[Alasdair Bennett]

Alasdair had been staring at Everett’s blankets intently. Dazed and sleepy and it was making the patterns of the blanket entrancing, the folds of the plush like seas, and the seams like little ants. Why was he so sleepy? All he had done for the past week was sleep. But this was different. It was a comfortable, deep sleep that was lulling him into a peace that he needed more than the actual sleep he had indulged in over his days of solitude. He raised his head slowly at Ev’s stuttering and smiled that same dopey grin at him.

”Hmm?”

He watched Ev’s floundering with a lazy smile. ”You’re real handsome,” he mumbled, seeming to be speaking his thoughts unintentionally more than actually trying to talk, ”Real sweet too. I like you a lot. Gonna kiss you again.” He pulled on the shorts in sloppy manner even falling on his back as he struggled to pull the shorts up. They were slightly too big on his skinnier frame but they would work for sleep. He finished re-dressing himself then looked at the man sitting on the edge of his bed. He pushed himself up again and hugged his shoulders, kissing his shoulder before laying his head down. He nuzzled his shoulder affectionately then, ”No. Come to bed,” he said softly, ”Please?” He tucked against him again, eyes closing contently. A light snore escaped him as the wizard started to drift again.

[Everett Cooper]

A shy, slightly embarrassed smile bloomed across the vampire’s scarred face at Alasdair’s compliments. Ev logically knew that he was what most people would consider traditionally good-looking but even still he always felt a bit awkward accepting compliments on his looks from other people. Maybe it was because of his past relationships, or maybe he was just shy; he didn’t know, but maybe it didn’t really matter what the reason was. Maybe he was just shy and awkward when it came to flirting. Or hell, maybe he was just tired and needed to go the hell to sleep. Yeah. Probably that last one, considering his ‘logic’ was starting to confuse even himself now…

As Alasdair wrestled with the borrowed shorts Ev politely looked away to give him at least a smidgen of privacy, fidgeting with his light blue plaid comforter absently. He couldn’t help but smile at the wizard’s declaration of affection and his threat to kiss him again; the man was just too damn cute! “I like you a whole lot too, Alasdair,” he said quietly, looking up into the smaller man’s mahogany eyes with a gentle smile.

Ev’s cheeks turned slightly pink at the sleepy kiss on his shoulder and turned his head to press a sweet kiss to the top of Alasdair’s dark-haired head, marveling at the depth of affection he felt for him. After all, they had only really spent time together tonight, although they did meet and do at least a tiny bit of getting to know each other a month ago. Did it count though if they were supervised by his uncle and trying to determine if there was a conspiracy going on in the secret community they belonged to? Ev was thinking it probably didn’t, but for all the experience and knowledge he had about dating (i.e. zero) the answer was probably the complete opposite, right? Whatever the time frame, the fact of the matter was Everett was at the very least smitten with Alasdair and couldn’t have been more happy or more nervous about that fact if he had tried.

“A’right, hun; I’m comin’,” he chuckled softly at Alasdair’s insistence. The younger man was already dozing on his shoulder by the time he turned to look at him which only made Ev laugh again, gently laying the wizard down before snuggling in next to him. Ev brushed his unruly hair back away from his forehead and kissed him tenderly before settling down to sleep, one arm draped protectively and affectionately across Alasdair’s torso.

[Alasdair Bennett]

11:17 am

The bed wasn’t comfy anymore. It was making his back sore and his legs felt like they were asleep from being curled up all night. But the pressure and the warmth of the blankets around him were keeping Alasdair snuggled in tight. Not to mention the handsome man who was holding him so contentedly. The wizard rolled so he was facing Ev quietly, taking the time to look over the man’s sleeping features. He was so peaceful. Even in his sleep the scar on his mouth made it seem like he was holding that good humored smirk. His eyelashes were long and his eyes darted underneath the lids as he dreamed. He wasn’t breathing which somehow didn’t actually freak the wizard out as much as he thought it would. It just made him seem more at peace with the serene expression and messy hair. But as the clock ticked by the wizard couldn’t keep deny his body of his morning needs, mainly food, despite his content spot of watching his bedmate continue to rest. But the alcohol from last night had his stomach soured and angry with his current state of hunger. Almost to the point of nausea. As gently as possible, he pulled from Everett’s arms, kissing the vampire’s face and murmuring to soothe him back to sleep. He tucked him in again before getting up with a satisfied stretch.

