Fic: So Sweet and So Cold, RH Plus
RH Plus fic! For daegaer, as this is the fic I almost wrote her for Yuletide. Kiyoi/Michitaka, some hints at other pairings. Thanks to mendax for betaing!
So Sweet and So Cold
They were having a lovely dinner when Konoe came into the manor and deposited Michitaka unceremoniously on the dining room floor. "Do any of you know this guy? He was hanging around outside."
"You didn't bite him, did you?" Kiyoi asked. "That could be ... difficult."
Konoe poked him with his toe. "Yeah?"
Kiyoi pushed his glasses up on his nose in a gesture as definitive as a statement. "Yes."
The others paused. This was as close as Kiyoi came to outright disapproval, which was very rare indeed.
"Have you bit him?" Konoe asked.
Kiyoi looked horrified. "Of course not!"
"Then there's no problem, right?"
"He--"
"Hey," Makoto said, finally noticing the stranger's face, "I remember him. He gave me a tomato juice once."
"Yes," Kiyoi said, pressing a hand to his temple.
"He isn't 'Mister,' is he?" Masakazu asked.
Ageha's eyes went wide. "He is!"
Kiyoi sighed in resignation. "Yes."
"Who's Mister?" Konoe demanded. "And why haven't any of you told me about him?"
"That's really not your immediate concern," Kiyoi said, and Konoe's eyebrows lifted at the edge in his voice. "You're going to have to keep away from the Manor for a while. I'll try to keep him ... distracted."
"But--"
"Or do you want the full attention and devotion of a Captain of the police department, who could decide to pool all his resources to search for you, if he chose?" Kiyoi's voice held no argument now.
"Of-of course not," Konoe stuttered, his usual flippancy gone. "I-- I'll see you later. Masakazu, remember the Goukon's tommorrow night."
With Konoe gone, the four of them gathered around "Mister." He was smaller than Ageha had remembered.
"Will he be all right?" Makoto asked.
"Konoe's not much older than we are," Ageha said. "He'll be fine. He'll just be charmed for a little while. Like Ami-chan, only not as long. Right, Kiyoi?"
"Yes," Kiyoi said, but he didn't sound as cheerful as Ageha.
Michitaka woke to soft white light and a cool hand on his forehead. He half-expected the face of an angel to appear before him, but it was only Kiyoi, leaning over the side of his bed and watching his face carefully. "Michitaka-san, you're awake," he said, smiling his familiar, comforting smile. "How do you feel?"
"Exhausted," he said, blinking. "What-- I was outside the Manor, and there was a charming young man--"
"Ah, yes," Kiyoi said. "We found you out there; that charming young man attacked you."
"Attacked?" Michitaka looked shocked. "But that's not possible. That young man-- he was so--" He tried to sit up.
Kiyoi held his shoulder in place with a surprisingly strong grip. "I am afraid a vampire bite can affect your perceptions," he said. "Vampires have a...well, I suppose 'charm' would be the best way to describe it. When you are bitten, you have no memory of the incident, but instead are filled with fondness for the person who attacked you. But don't worry. That person will not attack you again. We have made sure of it."
"I hope he's all right," Michitaka said, sinking back down on the bed. "His face was terribly kind."
"He will be fine," Kiyoi said, and was Michitaka going mad, or did he sound disappointed? "We have made the situation clear to him."
"I don't suppose you could arrange--"
"No," Kiyoi said flatly. "For your own safety, you should not see him."
Michitaka sighed. "He seemed so gentle. Are you sure--"
"I'm sure," Kiyoi said. His voice was disconcertingly emphatic.
"All-- all right, then," Michitaka said. He put his hand up to his neck; there was a Band-Aid on the left side, near his shoulder, though the spot wasn't sore at all. It was rather sweet of the young man to put a Band-Aid there. Surely he couldn't be as bad as Kiyoi-san suggested.
"I will...this is all rather overwhelming," he finally managed.
Kiyoi leaned in a bit closer. "I've no doubt it is. Shall I walk you home?"
"Perhaps that would be best," Michitaka said, defeated.
