Archive of Our Own ^beta

Daniel's hand shook as he fumbled with the syringe, drawing out Testosterone Cypionate from a small glass vial. He gazed up for a second and nearly dropped what he held because of the chill that went down his spine. Jesus Christ, man.

Armand's eyes on him always made him antsy, especially when the vampire just watched him wordlessly, entirely transfixed on whatever his current activity was. Daniel had gotten better at suppressing it, the fright deep in his gut, but sometimes, just knowing he was in Armand's line of sight made his heart rate pick up. Made him want to run. There was always a sense of unease with his undead lover, but he'd become used to it.

The low-quality leather of the couch they sat on crinkled under the vampire’s weight as he got closer, cotton swab in one hand, wet with rubbing alcohol. He used the other to push one leg of Daniel’s shorts up, his touch gentle.

Patch of skin on his thigh properly disinfected, Daniel angled the syringe and punctured his thigh with the needle. He hissed at the small amount of pain he felt, wincing. Daniel depressed the plunger, and…

The boy sighed, with an air of finality. Two days worth of fretting over so many different aspects of his life— uncertainty about his career path, his relationships, but especially if he looked masculine enough, if he filled his clothes out right, and if his voice sounded alright— fixed by Daniel's bi-weekly T shot. It really seemed like he lived for fixes, now, but really, it'd probably always been this way. 

Reaching this conclusion distracted Daniel, causing him to jerk his wrist too hard as he pulled the needle out from the flesh of his leg. He let out a small gasp, mouth falling open slightly.  He'd accidentally drawn blood. 

Before he could even make a pained noise, Armand’s hands were back on Daniel's bare thigh, raising his leg, bending it at the knee but only slightly, foot planted on the couch. The vampire curved himself over the puncture on the boy's skin. He licked a stripe next to the puncture wound and the red fluid that'd welled up from it, teasingly. He smelled the drop that began to trickle down Daniel’s pale flesh, breathing in his scent. The boy watched as his fangs poked out subtly from underneath his upper lip. And then Armand lapped the blood off gently.

Daniel flushed as he let out a small laugh, the vampire’s kitten licks on his skin tickling him. He resisted the urge to kick out with his other leg. “I'm lucky you're not a vector for some weird infectious disease,” he said, catching his breath in gasps between amused chuckles, “You don't carry any bacteria or anything, right?”

Armand raised his lips from the tiny hole on Daniel's leg, and backed away a bit. He nodded, looking up at the boy as he rested his chin on Daniel’s bent knee. “Anything that enters my body dies, Daniel. Bacteria wouldn't be able to proliferate.”

Daniel hummed. “What about viruses? Those aren't alive. They're not even made of cells.”

“Viruses require an active metabolism to thrive. They are obligate parasites.” 

“...So, that means no diseases?”

“No diseases.” Armand got off the couch, dusting off his pants absentmindedly. A little tic he’d acquired from the amount of time he'd spent in Daniel's apartment. He crouched on the floor, his face next to Daniel’s leg, and reached out, grabbing a bandage that'd been conveniently placed on the couch armrest closest to the both of them. “Do you remember our plans for tonight?”

Daniel nodded as Armand pressed the bandage to his puncture wound, smoothed it down with his thumbs. “I thought you were joking, honestly. I didn't know you dig trashy flicks.”

Armand scoffed, although his lips were curled in a smile. “Really, Daniel. I thought you already knew I had eclectic tastes.” He nicked the boy's knee with a sharp claw playfully, causing him to hiss in pain, and then stood up. Daniel sighed shakily in anticipation.

***

Daniel really hadn't expected Armand to want to watch a blood-and-guts R-rated exploitation film, but as he sat in the passenger seat of Armand’s dubiously sourced Ford Taunus, parked in a grody lot at the edge of town, at some sleazy drive-in theater, the boy decided he didn't mind. He really didn't mind. It was quite fun, actually. Brainless and sadistic, over-indulgent, disgusting  fun. 

Pulling his eyes from the big screen for a moment, missing a scene where some brunette in a skimpy top’s limbs are flayed open, Daniel turned to Armand, catching a glimpse of him lighting a cigarette with the car’s igniter. He basked in the sensations of what followed. Sound of the driver’s side window being rolled down, sight of a puff of smoke blown out into the night air. The truly unique vision that was the smoldering cherry of Armand's lit Marlboro as it illuminated the vampire's side profile.

Daniel put his arm out, less-than-subtly, over the gear shift. Forearm up and completely bare, now that he'd stripped off his leather jacket and placed it on his lap. An invitation.

Armand took it, although he pretended not to. With his eyes still on the screen through the windshield, he put out his smoke on the soft skin of Daniel's forearm, right above Daniel's wrist, paying no mind to the pleasure-pained hiss that followed, grit out from between the boy's teeth.

Although Armand was still steadfastly watching the film, Daniel's brain was scattered, and had been scattered for a while. His eyes wandered as he rubbed the pad of his thumb over the new angry, red burn. The train cart that was his thought process was going a mile a second, having already gone off the rails a long time ago. He attempted to focus on the screen in front of them, but he couldn't, so he stared at Armand instead, until the vampire noisily cleared his throat, making him look away, embarrassed. Daniel decided to look out the passenger’s seat window, then, and the train cart of his thoughts capsized. It slammed into a brick wall. 

Daniel watched, silently, as a couple fooled around, only a few feet away from him and Armand, separated by layers of metal and leather and glass. The boy blushed furiously upon the sight, his pupils dilating. It was just an adolescent fumbling between two college-age kids, clearly, but as the windows on the other side fogged up, he'd come to the conclusion that that had been hotter than any skin flick he'd ever seen. Long blonde hair, rosy lips, red-lacquered fingernails. Strong hands, a Polo wristwatch, a striped tie, overwhelmingly tacky, lost somewhere in the mix.

The arousal burning up in Daniel's stomach was so obvious it caused Armand to shift in his seat, finally casting a glance in the boy's direction. He saw, then, what had caught Daniel's attention. The vampire chuckled, a bit darkly.

“Don't tell me this is arousing you, Daniel.” Armand said, his voice cutting through the relative silence inside the car, although it was overshadowed by the audio that came from the cinema’s speaker. It dripped with derision. Daniel choked up at that, but he couldn't look away.

Bangles glinted in the dark through the foggy glass of the driver's seat window of the other car. Daniel caught a glimpse of lips on teeth. A girl getting on top. Although he couldn't see it because the rest of the scene had been cut off by the metal of the car door, mercilessly opaque, Daniel knew that the skirt of her dress would have ridden up as she sat on her beau's lap.

“It's not.” Daniel's face was nearly glued to the glass of the passenger seat window, his eyes wide. His throat had gone dry. 

“Then, the scene before you, what interests you in it?” Armand inquired, his tone changing, accommodating a different sentiment, something other than mockery. A tinge of genuine curiosity. An honest question. An innocent one by any other name.

Daniel struggled to speak. His hand found the cigarette burn on his forearm again, and he pressed down on it, hissing. Teeth, obscured by kiss-reddened lips for a split second and then bared, ripping open the plastic of a condom package. “...The girl’s dress is pretty,” He knew Armand wouldn't buy that, but it wasn’t a full-on lie. “They're both pretty.”

“Is it about beauty, then?” Armand asked. His gloved hand had crossed the space between them, and had shoved Daniel's leather jacket off of his lap. 

“I guess,” Daniel replied, still gazing out the passenger’s seat window, and then gasped at the feeling of Armand’s glove-clad hand between his legs, the heel of Armand’s palm pressing down against where he was most sensitive, even through denim and cotton.  “It's the audacity, too. I didn't know people actually banged at drive-in theaters. I thought that was just in the movies.” 

Armand hummed, stroking Daniel's crotch gently over the fabric of his pants, ever the tease. The vampire turned his gaze back to the cinema screen. “People do many things at drive-in theaters, Daniel.” 

Daniel's mind went there, as it usually did— the boy couldn't help it, really, not when he was with Armand. He sighed noisily as the vampire continued his ministrations, tilted his hips upward, searching for more friction. His tongue felt heavy inside his mouth. “Including— ah, fuck — murder?”

Armand laughed, the sound dry, like the sand the vampire had used for the base layer of a terrarium he'd brought into Daniel’s apartment only a few nights prior. “Undoubtedly, there is a possibility for murder.” His hand ceased its motions for a moment, so as to fumble with the button of Daniel's jeans, unclasping it, and then undoing his zipper. The boy, who'd only been passively receiving his lover's touch until then, sprung into action at that. Face still glued to the glass, Daniel shoved his pants down a couple inches, allowing for Armand to get at his boxers.

“A skilled hand over a screaming mouth, muffling the noises it makes. A crowd interested solely in themselves, or the happenings on the big screen in front of them. The all-encompassing protection…” Armand trailed off for a moment, picking new words, seeking out phonemes that could express his thoughts better. “...The isolation of an automobile. It's quite the perfect set-up.”

Daniel groaned at Armand's words, or maybe his cool hand in his boxers, the icy lambskin-clad fingertips against the burning heat of his wet cunt. “That chick’s dress, it's red…” He breathily mumbled out.

“So it is.” Armand was still watching the film, but Daniel could tell the vampire was rifling through his brain, catching glimpses of the girl's blonde hair, the smudged lipstick on her cheeks, and, of course, the color of her dress, as if Daniel's eyes were his eyes. As if they were the same person.

Armand pushed his ring and middle fingers inside Daniel with little resistance, forcing a strained whimper out from the back of the boy's throat.

“That is a fascinating shade of scarlet. In the dark, now, it almost matches the color of her blood.”

Daniel panted as Armand thrust his fingers back and forth inside him. He was so wet, he was probably staining the leather of the seat underneath him. The thought of that made him dizzy, made his dick twitch.

“What… What would she taste like?” The boy asked, half-dazed.

Armand hummed, pleased at how helpless Daniel was underneath his touch. “She seems inebriated… She'd surely have an alcoholic aftertaste.”

Daniel nodded, encouraging Armand to continue, to not cease the movement of his hand, or the flow of his words. “Yeah?”

“Still tastes like her dinner. Roast beef, perhaps, or an Italian dish. Something rich and bittersweet for dessert, but mostly alcohol. They’re consummating their first date … How unorthodox. ”

Daniel attempted to grind against Armand's fingers, but he found he couldn't move. His lower body was glued to the passenger’s seat, and his lover’s fingers had stilled inside him, causing him to whine out. “Armand, please…”

Armand clicked his tongue disapprovingly, rubbing the sensitive head of Daniel's dick slowly, his fingertips drawing out circles on his flesh. The leather felt too good. Daniel bit his lip to muffle a whine. “You forget yourself, Daniel. You can only come when I say so.”

