Chapter Text
Lee woke up an hour or two later Felix was still laying under him just watching him sleep. “Good afternoon, mate.” Lee was still incredibly full and groggy but he smiled up at Felix as he pressed another kiss to his temple. “We should really get packing. I know I have a lot of crap to lug into boxes.”
Lee nodded.
In the time it took him to mop up the blood pool under the pile of clothes in the floor, Lee was packed and ready. His four shirts and three pairs of shredded jeans. His two books he had bought, his melatonin, sensitive skin lotion, and everything in his bathroom. He planned on staying for the ceremony even though his parents wouldn't be coming to see it. It was just something he always wanted to do.
Felix looked down at the milk ruined jumper. “What happened here?” He asked.
Farleigh. He threw a milkshake at me. He told me to tell you to stop ignoring him. Is what he wanted to say. Nothing would come out, but the way Felix looked at him.. he just couldn't tell a lie. “Your friend Farleigh.. um.. he dumped it.. on me..”
Felix scoffed and then angrily laughed. “You know, I honestly thought if he'd changed, maybe he could come stay with us during the summer but I guess not.. I'm not letting him get away with this anymore. It's gone on far too long now, I mean he's been bullying you since the first day of school.”
“Yeah.. but I don't want you to regret that..” Lee mumbled.
“I'm not gonna regret anything.” Felix said as he ran a hand through his hair and down his cheek. “You're special to me. I don't want you to be unhappy anymore. If I have to kick several asses to do it.”
Lee giggled a bit.
“Cute laugh.” Felix smiled.
Lee blushed. “Thanks.”
Felix wanted to pull him in, bask in the warmth of his skin, kiss his pouty little lips. But he knew what his priorities were. Affection can wait till after all the Is are dotted, and all the Ts are crossed. "Do you mind letting me know what that name is now?”
Lee looked down.
“It helps that it's the last day of school. He just skipped out on the ceremony and went home, like I'm gonna do.” He asked.
“Michael Gavey.” Lee whispered sadly.
“Okay.” He whispered back with a squeeze to Lee's thin body, his bones digging into Felix's abdomen. Short and skinny, would be easy to throw around.. A cute little guy. Felix would never have guessed he was an eater by the looks of him.
Lee turned his body and pulled his arms up to his chest, nuzzling into a standing cuddle. Felix held him close and pressed kisses to the top of his head.
Lee's knees were on the verge of buckling after a while so Felix carried him to his bed for a nap and a snuggle.
Felix could tell he was tired. Not so much because of a lack of sleep, but more like he could never truly relax and now with a promise of a castle and a family who would understand him. He was finally able to just. Be.
~•~
Felix left an hour later, after Lee had fallen asleep, planning on coming back to hug him more, but deciding he should probably tell Farleigh he was no longer invited, rather than letting him just assume it. So he hopped on his speed bike and strode over.
~•~
After Felix knocked a couple times Farleigh finally pulled open the door. “Ah, Felix. I figured I'd be seeing you. We're going to have the-”
“You're not coming.” He said darkly.
“Wait..what?”
“You're. Not. Coming. You're mean to my friends, you cheat on tests, and you've been using me for my money since the day we met. Come on Farleigh.”
“Woah, Felix, come on!” He laughed and brushed It off. “I'm nice, I just have a bully humor, it's fine.”
“It's not fine, Farleigh. You poured a fucking milkshake on him.” Felix was using his hands to gesture outwards. Trying to get his point across.
“What are you talking about? No I didn't.” Farleigh said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Look! Look at you! You're trying to gaslight me!” Felix shouted, pointing at him accusingly.
“I'm not gaslighting you, he's lying! You're really going to believe some stranger over me, your best friend?”
“I met you in 10th grade, Farleigh.. people change. Obviously you have.”
Farleigh sat there staring Felix in the eye, slightly shaking his head. “You know, I'm the only reason you passed biology. And if I have to, I'll help you again, but I don't want you hanging out with some low life! I mean he can't even pay his own tab.”
“And I don't care!” Felix yelled. “I'll flunk out of this stupid university if I have to!”
Farleigh looked shocked by this. Shocked because he couldn't imagine his old friend Felix saying something like that. Being so kind and taking anybody under his wing. He and Farley used to be the mean girls of the highschool. But Felix had morphed into this something.. Farleigh didn't understand.
Felix sighed. Pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers to soothe his headache. “Look, I just came over here to clear some things up, you'll have to find other arrangements for the summer. If you don't have them, I apologize, but I can't help you."