The boys were all off at school the next morning when Konoe stopped by. "Your friend okay?"
"Michitaka-san will be fine," Kiyoi said stiffly. He was dusting his shelf of photographs with terrifying focus and precision.
"You didn't--"
"Of course not," Kiyoi said, in a voice like a steel rod.
"I'm sorry," Konoe said finally. It seemed like the only thing he could say.
Kiyoi stopped dusting for a moment. "I know you are."
"I certainly have no interest in--"
"I know who you're interested in," Kiyoi said flatly.
There was an uncomfortable silence. Konoe looked over the photos on the mantel. There was one, an old photo of Kiyoi and a young man....
Oh, Konoe thought, and swallowed hard.
"At any rate," Kiyoi said, resuming his dusting, "as long as you are sufficiently cautious, it should all be over in a few weeks."
"I'll be very careful," Konoe said with absolute confidence.
"Please do," Kiyoi said, and Konoe felt himself dismissed.
"That...charm," Michitaka said. "It was a strange thing."
"Indeed," Kiyoi said. "It is, perhaps, the most significant of our...abilities. We have to be careful not to use it lightly."
"I'm sure you are very careful," Michitaka noted. Kiyoi looked quite happy today. Michitaka always enjoyed seeing him pleased.
"Kiyoi-san!" An attractive girl in a school uniform smiled broadly and moved herself into the orbit of the two men. "I'm so surprised to see you here! How are you, Kiyoi-san? Have you been well?"
"Ah," Kiyoi said. "Yes, Ami-chan. I have been well."
Ami turned to Michitaka. "Are you a friend of Kiyoi-san? He's very handsome, isn't he?"
Michitaka stared at her in surprise for a moment. "You're the girl at the cake shop," he said finally. "The one I bought the ... bloody cake from."
Her eyes grew wider, something he previously would not have thought possible. "Oh! Of course!" Her gaze flickered between them. "I-- I will let you both--"
"No!" they both said at once, and then looked at each other in embarassment.
"I'm late for work anyway!" she shouted, hurrying past them.
"She's a lovely young lady," Michitaka said lamely, as they watched her sensible shoes clattering along the sidewalk.
"She's very spirited," Kiyoi said, wondering why he'd never acquired the skill of disappearing. He'd always thought it too melodramatic. Now it merely seemed practical.
Michitaka's pulse was throbbing in his neck, and Kiyoki could see exactly where Konoe's fangs had made his mark; the wound was red, still, a tiny crust of blood at the edges.
"Kiyoi-san--" Michitaka said, but his voice was cut off with a gasp as Kiyoi bent to his neck.
Oh, it was good; Michitaka whimpered with pleasure, and Kiyoi reached down to stroke him through the fabric of his trousers. It had been too long since he drank, really drank, and Michitaka tasted heavenly, of spice and soy sauce and wine.
Michitaka's skin was warm under his fingers, his pulse softening, fading....
Kiyoi's eyes flew open; his heart was pounding, his body aching as it hadn't in years.
After ten restless minutes still in bed, he got up to brew some tea.
Ageha was in the kitchen, poking his fork into some tiramisu they'd gotten from the store yesterday. "Would you like some tea?" Kiyoi asked him.
Ageha nodded, his mouth full of marscapone. His wide eyes were focused tight on Kiyoi's face.
"I woke you, didn't I?"
Ageha shrugged his shoulders. "I was hungry anyway."
Kiyoi set the water to boil and sat across from Ageha at the table. "I'm sorry."
"Do you want some?"
Kiyoi shook his head.
He was pouring them both tea when Ageha said, "Is he a kind person?"
Kiyoi bit his lower lip and kept his hand steady. "Yes," he said, handing Ageha his cup. "He is."
"Then it'll be all right," Ageha said confidently.
He reached down and put his hand on Ageha's shoulder. "I suppose you're right."
Michitaka still looked sleepy. Of course, it was very early. "Your light was on," Kiyoi said apologetically.
"No," Michitaka said. "I'm afraid I didn't sleep very well last night. But you're welcome to come in--" He stepped back, and Kiyoi was glad he didn't have to wait for an invitation. "Would you like some tea?"
