Tobias "Toby" Bryson (infortunium) wrote in city_limits, @ 2009-04-22 23:11:00 |
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Entry tags: | alec reed, nathan turner, toby bryson |
Of All The Gin Joints...
Nathan was out on one late evening, having pulled himself from the isolation he'd lost himself in for a while, it was a necessity at times given the dreams and the endless hours of one's eternal life. Sometimes you just needed to escape and forget the world and all its inhabitants existed.
Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world this was the last place that Nathan thought he would find Toby, but it would certainly seem like the man frequented these places when he wanted to scrape the barrel. That reminded the vampire of somebody else whom he scared off with the display of his true fangs.
Whatever happened to the dear neurotic, miserable Rebecca?
"Don't you know that stuff'll kill you," Nathan drawled as he picked up a nearly empty glass of brown liquid. He dipped his head and took a sniff of it, determining it was scotch, before he finished it off, catching a wayward droplet in the corner of his mouth with the edge of his thumb.
He reached up, unafraid, and smoothed Toby's shirt collar back into place. "Something tells me that not all is dandy in the world of you. Am I right?" He lifted an eyebrow slowly before giving a slanted smile. "I'm right, aren't I?"
Now there's someone Toby hadn't thought he would see for a while. He barely jumped when Nathan appeared, looking a little bereft as the man drank the last of his scotch and then wrinkled his nose.
His eyes slid down to watch Nathan's hand as much as he could before he just rested his elbows on the bar.
"You know, if you wanted one you shoulda just said. I'm buying." He glanced at Nathan out of the corner of his eye and then finally nodded. "And yeah, you're right."
Things were going kind of crazy for him. It was probably just stress, he didn't need to worry more than he was about Kris. At least there was a plan in place. He chewed on his lower lip and ordered two more glasses of scotch.
The bartender pushed them over and the ice in the glasses clinked quietly. "What brings you to somewhere like this, Nathan?"
"Boredom," Nathan shared with a shrug. He eased onto the stool beside Toby and shed that dark jacket that clung to his shoulders and extenuated the broadness of them. Nathan rested it over the bar and immediately the scent of his cologne shared amongst the fibres of wool and cotton filled the near vicinity.
He picked up the freshly ordered glass of scotch and took a sip from it. "And pray tell what's gone so wrong in your life that has you scraping the bottom of the barrel?"
"This isn't necessarily barrel scraping." Toby said as he took a mouthful of scotch. "There's a bar a couple of blocks from here... that's barrel scraping." He knew he'd end up getting some kind of STD by just touching the doorhandle. Skeevy bars for skeevy people.
He shifted and took another sip. "I'm just losing my mind, and my friends. Kind of literally. One of them's just- vanished..." he waved a hand, "Another one's turned into a psycho, my housemate coughed up cancer and has superpowers..." And he was seeing someone he thought he had gotten rid of a long time ago randomly appearing. So he was seeing things. Hallucinations. Great.
Nathan lifted an eyebrow. "You certainly lead a dramatic life, Toby." He took another mouthful of scotch and rummaged in his pockets, producing a crumpled pack of tobacco, a piece of cardboard and a few rolling papers. He'd run out of ready to smoke cigarettes and knew he had to run past that 24-7 convenience store near his place of rest and buy himself another couple packs.
He opened up a rolling paper, twisting a slither of cardboard into a thin shape, sliding it into the paper to create a sort of filter and stable base, it wasn't like the vampire had to worry about getting cancer. "I'm sensing there was an 'and' at the end of that trail off sentence." Nathan put a fair amount of tobacco into the middle of the papers before lifting the delicate shape to his lips where his tongue ran along the sticky edge, dampening it enough to hold the paper together when he eventually rolled the paper together.
His fingers were competent and clearly comfortable with what they were doing, there was no hesitation and no mistakes as Nathan enfolded the tobacco in paper then rolled the rest of it together until sure enough he had himself a DIY cigarette.
"Again, if you needed a cigarette, you could have asked for one of those too. And a light. But none of the..." Toby wiggled his fingers to indicate the hypnosis thing that had defined their first encounter. "No more funny business for me today." He shrugged, not really wanting to answer Nathan but finding that even though he had barely made eye contact, there was something about the guy that just made Toby want to be honest.
Maybe it was because Nathan knew what had happened, the vampire story Toby was so reluctant to tell. He had done it under duress and semi-hypnosis, sure, but he had still told it to the older vampire.
"There was an and. But I'm sure you don't wanna hear it." He shifted, pulling his cigarettes from the inside pocket of his jacket and fiddling with the lid, pushing it open and closed with his thumb. If he had been holding a zippo, it would have had the swish-click sound accompanying each movement. As it was, it was just a box.
Nathan rolled his eyes, flicking open his lighter to catch the tip of his cigarette. "Relax, Toby. I have no intentions of doing that, it's already been done." He inahled a breath of smoke and held onto it for an unnatural length of time, exhaling it only when he felt he should.
"You're probably right," he murmured, picking up the scotch and taking a sip from it to chase the taste of smoke in his mouth. Nathan turned his eyes to the crowd, gaze soaking in the faces and ears following every beat of the hearts, nobody truly realised how synchronised the sound could be until you were in a room full of living ones.
