Sorry this took a little while - it was harder to write than I thought, and then you have Starkid... Oh, Starkid did not help. (Then again, I do love batman now, which I never thought was possible.)
I've been sick a while too (I swear, every fucking year in July - every. fucking. year.) but I'm better now, not great; just better, so it's fine.
It's, ah... actually my birthday today as well... To be honest, I don't really like birthdays all that much... but soon it'll be tomorrow and everything will be better. Well, maybe.
But hey, life sucks - back to this story. It's not so fluffy here :( Instead, I present to you... *drum roll* ...Richard and Tommy!
-try not to hate them too much, k? I bombard you with sudden hatred here. It might seem a little weird, but my own feels aren't being so nice, so I must have just reflected them in my own writing or something...
Ttyl.
~.~
Chapter 4
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On Thursday morning, Rick woke up tired, scratching at his stubble as he stumbled out of his room in his pajamas. He made it into the lounge in one piece, yawning widely, only to freeze solid as the noise from the television reached his ears, and Rick hurried over to it quickly only to find Damon napping quietly on the couch, the remote hanging precariously off his palm. He was fully dressed (in Rick's oversized clothes) and covered with a blanket, and Rick felt confusion twist his stomach as he glanced over at the clock in the kitchen. Six thirty. Huh.
Shaking his head, Rick leaned down and took the remote, turning of the television with one, well-practiced click, before leaving it on the coffee-table and crouching before the slumbering vampire. He reached out carefully, carding his fingers through Damon's hair, and blue eyes slowly fluttered open. Rick frowned and held a hand to Damon's temple.
Damon blinked at him, groggy and confused, but shook his head, his own hand coming up to tug at Rick's fingers. Rick let himself be led down, over Damon's stomach, and he felt the small ticks that signaled the beginnings of hunger pains. Damon frowned slightly, not meeting his eyes, and Rick leant down lower to force his gaze.
"You woke up early?"
A nod.
"And you put something on by yourself?"
It was as if the confusion and disbelief in Rick's voice scared Damon and his next nod was small, head lowering again as the vampire worried his bottom lip between his teeth. Rick was quick to smile, tilting Damon's head up with a few fingers.
Damon frowned again, bringing one hand up to cover Rick's left eye.
Rick shook his head immediately, pulling the hand away, and quickly leaned in to press their foreheads together, their noses rubbing gently.
"No, I'm not upset. I'm happy. Just... you can wake me up if you're hungry, okay?"
Damon hesitated a second before nodding quickly, his chest swelling at the contentment the action brought to Rick's eyes. Rick pulled back after a second, pressing a quick, unintentional kiss to Damon's forehead as he stood up and moved to the kitchen.
"Breakfast!"
Damon only sat shocked, breath quick as he realized what Rick had just done, and he shivered slightly as his forehead tingled. A warm feeling spread through his chest and a tiny smile pulled at the corners of his mouth, his eyes watering just that little bit. His head fell forward slightly as he wrapped his arms around himself, trying to force away the trembles that wouldn't abate. He was warm and cold at the same time.
He never remembered feeling like this before.
Rick came over to him after a second, startling him, and he realized that he must have been sitting like that for a few minutes at least. Damon stood quickly, trying to show Rick that he was fine, but he moved a little too fast and tripped up, only to be caught by his master before he could hurt himself.
"Woah, hold up. You sure you're feeling okay, Damon?"
Damon shuddered again, which only served to make Rick wrap his arms around him tighter, before nodding gently against Rick's shoulder, overwhelmed by the heat assaulting him. His chest felt all funny, as if it was going to swell and pop, and Damon decided that the feeling wasn't all that bad.
With a small smile and bright eyes, Damon pulled at Rick gently and they finally started to move themselves towards the kitchen.
Rick picked a blood bag out of the fridge immediately, noting that there were only two or three left, and left it in the microwave to warm up before moving over to find himself something to eat. He eventually settled for cold take-away, knowing his dentist would be less that happy at that, and munched on it quietly as he waited for the blood to finish. Damon had sat himself down on one of the stools, hugging himself quietly as Rick moved through the kitchen.
The microwave dinged and Rick poured the blood into a glass for Damon to drink.
Damon didn't take it immediately, seemingly lost in his own mind, and Rick felt his brows crease when he caught sight of the shivers that wracked Damon's form. He moved around until he was behind his vampire, pulling him back against his chest gently as he wrapped his arms around the smaller body. Damon only leaned into him slightly before suddenly tensing, and Rick's previous confusion morphed into a raging concern.
"Damon... tell me what's wrong."
Damon reached for his arms immediately, turning where he sat, and Rick spun the chair around until they were facing each other, Damon's knees on either side of Rick's waist. He reached up and held on to Rick tightly, burying his face underneath the human's chin, and Rick only wrapped his own arms around the frightened vampire, rubbing up and down his back soothingly.
Before Rick could say anything else the doorbell rang and Damon started violently, burying into his master further. They'd never had any visitors - not even when Rick's take-out had been delivered (it was always left downstairs at the counter, and Rick bought in bulk anyway) and Damon had obviously heard approaching footsteps long before Rick could have.