Daniel groaned, his mouth falling open, cheek hot against the cool glass it was pressed against. “I know, I'm sorry.”

For a second, Daniel saw himself in the girl's place. Pretty and dolled up, getting fucked like some common whore inside a car. It made him bite down on his tongue. He wouldn't dare linger on that thought, but the idea of being forced into a  tight dress…

Armand teased his hole again, with the tips of his fingers. Daniel stifled another noise as he felt his labia being spread, toyed with by those fingers that, although currently covered by leather, had dangerous sharp fingernails. “Are you, really?”

“I am,” Daniel gasped. The couple on the car over seemed to be getting closer, their motions sloppier, the up-and-down movement that Daniel knew was the man driving his hips against his girlfriend’s becoming more stilted. The boy choked on what sounded like a sob when Armand’s fingers were inside him again, feeling like he was burning up from the inside out. “I'm so sorry, Armand, sir, I know…”

Daniel's pathetic attempt at an apology spurred Armand on, causing him to thrust his fingers faster. The boy continued, despite the waver in his voice. “I’m sorry, I'm sorry, I'm s…”

In some display of cruel synchronicity, Daniel's climax hit at the same time the film’s occurred. The boy’s voice broke in a moan as he rode out his orgasm, squirming at Armand’s fingers dragging against the most sensitive spot inside him, bordering on overstimulation, as the vampire projected the scene of the main character, some girl with short, brown curly hair, being stabbed over and over in the chest into his head. God, that was hot, so sick but so erotic. Daniel couldn't help but whimper, his hips jerking brainlessly.

Daniel tried to catch his breath, still feeling the aftershocks of his orgasm, as Armand removed his fingers from inside of him. He watched as the man in the next car came first, his hands clutching his girl’s shoulders being the telltale sign. Quirked an eyebrow as he watched the guy push the girl off his lap and back onto the passenger's seat. Damn, he didn't even get her off? Chivalry really is dead.

“Daniel, please look away before they catch you. It's impolite to be an on-looker to such a private occasion.” Armand instructed. Daniel obeyed, and peeled the side of his face off of the window, turning his eyes back to the movie. He watched as the main girl’s dead body was dragged face-down across the floor for a couple moments, before Armand presented him with his hand, the leather on his fingers still glistening wet. 

Daniel moaned deep in his throat as he licked Armand’s gloved fingers, before taking them into his mouth and sucking on them. He knew well enough that he wasn't really cleaning them up, but he enjoyed the novelty of it, the feeling of lambskin rubbing against his tongue and the roof of his mouth.

Armand pulled his fingers from Daniel’s mouth. He rubbed the boy’s cheek gently with his knuckles, the texture of leather against his hot skin, finally looking at him affectionately. “Good boy.” 

Daniel chuckled at that, whispering a thank you, and kept his eyes on the theater screen. He watched as the dead girl's bloodied up hand disappeared from view during the last scene. The film faded to black. His thoughts lingered on the scarlet dress.

***

Daniel chewed thoughtfully on his deli sandwich as he stood over Armand, who sat on the floor, hands clad in blue nitrile, surrounded by small jars of various materials, working on the terrarium.

It was large, round, and made of clear glass. The vampire poured small rocks over the sand inside the container— he'd explained earlier that it was meant for drainage— and then placed black landscape fabric over it. Daniel spoke after he swallowed down his bite, washing it down with a swig from the bottle of beer he held with his other hand. “I'm not sure I can take care of your terrarium, Armand. I'm too busy to even own a cat.”

“I'll tend to it,” Armand replied as he put down a thick layer of charcoal over the fabric, and then one of sphagnum over the charcoal. “You won't have to worry. I just want to keep it in your apartment.”

Daniel hummed in response, took another bite of his sandwich. Armand had bought it for him without having even been asked. It's as if he knew the exact times to tend to Daniel's needs. “What are you gonna grow in there? Small plants?”

Armand nodded, grabbing the jar full of soil mix and pouring its contents out into the terrarium. “And a small isopod population. It'll aid with any mold related problems.”

“Pillbugs?” Daniel crouched next to Armand, eating silently and sipping intermittently from his beer as he watched the vampire spread the soil mix out evenly inside the container, and then mix in perlite, coconut coir fiber, vermiculite and compost into it.

“Pillbugs.” Armand placed decorative pebbles and moss inside the terrarium. “Daniel, go in the kitchen and turn the stove off for me.  I think the wood's done boiling.”

Daniel walked into his small, overly crowded kitchen and turned off the stove as asked. He looked into the pot Armand had placed on the now unlit fire, unsurprised to find boiled bark chips. Daniel finished his sandwich and then called out to the living room. “What do I do with these? Do I strain the pot, or something?”

“Worry not, my love, don't do anything.” Armand replied, his voice ringing clearly through the apartment. A couple moments later the vampire practically hopped into the kitchen, his gloves dirty with specks of moist soil and tiny stringy chunks of peat. “I'll take care of it.”

After letting the remaining water in the pot cool, Armand brought it to the living room, setting it down on the floor. Daniel watched as the vampire crouched down and dipped his gloved hands into the pot, grabbing a handful of bark chips so as to sprinkle them artfully into the terrarium. The boy tilted his head inquisitively as he finished his beer.

“It's for the pillbugs,” The vampire said, by way of explanation, facing Daniel. “They like having something to hide underneath, to get away from the light and the damp.”

Daniel nodded, signaling his understanding. He circled the terrarium, appraising its construction. Armand preened under Daniel's gaze, grinning as he finished placing the bark inside the container. As if he'd read Daniel’s mind (he probably had), the vampire explained, “I'll buy them at a pet store later today.”

Daniel discarded his beer bottle into a nearby trash can. He put his hands on his hips. “While I'm asleep?”

“While you're asleep,”  Armand nodded. He stood up, getting ready to put away the jars he'd utilized earlier. “I'll have them delivered tomorrow afternoon, at about five.”

Daniel slowly stepped up behind Armand, a small smile on his face. He reached his hands out mischievously as he crossed the distance between them on the tips of his toes. “How many of them are we talking about, Armand?”

Armand gasped as Daniel unexpectedly caught him in a bear hug. The vampire laughed, a touch exasperated, as he batted at Daniel's arms, trying to free himself from the boy’s hold. Some dirt freed itself from his gloves and stained Daniel’s The Beach Boys shirt. Armand tried to reply, in between fits of breathless giggling and attempts to pull himself free. “Just 35— Daniel, release me, now — although they do multiply at high speeds.”

Daniel snarled playfully and bit down on Armand's nape as the vampire squirmed against him and tried to push him away, although the gesture wasn't sensual. It was more dog-like and fond than lustful or filled with intent, like a puppy teething. As if Daniel wanted to use his partner as a chew toy. Armand had become accustomed to it— it wasn't an unusual occurrence for his boy to just latch onto him with his blunt human teeth for no apparent reason, leaving only half or full circles of crescent moon indents on his skin as a souvenir. 

“Daniel, let me go!” Armand tried stifling his laughter, but couldn't, as Daniel's arms held on tighter to his middle. The boy forced his weight forward slightly, making Armand curve his upper body, as he clenched his teeth down harder on the vampire's soft skin, causing him to gasp and yelp in surprise. Just a little more pressure and he'd soon draw blood. “I have to clean the mess up from your floor, darling, let me—”

After a couple more moments of squirming, Daniel finally let up, releasing Armand from his hold and the vampire’s neck from in between his teeth with a teasing smirk, although he kept his hands on Armand’s slight waist. 

“Oh, right.” Daniel said as he lowered his eyes to his apartment floor and took a good look at the assortment of jars strewn across it, as well as the terrarium that needed to be moved elsewhere. He turned to Armand. “Do you want help?”

Armand caught his breath and shook his head. “It's quite alright, Daniel. You have to go rest, anyway.”

Daniel snorted at being reminded of his bedtime, and then nuzzled the curls at the back of Armand's head. “After you're done, will you come to bed?”

Armand chuckled, reaching back to pat Daniel's side with his gloved hand. “Yes, dear.”

***

Daniel finished his cigarette and put it out on the wood of the motel’s bedside table, snuffing out the only source of light that remained inside the room. He was frustrated, and even the afterglow of the orgasm he'd just had didn't help to force that feeling away.

He tried not to think about the girl he'd just fucked, who Armand was  definitely draining right then, just behind the motel. Daniel pointedly steered his mind away from the image of Armand’s teeth in her neck, his hands holding her tight so she couldn't squirm in an attempt to escape.

Daniel tried, God, he tried not to think about how sweet, how ethereal his devil would look as he drank up that girl’s blood. The boy grumbled and turned over on the bed, narrowly missing the wet stains his hook-up had left on the cheap linen. He looked out the window, staring at the dark blue of the night sky through a gap in the curtains.

I don't know why he doesn't let me watch, Daniel thought as he shifted restlessly where he lay. There isn't one part of me that he hasn't seen. It's always me being slashed open, just so he can have something fun to look at. He just watched me have sex. He loves watching me have sex, I’m pretty sure that's very intimate. Am I doing something wrong? He doesn't trust me, clearly, I must be…

Daniel huffed as he ran a hand, cramping and still sticky from being in between the girl of the night’s legs for hours, down his sweaty face. His arms were tired, aching. He counted down the seconds to Armand's return.

When he hit zero on his countdown, the motel room door opened, inevitably noisy. Its hinges creaked as Armand stepped inside, his footfalls silent, his presence only given away by his silhouette— his figure briefly illuminated by the dim lights of the motel’s hallway before he shut the door, submerging their shared space in darkness once more. The vampire held something in his hands.

Daniel wondered who Armand really was tonight: benevolent captor, or ruthless executioner? A  mad scientist dedicated to finding out what made Daniel Daniel, or a doting boyfriend who just had a few unorthodox methods of expressing his desire?  He hadn't given it away yet that night, even as he watched, with airs of exclusively clinical interest, as Daniel made love to a woman with only his devil’s pleasure in mind. Armand sat at the edge of the bed, startling the boy from his thoughts. A cool hand reached out to caress Daniel's bare calf.

“What's that you got there?” Daniel asked, practicing nonchalance. He sat back against the headboard, body supported by a couple of pillows of middling quality (a rather pleasant surprise, if compared to other motels’).

“I keep thinking about that night at the drive-in theater,” Armand began, with blood still on his breath. A non-answer. Daniel flushed at the memory of that night in the vampire’s car, his arms wrapping around his bare chest protectively. He was glad they were in the dark, although he knew Armand could see his reactions with his weird night vision-having eyes. At least being cloaked by near-complete blackness made him less self-conscious about his own gestures.

The boy played coy. He quirked an eyebrow he knew Armand would be able to see, tilted his head. “Yeah? Which part? The movie, your hand down my pants?” 