He eventually returned his wandering eyes to Toby's face, his own tilted into the light. "But it isn't like I have anything better to be doing right now."
"So I'm a suitably located source of entertainment," Toby deadpanned, tipping his head to look at Nathan for a moment before he let out a soft laugh. "No, I'm just- I've seen a face in the crowd that I recognise a little too much." His shoulders lifted. "But it's not like it could be who I think it is. I took enough steps to disappear."
"Conveniently placed," Nathan corrected with a smile that could have been considered unpleasant had there not been a twinkle in his eye. He eyed his neighbour and their slumped posture and considered it fairly safe so he stretched out one long arm, stealing the ashtray with the tapered tips of his fingers.
He flicked ash into his newly acquired ashtray and lifted a thumb to scratch at his eyebrow, watching Toby from beneath his lashes. "A ghost from the past, hm?"
Toby's shoulders lifted protectively as if that would stop his neck from being exposed. The scar felt more and more obvious as they days went past, old faces from a time he would rather not remember appearing and scaring the crap out of him. He slid a cigarette between his lips and patted his pockets down for his lighter.
"Something like that," he conceded around the filter. "And fine, even though technically, conveniently placed and suitably located are the same thing, aren't they?"
"If you want to be petty," Nathan remarked with a shrug. He took another drag and let the smoke curl lazily around the corners of his mouth. "And take it from a vampire, vampires never forget about the one that got away, especially if they had intentions of siring them."
He tipped his glass to his lips and swallowed away another mouthful of scotch.
Toby's fingers finally snagged on his lighter and he lit his cigarette, taking in a deep breath and holding it, keeping the smoke in for as long as he could before he exhaled, tipping his head back a little to blow it towards the ceiling. "Who said it was her?" he asked, though he knew he was busted.
The fingers of his other hand caught on the scotch glass and he lifted it to his lips, replacing one vice with another. He didn't smoke so much when Alec was around. Alcohol wasn't a problem, though, Alec usually had a beer with him. "I just- I did everything I could to hide. It's a stupid and wimpy move, I know."
"Call it an educated guess," Nathan muttered with a shrug. He finished the scotch and then turned on the stool to face the rest of the bar, tilting his head to observe some strange mating ritual in the corner that involved a woman and two men.
He rested an elbow back against the bar and curled his fingers around the edge of it, tapping lightly against the wood. "I don't suppose I'm the only one who will tell you this, but she won't stop until she's staked."
Toby snorted and finished his scotch. The ice bumped against his lip and he licked the droplets of water away once the glass was back down on the bartop. "You're the only one that knows." he admitted a moment later. It was stupid enough that a vampire was the only person who knew. It wasn't like he actually had a wide circle of friends and he had no need to worry Alec any more than he was, the guy had a stressful job anyway, and there were more important things than Toby hallucinating unpleasant blasts from the past.
Nathan tipped his head back into the next drag of his cigarette before turning on his stool, stubbing out what was left of it. "I'm flattered, Toby. No, really, I am." He smirked and shook his head, looking up at the bartender and gesturing for another round of the same. "But, like I said, she won't stop until you finish it for good or somebody does."
"And I'm sure 'sorry but it's over, you psychotic undead bitch' won't cut it, huh." Toby eyed the new glass as it was put in front of him. Who was he to turn down alcohol? It wasn't hurting anyone. As long as Alec didn't give him a lecture about it. He didn't think the guy would, instead he figured Alec would look at him reproachfully until Toby felt bad about it.
He tapped his fingers against the glass. "No need to be sarcastic, Nathan," he grumbled, knowing full well the vampire could hear him anyway. "You know, you're- ...different."
"Only thing that stops a crazed vampire is a stake through the heart, a clean cut across the throat to the point where their head comes off, or an extreme dose of sunlight. Holy water just stings like a bitch."
Nathan turned to look at Toby. "What do you mean, different?"
"Not different in a bad way." Toby said quickly, as if 'different' were a slur. It wasn't. It was just a statement of curiosity on Toby's part. "I mean, you defy common vampire stereotype, you know? I'm sitting having an actual, serious conversation with you and you're mostly listening. And not thinking about eating me. I hope you're not thinking about eating me."
He grimaced at that thought. What a sucky way to go. "But y'know, you're not killing everyone in the bar even though, y'know, you could."
Nathan shrugged. "And what would the point in killing everybody be? Sure, it would be fun, but ultimately useless and a waste of my time. I'm a vampire, I have forever, why fuck that up by drawing attention to myself?" Unlike most vampires he didn't have a chip on his shoulder as far as the rest of the world went nor did he think he had a right to rule over Earth like some he had met in the past. "I enjoy eternal life and I'd like to have it remain that way unchallenged. I don't see the point in acting out violently when there are ways of dealing with things."
And it wasn't as sucky a way to go as Toby thought, Nathan recalled his turning with great fondness.
Toby nodded thoughtfully. "I guess that's- I mean, that's a very sensible way of looking at things." He couldn't fault the man's logic. It made perfect sense; live forever there's no point in getting staked because you caused trouble. He lifted his shoulders and then took a couple of mouthfuls of his scotch. It barely burned its way down his throat anymore.