He remembered that he was expecting visitors and cursed himself for letting it slip his mind.
Rick sighed quietly, pressing a soft kiss into Damon's hair, and pulled back to look his vampire in the eyes.
"It's okay... just a friend."
Damon looked down, still scared, and Rick hushed him quietly in a effort to put his mind at ease.
"You trust me?" he whispered after a second, brushing dark hair out of Damon's eyes. There was more trembling before Rick was awarded a tiny nod and he smiled reassuringly, pulling back from Damon's tight embrace.
The doorbell rang again and Damon started once more.
"I'm coming!"
With clenched teeth Rick quickly took the glass of warm blood and placed it firmly in Damon's grip before leaving him to open the door. Tommy was behind it, just like he'd suspected, and a dark, selfish side of him wanted to slam the door in his friend's face.
"Ricky!"
"Tommy..." Rick sighed, exasperated, only to be shoved aside as Tommy forced his way into the apartment.
"Where is 'e, Ricky? Come on, spill the beans. You got 'im 'ere or what?"
Before Rick could protest Tommy caught sight of Damon, who was still sitting on the kitchen stood, glass of blood not yet touched, and then Tommy was suddenly at the vampire's side, examining him as if he were meat.
He took Damon's chin in one hand, pulling his head back harshly, and Damon wrenched himself backward, the glass and his own body falling to the floor. Tommy let out a less than amused sound and made for him again.
"Hey, fuck off!"
Tommy seemed to hesitate at that, pausing to watch Rick move over to Damon's position on the floor. The vampire was breathing too quickly, eyes wide and hands shaking, gaze locked on the blood he had spilt. Rick did his best to calm him down, mumbling words Tommy couldn't identify, and soon Damon was burrowing into Rick's arms yet again.
"Wait on the couch, would you Tommy. Maybe there you won't cause any trouble."
"Oi! It ain't my fault yer vampire's a little pussy!"
"Tommy!"
It was Rick's shout that finally seemed to get through to Tommy, and he stomped over to the couch, dejected and grumbling. Rick only glared at him for a few long seconds before turning back to Damon, who seemed to be trying to retreat into himself once again.
"Hey... hey, don't listen to him, it's okay."
Damon's wet eyes finally flicked up to meet Rick's, shining with fear and heartbreak. Being insulted definitely wasn't good for Damon's self-esteem. Rick did the only thing he could think of, bringing his head down to rest against Damon's temple, tucking his vampire in against his collar bone.
After a few minutes of quiet reassurances, Damon's trembling finally abated.
"Come on, you're okay. Up you get."
Slowly, Rick managed to coax a reluctant Damon up and over to the living room, shooting a venomous glare in Tommy's direction, and sat them both down on the couch, pulling Damon into his side. Damon seemed happy to sink into him, hiding his face from Tommy's view.
"What's up with 'im?" Tommy questioned, looking less than pleased at Damon's obvious fright and weakness. "Should'a known you'd get yourself a wimp."
Rick heard Damon whine softly and tightened his grip.
"What do you want, Tommy?"
"Ricky! I came over ta help you, answer your questions, give ya some tips. My help's damn useful, it is. Richard'll be over"-
To door bell sounded again, this time making even Tommy jump, and before Rick could even think about leaving Damon to answer it Tommy was up and gone. Rick only huffed after him, shaking his head and rubbing Damon's back gently. He looked down into a mop of black hair.
"It's okay, buddy. You'll be right."
Before Damon could reply Rick caught sight of Richard and Tommy entering and slowly extracted himself from Damon's tight grip, frowning at the pain he saw in those bright blue eyes. With a heavy heart he sat Damon back further, pulling a rug around him, a told him quietly to stay there. Damon didn't seem particularly happy at this, but Rick only brought his face down close to Damon's again, brushing their noses together and planting a soft kiss to his forehead, and some of the pain seemed to disappear. Rick smiled brightly at this before moving away completely, leading Tommy and Richard into the kitchen.
Damon only sank back into the couch, nuzzling into the blanket when he realized that it smelt a lot like his master, and listened in on the conversation.
"What the fuck is wrong with you Tommy?"
"Come on, Ricky! It's a fucking reject! If yer gonna look after the thing, yer might as well have some fun with it. Tell me, mate, 'ave ya fucked it yet?"
"Tommy!" This was a new voice, supposedly Richard's, although Damon was now trying to block out as much of the conversation as he could, feeling his insides crumble as the abuse hit him. "Don't be fight'n 'ere, boy. Yer 'aven't been here ten minutes!"
"Shut up, Richard!" Tommy's voice had Damon trembling harder.
"Richard... can you go sit with Damon for a while please."
There were a few moments of silence and then heavy footsteps, and soon Richard came into Damon's view, moving to sit on the opposite end of the couch. Damon didn't pay any attention to him at all, focusing completely on the conversation in the kitchen now that Rick was only with Tommy, and Richard only watched him like a hawk, eyes holding a touch of menace as they remained locked on Damon's trembling form.
"I asked you a question, Tommy."
"Oh yeah, what was that? You wanna know why I think yer vampire is a fuck'n retarded little reject, is that it?"
