Chapter 25

"The fuck is this shit?" Yuma grunts as Kou plops next to him on the one of the couches. The TV was on, the screen showing the menu for the 80's cheese classic 'Lost Boys.' They hadn't heard from Shuu in several days. The two Mukami brothers had been dragging themselves from location to location in the Demon World, trying to gain information. Unfortunately nothing had cropped up, but they were taking a well earned rest.

Ruki, who'd been playing map navigator the entire time, takes a seat after setting down a load of snacks on the table. He frowns slightly, "this...doesn't look like a horror film."

In their own separate armchair, Misaki snuggles up to Azusa, her legs draped over his lap and her head on his arm. "Ooh, vampires. Hot," she giggles teasingly.

Arika frowns and sits beside Ruki, more interested in snacks than cuddling as she grabs a handful of popcorn."This looks stupid."

Azusa smiles, looking at Arika. "They all ride...motorbikes," he says, trying to tempt her. Kou nods firmly.

"Can't believe you guys haven't seen it! It's fun!"

An exasperated sigh escapes Arika. "Lots of people ride motorbikes," she mutters, but her lips twitch slightly with glances at Ruki, before flicking a piece of popcorn at him for shits and giggles. Ruki frowns at her and grabs another piece, before leaning towards her and threatening to put it in her hair.

Kou claps his hands. "OK! Let's start. And to the couples - no eating each others faces. I'm jealous enough as it is." He looks at Yuma and grins, "wanna cuddle bro?"

Yuma raises his fist. "Try it and you die," he deadpans as the movie starts. There's a merry-go-round at night, and it's packed with humans. From out of no where, a group of teen boys in leather walk around the spinning merry-go-round.

Ruki sighs, cringing. "Those are the vampires, huh?" Arika snorts and leans over to lick Ruki's cheek super sexually.

"Lookit that. Ate ya face," she snorts, quietly noting here and now that this movie would be stupid and her entertainment would probably come from baiting bae- who promptly yanks her onto his lap, holding her.

"Behave." He chides lightly, not particularly interested in the film either but keeping up appearances to play his own game.

Misaki giggles and burrows closer to Azusa, who cuddles her openly and smiles serenely at the implication of the first gruesome murder of the fairground attendant. The film then cuts to black and the title plays, complete with 80's music.

Arika is clearly bored and trying to cause trouble, but she can't exactly reach much given the position. She lets out a sigh and reaches for more snacks instead. When one can't chaos, one can eat snacks.

The main character, Michael, eventually finds himself at the fairground, and is instantly enamoured by a girl with brunette curly hair. Yuma stiffens in his seat, the flower shop flashing in his mind.

Kou catches this and grins. "Ooh, do you like her?" He chuckles.

Yuma growls. "No. She just reminds me of someone is all."

Arika grins over, "oooh, did the giant get a giiiiiirlfriend?" she teases, moving on from baiting Ruki now that she has something to do. Misaki giggles as well.

"Yuma's very handsome. I'm sure he's plenty popular~"

He snarls, unsure who to look at between them. "No, I-! She's just a girl at the flower shop..." He mutters.

Ruki smirks to himself and glides his hand up and down Arika's back. She was like an unruly kid sometimes.

Azusa makes a noise of awe as the group of vampires get on their motorbikes, taking the girl with them, inviting Michael into a chase scene. More 80's cheese took place as they raced at night over sand while Arika winces. "Motorbikes and sand don't fuckin mix," she whines, cringing. "Oh dear lord. I can't look," she mutters, and turns around to bury her face in Ruki's shoulder.

"Poor Arika is more afraid of the semantics than the movie," Misaki giggles.

Ruki pats her head. "There, there. I'm sure the motorbikes lived a full life," he says flatly. Azusa looks quite happy.

"Arika, could you.. take me on your motorbike? It looks...dangerous." He says softly.

Arika peeks out. "Yeah, sure, but you have to wear a helmet so mommy here doesn't pop a vein," she snorts. Misaki frowns.

"And jeans. And all the safety stuff," she mumbles, while Arika raises a brow.

"So uh, kinda meant Ruki by mommy, but okay. That's new," she smirks, before jolting as the vampire she was embracing pinches her hip.

"I'm not the motherly type." He mutters.

Kou nods. "You're too strict."

Ruki frowns at him and looks at Arika. "I suppose you'd be the unruly child who needs to be disciplined, hm?" He asks in a hushed tone.

"I would make a daddy joke, but I think you would take it too seriously and get a boner," she mutters quietly to him.

"So you'd say something like that but you won't call me Master?" He softly asks, raising a brow. Yuma suddenly groans, making them both jump.

"Oh what the fuck is this?" He jabs a thumb at the screen. "How come that guy gets a dog as a familiar? Why do we only get shitty bats to do our bidding?"

