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"Soooo," Louis said over the mug of coffee he wasn't drinking. "How are things?"
Daniel didn't answer right away. He tapped his mug with his nails. He tipped it this way and that a little and lifted it to his mouth. He took a small sip, then made a face.
He considered introducing some small talk before diving into all that. He'd found himself missing Louis, and right now the idea of getting some hot Lestat gossip out of him was sounding a lot more appealing than thinking about his own problems.
Still, he'd asked Louis here for a reason. Better to tear the bandaid off. He set the mug back down on the table, cupping it to warm his hands.
"He's not eating."
Louis didn't seem surprised.
"Mmm," he hummed. "Yeah, he does that sometimes."
Daniel huffed. All those months spent missing Louis had made him forget how irritating he could be.
"So?" he prompted.
"So what?" Louis asked, infuriatingly calm.
"So, what am I supposed to do about it?" Why the fuck is this like pulling teeth with you, man?
Louis shot him a look that made Daniel want to rip his own fangs out.
"You were hoping that I would pass along the Armand owner's manual?"
Daniel threw his hands up in the air.
"Yes!" he shouted. Several people at nearby tables glanced over at him in alarm or annoyance. Some of their thoughts made his jaw twitch.
Louis laughed.
"You were with him for over a decade the last time around."
Daniel scrubbed his hands over his face.
"It was different," he snapped, irritated that Louis was making him say it out loud. "He had you then."
"Ah," Louis said, as if he hadn't been fishing for that answer. "Not so easy being in my shoes?"
Daniel glared at him.
"Alright," Louis said, holding his hands up in surrender. "Alright. This is one of the easier problems to solve, actually. You just have to make him."
"Make him?"
"Make him eat."
"No, I got that, asshole. The problem I'm having with this suggestion is that I'm not even strong enough to make him watch something other than Annihilation."
Louis rolled his eyes.
"And you think that I was? I'm speaking from experience here, Danny."
"Do you do that on purpose just to be irritating, or—"
"I'm not telling you to tie him up, although I'm sure he'd love it if you did. All you have to do is approach him like you're an authority figure and he'll go along with it."
Daniel scoffed.
"An authority figure? He still calls me 'fledgling'."
He made irritated air quotes with his fingers, as if he didn't jump Armand's bones every time he said it.
Louis shrugged and leaned back in his chair. He picked up his coffee and swirled it, as if he were about to take a sip, then placed it back on the table.
"Take my advice or don't," he said. "It's not as if he's going to wither away and die. But if you think you know how much of a bitch he can be, look out, cause it'll get a whole lot worse."
"Hey," Daniel said, pointing a finger in Louis' face. "Watch it. I'm the only one who gets to call him a bitch."
"Seventy seven years, Daniel."
Daniel flipped him off.
Louis grinned.
"Armand!" Daniel called into the quiet apartment, trying to sound stern and un-fuck-with-able. "Dinner!"
The plump young political strategist stumbling along behind him whimpered through the duct tape over his mouth. Daniel was starting to get pretty good with the mind gift, but duct tape hidden under a mask took less effort, and he was expecting to need all of his mental resources tonight. Ignoring the whimpering, he tugged on the rope around the man's wrists to keep him moving.
Armand emerged from the kitchen, looking bemused and lovely in a wine red silk shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows.
"Beloved," he said. "The last time you called me Armand you were still human. What do you mean by it?"
His eyes landed on the terrified man behind his fledgling. He didn't comment.
Daniel tried to make his eyes steely and unrelenting. This was difficult, because he never knew if they were green or yellow, and anyway, the former reminded Armand of the dumb, goofy kid he'd met in San Francisco and the latter, which frightened everyone else, reminded him that Daniel was his baby. Still, he tried.
"You're going to eat," he said. He shook the political strategist a little. "And I don't want to hear anything about it."
Armand stared at him for a long moment, his expression unreadable.
Finally, he said, "Okay," turned, and walked back into the kitchen.
