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The blinding lights and thumping music coming from inside the house Legundo was standing in front of made him second guess what he was doing.
He hadn’t planned on attending the party, he really hadn’t. When one of the students in the class he was TA for had mentioned an invite, he hadn’t thought much of it. It was implied that it was an open invitation for a lot of people in the class, so Legundo receiving one felt more like a courtesy than a genuine invite.
It wasn’t until he got a text message that he started to reconsider going.
Owen
Are you planning on going to Scott’s party tonight?
Legundo paused, staring down at the text message for several seconds too long before he typed out his response.
Legundo
I had not really planned on it. It seemed more like I received a courtesy invite. Why?
Owen
I’m unfortunately being dragged along to the party. I was hoping to see a friendly face.
That made Legundo pause again. Owen wanted to see him? At a party?
Sure, the two of them had been hanging out a little more outside of class. If you considered his helping Owen with his… dietary restrictions as hanging out. But asking Legundo if he wanted to come to a party, one of Scott’s parties of all things, was something he hadn’t anticipated. Especially since it had been a while since he’d even seen him.
Owen was very peculiar, and it made Legundo worry for him every time the man went days at a time without texting him outside of class time. There’d be days where the only time he’d see Owen was in class, and even that was a stretch sometimes. Then, he’d just show up at his apartment for what amounted to a juice box for a meal, and a brief catch up conversation where Legundo would learn nothing of significance into the goings on in the other’s life before he’d vanish again.
He sighed, taking a moment to consider, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth out of nervous habit for a moment before he sent a response.
Legundo
I’ll think about it.
Which is how he found himself standing outside the lavish house that belonged to Scott Goldsmith. With the sun nearly completely set and the darkness of the night creeping in, the lights from inside the house poured from the open windows. The music was loud enough to be vaguely heard from where he was standing out on the sidewalk, some kind of halloween music. Of course.
Legundo took a deep breath, adjusting the mask on his face and the collar of his cloak a little before walking the long pathway that led to the front of the house. Once he got to the door, he knocked, making sure it was loud enough to be heard over the music.
After a moment, the door swung open, and on the other side of the door was a figure Legudno recognized fairly well from the class. Wearing a low cut, flowy shirt, a blood red-gemstone necklace on a gold chain sitting on his chest underneath a long, embroidered dark coat, Pyro grinned as he opened the door.
“Doctor! Nice to see you made it,” They greeted excitedly, stepping back to let Legundo through.
“Thank you,” He replied as he walked into the house, “How did you know it was me?” He was hoping that by wearing a large face mask, he’d be less recognizable so he could just blend into the crowd a bit more.
“Honestly, we took bets on if you’d show up, and then also on what you’d be dressed as.” Pyro replied as they closed the door behind him. “Plauge doctor is a little on the nose, don’t you think?”
Legundo took a second to look over Pyro’s costume again, and caught the glint of fangs in their wide grin. “You’re not exactly being subtle, either,” He pointed out.
Pyro shrugged, “It was, uh.. Scott’s idea. We thought it would be funny.”
Rolling his eyes, Legundo just began walking further into the house. Pyro walked behind him, clapping a hand to his shoulder momentarily as they draped an arm around him. “Regardless, Doc, hope you have a fun time tonight.”
“You and Scott aren’t planning on anything…” He raises a brow to the younger man at his side, but before he can complete the thought, Pyro barks out a laugh, cutting him off.
“No, no, we’ve all taken precautions for tonight. What do you take us for?” They pat his shoulder before letting go, his attention caught by something further into the house. He followed their gaze and spotted, of course, Scott, in the front room, chatting with someone at the moment.
Scott was dressed in the epitome of a vampire costume. White dress shirt, similar to Pyro’s but not as low cut, with red accents and long, black cloak around his shoulders. The lighting in the house made it so that his normally blue hair looked almost white. The other man glanced over, as if he noticed that Legundo and Pyro both were looking at him.
“Enjoy yourself tonight, Doc.” Pyro said as he let go, giving him one last toothy grin before he headed towards Scott.
Now left on his own, Legundo stayed standing in the middle of the entryway as he took in the scenery of the party.
Despite this being Scott’s party, there weren’t actually that many people in the house. He recognized most of everyone present, even with their costumes, from the class he’d initially received the invitation in. It was more like a small gathering rather than a party, but he supposed it was a nice change from what he knew of the other man’s reputation. It made being there just a little bit easier, since there weren't crowds of people.
Legundo was pulled from his thoughts by a familiar voice, "Plague Doctor, huh? A little obvious, wouldn’t you say?”
A breathy laugh escaped him as he smiled, “You’re now the second person to say that to me.”