Azusa's expression instantly sours as his tone becomes quite defensive. "Don't...say that. Kiki is very...useful to me. And she's...my friend." He mutters stubbornly.

"It's different if it's done ironically," Arika mutters lowly, pinching Ruki's side in reprimand as she blushes slightly. Ruki hums and holds her closer, his lips brushing her ear along with the suggestion of fangs. "Oi. I'll bite you back," she mumbles even as her heart picks up, grabbing his hand and nipping it slightly. She doesn't particularly care, she knows he won't do anything with others around.

Misaki laughs and kisses Azusa's arm. "Bats are cute," she says decisively, backing him up. "And very classic." Azusa positively beams at Misaki.

"Do you.. Want to meet her?" He asks. Kou and Yuma groan. No one else got attached to their familiars.

"Yes, I'd like that," she smiles slightly and strokes her hair perhaps a touch patronisingly. Azusa, however, shows enthusiasm as he untangles himself from her and kisses her cheek, before rising. He goes over to the living room window and opens it, reaching out.

When he pulls his hand back, a brown bat was hanging upside down from his fingers. It had a bandage around around its neck, which upon closer inspection, was supposed to be some sort of scarf. Azusa brought the bat over to Misaki, which made quiet clicking sounds.

She grins widely. "So cute!" she giggles, rising up on her knees to look closer at the little bat. "Ooh, Azusa! Can I knit it a little hat to go with his scarf?" she asks happily.

Azusa strokes one finger delicately over the bats wing. He nods seriously. "Mn. But she's a girl. Kiki... say hello to.. Misaki," he coos in his usual soft spoken way. The bat clicks some more, before climbing up his arm and hanging on it.

Misaki giggles and slowly reaches out to pat the little bat's head with the tip of her finger. "Hello Kiki!" she says quietly, eyes warm as Kiki clicks, before closing her eyes, content to go to sleep on Azusa's arm. He sighs, she always was a warmth hog. Getting her outside would be difficult.

Misaki suddenly frowns. "Rude," she mutters, feeling very much replaced by the bat. She makes a point of squirming onto Azusa's lap and taking up plenty of space. Her boyfriend is simply more endeared by this and wraps his arms around her, nuzzling her neck. Yuma rolls his eyes.

Arika groans and reaches for more snacks. "Jesus have mercy on us," she mutters, cringing. She glances at Ruki for a moment. "Please tell me I'm not the only one lowkey dying."

He just smirks at her, not buying her act. "Oh? Are you trying to say that you don't have a cute side? You certainly found my picture as a child adorable. You melted a little."

Arika blushes a bit. "Oh, fuck off. There's a big difference between tiny children and fuckin bird rats," she mumbles, trying to ignore Ruki's smirk as he strokes her hip.

"I think I want to see it again. Your cute look." He says, before turning to Kou. "Get the family album, will you?" He says, the film forgotten. Kou smiles and disappears, before handing over the album. Ruki opens it for Arika, who meanwhile, glares daggers at him.

"I won't look," she mutters, but even she knows it's a lie. Since Ruki had a good memory, he turns to page five, which would no doubt be killer for her. It was a picture of the tiny Mukamis at the beach, grinning at the camera. Well, Ruki had his book, drenched in the shade of a sun-lounger and looks mildly amused as Yuma holds up a lobster. Azusa was making sandcastles while Kou was helping him with the flags. Arika glances over, too tempted, and automatically turns an impressive red as she takes it in. "Asshole," she mutters as her expression shifts.

Ruki then takes out the photo from the album and passes it to Kou. "Give it to the love birds. They'll no doubt appreciate it." He snorts. Kou chuckles as he gives it a courtesy glance.

"I remember that day. Azusa kept chasing Yuma after this part, wanting the lobster to hurt him." He chuckles. He passes the picture to Misaki, who coos over tiny Azusa.

"Aww, so cute!" she giggles, tracing her finger over the boy.

Azusa smiles at her. "I wish I could see pictures...of young Misaki too..."

She shrugs and pulls her phone out, pulling up some photos that had clearly been screenshotted from someone else's Facebook page. The first one she shows him is her, perhaps seven or eight years old, in a pink tutu and an apron working with a child's baking set. "Lil me, delivered."

He cradles the back of her phone as well and smiles softly. "You are.. Very cute. Ne.. Do you think that we would have.. Been friends?"

Misaki smiles and nuzzles Azusa's arm, oblivious. "Oh, for sure. We would have played house. I would have been the mom and you would have been the dad."

Azusa meanwhile, smiles, kissing her lips. "I'd have liked that."

Misaki smiles and kisses him back, despite Kou's request about eating each other.

Ruki turns to another page, which was him glaring at the camera after he'd obviously had a fall from a bike judging from his dirt covered knees, his expression petulantly fighting back any weakness. Ruki glares at Kou. "This wasn't in there last time." He mutters lowly as Kou winks.

