Chapter 6.

In the days since they had transported to Arthur's magnificent home, Alfred had only seen the high sorcerer a few times. Arthur was being kept busy with teaching the young members of his brotherhood so he usually left early in the morning and returned late into the night, sometimes after Alfred had already drifted off to sleep. It was difficult to determine if Alfred was very disappointed with the situation. He knew that it would be easier to adjust to his new life if Arthur was there to help show him around and introduce him to people. So far he had only ventured out of the house twice and both times he had nearly gotten blown up by a carelessly thrown spell! These particular sorcerers appeared to live their lives quite chaotically. It was not something he would have expected given the way that Arthur personally acted, but then again he supposed that not all vampires acted the same either. He was rather different from his brother and quite different from Antonio and Francis. Quite different.

Alfred sighed, feeling incredibly bored with no idea of how to cure it for that day, so he decided to get off the couch and go grab some blood from the kitchen. Arthur had stated firmly on the first day they met that Alfred was not to even think about drinking blood from him. While Alfred respected the request it didn't stop him from longing for it. And it wasn't because Arthur was his mate and he felt that drinking his blood would bring them together. The fact was that Arthur was a sorcerer and not many vampires had ever willingly gotten close enough to one to test their blood. But the rare that had claimed that it was unlike any human blood they had ever tasted. There was just something powerful that flowed within it. And many claimed that after drinking it they had gained powers of their own. Even stronger enhanced abilities, or some form of magic of their own. He had always been fascinated by the stories and wondered if they could actually be true. Now here he was, actually bonded to one, and yet he was being denied the ability to test it. He had quickly pushed aside his considerings of just going around the village and biting the first sorcerer he managed to get alone. He didn't very much want to be killed by them, worse, by Arthur. So he had resigned himself to wait until Arthur started to warm up to him, but with the man never at home long enough...that possibility appeared to be pushing farther and farther into the future.

Alfred sighed again and opened the cooling box to pull out the bottle of blood that Arthur had created for him and had been refilling when needed. He went to a cupboard and pulled down a glass, setting none too gently on the counter with another sigh as he tipped the bottle over it.

Nothing.

Alfred blinked and shook the bottle, but only the tiniest drop came out. It appeared that Arthur had completely forgotten to refill the bottle. Well the sorcerer had come home completely exhausted last night and just collapsed onto his bed, falling asleep in his robes. After the first few days at home, Arthur had taken down the magical barriers barring his room so that Alfred could go enjoy the benefit of the device called television as well as the quite fine tub in the master bath. So when he had collapsed onto the bed and fallen instantly asleep, he either hadn't noticed, or hadn't rightly cared that Alfred was settled cross legged at the end of it snacking and watching one his favorite shows. Alfred on the other hand had taken the unexpected opportunity of not being kicked out to study Arthur for a bit before turning the TV off and falling backwards beside the man. He had never before gotten the opportunity to even sleep beside his bond mate and now that it was a possibility, even if for just one night, and he might endure hell for it in the morning when Arthur discovered him there, he was going to take it. It had been an interesting experience since he had discovered that Arthur moved a lot in his sleep and had rolled over practically on top of him at one point and clung onto him tightly at one point. He still had no idea about Arthur's past but at that moment the man had looked far younger, and perhaps even smaller, than he had ever appeared before. He was like a child clutching for security, and in his unconscious sleepy state, he had chosen Alfred for that security. Yes it had been an interesting and he hadn't gotten much sleep and Arthur had awoke blearily in the morning to find Alfred beside him.

Which brought Alfred to the present circumstance. Arthur hadn't physically hexed him or anything but...the magical barriers were up around his room once more. Which was why Alfred was so bored with not even TV to entertain him, and now he was apparently out of blood as well.

The young vampire groaned and put his head down on the counter.

"Dammit Arthur if you're gonna close off my only access to the TV you could at least have left me with something else to entertain myself!"

As if in response to his complaining the front door blew open in an annoyed magical blast and two figures entered the mansion.

"You don't have to act so upset about the situation. Do you think I'm happy about having to live with a blood sucker now?"

"Shut up about Alfred, you don't even know him! I haven't talked to you at all about him!"

"Well you complained to me plenty about the situation before you headed off to take part in that stupid bond. You were so angry that you destroyed pretty much the entire interior of your house the day before you left! Do you have any idea how long it took mama and papa to make it normal in preparation for your arrival back?"

"I wish you wouldn't call them that." Arthur groaned and tossed his cloak casually onto the couch. He had yet to notice that Alfred was close by and watching the entire scene, "We had our own parents you know. Berwald and Tino are just trusted friends that agreed to take care of you whenever I needed a break or was going to be gone for a long period of time."

"Well to me they're papa and mama and I can't wait until they come back from their trip so that I can leave you again. Jerk."

Arthur sighed and sat down on the couch running his hands through his hair in exasperation. Alfred watched from the shadows of the kitchen doorway for a bit before he took a step forward and put on the grin that his bond mate was used to.

