For Eternity - Edited Version

Chapter Eleven - Hangovers and Breakfast

Sleep was often a peaceful occurrence and waking up from a deep sleep was always a pain in the neck. This was a true statement for you. You almost always slept like the dead, but when you woke from a good sleep, you were a bear to deal with. This was especially true if you woke with a rip-roaring headache, much like you currently had. With a soft groan, you moved your hands to your head and began to rub small, firm circles on your temples to help ease the throbbing pain. You continued to rub in hopes that the headache would go away but alas, your attempts were futile. Eventually you moved to find a cool spot on your pillow, praying that it would give you some relief since the head massage was doing nothing. As you shifted, you felt friction along your waist, skin on skin contact if you wanted to be specific.

You groaned, knowing all too well who this other body in the bed with you was and who dared to have their arm slung over your waist. You weren't naked, thank the heavens, but the hem of your shirt had been pushed up to your waist, exposing the flesh of your abdomen and allowing for the skin on skin contact. You followed the length of the arm over your shoulder, and sure enough, there laid Luciano on his stomach, face turned towards you. His eyes opened a crack, blinking every so often in his sleepy haze. His magenta orbs shined dimly in the darkness of the room, the curtains having not been drawn back yet due to the last rays of the setting sun still shining prominently over the world outside, casting the world in ethereal glows of pinks, purples, and reds.

"What happened last night?" you asked groggily, voice just barely above a whisper to avoid a spike of pain in your temples.

"Mmm... You got drunk. I got drunk. There were a lot of drunk people," he mumbled, watching as you turned on to your other side to face him.

Luciano pressed his hand against your back and pulled you closer to his bare chest as he shifted to his side. You groaned at the display of affection, meekly pushing on his chest in an effort to put some distance. He held you more firmly in place with a quiet growl, warning you to quit squirming. With a sigh of defeat, you snuggled up to him, placing your forehead against his chest. His skin was icy but held a hidden warmth beneath it. It felt wonderful on your still throbbing temples, and for once you didn't care an ounce about him invading your personal space. All that was on your mind was ridding yourself of this horrid headache and hangover, which his cold skin seemed to be helping with gradually.

"I thought vampires couldn't drink alcohol..." you huffed quietly, more so to yourself than him, but he replied anyway.

"Of course we can," he scoffed before wincing as his own headache reared its ugly head. "We don't strictly drink blood anymore. That stopped... fuck, I don't even know how many centuries ago. Blood is the bulk of our diet, otherwise we'd die, but we do enjoy mortal foods. It's a nice change of pace."

"What if... I don't know... What if you drank the blood of someone who was drunk?"

"We'd become drunk ourselves. It's basically like drinking alcohol depending on the individual's blood alcohol levels. That was actually what was being served last night."

"That's kind of disgusting... How did you even find that many drunk people?"

"Willing volunteers. And it wasn't all just blood. We did dilute it with a lot of alcohol after extraction so it was just a hint of blood, like water with a splash of fruit juice.

"Willing volunteers," you repeated in a mocking tone.

"You do realize that there are still human civilizations remaining above the ground, yes? And that we have good relations with them?"

"No... That was never mentioned in history class..."

"Dio Mio... Your education system fails you."