Standing just a few steps to his side, he wasn’t quite expecting to see Owen dressed in a black shirt and pants, a pair of fabric black wings on his back and little fuzzy ears attached to a headband on his head. “Let me guess.. A bat?” He asked as he turned fully towards the other.
Owen chuckled lightly, “Yeah.. Shelby’s idea. She wasn’t on board with being dressed up like vampires, but she still wanted to match with someone.”
Legundo took a second to scan the small crowd of people in the front room, looking for her. It was obvious as soon as he saw her, huddled with Avid and Drift dressed up in a fuzzy, brown costume. He sighed as he smiled, “Bigfoot, I’m assuming.”
“Indeed,” Owen hummed, “She wanted me to be mothman. This was the compromise.”
“I think it suits you,” Legudno replied a little too quickly, and he stilled a little when he realized what he had said, then coughed a bit as if to cover it up.
Scoffing, Owen stepped closer to him to stand at his side. “I wouldn’t have dressed up at all if it were up to me,” he immediately changed the subject, likely for both of their sakes.
“You mentioned that you were being dragged here,” Legudno remembered from their texts earlier that evening, said more like a statement rather than a question.
Owen hummed again as he nodded. “Shelby can be very convincing,” was all he said in response. Legundo just nodded slightly in reply.
As silence fell over them, only broken up by the music playing over speakers in the front room and the loud chatter from their classmates and other people that had been invited. “It’s good to see you again.” He broke the silence, his voice in a hushed tone that was only meant for Owen to hear.
He watched as Owen winced slightly in response. “Yeah.. sorry about that,” The other man replied, turning to look away from him, “I’ve just... been busy.”
Legundo let silence linger between them as it became very clear that Owen was a little uncomfortable, his nose scrunching slightly in the way it usually did when he didn’t want to talk about something. So, instead of pushing, he just nodded. “I’m going to go see what’s over at the snack table, want to come with me?” Legundo offered, motioning with his head towards the kitchen beyond the front room.
“Sure,” Owen replied quietly, and without saying much else, he followed him further into the party, past where Shelby was dancing with Avid and Drift in the middle of the room along to the music, Scott and Pyro were happily chatting along one of the back walls, and Legundo spotted a few other of his classmates laughing and singing along to the music as well.
Eventually, he made his way through the entryway into the kitchen, holding back the red and black streamers attached to the ceiling for Owen so he could walk through. He heard him mumble, “thank you,” as he passed by.
Silence fell between them again, although it was slightly more comfortable as Legundo glanced over all of the snacks spread out on the counter. He glanced behind him to make sure no one was close enough to really hear before he turned to Owen, “So, who catered? This is Scott’s house after all, I doubt he just keeps a bunch of food like this on hand for a party.”
Laughing slightly, Owen smiled. “Your curiosity is going to get you in trouble one of these days, Doc.” He shook his head as he walked up towards the counter, turning to lean his back against it at Legundo’s side. “No, this was really all Shelby’s idea. I think she enlisted Drift and Avid’s help in getting everything together.”
“I see.” Legundo nodded, absentmindedly glancing through the options to find something he could eat. “Pyro mentioned that you all took precautions,” He said, grabbing a bottle of water
Owen scoffed, “Did they now?”
Shrugging, Legundo took a few steps towards the kitchen entryway, intending on walking back through to the front room. He looked back, and noticed that Owen hadn’t moved to follow him at all.
“Owen?” He questioned, taking a step back towards him.
The man across from him just kept his gaze away from him, his arms folding and crossing over his chest tightly, defensively. Wheels started turning in his head the longer the silence stretched between them. He took in Owen’s demeanor, scanning over his face as he figured out what might be going on with him.
The kitchen was better lit than the front rooms were, a section of the room’s regular lights left on to be able to see everything better beyond the colored lights flooding in from the other room. Owen’s eyes had a weird red glare to them as they caught the light, and he seemed to be paler than he remembered him being.
Which, as Legundo recognized the signs, could only mean one thing.
“Owen?”
The man’s face hardened slightly, his nose scrunching up in discomfort as he hunched in more on himself.
Legundo stepped towards him slightly, stopping when he saw Owen flinch at the proximity. He stayed just a few feet away from him, but stood in front of the doorway so they could have some semblance of privacy in the kitchen.
“Owen,” he repeated, voice stern and low. “How long has it been since you last ate?”
Reddish-brown eyes snapped towards him, his expression shifted into something that seemed like offense. “Why do you care?” Owen snapped, and he could see the glint of his fangs every so slightly.
Legundo sighed. “Because, I told you I’m willing to help you with that as you need it. But when you neglect to take care of yourself like this-”
“I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” Owen snapped as red took over the brown of his eyes. Legundo noticed as Owen’s hand seemed to tighten around his arm, sharp nails digging into the sleeve.
