The night was thick over Santa Monica. Of course, it was always thick - thick with cigarette smoke, the fog, the thin glimmer of neon street signs flashing through the black haze. It was a dangerous night, one where any women wouldn't dare walk the streets alone, and even men would hesitate to walk past the mouth of a seemingly empty alleyway.
But it was a perfect night for all the creatures of the dark to roam. One couldn't discern them from the normal passersby, at least those untrained in spotting them. There were differences - pale complexions, wild eyes, jagged teeth and eccentricities that were perversely unique. But in Santa Monica, no one bothered to look at anyone else. After all, they were too busy looking out for themselves.
As he hurried down the sidewalk dimly lit by streetlamps, Mercurio was very much concerned with looking out for himself. He folded his tattered leather trenchcoat tightly about himself, avoiding eye contact with the few other people walking the streets at 2:30 A.M. A prostitute reached out to try and brush his coat with the tips of her fingernails, coated with red polish chipped around the edges. Mercurio leaned to the other side as he walked past, trying to pretend he hadn't even noticed she was there. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he doubted he could slow his pace even if he wanted to.
Another deal failed. It wasn't even the cops, this time. The guy who was supposed to buy an insane amount of cocaine off of him wound up having a breakdown, and pulled a knife on him after Mercurio had told him the price. A price that they'd already discussed beforehand! The man had started shouting and causing a scene, attracting interest, and as some unsavory looking individuals started wandering up, Mercurio had to bail. Now he was stuck with a bag of cocaine stuffed down his boxers and a bunch of junkies probably sniffing after him like bloodhounds hunting a wounded deer. He was only twenty-one, and yet already his life could be over... no, no, he was too pretty to die this soon, or so he repeated to himself silently.
The sight of his apartment door underneath a flickering fluorescent light made the dealer let out a soft sigh of relief. He shoved the door open, glancing briefly over his shoulder as he stepped past the threshold onto the linoleum floor. Mercurio paused. For a second, he thought he'd caught a glimpse of something in the corner of his eye, around the edge of his apartment building. But when he glanced over in that direction, it was gone.
"I'm so 'fuckin paranoid," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head as he let the door swing shut behind him. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he shuffled down the dark hallway. The sound of the tinny jazz music coming from the elevator nearby was somehow calming, and Mercurio relaxed a little. He fished his keys from his jeans, fiddling with the lock to his apartment door, which was thankfully on the first floor. He hated stairs. In a place like this, who knew what kind of creep could come up behind you or jump from around the corner?
After a moment of fussing with the lock - his hands were still a little shaky - Mercurio finally flung the door open and dragged himself inside his cramped apartment. He stretched his arms to either side with a soft groan, rubbing at at his eyes with a hand afterwards. It'd been a horrible night, and right now, he just wanted to have a beer and go to bed.
He turned around, pausing again. Leaning forward out of his door, he glanced left and right, just to make sure the hallway was still empty. There was no one, and yet somehow he still felt a little uneasy. No, he was just being paranoid again. Crazy junkies weren't exactly skilled in the art of stealth. Mercurio exhaled heavily, closing his eyes for a long moment before he stepped back in and gently pressed the door closed. Reaching up to unbutton his collar, he turned again to lean back against the door.
Golden eyes. From behind dark glasses, glowing golden eyes were staring at him.
"What the fu-" Before Mercurio could shout, a hand clamped over his mouth. The hand of the man in front of him - a man several inches taller than he was, pale as if he'd never seen the sun. Long, thin black hair fell to his shoulders, framing a sharp and clean-shaven face. And his eyes...
"Before you do anything stupid, I'd like you to listen to what I have to say."
Mercurio blinked. The man - the thing standing in front of him, that had somehow managed to sneak into his room without him noticing, had just spoken to him. In a deep voice, no less, smooth and confident.
The stranger cleared his throat, pushing up his glasses with a thumb. The lenses themselves were almost black, which made the fiery gleam of his eyes behind them even more striking. "I know you have a lot of questions, and I'll give you some of the answers. If I wanted to kill you, though, trust me - you'd already be dead, Mercurio. I'm not after you for your... wares, either." His lips curled in a dry smirk.
After a few long moments of staring dumbfoundedly at the man, Mercurio stiffened. He grabbed the stranger's wrist and forced it away from his mouth, spitting to the side. "Then why the fuck didn't you come up and 'fuckin talk to me like a normal 'fuckin person?" he yelled.