"I think I asked you this before, but... don't you get lonely?" he asked, "Without y'know, an undead partner?" He remembered Nathan talking fondly about his turning, it had been a conversation about pleasure. He hated that he was still fascinated with it, and how it might feel. God, he hated that part of himself that wanted to know. That wanted to experience that feeling of being alive. He knew how ironic that was, but he had read someone who survived a bite describing it as a rush.
Maybe it might have been if his family hadn't been lying dead off to one side. Maybe if she hadn't been trying to kill him.
"Honestly?" Nathan asked from around the rim of the glass before taking a sip, using the time he took to taste and swallow to formulate his answer. "Of course I do. I think it's why a lot of vampires take childes, to avoid that eternal long loneliness."
His had saved his life by changing him into what he was at this moment in time.
"Because at the end of the day even a vampire has feelings." Toby said with a small smile, taking another sip of his drink, a drag on his cigarette. He tapped the ash out into the ashtray that Nathan had stolen, guessing that the vampire wouldn't mind sharing.
It was an odd thought, a lonely vampire, but Toby would be lonely if he spent forever alone. Knowing his luck, though, he would end up falling out with his sire and that would be that. "But when you become a vampire, you change, right? I mean, you're not the Nathan that you were before you were turned." He had read books, but books were nothing compared to a real person. Someone who would actually answer his questions. Nathan always seemed rather honest.
"No," Nathan muttered with a shake of his head. "I'm different in a lot of ways. Better in my opinion. I didn't like the human version of myself, I'm far more comfortable now as I am. In the cheesiest of terminology, being turned released me."
He ran the back of his thumb over his lip and turned his head to look at Toby. "If she hadn't killed your family would you have let her turn you?"
Toby looked uncomfortable. "I didn't understand what she was at the time. I- If I'd been better informed and she hadn't-" he swallowed, knocking back what was left of his drink and crunching on one of the ice-cubes almost thoughtfully. "If she had tried earlier, before that moment, then maybe... yeah."
He kind of hated himself for that. And he hated the lure that the undead life seemed to have. He didn't understand why he was so interested in it considering. Why it still fascinated him so much. "Her timing and the way she acted though left a lot to be desired."
Nathan snorted quietly. "I knew there was something about you that night I took you under." He finished off his drink and rested the near empty glass on the bar, fishing out an icecube to chew on it.
"Every vampire is different," he muttered with a nod of his head. "Different methods in our madness."
"Well, her method sucked. I doubt I would have had the best of relationships with her even if she hadn't, y'know, killed everyone I loved." Toby scratched at the side of his neck, fingers catching on the raised scar tissue and he shivered, feeling cold trickling down his spine. It was entirely imaginary, of course, but he turned around anyway just to make sure that she wasn't in there with them.
Not that she could be. Because she wasn't in Chicago.
"You did? That's- you know that's a scary, but sort of cool power you've got going on. But still- you did?"
Nathan nodded his head. "Mm, I did." He turned his gaze to the door and then settled it on the back of the bar, gaze lingering on the various bottles and glasses that littered the back of it. "It was in your eyes, called it a fascination if you will, but it's there."
He picked up another icecube and turned it in his fingers, leaning down to peer through the square, watching the way in which it distorted the images visible through it.
"I'd make a really crap vampire." Toby announced after a couple of moments of silence. "I think." He asked the bartender for another drink and one for Nathan if he wanted it. He didn't disagree that the fascination was there. It was, there was no point in lying. "I suppose it's a good thing I've never had the chance to see."
The worst thing Nathan had ever done as a vampire was killing every single living person of his family, they'd deserved it or so he had told himself at the time. The anger and bloodlust had blended into a volatile mixture, he was uncontrollable at that time, completely feral.
"I don't think anyone knows what sort of vampire they'd make," Nathan remarked, asking for another glass of scotch with no ice this time. "I'm willing to bet my eternal life on the fact your thwarted Sire is clinging to that."
"Or unlife, as the case may be." Toby said with a chuckle, holding the glass up to the light, swirling the contents. He finished his cigarette and stubbed it out, leaving the crumpled up filter in the ashtray surrounded by the ash. "I don't know. Even if I was gonna be a vampire which isn't on the cards at the moment anyway, I wouldn't wanna be linked to her for the rest of forever." He wrinkled his nose. "That is a fate worse than... anything."
Nathan sat back as his next drink was place in front of him, stretching his back and getting comfortable on the stool again. His ears picked up on the little conversations that human ears couldn't: the sweet nothings being whispered, the less than sweet nothings and everything inbetween.
"It does take the right sire," Nathan agreed.
"Which Cassie? Would not be." Toby grimaced to think about it. He wondered, though, if he did have the right sire, whether or not he would actually enjoy the undead life. If his sire was someone cool, then perhaps. He wriggled about a bit, feeling that ache in the middle of his back that always came with sitting in a bad position for a long time. "I think if I found myself bound to her in undead matrimony then I'd have to just stand in the sunlight."
