When Darkness Falls, Chapter 7
Banner by the_last_shadow
Chapter 6
Quick warning, there is more Brian/Roman in here for those that are not on the Brian/Roman ship!
Justin was furious. He could feel it boiling under his skin, the blind rage at Brian for tossing him aside, for letting himself get caught up with Brian when he knew it was a bad idea. He had known the second he’d taken one look at Brian with his dark eyes that held such a cruelty, that he was heading straight first into danger. He didn’t want to think about the times Brian had looked at him and there was something else in his eyes though, something soft, more human, something that made Justin feel warm on the inside.
He stopped in front of the diner, the bright colours so welcoming. He saw Debbie inside laughing with someone and he almost went in. His anger stopped him though, made him walk down the alleyway to the side of the diner, punch his fist into the wall until his knuckles bled. Only then did he stop, let himself slide to the floor and let the angry hot tears fall.
He felt so stupid. He’d gone and fallen for the least appropriate person, not just in the city, but probably the whole world. His stomach clenched as he thought of the way Brian had held him last night, fingers strong around his wrists, the way he’d stopped Justin from saying that he loved him.
“Sunshine?” Justin jumped to his feet, scrubbing his face. Debbie looked worried as she took a step towards him. “You ok kid?” She asked.
“Fine,” he replied, moving past her, trying to wipe out the image of Brian whispering “sunshine” into his mouth as he sank into Justin in the early hours of this morning, Justin’s body sleep lax and warm as Brian fucked him slow and deep.
Debbie snuck a hand out and grabbed his arm.
“Oh wow, you are so far from fine,” she said, looking in his eyes. Justin shifted uncomfortably, looking at his feet as she pulled him close and wrapped him in a quick hug. “He can be such a prick.” She said as she let him go and patted his cheek.
“Who can?” He asked, going for innocent and Debbie rolled her eyes.
“Brian.”
“How did you know it’s anything to do with Brian?” Justin asked and even to his own ears he heard the defensive tone that stank of lies. Debbie laughed.
“Kid. I know things. Get used to it,” Debbie smiled and tapped at her temple. “Plus you’ve got to stop thinking so loudly about him. You want breakfast?” She gestured towards the back of the diner. “You can even eat in the kitchen if you’re not up for conversation.”
“No, I’ve gotta...” Justin replied, thumbing over his shoulder. Debbie nodded and patted his cheek again.
“He shows he cares in strange ways Sunshine, try to remember that.”
~*~
“You know, your bad mood is childish and its making me want to kill something,” Roman sighed as he flung himself into the couch in the vast hall of the mansion. Brian stopped pacing in front of the fireplace and glared at him.
“Fuck you,” he snapped. Roman narrowed his eyes at him, the temperature in the room dropping a few degrees. The past few days Brian had been in a fury, with Roman, with the whole world. He knew he sounded like a child but he was so angry at Roman for showing Justin how Brian would just hand him over. That wasn’t actually the truth, Roman had had that look in his eyes that Brian knew, the one that meant that Roman was furious and jealous and wanted nothing more than to rip Justin’s head clean from his body. Brian had been protecting Justin. Justin hadn’t seen that though. And the kindest thing for Brian to do had been to tell him to leave, give him the push that he’d needed to walk out of the door. A small part of Brian had been hoping that Justin would fight, use the fire Brian saw in his eyes and fight him. But he’d been more than relived when Justin had given up and walked. And Brian had spent a week trying not to think about him, trying not to invade his dreams and make him remember just who he belonged to.
“Careful Brian, don’t forget who you’re talking to,” Roman said standing up from the couch and crossing the hall to Brian. Brian stiffened, crossed his arms over his chest and turned away from him. He didn’t need or want Roman clouding his mind right now. He didn’t want to loose himself in the touch of Roman, forget the feel of Justin’s hands on him with Roman dark touch.
“You would never let me forget anyway,” he spat and Roman laughed at Brian’s petulance. The sound was so familiar, Roman laughing at Brian’s attempt to be better, more human and Brian bristled.
“This isn’t entirely my fault you know,” Roman said, running his hand across Brian’s shoulder, down his arm, his nails dragging over Brian’s skin. Brian resisted the urge to shake him off. “If you hadn’t gotten smitten with that kid in the first place I wouldn’t have had to remind you of your place and how things work around here,” he continued.
