Dabbling

[Existentially Odd]

When David awoke the night after his date with Bill, he felt heavier than he had in a long time.  Their conversation the night before had yielded nothing that had made him happy, yet he'd begun last night with such high hopes and dancing dreams.  It wasn't terrible of course, being told that Bill would honestly consider being in a relationship with him - because he'd assured his mortal lover that he wasn't interested in turning him into a vampire - it wasn't exactly a full stop but it wasn't a green light, either.  There hadn't even been much of a reaction when he'd alluded to seeing other men, to sleeping with them.  It had seemed Bill didn't care, which disappointed David greatly.

He rolled over in his bed and grabbed the other pillow, pressing his face into it and smelling Bill's fading scent.  After a few minutes he realised how pathetic he was being and rolled back, reaching over to pick up his mobile phone off the bedside table instead.  He needed a distraction or he knew he'd spend the whole night moping and seeing if Bill had texted him.  Nothing had come through the day and his heart dropped again but he smiled a little as he went through his messages and saw that, last night, Cain had followed up his request for him to come over with his address.  He stared at the texts for about five minutes before he made up his mind, having spent the entire time debating.

In the end, he decided he'd been honest with Bill and it was him that maybe had to let go, because Bill sure didn't seem desperate to hang onto him.  He'd be honest with Cain, too, tell him where things were at... if he was asked.  He hit the button that would call Cain and held the phone to his ear, listening to it ring.  When he heard a voice on the other end he smiled automatically, picturing the handsome, gentle face on the other end.  "Hi, Cain, it's David," he said, only realising then that his voice was still husky with fading sleep and it was audible.  He cleared his throat, hoping he wouldn't sound so 'just-woke-up' afterwards.  "I was wondering if you were free tonight?"

[Malkavian Riddler]

It had only just turned from day to night, and Cain had been sitting in the lounge with the windows uncovered watching the sky change from its crisp pale blue sky to a spectacular purple before it darkened fully.  He'd had just enough time to set up a fire in the fireplace but not to light it when his cell rang from its place on the charger.  Cain hurried over to it and instantly his heart flipped in his chest when he saw David's name come up on the screen.  He grabbed at it so quickly that he fumbled and had to catch it before sliding his thumb over the 'answer' icon and greeted his caller warmly.

He was focussed so greatly on David that he didn't miss the huskiness in his voice or the slight clearing of his throat before Cain's plans were called into question.  The idea of David calling him as soon as he woke up sent an extra thrill down Cain's spine.  He'd been daydreaming about this guy ever since that one fantastic night that not even Toby had managed to ruin.  As much of a shithead he was, his threats had sent Cain on a path towards something better.  Now he had his own place, with furniture, and money in his bank account, and the freedom to spend time with vampires of his choosing instead of remaining on a strict turn-based regiment of blood sharing.  It hadn't been bad at all, though it must've been a little bit tense for him, for he'd felt free when he'd been released from his contact (or rather, hadn't had to re-sign the new contract) by Sam.  He was ever so grateful.

"I'm available," Cain said, hearing his own smile in his voice with his answer.  Good.  He wanted David to know that he wanted to be available for him.  Hard to get?  Not at all, and he knew a lot of guys wanted a challenge - but it would've been deceptive to play that kind of mind-game, and Cain wasn't deceptive at all.

[Existentially Odd]

"So you'd be okay with me coming by in, say, half an hour?" David smiled, knowing the expression would be heard just as he could hear Cain's.  He liked that there was nothing complicated going on with this mortal, that he could trust what he was getting at face value and he would therefore not be disappointed.  He'd had enough of that lately.

[Malkavian Riddler]

"You've got the address," Cain said, twirling his finger on the kitchen counter where his phone had been before he'd held it to his ear, and tapped on it with his fingernail before inspecting them, thinking he should really trim them down so they weren't talons and scratching the shit out of David's back.  The thought it it made him flush with excitement and nervous glee.  Fuck, he was turning into a high school girl.  The idea of that made him want to giggle, so he squashed it and said: "See you soon," before hanging up as quickly as possible before any weird sounds escaped him.  Good thing he did to, because as soon as he hung up, he was breathless with anticipation and his heart was hammering in his chest.  He wanted to jump and run around and do cartwheels, but the most he allowed himself was a whoop for joy before making a beeline for the bathroom so he could trim his nails.

[Existentially Odd]

David could only chuckle at the mortal's suave response, impressed and ignorant to anything more than what he could hear.  With an assured, "Definitely, bye," he also hung up and decided he should shower to clear the sleep out of him completely before he left.  The smile on his face relaxed but didn't leave as he did, for thoughts of Cain were welcome and enticing... and he was keen for them to overshadow the curious sense of longing he was doing his best to squash deep down inside him.

(Continued in 'Christening')