"Stings," Nathan shared. "At first and then it predictably burns." He reached across the bar for Toby's cigarettes, taking one without asking. "I knew a vampire that did that once, lost her sire at the hands of a hunter and stepped out into daylight." He lit the cigarette and inhaled a breath.
Toby didn't mind, just watched Nathan take one and took another sip of his drink. He didn't know what he was craving right now. A release of some sort, but what he needed or how to get it he didn't know. It wasn't something that alcohol or cigarettes could fix. It lead to him squirming again, uncomfortably, like there was an itch beneath his skin that nothing would scratch.
"That sucks for her." He sympathised. "I guess if we can all live and let live then it's just... That's the better way to be, right?"
"Have you got ants in your pants or something?" Nathan asked, casting an eye over to where Toby was squirming in his seat. He smirked as he thought of something before merely shaking his head. "I knew a man who squirmed like you did, turned out he just needed to get laid."
He exhaled smoke and dropped his head, lifting his fingers to scratch at a couple freckles on his neck.
"What's the smirk for?" Toby asked, turning his head to look at Nathan. How the guy had freckles when he never went out in the sunlight he didn't understand, yet another weird aspect of vampire life. If he became a vampire, would his eyesight get better? "Just feeling kinda antsy. You know, not sure what's gonna make it go away."
He rolled his eyes, "But I'm sure sex isn't the answer. Besides, I'm generally unlucky in that department. I always end up with the strange people with a Dr Who DVD collection they just have to show me or a vampire." He smirked, "Though, the sex was good." He had to admit that, Cassie had been phenomenal in bed. Even if she had been a psychotic bitch that had ruined his life.
Nathan picked his head up in what looked like effort on his part, regarding the human closely. "Whatever you say. I suppose you'll have to find something else to scratch that itch." He picked up on a wayward conversation between lovers, tilting his head as one said goodbye to the other. Hm, could be the meal he'd been looking for tonight. Nothing tasted better than the blood of a fool in love.
"I'd imagine the years have crafted her art well," he said with a shrug.
"I'd say so." Toby agreed, taking a breath and then tapping his fingers on the counter. "Something else? I'm never fond of taking strangers home, for obvious reasons. That and I live with someone now, and he needs his sleep." He gave a soft chuckle and tipped his head up, looking at the ceiling again. His throat worked as he swallowed. "I suppose I will." Though, quite what else would scratch this irritating itch he didn't know.
Nathan's gaze wandered (as it did when you were a vampire) to the exposed throat and the pulse he could see thudding away beneath the skin. He inhaled and ran his tongue along the bottom of his teeth, sating his thirst with another sip of scoth, for the time being.
"Seeing her after all this time must have brought back something she used to give you, something you liked." He shrugged and reached for his jacket, gathering the heavy material up in one hand.
Toby nodded. "Yeah..." he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck and watching Nathan moving. "I guess it was that thrill of danger, you know? Getting caught or something..." It had always been intense, a little dangerous with Cassie and Toby had loved the thrill of it. The adrenaline rush. He didn't know why he told Nathan that, it wasn't like the vampire wanted to know, really. "Hey, how do you get freckles without going in the sun?" he finally asked, looking at the couple of freckles on his neck.
Nathan slid his coat back on, running his fingers over the zip and buttons, meaning the material enclosed him again and drew attention to him in a purely aesthetic way. "I honestly have no idea," he said with a shrug. "The mysteries of the undead."
Toby chuckled and knocked back his scotch. "Very mysterious." he smiled, feeling no more at ease now than when he had walked in, but something had settled at least. He knew he should be more disturbed by how he reacted around the vampire. Considering. "Found your dinner?" he asked, watching people moving in and out of the bar. Again, he wondered why he was more at ease with the idea of Nathan killing someone than any other vampire. Maybe because Nathan killed to eat and not for fun? He didn't know. He was rationalising.
"Could say that," Nathan murmured as his eyes turned to the door and the back of a young woman. She was heavily scented, a mixture of lust and the irrational feeling that people convinced themselves was love. "Nothing tastes better than a fool in love."
He paused for a moment and leaned down to regard Toby closely, tapping two fingers against the scarring on the other man's neck. "She won't stop until she finishes what she started, Toby. The sooner you realise that the sooner you'll be equipped to do what it is you need to do. Alive or dead, those are your current choices with that woman."
Toby's head tipped to the side a little as Nathan's fingers touched his neck. It reminded him of the first time they met, those moments that replayed occasionally through his head. "Yeah..." he swallowed and looked at Nathan, the man who didn't look too much older than Toby himself until you looked in his eyes. He held eye contact. "Don't worry, Nate, I don't plan on joining the ranks of the undead any time soon. Or just the dead."
Nathan looked back, keeping the eye contact the way it was, he didn't think he needed to play mind games in order to hold this one's attention. "Always good to know." He lingered in Toby's space for long enough for his fingers to burn a memory of themselves into Toby's skin, ice cold where heat should have been.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to attend to."
A shiver rippled through Toby from the touch to his skin, feeling it almost burning with the cold. He wet his lower lip and nodded his head.