“Things work around here because I make them work Roman. Me. Not you,” Brian said spinning around to face him. Roman rolled his eyes and sighed loudly.
“God, it’s always the same with you. You are so boring,” he said. “And anyway, that kid needed to be out of the picture. He would have clouded your judgement Brian, you know that.”
“If you wanted to get rid of Justin why didn’t you just kill him when you had the chance? Before I…” Brian stopped, not knowing what he was going to say. Before he got in too deep, before he fucked Justin, before he’d found out the noises Justin makes when he comes, the look on his face when Brian twisted his hand around his cock, before he’d felt the over whelming desire to protect Justin, to keep him safe and to make him his forever.
“Before you fell in love with him?” Roman said and Brian looked up at him, startled. That thought hadn’t crossed his mind, he wasn’t in love with Justin, he was dangerously close to be infatuated with the blonde kid with blue eyes and smile a mile wide, but he was not in love with. He shook his head at Roman who raised an eyebrow. “Because, Brian, my dear boy, this is so much more fun, because I can take him from you whenever I want,” he said cupping Brian’s face in his hands. “I love watching you squirm,” he said, running his thumbs over Brian’s cheekbones, running one under his chin and forcing his head back. He licked at Brian’s skin and Brian couldn’t help himself as he arched his hips forward. “I love watching you try to resist me when I know you can’t,” Roman whispered against Brian’s throat.
“I hate you,” Roman laughed, pressing his fangs lightly against Brian’s skin.
“I also love how you hold on to that, when we both know its a lie,” he said as he let go of Brian and stalked across the hallway, heading for the front door. “You might want to get Officer Horvath on the phone Brian. Do some pre-emptive damage control. I’m hungry.”
~*~
“I hate him,” Brian looked up at the voice coming from the doorway of his office. Mel stood leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, fury evident on her face.
“Good morning to you too Mel,” he said, waving her in. She closed the door with a slam and threw herself down into the chair in from of Brian’s desk.
“I hate him,” she said again. Brian put down his pen and leant back in his chair.
“Right, you said. Who do you hate this week?” He asked and Mel glared at him.
“Roman. I fucking hate him,” Brian pinched the bridge of his nose and hoped that Roman’s henchmen had stopped hanging outside his office. The last thing he needed was one of them telling Roman how he and Mel had a heart to heart about how much they hated him.
“I know Mel, but he made me, therefore, made you, so, you’re just going to have put up with it. This is the third time he’s been back since he left, its not too much to ask to put up with him for a few weeks, is it?” Mel slouched in her chair. Brian would never admit it, but he valued Mel’s no nonsense opinion, the fact that she never let Brian get away with shit, and she wasn’t afraid to tell Brian when he was out of line. Linds loved her too, and as such, Brian put up with her moods most of the time.
“He’s messing with Linds,” Mel said, raising an eyebrow at him like she knew how Brian would react to that.
“What?” Brian knew the hold Roman had over Linds. It was only natural for someone who had been fed off for years to hold some kind of connection with the feeder. It happened after only one time, Linds had been fed off by Roman for years before Roman had left. For Linds it was the return of an ex lover, one who was never far from her mind no matter how much she loved Mel.
“He’s messing with her again. He wont fucking leave her alone,” Mel sulked, crossing her arms over her chest but Brian could feel the underlying anger in it, the red hot fury boiling under her skin.
“Mel, as much as it pains me to say it, and I have no idea why she does, she loves you,” Brian handed Mel a glass of whiskey. She stared up at him, her brown eyes clouded with sadness. Brian felt a rush of sympathy for her. She didn’t deserve Roman’s games, no one did, least of all Mel though, who had done nothing except fall for Lindsay. Brian cupped her face gently for a second, pressed a kiss to her forehead before he let her go.
“I know. But she loves him too. She always has. And he knows it,” she said, throwing the whiskey down her throat. Brian perched himself on the edge of the desk, swirling the whiskey around the glass.