He went to deal with his human needs before padding his way into Ev’s kitchen. Hopefully the vampire would have some small amount of food for him to munch on. Or he would have to run out and grab something but considering Ev lived above a deli that wouldn’t be too terrible. ...Or Ev would have a completely stocked kitchen? Weird but okay, maybe he still enjoyed human food. Some vampires kept that habit. That was a nice thing to realize. Whatever it was Alasdair looked through the pantry before glancing back at the bedroom. A wide smile spread on his face with an idea. Breakfast for his host and a sign of gratitude for letting him crash here, other reasons not mentioned. He crept back to close the bedroom door as quietly as he could so he didn’t accidentally wake up Ev before returning to the kitchen.

He pulled out the few items he needed, turned the oven on, and set to making the two of them breakfast. Ev might need to feed but Alasdair wouldn’t assume and ruin a bag of blood by getting it out nor could he really offer if he wasn’t fed himself. Had he actually just considered letting this man bite him? Holy shit, he had. Well, that was new. But then he trusted Ev more than most people. Liked him a lot more than he initially thought too. A smile peeked onto his lips and he focused on his task again. He mixed the batter then settled it into a pan to bake before starting up the bacon, covering it with a lid since he had foolishly forgotten to put his shirt back on.

Speaking of which, Alasdair glanced down at his torso then reached to touch his back. Okay. Good. He hadn’t been so tired that his skin shifted back to normal. That was good. A relieved breathe escaped the wizard with that confirmation. He wasn’t thrilled with Ev seeing his ill-formed sternum but it’s not like the vampire had undressed him. No, that had been the wizard himself. Right in front of Ev. Oh, Merlin’s pants what did he do? He realized, blushing deeply and putting a hand over his face in horror. He knew he had been tired but that didn’t mean he should be flashing his poor companion. Dammit. Welp, maybe breakfast would be a good apology for his own blundering acts last night. Or Ev would kick him out. It would suck but he deserved it after that. He took a slow breath and focused on cooking again, pulling the plates down and mugs, finally starting up the coffee as everything got ready to finish.

Once he had taken the bacon off the burner and put it onto a plate to de-grease a little, Alasdair washed his hands. He headed back to the bedroom and stopped in the doorway. Watching Ev again, he couldn’t help the dumb grin on his face from the pure happiness that had bloomed in his chest. This was all very domestic and familiar for two people who had only really gotten to know each other last night. But then sometimes this is what happened with friends too not just partners. Friends were allowed to cuddle and make each other breakfast. Though Alasdair would admitted he absolutely, really and genuinely liked the vampire and definitely wanted to consider him as more than just an affectionate friend. But he also understood his own emotional compromised state and his need for affection and understanding last night may have sped things up way past what either of them should of. But he was alright with that. If Ev wasn’t when he woke up then that would be okay too. Alasdair was fully prepared to woo and court the vampire if he wanted to go slower. It definitely wasn’t his strong suit but there was definitely something between them and he’d be damned if he was going to lose it without trying.

But that was all paranoid thoughts that he needed to not focus on. Right now, his focus had to be waking up the sleepy handsome man in bed. The wizard padded over and sat at Ev’s side gently. He rubbed his back slowly then kissed his temple. ”Ev. Time to wake up hun. I made breakfast if I can bribe you to open those pretty eyes of yours,” he teased him gently, still soothing his back.

[Everett Cooper]

It wasn’t often anymore than Ev dreamed. Yeah, okay science said that you always dream, it’s just a matter of whether you remember what you dreamed or not… blah blah blah, yeah okay, whatever. Screw the science. Besides, if he didn’t remember the dreams it was like they never really happened anyway, so screw semantics too while you’re at it.

