Victorian Vampire Boyfriend |MxM|

Chapter 14

The click of the door seals Orsino into darkness, but at the same time his captor spins and lets go of him and he scrambles back into a shelf.

He blinks his eyes adjusting to the light, and his breath hitches into his throat because it looks like a moon-pale face is floating in front of him.

Then his vision adjusts and the hitch turns into a hiss, "Elliot?!"

"Ahem," Elliot looks away sheepishly, "Hello, Orsino."

The man is pressed up against the closet door his face the only part of him not completely covered, from his top hat, which he removes and tucks under his arm, to his long black overcoat, to his gloved hands, which Orsino had, only moments before, felt wrapped around him. In one hand he rests his weight on a folded-up black umbrella - no a parasol - instead of his usual cane.

It dawns on Orsino that he cuts a familiar figure. "You- You followed us! And dragged me into a closet!" - There's definitely more Orsino could say about his relationship with closets and the desire to not be in them, but now isn't the time to joke, he tells himself.

Elliot waves his free hand in front of himself in a frantic 'no'. "I didn't - I mean, I did, but it was so I might speak with you away from them. They're poison, the whole lot of them, they poison the minds of everyone they meet, and I didn't want them to turn you against me, but I fear I've done that job myself. I- I apologize, you may go if you like."

He tries to step away from the closet door, but there isn't really much room, and he ends up bumping his shoulder into another shelf. He straightens himself and continues, "Perhaps find accommodations through the university, it's selfish for me to keep you around, and as you said, to drag you in here. It's just that... well  William said you were alright, but I needed to be certain, to see you unharmed for myself." Elliot looks away again as he finishes, but his eyes dart back to Orsino's face every few seconds, maybe hoping to catch a reaction or to see if he'll leave.

Orsino is gaping at him, "You came in here, followed me around like some kind of shadow and waited to drag me into a closet to see if I'm... alright?"

"Yes?" Elliot's brows furrow up, his eyes wide. He looks less like the dashing Victorian hero like this, but it is a very... cute look on him. 

"Wh-why do you even care? I was at your house for, like, a day!" asks Orsino, fidgeting with his ponytail, trying to recapture loose strands with nervous fingertips.

"Well I-I quite enjoy your company. That is to say, I enjoyed it, however brief, er, quite a lot." He pauses hands twisting around the handle of his parasol. "I understand you, with your friendly demeanor, are likely a more sociable person-" Orsino has to hold back a snort "-and therefore, this short window of time might seem too little to form any sort of connection. But for myself, I suppose I felt an...affinity to you. It's been so long since I've had anyone but the servants and William of course who is more than a servant."

"More than a servant?" wonders Orsino.

"William has taken care of me for a long time. He was the only one who stayed on my parent's household staff when I came back to America. And he's supported me, despite the― the creature I've become." Elliot looks away, his young face creased with shame and anxiety. Orsino has to fight the urge to clasp his hand and offer some comfort.

"William seems to care about you a lot, I don't think there's anything you could do or be that would make him leave," Orsino says unsure of how to ease Elliot's worries.

"Yes, he's been very kind," Elliot says quietly, looking to the floor.

After a pause, Orsino can't help but ask, "So it's really true then. You're a vampire."