“Obviously, I'm quite disappointed you neglected the film in favor of… a different performance, as it was of unexpected quality for such a low-budget production. It was viscerally horrifying and erotic, simultaneously,” Armand replied. Daniel nodded, although he already knew about the disappointment part well enough— when they got home that night, Armand had backhanded the boy so hard he fell to the floor. For his insolence, for his lack of control over his own desire. “But I can't help but let my mind linger on it…”

Daniel gasped as Armand pulled him down the bed by his ankle, and then held him close, tight, after his voice trailed off. He still didn't know what the vampire had brought into the room.

“Did you miss me? You were only away for half an hour.” Daniel mumbled, not really expecting an answer, against Armand's cool skin.

Armand tenderly caressed Daniel's cheek, rubbed the tips of their noses together. Daniel was made breathless by the display of affection, and the confusion it brought about. Apropos of nothing, he wrapped his arms around Armand’s shoulders. Satin against skin in a tender embrace. Weird, doting boyfriend.

Armand's voice was low, velvety. “Do I make you feel any less than the man you are, Daniel?”

What? Daniel pulled away for a moment. He held the vampire's face in his hands. “Huh? What's this about, babe?”

“Your mind was constantly on that girl’s dress, then. You went so far as to put yourself in her place…” Armand explained. Daniel felt his neck and the tips of his ears become warm. His thoughts must've been loud enough for the vampire to pick up on.

“No, no, it's not about that—” Daniel tried to explain, his voice wavering. Oh my God, this is what I get for ever being stupid horny, why did I think that. Now Armand thinks I've given up on being a man, or something.

Armand insisted, although he remained sweet, affirming. “Are you unhappy with your transition? I'd stop at nothing to make sure you're safe and happy, Daniel, you know that…”

The boy groaned, equal parts exasperated at Armand’s reaction and grateful for his support. He attempted to placate. “Armand, no—”

“It's hard but it's a satisfying journey, and you seem very determined. However, if you've come to realize it's not what you want—”

“No, babe, it's not that, it's just that I'm a pervert!” Daniel exclaimed. That seemed to stun the vampire into silence. “It wasn't, uncertainty you felt, or anything. I just…” He bit his lip, suddenly shy again. “I guess I never had the chance to play dress-up, as a guy, yeah?”

Daniel tried to be flippant about it, but just voicing the idea of it made him feel hot all over. “So… Yeah. It's a sex thing… I think. That's all it is.”

“Is it?” Armand asked, craning his head so he could nuzzle the crook of Daniel’s neck.

Daniel sighed, grabbing the hair on the back of Armand’s head in a loose fist as the vampire began to kiss lazily up his neck. “...Yeah. Yes, it is.”

“I see.” Armand said, and then released Daniel, letting him fall back on the motel bed. He stood up and sauntered over to the bedside table. He turned on the lamp. “I brought something for you.”

Daniel's eyes adjusted to the light for a second, before going wide as he saw what Armand had brought into the room and left on the bed. With a small amount of trepidation, Daniel asked “Is that… Is that tonight's girl's dress?” 

“ Simon e ’s dress, Daniel. You learned her name.” Indeed it was. Simone had worn a knee-length blue dress to the bar Daniel and Armand had propositioned her in, oblivious to the fact that it'd be what she wore as the light faded from her eyes. Drops of blood dried on the fabric, leaving dark stains. 

Daniel sighed shakily as the vampire sat beside him on the bed, the mattress springs creaking as his weight settled. “You took her clothes off after killing her?”

“So she'd be easier to do away with, yes.” Armand nodded, kissed Daniel's cheek. “Harder to identify.”

Daniel’s eyes turned to Armand, and then back to the dress. “And you want me to…”

“Obviously, now that I know it wouldn't upset you,” Armand dropped the dress on Daniel's lap. Blood-wet fabric touched the boy's skin. “The idea of you in women's clothing has been perplexing me… I'd like for you to wear it.”

“I can't do that, Armand,” Daniel protested. He shoved the dress away, letting it fall limply beside him on the bed. “Just the thought of doing that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

Armand laughed, airily, mirthlessly. “There wasn't a trace of a bad taste in your mouth as you led her to her death, or as you fantasized about it as I fed from her.”

“No, man, this is different,” Daniel shook his head. “It feels… mocking. I don't want to.”

Armand stared at the boy silently for a second before scoffing and getting off the bed so as to turn off the lamp. Daniel sighed, thinking the discussion was finished, and laid back, head against the pillow, in preparation for sleep, shutting his eyes and waiting for the dim light to go out.

“Rest.”

Daniel's eyes cracked open at that, and then widened at the feeling of Armand's hands on him. He couldn't move. He stared up at the vampire helplessly.

“Armand, what is this—”

“Quiet.” Armand rasped. Daniel felt as if his vocal chords had been snipped in half. He couldn't make a sound as the vampire maneuvered his body up the bed, straightened him up against the headboard.

Armand pulled his boy’s boxers off, leaving him fully naked. Daniel flushed all over in realization of what was about to transpire.

Daniel's limbs felt heavy as Armand forced him into stillness, so there was no room for him to fight back as the vampire lifted his arms above his head and began to slowly lower the dress on his body. He wanted to squirm and protest and push the vampire away, but he couldn't— he behaved like a doll, pliant and easy for Armand to dress up as he pleased. 

The hairs on Daniel’s body raised at the feeling of the girl's blood as it came in contact with his skin. It had soaked through the dress in some spots. Armand released his metaphorical hold on the boy’s vocal chords for a moment, just enough for him to let out little upset whimpers. 

Once the dress was on, Armand finally laid Daniel back down on the mattress. The vampire smoothed the blue dress down in places where it creased, a small, tender smile on his face. There was an odd glint in his orange eyes. 

“There you are,” Armand said as he squeezed Daniel's thighs gently. “You look so darling. That shade of blue is perfect for you.”

Daniel wailed deep in his throat, squeezing his eyes shut. Despite his obvious moral issues with what was happening, he liked being praised very much. He liked being praised by Armand very much— just those words were enough to get him a bit wet already, make his dick twitch.

Armand didn't fuck him, although Daniel feared he would. The vampire silently stripped down to his boxers, and turned off the lamplight, and laid beside Daniel, close enough for the boy's breathing to warm his shoulder, but not enough for their bodies to touch, before he turned the boy's limp body over so as to face his back. The touch of his cool hands made Daniel shiver.

Daniel fell asleep with the feeling of Armand glaring daggers at the back of his head as the blood dried on his skin.

When Daniel woke up, unsurprisingly alone once again, he was in a state of complete undress— not even clad in his boxers, which he later came to spot on the en-suite bathroom floor— and the dress he'd been forced into just hours before was nowhere to be seen. The first thing he noticed, however, was the fact that he could move freely again, and the next thing he took note of, the second after, was that his head throbbed.

As he stretched, appreciating the regained control over his body, the boy felt a strange aching on the side of his neck. When he touched the part that hurt, he felt two holes that had been bored into his flesh.

He pulled his hand from the wounds— it came away bloody. He thought of the girl from the night before. 

***

Daniel sat at his sparsely furnished apartment’s dining room table, fussing about something he'd gotten in the mail, as Armand ‘played’ with the isopods in the terrarium (although the more apt wording for what the vampire was doing would be “using the small creatures as decorative fixtures on his arm, by covering it with dozens of them”).

“I don't know why Mom bothers with sending me this stuff,” Daniel said as he looked through the contents of the ‘care package’ he'd received from home. A couple of postcards, photos, three old vinyls from Daniel's father's collection and some other miscellaneous items from the boy's puberty— mostly things associated with the distant reality of wearing dresses and heels, appearing prim and proper, and chasing boys who only saw him as another airheaded notch on their bedposts. “Man, is that my first bra?”

Armand's attention was redirected from the pillbugs crawling up his arms to Daniel, then. He watched as the boy produced a pink-ish beige, frayed at the edges, top from within the cardboard box. Daniel had received it as a hand-me-down from one of his cousins in the cusp of his preteens, and for three long years it was the only bra he wore until his mother took— or rather, dragged — him shopping for more. 

“I don't know, Armand,” Daniel said, sarcastically, laughing to himself, as he pulled the top taut against his chest through his shirt. His chest had clearly grown as the years passed, and it bulged against the fraying fabric. “Do you think I could still wear it alright?”

“By God, Daniel,” Armand replied, with a grin of his own, his eyebrows raising in false awe. “Your breasts are becoming smaller by the day. I think you might have a disease!”

Daniel laughed at that, heartily, mumbling a happy little ‘ Fuck off, dude’ as he put the bra back into the box. Armand cast the occasional glance at him as he kept rifling through the contents of the box— the pillbugs still crawled up the vampire’s arms. “Got some makeup,” Daniel announced, raising a little heart-shaped glass container. He shook it and it made a metallic rattling noise. “I think this is from when I was, what, 16? Did my parents really not chuck all this stuff out the moment I left?”

Armand ignored his urge to ask Daniel about life back in Modesto. He already knew well enough about it from the times he'd dipped his hands into the boy's memories. Instead, he tilted his head in the makeup tin's direction. “What's in it, Daniel?”

“Oh, you know,” Daniel replied, cracking open the lid and peering inside. “Um… Eye pencil, a couple of eyeshadow colors, primer, red lipstick. Blush, and a tube of mascara.”

Armand gently shook the creatures off his arms, depositing them back into the soil of the terrarium, and stood up. He walked towards Daniel and gazed at the makeup box with the boy before reaching towards it with one hand. “May I?”

Daniel nodded, although he was a bit confused. “Okay…?”

The boy watched, as still as an inanimate object, as Armand picked up the tube of lipstick from within the tin, raising it to his eye level to assess its qualities, before cracking it open and applying it on his own lips. The vampire applied a coat of it across his bottom and upper lips and then gently smacked them together to make sure the red tint had spread evenly. Daniel flushed at the sight. Holy SHIT!

“How do I look?” Armand cast a glance down at Daniel, who seemed to be phasing into another dimension at the moment. 

“Handsome, uh… Beatific. Like you're God, and I'm the Virgin Mary, and you're about to get me pregnant,” Daniel word-vomited. He couldn't help but grin at the sight, really. “You look so pretty…”

Armand raised an eyebrow at Daniel's initial comment, although the vampire was smiling, his red lips curved up, his current expression forming one of the most pleasant images Daniel would ever come to see. “That's an interesting joke you're making, Daniel.”

Daniel pushed his chair back as he grabbed Armand by the waist and sat the vampire down on his lap. “So you're mind-numbingly beautiful, so what?” The boy chuckled, pecking at Armand’s cheeks with a touch of youthful indelicacy, flippant in his affections as usual. “Look at you. So gorgeous.” He said, and then proceeded to worshipfully leave dozens of small pecks all over Armand’s cool skin, attacking his cheeks, his jaw, the sensitive sides of the vampire's neck.