“It’s not love Mel,” he said as Mel swallowed and grimaced slightly, he tried to ignore the fact that Justin sprang to mind at that, it wasn’t love, Justin didn’t love him. “Is he feeding from her?” Brian asked, shaking himself free from the feel of Justin’s hands on him and Mel’s hand clenched around the glass, causing it to crack in her grip.
“No,” she replied, slamming the cracked glass on Brian’s desk. “He can’t. She’s mine now.”
“You invoked Custodia?” Brian couldn’t keep the surprise from his voice. Custodia was used as a last resort, it was too extreme to be used in every day life. An ancient form of protection that kept the protected out of harm from anyone, but essentially made them a prisoner, having to stay under the roof where Custodia was invoked for it to work. Even Roman wouldn’t break that rule. He may find some way around it, but he wouldn’t break it.
“Yes, the second I heard he was coming back to town.”
“Mel,” he said warningly, “that should be a last resort.” It was a burden to put on anyone, complete and utter ownership, for lack of a better word. Brian had never done it to anyone, preferring people to make up their own minds, it was too easy to cloud someone’s judgement, to make them believe they wanted to stay. “You did ask her right? And you did it in front of people?”
“Yes and yes Brian, I’m not an idiot,” she replied standing up. There was a small cut on her hand which she inspected, licking at the blood delicately and Brian felt a tiny jolt of blood lust race through his veins.
“Then there shouldn’t be a problem,” he replied, his voice sounded strained even to his own ears. Mel raised a knowing eyebrow but otherwise ignored it.
“No, the problem is, Brian that she still loves him, and he can’t drink from her if she’s not willing, but she’s willing,” Mel started pacing back and forth in front of Brian’s desk. Brian sighed heavily, wondering when he had become the counsellor for his mismatched family. This morning Emmett had been sulking about some guy who had lost interest in him and please can I turn him Brian I know he’ll love me forever if I do.
“Mel. Listen to me, are you listening to me?” He asked and Mel stopped pacing, crossed her arms and glared at him.
“Yes.”
“Linds loves you, god knows why, but she does. Show her who she belongs to, show her how much you love her,” Brian said, placing his hands on her shoulders and shaking her gently. Mel stared up at him, her head to one side, studying him.
“Like you showed Justin?” She asked and Brian dropped his hands. His body went cold at the mention of Justin. He had spent that last week or so trying to forget the broken look on his face when he’d sent him back to Ethan, the way that he’d tasted, the noises he’d made in the back of his throat when Brian had twisted his hand around his cock. He’d woken more than once to his own hand around himself, Justin’s blue eyes fading fast in his mind.
“I don’t love Justin,” he snapped and Mel raised an eyebrow again. She had an annoying habit of knowing Brian, of knowing what he was thinking, what he was feeling and he hated it.
“Roman said...”
“Roman can fuck off,” Brian interrupted her and Mel’s eyes grew wide as she fixed on something behind him. It would have been comical if not for the cold fingers that curled around Brian’s shoulder, running down his arm.
“Roman can what?” Roman asked, pulling Brian back against him.
“Fuck off. And stop telling people I love Justin,” Brian said, ignoring the way Roman’s hand lingered on his waist band. He pulled away from Roman and turned around to face him. He glowed, in the way that meant he’d just fed, and judging from the amount of colour in his cheeks, Brian should have placed that call to Horvath when Roman told him to. He sighed as Roman took a step towards Mel and lifted her cut hand to his lips. Brian could feel the hate pouring off Mel and he licked at her palm.
“I’m calling a meeting,” he threw over his shoulder at Brian, his lips curling into a smile pointed at Mel, “Melanie, I had a delightful lunch with your lovely Lindsay yesterday. Do send her my regards,” he dropped her hand and turned to Brian. Mel glared at him back.
“Roman, Mel invoked Custodia,” Brian tried to placate the situation and Roman laughed.
“I know,” he replied and turned to Mel again. “But let me tell you how willing she was...”
“You fucking...” Mel launched herself at him, her fangs barred and Brian managed to catch her, hold her writhing body back as she reached out to Roman. Roman smirked at them, licking at his lips.
“Mel. Enough,” Brian whispered harshly, holding her close as she tried to get to Roman, “I will deal with this. Go home.” He let her go and she paused, fury evident on her face. Brian pushed her towards the door. “Go. Home.”
