The Man With The Gloves (mxmxmxm)

7. The Taste of Temptation

"The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it." (Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray)

Was drinking blood from a vampire really better than drinking human blood? Maybe it was, but not by much - not that Fayez was in the right state of mind to care about ethics anyways. 

The starved vampire surged forward, ready to drink blood straight from the source, but to his great dismay, he was harshly pulled back against the same hard chest than before.

"N-no" he cried, pain oozing from his voice, but the grip on his hair was tight and unrelentless. 

"Ake!" another person exclaimed. "Let it go! You're hurting him".

Their protests went ignored and Fayez suddenly felt a warm breath against his cheek. 

"You're not allowed to harm my boyfriend" someone whispered against his ear. "If you drink too much of his blood, I swear I will fucking kill you, vampire or not, student or not."

Although the words were harsh, the voice remained soft, and Fayez distractly wondered how a person could be so contrasted. The same hand that had been carding through his hair so soothingly, not even a few minutes ago, was now bringing fresh tears to his eyes. 

"Do you understand?" the voice hissed, and Fayez could only nod obediently. 

"Ake-" the person with the lighter voice tried again.

"No, Zeph. I need to have his word. Do you promise not to drink too much of his blood, newbie?"

Somehow, the pain had cleared his head a bit and  Fayez managed to utter a barely audible "Yes" in response. 

It was only then that the hold on his hair eased a bit, and Fayez sighed in relief. 

"You know his promise doesn't mean shit, right, Ake?" - this time, the voice sounded mildly mocking. "He is so hungry he would promise to give you the world just to get fresh blood."

"Doesn't matter" the deeper voice grumbled. "At least, now I have an excuse to kill him later, if he doesn't keep his promise not to harm you."

"You're such a child. It's obvious he won't harm me. Just open your eyes! He looks a bit scared, now. He might not even dare to take one sip of my blood, that's how frightened I think he is. Well done, Ake."

I'm not scared, Fayez mentally corrected him, for he was too exhausted to say these words out loud.

The other person, the one that had been treating him poorly, sighed, then a warm hand was lightly pushing against his back. 

"Come on, newbie. Don't get all shy on us. Drink, now"

Fayez took the delicate wrist that was being presented to him, but, to the greatest surprise and entertainment of the two other persons, he merely pressed his lips against the wound. 

"Such a gentleman! I wasn't expecting that from a guy who looks at you like he wants to jump your bones"

"He doesn't look at me like that! Stop making fun of him, Ake."

Slender fingers started tracing the inside of his forearm, and Fayez knew, without even looking at them, that they belonged to the guy with the thin wrist - the one whose voice had a dreamy quality, the one who sounded constantly enthusiastic and didn't inspire him the same dread the other man did.

" It's okay, Fayez. Forget about my psychotic boyfriend, he won't hurt you. He's all barks and no bites. You are allowed to drink my blood"

Was it the way the person with the thin wrist was adressing him - like one would do to a scared animal or an infant ? Was it the fact that this person had explicitely told him that he was allowed to drink? Was it because they had called him by his name, something that only a handful of people had ever done during his hundreds year of existence?