"I added to it!~"

Arika snickers, always welcoming a lapse in Ruki's composure. "Adorable," she declares. "Grumpy baby Ruki. Excellent," she nods.

Yuma snorts at the picture as he leans in to see it. "Didn't you make that bike, and it fell apart?" He asks with a smirk. Ruki looks pointedly at the album as he turns to another page.

"It was a trial run." He mutters, before pointing to another picture. "At least I didn't try to eat flower seeds." He snorts at a picture of Yuma.

Arika smirks and pokes Ruki's cheek. "You ain't getting pictures of me, so don't even try."

Ruki nips her finger, before sighing. "Pity. I should think we were somewhat similar. Very...stubborn." His eyes smile at her as he looks at the pictures, tracing one of Karl Heinz before he turns the page. "It runs in my family to be stubborn and prideful, I suppose if we ever-" He suddenly stops himself, eyes slightly wide at what he'd been about to say, before he closes the book and hands it to Kou.

Arika's eyes widen as she stares at him, filling in the blanks. Ah. Commitment. Futures. She keeps forgetting he isn't seventeen. "I, uh... I'm gonna go to the bathroom," she says quickly and crawls up from his lap, nopeing out for a minute.

Ruki let's her go, for once not irritated that she'd run. He couldn't fault her for it. He sighs and stands, walking to the kitchen. Kou and Yuma awkwardly notice but don't say anything. Arika does not head to the bathroom, instead going to their shared room. She's not in the mood for crappy 80s movies right now.

About half an hour later, Ruki joins her in their shared room. He closes the door behind him, looking at her quietly. She just feigns absolute ignorance. She's put on her least sexy pair of pajamas, which is basically just checkered bottoms and one of his shirts. "Sorry, didn't feel good," she says breezily as way of explaining herself. Blue-grey eyes narrows at her.

"Don't lie to me. I admit...I overstepped my bounds. I shouldn't have alluded to that. But do not lie," he utters, sitting down on the side of the bed. Arika sighs and glares down at the sheets for a moment.

"No... you weren't out of line," she mutters after a moment, expression darkening. "Most girls... would probably be really happy to hear you say that. I should be. I'm just... scared."

Ruki watches her quietly for a moment, before shifting and putting his hand on hers. "You don't like to speak openly...but you can say what it is to me. You're mine...it doesn't matter if you don't want to have those things further down the line." Arika's eyes widen and she looks up at him quickly, alarmed.

"No! I do! I just..." she trails off, reddening. She then groans and rubs her eyes. "Imgonnafuckitup."

Ruki looks at her levelly, catching what she said despite her quick response. "It's because of your mother...isn't it?" He asks quietly.

She nods, sighing. "I don't wanna end up like her. I just... I would be a pretty shitty mom." Ruki shifts, propping up the pillows next to her and leaning against them. "We're not our parents, Arika." He says in a hushed tone. "I don't think a woman who softens at the sight of children in pictures would be a bad mother."

"Anyone can think a kid is cute," she mutters jadedly. "Look... I'm only seventeen, anyway. We haven't even been dating for... what, a month? See, I can't even keep anniversaries straight. I bet I would forget to feed the thing, too." Ruki bridges the gap between them and slowly slides his arm around her.

"Answer me this then.. Do you think I would be a good father?"

She swallows another round of daddy jokes. "Yeah, I do," Arika says honestly.

"Well...my father became bankrupt. We were aristocrats living in Romania at the time. My mother left the very next day with her lover. I awoke to find servants ransacking the house, and my father had killed himself by hanging from a tree. Both abandoned me. There's no guarantees in this world.. And I've done terrible things. My hands probably aren't fit to hold something pure, let alone nurture it."

Arika presses her lips together. "Yeah, but you're fine now," she points out, scooting closer and curling her hand in his shirt. Maybe it's a bit uncharacteristic, but now she feels like snuggling. "Like... I dunno. I act out all the time- don't argue with me, we both know I'm a brat. You at least have your shit together."

Ruki looks down at her, shifting slightly to face her. His hand curls in her hair. "I don't always. When I was younger, I used to abuse my servants. Of course, I was spoiled and selfish, but I exploited my position. I beat and whipped them to try and gain a reaction from my parents. It's an irony that I lost everything and had to beg on the streets, lower than Livestock. You only act out because you've become afraid of showing your true self. Because when you were younger...that girl was beaten for it," he mutters, stroking her neck, thumb moving over a bite-mark. "You don't need to be afraid. The fact that you're worried says enough."

Arika nods slowly, before turning and kissing his hand softly. "You're probably right," she mumbles. "I want to wait a while though, obviously. I, uh... I decided I want to go to university," she whispers, glancing up at him. "I dunno how much you listened to teachers gossip before we started dating, but I told them to fuck off whenever the subject came up. I'm, uh... well, I've already got an acceptance letter."