"By all means." He waved a hand, rubbing the back of his neck and he took a breath. "Have fun." He gave a small smile and turned so he was looking at Nathan properly. "You might as well leave first, I'm gonna, y'know, head out too. But I'll wait for a minute or two." He shrugged, "There are some things a guy doesn't need to see."
Nathan chuckled. "I'll be seeing you, Toby." And with that the vampire vanished into the crowd, slipping out of the door and into the young woman's shadow easily enough. It was a well practised dance, steps perfected over the years.
It wasn't long until he had her laughing about something and she was apparently not in as love with her boyfriend as she would have the world believe because she was turning into Nathan as he spoke, opening her body language and giving slow smiles. Her scent also changed, and Nathan smiled as a result of it.
He played the hopelessly lost Scot and she pandered easily enough, stopping only when they stumbled together after a well trained movement of Nathan's legs, his hands stopped on the wall above her and he leaned in, murmuring something. It was something that made her laugh again and she placed a hand on his coat, remarking that she didn't usually do this sort of thing, she wasn't that sort of girl and she had a boyfriend.
It wasn't long until Nathan had coaxed her into a kiss, a kiss that ended with a playful bite, one that caused her to giggle. He smiled at her, letting his mouth wander as much as she let his mouth wander, until inevitably his face shifted and his fangs sunk in deep. She initially cried out at the pain but then as the pain lessened and a more pleasurable sensation took over she all but melted against the wall.
Would he kill her? He hadn't decided that yet.
Toby walked out of the bar a couple of minutes after Nathan, hoping that the man had found his meal and left with her. What he hadn't been expecting was when he turned the corner to catch an inital gasp of pain that very quickly became a moan; something far more... pleasurable sounding and he couldn't help himself turning around to look.
The woman's hands were curled in Nathan's sleeve, her fingers sliding up as he fed off her, eyes fluttering shut as she arched into his body. Toby kind of felt his heart stop as he watched, kind of unable to stop himself from staring in morbid fascination. She actually seemed to be enjoying it.
Nathan drank as much as he needed to satisfy his thirst and fill his veins for the long sleep ahead of him as the day passed into night where the cycle would begin again. He decided after a few more moments of drinking from her veins that he wasn't in the mood for disposing of a dead body and drew away at the right moment, easing his fangs away with a flicker of his tongue.
The woman sagged back against the wall and Nathan smiled at her, lifting her hand to close over the marks left behind in her neck. "Never speak of this or I will find you and finish what I started, do you understand?"
Toby's mouth felt kind of dry and he hoped that Nathan didn't know he was standing there. He wet his lower lip and forced himself to swallow, taking a breath and trying to make his feet move so that he wasn't caught. It fuelled that curiosity inside him.
The woman nodded, breathless as she pressed her hand against her neck, feeling the wounds seeping a little as she swallowed, legs feeling weak. The promise of silence was in her eyes rather than in her words, since her voice wouldn't work for her.
"Good," Nathan purred softly, leaning back and away from the wall, putting the distance between him and her. His eyes were so much brighter now that he'd fed and every cell in his body seemed to tingle with residual energy, he felt as alive as a vampire could.
He turned and clocked Toby as soon as he did, thumb midway across the bottom of his lip to catch whatever was left of the woman's blood on his mouth. He smirked and winked at Toby, easing that thumb into his mouth to taste the leftover traces.
Nathan remained right where he was, waiting for Toby to move.
Toby couldn't move. He was frozen to the spot. He watched Nathan's thumb slide into his mouth and then his gaze slid up to the sparkle in Nathan's eyes, noticing the difference in the man's being. He managed to make a sound but other than that, he felt like he was frozen and the world was passing around him.
He hated that he wanted to know what that felt like. He hated that he wanted to know if it was possible to enjoy something that he only associated with pain. He wet his lower lip and swallowed again, the sound was audible to him. He wondered if it was to Nathan.
It was. He did have enhanced hearing after all.
Nathan watched Toby closely and then picked up his feet, closing the distance and stopping in front of the other man. "Didn't anyone tell you that it's rude to stare, Toby?" He heard the woman stumbling off into the distance and didn't bother sparing a look over his shoulder, lifting a hand to straighten Toby's collar again.
"I think I know what your itch is," Nathan commented. "It's the bite, isn't it? What it could have been like if she'd done it differently."
"They have now." Toby said, kind of wanting to move back when Nathan approached, his heart-rate picking up and thudding in his ears. "Sorry, it just-" He didn't bother explaining. He knew that Nathan knew he had been staring, he knew that Nathan knew why he was so fascinated.
He wet his lips and took another breath, lifting his chin to look at Nathan, not moving away and if anything, when his collar was adjusted, he shifted a little closer. He felt like his throat had closed up on him and he just nodded. He thought that had to be what it was, Nathan got the nail on the head. But what happened now? Nathan knew the itch, but there was still nothing that could scratch it. "Yeah." he forced the word out past his unco-operative lips. "That looked..." Enjoyable.
Nathan smiled slowly, steadily working his fingers from Toby's collar to his hair where eventually hair was tangled around each single digit. There were many ways to bite somebody, it could hurt or it could be the most enjoyable thing a person could feel, to find that out all you had to do was ask the people who willingly let themselves get bitten about the rush they felt.