Roman closed his eyes as the door slammed.
“You really must learn to control your Children, Brian. It’s embarrassing,” he said.
“Do you enjoy pissing everyone off?” Brian asked as he sat back in his chair. Roman threw his head back and laughed.
“Oh, Brian. You really don’t know me do you?”
“Sometimes I wish I didn’t,” Brian replied, there was a brief flash of hurt on Roman’s face. The normality of it made him seem almost human and Brian resented the way he permanently kept him on his toes, just when he thought he understood Roman, he would pull the rug from under his feet and leave Brian flailing trying to keep his footing on an already unstable surface, even after all this time. “So what meeting?” Brian asked, changing the subject and the look disappeared from Roman’s face.
“I want everyone, including that ridiculous excuse for a vampire, Emmett, there. I want to discuss the plan of action for going public,” Roman said and Brian ignored the blatant dig at Emmett. Emmett may have been a liability, but he was Brian’s liability and only Brian got to discipline him and be rude about him.
“Does the Council know about this Roman?” Brian asked, the thought coming to him far later than it should have. There were rules that they had to live by, and the Council had to be part of every decision made that would affect their lives as a race. Brian had had to practically beg to put the ban on killings in Pittsburgh, claiming it would keep the population high and therefore their food source more. It had taken the Council three weeks to come to a decision, and then they had left it up to Brian to enforce that rule.
Roman’s face was blank as he looked across the desk at Brian.
“Let me worry about the Council,” he said as he stood. Brian rose with him, out of instinct.
“Roman, you are not going to drag me down with you. You do this right or you don’t do this at all,” he said and Roman snarled, barring his fangs as his hand snaked out and closed around Brian’s throat.
“I’m getting tired of you ordering me around Brian. I think, perhaps, I need to remind you who in is charge,” there was a warning in his tone, dark and dangerous and Brian couldn’t help the way his body reacted. Roman smirked at him, pulled him closer and kissed him hard and punishingly, his fingers still clamp around his throat as he tugged Brian forward. “Did you fuck Justin over your desk Brian?”
“Fuck you,” Brian snarled as Roman hauled him over the desk and pushed him back, pressed him back against it until the edge bit into the back of his thighs.
“Oh no Brian. Fuck you.” Roman replied, kissing him again, biting at his bottom lip. Roman lifted him as easily as Brian weighed nothing, practically throwing him down on the desk, sweeping papers off as he did it, ripping at Brian’s shirt. Buttons flew in all directions as Roman lowered his head to Brian’s chest, pressed his fangs to Brian’s nipple. Brian arched, tugging hard at Roman’s hair. He felt Roman’s smirk against his skin when his hand reached inside Brian’s pants and found him already hard. Brian cursed, hips arching off the desk as Roman squeezed once, his fingers surprisingly gentle in contrast to his punishing mouth at his chest. Roman pulled away long enough to rip Brian’s jeans off.
“I would turn you around, fuck you like a nameless twink,” he said with a leer at Brian, his eyes raking up Brian’s body, “but I want to see you face for this. I want to see you come. I want to see your face when you realise that you will never be able to resist this.”
Brian heard Roman let out a dark chuckle as he pulled opened the top drawer of the desk.
“Always so prepared Brian. How many people have you fucked over this desk?” He growled slightly as he ripped open the condom wrapped with his teeth. “Bet no one’s fucked you though. Only me. Because you’re mine,” Roman grunted as he pushed in, the burn so familiar, making Brian groaned, in disgust with himself, in pleasure, in pain. “Say it,” Roman ordered, pulling his hips out and slamming back in. Brian’s grip on his arms tightened and he felt blood drip down his fingers as his nails broke the skin. Roman snarled as he leaned down and kissed him. “Say it,” he whispered, his hips moving fast, his breath hot against Brian’s mouth.
“No,” Brian managed to grind out, wrapping his legs around Roman’s waist, pulling him in deeper. “Fuck you.”
“Say it,” Roman ordered as he twisted his hand around Brian’s cock, swiping his thumb over the slit. Brian groaned again, throwing his head back. Roman licked a stripe up Brian’s throat.
