remembered the lore.

Cain laughed. "Of course not! I'm not carrying you on my back, am I? I'm putting you back to bed, human," he answered.

Somehow, Edgar was washed clean and barely damp, all the cuts and bruises starting to heal already, when Cain set him down inside his room a minute later. Of course, the kelpie's magic that could purify poison also speeded healing, he supposed, but every place that Cain had touched him still tingled, as if fairy magic still glowed under his skin.

Cain turned to him with one last glance and that arrogant kelpie grin; Edgar gave him a little smirk of his own in return, renewing their challenge.

Then Cain turned away, tossed his hair back from his face, and disappeared into the blackness of the night, leaving Edgar to crawl back into bed for the best sleep he'd had in ages.

~~ the end ~~