He pulled the other man closer and leaned down, brushing his mouth over the scar tissue before touching it with his tongue. You attracted more flies with honey than you did vinegar, this was something Nathan had learned through the years that he'd been living as a vampire. "It's about to get scratched," he muttered before there was a momentary pain from where fangs slipped past epidural and then sunk deeper, seeking out veins.
After that it was a combined mixture of pain and pleasure, a coaxing pull of Nathan's mouth followed by a languid roll of his tongue. He tightened his fingers in Toby's hair and basically supported the man's weight as he continued to swallow, using every trick he knew to keep this as pleasurable as it could be.
There was more to vampirism than sheer monstrosity.
The initial stab of pain elicited a horrifyingly realistic flashback that had Toby's hands fisting in Nathan's jacket to push him away before it ebbed a little and he found himself leaning into it, a rush coarsing through his veins like the very best high, an adrenaline rush and an experience like no other. What was worrying was that he trusted Nathan not to kill him.
That element of danger was rife and it was something Toby was attracted to, it was a quality that a lot of his friends had had - and his disasterous fling with Cassie - even Kelly had had an edge to her. His eyes shut, the fists turning into a looser hold, curling fingers in fabric as Nathan supported his weight. It was different, he felt... high. He felt weak but safe - which was ironic since he was being drained by a vampire - but at the same time like nothing could happen to him. Like he was a part of something bigger.
A sound escaped his lips, legs feeling like jello and mind racing. His head spun a little, from the dizzying heights he was being pushed to or because Nathan was drinking his blood he wasn't sure. It was probably a lot of both, but he understood suddenly the desire people had for things like this. Because for all intents and purposes, he kind of trusted Nathan. A vampire that wasn't trying to destroy the world, who just wanted to live and enjoy his life.
And God, it felt good.
Nathan felt Toby relaxing as did most of the people he took this way, continuing the process until he could hear the heartbeat slowing to the point of no return. Then and only then did he withdraw, vampire facade slipping away.
He knew Toby's legs were wobbly, he'd felt his knees knock into his on more than one occasion, Nathan slipped an arm around Toby's waist and moved him so his back rested against the wall. "That's what it feels like," Nathan shared, up close and personal, mouth mere inches away from Toby's. "Not so bad if it's done right."
Nathan slipped a hand into Toby's pocket, found his phone and quickly checked the most recently called numbers. He pressed a number with the name of 'Alec' on it and then passed the phone to the very blissed out Toby. "Considering she's following you, it wouldn't be wise to remain out here on your own in this state."
The vampire licked his lower lip and closed the distance, brushing a lingering kiss on the marks, before withdrawing completely. "I'll be seeing you," he murmured, accent thicker than before, and then he slipped away into the nearby shadows.
Toby lifted his hand to his neck, swallowing and watched Nathan leave, his heart still pounding. He felt almost like he could feel his blood rushing through him. This has been another one of those mometns that he knew he would never forget; and not in a bad way, rather he was going to remember the rush. The thrill of his life being in the hands of someone who could easily kill him with the flick of a wrist. The phone was ringing in his hand and he lifted it to his ear, waiting for it to be picked up, the dialing tone oddly comforting now that he was alone and vulnerable.
He managed to stay on his feet for about three more rings before his legs gave out and he just slid to the floor, his head spinning like he'd had a few too many drinks and a head injury (without the pain in his head). He kept an eye on the people moving past, hoping that he didn't see that face. He couldn't run from her right now, even if he did suddenly get a freak surge of adrenaline.
"'Ello?" A sleepy voice on the other end of the line mumbled, Alec half asleep from having rolled over and done a groping search for his phone in the dark. "S'that you Toby?" He muttered, rubbing at his hair and trying to come round to full consciousness. He knew it had to be the other man because of the personalised ringtone, he gave them to all his friends and family members. His mother had the Funeral March and his father the Darth Vader music. Not that they knew that.
"Y'alright?"
"D'I wake you?" Toby asked, feeling a surge of guilt. "Sorry, it's just- 've had too much to drink and something happened and I can't get home..." He didn't want to lie to Alec, but he didn't know if his friend would understand. So he figured more truth than lie would be best. It was hard, though, Toby wasn't a very good liar. "I got bitten."
Alec didn't need to know that he'd enjoyed it. Right? "Can you come get me?"
The mention of the bite brought Alec to full consciousness, including sitting up and reaching for a pair of jeans that he was sure he'd left on his floor. Somewhere. "Shit, y'okay?" Wait, dumb question, Alec shook his head. "You're calling me so you're not dead so ignore I just asked that question."
He slid into his jeans and found a t-shirt followed by a jumper, Toby would hear a couple muffled complaints as Alec's sleep heavy fingers struggled with pulling the jumper on. "Where are you?"
"Mm, I'm okay. Not dead." Toby chuckled, head resting back against the wall. His eyes were still scanning the crowd, almost paranoid that he would see that blonde hair and that familiar face. He swallowed and told Alec where he was, which bar he was currently sat down around the corner from.