"Because you were too absorbed in looking at your own shoes in order to see me following you all the way from downtown," the tall man replied flatly, without any trace of shame or hesitation. "It was quite clear you weren't in much of a mood to talk."
Mercurio let out an indignant scoff. "That doesn't give you the goddamn right to walk into my 'fuckin apartment, man! And how the fuck do you know my name?"
"Let it go. I'm here now, and I've got an offer for you, so I suggest you calm down before one of those very angry young men you met on the beach hears you from outside the window." The stranger thumbed over his shoulder, motioning towards the thin pane of glass covered by a tattered curtain on the wall beside the nearby couch.
At that, Mercurio fell silent. The man... he knew? About the deal? Had he been following him that long? And yet he didn't want him dead... was it all some sort of sick joke? Maybe he was hallucinating from all the stress.
The strange man placed a hand on his shoulder and gently steered him in the direction of the couch. Mercurio limply dragged himself over to sofa, lowering down onto the cushions in a state of disbelief. The man seated himself beside Mercurio, legs spread, propping his elbows on his thighs and leaning over. "Now that you've stopped shouting, a proper introduction. I'm Beckett." He placed his palm on his chest. "I'm sure you've never heard of me, but now that you're going to be in a higher circle of society, you'll hear the name again before long."
"Higher circle of society?" Mercurio repeated blankly. "You 'tryin to get me to join some kinda cult?"
"Sadly, that's almost an apt description of it, with all these new... inductees running around like they're the new gods of the earth." Beckett let out a snort of contempt. "No, it's not a cult. But I doubt I could really explain it to you in your current state of mind, so let me give you a little something to freshen you up."
"A drink? Yeah, I could kinda... use one..." Enthusiastic at first, Mercurio trailed off as he watched Beckett lift his own wrist to his lips. To the dealer's horror, the man bit down upon his pale flesh, and Mercurio caught a glimpse of freakishly long canines. Soon, crimson drops started to drip down Beckett's arm, leaving dark trails as they went.
"Have a taste, my dear." Before Mercurio had a chance to even protest, Beckett roughly grabbed the back of his hair, holding his head in place. As he did so, he shoved his cut wrist against Mercurio's lips. There was little he could do to keep the blood from entering his mouth, and a few heavy drops had already coated his tongue by the time he recovered his wits. Mercurio did his best to try to pull away from the man's hand, but his grip was too firm.
After a few long moments, Beckett finally released him. Mercurio wiped his sleeve across his lips, coughing, giving the man beside him a dumbfounded stare. "Are you.. are you 'fuckin crazy, man?" he wheezed. "What kinda Satanist bullshit is this? Next thing I know, you're gonna be 'tryin to get me to... to.."
It felt like something was catching in his throat, suddenly. The next second, his whole body was burning. Not painfully, but as if every nerve was now twice as sensitive, every sense was twice as sharp, and the world was excruciatingly clear. An abrupt bolt of pleasure coursed down his spine, making him tense. It wasn't anything like any drug he'd ever taken. It was like someone had lifted a fog from the whole world, while simultaneously making him feel five years younger and ten times stronger.
His expression must have reflected his confusion, for Beckett let out a raucous laugh. "Nice, isn't it? Don't worry, I'll make sure you get a steady supply. In return, you'll spy for me and sell only to people I connect you with. Honestly, you're in a very nice spot, compared to where you were a few minutes ago."
Mercurio slowly dragged his tongue over his lips, still trying to figure out what the hell had just happened to him. There was no logical explanation for it, it was that simple. The man had fed him his blood, and now he felt... alive.
"Oh, and one more thing I neglected to mention."
As the stunned dealer raised his head to glance over at the other man, he found that the pair of golden eyes had suddenly come closer - much closer. A hand was against his chest, pressing him down with startling force, and Mercurio was so taken aback that he lost his balance and wound up falling back onto the cushions.
A moment later, Beckett was straddling him. "... 'Ay," Mercurio warned, raising his hands protectively. "I like your weird blood shit, but I'm not into this kinda stuff, if that's what you're 'thinkin."
"Ah, but you are." Beckett's voice came in a soft purr as the taller man leaned down over him, dark hair falling down to tickle Mercurio's cheeks. "And you will be."