Once the boy was done with his onslaught of kisses on basically every single part of Armand he was able to reach, he pulled back, making eye contact with his darling, whose cheeks were now slightly flushed. Orange met watery green. “Hi,” Daniel said.

“Hello, yourself.” Armand replied, kissing Daniel on the tip of his nose. It left a red mark. The vampire looked sideways, setting his gaze on the makeup tin. “I'd like for you to try it as well…” 

Daniel looked at the makeup tin, too. “It's probably past its expiration date, Armand. It's old. I could end up getting a rash.”

Armand fell silent, raising his palms to Daniel's cheeks. He held the boy's face in his hands. 

“Sorry to disappoint. I just don't wanna get sick! You never know what a mailbox could carry, especially not a mailbox from Mom…” Daniel chuckled, but then his mind drifted elsewhere. “Although…”

“...Your last ex-girlfriend forgot a tin of makeup in your bathroom cabinet— You never gave it back to her because you ended the relationship on bad terms,” Armand responded, ripping the thoughts right out of Daniel's head. “With the brushes still inside— You pawned off one of her solid gold bracelets for two eighths of marijuana.”

Daniel winced, but didn't seem too upset by the vampire's intrusion into his brain. “Yeah.” 

“And you want me to put it on for you, because you haven't done your makeup since before you left home. Even then, you weren't very skilled at it, were you?” Armand tilted Daniel’s chin up. He didn't have to pry into the boy's head to assess that. His pleading eyes gave away what he'd intended to ask. “I suppose I should. Wait here.”

“Thanks,” Daniel said, slightly sheepish, as Armand lifted himself off of his lap and left the dining room, wandering into the bathroom in search of makeup. In the meantime, Daniel busied himself looking through the cardboard box. Seriously, how much stuff did Mom put in here?!

Daniel didn't notice as Armand walked back into his vicinity holding his ex’s makeup tin, as he was too preoccupied with blushing with embarrassment at some of the pictures his mother had thrown into the care package. He was happy, practically over the moon, to close the box and push it aside the moment he felt the vampire's hand on his shoulder. 

Armand placed the makeup on the table with a faint flatter and pulled a chair for himself next to Daniel. He sat down, graceful as always. “Hold out your arm.” He commanded, simply, but not leaving any room for disobedience.

Daniel complied, and watched as Armand opened the makeup tin. The vampire picked out a shade of eyeshadow (a bubblegum pink, very dainty ) and rubbed it on the pad of his little finger, and proceeded to smear it across the skin of Daniel's forearm. He squinted analytically for a second, before choosing another shade (a nice, rich emerald) and painting the boy's forearm with it as well, right above the smudge of pink.

“I'm unsure which I should use for you,” Armand admitted, although he seemed hesitant to speak the notion into existence. As if being unable to decide something for Daniel once was an enormous failing on his part. “So I believe it'd be best if you were the one to choose.”

Daniel stared down at his forearm, chewing on the inside of his cheek. He flushed when he noticed he'd been motionless and silent for a moment, and the vampire hadn't stopped staring at him. 

“I guess…” Daniel started, but his mouth fell shut as he really mulled over his options. Pink was more archetypically feminine, but Emerald seemed much more elegant. “The green is cute.”

“That shade is Emerald, Daniel.” Armand corrected. The boy snorted in response, rolling his eyes. 

“Emerald, then.”

Daniel shut his eyes, placing his hands over his knees. He felt the soft pad of Armand's thumb smearing his eyelids with something wet. Primer, Daniel thought. He sighed, fragile under even the smallest of the vampire's touches. 

Daniel felt the brush against his right eyelid. Armand painted it with gentle, fast strokes. It made the boy think about Van Gogh doing Starry Night, although he knew Armand probably saw himself as Bacon painting Figure with Meat. “How do you know how to put on makeup, anyways?” Daniel asked, hoping that he wasn't interrupting Armand in any way.

“I dabble, occasionally,” Armand replied as he colored in Daniel's left eyelid. “In my own time, of course.”

Daniel pouted. “And you don't let me see?”

Although his eyes were closed, the boy could feel the nonchalant shrug through Armand's words. “You never displayed interest.”

“I hate that you're right. Maybe I should've put in a message in the suggestion box, and admitted to you I've always thought you'd look super hot with makeup on…”

Armand chuckled, but didn't pursue the topic any further. “Open your eyes, Daniel.”

Daniel followed Armand’s instructions, and as he did, the vampire swiftly applied black mascara to his eyelashes. “You done?” 

Armand nodded. He was assessing his work, the boy could tell from the intense expression on his face. “Yes.”

Daniel tapped a rhythm out on his knees anxiously. He cracked a small, uncertain smile as he tilted his head to the side. “So, how do I look?”

“Resplendent,” Armand replied, without even a hint of hesitance. It made something warm bloom in Daniel's chest. “Although I'm sure you'd like to see for yourself.” 

Armand stood up from the chair and held his hand out. Daniel took it and rose from his seat. They walked hand-in-hand to the apartment bathroom, and then, as they crossed the threshold, Armand released the boy's hand and took a step back so as to walk behind Daniel as he approached the mirror. 

The vampire rested his hands on Daniel's shoulders as they both glanced at the reflection in front of them. “So?”

Daniel took a deep breath, released it shakily, noisy. He white-knuckled the porcelain of the bathroom sink. “...Wow.”

Daniel didn't look like a girl, exactly, but the delicate emerald color to his eyelids and his lashes being exaggerated by the mascara made him look like a soft thing, made it seem as if his skin was more flush with blood than it really was, as if his lips were fuller and redder than they really were. Armand's lipstick was still smeared on the tip of his nose, Daniel noticed. Again, that fond murmur within the boy's ribcage, that warm feeling. “I look…” Daniel fell silent.

“Gorgeous.” Armand lifted the hairs that curled at the back of Daniel's neck with one hand, and kissed the skin that'd been revealed with that motion. The boy shivered in response. Oh God, Armand's lipstick on the back of my neck… 

Daniel  craned his head back as Armand loosely wrapped an arm around his middle. He arched against the vampire's hold, squirmed as Armand's cool red lips graced his nape again and again, leaving plenty of marks. “...You think so?”

“Yes,” Armand breathed into his ear. A hand made its way down Daniel's stomach, slipped down the waistband of the boy's boxers, just to touch the bare skin of his thigh. “My beautiful girl…”

Daniel whined at those words, not fighting back as his cheek was pressed against the bathroom mirror. The boy let out a breathless giggle and leaned against Armand's touch. “You really mean it?”

His thoughts were cut off once he felt the light pressure of fingers against his dick. Daniel gasped and tried rocking back for more friction, but found himself firmly pinned against the bathroom mirror, only able to squirm stiltedly. He heard Armand laughing, and the tips of his ears burned at that.

“Bastard,” Daniel gritted out, although he sounded more fond than anything. He knew he wasn't ever going to be able to get this moment out of his head, the moment it registered that being called a girl had only elicited arousal deep in his gut. He felt drool dripping down his bottom lip as he tried to crack a smirk. “Show me, then. Show me how pretty you think I look…”

***

Daniel frantically smoked cigarette after lousy cigarette as he sat in front of Armand in a sleazy and cramped dive bar booth. The dim lights reflected off of his leather jacket, which seemed to envelop him. The boy had already ordered a drink for himself, and as he awaited its arrival, to keep himself occupied and quiet, he chain-smoked, averting his eyes from his vampire lover as much as possible. He looked nervous— Armand could practically taste the trepidation that thrummed underneath his skin.

“... Interesting locale for a date,” Armand quipped, wincing as he set his hand down on a particularly sticky corner of the booth table before pulling it away and trying to shake the unknown substance off. “I'm curious as to why you chose here of all places, Daniel.”

“Alcohol’s cheap,” Daniel said, preparing to light another cigarette. Armand plucked the smoke from his hands and set it down on the table. The boy huffed and finally made eye contact with Armand. “I need to get shit-faced tonight.”

The vampire quirked an eyebrow, visibly curious. Daniel felt himself cringe internally at the chilling stare.

“Don't,” Daniel started. He sounded edgy, and it made Armand roll his eyes. “Don't try to get in my head and figure out why, at least pretend to be a normal person for a moment, okay? Christ.”

“Is it Alice again?” Armand asked, although he felt his palate sour upon mentioning that name. Alice was the newest girl in a row of surely short-lived relationships Daniel had the unfortunate habit of getting into while Armand was away for weeks, months at a time. She was quick-witted and had a mischievous gleam in her pretty brown eyes, but was none-the-wiser to the boy's infidelity, of the physical and emotional kind. 

The first night her and Daniel got together, Armand had been there, his gaze clinical as he watched the boy pleasure Alice with a devotion he'd only been able to force out of him until then. Armand had wanted to cleave the boy open and play with his blood. The only reason he did not drain the girl was because Daniel had looked at him, near-imploringly, after they were done— he could not bring himself to deny him.

Armand had come to regret it, as one day, Daniel had confessed to him that he and Alice were ‘a thing’, now, and he didn't want anything to do with the vampire anymore. Armand had had to limit himself to watching the two of them through their daily life, always a couple steps behind.

Daniel would end up coming around to the idea of cheating soon enough, but the time they'd spent apart had been a rather difficult era for both of them. 

The beer arrived at their table at the exact moment Armand asked that question, and Daniel took a swig from his bottle before replying. “No, what?” The boy scoffed. “We're fine. She's at her parents’. Away for a couple weeks.”

Armand crossed his legs, the sole of his raised boot touching the denim of Daniel's pant leg. “I'm confused as to why you came to me, then. Ever since you've met that girl it seems as if you've hated my company. I assumed you'd go with.

“I missed you,” Daniel said after another sip of beer. “Can't I miss you?”

“You have a girlfriend now, Daniel.” Armand practically spat out. “So no, you cannot miss me.”

“She wants me to stay clean,” Daniel spoke over Armand's words, lips still on the rim of his beer bottle. He tipped his drink, finishing it with a greedy gulp. “Said I can't meet her family until I'm clean.”

“But anyway,” Daniel rested his cheek on his open palm. He put the bottle down. “The first time we went out, you watched me eat. You like watching me. Don't tell me you don't want to watch me, this time?”

Armand frowned and watched as Daniel ordered another bottle, watched as it was brought over to their booth. “I do want you to be clean as well.” 

Daniel opened his beer and glanced up at Armand. He shrugged his shoulders. He looked bored— something about that sent a chill down Armand's spine.“It's never for my own benefit, though, is it?”

