(no subject)

[thenorthman]

Eric was not having a good day.

He'd noticed that there had been some money missing from the Diamond accounts; someone was stealing from him (and had been stealing from Clarke before that). Someone was going to have to answer for that, and pouring over the books to figure it out (who could he trust with this?) might have given him a headache, if vampires had been prone to them.

And obviously, this had to come up the night he was supposed to meet Kersen's oh so interesting human. Eric had closed the books and pushed them aside when they were shown into his office, and shoved all of that aside to focus on their conversation. Michael Corella worked for Cesare Borgia, and that was a connection worth cultivating.

Things had been going well when someone opened the door to his office without knocking. Jamie - one of his managers - looked surprised to find three pairs of eyes on him, and stopped in the doorway. "I was looking for..." He trailed off, but his eyes had strayed to the books on Eric's desk, before snapping back to Eric. "I'll leave you to your meeting."

"No," Eric said, strolling over to the door to invite the other vampire in with a gesture. "Come in." Jamie had worked for Clarke, too, and Eric closed the door behind him. "Kersen. Do you remember that list of staff you gave me when I took over? The ones I might be able to keep on? Jamie was on it, right?"

Comments

[trustearned]

Michael noticed the shakiness and stepped closer, wrapping his free arm around Kersen's waist. "Are you all right?"

[kersen]

Kersen nodded, then he leaned in and kissed him gently. "That was intense, is all." The sex, but also what had come before it. He just felt very keyed up. Also he was hungry now.

[trustearned]

Michael cradled his face and kissed him again, with the same tenderness he was only capable of showing physically. "Let's go to bed," he offered quietly.

[kersen]

"Carry me?" Kersen requested softly, even though he knew it was silly.

[trustearned]

Michael paused, then nodded. Kersen was tall, even if he was slim; this would not be easy on him. But he still swung him up in a princess carry, and kissed his hair as he headed towards the stairs.

[kersen]

Kersen laughed a little as Michael picked him up, and wrapped his arms around his neck. It really was a silly request, but the fact that Michael had done it without complaint made him happy.

[trustearned]

Michael didn't understand the request, but if it made Kersen happy, it was a small price to pay. He carried him up the stairs, but was glad to put him down on his bed by the time he reached it. His arms were strained, but he didn't let it show.

[kersen]

Kersen stretched out on the bed. He was just glad that Michael didn't seem angry anymore.

"I could use a bite," he admitted with a sheepish little smile.

[trustearned]

Michael sat back against the headboard and drew Kersen close, so he could rest his head on his torso, before holding his wrist out to him.

[kersen]

Usually Kersen could be disappointed; the wrist was so less intimate than say the throat, but on the other hand, the way Michael was holding him, it felt very intimate indeed. It wasn't sexual, it was... nurturing, almost.

Curled up against him, Kersen held his wrist to his mouth when one hand, sank his fangs in, and drank slowly.

[trustearned]

Michael focused on his breathing as Kersen drank, not fighting the arousal, letting the pain and pleasure blend together. There was no urgency to the moment, no, and he simply enjoyed the moment, his other hand stroking Kersen's hair.

[kersen]

Kersen deliberately drank slowly, but he didn't take too much, and he eventually pulled his mouth away and licked the spot clean. Then he looked up at Michael. "Thank you."

[trustearned]

Michael nodded slightly, and laid his arm down, inside of the wrist up, so any blood still rising to the surface wouldn't drip onto the bed.

[kersen]

Kersen looked at him for a moment. He was well aware that they hadn't resolved a thing about their fight. But he was loathe to bring it up again. He didn't like Michael being angry at him.

[trustearned]

Michael was happy not to talk for now, like most of the time. He kissed Kersen's hair, then resumed stroking it, letting his bite-induced arousal fade back down.

Eventually he said, "That Magister." It was the word Eric had used, but Michael wanted to know more.

[kersen]

Yeah, Kersen had had a feeling this was coming. He let out a breath, and relaxed against Michael, enjoying the gentle way he was being held.

Finally he said, "It's a title. A judicial body inside one person. He or she acts on behalf of the Authority and hands down judgment. The Authority's had such little presence in London for so long that it hasn't really been an issue. But them sending Eric here means that things have to go their way or things will get very bad."

[trustearned]

"How bad?" Michael had to ask.

[kersen]

"War," said Kersen. "With vampires, at least. And humans are always collatoral damage. And the authority will win anyway. They're both stronger and better organized."

[trustearned]

That was not an answer Michael liked hearing, but he was used to accepting those sorts all the same. "So whatever that Magister says, you'll go with it."

[kersen]

Kersen hesitated, because he knew that Michael really, really wasn't going to like what he said next.

"If I fought it. Or if I didn't show. They'd go after the things I care about. Burn down the bar. Kill my employees. And it wouldn't take long for them to find you either."

[trustearned]

Michael wasn't after a justification. He simply wanted the bare truth of it. "So whatever that Magister says, you'll go with it."

[kersen]

Kersen sighed. "I... guess." He sounded unsure, now that it was spelled out so plainly.

[trustearned]

"If you want an alternative, you need to decide that now," Michael pointed out evenly.

[kersen]

"I do not want an alternative that involves you in it in any way," Kersen said immediately. He knew Michael wasn't going to like it, but it was true.

[trustearned]

Michael grew tense and quiet. A few breaths went by before he asked, without relaxing, "Don't be a fool."