Disclaimer: I do not own Static Shock or any of its affiliates.

Moment in the Night

Richie noticed that Virgil had been looking terrible lately. He had bags the size of Jump City under his eyes, his skin was ashen under the usual chocolate brown and he was jumping at every little thing. He seemed to have forsaken his favorite yellow sweatshirt for a black hoodie with a picture of Jack Skelington from A Nightmare Before Christmas on the front. Under all that bulk, he still appeared shrunken and hunched. It was summer so neither one of them had a chance to see the other at school, only when they met in their alternate personas of Static and Gear. What ever it was that was causing the electrically powered teen to look so bad, the blond simply had to ask, "Bro, you look crappy."

"Gee thanks, Rich," Virgil answered with a self-deprecating smile. "Yeah, I guess I haven't been sleeping too well." Moving very much like a bird, his eyes whipped toward a faint noise across the street, accenting the fact that they were also bloodshot.

Now that he thought about it, Richie hadn't seen Virgil during the day at all recently. He had been up all night the past three in a row. Rather than harp on it, the young genius simply nodded and stepped forward to part with a knuckle-to-knuckle tap. It had been a long night and the time was nearly two o'clock in the morning. They were standing in front of Richie's parent's front door, grateful his father had turned off the porch light to keep solicitors away. Rather than touch fists, Virgil surprised Richie by pulling him into a hug.

It wasn't a man hug either, the one where the two guys barely touch bodies and shake hands while they slap each other heartily on the back. It was a full contact embrace that felt almost desperate. Richie's eyebrows shot up and he held his best friend hesitantly. He could feel the mocha teen's breath heaving as he fought for control, and for a moment, the blond thought Virgil had tucked his head into the crook of his shoulder. The next second, Virgil turned his head away and pushed his friend to arm's length, a look almost like pain on his fine African features.

At this point, Richie began to worry. What was going on? "Hey Virg, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

Virgil only nodded once silently, squeezing his friend's shoulders painfully hard. Rather than flinch, the genius stared at his friend in concern. Then, faster than a flash, Virgil had backed Richie up against the front door, thumping heavily against the wood. He pinned the pale teen and leaned in close. Richie was very confused and shocked to find heat between them. He wasn't…aroused…was he? While it was true his constant proximity to his friend had brought the rare thought of a stray caress, and his adolescent age forced constant musings of physical touch into his mind, this was far beyond anything he had considered before. He almost liked being forced.

Richie found himself trembling as Virgil nuzzled his neck, inhaling the blond's scent. "Virg…," was all he got out before the dark teen moved suddenly. There was a sharp pain in his neck and then a flood of pleasure, as he had never experienced. It was as if he was being caressed all over with a searing touch, filled with heady desire that pulled a gasp from his lips. Richie tilted his head back against the door, involuntarily pulling his friend's body against his own.

Such desire filled him that he began to feel lightheaded. In a matter of seconds, his vision and hearing were beginning to dim and he felt weak in the knees. If it weren't for the strong hands holding him against the door, he was sure he would fall. If this was what lust felt like, he could definitely understand how so many people were addicted to it. He felt as weak as a kitten and dreadfully hungry for more. Virgil stood up and stared at the blond in horror, "Rich…I-I'm so sorry."

Exactly at that moment, Richie's hulking father ripped the door open, baseball bat in hand, ready to teach whoever had banged on his door a lesson. Richie was powerless to stop himself from falling now that his support was gone, and also could not do anything when his dad reeled back from the black boy. A jungle cat snarl came from nowhere and then Richie was alone with his father.

The rest of the world seemed far away, and Richie thought he could vaguely see his father kneeling over him and shouting. His fingers were getting cold telling his super intellect that his heart must be stopping, For some reason though, he couldn't draw forth panic. He just kept hearing his name over and over…Richie…Richie…Richie…

----

Virgil had been feeling terrible lately. Ever since his run-in with that strangely strong goth girl the other night, he had been down and weak. He could hear and see things he couldn't before. The sunlight bothered him so much that he had begun to hide from it, coming out of his room only at night. Thank goodness it was the summer and he didn't have to go to school. The yellow color of his favorite sweatshirt had even begun to annoy him, so he switched to a darker one. The only time he saw anyone was when he was Static, and the only person he saw was Gear. He was standing with Richie when his blond friend looked him over and said, "You look crappy, bro."