"Tea would be fine. I ... there are some matters, I think, we need to discuss."
So Sweet and So Cold
They were having a lovely dinner when Konoe came into the manor and deposited Michitaka unceremoniously on the dining room floor. "Do any of you know this guy? He was hanging around outside."
"You didn't bite him, did you?" Kiyoi asked. "That could be ... difficult."
Konoe poked him with his toe. "Yeah?"
Kiyoi pushed his glasses up on his nose in a gesture as definitive as a statement. "Yes."
The others paused. This was as close as Kiyoi came to outright disapproval, which was very rare indeed.
"Have you bit him?" Konoe asked.
Kiyoi looked horrified. "Of course not!"
"Then there's no problem, right?"
"He--"
"Hey," Makoto said, finally noticing the stranger's face, "I remember him. He gave me a tomato juice once."
"Yes," Kiyoi said, pressing a hand to his temple.
"He isn't 'Mister,' is he?" Masakazu asked.
Ageha's eyes went wide. "He is!"
Kiyoi sighed in resignation. "Yes."
"Who's Mister?" Konoe demanded. "And why haven't any of you told me about him?"
"That's really not your immediate concern," Kiyoi said, and Konoe's eyebrows lifted at the edge in his voice. "You're going to have to keep away from the Manor for a while. I'll try to keep him ... distracted."
"But--"
"Or do you want the full attention and devotion of a Captain of the police department, who could decide to pool all his resources to search for you, if he chose?" Kiyoi's voice held no argument now.
"Of-of course not," Konoe stuttered, his usual flippancy gone. "I-- I'll see you later. Masakazu, remember the Goukon's tommorrow night."
With Konoe gone, the four of them gathered around "Mister." He was smaller than Ageha had remembered.
"Will he be all right?" Makoto asked.
"Konoe's not much older than we are," Ageha said. "He'll be fine. He'll just be charmed for a little while. Like Ami-chan, only not as long. Right, Kiyoi?"
"Yes," Kiyoi said, but he didn't sound as cheerful as Ageha.
Michitaka woke to soft white light and a cool hand on his forehead. He half-expected the face of an angel to appear before him, but it was only Kiyoi, leaning over the side of his bed and watching his face carefully. "Michitaka-san, you're awake," he said, smiling his familiar, comforting smile. "How do you feel?"
"Exhausted," he said, blinking. "What-- I was outside the Manor, and there was a charming young man--"
"Ah, yes," Kiyoi said. "We found you out there; that charming young man attacked you."
"Attacked?" Michitaka looked shocked. "But that's not possible. That young man-- he was so--" He tried to sit up.
Kiyoi held his shoulder in place with a surprisingly strong grip. "I am afraid a vampire bite can affect your perceptions," he said. "Vampires have a...well, I suppose 'charm' would be the best way to describe it. When you are bitten, you have no memory of the incident, but instead are filled with fondness for the person who attacked you. But don't worry. That person will not attack you again. We have made sure of it."
"I hope he's all right," Michitaka said, sinking back down on the bed. "His face was terribly kind."
"He will be fine," Kiyoi said, and was Michitaka going mad, or did he sound disappointed? "We have made the situation clear to him."
"I don't suppose you could arrange--"
"No," Kiyoi said flatly. "For your own safety, you should not see him."
Michitaka sighed. "He seemed so gentle. Are you sure--"
"I'm sure," Kiyoi said. His voice was disconcertingly emphatic.
"All-- all right, then," Michitaka said. He put his hand up to his neck; there was a Band-Aid on the left side, near his shoulder, though the spot wasn't sore at all. It was rather sweet of the young man to put a Band-Aid there. Surely he couldn't be as bad as Kiyoi-san suggested.
"I will...this is all rather overwhelming," he finally managed.
Kiyoi leaned in a bit closer. "I've no doubt it is. Shall I walk you home?"
"Perhaps that would be best," Michitaka said, defeated.
The boys were all off at school the next morning when Konoe stopped by. "Your friend okay?"