Daniel hesitated. He'd expected resistance. To be honest, he hadn't expected this to work at all.
Armand's easy acceptance felt like a trap.
Still, he followed him into the kitchen. What else could he do?
He found him perched on one of the wooden chairs at the kitchen table. It was strange to see him sitting on furniture that was so rarely used; the kitchen table and chairs had taken on the veneer of an art installation, not one piece of the set ever moving a centimeter out of place. Now, Armand had turned a chair out from the table, and he sat, tall and regal, with his palms resting on the arms of the chair and his feet planted firmly on the hardwood floor.
"Well," he said. "Are you going to tie me up?"
"Do I…" Daniel said, trailing off. He cleared his throat. "Do I need to tie you up? Or are you going to cooperate?"
"Oh, you know how I can be," Armand said lightly. "Better safe."
Daniel glanced at the political strategist, as if he might be able to provide some insight into what was going on in Daniel's maker's head.
The political strategist did not look back at him. In fact, he was unnaturally still, his eyes unfocused.
Daniel sighed.
"I could have done that," he said.
"I know, darling. You're a very capable fledgling."
Daniel scowled as he pulled the excess rope from his coat pocket.
"How long," he huffed, "am I going to be 'fledgling'?"
Armand sat very still, allowing Daniel to tie his wrists and ankles to the chair.
"You'll always be my fledgling, Daniel."
Daniel rolled his eyes, trying to fight back the heat spilling across his face and neck. He was supposed to be in control of this situation, goddamnit, and already Armand was making him feel like a little boy.
"Right," he said gruffly, avoiding Armand's eyes as he stood. "You're not getting out of that chair until you finish him. Got it?"
"Oh, yes," Armand said. "I'll be good."
Daniel felt the ghost of a headache beginning to form.
With the political strategist mesmerized into submission, it was easy to force him to his knees at Armand's feet.
Armand sat very still.
"Well?" Daniel said, forcing the political strategist's head forward by the hair. "Eat! Now!"
Armand stared up at him, unblinking, his pupils huge and dark. Then, he opened his mouth and let down his fangs.
Daniel shivered.
"Yes, beloved," Armand said, and struck.
Daniel watched, rapt. Even now, in his own afterlife, he hadn't lost his boyhood fascination with Armand's beguiling monstrosity. It had taken him years to earn the privilege of watching him feed, and it still felt like a privilege now as his throat worked, full of hot, living blood.
It took only moments for the body to go slack. Armand let it fall to the floor.
Daniel let out a long breath.
"Good," he said, bending down to untie Armand's wrists. His voice came out a little shakey. "Thank you, baby, I was really—"
Armand cut him off by spitting a mouthful of blood in his face.
The blood dripped audibly onto the floor.
Daniel took a deep breath.
"Right," he said. "Okay. If that's how you want to play it."
Armand stared at him, silent and haughty. Daniel nodded, wiping his face off on his sleeve as he stood.
"Nose or mouth?"
Armand didn't answer, watching silently as Daniel pulled a sealed bag full of plastic tubing out of his pocket.
"Nose or mouth, Armand? It's going in one way or the other."
Armand sniffed.
"Nose, I suppose," he said.
He watched Daniel open the package and unfurl the feeding tube.
"You know," he said. "If I really did have the problem you and Louis seem to think I have, using this as a punishment would be tremendously counterproductive."
"It's not a punishment," Daniel said stubbornly. "It's a… what does Lenora call it? Tilt your head back."
Armand tilted his head back.
"A natural consequence?"
"Yeah, a natural fucking consequence."
Daniel kicked the body out of the way and positioned himself between Armand's legs.
Armand stayed perfectly still while Daniel slowly pushed the tube through his nostril and down his esophagus, not reacting in the slightest when it started going down the wrong way and Daniel yanked it back out with a curse and started over again.
"I think you did well for your first time," Armand said, when the tube had finally reached his stomach.