Talk about the understatement of the year. With the best smile he could muster, Virgil responded, "Gee thanks, Rich." He took a deep breath, "Yeah, I guess I haven't been sleeping too well." A noise popped from across the street and he peered into the darkness, his lack of sleep making him slightly paranoid. He had been up three nights in a row, ever since that goth girl, and certainly didn't sleep well during the day. He and Gear had spent a long night busting crime and it was nearly two in the morning. He had walked with Richie to his parents' house and both were ready for some sleep.

When Richie stuck his hand out to tap knuckles, everything Virgil had been feeling over the past 72 hours came rushing to the surface. He needed comforting reassurance and he needed it now. He pulled his best friend into a tight embrace, trying not to seem unmanly. His breath caught in his throat as he fought to hold back tears of relief for the non-threatening touch.

Suddenly, there was a ringing in his ears that had the rhythm of a heartbeat and he couldn't stop his gaze from resting on Richie's smooth, pale throat. A sudden hunger burned in him that he had never known before, and he found himself wanting to taste that silky skin. With great effort, he pushed his friend away, holding him by the shoulders. He gritted his teeth with the effort of subduing the hunger.

Understandably, Richie said, "Hey, Virg, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

How the dark teen wanted to unload everything that had happened, to tell him how much he desired him right now, even though it was crazy. He squeezed the blond's well-muscled shoulders, surprised at his own arousal. Being a teen always brought with it the side effect of constant distracting thoughts, and being around Richie all the time had naturally lent to some experimental ideas, but this was much more powerful than he had ever experienced.

Before he could stop himself, Virgil had used unnatural strength to pin his partner up against the front door, not really caring that they probably just woke someone up. Richie didn't even fight, but Virgil was surprised at the heat between them. There was definite arousal there; apparently, Virgil enjoyed controlling Richie.

The blond trembled a bit as Virgil buried his face in Richie's shoulder, breathing in his intoxicating scent of health and lust. The young genius whispered, "Virg…," and that broke any restraint the electric teen had left. He buried his suddenly there fangs in the smooth skin, at first repulsed by what he had done, but then totally overwhelmed by the blood song. Richie's hot blood flowing over his tongue and down his throat was the most erotic and gratifying thing he'd ever experienced. Feeling Richie grip and rock up against him only added to the pleasure. He drank until he thought he might go crazy.

Virgil got so lost in fulfilling his hunger, he didn't notice that something was wrong until Richie went limp in his arms. He had actually drunk his best friend's blood…and liked it. No, he hadn't liked it, he'd loved it. What the hell! Horror filled him as he saw his soul brother faint in his embrace. "Rich…I-I'm so sorry."

Virgil heard it right before it happened; Richie's giant father ripped the door open with hate in his eyes. He already hated Virgil's 'kind' and now saw his son with a red stain all the way down one side. Richie dropped at their feet as his father raised the baseball bat in his hands. Virgil snarled at him and leaped away, suddenly alone in the night.

He watched from a distance as Richie's father knelt over his son and began to shout for an ambulance. Even though he was way down the street, he could hear his best friend's heart slowing. What had he done! He kept hearing his name over and over…Virgil…Virgil…Virgil…

----

Richie jolted awake to the sound of his mother calling his name. The sun was shining brightly, the air coming through the open window was crisp and the smell of bacon drifted up from the kitchen. His stomach growled in response, forcing Richie out of bed. The genius tried to shake the intensity of his dream from his waking mind, it had all seemed so real that he was surprised to be alive at all. He also noticed that his arousal was still present, and while it ashamed him a little, it also excited him. That's it, no more Mexican before bed.

A few neighborhoods away, Virgil shot awake as Sharon called his name for the fifth time. Holy moley, that dream seemed so real! He dangled his feet off the side of the bed to help himself wake up and had a moment of serious doubt as to whether he had killed his best friend of not. Of course not, everything was fine. In fact, his sister was calling him down to some unknown breakfast. As he stood to slip some pants on, he was a little embarrassed to see his body remembered the lust from the dream. Embarrassing, but intriguing. He had to lay off the spicy food before sleep.

When the boys met up for lunch and the new King Kong movie, they barely spoke at all. It was over the burger and fries that Richie finally piped up, "Virg, I had the strangest dream last night."

Before he could continue, the mocha teen interrupted, "So did I! You were in it…and there was a vampire…"

"Yeah," the blond was beginning to finish his sentences more and more these days, "and it was you."

Both fell silent and stared at one another. On an impulse, Virgil leaned across the table and placed his face within touching distance of Richie's neck, as if to whisper something, but did nothing else. Both of them gasped at the sudden heat that flashed through them, almost of it's own accord. Virgil sat back down, and he and Richie exchanged small smiles.

The End