It was a kind of seedy area of town, and yes, he had to admit, it was one of the places he went when he just wanted to get away and drink. He needed another one when he got home, he thought. "Am sorry for wakin' you up, though," he admitted. "Really. 'Cause that's- y'know, not cool."
Alec lifted an eyebrow at the bar in question, wondering what Toby was doing in that side of town. Rescue first, questions second. He tugged on his trainers and rummaged out a first aid kit so he could put some sort of dressing on the bite when he got Toby into the car, last thing he wanted was his friend to get an infection.
"It's cool," he said as he peered out of the window, glad to see that Toby's car was still in the driveway. "I'll be there in a couple minutes, just sit tight and don't speak to any strangers." Alec hung up, found Toby's keys and left the house, making sure to lock the door behind himself before he got into the driver's seat of Toby's car.
Thankfully his knowledge of the city had gotten better.
"No strangers," Toby muttered to the dial tone, eyes sliding shut. "Gotcha." His phone stayed in his hand, screen dark since he wasn't doing anything with it. The chill of the evening was seeping into his back through the jacket he was wearing where he was leaning against the concrete wall, but he wasn't going to complain too much, at least he wasn't dead.
His legs did feel kind of weak, still, but he supposed that was the side effect of being drained. He pressed his hand against his neck and then squinted at his palm, wondering if his neck was still bleeding. It was a little bit, just the tiniest dribble of blood. He pressed his hand against it again as if to contain it, to stop the blood from seeping out of him.
He was still hoping what he had seen was just a figment of his imagination, but with things being the way they were, he really didn't know for sure. Not anymore. He hated that.
Alec arrived at the bar a little while later and parked up, managing to spot Toby quite easily as the lone figure slumped up against the wall. Alec had to remind himself that his friend was still alive, to calm the panic racing through his veins. A fucking vampire had bit Toby, could have killed him, Alec was going to have serious words once Toby was sober and coherent enough to have a decent conversation.
He wandered over and crouched down, slipping an arm around his friend's waist. "When you're sober, you and me? We're gonna have a conversation." Alec helped Toby to his feet and over to the car, easing him into the passenger seat of the car.
Alec joined him in the car, checking Toby's vitals, determining that whilst they were slow they were still healthy. Good. "What the hell happened?" He asked, turning Toby's head so he could clean up the bitemarks and apply a dressing. Alec would have to check it over the next couple days, make sure the wound was clean and healing well.
"I'm not drunk," Toby complained as Alec helped him into the car. He just felt light-headed, the initial rush of the bite had now passed and he just felt weak, like he couldn't swat a fly or rip open a wet paper bag. He felt like Sampson after his hair had all been cut off by Delilah. "You almost sound mad," he muttered, eyes closed again once he was in the seat, swatting at Alec's hand.
The dressing felt uncomfortable, and he knew there would be bruising around the puncture marks where Nathan's fangs had sunk into the skin. "I got bitten by a vampire, 's that much not obvious?" he asked, opening his eyes to look at Alec, touching his neck, feeling the tape that secured the dressing to his neck itching already. "I'm okay, really. And not drunk. Just- can we go home?"
He looked past Alec into the crowd, wondering partly what the couple of people that were watching thought about Alec all but tucking him into the car. And then he thought he saw a flash of blonde. His stomach twisted. "Can we drive a bit first? Just to make sure we're not being followed..."
"That's because I am," Alec muttered as he ignored the swatting. He was used to people not wanting his help. "What the hell are you doing in a neighbourhood like this? And you do realise you could've died, right?" He shook his head, sealing another strip of tape over the dressing so it didn't move around too much.
Once he was satisfied with his work Alec drew his hands away and put the first aid kit back together. "And you could be a little more gracious considering I dragged my ass out of bed to come and get your not-drunk-but-bitten ass." He put the first aid kit into the back seat of the car and started the engine, lifting an eyebrow. "Why would we be followed?"
"I- I wanted to come and get a drink," Toby explained, "I wasn't planning on becoming something's midnight snack. Or near midnight snack." He scratched at the edge of the bandage, feeling it itching but he wasn't about to remove it. Alec was actually mad at him, that had never happened before.
He swallowed and shifted, doing up his seatbelt. "Sorry... It's just- It's been a weird day." He gave a small smile, "Thanks for coming to get my not-drunk-but-bitten ass." Of course, the smile disappeared a second later and he shifted again, uncomfortably. "Just indulge my paranoia?" he asked, quietly pleading in a way that he had never done before. "Please?"
"Don't scratch," Alec said sternly. He reversed out of the spot he'd parked in and turned the wheel into the nearly empty street, shifting gears easily and flowing into the next road. He was just glad he woke up quickly because driving half asleep was never a good idea.
He glanced over at Toby briefly before returning his attention to the road. "Alright, fine, I'll indulge your paranoia, but eventually? I'll want to know where it's coming from."
Toby's hand fell down to his lap where he twisted his fingers, an uncomfortable, nervous habit that was just as telling as to his mental state as anything else. He wet his lips and looked down at his knees, stoically not looking out the window because he was worried that he was going to see a certain woman. "I'm sorry you had to come out and get me," he said finally, like he thought that was why Alec was upset with him.