Daniel glared at him.
"Don't patronize me."
Armand lifted his long fingers up in the air, the closest he could come to raising his hands without breaking the ropes around his wrists.
He watched quietly as Daniel brought bag after bag of blood from the refrigerator and piled them on the table beside him.
"Do you think that's enough, dear?" he asked, when half the table had vanished under Daniel's onslaught.
"Don't test me, Armand."
Armand squirmed a little in his seat, the movement seeming larger because it had been born from such preternatural stillness.
"Ooh, still Armand, am I? I must really be in trouble. Are you going to put me in time out? Ground me from watching television? I know your children lived in terror of that one."
Daniel ignored him. He was realizing now that he hadn't thought this all the way through. He supposed he'd vaguely expected to hold the blood bags, but now, with Armand smug and infuriating in front of him, he wanted the use of his hands.
"You could use that hook there," Armand said, craning his neck up towards the Pothos plant hanging from the ceiling. "The cat's out hunting, it won't try to eat your plant if you leave it on the counter until we're done."
"The cat," Daniel said mockingly. "You think I don't hear the way you talk to her when I'm not in the room? Pretty kitty this and Sabrina darling that."
Armand sniffed.
"Well, if I must cohabitate with the beast, I'd prefer she thought of me as a friend rather than a scratching post."
"You—"
Daniel cut himself off, shaking his head.
"You're not going to distract me," he said, wobbling only a little as he floated upward towards the plant.
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it."
Daniel managed to stay steadier when he rose to attach the first blood bag, and he hardly had to focus at all as he drifted downward again, his eyes glued to the slow-moving liquid seeping down the tube towards Armand's nostril.
"It's so thick right out of the fridge," he said, making a face as his feet found the ground again.
"It's disgusting," Armand agreed cheerfully. "This may actually be a more pleasant way to consume it."
Daniel felt a little thrill when the bit of tubing disappearing into Armand's nose turned red.
"Oh!" Armand said a moment later, suddenly sounding less like he was plotting retribution and more like he was examining the body of a rat fresh out of the microwave. "Oh, that feels strange!"
Daniel swallowed.
"W-where do you feel it?" he asked. His throat felt dry.
"In the back of my throat," Armand said. "It feels cold. Oh! Oh! It's going lower!"
Daniel lurched forward. Without sparing a second's thought to how much Armand's silk shirt might have cost him, he grabbed the collar and tore it open, sending buttons pinging across the kitchen floor.
"Daniel," Armand scolded, sounding a little breathless.
Daniel dropped to his knees between Armand's legs and reached up, pressing a finger to the hollow of his throat.
"Here?" he asked.
He felt Armand swallow and nod.
Slowly, he trailed his finger down his chest, trying to match the pace of the blood. Armand shivered under the gentle touch.
When Daniel's finger came to rest just above Armand's belly button, he looked up into his face and asked, "And here?"
Armand shook his head.
"Can't feel it there," he whispered.
Daniel looked back down and pressed his finger in, making a small indent in Armand's nearly flat belly.
"Not yet," he said. "But you will."
When he glanced back up, Armand was biting his lip, his little fangs poking out of his mouth.
At first, there was little noticeable change to Armand's belly, but Daniel suspected that he could feel the blood filling him. Armand was often eerily still, but his fingers would almost always move, rubbing his thighs or tapping on the arm of his chair or playing with Daniel's hair. Now, even his fingers were still.
By the time the first bag was empty, Armand's belly was starting to look a little bloated, but he wasn't complaining. In fact, he was goading Daniel on.
"You're not going to stop now, are you?" he asked, when Daniel didn't immediately move to hook up a new bag. "I've been starving myself, remember?"
"You're not supposed to overfeed starving people," Daniel said absently, prodding at the softest part of Armand's belly, just below his belly button. "It can make them sick."
"Mmmm," Armand hummed. "I suppose it's a good thing I'm not starving then. Or a person."