Tension was thick in the air the longer he stared at the other. Sighing, Legundo reached up to pull the crooked mask off of his face, the cool air of the kitchen hitting his face as he set the mask and water bottle down. “I’m not implying that you can’t,” He says slowly, as if he was walking on eggshells, “I just worry about you when you go days at a time without talking to me and only show up starving at my doorstep.”
Owen goes quiet, turning away from him again. Carefully, Legundo takes slow steps towards the other before gently putting his hands on Owen’s shoulders. He flinches slightly at the touch, but doesn’t pull away which he takes as a good sign.
“Owen,” Legundo murmurs, and at the mention of his name, the other’s eyes snap back to him. “I’d hope that I’ve earned enough of your trust to know that you can come to me whenever you need help.”
At that, Owen scoffed slightly, letting go of his arms in order to bring a hand to Legundo’s on his shoulder. His grip was tighter than he was expecting, but that combined with his correct assumption as to what was going on with the vampire, Legundo was under the assumption that it was a form of maintaining practiced control.
“We’re hardly in a place where you can hand me a bloodbag and call it an evening.” Owen muttered under his breath.
Which, thinking about it, was actually a fair point. They were in Scott’s house, not his own apartment. He didn’t have access to the many things he kept hidden for secret visits late at night. And he wasn’t about to walk out of the kitchen and practically expose Owen, and the others, to the rest of his classmates.
There really was only one option.
Legundo took a deep breath before he spoke, voice hushed. “So feed from me instead.”
Owen’s eyes went wide, and suddenly he was pulling away and scrambled back a little. “Doc, tell me you’re joking.”
“Do I sound like I’m kidding?” He stayed where he was, as to not spook Owen further than he already was in just offering a solution to the current problem. “You can hear my heartbeat, you tell me if I’m lying or not.”
Owen’s eyes flicked down towards his chest as he went quiet, then snapped back up to meet his gaze after a moment of listening. He wondered vaguely what Owen heard when he did that, if it’s anything like listening to someone’s heartbeat through a stethoscope.
He heard Owen swallow thickly, as if weighing his options carefully. “Look,” Legundo sighed, offering a hand out towards the other, “It’s either, I help you, or you might lose control.” Owen’s breath hitched at that, and he quickly added, “And I know, I know, you’re very good at staying in control, I’m not suggesting you aren’t capable of that. But I’d rather not see what happens when you push yourself too far.”
The silence is deafening. If it weren’t for the music playing in the other room, Legundo might have been more nervous in the silence than he was. Owen’s eyes close as he takes breath before he nods.
“Okay… Okay, let’s go somewhere else,” Owen answers, and steps towards him as he takes his still outstretched hand. There’s something like relief that washes over him as the vampire begins to lead him out of the kitchen and back into the main front room of the house.
For a moment, Legundo had forgotten that they were even at a party. Their classmates are blissfully unaware of the conversation that happened between them in the kitchen, but he notices as Owen’s gaze is momentarily on Scott and Pyro on the other side of the room as they pass through the front room.
Some kind of silent conversation must have happened between the three of them, as Owen’s expression changes to something that Legundo can’t quite place. It’s almost as if the vampire was trying to hiss, perhaps something territorial? He hates to consider the idea that it’s his vampiric instincts that made Owen think of him as a meal. He glances over to see what the other two vampires are doing and finds that Scott is looking at the two of them with a sly look on his face, almost like he knows what went on in the kitchen. Maybe he had overheard it.
Owen just pulls Legundo along, walking quickly away before something further goes on underneath the atmosphere of the party. He’s led towards the entryway, then Owen pivots towards the staircase before heading up.
Legundo had never really seen this part of Scott’s house before. The last time he was here was when he’d learned of the true nature of the man that was practically pulling him up the stairs as well as the three they’d left behind downstairs at the party.
They didn’t stop at the landing, instead Owen pulled him towards one of the doors down the hallway, not hesitating before he pushed it open. His bedroom then, Legundo assumed.
When he’d met Owen all those months ago, he’d said that he was roommates with someone, a writing major if memory served him right. But when he learned the truth about Owen, about him being a vampire alongside a few others, he also learned that Scott let them have a room in his house.
Once he was fully in the room, Owen let go of his hand and moved to go close the door. He could hear it click softly behind him before the vampire was back in front of him.
“So..” Legundo said, feeling only slightly awkward in the darkened room. “How do you want to go about this?”
Owen turned, scanning the room a bit in consideration before he motioned towards the bed. “It might be better if you were sitting down.” He replied, sounding about as casual as if they were discussing the weather.
Legundo just nodded, and moved towards the bed. He sunk down a bit into the mattress, the frame creaking slightly under his weight. “And here I thought you slept in a coffin,” He teased, trying to keep the atmosphere light.
