Blue ▹ The Originals [2]

CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
OLD HABITS

"Old habits die screaming."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Henrik was humming the next morning to a song Francis was playing as he took a shower, the tune stuck in his head. He'd slept wonderfully after he came back from his walk the previous night, and his mind was blissfully clear. He wondered vaguely if Roman's body had been found yet, but that was all the energy he gave toward the vampire he had killed last night. Henrik just dismissed him entirely from his mind and got to work getting ready for the day. He'd already showered, having woken before Francis did, and he was dressed. He was picking out rings to wear from his impressive collection when the shower shut off inside of the bathroom. Henrik slipped a ring on his pointer finger, then glanced up when the bathroom door opened, watching as Francis came out surrounded by steam, a towel wrapped around his waist. He was rubbing at his wet hair with another towel. Henrik watched him get dressed through the mirror, then turned around to watch him more blatantly, leaning back against his dresser and crossing his arms over his chest. Francis didn't seem to notice until he was pulling a t-shirt on, his choice of clothing for the day more casual than he normally dressed.

"Stop ogling," Francis said, proving that he, in fact, had noticed Henrik staring. Henrik arched an eyebrow and did no such thing. Francis glanced at him, a small smile forming on his lips, and then he glanced around the room with a frown. "Do you know where my hoodie is? I thought I put it on the chair."

"It's in the hamper," Henrik said, nodding toward where their laundry hamper was pressed into a corner of the room. "I couldn't sleep last night and went for a walk, took it with me. Sorry about that. You can wear one of mine." Francis rummaged through Henrik's clothes until he came across a leather jacket. Henrik smiled at the sight of it on him, tilting his head to the side thoughtfully. "Have I mentioned how much I like seeing you in my clothes?"

"There you go, ogling again," Francis murmured. "What did you do to my hoodie, anyway? I washed it yesterday." Henrik didn't respond. He didn't think Francis would have a problem with Henrik killing anyone—he'd probably approve, actually—but Henrik didn't particularly want to explain himself. Francis noticed his silence, frowning as he turned to study Henrik's face. He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again with. "You know I can smell the blood, right?" Henrik raised his eyebrows, then shrugged and glanced away. Francis sighed.

"If you knew then why did you ask?" Henrik asked, his voice flat. Francis gave him an equally flat look.

"I asked what you did, not what made my hoodie dirty. Should I be concerned?"

"No. Stop asking questions. I'm ogling." Henrik made a point to scan Francis up and down, and it worked momentarily to distract Francis as he laughed. There was still a worried little wrinkle between his eyebrows, but he didn't seem inclined to continue the investigation over his hoodie. Henrik pushed away from the dresser to approach him, pressing a hand flat against Francis's abdomen. He spread his fingers wide as he pushed it beneath Francis's shirt, feeling the dampness from the shower, then leaned in to claim a kiss. Francis kissed him back, but it was only brief, and then he was pulling away to frown at Henrik. The worried dent was still between his eyebrows, so Henrik reached up to smooth it out with his thumb. "What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Aside from the blood on my hoodie?" Francis drawled. Henrik just stared at him until Francis sighed and averted his gaze. Francis worked at his jaw for a moment, and only released the tension there when Henrik reached up and traced the line of his jaw softly with his finger. Francis relaxed, only slightly, then brought his gaze back to Henrik's face, though Henrik noticed Francis avoided meeting his eyes. "I can't help but feel like you forgave me too easily yesterday." Henrik blinked, tapped at Francis's jaw a few more times, then dropped his hand.