His voice... there was something about his voice. It barely sounded human. No... it was like he wasn't speaking at all, but rather forcing words into Mercurio's mind. Words that he wanted to reject, but couldn't. As potent and powerful as he felt at that moment, he couldn't make himself push Beckett away.
Long, slender fingers began to unbutton his shirt, resuming where he'd left off at his collar. The man's work was deft, and soon his lean chest was bare. He couldn't do anything, either, as those hands drifted further down to the clasp of his pants. Still in a daze, Mercurio heard the sound of his zipper being undone, and felt his jeans slide up and off of him, along with his boots.
"Hey, man... you.. you're into other guys?" he murmured thickly, gazing into the glowing golden orbs that flicked up to meet his as he spoke.
"I don't discriminate, Mercurio. This is merely convenient," Beckett replied gently, lifting one hand to smooth the dealer's messy brown hair back from his forehead. "You'll learn to appreciate it, in time." More of those sweet words, words that caressed Mercurio from the inside, lulling him into a lightheaded sense of warmth. He knew Beckett wouldn't hurt him, and realized he wouldn't care even if he did. Those fingers felt so cool, so delightful tracing along his cheek.
"You gonna.. you gonna..." There wasn't any room for him to finish his sentence, as Beckett's lips were suddenly forcefully pressing down against his own. They were cold, but the touch sent an electric tingle coursing through Mercurio's body. He closed his eyes, letting the other man's tongue press its way into his mouth, exploring and brushing against his own tongue. Kisses that were hot despite the man's lack of warmth - more and more kisses that pressed and bit against his lips and jaw, down to his neck. Then they bit harder... but not as hard as they could have.
"Don't want you to be unconscious... not this time," Beckett whispered lightly. Mercurio found himself caring little about the man's words, only wanting to feel those lips pressed to his skin again. And it seemed Beckett must've realized that, for soon he obliged, leaning in to suckle at Mercurio's throat, carefully grazing his canines against the soft, unblemished skin.
The dealer wasn't really experienced in the bedroom. He'd had one girlfriend in high school, and they'd slept together twice. A couple times he'd almost paid for a street whore, but reigned himself in. It wasn't that sex didn't interest him, but his usual brash confidence just always seemed to melt away in front of women. But men? He'd never even contemplated the idea of fucking another man, let alone accepted it as a possibility. And yet here he was, in a heightened state of both mind and body, already feeling a hundred times more blissful than the few occasions his girlfriend had sucked him off.
Two fingers suddenly pressed against his lips, and Mercurio hungrily lapped at them with his tongue. "Good boy," Beckett encouraged him. He withdrew his hand, leaving Mercurio a little confused, though only for a moment. That was when he felt the slickness of where his tongue had been, rubbing down between his legs, against his entrance. Fuck... he was going to fuck him, wasn't he? He felt like he should've been ashamed, but the idea made his cock suddenly throb.
One single finger began to press against the tight ring of his hole. It helped that Mercurio was relaxed, despite the unfamiliarity of the situation. That slender digit wormed inside of him, filling him with a peculiar sensation, but not an unpleasant one. It stung a little as Beckett pressed the second finger inside of him, all the way up to the knuckle. He wiggled them inside of Mercurio, as if searching for something.
Something he suddenly rubbed against, and Mercurio saw stars. His shaft bobbed, precum drooling down from the tip, and he heard himself let out a long, light moan - a sound he didn't even know he was capable of making. "F-fuck... that's good," he whimpered, forcing himself to gaze up at Beckett. The taller man was wearing a clearly pleased smirk, his unblinking eyes filled with a hungry gleam as he watched Mercurio.
"It gets even better." Licking his lips, Beckett lowered down a little to suddenly capture one of the pink buds atop Mercurio's smooth pectorals between his teeth. He nipped at it, tugging it lightly, swirling his tongue against it. All this happened as he worked his fingers in and out of Mercurio, bumping on occasion against that particularly sensitive spot. It sent pulses of sweet delight up and down the dealer's form, so strongly that his loins almost felt numb. He weakly raised a hand to touch the back of Beckett's hair, letting his fingers sink into the soft black locks.
"More," Mercurio breathed, a word that was indistinguishable from a moan. "C-can you..."
Beckett let out a low, thrilling chuckle, which alone gave Mercurio another tingle of bliss. "You want to be fucked, don't you? No shame in it, now that you're a ghoul - my ghoul." He used his free hand to cradle the young man's cheek, his palm cool.