“Dear…”

“ You, ” Daniel started, jabbing his pointer finger in the vampire's direction. He lifted the bottle to his lips. He was evidently already buzzed, seeing as the fingers closed around the glass shook and he spoke without heat, although his words tore holes into Armand's dead heart. “You're a sick motherfucker who only wants me well when it's convenient to you.”

Armand tilted his head. “Daniel…”

“No, don't lie to me, Armand,” Daniel chuckled drily, gesturing with the beer bottle. “You like me when I'm easier to take apart and put back together, but hey, that's okay.”

Armand fell silent, his jaw tense. He wanted to wipe the shit-eating grin off Daniel's face and replace it with a more pleasant expression— maybe bald-faced terror, or despairing regret, or a mixture of both. His boy looked so pretty when he was crying, begging for mercy, saying ‘ No ’.

“So I'm sorry for missing you, I wanted a nice night with you, but I guess I can't have that—” The boy continued. “I guess it's my fault I like bad things, right?”

“And one more thing,” Daniel added, before Armand could even begin to form a response. “Stop pretending you're innocent, you fucking pervert. I can feel you watching me and Alice when we fuck.”

Armand sighed. “Daniel, I'm s—”

“Are you jealous?” The boy interrupted him, again. Really, Armand was beginning to get fed up with his insolence. Daniel batted his eyelashes. “Are you mad she gets to be inside me, too? I think she's kind of crazy about the fact that I'm a dude with a vag.”

“Are you being aggravating on purpose?” Armand asked, clenching his fists tightly.

“She's such a better lay than you.” Daniel said, ignoring the vampire’s words. He leaned across the booth table, all drunken bravado. Armand wanted to disconnect his head from his neck.

“We are in public, Daniel.”

Daniel chuckled drily, and raised his tone. “Such an attentive lover, unlike somebody.”

Armand winced, noticing that some of the bar’s other patrons had turned their attention towards their booth upon overhearing their conversation. “Daniel, that's enough.”

“Oh, oh, and— and,” Daniel laughed. “She doesn't need fucking magic tricks to make me come untouched,” The boy sounded utterly triumphant, finishing his second bottle of beer while staring Armand right in the eye. “You might need to step your game up, man. You might become obsole —”

“That's enough!” Armand slammed his hand down on the bar booth table. Daniel's blood ran cold as he realized the vampire had frozen time inside the bar.

Armand stood up. “Daniel, bathroom, now.”

Daniel shivered, pressing himself up against his seat. He was frozen with terror. “Hey, look—”

“ Now, Daniel. Don't make me repeat myself.”

Daniel rose from the booth and followed Armand, steps slow as if hesitation itself was weighing down his feet. He stepped inside the bathroom once Armand opened the door for him.

Daniel stood in front of the row of sinks and mirrors. He felt a bit sick, nauseous from fright and the effects of the alcohol. He didn't even think about asking what Armand wanted from him, he didn't even dare look back at the vampire as he stood only a couple paces behind him.

Daniel felt the back of his collar being grabbed. He didn't even have time to scream or squirm out of the hold before being swung around and having his face smashed against one of the mirrors, so hard the glass shattered. He cracked his eyes open and saw a blur of red before tasting copper on his tongue. His skull throbbed. That's definitely a broken nose… If Armand doesn't just fucking kill me right here.

Blood dribbled down Daniel's nose freely as his head was jerked back from the mirror by a hand, closed into a tight fist around his hair.  Armand gave the boy a couple minutes to breathe, his chest stuttering as he tried to get some air, before forcing him down against the porcelain edge of the bathroom sink and banging his head against it repeatedly. Daniel whimpered in pain, his knees going out underneath him. He would've fallen to the floor if Armand hadn't been holding him fast.

“Please,” The boy begged as he was spun again, this time hitting the back of his head against the bathroom wall. He kicked out uselessly at the vampire, trying to get away. His body was limp, useless, he couldn't even fight back as Armand crushed his skull against concrete. He felt blood wet his hair.

“Armand, babe,” Daniel managed through his split lips, the vowels thick in his throat. The boy’s eyes welled up with tears as he shook in the vampire's hold. “I—I’m sorry…”

“Hm. I'm sure you are.” Armand said, one of his hands closing around Daniel's throat, before he roughly threw the boy down onto the dirty bathroom floor. Daniel collapsed accordingly, his limbs unable to find purchase on the tile.  He was belly-up and so, so easy to take apart. The vampire licked his lips, his fangs dropping as he sauntered over to Daniel’s squirming body. He wanted to crush Daniel like a bug.

“I will only say this once, so pay  close attention, boy.” Armand stopped Daniel's squirming by placing the sole of his boot over his sternum and pressing down. He felt the boy's chest rise as he took a shaky breath.

“ You are mine. You belong to me.” He punctuated that by landing a kick on the boy's stomach, making him fold in on himself and cry out in pain. “There will be many girls and boys who reciprocate your affections, but all of them will walk out the door once they realize who you really are. Only I will remain.”

Armand pressed the sole of his boot against Daniel's cheek, pressing his face against the floor. “Do you really believe you'll make it past the next month without me?”

Daniel cried out, writhing on the floor. Armand huffed out a laugh as he watched— he grinded his sole down against the bruising skin on Daniel's cheek, and then raised his boot from the boy's face. He couldn't help but feel the blood rush to his cheeks at the sight of the angry red mark it left. “Yes, I thought so too.”

“ You… You are just an open wound, Daniel,” Armand grabbed Daniel by the collar with one hand again, lifting him as if he weighed nothing. Daniel flailed, trying to grab at his arm. His hands shook too much for him to free himself. “A gaping hole. Remember this.”

“Need to puke,” Daniel breathed out in between sobs. Blood bubbled up from his lips. He felt nausea climbing up his insides. “Let me up, please—” 

“Should I?” Armand shook Daniel slightly, just to watch the boy sob. “Should I release you, after being forced to listen to your inebriated rambling? Your disrespect, your vulgarity?”

“Please,” Daniel tried batting at Armand's arm. He gasped as the vampire's hand connected with his cheek so hard his head snapped to the side. He felt dizzy. His mouth tasted like blood and salt. “Please let me go, I'm sorry…”

Armand walked a couple paces, his ears tuned to Daniel's cries as the boy's knees dragged across the floor. He wrenched a stall door open and shoved Daniel inside, watching as the boy leaned against the closed toilet so that he wouldn't fall over.

Daniel frantically lifted the toilet lid before scrambling to his knees, bending himself over it, and retching. He cried helplessly as he felt himself expel everything inside him, the strength of his sobs wracking his body and making him shake like a leaf in the wind.

Once he was done, Daniel sat limply next to the open toilet, his head resting on the cool porcelain. His throat felt raw. The tears wouldn't stop spilling, despite his attempts to wipe them off by pawing at his face. He couldn't catch his breath, because the taste of blood in his palate was making him gag.

“No,” Daniel began to beg, near-automatically, the second he felt Armand's grip on the back of his collar again. “Please, I'll do anything, don't hurt me…”

Daniel’s face was turned towards Armand and pressed against his stomach. Despite wincing at the feeling of sweat, tears and blood soaking through his shirt, the vampire cradled his head, allowing him to bury his face in his shirt and loosely hold his hips with his shaking hands.

The boy whined, trying to wipe the blood off his face on the fabric it was pressed against. “My head hurts so much… Please, I'm sorry…”

“Sometimes I feel as if you don't care for me as much as I care for you, Daniel.” Armand said, gently, as he ran a hand through the boy's hair. “What am I doing wrong? Why don't you like me?”

“It's not your fault,” Daniel replied, fragile, between sobs. His words were slightly muffled against the fabric of the vampire's shirt. “I do like you, I'm sorry.”

“...You like me?” Armand asked, with a tone of child-like hopefulness in his voice.

“I do, I do,” Daniel looked up at Armand with teary eyes, then. The incandescent lights surrounded the vampire in a halo, from his point of view. He looked holy. “Armand, I love you.”

***

Armand held up a pair of black leather stiletto heels in Daniel's direction as the boy sat on the ratty couch in his living room and flipped through a brochure on the Cambrian Explosion. “What do you think?” 

Daniel glanced up at the stilettos and shrugged, turning his attention back to the pages. “Looks okay. Pretty.”

Armand placed the heels on Daniel's lap and sat beside him on the couch. He caressed Daniel's cheek with a gentle hand. “Put them on.”

Daniel set his brochure down in favor of grabbing the heels. He pulled his socks off, snorting when he noticed Armand was staring. “Stop looking at me like that, it's weird.”

Armand's eyes did not steer away from him. The boy sighed, feeling resigned to it. He couldn't help blushing as he slipped the first heel on. “You know, I never actually wore heels.”

Armand quirked an eyebrow, although he was already aware of Daniel's inexperience with heels. “Is that so?”

“Yeah. I even wore sneakers at prom,” Daniel stretched his legs off the couch and gyrated his ankles so that he could watch as the leather of the heels gleamed in the light. “I barely stuck around, actually.”

“Interesting.” Armand replied, also focusing on how the leather looked under the faulty lights, before his eyes roved over the boy's calves, his thighs, before finally reaching his face again. “And I assume…”

“ Yes, I didn't have a date,” Daniel chuckled. “And yes, I left to go smoke.” He shook his feet until the shoes dislodged themselves and fell to the floor with a clatter before tucking his legs back into the couch and grabbing his brochure again.

Daniel vaguely gestured to the heels with the brochure. “Where'd you get these? They look expensive.”

“They're Louboutins.” Armand replied. “They were worth more than your salary, I assure you, but don't worry about such details. I bought them for you.”

A beat of silence. The boy had been awfully silent the past days, actually, which made Armand's palate sour. He was used to Daniel's voice filling all the gaps in the air, enveloping him like a sheet of cellophane would envelop a corpse about to be tossed into a body of water.

Armand looked around the living room, resting a hand on one of Daniel's thighs absent-mindedly. It was only then he realized the apartment had gone back to being sparsely furnished, lacking anything of note besides Armand's terrarium on the coffee table. Even as they were apart, Daniel had kept it, and tended to it himself. Armand thought it sweet. “Where are… Alice's things?”

Daniel snorted, his chest rising in a little indignant huff. “She’s mad at me. I'm mad at her. The last thing I heard from her was something about her finding a stash of smack under the mattress. Through a note she left on voicemail.”  The boy’s nose curled. He shrugged and continued reading, falsely attentive to the words on the pages. “I don't think she's coming back. I hope not. Good riddance.”

Armand could tell how upset Daniel was over the fiasco that had been their little relationship, it basically emanated off him. Armand concluded that he really must've liked the girl, despite how much she lacked depth, underneath the veneer of literacy and jaded wit. He had loved her, maybe still did, despite how ephemeral she was.

“I’m sorry, Daniel.” Armand wasn't sorry.