Regardless of whether or not he dreamed regularly, Ev had to admit that this was a real pleasant dream. Kinda dark, but not like grim/sad kinda dark; more like laying in a dark room because nobody had turned the lights on yet. But damn… whatever dream-whoever-it-was was cooking smelled…. OH MAN! That heavenly smell was definitely bacon! Deliciously smokey, salty, yummy, perfect BACON! This was definitely a good dream! How could it be bad if there was bacon? And there was another smell underneath the aroma of bacon…. Kinda like flour but mixed with something else. Hmm… what was that? Smelled kinda fruity too… not acidic like pineapple or citrus… kinda earthy… ooooh, could it be banana? He loved bananas! Man, this dream was really A-plus! Oh, but hang on… there was a noise… what was that? Almost sounded like someone walking across his apartment from the kitchen toward the bedroom… huh. Must be where the dream was taking place… weird that he couldn’t see though. Oh wait…

Ev’s eyes blinked open as he flopped onto his back and looked around blearily, a somewhat sheepish little grin on his face as he looked up at Alasdair. Oh. The wizard was holding… was that a tray of food? Well, that was a pleasant surprise. A tray of bacon and some truly divine-looking banana pancakes and a big ol’ mug of the nectar of the gods too; damn, this guy was way more than just cute, Ev thought. Not that he had thought Alasdair was just cute to begin with, but anyway.

The vampire rubbed his eyes tiredly and sat up with a grin. “Thanks, darlin’,” he said as he stretched, his voice still gravelly with sleep. He scooted back so he was leaning against the headboard to give Alasdair room to sit on the bed with him and set the tray down, helping the younger man if he needed it. “This is… really sweet. You didn’t have to do that, ya know,” he smiled, looking over the tray happily. “You’re the best kinda surprising, Mr Bennett,” Ev added, not meaning to flirt with Alasdair.

[Alasdair Bennett]

Alasdair had stated before that Ev’s looks were completely illegal. He clearly had never seen him first thing in the morning though. The wizard had about dropped the tray of food at the sprawled out vampire clad only in his underwear. He seemed like he was still sleeping but it was hard to tell with the lack of breathing; his hair was a mess, a stillness had settled over him, and just a quiet peace that Alasdair was more than hesitant to disturb. But then nobody wanted cold pancakes especially with bananas in them that would just get to that level of awful mushy if they sat too long. He approached slowly, not wanting to startle Ev awake but smiled when the older man’s crystal eyes opened to look at him with that perfect smile. He was pretty sure he had never wanted to kiss someone so much just for smiling at him. But then it never felt like a punch to the gut either before. Maybe he was just having breathing problems again. He briefly tried to think when the last time he had taken his medicine before dismissing the idea to focus on the man in front of him.

An answering grin broke across his face at Ev’s gratitude as he settled the tray on his lap carefully and he could no longer help himself, leaning in a bit to kiss the corner of the vampire’s mouth over his scar. ”And you didn’t have to let me spend the night with you,” he said softly, ”It’s the least I could do. Besides I figured you would be hungry and I didn’t wanna assume and ruin any of your blood bags.” He got up then for a moment, all but bouncing on his feet and went to collect his own breakfast. He came to rejoin Ev, stretching alongside the man with their shoulders touching cozy and close as he leaned on the headboard with him.

”I tried to hit the major things that you’d get from blood. Potassium, iron, proteins, fats,” he said thoughtfully, ”Don’t know if it works the same honestly but I figured it would help even a little. I hope you like it. I’m not much of a cook but I make decent enough pancakes. Though I think the bacon is a little overdone. Never made it before.” He tested a piece of meat curiously, chewing thoughtfully.

[Everett Cooper]

This was definitely not a dream. Nope. This was more like heaven. Cute guy bringing him homemade breakfast in bed and looking like he could give Helen of Troy a run for her money on insulting Aphrodite; yep, had to be heaven. The vampire couldn’t help the grin that bloomed across his face when the wizard leaned in to steal a kiss from him before turning to go get his own breakfast. “Ya know, you don’t have to thank me for lettin’ you stay,” he called after Alasdair. “It was just as nice for me as I hope it was for you. It was real nice to get to catch up with you and just… I dunno, just nice to have someone to spend time with that wasn’t my uncle or my teacher,” Ev added as Alasdair came back holding his own breakfast. Once Alasdair was settled with his tray Ev leaned over and stole his own kiss right back before digging into his pancakes and bacon. His previous divine line of thought was only confirmed when Ev took a bite of the banana pancakes, letting out a long groan of appreciation.