Ghoul? Mercurio had no clue what the man was talking about. He still had no clue what to think about the whole situation, but at the moment, he really didn't care. It was a problem he'd worry about... later. For now? "Yeah," he murmured in reply, hoarsely. "I'm your - yours. Just fuck me, alright? Just... fuck me... deep." It was the only word he could think of, the only word that began to describe how to sate the burning need that was making his cock ache so badly.
He ached even more when Beckett withdrew his fingers, leaving him feeling empty. The other man didn't leave him like that for long, though. Beckett slid back, unzipping his black trousers, pulling free his shaft. The size of his length intimidated Mercurio more than a little bit, and a brief twinge of fear curled in his stomach. But soon it was replaced by arousal once more, arousal that grew as he watched Beckett spit on his hand, rubbing it on his cock, which was already more than slick with precum. He grabbed Mercurio's legs, forcing them upwards, so that his entrance was exposed to the taller, powerful man.
The pain that came next was vividly intense. Even though Beckett eased his hips forward, letting the fat head of his shaft sink in inch by inch, it was thick enough to have to stretch Mercurio's tight entrance wide. Deeper and deeper he went, and the dealer was almost numb from the searing pain that mixed with the uncontrollable pleasure that'd been lodged into his mind. The sounds he heard himself making were choked noises in between moans and cries. Noises that Beckett seemed to be enjoying, for those golden eyes gazed at him as if they were devouring him whole - even more piercing now that he'd taken off his glasses and set them aside. That gaze made Mercurio feel as if he were the only thing in Beckett's world, as if they were joined by something beyond just the physical. No, this man was no man…
But still, he didn't care. He couldn't. His hips bucked up as Beckett finally hilted inside of him, however many inches deep. Being claimed like this felt emasculating and empowering at the same time, like he was giving up some sort of control while gaining something inexplicable. He loved it, even the tearing pain that was beginning to subside, just a little bit, as Beckett gradually moved his hips.
Deep... so deep. Even though Beckett's body was cold, the heat of his cock was still potent as it filled Mercurio. The taller man had lowered himself down onto the younger male, pressing their chests together as he gently rocked his hips. Mercurio found himself curling his arms about the other man, pressing his nails against the back of Beckett's leather jacket. Beckett, too, was clutching Mercurio, one arm curled beneath him and the other behind his head, fingers grasping and lightly pulling at his feathery hair. The only one panting, though, was Mercurio. He felt no pounding heartbeat from the other man, nothing at all, only that unblinking, devouring, hungry gaze…
What were gentle thrusts now grew stronger. The sound of flesh against flesh filled the room as Beckett slammed down and into Mercurio, again and again, pounding him against the sofa with such intensity that the springs creaked. He fucked him as if they were reunited lovers, claiming him with enough ferocity that Mercurio's mind was in an absolute mess. He didn't know what was pain and what was pleasure, only that he wanted more and more of the other man's cock rutting into him, piercing him in the most thrillingly invading way.
At some point he'd started cumming - his ropes of seed spraying out over his chest, and Beckett's too, considering they were pressed together. Even after he'd stopped, though, the tide of his climax kept going, pounded on and on by the rhythmic, frantic thrusts of the other man's hips. Closing his eyes, Mercurio bit lightly against Beckett's shoulder as a sudden flood of warmth began to spurt into him. Burst after burst of hot seed, endless, shot out and then pounded deeper - it was so satisfying that Mercurio never wanted it to end.
And yet, eventually, Beckett's thrusts began to slow, as the larger man gritted his teeth to keep in low growls. Wet stickiness dripped down Mercurio's thighs and rear, but he paid it little mind. Weakly bucking his hips up to milk the last of the relentless fucking, he pressed his lips to the side of Beckett's jaw, feeling the ever so slight raise of stubble against his skin.
At last, Beckett stopped altogether, leaning in to purse his own lips against Mercurio's neck. His tongue flicked out against the dealer's flushed skin, followed by the brush of... fangs. "We've got a great deal to discuss, Mercurio," he murmured, so softly that it was hardly audible. "And a lot of preparations to make for the end times..."
"End times?" the younger male repeated weakly, still trying to steady his breathing.
"Gehenna. But let's not worry about what's to come... not now. For now, just lie back, and let me do the rest..." They were the last words Mercurio could concentrate on before he felt a sharp sensation against his neck, one that faded along with the rest of consciousness into a sweet, mindless world of ecstasy.