Daniel knew. The bruises were still fading from his skin, purples turning into sickly greenish yellows. “...Yeah.”

“Hey, Armand,” Daniel started, eyes still on the brochure. The boy wet the tips of his fingers with his tongue and flipped to the next page. “When's the next occasion your weird little drive-in’s gonna be in town?”

Armand perked up at the question, excited to share the information. He'd planned to go on his own, but if Daniel was displaying interest… “Next Wednesday. If I'm not mistaken, a clandestine double session of Shivers and Blood Sucking Freaks.” His hand raised to caress Daniel's shoulder. “Why?”

“I was thinking you could take me.” Daniel obscured the lower half of his face with the brochure as he stared up at Armand through his eyelashes. He crossed his legs. “You should.”

That piqued the vampire's interest. “I'll come by and pick you up at 8.” Armand leaned in and gently kissed the bridge of Daniel's nose.

The boy giggled. The sound made Armand ravenous, made him coil his limbs tight around Daniel so that he could never leave. “Alright, but I'll be very drunk.”

Armand could feel the boy trying to close his mind to him. The vampire craned his body forward so that he could get at Daniel's neck, but not before he could murmur “What for?” into his ear.

Daniel grinned as he dropped the brochure and his fingers found Armand’s hair. “You'll see. It's a surprise.” 

***

Armand stood outside Daniel's apartment, waiting for the boy to come out. He yelled out a slightly slurred “ One sec! ”  through the door, and then the vampire heard the sound of what seemed like the boy walking into his furniture. Armand thought it best to wait outside.

Once he opened the door, the first thing Armand noticed was Daniel's appearance— the boy wore a short blue dress, dark nylons and the Louboutins he'd been gifted. His arms were decorated with bracelets, he had black studs on his ears, and a necklace with a heart-shaped pendant hung around his neck. He smelled like cherries, and his hair was artfully styled. Very nice, Armand thought.

“Sorry for taking so long, you know how I am.” Daniel held a beer bottle in one of his hands, and a purse in the other. He already looked plenty buzzed as he lifted the bottle to his lips, which were tinted red, matching the lacquer on his fingertips. Armand noticed the blue color on his eyelids, which complimented his watery eyes— the boy looked straight out of a Giallo film. “Let's go!”

As they pulled up to the drive-in (after a silent  car ride, with only Armand’s Brian Eno record as background noise), Armand shook, even if imperceptibly while cloaked in darkness, with anticipation. He hadn't expected Daniel to have been so bold as to dress himself up this way, taking his desires into his own hands. It was usually the vampire’s manipulation that got him to actualize any of his fantasies, which he  usually buried in the recesses of his mind. This was a pleasant surprise.

Daniel swung his bottle slightly, watching the beer inside it slosh around, glinting in the dark, before finally facing Armand. “Do you like it?” It was clear what he meant, even as he skirted around talking about it. “You haven't said a word about it.”

“I do, you look very nice.” Armand replied as his gloved hand rose to caress Daniel's cheek. Need practically radiated off of the boy. It made Armand delirious. “Is this a special occasion for you, Daniel?”

Daniel flushed, skin going redder than the blush he'd put on. He leaned into the vampire's touch. “I wanted to make it up to you, you know, for being so… difficult.”

Armand was fascinated by that response. Guilt was one of Daniel's primary driving forces, he knew as much already, but he wasn't aware it reached the point where an event from weeks prior could still weigh down on the boy's mind. Armand mentally archived that under his collection of things he'd be able to make use of at a later date. 

Armand chuckled drily. He glanced towards the big screen through the windshield for a second, before returning his gaze to the boy in front of him. “I am accustomed to it, Daniel. I wouldn't have it— I wouldn't have you— any other way.”

“I know,” Daniel pouted, seeming genuinely guilty. He was so impressively human, shifting in the car seat as he reached out to lay a hand on Armand's clothed thigh. “But you shouldn't, I'm sorry, I try not to be so bad…”

Armand's hand slid down, and he cradled the back of the boy's neck. “I’m sure you do, and yet, you fail more often than not.” He answered, unkindly, yet still somehow fond. As if he were scolding a child. “But you are lucky, as I have a seemingly unending amount of affection for you. Do you really think I'd leave you?”

Daniel shakily drank from his beer bottle, shaking his head at Armand's words. He looked down at his thighs, his lower lip trembling. Leave it up to him to make his desperate apologies to his lover somehow about him, about his desires. “You… You can do whatever you want to me in retaliation, you know. It's only fair.”

Armand raised an eyebrow. Daniel leaned in, looking at him pleadingly. He raised the bottle to his lips, his hand shaking, before putting it down between his legs. His breath smelled of alcohol. “Please, Armand...”

The boy lowered his head, the tips of his ears burning with an embarrassed flush. Daniel felt disgusted at his own desperation. “I'll be your girl tonight, please, please— just let me show you how sorry I am.”

All the air left Armand's lungs in an exhale as he dug his nails into the delicate skin of Daniel's neck, breaking it— That's one set of gloves ruined by my unruly desire, the vampire thought, with no real bitterness to it. The boy yelped, but held still, his breathing picking up, his heart jackrabbiting against his ribs. 

Armand could feel his fangs peek out from underneath his upper lip as he smeared the blood he'd drawn on the tips of his leather-clad fingers. He retracted his hand, licked the blood off the lambskin, savoring it. Daniel could feel saliva pooling on his tongue, swallowing it down as he finished his beer and placed the empty bottle on the cupholder between them. “Is that so?”

“Yes,” Daniel spoke, mouth going dry as he was able to make out Armand removing his now torn gloves. “God, yes—”

The vampire's bare palm cradled the back of Daniel's head, scratching his scalp for a few moments in a tender caress. Armand took a shaky breath before he finally firmly held the boy's hair in a tight fist and began to lower his head to his clothed crotch as he pulled back his seat with his other hand, making room for his legs.

Daniel went willingly, already soft and pliant enough from the alcohol in his system. He curved himself over Armand's clothed crotch, face burning from how overwhelmingly whorish he felt doing this in a parking lot, dressed this way no less— it was too fun, giving himself away like this. It was disgusting. Daniel couldn't get enough.

“Daniel,” Armand jerked Daniel's head back with the grip he had on his hair so the boy would look up. The light from the projector cast an eerie glow upon the vampire's skin as it filtered through the windshield. “Be a good girl and pleasure me. Perhaps I'll reward you later on for a job well done.”

Daniel whined deep in his throat, but just the thought of being called a ‘good girl’ again only gave him more resolve to make Armand feel good, to show Armand his worth. The boy busied himself with lowering his head to the bulge in Armand's pants once again and sloppily sliding his tongue over the soft fabric, soaking it with spit.

Armand hissed as he breathed in sharply, the grip he had on Daniel's hair tightening as he felt his cock harden in its confinements. Daniel nuzzled his groin, stifling a moan against the fabric as he felt Armand's nails scratch against his scalp. He felt so elated. He lifted his hands to undo Armand's zipper, but they were shaking so much they were useless— the vampire batted them away and pulled his pants down to his mid-thighs, gasping as Daniel immediately latched onto his boxers, licking at the reddish spot of pre-ejaculate that'd begun to spread throughout, even sucking on it, lacking in finesse.

Even through fabric, the wetness against Armand's hard cock felt electric. Daniel had surely stained the white fabric of his underwear with his red lipstick, and that thought only made Armand’s hips twitch as the boy finally hooked his fingers down his waistband and got at what he’d really wanted, what he'd really been fiending for.

Daniel kissed the head of Armand's dick messily and without preamble, shakily reaching out and gripping the length— that made the vampire's head spin, as usually he would've had to force Daniel down on his knees to get him in this position; the intoxication had loosened the boy up so much he had no inhibition in regards to lovingly (unknowingly) teasing Armand. He dug his nose into the crease where Armand's thigh met his hip, deliberately avoiding the hard cock right against his cheek, and smelled his lover's scent— distinctly neutral and metallic with a hint of Armand's preferred cologne.

“Princess—” Armand managed, pleased at the pathetic noise that term of endearment forced out of Daniel's throat. He pushed the boy's head back and just stared at him for a couple moments, before turning his vision back to the movie and lowering Daniel's face just so that the head of his dick was pressed right against the delicate slope of Daniel's cheekbone.

Armand moaned quietly as he felt the warmth of his lover's skin, heard his whine as he proceeded to hump his cheek with contained thrusts of his hips. His eyes were glued to the screen, but he could tell from Daniel's wounded-sounding whimpers that the boy's whole body was flushed red, he must've been so hard it hurt.

“Armand, please,” Daniel sobbed, desperation leaking out of his voice. What Armand was doing was stupidly hot, but Daniel wanted more, wanted him weighing down heavy on his tongue, wanted him deep in his throat. He wanted, wanted, wanted. “My mouth…”

Armand sighed, his hips stuttering as he maneuvered Daniel's head away. He released the boy's hair, opting to caress his cheek instead with a gentle hand, smearing the bloody pre-ejaculate— which had already started to become tacky as it dried— on his skin, before pressing his thumb against Daniel's lower lip. Daniel's lips parted and he allowed the thumb to slide back and forth against his tongue, his whole body twitching whenever it got too close to triggering his gag reflex.

With his other hand, which was still gloved, Armand gently pressed down on the back of Daniel's neck, forcing him against his cock. He removed his thumb from within Daniel's mouth and used it to pry open his jaw instead. The boy moaned quietly as he slowly took in Armand's cock, inch by inch, until it teased his uvula.

The vampire twitched where he sat, one of his hands wrapping around Daniel's throat and squeezing just enough to feel himself inside. If he were human, he would've been sweating enough to stick himself to the car seat. “Very good,” Armand said, shivering slightly as he stroked the boy's neck none-too-gently, pressing his fingers harshly against the soft flesh, eliciting a groan. “Your throat is as welcoming as I remember it.”

Daniel felt a bit of nausea mounting as his gag reflex was tested, but he was so overtaken with ecstasy he disregarded it. He whined around Armand's cock in his mouth, knowing the vibrations would bring him pleasure, but also because it just felt so good. He fucking loved going down on Armand, really, loved the salty-coppery sanguine flavour of the vampire's pre-ejaculate, loved being able to make his devil feel good, loved being useful, even if just as a glorified blow-up sex doll. His dress clung to his skin and there were already tears forming in his eyes, and he hadn't even properly been fucked— or touched, for that matter— yet. He felt like a huge slut, and that was, to him, so sinfully gratifying.

Armand began fucking into Daniel's eager mouth with a practiced self-restraint, breaths leaving him in sharp hisses as he snapped his hips foreward, the way in which he was affected by Daniel's touch bleeding through him even as he refused to maintain eye contact. The boy squirmed, merely taking what he was given and trying to roll with it, swallowing around the length as saliva started to accumulate in large enough amounts to drip from his mouth, grunting on occasion when his throat was fucked too roughly. He felt a bit dizzy, a bit sick— the hand that had been wrapped around Armand's cock moments before made its way to the vampire's hip as Daniel attempted to hold on for dear life.