"So what you're just going to kick me out after I planned to stay all summer?"
"I didn't know that you would still be expecting to come over, I mean we haven't talked in forever.”
“Well I was hoping this would be our saving Grace.” Farleigh said, looking him up and down
“No.” Is all Felix could mutter.
There's a long bit of silence before Farleigh responded, “What am I going to do about food..” in a pitiful tone that Felix could tell was not fake.
“You'll have to hunt.”
“Hunt..” Farleigh scoffed. “As if humans are cattle for our slaughter.”
“This is just the way we have to live, okay.”
“Oh I'm well aware. You forget you only had your first when you were 16. Try being 12.”
Felix sighed. “I know.”
“I mean my parents are all the way in America! That's not right next door, Felix."
“I know.”
“Well?!” Farleigh said expectantly, holding out his hand.
“What?” Felix replied.
“Well, if you don't want me in your house then.. I'll get a hotel. But I need some cash."
“Go fuck yourself.” He said as he turned the corner.
Walking away he heard, “You're going to regret this! I'll make you regret this!” As a door slammed shut.
Felix paid no attention to the door or the threat, Farleigh was always dramatic. He brushed his hair from his eyes and pulled out his phone and texted his sister Venetia.
After he sent the last message he went back to his dorm and got ready for his sister to pick him up and take him home.
~•~
About an hour later Lee was sitting in a chair waiting for his name to be called A's B's C's all the way down to his last name and once the name was called, it didn't really sound like his own. He would be the first of his bloodline to go to college and the first of his bloodline to graduate it's a wonder he was even able to get in and it's a wonder his mother was able to scrape the money by to keep him in.
She must have really hated me..
He rose from his seat and began walking up the stage and to his professor shaking his hand and retrieving his diploma. As he walked back down the aisle he scanned the crowd half expecting to maybe see his mother or his sister but of course he did not.
~•~
The next night was rough sleeping on the floor after the dorms had been swept of their items including cupboards and closets, he was practically the only one still there but he didn't want to head out today because of the traffic plus he needed to change the oil in his truck.
The next day he got up out of bed bright and early grabbing his Bunny. Shoving her into a suitcase was his final item to pack before he raced out to the parking lot, dumped some oil in his truck after pulling out the pan underneath, making sure to scrub his hands, wincing at the stains, and hopping in. Readying himself for Saltburn.
~•~
Lee stood there. Looking up at the tall metal giants. The gates of Saltburn.
He felt like what he was doing was a big mistake, but he couldn't stop himself. His stomach did flips and his heart was racing but he drew a deep breath and huffed it out, stamping out what was left of his cigarette, walking forwards and letting himself through.
England was so different compared to Kentucky, where he was from.
His feet ached, he wasn't used to the mile long tracks. Being a student finally had him settled in one place for a couple months, but back at home all he did was drive around in his robin's egg blue truck.
“The truck he took from a guy named Barry after he killed and ate him.” Would be more truthful, but that's not the point.
His frame was a bit less gaunt then back then but he was still slim and muscular. Couldn't exactly go without it for that long and people usually don't just give themselves to you.
The hunger wouldn't hide itself away the entire drive. Each time someone would cycle by at a red light, or he passed by a group of teens, his mouth would water. He tried to ignore it but eventually realized he would need to eat. It would be much easier now, living with Felix and his family, but it would still be difficult to try to build his tolerance and pace himself.
Living with Him the beautiful man would not make things any easier.
Lee walked through the gates and knocked on the large door. Three, four times? On his Fourth knock the door swung open. He was met with a strange older man.
“Mr. Lee. You're early.” Something about him gave Lee the creeps.
“Oh yeah, uh.. I didn't really know where it was.. so I wanted to have plenty of time.”
“Well, do let us know next time. You see, the gates were not open.”
What does that matter? He thought. “Uh that's okay. I just pushed-”
“We sent someone to pick you up.”
Crap. Now you've done it, Lee! “Oh, man.. sorry-” he replied.
“Not at all… follow me.” He said with a fake smile and looked Lee up and down. His red hair threw the man off. He wasn't used to seeing that sort of thing living with the Catton’s.
He said “at all” in a funny way. More like ‘a-tall.’ It was different from the twang he was used to. Everything was different. The only familiar thing was the hunger he felt. Even the meat was different here.
Stop it! He thought.
The strange man walked swiftly back into the castle. Lee ran towards him but had to double back for the suitcase he left on the front steps.
As he rolled it along the cracked brick walkway the wheels clattered and banged loudly. It sounded like he had pushed it down a flight of stairs.
