Just a sickeningly sweet fanfiction I put together a bit ago, because I was extremely bored. I was thinking about Larten and Arra and got the idea to write about their first kiss, so I did. This was one of the first stories I ever wrote where I was somewhat struggling for words to describe everything...XD
Uhm, yeah! That's really it. It was origonally called Silver Moons (heh!) but, as my friend Darkened-Harmony says, it's like nearly impossible to keep a title going througought the book T.T So. Here's Uncomfortable!
Enjoy my peeps. :3
Disclaimer: Larten Crepsley and Arra Sails belong soully to the wonderful writer who goes by the name of "Darren Shan." He, unfortunately, doesn't write about their once-upon-a-time-fairy-tale-relationship, so here's a fanfic in honor of them.
Larten fumbled with his fingers slightly, running them up and down his cloak worriedly. He wished there was a mirror he could look into; but there were a few problems with that wish. Number one, most of the vampires in the hall had abandoned any wish to see themselves in a mirror. Number two, the mirror would surely be shattered within moments of residing in the mountain. And number three, vampires could not be seen fully in mirrors. It was a futile wish, but a wish nonetheless. He longed to be human, even if it were just for a moment.
It was strange, to say the least. He wasn't doing anything; so why did he so desperately want to be seen in a mirror? Why did he want to make sure his hair was in the fashion he liked, his cloak was wrapped around his shoulders in the correct way, his pants weren't too dusty? It was so strange for him to feel so human. Most of the vampires in the hall didn't care about such things, after all. They would fart and burp and go days without bathing. They just didn't care about what they looked like, or about the few female vampires. They didn't care about their appearances. So why did Larten care? It confused him greatly, and he was sure that not even the vampire gods understood why he felt so strange.
After all, it wasn't as if he were going to see her any time soon. She was normally locked away in the games hall, battling it out with one of the more burly and tough vampires. She always felt the need to prove herself. So, it wasn't really as if she were going to be in the food hall, was it? And besides, if she was, all he had to do was avoid her. He had shaken her hand, sure, but it wasn't really as if they were friends; she wouldn't miss him if he didn't say hi, even once…
He sighed and forced himself to lower his fingers and keep them down by his side, even if it were only for a few moments. He took a few calming and slightly shuddering breaths, and stared down at himself once more. His hands rose to the button on his cloak once more. He straightened his cloak for the umpteenth time, nodded his head slightly, and turned. When he turned, he ran smack dab into the very vampire that he was trying so desperately to avoid. He nearly let out a screech of horror, but didn't want to seem childish, or, worse, cowardly, so he kept his mouth clamped tightly together.
"What's wrong, Larten?" the vampire asked, coolly, raising an eyebrow smoothly. Her eyes bored into Larten's, staring him down and keeping him frozen in place. Larten coughed uncomfortably and tried to sway around her, desperately trying to get away from the conversation. He just wanted to eat; he didn't want to be around this vampire and feel all the feelings he had felt as a teenager.
"Nothing is wrong," he muttered, raising his calloused hands in front of him in a gesture of surrender. He could feel the material of his cloak whoosh around him faintly, almost as if it were ushering him towards the vampire. She put her hand on her hip in a fashion unlike herself, cocked her head to the side, and pursed her lips like a angry woman. Larten forced himself not to blink at the strange personality change.
"Why don't I believe that?" she mused thoughtfully, sticking out her hip in a manner that made Larten want to moan with desire. Her lips pulled into a tight smile as she watched Larten fidget like a high school boy. Much to Larten's dismay, she seemed to be enjoying his show of embarrassment, as well.
"I do not know." Larten backed up a bit farther, edging toward the cavern's entrance, but realized dismally that it was closer to his right and he had run into a wall. His hands lowered as he ran them against the rocky and cold surface behind his back. "You have always had trouble trusting people, however. Maybe it is that same trouble that is preventing you from believing the truth?"
She grinned now, not bothering to toy with him any longer. Her hand swayed away from her hip as she stood still, staring at Larten carefully. "No, it's not that," she said, slowly, deliberately. "It's that I can tell when someone is lying to me, Larten Crepsley, and you are most certainly lying to me when you tell me everything is all right. Have I done something to…upset you, perhaps?"