"Hey Artie, you're home unexpectedly early. And who's this with you?"

Arthur jumped slightly though he had been expecting the vampire to appear at any moment. The young boy with him stared curiously and suspiciously at Alfred from under eyebrows as bushy as Arthur's but with bright blue eyes close to Alfred's.

"You must be the blood sucker my brother's stuck with now." The boy grinned and folded his arms, "Well I'll thank you for making his perfect life miserable but that's it. Don't come near me stupid freak jerk."

"Peter!" Arthur cuffed the boy on the back of the head, "You'll be more respectful thank you."

Peter glared at him and stuck out his tongue before he threw a small spell in Alfred's face that caused the vampire to start sneezing violently, and ran off laughing."

"What am I going to do with that child?" Arthur sighed and waved a hand which caused the childish spell to dissipate from around Alfred's head.

"I can't believe he's your brother." Alfred coughed and then grinned, "Apart from appearance you're nothing alike."

"He is still a child." Arthur sighed and looked at the ceiling, "But he has no respect for me or our other older brother Scott. Then again, I don't have much respect for Scott either so I don't blame Peter there."

"He seems to have respect for the two that he calls papa and mama." Alfred shrugged.

Arthur groaned.

"That's what bothers me the most because they're not family. Not at all. Though I guess since I started having them take care of him when he was still quite young he has grown up considering them family. He much prefers staying with them more than me. I can't understand why since Berwald is quite strict with him just like I am. And Tino doesn't put up with much either for that matter."

"I'm curious...neither of those sound like a girls name...are they like us?" Alfred asked.

"If by like us you mean two men in a relationship, then yes. Unlike us though they chose to be in the relationship because they wanted to, not out of necessity." Arthur sighed again and got off the couch stretching his stiff muscles. Extensive use of magic tended to leave one physically drained and strained. He was in need of a nice refreshing bath but he wasn't keen on the idea of leaving Alfred alone without his protection from little childish spell pranks that Peter might yet throw at him. But he was so sore and so tired and...

The gentle pressure on his shoulders and upper back startled Arthur but he didn't turn around. Instead he tensed even more and hissed out.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"You've been working too hard." Alfred responded simply, "I thought you might be stiff as well as tired. You should go to bed and sleep for a long while but first I thought I could try and help relieve your tension in some way. I am your mate after all and according to report I give very good massages. Strong but not overly painful."

Arthur wanted to say something sarcastic but it was impossible because he was in heaven at present. The skilled and strong hands were easily rubbing out the knots and twists in his spent muscles like no spell he had ever tried could do. Alfred even seemed to be able to locate the tense places that he hadn't even been aware of until they were touched and forcefully relaxed. He couldn't stop some of the relieved groans from escaping his lips and Alfred laughed.

"Is it really that good Artie?"

"Shut up bloody git I've never had someone do this for me before." Arthur muttered but gave another groan as a particularly tight knot was forced to ease.

Alfred laughed again and continued to attack at the tension that riddled Arthur's back until with a final firm rub it was completely back to normal and Arthur gave a sigh of contentment and leaned back against his chest.

"Bloody git why'd you have to go and do that? Now I feel like I owe you something."

Alfred laughed and wrapped his arms around Arthur leaning his head against the sorcerer's neck.

"Just let's stay like this for a bit and that's reward enough."

"Oh gross! This is the last thing I expected to deal with here!"

Arthur startled and slipped out of Alfred's grip quickly to face Peter who was watching them with his nose screwed up in disgust.

Alfred laughed, not really phased by the sudden change. After living with Arthur for awhile he was used to getting close one moment and being pushed away the next. That's why it was so frustrating that Arthur was away so much because he never knew what he would deal with when the sorcerer actually was home. And now here was yet another of those rare moments ruined. He felt rather annoyed at Peter but didn't let it show on his face.

"Surely you're used to this from your mama and papa?"

"Well you're different." Peter grinned mischievously, "You're a blood sucker and he's my jerk brother. I don't want to see the two of you being lovey dovey and I certainly didn't expect it given the circumstances of your bonding."

Arthur glared at his brother but didn't make a response to that as he went to collect his cloak and headed for the door.

"I have some more things to do today. Please don't kill each other while I'm gone, it would be a pain to clean up."

"You're going to go use magic right after I helped you remove tension caused by it?" Alfred exclaimed.

Arthur stopped at the door and stood silently for a few moments before he turned back.

"Well at least I know that I have help to get rid of it."

Alfred smiled and felt his face heating up as Arthur looked at him for a bit before turning back around and sweeping out the door.

"Gross." Peter said again and Alfred continued to smile and nod.

"Yeah...he can be at times."