With no warning, Daniel grabbed him by the waist and squeezed. Armand let out a little gasp, then quickly clamped his mouth shut. He stayed silent as Daniel rubbed his thumbs in little circles over his belly, but Daniel could feel him tensing, working hard to stay still.
"You want me to fill you up?" Daniel asked. "Pump you full of blood until you're ready to pop?"
When Armand didn't respond, Daniel looked up and raised an eyebrow at him, slowly pressing his thumbs deeper. Armand grimaced at the pressure.
"Well? Is that what you want? Or do you want to be done?"
Armand took a deep breath. It made the feeding tube shake.
"I want more," he said. He licked his lips. "I want you to fill me up. Please."
Daniel lifted his thumbs, relieving the pressure on Armand's belly.
"Good boy," he said, and winked.
Armand's fingers twitched.
"Give me my hands," he said. "I want to touch you."
Daniel laughed as he stood to replace the blood bag.
"Not a chance."
Armand huffed, but he didn't break the ropes.
Daniel had expected to find this performance of control silly, maybe even tedious, but instead he found it intoxicating. He wondered what else Armand would allow him to make him do.
The effects of the second bag of blood were more noticeable. Daniel watched, rapt, his nose inches from Armand's skin, as the little roll of fat below his belly button pushed outward first, followed by the rest of his belly, his belly button coming closer and closer to touching Daniel's nose.
Armand let out a pained little grunt as the button of his pants popped open.
"Fuck," Daniel said. "That's it." He pressed a kiss to Armand's belly, wondering at how taut the skin felt under his lips. "Let me hear you. How does it feel to be so full for me?"
Armand whimpered.
"Don't stop," he said. "I can take more."
"Mmmm," Daniel hummed. "You didn't answer my question, baby."
He pressed his palms down hard on Armand's belly and Armand hissed.
"Full!" he said. "It feels full!"
"It's getting fuller," Daniel said. "Can you feel it?"
"Ye-es!" Armand whined.
Daniel pressed down a little harder. Armand whimpered.
"There's nothing you can do about it," Daniel said. "I'm going to keep filling you until I'm satisfied. I'm not gonna stop because you feel full. Got it?"
Armand nodded.
"God, you're so into this, aren't you?" Daniel said. "Aren't you, you little freak?"
Armand's hips twitched upward and Daniel laughed.
"Yeah, I know, babe."
He let his hands slide down over Armand's distended belly, carefully avoiding the bulge at the front of his pants and landing on his thighs instead.
"I bet you'd just love for me to fuck you like this. So full already, every thrust would make you feel like you were about to burst."
Armand tilted his head back and moaned, his thighs tensing as he tried to spread his legs further than the ropes would allow.
"Mmmm," Daniel hummed, rubbing up and down Armand's thighs, thumbs drifting closer to his straining cock only to stop just short of it and slide back down his thighs again. "God, you're sexy. Almost irresistable."
He let Armand squirm a moment before abruptly taking his hands off him.
"Almost."
"Fuck," Armand huffed, pupils blown wide as he watched Daniel retrieve another bag of blood.
"Mm."
When blood began to flow again into Armand's belly, he whimpered in pain.
"That's right," Daniel murmured, returning to kneel between his legs. "Is your tummy cramping, baby?"
A single bloody tear rolled down Armand's cheek as he nodded, bottom lip caught between his teeth.
"You're okay," Daniel soothed. He leaned forward and pressed a lingering kiss to Armand's round belly. "You can take it. Isn't that right?"
Armand shook his head with a quiet little sob.
"Oh, hush. Look, I'm gonna rub your belly and make it all better," Daniel said, his fingers pressing harder into Armand, rubbing deep circles into his stretched skin. Armand arched his back, his sobs growing louder.
Daniel shifted on his knees, pressing his thighs together to try to relieve some of his own need. He was desperate to fuck Armand like this, to see what new sounds he could ring from him with his belly so painfully full, but there would be time for that later, after Armand had taken this one last bag of blood.