“Sweet Christ on a cracker, darlin’... These might be the best pancakes I’ve ever tasted,” he grinned at Alasdair, giving him a bit of playful but entirely deserved applause as he chewed. The pancakes were fluffy on the inside but perfectly golden brown on the outside and the bananas were just cooked enough to get soft but weren’t the gross kind of mushy. “Mm… Honestly, I think this might be the nicest thing anyone’s done for me in a real long time, hun,” he said with a gentle smile over at Alasdair when he explained why he made the dish he had. He really had tried to give him the nutrients he would’ve gotten from blood… huh. Ev really hadn’t expected that and almost didn’t have the heart to tell him it wouldn’t have a whole lot of impact on him since he was a turned vampire and not a Nosferatu, but he figured the researcher would at least appreciate knowing the science behind it even still. “I’m uh, not real sure what I did to deserve this…” Ev’s smile turned a little sheepish and shy as he turned back to his plate and started in on the bacon. “And nah, the bacon seems just fine to me, darlin’,” he assured Alasdair, swallowing his bite and sipping his coffee. “I don’t like my bacon real floppy personally.” He ate a few more bites happily before taking a break to drink more of his coffee and let the food settle in his stomach.

“And as far as substituting food for blood, you’re on the right track mostly,” Ev explained, putting on his proverbial instructor hat for a moment. “Nos get much more benefit from eating food than a turned vampire does unfortunately, but in keepin’ track of my feeding needs and schedule and stuff I do notice a difference if I don’t eat real food in addition to blood. Mostly eatin’ ‘people food’, so to speak, just increases the length of time between feedin’s because your body’s gettin’ nutrients from the food that it would also get from blood,” he continued, his Georgia drawl getting more prominent as he relaxed and got more absorbed in the explanation. “For me personally, I can safely go about seventy-two hours between feedin’s, meanin’ if I have a full fill of blood today I wouldn’t necessarily NEED to feed again until… what’s today? Wednesday…. So I wouldn’t need to feed again until Saturday,” he finished, eyes bright with a teacher’s joy. “When I eat food about the same way I would’ve on my human diet- so about three or four meals a day- I can squeeze another, oh… 8 hours or so outta my control before the Hunger starts to get to the ‘I’m-not-100%-confident-I-can-stay-in-control’ point. Does that make sense?” he asked a little sheepishly, realizing he had gone off on a bit of a lecture.

[Alasdair Bennett]

The stolen gentle affection was new and cute. He had to admit he loved it. Settling into his meal, he nearly choked on a mixture of laughter and pancakes at Ev’s reaction to his cooking. He wasn’t the best; he couldn’t manage more complicated things besides various types of pancakes. But he had perfected pancakes because it was easy to pack all the nutrients he would need into the carb-based food with fruits or additions. He continued to laugh at Ev’s applause for him, playfully swatting his hands. ”Stop it you,” he said embarrassed, feeling his face heat and no doubt his eyes go pink again. That happened a lot around the older man. He looked at his food shyly as he picked and managed to eat a little. He couldn’t believe this was the nicest thing someone had done for Ev in a while. He was genuinely a good guy and deserved to be treated like he treated everyone else. Respectful, sweet, and just kind.

Alasdair was grateful for the distraction then as Ev explained his dietary needs. He honestly knew more about the Nos than turned vampires. They weren’t nearly as common and from what he understood it took a while to get a turning approved. Not that he would risk asking Ev and offending him. Or were there rules about that? Either way it was very interesting, and helpful, if Alasdair was going to be around more often. Was he actually planning for that? It was hard not to with how well everything had been going between them. But then the wizard had never really had a fling or boyfriend so he really wasn’t a good judge about wherever this was supposed to go. If it was going anywhere. He snapped out of his thoughts at the end of Ev’s explanation with a smile. ”Yeah. That makes sense. More a supplement than actual sustenance,” he agreed.

He finished up his plate as best as he could, about half a helping, before setting it aside and holding his coffee comfortably. Without thinking about it, he sank a little to settle his head on Ev’s shoulder. ”This is really nice,” he whispered shyly, placing a soft kiss to the shoulder before getting comfortable again, ”Did you have plans for today? Or could we maybe hang out a little more?” He tried to keep the hopeful tone out of his voice so the vampire didn’t feel pressured to keep him around.