Love Thirst

XVI- The talks

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Another hitch of a breath escaped the lips of an entranced artist as said black haired male attempted to capture the enchanting essence of his mate.

A watchful gaze convinced a platinum blond not to move even half an inch from his current position, despite not feeling uncomfortable in standing for long periods of time as a symptom of his very much eternal condition, the immortal still couldn't help but long for the throne he had been a prisoner of for a large part of his existence.

Vladimir then directed his eyes towards the hypnotised man, taking in the creases of his silky skin as he glanced towards him every few seconds.

They met each other's eyes in a sort of acknowledgement of curiosity and the dark-haired male contorted his lips.

"You're very silent." Euthymius stated, not stopping his hammering into the marble.

"So are you." He firmly retorted.

Once again, they retreated into their reserved shells again for a moment before Vladimir chose to rear his head for his confinement and cleared his throat."How long have you been sculpting, Volturi?" He asked, attempting a nonchalant tone, which didn't quite fool the artist as he had hoped for.

"Nearly all my life." A smile appeared on Euthymius face, genuine but seemingly haunted by the past, it brought surprise to the romanian eyes as he watched the cold facade crumble. "My father was a sculptor of statues of our gods destined for the temples in Acropolis; we were from Athens. Anyhow, he preferred to make ceramic vases to sell in the town square since they were faster to make and obviously to maintain the money he needed to go drinking... He taught me to sculpt to keep the business going when he wasn't feeling well or when he had too many orders."

"Your brother also sculpted?" The blond male questioned after taking in the disdain in his grave voice as he spoke of his father.

"No, it was just me and my sister."His smile dropped at the mention of his sister Didyme, his eyes clouding before he shook his head. "Aro was always tasked with taking care of our sick mother and when he wasn't, he was tasked with cleaning the store and the temples for our gods, he used to fearfully follow whatever our father asked of him like a lapdog, he practically had no life of his own."

'He used to be so sweet and shy, whatever happened to my brother?' He left those words unsaid, preserved deep in his mind.

"You have a sister?" Innocently, his mate had asked.

Euthymius stopped immediately on his tracks, his tools dropping from his grip. Something clicked in him after hearing the genuinely confused tone in Vladimir's voice. " I had."

"Oh.. I'm so sorry." Again, truth hanged onto his every word as the milky red eyes of the sculptor glinted across from the clueless romanian.

There was a pause as he processed the situation slowly and replayed the hints over and over again. "Don't be. It's not your fault." He finally spoke, hoping with his entire being that it was true, although uncertainty ruled his cold heart and venom pooled at his throat.

Upon seeing his distraught state, he felt guilty and approached the taller male. "Let's continue another day, it seems like you aren't in condition to do this right now." He placed his hand on his shoulder, before realising the sudden contact and taking it away. "We can still talk, if you want, of course."

"Yes, let's talk." Euthymius said after considering the proposition, not hiding the effect of the warm feeling he felt when the other touched his shoulder.

They neared the window and stood a few inches apart, but still closer, as the black haired man reached inside his pocket and took out a box, Vladimir watching him in curiosity as he placed a strange object between his lips.

"What's that?" He asked

"Oh, it's a cigarette, it's something humans inhale when they're stressed, however it is bad for their health, and can cause death to them."

The blond scoffed at the idea. "Then why do they do it?"

"I'm not sure, perhaps it's to reclaim control over their life? Either way, it is quite strange."

Vladimir nodded. "Why do you do it?"

He smiled slightly, observing the cigarette still unlit and in his hand."To remind myself, that despite them not having the constant blood thirst our species have, they still choose to indulge in addiction and imprison themselves in toxicity."

Vivid red eyes observed his face and its profile. "Can I try it?"

"Sure." He said and took out the lighter from the pocket. He placed the stick in his pink lips.

Vladimir watched in confusion as he flipped the metal lid off and rolled his finger.

Fire appeared.

Fear rose in the blond's chest as he backed away from the tiny flame, memories came rushing in as he could still hear the screams of his dead coven members exterminated by the Volturi, his hands rose up as he felt his throat burn at the place where he was nearly decapitated by Caius and his knees felt weak as he gaped for air.

Euthymius noticed immediately and closed the lighter and smashed it, before nearing Vladimir and holding his shoulders. "Vladimir! Vladimir! It's okay, it's gone, you're alright, you're with me." He gently said.

Finally, light came back to his eyes slowly and his breath became normal (nonexistent). In relief, the Volturi male pulled him to his chest and held him, whilst rubbing his back with a delicate touch.

Perhaps it was the mate bond, but the way Euthymius handled him made Vladimir calm down and become addicted to the careful patterns his marble hands were currently drawing in his black clothed back.

He separated from the taller man, but still gripped the sides of the thin white shirt of the attractive man in front of him.

Their eyes met, he saw the worry he held in his beautiful- no, his milky eyes. The eyes he shared with his tyrant brother.

His hands let go of the cloth as he backed away and raised a hand to his head.

"Are you alright?"

"What does it look like, Volturi?" He spoke the last name with spite and turned. "I have to go."

"Vladimir?" He questioned, wanting to go after him, however he knew that he probably needed to be alone.

Euthymius was left wondering whether he had done something wrong.

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So lots of progress in this chapter! Euthymius is finally getting more hints to what would have happened to his sister and Vladimir getting to know him better as well as lots of skinship!
Well, I enjoyed writing this chapter, but let me know what you guys think about it in the comments!