He relaxed more as Owen laughed in response as he took off the wings and headband from his costume, setting them to the side. “No, believe it or not we’ve modernized,” He grinned, pure amusement in his eyes.
But in that smile, he saw his fangs, and suddenly Legundo was very aware of the predicament he was in.
Legundo had never been afraid of Owen, or the others, despite knowing what they were. He was used to seeing Owen’s fangs in his late night visits for bloodbags, but this was an entirely different context.
As he’d been lost in thought, he hadn’t noticed the other had moved until Owen was fully in his space, standing over him slightly from his spot on the bed and reached to grab his hand. Legundo let him, their fingers intertwining as Owen breathed a small sigh.
“I’ll keep that promise I made you before. I won’t turn you,” Owen murmured, their faces close together as his other hand moved to remove the cloak around his shoulders.
Unafraid, Legundo nodded, “I trust you.” The fabric of his cloak rustled as it fell from his shoulders and onto the bed behind him. With his own free hand, he reached up towards Owen’s face, watching as the vampire’s breath hitched at the added proximity before he tucked part of his curly hair behind his ear.
As his hand fell, Owen leaned down towards his neck, and almost instinctively, Legundo placed his free hand against the vampire’s hip, holding onto him gently. He could feel Owen’s breath against his exposed neck, the sharp tip of his fangs teasing over his skin.
Legundo squeezed Owen’s hand in his, as if giving him silent permission. It was all he needed before the vampire fully bit down on his neck.
Instantly, Legundo felt pain shoot through his neck and shoulder, radiating out from where Owen had bit him. The initial sting wore off, and he managed to keep himself steady as to not startle the vampire feeding from him. He lets his eyes flutter closed as he hears and feels a pleased rumble coming from Owen, almost like a purr.
He’d previously thought that if a vampire were to feed from someone, it would feel like getting blood drawn at the doctors. Just a small sting against skin, and before long it’s over.
But now that he’s experiencing it, it doesn’t feel at all like that.
Despite how starved Owen had seemed, he shows a surprising amount of control. His gulps of Legundo’s blood are controlled, almost slowed as if he was making sure he wasn’t in any unnecessary pain. He feels Owen’s hand in his tighten, his other hand gently resting against the other side of his head, cupping him gently.
The only thing Legundo can do in response is to just lean into the touch slightly and return the tightened hold on the vampire’s hand.
That purr rumbling from Owen’s chest seemed to get louder, and it made Legundo’s head spin slightly. His breath stutterers slightly the longer Owen drinks, a slight numbness begins to fill his head and body. “Owen…” He murmurs, a careful reminder more than a warning.
Owen suddenly lifts away from his neck, gasping slightly for air he doesn’t really need. Legundo can feel drops of blood against his neck, and his heart nearly skips a beat as Owen leans back in, not to bite him again, but rather gently licks up the slight mess of blood against his neck and shoulder.
Comfortable silence falls between the two of them as Owen still holds onto him, not straying very far from his space. He can still just barely hear that content purr from the vampire, quieter now that he’s not pressed too close to him. “Feeling better now?” Legundo asks, head spinning only ever so slightly.
Owen breathes a small laugh, grinning widely. “Much, actually. Thank you.”
He returns the smile, once again squeezing the hand in his. “I’m glad I could help.”
Below them, the party rages on, but here, in the quieter solace of Owen’s room, Legundo watches as the vampire’s eyes return to something more human, the red practically vanishing as if it hadn’t been there in the first place.
“Thank you, for helping,” Owen murmurs, before letting his hand fall from the side of Legundo’s head as he sits down on the bed next to him, but doesn’t let go of his hand. “I just… the last couple of days…”
Legundo just shakes his head as he squeezes Owen’s hand again. “You don’t need to explain. Just promise me that you’ll come to me when you need anything.” He leans forward slightly to press their foreheads together gently, ignoring the slight sting of pain from his neck at the movement.
Owen just laughed lightly, leaning into the touch of where they’re connected. “Careful, Doc,” he teases, “I might just take you up on that offer.”
“Promise me,” Legundo insisted, his free hand coming up to cup the side of Owen’s face, gently wiping his thumb against the vampire’s cheek.
Silence falls between them for a moment as Owen lifts his other hand to cover his, leaning away from his face in order to lean into his touch. Legundo feels dizzy, both from the blood loss and from lingering in this moment with the vampire. But he steels himself, scared to break Owen and scare him away.
Slowly, Owen nods against his hand, almost nuzzling against it gently. Legundo just smiles, and gently leans forward to press a small kiss to Owen’s forehead. He swears that as he pulls away, he can hear that purr get louder for a moment.
Whatever is going on downstairs as the party goes on, Legundo doesn’t care. For now, he’ll just be content in living in the secret moment with Owen, stolen and hidden away for just the two of them.