The only other sounds besides the annoying mosquitoes that nipped at his skin, was of his dingy Reeboks, that had no visible sign of once being white, shuffling on the floor, out of sync with the butlers rhythmic clip-clomps. The sound echoed because the building was quite old and empty. He got self conscious and eventually picked up his stupid suitcase entirely and carried it the rest of the way inside.
Lee felt awkward as the butler walked through an archway into what looked to be the foyer.
It was beautiful, everything was gorgeous and silver and shiny and polished. What wasn't silver was gold, and what wasn't gold was marble, and what wasn't marble was canvas. Canva’s holding paintings on the walls of beautiful people of the past and figures of great remembrance.
“Wow..” He sighed, looking around at all there was to see. He was pinching himself on the inside.
His eyes panned up to a magnificent sparkling silver chandelier with swoops and loops.
But suddenly everything was less of a fantasy.
He caught sight of a yellow sticky fly trap filled with fruit flies. Hiding in plain sight. He felt wrong for noticing it. He knew how it felt to be the one, tiny, disgusting, thing in a whole metaphoric castle that ruined the entire experience.
But what irked him the most was that one of them was still alive, its wings twitching as it struggled for a chance to be free. Just one more shot at a life it was privileged to have, not so much guaranteed to live.
That's what irked him the most.
He took a deep breath in, trying to calm himself when he noticed The Butler had stepped closer to him. He smelled of eucalyptus and mint and he was right in Lee's face.
He sort of felt like he did it on purpose but also understood he was thinking crazy.
He smelt nice enough, but his skin was wrinkled and limp. Not the soft suppleness, the plumpness, the spring of youthful flesh that he craved from his unspeakable meals. The ones that left him with nightmares for months, just until he had to do it again.
“Just leave your bag there, someone will get it for you.” He all but whispered. Lee's stomach didn't growl, weird.
Suddenly Felix erupted from a doorway. “Lee!! Thank God you're here! I'll show him to his room Duncan, don't worry. Lee, try not to be too terrified of Duncan, and Duncan, stop being so frightening in front of my friend.” Felix pointed jokingly in accusation at his butler and put his arm around Lee, who was looking awfully green, by now.
“Oh I'll try.. at least..” Duncan mumbled the last part.
“Come on mate, I'll show you ‘round!' he smiled, his eyebrow stud was gone. Lee wondered if he knew, but before he could ask, he was being pulled by Felix's hand. He felt his heart skip a beat and his mouth beginning to dry out which he was thankful for between all the salivating he had been doing that day.
“He's terrifying!” Lee whispered harshly as Felix guided him around to another hallway.
“Eh, he's fine. He's just…odd. Older. Eaten more. Just try to ignore him.” Felix returned rubbing his own lower lip.
“Kay so..uhh.. red staircase.” Felix pointed. Indeed it was red.
He turned into an archway on the right. “I accidentally fingered my cousin.. here.” He pointed to a frumpy set of dressers, oddly placed in the hallway.
“Henry 7ths cabinet.” He pointed again. Lee rushed behind him, not really being able to properly look at anything but amazed at the idea that he had a cabinet from a person so old in his home.
“Ghost of granny.” Felix clapped his hands together like he was about to pray. “Hi Granny!” he said and smiled but quickly returned to the tail spin of a “house tour.”
Lee had never lived in a house much less a trailer with more than three bedrooms, so at this point, he had already gotten lost, even trailing behind his friend. They turned into a room on the left.
“Green room.” He declared dragging out the Es.
“The gardens.” He pointed out a window to the left.
“Some fucking hideous Rubens.” Felix's face looked pained as he gestured to the right, powering through this room. Lee had no idea what Rubens were, but he accepted that whatever they were, the ones he was referencing were hideous compared to others.
“Er, blue room.. it's blue..” Felix kept going straight. Nothing valuable to mention in this room.
“..and kings bedroom! Actually the bed still has some of Henry the 8th’s spunk on it.”
Lee stifled a laugh. ‘Spunk.’ Such a less crude way of putting it, compared to the terms they used in the south.
Next thing he knew, they were in a room that looked like a library. “This is the long gallery.” Felix said putting his pointer fingers on each hand together, and then stretching them far out wide from each other, to emphasize the shape of the room.
“Dead reli. Dead relies.” Felix sounded bored and pointed to different urns around the room. “Daddy's old Teddy.” He pointed to a teddy bear sitting on a green armchair. It looked soft and was easily as big as an average toddler. “Guess you have that in common, huh?”