“No.” Brian felt Roman’s fang pierce his skin, felt the pull of his blood as it left his body and Roman’s hips moved erratically, changing angle and pressing in just the right place to make Brian come hard, hot and sticky, between them. Roman carried on moving, dragging his mouth away from Brain’s neck, his teeth stained red as he leaned down and kissed Brian again, passing the taste of Brian into his own mouth.
“So…fucking…stubborn,” he growled when he pulled away, punctuating each word with a surge of his hips until he grunted, threw his head back and came, buried deep inside Brian. “You may not want to admit it Brian, but we both know the truth,” he said as he pulled out and snapped off the condom, throwing it into the trash can next to Brian’s desk. He wound his hands around Brian’s shoulders and hauled him upwards, kissing him hard once before he pushed him away.
“Organise the meeting,” he said as he pulled up his trousers.
The door slammed hard enough to rattle the walls as Brian pulled himself up. He picked up a glass that had survived their fucking and threw it hard at the closed door.
~*~
“You can’t stay here forever,” Justin looked up from the coffee he’d been nursing for the last hour. Debbie looked down at him, tray on her hip, concerned look on her face. “One of these days you’re going to have to pick one, and go back to them,” she said as she slipped into the booth in front of him.
She was right. He’d been hiding. He’d been staying with Debbie for a week now, after meeting her in the alleyway and shrugging off her offer to help, he’d gone crawling back, the old adage of “I’ve got nowhere else to go” seeming to work wonders for her mother hen instinct as she opened her arms and took him in. She’d even given him a place to stay and a job till he figured things out.
“I know. But Ethan tried to kill me and Brian doesn’t want me,” he said helplessly. Debbie reached out and patted his hand.
“Brian does want you. Its just difficult right now. What with Roman hanging around like a bad smell,” she sneered, but looked around quickly. Justin had learnt over the last week, that Roman had spies everywhere and that he was no fan of Debbie. But Debbie had most of the supernatural creatures in Pittsburgh on her side so he left her alone. For the most part. It still didn’t stop Debbie from checking behind her every time she slagged him off. “It’s complicated with those two, Roman is like a drug to Brian, he hates him but he can’t quite give him up completely. And as much as I hate the little shit, its probably best to air it all out with Ethan. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but when he turns he has no control over himself.”
“Have you seen Brian?” Justin couldn’t help but ask. He’d been yearning for information about Brian for a week, his whole body desperate to hear anything, even his name, vibrating with the need to touch him, to hear the stupid nickname he’d given Justin said against his ear. Debbie smiled sadly at him, shaking her head.
“No,” she replied, patting his hand again as she stood. “Go see one of them Sunshine, before it eats you up inside.”
Justin sighed heavily, pushing away the cold coffee. His stomach churned at the thought of moving, of making a decision. He had thought Brian was his future, he’d felt alive with Brian, more alive than he’d felt with Ethan, felt like he had a tiny semblance of a family again, even in that short amount of time. With Ethan he’d felt like a commodity, an asset, a tool to be used against Ethan’s war with Brian. But he couldn’t deny the way he’d felt part of something and he almost missed the bond he’d had with the other members of the pack.
He sighed again as he scrubbed a hand through his hair, his mind going to the fact that he now technically belonged to Brian. He’d woken up more than once after his dreams had been invaded by brown eyes and surprisingly soft hands, gentle word whispered in his ear and his own hand around his cock. He could still feel Brian, feel his hands on him, his cock hard inside him, and Justin didn’t know if that was because Brian had drunk from him, or because Justin was so stupidly infatuated with him. He resisted the urge to slam his head against the table and stood. Debbie raised an eyebrow questioningly at him and yelled a “let me know where you are” across the diner as he pulled the door open.
Pittsburgh was cold, as always, a biting wind torn through his jacket as he pulled it tight around him, brushing off a few stray snow flakes from his shoulders. The sky looked heavy, fit to bursting, dark grey clouds hanging over head ominously as he turned down the street, crossed his arms and lowered his head against the cold.
He paused at the door way of his destination, the handle cold in his hands as he turned it, not bothering to knock, and pushed the door open. His feet echoed in the entrance as he pulled the door closed, shutting out the noise from the street. There was a noise from the top of the stairs, a stray footstep and a bitten of gasp.
“Justin?”
Chapter 8