The Beast in Man (Vampires in Berlin: Book One)

The Beast in Man Part 4

  Paul shuffled through to the living room, with a sleepy yawn filling his face; he was freshly washed, hair still damp and apple-scented from his shower, dark strands turned darker still with the water trapped within them. Olli was already sitting at the breakfast table with Schneider; both men were talking quietly and looked up when Paul entered the room.

"Where's lover-boy?" Schneider asked, as he glanced quickly over Paul's shoulder, as though he expected to see Richard directly behind him. "I'm surprised you haven't brought him with you."

"Reesh? He's still asleep," Paul said..

"Still asleep? Why? Did you tire him out?" Schneider asked, as he leered at Paul.

"We tired each other out last night, as it happens. Reesh was insatiable. I don't know why you need to know this, Chris," Paul said, with a grin hidden by a swiftly raised hand.

"You keep that to yourself," Schneider immediately said, with a shudder.

"You did ask," Olli pointed out, with a smile of his own. "How is Richard this morning, anyway, Paul?"

"He's okay," Paul replied, as he slumped heavily into the seat directly beside Olli at the table. "He was still asleep when I left him; I didn't want to wake him."

"Good," Olli said, with a nod.

Paul sighed and lifted the cup of coffee that had previously sat before the bassist.

"Thanks, Olli, by the way," Paul said, as he took a sip, eyes smiling at the bassist from over the top of the mug.

"And you couldn't get your own coffee for what reason, now, Paulchen?" Olli asked, mildly as Schneider snorted with sudden laughter across the table.

Paul laughed, before he handed the mug back to Olli and stood, to pour a steaming coffee of his own.

****

Richard didn't appear until mid-afternoon, face considerably paler than it usually was, eyes shadowed and a little pouched still with sleep. He grimaced at the influx of light that streamed in through the window, despite the fact that the sky was heavy with grey snow-clouds still and fat white flakes flickered and danced their way down to the ground. He hastily pulled the curtains and switched on the light when loud complaints came from the rest of the band.

"Jesus, you look like shit, Reesh," Till said, once his eyes had adjusted to the new light.

"Thanks, Till, you really know how to make a guy feel good about his appearance, y'know?" Richard immediately said, proving that despite his outward appearances, he'd lost none of his sass.

"Seriously though, you don't look good. Are you okay?" Paul asked, padding forward on slippered feet to stare askance into Richard's face.

It looked as though Richard was about to protest, to throw an acerbic comment into Paul's face perhaps, yet his expression softened beneath the weight of the other man's concern and the expected sassy asides never materialized. Instead, he sighed and propped his hands upon Paul's hips and shook his head.

"Just feel like shit, today, liebchen," he said, quietly. "Must be coming down with something; the 'flu perhaps. I'll be right as rain in no time, you'll see."

"The 'flu? I don't want to catch that from you, thanks," Flake said, as he shuffled away from Richard's immediate vicinity.

"If anyone's gonna catch anything from Richard, it'll be Paul," Till chimed in, as a way to reassure the alarmed looking keyboardist. "He's caught everything else from Richard."