Lee nodded and smiled. His father once ripped Rosé’s head off because he said it would “Make you a man.” he was happy that Felix's dad wasn't like that.
“Did you bring your bunny?” He asked.
Lee nodded.
“Well take her out, don't want her suffocating in there.”
Lee nodded quickly, bending down to get Rosé out of his suitcase. Once he had retrieved her and zipped it back up, cuddling her to his chest Felix continued, grabbing Lee's suitcase out of his hand and rolling it along the floor. It sounded less clangy and bangy inside but it still made a prominent noise as it rolled across the hardwood floors. A noise that Felix charismatically ignored.
“Shakespeare's folio..” He ran his fingers across one row of books on the long bookshelf. “..and.. maze..” He pointed outside through a window. “Erm, I don't really like going in there much anymore. We're just through here.” He took another left turn, Lee was starting to catch up, Felix was a lot taller than him so it was hard when he ran around like a decapitated chicken.
“Er.. my room. You'll be staying just next door.”
As Lee walked through the room he stumbled over what appeared to be a pair of boxers he blushed extremely and tried to continue on being a pace or two behind now. The room smell like Felix 10 fold, his clothes, his bedding, everything flooded Lee's scenes. It made him a little busy in a good way.
Felix turned into another room. “Bathroom. Ooh…by the way, we'll be sharing a bathroom, I hope you don't mind. Otherwise you'll be miles away on the other end of the house.”
Lee shook his head. He didn't mind a bit. He was used to sharing a bathroom with his mother, sister and fa-....well. Never mind.
This was nothing.
“Good.” Felix smiled and continued on.
“Dressing.. room.” His face scrunched up. He closed a cabinet door and banged loudly on it with his fist. “This one won't close correctly, so you have to hit it.”
Lee nodded.
Felix smiled at him and started off again.
“And-” he drug out the word, drum rolling on the archway. “Your room!”
Lee looked inside, cautiously stepping over the threshold.
A big room, twice the size of the master bedroom at his house, with lovely beige walls and small cream Florentine Fleur De Lis patterns stenciled on. Lee thought it was strange that this English house would have French paintings stenciled on it, but this stencil was quite popular at his local craft store back home.
“If you ever get scared or anything, don't be afraid to come tell me.”
Lee nodded and tried to hide his blush, which was easy in this shadowy house.
“Do you want anything? I know you smoke, need an ashtray?”
“Oh, yeah. Sure, thanks.”
“Right I'll get that. Oh!” he stopped as he was turning to leave. “One more thing, mum has a phobia of beards and stubble so I left a razor for you in the bathroom. It's sharp so be careful mate, don't slit your throat.”
Lee nodded.
“Right, well, I'll go get your ashtray.” And like that he was off.
Lee stood back and took a deep breath. Home? Home… Home. He thought, as if testing the word. He shook his face, feeling the burning in his cheeks and the dorky smile he had been wearing for an hour. He decided to unpack his small bit of things.
~•~
As he unpacked Felix came in and laid a gold ashtray on the window sill. “Make sure you keep it emptied when you're finished. Another of moms phobias.” He said with an eye roll and a chuckle. Lee nodded.
After placing it down Felix walked over and sat on the bed.
“Hm?” Lee asked.
“They're all waiting in the library. Excited to meet you.” He said with a smile, Lee could tell he was being cheerful but he was still nervous.
“Well, let's not keep them waiting.” He sighed.
“Oh no, mate. The stubble, remember? You gotta scrap it.”
Lee rubbed his face, nothing much. “Its nothing.” he whined.
“I'm sorry mate, I told ya. Clean shaven.”
Lee sighed. Felix walked into the bathroom with him as Lee picked up the straight razor, Felix sat on the toilet lid. It looked more like a pocket knife than a razor. Lee was immediately scared.
“Um.. how do I..”
“Here, let me see.” Felix said standing, and taking it softly from his hands.
He pointed to the lid and Felix sat where he had previously been. Felix took the can of shave foam and lightly rubbed it onto Lee's soft skin. Blood is an excellent moisturizer. Lee sat as still as he could as Felix came close to his face, being extremely careful with the blade.
Lee felt a hunger bubbling up. But not the one he usually felt. Lee felt himself stiffening. Getting hard as Felix was mere inches away from his lips, paying him all the attention in the world. He couldn't hide the tent and his pants for long and it was BAD. He was needy and clingy and craved Felix's mouth. He had to say something before this got awkward.
“Felix..” he said, moving as little as possible.
“Hm?” He asked.
“Um..I need to tell you something..”