As Armand continued his pace, however, the feeling of discomfort and nausea began to build up further within Daniel, barely noticeable at first, but then strong enough to make the boy’s head throb. His entire body seized up as Armand’s cock violated his throat, triggering his gag reflex and making him choke. Tears washed the mascara out of the boy's lashes as they spilled down his cheeks, and Daniel could feel the sickness climbing up his throat as Armand held him down there, his nose pressed up against his pubic hairs, waiting for his throat to stop fluttering around his dick, for him to steady his breathing.

Daniel squeezed Armand's hip desperately —he really didn't want to puke all over his lover, he really didn't want to ruin the car, he really didn't want this— and whined, projecting the plea to be let up psychically to the best of his ability. He sighed shakily in relief as Armand finally released him, when he really felt as if he was either about to faint or vomit, lifting his hands and allowing Daniel to pull himself free. The boy gasped for air for a couple seconds, before clumsily turning around in his seat and struggling for a few seconds to get the car door to open, his urgency enhancing with every split second. Finally having managed to push the door open, Daniel curved himself over the floor and wretched, releasing most, if not all, of the alcohol he'd drunk earlier onto the pavement. 

Daniel gasped, his throat feeling raw, for a few moments, before closing the car door. He lifted the back of his hand to his lips, wincing as he wiped away spit and vomit from his chin, smearing lipstick over his own skin. Armand opened the glove compartment and handed him a tissue— some puke had dripped onto the collar of Daniel's dress. The boy dabbed at the fabric with the tissue, his chest stuttering as he attempted to even out his breathing. 

“Fold it.” Armand commanded. Daniel did as asked, folding up the tissue and handing it to Armand, who placed it inside a plastic bag wrapped around the stick shift as a trash disposal of sorts. “Good.”

Something horribly gory was happening on the big screen, surely— Armand's form and the inside of the car were bathed in red light, and there came a shrill scream from the speakers, but Daniel couldn't be bothered to look through the windshield to see what was going on. All he had eyes for was Armand, every inch of him, and his hands shakily went to the vampire's thighs again. He hadn't gone soft, not even a bit— Had he enjoyed it? Seeing Daniel throw up? Seeing the boy utterly intoxicated by drink and desire?

Daniel clumsily wrapped his cleaner hand around Armand's hard cock, his palm already slick with sweat aiding him as he stroked Armand at a steady pace. “Fuck,” Daniel sobbed. “I'm sorry.”

“It's alright, lover.” Armand placated, melting into his seat slightly as Daniel's touch undid him. “You couldn't help it, could you?”

Daniel shook his head, but still— “I fucked it up.”

Armand shook his head gently and crooked his fingers, beckoning the boy towards him. “Come here.”

Daniel sighed shakily as he got impossibly close to Armand, the only thing keeping them apart being the stick shift. He gasped when the vampire gripped his waist with both hands and pushed the skirt of his dress up, his eyes sliding shut almost as if on instinct. He could feel Armand peering at the bulge of his twitching cock as it strained against the delicate lace of the underwear he'd picked out that night, and the see-through nylons. The boy choked on a groan as he felt Armand's leather clad finger tease his hole through the sopping fabric.

“Oh, Daniel,” Armand sounded fond, impossibly so, but so cruel, too. Some sort of pity seemed to drip-drip-drip out of his words as if Daniel was some injured animal he'd bothered to rescue. “You’re so wet.” 

Way to go stating the obvious, Daniel couldn't help but think, earning himself a pinch on the side which made him hiss in arousal and pain, his dick throbbing, his eyes opening wide. It made Armand chuckle.

“Beautiful girl… Why don't you sit on my lap?” Upon hearing those words, Daniel immediately clambered forward, swinging one of his legs over Armand's hips and straddling them. Daniel's clothed cunt was right against Armand's dick, now, and he had to use all of his remaining mental strength to not simply hump the vampire until he came so hard he passed out. The boy opted for steadying his hands on either of Armand's shoulders instead.

Daniel made a confused noise as Armand used one his hands to guide his head down against the crook of his neck, but was content to bury his nose in Armand's jaw and sloppily kiss and nip at it nonetheless. As he continued showering the vampire with affection, however, it hit Daniel that Armand had lowered his head so that he'd be able to continue watching the film. Daniel twitched. Something about that made him burn up with arousal, maybe the idea of being ignored so casually even as he displayed clear signs of desperation— it made him wonder as to whether that was how trophy “arm candy” girlfriends felt. Was Armand doing this to him so that others would be able to see? And if so, did Daniel look good? Pathetic, surely, hopelessly debauched, but good?

Armand's hands drifted from Daniel's waist to his ass, gripping it, making him gasp. “Oh, please, Daniel, you are more than just “arm candy”.” He  scoffed, and groped the boy's ass as if to punctuate his affirmation. “You make a very pleasant handful, too.”

Daniel couldn't help his stupid fucked-out grunt of exertion as Armand groped him roughly, and then again, the second louder than the first, as the vampire’s hips twitched up, giving him a small amount of much needed friction for a fraction of a second. Daniel resorted to his usual: dry, confrontational teasing. “Y’gonna man up and fuck me already, boss?” He slurred drunkenly against Armand's ear, trying to drag his cock against the vampire's to no avail, as the grip on his ass kept his body mostly still. 

Armand hummed, before raising Daniel's dress up to his mid back. Daniel shivered in anticipation at the thought of Armand pulling down his nylons and panties in one go, and then—

Riiiiip. 

The sound of fabric rupturing reverberated within the car at the same moment another kill happened on the big screen— wet noise of a knife sinking down into flesh, Daniel's gasp as Armand ripped his stockings apart. “Motherfucker,” Daniel said, with no heat to it, really just smitten, as Armand's fingers deftly pulled his underwear to the side and the cool air hit his hairy cunt. “...Those were expensive.”

“I'll buy you another pair soon, dear.” Armand replied flippantly, teasing Daniel's hole with a gloved fingertip, and the boy couldn't see it but he could hear the smarmy smirk on his face, and even then that didn't deter him for a second from being so horny it made him feel dirty. He was so fucking wet. It was like a biblical flood down there. “Quiet now, let me finish the film.” 

Daniel bit his lip to stifle his pleasured whine as Armand finally slid two of his fingers inside him, thrusting gently at first, but then picking up the pace. The boy tried not to grind down against the fingers so that Armand would be able to watch the movie as he wished, he was so considerate, so fucking prim and proper and nice, wasn't he, even though he wanted more—

“You're being such a good girl, Daniel,” Armand chimed in, his voice light. Daniel could hear some weird screaming coming from the speakers, but it just made him think of Armand— lately it was as if the backdrop to all their interactions had been screaming. “Do you want more?”

Again, words slurred, muffled against Armand's skin, against the fabric of the collar of his shirt. “You know I do.”

Armand stilled his fingers. Daniel's heart rate picked up, and his grip on the vampire's shoulders tightened for a moment as his body went stiff. “Please,” Daniel begged, after a few seconds of looking for the right words, of realizing that if he wanted to get his way he'd have to grovel. “Please, please, please, I need it, need you.”

“That's better.” Armand's hand drifted to the back of Daniel's neck, pushing the boy back, lifting him just so that he could slide his cock against the head of Armand's own— he couldn't sink down, his weight being held up by the vampire's grip forcing him upright. Finally, proper eye contact. Finally, Daniel blocking out the screen. Armand’s expression had remained cool, placid, a perfect picture of composure, but there was a strange glint in those fiery ambers. Daniel felt the question Are you going to eat me? form in the pit of his stomach, floating up until it pressed at the back of his throat. “Look at you, princess, look at you. So gorgeous, maybe my lap is where you belong at all times. It wouldn’t take much to keep you happy, now, would it? All you need is for me to be inside you.”

And he let Daniel's weight drop, after a few moments of just humping against his hole, drawing out little noisy sighs from the back of the boy’s throat, letting him slide down inch by inch by inch by inch, until they were joined together in the most intimate way. Daniel felt pried open, Armand's weight settling inside him like it was supposed to have always been there. The boy whimpered, a shiver going down his spine, zig-zagging through the entirety of his body from his head to the tips of his toes.

“Fuck, yeah, that's so good,” Daniel grinned, then, shifting as he clumsily slid down one of the straps of his dress. The swell of his breasts spilled out from the top, and just the sight made Armand's grip on the back of Daniel's neck tighten. The boy reveled in it. “You wanna cop a feel, babe?”

Armand's hands cupped Daniel's breasts and the vampire leaned forward to kiss the curve of one, sucking dark marks onto the fair skin before latching onto the nipple. Daniel giggled as he felt his waist being held, and took that as the cue to raise his hips so he could finally start to properly ride Armand’s dick.

As he raised himself and then sank back down, establishing a relatively slow pace that was partially controlled by the vampire’s hold on his waist, Daniel felt as if his brain was starting to leak out of his ears, all of his senses filled with ArmandArmandArmand. Good. He didn't need his brain anyway, he needed to let this escalate, needed to keep moving his hips as if he were the one doing the fucking, he needed to fucking cum already─ the heart shaped pendant which hung from his necklace slid up and down in rhythm with his body.

“God, fuckfuckfuck,” Daniel cried out, and that gave him an idea. The boy tried pitching up his moans to sound girlier, testing the way it felt with a few whimpers at first and coming to like it too much, before letting out full-fledged cries, hamming up the dollar-whore performance to the point where he couldn't tell whether he was getting Armand off or himself. But the vampire seemed to like it, from the way his fangs were starting to drop, and by God did that make Daniel really get into it—  “God, babe, that's so good…” 

Unsurprisingly, Daniel's voice couldn't reach anything that sounded high and archetypically feminine, but it could falter and break just fine as he tried, and that, most of all, seemed to arouse him, more than the idea of actually sounding like a girl, of being shaped like one. The ice-cold thrill of realizing he was just a man in a dress, just another perverted faggot playing dress-up, a homophile transvestite, that drove him crazy, he wanted to be punished for it, he wanted to be seen as dirty, he wanted…

Daniel choked on a moan as Armand's cool palm pressed against his mouth suddenly, and the vampire’s thumb and forefinger blocked his nose. Coincidentally, the pace they'd built up began to become more intense, the boy bouncing up and down on Armand's lap with more speed. “Daniel, you are so simple. It's as if I know every facet of you, now. Is this what you've been longing for these past weeks? To be forced into a dress and defiled?” 