Ruki smiles and pulls her in closer. "Good girl." He praises, kissing her lips. "What subject are you going to take?" He asks quietly, and though he didn't say it, a slight pride for her entered his gaze.

"I think I'm gonna get a psychology degree, do something with social work," she admits, unable to help but smile a bit at his reaction. "Y'know. Help the lil shits like me that won't get their act together." Ruki kisses her jaw slowly.

"Mn. You'll get them on track. I'm certain of it. If not, you'll drag them there by the ear." He mutters, kissing her neck.

She laughs and roughly shifts her weight so that she's straddling him. "Something tells me we should probably change the subject." Ruki shifts into a proper sitting position and hums, stroking his hand down her back.

"By the way... I forgot to tell you something." He mutters in hushed tone. He slides his hand into her hair and pulls her in for a longer kiss. "I have feelings for you too, you foolish girl."

Arika stills, before kissing him back, holding either side of his jaw. Her lips press harder, trying to overwhelm him. He chuckles against her mouth. She was too cute. He bites her bottom lip and slides his tongue into her mouth, pressing close. He then holds her hips and moves them just as he shifts his own, grinding slowly. She pushes him back by the shoulders, shifting up a bit to topple him to the pillows. "Stop moving or I'm gonna tie you down," she mumbles against his mouth. Ruki grips the back of her hair tightly, pulling back so that her lips drew away from his.

"I told you before: Don't...order me," he utters, before kissing her hard on the lips, staying in his upright position as he presses the base of her spine, so that their bodies were pressed close. He then thrusts his hips slowly against hers again.

Arika whimpers softly and squeezes her eyes shut. She nips his lower lip, not about to give up complete control that easily. She drags her fingers down his chest, searching for SOME area that would make him shudder. He just smiles against her lips. She wouldn't find one. His weakness lay in the one area she was not permitted to touch. His back aches slightly, as it usually did, and as usual, he ignored it. He slides his hand under the oversized shirt. "I like it when you wear my shirts." He says quietly, before kissing her neck and cupping her breast. Arika reaches up and tangle my hand in the back of his hair as her other descends to his crotch, cupping him right as Ruki's lips part and he sinks his fangs into her neck.

He drinks her blood quietly, grunting. He massages her breast and pinches her nipple.

"Oi," she mutters, squirming a bit. "We just can't have sex without you going all bitey on me, can we?" She tugs at his hair a little harder, but she's not actually upset. Ruki drinks a little more, before drawing his lips away and undoing the buttons of his shirt. He then takes her hand and places it on his chest, over his heart. Only it was silent. Then, very slowly, it began to beat under her palm, awoken by her blood. "That's why," he murmurs.

Arika blushes slightly. "Oh," she mumbles quietly. "Gotcha. Heh, that's actually kinda cute, in a fucked up way," she murmurs, before kissing him again. "For a scary vampire, you're so adorable," she whispers against his lips, letting a bit of her facade slip again. "I love you, Ruki."

Ruki closes his eyes and leans into her, inhaling her scent and kissing her in return. "Like this- when we're like this...it's what I look forward to." He mutters quietly, pulling back slightly to look at her. He strokes his thumb over her hand that was placed over his heart. Arika kisses him once more, seemingly unable to get enough of him. She slowly trails kisses down his jaw and he allows it, pleased by her attention. He strokes the back of her neck, massaging his finger tips into her hair. He then slides his other hand down to between her thighs, rubbing.

She makes a small squeaking sound and grits her teeth together. "Ruki, I swear to god, I want control this one. Time," she mutters, moving her hands to his shoulders again so that she can topple the fucker.

Ruki chuckles, "I'm sorry, dragostea mea," he mutters in his native tongue. He takes her hand and kisses it, unmoving against her pushes. "That's something you can't have from me. But you can top," he murmurs, continuing to rub her folds.

Arika blinks. "Did you just call me a dragon tea?" She asks, still squirming a bit from his touching. She reaches down and clasps both hands around his wrist to try and still his hand.

He sighs. "No. It's just an endearment." He rubs her again, forcing himself to since she was resisting so much.

She squeaks and squirms from all of this. Dammit. "I-I'll take Dragon Tea over babe any day," she mutters, before giving up on speaking.

He chuckles,"it means 'my love' in my native country. Heh...though if you want me to call you Dragon Tea.." He smiles, trailing off as he rubs his fingers inside her sex, coating them in wetness. He was getting hard underneath her.

Arika moans softly and wedges her chin into the crook of his neck. "Never mind on that," she mutters, kissing his skin impatiently.

Ruki smiles, deciding against making her beg. He slides his belt open and discards it to the floor, hearing it make a familiar clatter as they fell into pleasure again.