"You're a fucking"-
"No, Rick! Yer got yourself a vampire, that's a start, but if yer don't start treat'n it proper, yer might as well stake the little bastard!"
"And treating him properly is what? Starving him? Beating the fuck out of him, is that it!"
"Damn right! It's an animal, Rick!"
"He might as well be a child!"
"And that's where you've gone fuckin' wrong! You need ta fix 'im, get him all grown and work'n like a thing with half a brain, but ya need ta do it fuck'n right! He can't be a child forever, even if he's all fuck'n fragile!"
"I am fixing him, Tommy! I am doing it right! You've just got your head too far up your fucking ass to see it my way!"
There was a loud thump, the sound of flesh hitting flesh, and Damon started immediately, sitting upright on the couch. He heard quiet movements and heaving breathing, but otherwise there was only silence, until Tommy's voice breached the air once again.
"Ya see, Ricky. My shout'n wasn't shutting you up, but that certainly did the trick. Now maybe if you try it on the little fuck sometime, he'll start to"-
Another thump and the sound of breaking glass, and now there were shouts as the violence continued, the noises growing louder as the two men released their frustration. Damon was shaking again, wanting both to run away and to run and help, but it was a loud cry from Rick that finally made his mind. Without thinking twice Damon sped into the kitchen, barely catching a soft 'I wouldn't do that if I were you...' from Richard as he left. He threw himself into Tommy just as he was about to hit Rick again, slamming them both into the kitchen counter.
Tommy growled at him, furious, and suddenly something was splashed across his face and he howled deep in his throat as the burn ate away at his face and neck. Tommy only laughed manically at him as he felt to the floor, squirming and whining, and then there was more of the vervain being poured down and the pain only increased.
Damon curled up tight, unable to protect himself, and this time it was Richard who came to their rescue, stopping Rick from strangling Tommy to death in a fit of blind rage.
"We're gonna stop this right now, boys," Richard growled, voice firm and commanding, and neither Rick nor Tommy could do anything but obey. "I think we'd both best be going, Tommy. Rick, see him out."
Rick hesitated a second, glancing down at Damon, before moving to do as he was told. There were more voices from the doorway, possibly a final argument between the two men, but Damon found that he was too weak to hear and understand any of the conversation. Instead he felt Richard pull him up to lean back against the counter, and then steely grey eyes were locking with his, forcing him to focus.
"Come on, boy. You wanna be strong for when Rick get's back in 'ere, don't 'ya?"
Damon nodded, breathing quickly, eyes still clouded with tears.
"There ya go. You'll be all good. Fix yerself up."
There was another nod, this one more confident, and Damon finally started to get his breathing under control.
Richard leaned back suddenly, eyes darkening, and Damon felt a flash of fear run through his heart as the older man's voice lowered, speaking softly into his ear.
"Ya know... It's obvious, what you feel fer 'im. But yer should just forget about it now, boy..."
Another pause, and Damon sat with his heart in his mouth.
"...It's not like Rick could ever love a damaged runt like you anyway."
Damon was left frozen and shaking as Richard stood, his movements confident and precise, and then he was left alone in the kitchen, hearing the front door finally close. There were more footsteps, the only sounds that filled the silence that seemed to suffocate him, and Damon didn't bother looking up as Rick stumbled back into the room, lip split and face bruised from the force of Tommy's assault.
The footsteps froze, the silence returning tenfold, and then there were a few more before Rick was crouching in front of him, lifting his head up gently to meet his own dark eyes.
Damon's gaze was blank, eyes dull once again, wet tears staining his pale cheeks just like the new scars that had yet to either settle or fade. Rick whispered his name, once, twice, but there was no response.
He pressed a hand to Damon's heart, searching those eyes for something, anything, and finally there was the tiniest emotion, glinting quietly amongst the dull blue, and Damon lifted his arms slightly and let himself be pulled into Rick's embrace.
They stayed like that for a long time, with Damon weeping silently into Rick's chest, his heart contracting painfully as Richards words echoed in his mind. No words needed to be spoken, the seemed to only pale in comparison to what the two were feeling in that moment.
Damon barely felt any movement when Rick finally shifted them, lifting him up gently and holding him close as he retrieved a new blood-bag and brought it with them as he stumbled to his bedroom. He laid Damon back against the pillows, settling himself beside the smaller man, and Damon only opened his mouth and swallowed compliantly as cold blood was poured down his throat. Rick wrapped himself around Damon as he fed him, rubbing down his side soothingly and whispering quietly in his ear. Damon finally began to recognize the quiet apologies, repeating like a mantra, over and over as the blood began to heal the burns on his face and chest.
Damon let his own eyes flutter closed, the pain in his chest too much for him to bare, but he couldn't stop himself from curling into his master's warmth as exhaustion and agony called him into the dark once more.
...it wasn't like Rick would ever love him anyway.
~.~
tbc...
yeah... sorry. blame the feels.
Review to make me feel better? Or, ya know, since it's my birthday and all?
It's uh... kinda funny actually, I was... I was waiting to see if any of my friends would remember...
...I guess they all just had more important things to worry about today.