Daniel whined at that, stifled by Armand's hand over his mouth, but he didn't disagree. He had a low tolerance for being asphyxiated, and whenever the vampire did that to him, it made Daniel wonder if this would be the day Armand finally got him to pass out. His cunt clenched around the cock inside him at the thought, and he thrashed in Armand's hold. 

“You could’ve asked me, but you decide to wallow in shame instead. And you become twisted up inside yourself,” Armand kept bouncing Daniel up and down on his lap, pleased at how the boy kept squirming as he ran out of breath. “You just wanted a good fuck. Insatiable minx.”

Armand released Daniel's nose, letting the boy breathe again, finally— Daniel's lungs had begun to ache, black spots had started to tease the edges of his vision. He moaned with reckless abandon as he took in breath after breath after breath. “It's— I, it's uh, it's complicated,” Daniel explained, or rather, didn't. “Don't make me lose my hard-on, Armand. We can— we can talk about this later.”

“What if there isn't a later?” Armand asked, as casual as talking about the weather. It confused Daniel for a second before he picked up on Armand's thought process. “You saw what I just did. What if I kill you now, lover? Is that a fitting end for a girl like you?”

“Fuck, well, I guess you’ll have to figure stuff out with my corpse,” Daniel replied, words drifting off into a moan as Armand slammed against his g-spot repeatedly. “Maybe— ah — maybe you'll find she's a good companion too.”

Armand raised an eyebrow— it wasn't uncommon for Daniel to bring up the topic of his death during sex, but… “Oh, really?”

“Well, my corpse is into a lot of stuff I'm into, I'm sure…” Daniel groaned. Again, screams, blood, general mayhem from the screen, from the speakers. The sounds turned Daniel on, he wanted to scream in horror and pain and ecstasy too— he buried his face in the crook of  Armand's neck and bit down on the vampire's skin instead. 

Armand moaned, gripping Daniel's waist hard. “I'd keep it, if you must know,” he manages, as the boy maps out his skin with wet kisses, his lips trail over to the side of his face. “It'd be undignified for me not to keep your body as a souvenir after your death.”

Daniel whined at that. “Yeah?” He mumbled against Armand's jaw, grinding his hips down erratically— he was getting closer, he could feel it. “God, I'm glad I know you can do makeup now,” He says, in between gasps and moans. “Makes me think… Makes me think if you'd doll up my corpse, would you? Close my eyelids and paint them, ah —”

Armand threw his head back, leaned it against the car seat headrest, his hips bucking up against Daniel's, his nails tearing into Daniel's skin— another glove ruined, but God, it felt good, it didn't matter. He dragged his fingertips up Daniel's spine, rucking up the dress, cutting shallow lines into Daniel's skin, making the boy bleed, making the boy cry out.

“God, please, babe, I need it—” Daniel hissed at the pain. “Nobody would be able to hear if you killed me right now, Armand, God, please, please, please—” He wanted it so much, wanted to choke on his own blood, wanted the light to fade from his own eyes, he wanted to be fucked to death.

Armand backhanded Daniel with his leather-clad hand, making him whimper: loud, pathetic, not-quite-a-girl-not-quite-a-boy. He gripped Daniel's face, and the boy wailed. “I'd love to smash your head against this windshield until I hear your cranium come undone right now, dear, believe me.”

And didn't that make the most vivid image come into Daniel's mind— the disgusting wet noise of bone cracking, blood dripping down the back of his head, his pained cries melding with the sound effects of the film. Daniel flailed, hands coming up to grip the arm Armand now held his face with. “Why don't you?”

Armand shrugged, but licked the back of his teeth at the very thought of battering the boy until he was helpless. “...I'd like to pick the dress you die in, the makeup you die in. I want every detail to be perfect.”

Daniel wailed at that, just the idea that Armand wanted to control every single aspect of his death, have firm control over each minute detail of it, orchestrate and direct it like the final act of a play, the metaphors were getting away from him, but God, did he want that morbid rise to stardom—

“Gonna cum,” Daniel pants, his legs twitching. He feels dizzy. “You gonna cum inside me, boss? Gonna knock me up?”

Armand moaned, quietly, a hand slipping down to tug on Daniel's cock, but not before roaming down his stockinged thighs. “You should,” Daniel insisted, riding him vigorously, shivering in pleasure as his cock was stroked. “Knock me up, please, please, please, I’m just a drunk bitch in your car—”

Daniel came with a moan, riding out his orgasm on Armand's dick as he kept moving the boy up and down on his lap when he was too weak, too limp to do so himself. Daniel whined over and over and over, fucked-out, drool dripping from his lips, his eyes lidded, before lowering his head and sinking his teeth into Armand's neck, with such force it made the vampire cry out as some of the skin broke, his whole body twitching. 

Armand was close to orgasm himself, losing the regular pace he'd built up in favor of simply snapping his hips up against Daniel’s, grinding inside his wet cunt and hitting his g-spot repeatedly, drawing out cries from the boy's throat. “That's it,” Armand murmured lowly against the side of the boy's face as he began to try and pull away, too sensitive, but whined as he was held still. The vampire grabbed one of Daniel's wrists, held it up. “Good girl, that's it…”

Armand came with a silent groan muffled against Daniel's skin as he bit down on the boy's wrist, spilling inside him and making him whine from the two different sources of pleasure. He fucked up into Daniel sloppily with stilted little thrusts even after he came, groaning in exertion as he sucked at the wounds in the boy's wrist, and then only when he had his fill did he dislodge his teeth— Armand sighed in satisfaction, licking his lips.

Daniel sighed, too, his head dropping against Armand's shoulder. He felt lighter, less guilty, now, that he'd properly let Armand get away with doing what he wanted for the first time in a long while, but most importantly at the moment, he could already feel the wetness of their cum start dripping out of him and down his thighs, and that was equal parts erotic and disgusting.

“Man, you—” Daniel started as he shifted his hips, trying not to make a complete mess of Armand's pants, or of the vampire's car seat. He let out a sigh. “You have got to stop fucking me without protection on places like this.”

***

Daniel played with the pillbugs in the terrarium. It was the first time he ever properly sank his hands into the dirt and picked up tiny creatures— he'd usually just watched as Armand did so, but the vampire was currently looking through their record collection for something to play, and he'd given the boy permission.

As he allowed the tiny arthropods to climb up his hands, Daniel wondered what this did for Armand. Was he fascinated by them because they were so small, so fragile? Was he fascinated by Daniel because he was fragile? Besides Armand's habit of raising plants in Daniel's apartment, the boy never had taken him for someone who'd be able to nurture life, or have an interest in it, for that matter.

“That's unkind for you to assume,” Armand quipped, making the boy blush, as he turned over a case, appraised its contents, and then placed it back inside the box where Daniel kept his music cassettes and vinyls. “I take interest in life. Despite my nature, I do still walk the earth.”

“Well, yeah, but I can't see a vampire, like, raising a dog.” A pillbug had made its way to Daniel's fingertip, and Daniel shook it just to see if the creature would fall off and back into the soil. It didn't, somehow. That perplexed the boy, who wiggled his finger again as he spoke. “Because you're so close to death, and things.”

“And things?” Armand raised an eyebrow.

“I don't know,” Daniel replied. “What if you get hungry and eat your dog?”

Armand scoffed, but it seemed as if he was trying not to laugh. “You are being ridiculous.”

“I am being ridiculous.” Daniel chuckled, nodding. “But still…”

“ I have no personal interest in keeping a canine companion,” Armand said as he rifled through the box. “I'd have to house-train and walk it, I find it too much work. Especially when I find myself with an apt substitute…”

That made Daniel glance up from the terrarium for a moment, and the wry bemusement in Armand's expression made his whole body flush. “Armand, I'm not your dog!”

“Ah, naturally, my apologies, Daniel.” Armand replied, but he obviously didn't mean it, the bastard— he'd abstained from mentioning how he'd made Daniel bark for him at a leather bar the other night, however, and the boy was thankful for that— he was never going to live it down (a part of him did not want to, wanted to relive that moment, over and over again).

“But back to what we were talking about,” Daniel redirected the conversation to the previous topic. “I don't think your fascination with life is a common trait in vampires.”

“How so?” 

“I find it hard to imagine a happy little family of vampires toddling along. That sort of thing.” Daniel said those words flippantly, but immediately felt the urge to backtrack as a wistful look overtook the vampire's face. He felt a strange tugging on his heartstrings as he thought about it more, as if it were something he'd already been told about… “I mean, I don't know, it just doesn't seem vampiric to nurture.”

Armand laughed, then, which was a relief. “How many other vampires do you know, dear? We are diverse, Daniel, we walk all paths on the earth. Some of us are fascinated by art, by science, by the simple delight of growing gardens which we can only tend to under the cover of darkness, by the joy of witnessing the multiplication of a species within a terrarium.” 

“So vampires don't lose their Joie de Vivre.”

“Some do.” Armand shrugged, and it seemed like the conversation was settled at that. The vampire picked up a specific record case and turned it over, humming with interest. “ Transformer ?”

Daniel perked up. “What, you don't know that? I haven't played it for you? I've had this in the house for 3 years now, Armand, how haven't you seen it? You've gone through all of my things at least once at this point.”

“I suppose I just looked past it.” Armand tilted his head. That didn't sound completely incomprehensible— Daniel's music collection had begun to grow exponentially ever since the vampire dropped into his life and started buying him all of the demos, LPs and compilations he wished for, as well as adding some of his own choices into the mix; the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath record, for example, that Daniel still hadn't listened to in full, and kept promising the vampire he would.

The only reason Daniel didn't throw his hands up in exasperation was because of the pillbugs crawling up his hands. “You showed me your copy of Metal Machine Music the other day, how on earth haven't you listened to this yet?”

“I couldn't find it anywhere I searched for it, it's not that unreasonable.”

“Well, I have it, so we can listen to it now if you want. Actually, take a look at who produced it.” Daniel grinned when Armand read the credits on the record sleeve and saw the way the vampire's eyes widened. “Cool, right? Worked on the arrangements and everything.”

Armand nodded, seemingly even more interested in the album, now, upon learning about Bowie's contributions. The vampire busied himself with opening the case and removing the record from it, slotting it into the player. Near instantly, his expression changed into something more intense as he focused singularly on processing the music, new to his ears.

Daniel wiped his hands clean on a towel he'd placed next to the terrarium and stood up. He watched as Armand's eyes became half-lidded, and the vampire hummed along to the melody, fingers tapping on the table. “You know, I've always wanted to visit New York. Pretty impressive, I know, but I still haven't been.”

Armand glanced up at the boy, and Daniel felt a familiar chill go down his spine. Same old, same old.

A small upward quirk of the vampire’s lips, Reed’s voice filling an empty space in Daniel's apartment. Armand’s reply: “Just say the word, dear, and we'll go there.”