"Thanks." He tapped his fingers against his thigh. "I know, it's just- not right now, okay?" He needed to be sure he was just seeing things, or if he wasn't just seeing things. He needed to know before he told Alec.
"You're an idiot," Alec muttered with a roll of his eyes. He eased into the next lane with the use of his indicators even though the road was empty, better safe than sorry. "I'm not upset because I had to come and get you, I'm upset because you could've been killed. You gotta take better care of yourself, especially in neighbourhoods like that."
Alec nodded his head at the last bit and fell silent, driving aimlessly through the city.
"Aw, I never knew you cared." Toby said into the silence, obviously trying to lighten the mood because he didn't like the almost awkward silence that had fallen over the car. "I just- I thought I saw someone today from my- well, from before. And it just spooked the hell out of me 'cause I didn't think I'd ever see her again."
It was a start.
Alec eased the car into fourth gear, letting it tackle the larger road with more speed. "I worry about you," he shared with a shrug. "Somebody has to, you jackass." The words sounded harsh but the tone with which they were delivered was anything but.
"Blast from the past, huh?" He shook his head. "I fucking hate those."
"Yeah, well I worry about you too. Same goes for you." Toby retorted softly, his own tone lacking in any kind of heat, but he did sound like he was genuinely touched by what Alec said. He watched the city go past.
The lights all kind of blurred together as Alec drove. "I think we'll have confused anyone following us enough..." he muttered, "And yeah, me too. It just- It was probably just someone who looked similar, but that's bad enough." He wasn't going to mention what Nathan had said. That she might be coming after him to finish what she had started.
Alec smirked, quickly checking the road on his left before indicating to take the car that way, starting in the direction of home. "Dopplegangers, gotta love them." He slowed the car and took another turn before accelerating again, quickly finding his way through the city and back to the house he shared with Toby.
He slowed the car and parked it, reaching into the back for the first aid kit. "C'mon, let's get you inside. You look like you could do with a good night's sleep."
"I could do with a drink." Toby drawled as he undid his seatbelt and ran his fingers through his hair. His eyes felt like they were drying out from having had his contacts in for so long. "And then some sleep."
He pushed the car door open and waited for a moment, taking in a deep breath of fresh air and ignoring the spinning in his head. He swung his legs out of the car and levered himself up onto his feet. At least his legs were supporting him now. "Thanks again, Alec, I do appreciate you coming out and saving my ass from something else coming along and finishing me off."
"No more drink," Alec said with a shake of his head. "You would've thought you'd had enough of it for one night considering what you told me on the phone." He locked up the car and watched Toby for a moment. Once he was sure the other man could support his own weight he wandered up to unlock the front door, leaving it open for Toby.
Be that as it may, Toby knew he wouldn't be sleeping well tonight without some kind of help. He might have ended up getting a high from Nathan's bite, but that didn't stop the other memories that had been brought up by that first touch of fangs on skin, including the way he had ripped himself from Cassie, that stench when he had walked into his parents' home... That agonising time of his life that still held so strongly onto him.
He cleared his throat, following Alec up to the front door and briefly glancing into the street behind him. The door was pushed shut and locked a moment later, both of the locks clicking into place and then Toby slid the bolt across too. He was obviously worried about something, and it was a tangible fear too great to have been caused by seeing someone who just 'looked' like someone he used to know.
He leaned against the door and then lifted a hand to his face, rubbing at his temple before he took his contact lenses out, the world going nicely blurry. "You should get back to sleep, when're you back at work?" he asked.
Alec noticed, glancing over his shoulder to watch Toby's very odd behaviour. He knew the other man was stressed, but this was different. He shook his head, wandering over to take a hold of Toby's shoulder.
"I'm not going to bed until I know you're actually in bed and not likely to go walkies again." He pushed the other man in the direction of his bedroom and leaned against the doorway, folding his arms across his chest. "You're home, safe and sound, be glad of it."
Toby dropped his contacts into the trash bin he had just inside his bedroom door. He sat down on the edge of his bed and looked at Alec, or at Alec's blurry form anyway and nodded. "I'm not going walkies out of the house, there's no need to worry about that, at least." He lifted his shoulders. "It's gonna take me a while to wind down enough to get to sleep, you don't need to worry about me or anything."
He paused, tilting his head and reaching for his glasses, sliding them on. "Is that a redundant statement?"
"Completely," Alec muttered with a tired smile. "Look, Toby, just... I dunno, do whatever it is you need to do to wind down, but leave the drink out of it, alright? You'll never going to solve anything including blasts from the past by looking into the bottom of a bottle."
Alec rubbed at the back of his neck. "If you need me you know where I am." With that said Alec turned on his heel and headed towards his bedroom, to grab a couple hours of sleep before he had to get up for another shift.
Toby watched Alec go and scrubbed his hands over his face, fingers behind his glasses pushing into his eyes. "Night Alec," he said to the empty space his friend had been in before he got to his feet and pushed his bedroom door shut.
He stripped down and crawled underneath the covers, hoping that he could at least get a little bit of sleep before the inevitable nightmares kicked in. Wow, today had not been a good one. Hopefully tomorrow would be better.