Fighting the urge not to growl under his breath, Larten straightened up and brought his back away from the cold stone. "Arra Sails, you expect too much of yourself. It is not you that has upset me; no one has upset me, if you would like to be nosy. You are just over cocky and think everyone is out to get you." He tried to straighten himself a bit more, but failed almost miserably; he only fell back towards the stone wall, unable to keep himself upright with Arra staring at him so carefully.
Arra let out a bark of laughter, moving forward towards Larten. Larten cursed himself under his breath for having moved all the way to the back of the room so quickly, so easily. "You can't fight with that logic, now, can you?" she said, chuckling slightly. "Yes, Larten, I am overly conceited when it comes to my sense of liars. If it were not for that, I would not have believed my blooder when he told me he was not going to hurt me after he pumped his blood into me. And I would not have believed him in the first place if it were not for my excellent sense of liars." She paused, her face a mask of cockiness, and grinned knowingly at Larten. "So, my dear Larten, tell the truth."
He fidgeted against the rock wall once more, trying to find a way to move to the right without her knowing it. He didn't want to have to deal with this at this moment; any other time, sure. Any other time meaning never, ever, ever. But he especially didn't want it right now. But, here he was, standing with his back pressed against a wall and Arra Sails in front of him, looking at him in a way that made all of his adolescent emotions come rushing back to him wildly. He looked to his right out of the corner of his eye, and then flicked back to Arra's watchful face. He could see that she was almost daring him to leave. It was then that he realized that he wouldn't be able to leave; it would make him seem silly and childish, and he did not want that, especially in front of her.
"I…I…I am not upset," Larten stuttered. Arra stepped closer, clearly enjoying the torment she was causing him. Her smile, sly and sure, became wider when she saw how uncomfortable Larten was becoming as she came closer. She wasn't entirely sure why she was doing this. All she knew was that she respected him and she had finally figured out what that underlying feeling of longing was, and she didn't want to lose it. Besides, it was very clear by the way Larten was acting that he was feeling uncomfortable—a sign that he liked her as well.
She was close to him now. In two more steps they would be in kissing distance, Larten against the rock and Arra in front of him. Did she truly want to go this far? Was she truly ready to take the final leap in a relationship? She had never married, even when she was human, and she had never had to deal with such emotions before. What she wanted to do was a huge leap for her. It was telling Larten in every aspect that she liked him. But…did her like her back?
She snorted inwardly and smiled at Larten. "So, Larten, why are you so uncomfortable, then, if not upset?" She was enjoying this, oh yes she was. The pained look on Larten's face as his eyes jetted to the door and then back to her face. But no matter where he looked, his eyes always came back to her face. Always. It answered the question she had just asked herself in a quick and swift manner, leaving no question of doubt in her mind. Yes, Larten liked her. Maybe more than he would ever care to admit, if you wanted to go that far.
"Ah…I'm uncomfortable…because…I am uncomfortable because…," his voice trailed off as Arra stepped forward again. They were close; close enough for Larten to fidget even more and be unable to take his eyes away from Arra. She stared at him intently, letting Larten know that she truly cared about his answer. And, in truth, she did care; she wanted to hear it from Larten. She wanted to hear that he liked her, even if it was in a twisted sentence, even if it wasn't outright. But even the simple inkling that Larten liked her back would have suited her, maybe even for an eternity.
"You are uncomfortable because?" Arra whispered quietly, looking at Larten. Larten wet his lips slightly, still staring at Arra, and before Arra knew it Larten's arms were wrapped around her and his lips were on hers as well.
Arra was shocked for a moment before sinking into the kiss. Larten, after seeing that she was not going to fight, immediately deepened it, his lips working fully against hers. Arra's hands shot up to his face and she caressed it carefully, holding on to it tightly as if, if she let go, it would slowly disappear into the rock. She ran her fingers through his tight crop of hair as Larten pressed his body against Arra's.
All too soon the two pulled away from each other, smiling slightly. Larten blinked, surprised by his boldness, and then smiled into Arra's face. "I was uncomfortable because I needed to do that, but was too embarrassed to do so, Arra Sails," he whispered back, his lips right by her ear. He pulled away and gripped her hands tightly, trying not to let her let go but not wanting to make it seem as if he would attack her if she left.
Larten sighed heavily, happy that he had finally done what he had wanted to so dreadfully for, what seemed like, forever.