At least, he assumed there would be time; he'd never actually had reason to find out what happened when a vampire was this engorged with blood. He hoped that Armand's body would retain the excess fluid long enough for them to have some fun with it.
He glanced up at the blood bag. Half full. It was almost impossible to imagine all that liquid fitting in Armand's already straining stomach.
"Just imagine," Daniel said, pressing harder into Armand's belly as he felt it swell impossibly bigger, "what it'll feel like when I'm inside you. I think I'll bend you over this table and hold you down by the waist, so every thrust presses your belly against the wood. It'll hurt so good, don't you think?"
"Please," Armand whined. "Lover, please."
"Please what, baby? You want me to stop?"
"Please."
"Hmmmm," Daniel said. "Well, I suppose we could stop."
Armand looked down at him through his lashes, panting, his mouth hanging open. Daniel's eyes dropped to that perfect open mouth. He licked his lips.
"But I think I might know something you'll want more."
Armand's brow furrowed.
Slowly, Daniel brought one nail up to his neck. He pressed the sharp tip into his own soft flesh and dragged it down tantalizingly slow, a strip tease for his arteries.
Armand moaned.
"Yes," he whispered. "Please, beloved, let me taste you. Fill me up with your blood until I burst."
Daniel laughed.
"You're such a sick puppy."
"I am, I am, I'm a, a sick puppy, just give it to me!"
Daniel scooted forward on his knees, offering his neck. As Armand bent down to take him, Daniel wrapped his arms around Armand's waist and pressed their bodies together, feeling Armand's overfull belly warm against his chest.
Armand licked over the wound, lapping up the blood seeping out over Daniel's neck. Daniel let his eyes flutter closed, lost in the soft ministrations of Armand's tongue.
When Armand's fangs pierced him, he tilted his head back farther and moaned, clinging to Armand even harder.
"Yes," he breathed. "That's it, baby. Drain me dry."
Too soon, Armand retracted his fangs and leaned back. Daniel didn't have time to protest before Armand was kissing him, his mouth slow and lazy and copper bright.
"Are you going to make me take another one?" Armand murmured. He sounded almost hopeful. Daniel snorted.
"No," he said, leaning back and patting Armand's belly. "I think it's time to get you into a hot bath and then to bed. You look like you have a tapeworm."
"Hmmm," Armand said, his eyes lighting up. "I wonder how long a tapeworm could survive inside a vampire."
Daniel rolled his eyes. He pushed himself to his feet with a huff.
When he looked back at Armand after unhooking the final empty bag of blood, Armand had broken the ropes around his wrists and was feeling his belly, rubbing his hands over it in large, gentle circles. He looked mesmerized by it.
Daniel cleared his throat.
"Did we, uh. Learn anything from this?"
"Hm?" Armand said. He reached up and scratched his nose, jostling the feeding tube.
"Oh, yeah, sorry," Daniel said.
Armand tilted his head back, mouth slightly open, as Daniel carefully removed the feeding tube. They were quiet for a moment before Daniel tried again.
"You're not going to starve yourself anymore," he said, trying to sound stern. Then, he faltered. "Right?"
Armand shrugged.
"I probably will," he said. "Now that I know what happens if I do."
"Armand…"
"But you could also just remind me. I don't actually mind eating, I just… forget."
Daniel stared at him.
"You forget?"
Armand nodded and shrugged.
"You forget to eat for, what, four, five months at a time? It doesn't cross your mind?"
Armand cut the ropes around his ankles with his nail. With a grunt and obvious difficulty, he pushed himself to his feet and stretched.
"Well, yes, it crosses my mind. But then I get distracted and forget again."
"For four months."
"That's not a long time. I once went four years."
"I don't understand how you survived without me."
Armand stared at him for a long moment, unblinking.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing," Armand said. He clasped his hands behind his back, pushing his belly forward. "Would you be interested in taking the rest of my clothes off?"