The Pet Shop (bxbxb)

11. Work

(Pretty much the second half of the previous chapter)

Working at the pet shop was surprisingly less stressful than he'd thought. Well, in some aspects. Warden still had to make constant phone calls and was going insane with the amount of emails he was getting about his sudden disappearance from the office, but at least the employees at the pet shop didn't bother him much. 

Glancing up at the clock hanging above the tilted vending machine, Warden noted that it was getting close to one. I wonder if he'll even want anything... probably just spinach. He thought, knowing that he couldn't buy him any. Of course, that didn't mean the crazy store owner wouldn't.

Leaning back in his chair, Warden pressed his cool fingers to his forehead and sighed, closing his eyes. He'd gotten work done, which was good. And he was technically watching Cerat so the vampire was safe. It was all just extremely tiring after thinking he would have a nice easy day at his office.

Feeling an odd sensation in the back of his mind, Warden opened his eyes and moved his hand right as he heard something click on the other side of the small room.

"Oh. Hey Cerat. How is work going?" He asked, giving the young man a small smile.

When the action wasn't returned, Warden sat up a bit straighter, curious. He waited quietly as Cerat walked over, stopping only a foot or so away from where he sat.

"I've been thinking." Cerat finally said, his voice quiet. Almost a whisper.

Warden couldn't help but widen his smile a little as he leaned forward. "Oh? Is that why you've been so quiet the last few days?" He asked. He knew that part of it was probably because of the situation and what he'd had to deal with involving it, but if even a little bit of Cerat's distance was created by him being lost in thought, he might feel a little better about everything.

When Cerat finally smiled, blunted fangs peeking out from beneath his upper lip, Warden felt a nervous twitch in his stomach. They grow back faster than I thought. "Kind of." He replied as he stepped forward, pressing his legs against Warden's as he stared down at him.

"So... what have you been thinking about?" Warden prompted, feeling awkward all of a sudden.

Instead of answering, Cerat slowly slid into his lap, straddling him as he leaned forward to nuzzle the collar of his shirt away from his skin. His tongue quickly began lapping at the warm skin when it was accessible as his arms snaked up Warden's back. One wrapped around his neck while the other dug claws into the back of his shirt.

"When you two bit me, I could suddenly think without all of the darkness blinding my mind." Cerat finally said, his cool breath ghosting over Warden's skin and making him shiver. "I need a sire who will help me gain control." He said as he scraped his fangs along Warden's neck.

"We want to help you learn control." Warden stuttered as he reached up and grabbed Cerat around the middle to try and tug him back gently. He didn't budge.

"I'm glad someone finally does. I'm going to try and change things, but right now, I can't think straight enough to continue working around so many humans..." Cerat said as a quiet growl left his throat.

Warden swallowed, the sound strangely audible in the quiet room.

"You want to save me? Bite me." Cerat whispered before he sank his fangs into Warden's neck, needing to use some extra force since they weren't their normal length, nor sharp. A ferocious snarl followed the action as his control clearly began to slip.

Warden was still going through all of what Cerat had told him as he struggled to keep from pushing him away. Since the guy was normally quiet and never really talked much, even when they'd first met, he hadn't expected to hear so much. But he knew that he needed to regain control of the situation, and the only way he could think to do that was to bite him, then order him to stop. He did just that, though, when he went to lean away after having bitten him, Cerat moved his hand up and forced his head down firmly, making him unable to withdraw.

Anger welled in Warden's chest as he struggled to remove Cerat from his lap and neck. He could feel his wings beginning to break free of his back after having tucked them away once they'd dried, and was about to let them, when Cerat finally retracted his fangs and leaned back, licking his lips.

"Do not do that again." Warden growled as he strengthened his grip on Cerat's middle. 

Cerat just smiled and turned his neck from side to side slightly, likely feeling the bite Warden had given him. Warden could definitely feel the one he'd gotten. It ached pretty badly, even with his healing abilities, fueling his frustration.

"If you needed food, you should have asked. Don't try to take it that way again or I will find a way to terminate this arrangement at the store." He said.

Frowning, Cerat slowly moved off of Warden and stepped back. He was surprised that he wasn't losing control or throwing up. Perhaps the biting really does help him. Of course, he was still skeptical about it, but Cerat seemed a lot more in control of himself at the moment. Seemingly having restored the peace, Warden took a deep breath and straightened back up in his seat, eyes narrowing on Cerat. "Go back to work, now." He said, not wanting the vampire around while he was mad at him.

Thankfully, Cerat didn't argue and just nodded, turning before walking over to the refrigerator the other workers stored their food in. After a moment of digging around in it, he pulled out a container of fresh spinach and smiled over at Warden. "Wouldn't want to scare any of the humans into thinking that I can stomach blood a little better now." He said before unlocking the door and stepping out of the room. 

Shit. What just happened? Warden thought as he hurried to type out an email to Drake. The guy usually silenced his phone during work hours since most of his correspondence was done with a handheld radio and computer emails. When he'd finished updating him on what had just happened, Warden returned to his own work. There was little he could do about Cerat right then, and if he got too far behind, he wouldn't have any time to try and figure out the vampire.

His mind kept wandering throughout the remainder of the day, always finding its way back to what had happened. Every time, he felt the bite he had covered with his shirt collar begin to ache again. You just have to be more careful tomorrow. Tell him exactly what he can and can't do. He told himself when he decided to close his laptop for the day and get ready to leave, as it was time for the store to close.

When he stepped out of the office, he walked around the store looking for Cerat. It wasn't until he went back to the bird department that he found him. A large macaw, one of the few the store had for sale, as they wanted the birds to have adequate space and could only comfortably house three, the sign near their enclosures said, was perched on Cerat's shoulder. It was nibbling at strands of his hair, clearly tugging hard enough to cause pain, but Cerat was just laughing quietly as he ruffled the feathers atop the bird's head playfully.

Warden leaned against the wall beside him and watched, curious as to where the aggressive Cerat from earlier had gone. He was being sweet and gentle with the bird, yet he'd pretty much attacked him in the back office. I know that when he gets hungry for blood, he becomes aggressive or forces himself to starve, but that doesn't explain his sudden change unless the bites were helping... but if they were, then he should be wanting to please us more as his sires, not make us mad.

"Seems like your guard dog is here to get you, Cerat. You're free to go for the night once you put Maximus away." The owner said as she stuck her head around a corner, calling to him.

Cerat jumped and turned his attention to Warden as the woman left. He seemed confused, or even worried, for a moment before putting the bird back in its enclosure and locking it. When he finally walked over to stand in front of him, quiet as normal, Warden gestured for Cerat to follow him out of the store. The vampire did as told without a word, making Warden even more curious as they ascended the stairs up to the apartment.

For once, I hope Drake is here. We definitely need to talk about Cerat. He thought as he hurried up the stairs, Cerat on his heels.