"Michitaka-san will be fine," Kiyoi said stiffly. He was dusting his shelf of photographs with terrifying focus and precision.
"You didn't--"
"Of course not," Kiyoi said, in a voice like a steel rod.
"I'm sorry," Konoe said finally. It seemed like the only thing he could say.
Kiyoi stopped dusting for a moment. "I know you are."
"I certainly have no interest in--"
"I know who you're interested in," Kiyoi said flatly.
There was an uncomfortable silence. Konoe looked over the photos on the mantel. There was one, an old photo of Kiyoi and a young man....
Oh, Konoe thought, and swallowed hard.
"At any rate," Kiyoi said, resuming his dusting, "as long as you are sufficiently cautious, it should all be over in a few weeks."
"I'll be very careful," Konoe said with absolute confidence.
"Please do," Kiyoi said, and Konoe felt himself dismissed.
"That...charm," Michitaka said. "It was a strange thing."
"Indeed," Kiyoi said. "It is, perhaps, the most significant of our...abilities. We have to be careful not to use it lightly."
"I'm sure you are very careful," Michitaka noted. Kiyoi looked quite happy today. Michitaka always enjoyed seeing him pleased.
"Kiyoi-san!" An attractive girl in a school uniform smiled broadly and moved herself into the orbit of the two men. "I'm so surprised to see you here! How are you, Kiyoi-san? Have you been well?"
"Ah," Kiyoi said. "Yes, Ami-chan. I have been well."
Ami turned to Michitaka. "Are you a friend of Kiyoi-san? He's very handsome, isn't he?"
Michitaka stared at her in surprise for a moment. "You're the girl at the cake shop," he said finally. "The one I bought the ... bloody cake from."
Her eyes grew wider, something he previously would not have thought possible. "Oh! Of course!" Her gaze flickered between them. "I-- I will let you both--"
"No!" they both said at once, and then looked at each other in embarassment.
"I'm late for work anyway!" she shouted, hurrying past them.
"She's a lovely young lady," Michitaka said lamely, as they watched her sensible shoes clattering along the sidewalk.
"She's very spirited," Kiyoi said, wondering why he'd never acquired the skill of disappearing. He'd always thought it too melodramatic. Now it merely seemed practical.
Michitaka's pulse was throbbing in his neck, and Kiyoki could see exactly where Konoe's fangs had made his mark; the wound was red, still, a tiny crust of blood at the edges.
"Kiyoi-san--" Michitaka said, but his voice was cut off with a gasp as Kiyoi bent to his neck.
Oh, it was good; Michitaka whimpered with pleasure, and Kiyoi reached down to stroke him through the fabric of his trousers. It had been too long since he drank, really drank, and Michitaka tasted heavenly, of spice and soy sauce and wine.
Michitaka's skin was warm under his fingers, his pulse softening, fading....
Kiyoi's eyes flew open; his heart was pounding, his body aching as it hadn't in years.
After ten restless minutes still in bed, he got up to brew some tea.
Ageha was in the kitchen, poking his fork into some tiramisu they'd gotten from the store yesterday. "Would you like some tea?" Kiyoi asked him.
Ageha nodded, his mouth full of marscapone. His wide eyes were focused tight on Kiyoi's face.
"I woke you, didn't I?"
Ageha shrugged his shoulders. "I was hungry anyway."
Kiyoi set the water to boil and sat across from Ageha at the table. "I'm sorry."
"Do you want some?"
Kiyoi shook his head.
He was pouring them both tea when Ageha said, "Is he a kind person?"
Kiyoi bit his lower lip and kept his hand steady. "Yes," he said, handing Ageha his cup. "He is."
"Then it'll be all right," Ageha said confidently.
He reached down and put his hand on Ageha's shoulder. "I suppose you're right."
Michitaka still looked sleepy. Of course, it was very early. "Your light was on," Kiyoi said apologetically.
"No," Michitaka said. "I'm afraid I didn't sleep very well last night. But you're welcome to come in--" He stepped back, and Kiyoi was glad he didn't have to wait for an invitation. "Would you like some tea?"
"Tea would be fine. I ... there are some matters, I think, we need to discuss."