~*~CDB~*~

When Arthur arrived back home late that night he found both of his house mates in his room. He was about to shout about how they had gotten through his barrier spells but Alfred put his finger to his lips and motioned at the sleeping boy beside him. Peter was curled up in fetal position like usual clutching onto Arthur's pillow. Two empty bowls were on the table along with an empty and a half empty glass of milk. Arthur had never been able to get his younger brother to drink milk so he was shocked at that especially. But he saved his questions for later as he went forward and pried the young boy's arms off of his pillow before lifting him carefully into his arms and carrying him back to the right room.

When he returned the TV was off and Alfred was sitting cross legged, waiting for him with a smile.

"How in the world did you do it?" Arthur folded his arms and looked at the vampire skeptically, "He hated you when I left. I come back it looks like you had been watching TV and eating together. Did you actually get him to drink milk?!"

Alfred grinned and nodded.

"What people say is true...the quickest way to a man's heart, no matter what the age, is through their stomach. He demanded food and I refused until he asked nicely. I think he was expecting me to cave easily in order to get him to like me, but he was mistaken with that. He was so shocked that he did ask nicely and then even offered to help. He was thrilled that I could cook since you can't apparently."

"I can cook." Arthur muttered under his breath and Alfred just laughed.

"So yeah, we ate and talked and watched TV. He's got a different opinion of vampires now, or at least of me. And yeah I got him to drink milk."

"How the bloody hell did you manage that?" Arthur raised a critical eyebrow.

"I threatened him with being as short as you when he grew up if he didn't." Alfred grinned.

Arthur gaped at him and lunged forward suddenly tackling the annoying man with all his strength.

"I'm not that short you bloody git!"

Alfred laughed and put his arms up to shield the pummeling until Arthur stopped and fell onto the bed beside him covering his eyes with his arm.

"Damn, you went and did it again." Arthur groaned.

"Hmmm?" Alfred turned onto his side and propped his head on his arm. He was close to Arthur in the sorcerers room with the other being fully awake and aware...and he loved it!

"Made me owe you." Arthur sighed and raised his arm tilting his head so that it was facing Alfred, "And I do still owe you for earlier as well since the moment got interrupted rather quickly."

Alfred grinned.

"And don't even ask if you can sleep in here again as a reward because I won't have that!" Arthur snapped.

Alfred waved a hand and nodded.

"All right all right, well to tell you truthfully what I most want, what I've been wanting all day is blood."

Arthur stiffened and his breathing became quicker his eyes holding Alfred's for awhile before he turned away and spoke softly.

"All right. Just do it now and I'm not going to look at you. The wrist is fine right?" he held his arm out.

Alfred blinked in confusion and then realization dawned on him. Arthur had misinterpreted what he had asked for. He had just wanted the sorcerer to refill his blood bottle and maybe create another one as backup, but Arthur had thought Alfred was asking for his blood, and he was willing to give it.

Alfred started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Arthur asked turning over again, "If you don't want it all you have to do is say..." he was cut off by Alfred's lips closing on his in an unexpected kiss. They hadn't kissed since the night of the bonding and that had been so short that neither had really experienced a thing from it. But this time Arthur had been so shocked by it that he was unable to force himself to pull away, and Alfred certainly didn't want to, until he felt a slight pricking at his lips followed by a sharp shock. He pulled up with a gasp and stared at Arthur confused.

"What was that?"

"Ah..." Arthur pushed the vampire off him and sat up shaking slightly, "That can happen sometimes with sorcerers. It's the magic reacting and manifesting to the emotions."

"So it was like a literal spark between us?" Alfred asked in surprise and hope.

"I guess you could say that." Arthur got up and left the room shouting a, "Consider that your reward stupid git, you'll get nothing more from me tonight."

Alfred grinned and followed after him.

"I'll take it Artie, but I do still need you to refill my bottle since it's empty."

Arthur stopped and whirled with realization dawning on his face.

"That's what you were asking for?! More blood that way?! Not..." he stopped what he was going to say and glared at his bond pair, "I really can't stand you sometimes Alfred F Jones."

"Hey you're the one that misinterpreted. And I didn't do anything except kiss you because I was caught up by your kind offer." Alfred grinned and leaned in the doorway.

Arthur balled his fists and the barrier reappeared forcing Alfred all the way out of the sorcerers room with a yelp.

"If I wasn't stuck with you I would kick you out of the house entirely." Arthur snapped his fingers before storming back past Alfred into his room and slamming the door behind him.

Alfred just stood in the hallway for a bit before he sighed and went to the kitchen. If he had just taken advantage of Arthur's mistake then he could have been enjoying sorcerers blood at that moment. But he just wasn't the type to manipulate the situation that much to his advantage. The kiss had been far enough...not to mention wonderful. He took great delight in finding out that the contact, his contact, had caused Arthur to spark. It gave him hope that maybe in time he really could have a good future with the sorcerer. And it also made him realize that he wanted that not just for the satisfaction, but also from personal feelings.

Alfred smiled slightly as he went to the kitchen. His old bottle had disappeared and a new slightly larger one sat in its place. A note was lying beneath it with two simple but powerful words on it.

Thank you