dorian & godric

[brushoff]

Christ, how Dorian hated Texas.

It was the best and worst of America. There still was so much space, plenty of towns barely hanging on, hardscrabble little places that were trying to make their move, the drive and determination and chutzpah that Dorian adored of the America in the past. America in the 1920s was great. A feisty nation, determined to prove itself on the world's stage, bright and brilliant and ready to take on the challenge.

But the Texas cities? The cities were horrible. Large, ugly things almost crushed under the weight of their own self-importance and overpasses. Forgotten centers where all residents fled to cookie-cutter nigh identical houses set in towns created solely for the purpose of commuting. People didn't thrive in places like that, with their subdivisions and big box stores and fucking Targets. You lived there, but you didn't thrive. And Dorian Gray was always looking for something new, something bright and breathing and alive.

Granted, a shitty little dive bar wasn't exactly what most people thought of when they thought of 'alive.' But Dorian had been lingering around Dallas long enough that a few things had gained his interest. The coming out of the closet, so to speak, of vampires had been the big one. Idly, he wondered what Toby would have thought of it all—he felt so alone for so long. Would vampire advocacy groups or these cute little pamphlets have changed anything? Or would the Sunday morning cable news services about how all vampires are damned have made things worse? There's no way of knowing. But Dorian wanted to learn more about this himself.

Try as he may to fit in, it's obvious that Dorian is here for something. He flirts with the waitress and casually asks a few questions about vampire activity in the area. He loses a game of pool but presses his competition whenever they bring up 'fangs.' This is the third day in a row he's made some not-so-subtle inquiries about vampires, something's got to give eventually. He's British as hell, the accent is a dead giveaway, so might as well lean into the obviousness and see what happens.

And as he slips out of the back door of the dive bar, stepping outside to light up a cigarette, Dorian's certain that something will happen. What precisely? He doesn't know.

Comments

[loveisall]

"Until your dick gets hard again," he remarks with a very innocent face, then steps out of the tub and holds out a towel for him. "Come on."

[brushoff]

Taking Godric's hand, Dorian carefully steps out of the tub, grinning all the while. As he takes the towel, he starts to towel himself off.

"My dick can wait a little bit! It certainly won't have any juice left in the tank until tomorrow."

[loveisall]

"You are, after all, still human," he tells him as he dries himself off and sets the towel easily on the hook. "They'll take care of it all in the morning," he says of the bathroom. He doesn't, after all, take care of anything domestic like that. He wouldn't even know how.

[brushoff]

Dorian also has only the slightest clue how domestic tasks work—that's what you hire people for, obviously. He finishes toweling off then still, absolutely naked, walks back towards Godric to lean in for an upright kiss.

"Let's get some sleep."

[loveisall]

"Humans are not meant to be nocturnal," he points out to Dorian as they slide into bed. He can feel the sun rising outside, even though no light penetrates through his windows. "You are going to lose your mind."

[brushoff]

"You're not the first vampire I've spent time with," Dorian grins. "I'll adjust."

[loveisall]

He slides his arms around him. "Oh. Is that what we're doing? Are we spending time?"

[brushoff]

"I am a gentleman," Dorian lightly teases. "Would you rather I say something as gouache as 'fucking'?"

[loveisall]

He sinks playful fangs into his shoulder.

"Stop talking," he mutters as his eyes close.

[brushoff]

Dorian does stop talking, only letting out a little murmur of approval as the fangs sing into his shoulder. And as they reach the bedroom, Dorian flops down on the bed, arms around Godric, taking him down with him.

[loveisall]

The evening should have been quiet, but it isn't. Stan, cowboy hat over his eyes, throws open the door. "Sir!" he calls out, fangs flashing, but stops when he smells the human there.

"Sir?"

[brushoff]

Dorian wakes up first, blinking back sleep and sporting an impressive case of bedhead as he sits up. He's very naked but at least his lower half is covered by the bedsheets.

"He's in here," Dorian yawns. "And whatever you can say to Godric, you can say to me." Dorian goes to wake Godric up, but hesitates before actually touching the vampire. He's not entirely sure what time it is. If this is going to be a daylight problem, he's going to be the one to solve this. Best not to wake Godric up unless it's something he can actually help with.

"What's wrong?"

[loveisall]

Godric's hand moves unseen and briefly touches Dorian's side. He's awake, but he isn't getting up. He trusts Stan, but he wants to hear what he might say.

"Those cult guys," he drawls. "They came by the house today. Broke a few windows. You better come see." It's night, the sun well under the horizon, but Godric doesn't yet wake. Dorian can handle this.

[brushoff]

Dorian sighs, stretches, then looks over at Stan. "Might want to step outside for a moment, unless you want to see my dick."

But no matter whether Stan steps outside or not, Dorian and his naked self gets out of bed, slips on a pair of sweatpants he had kicked over to the corner of the room, then steps out. He yawns slightly before musing, "Fairly ballsy of them. In my experience, cults crumble once you take out the figurehead."

[loveisall]

Stan rolls his eyes but does look away.

The house is busy when Dorian crosses the threshold into it. There are people everywhere, some vampire and some human. They are fixing the windows, putting up plyboard against the openings, while others pick up glass. The mood in the room is tense.

"Looks like they used bricks, but they were cowardly enough to do it in the middle of the day when they knew we'd be asleep. Maybe just - retaliation for what happened," Stan muses.

[brushoff]

Dorian sighs dramatically, looking at the broken glass. He's keeping his voice light and calm, though there's still a steely sort of irritation behind it. He is also not pleased with this.

He's also super shirtless but that happens sometimes.

"I'll have to pay them a visit sometime. Try and...persuade them to make less poor choices."

[loveisall]

Stan doesn't seem to mind, but he does glance to his bare neck a few times as he talks. "We already scouted out their old place. They've up and moved. Maybe got a new leader, someone to fill the void. Maybe it was something planned. Don't know yet."

He glances to the door once. "Boss alright?"

[brushoff]

"Then it seems I'll have to do a little prowling of my own," Dorian muses. "I am very good at rooting out things that don't want to be found."

A less charitable explanation would be how he is very good at blundering into traps, but he's keeping that bit to himself.

As for the question... "He's tired. I suspect most of us are, these days. But as a whole? I'd say yes. He's alright."

[loveisall]

Stan shakes his head, not quite believing it. "We should get Isabel," he finally says. "If the boss is out, she's second in command."

He doesn't believe Godric is sleeping, not this late, but he doesn't dare go back in that room a second time.

[brushoff]

Dorian simply raises an eyebrow before lightly responding, "Then I will leave that in your capable hands."

He is absolutely going to try and deal with this shit himself, in the daytime, when none of those cultists are expecting any of the vampires to try and stop their shit.

[loveisall]

Fortunately, Godric walks out, fully dressed and put together, and makes a motion for Stan to leave.

Once he does, Godric inspects the damage to his windows.

"We will need to relocate," he says with a sigh.

[brushoff]

"Like hell we will," Dorian points out, with a little shake of his head. "That what they want. And I don't want to give those little ingrates the satisfaction of getting what they want."

[loveisall]

"There's no need for stubbornness," he points out gently. "I have to keep my people safe, Dorian."

He reaches out and takes his arm, guiding him away from prying ears.

[brushoff]

"It's not stubbornness," Dorian points out, with a roll of his eyes and a frown. "It's sending a message."

But he will happily let Godric lead him away, to a quieter location.

[loveisall]

Once he's certain no one can overhear, even vampires, he puts a hand to Dorian's chest. Godric is worried. And when he's worried, he pushes back. "Don't do that," he says softly. "We are not here to send messages."