Victorian Vampire Boyfriend |MxM|

Chapter 6

Orsino's senses flicker in and out of his awareness.

Everything is dark, but... there's a presence by his bedside. Yes, he's in a bed, the soft sheets swallow him up just as he sinks back into unconsciousness.

Again floating back to the surface, a cool hand on his cheek, knuckles against his forehead... Orsino's eyes flutter a moment, and in the darkness of the room-- a shadow with glinting teeth. The knock of his own pulse sends him back into the warmth of the darkness.

On his third skim with consciousness he manages to pry his eyes open and immediately regrets it, even the sliver of light coming through the curtains sends a spear through his brain. He groans squinting his eyes shut again. Is he finally back in his apartment after the weirdest, longest dream of his life? After a few minutes of rubbing at his eyes he tries again. He must've been hit by one of the university buses or something on his way to pick up his art, those bus drivers are wild on the Arborton streets.

Cautiously, he squints his eyes open, not wanting to allow too much light in. At the same time he paws for his glasses where they usually rest on his bedside table. Suddenly, he lurches, stomach flipping. He flails his arms to keep from falling out of bed. Once he's stable again he clutches at his chest breathing heavily.

His eyes are wide now, shocked open from the fright. The hand on his chest is on the same old-timey shirt and vest he was wearing before. The bedside table is on the other side of the bed because... Orsino sighs.

He's in the guest room in Darling's house. And strangely... there's no one else in the room, but when he was sleeping he'd been sure... maybe it was just a dream. He brings his hand to his own forehead, his neck, the back of his head -- ouch, sore. There's a lump, tender but no breaks in the skin.

There's a glass of water set on the bedside table so he gulps from it, his throat is feeling a little too warm and dry. His glasses have also been set neatly to the side, no damage to them, thank goodness. He puts them on.

Once he manages to drag himself out of bed and tidy himself up, he peeks out the curtains. It's night, but the moon is full. Maybe he should go back to sleep, but apparently he slept the day away and he's not tired even if he is sore. Also, he clearly hasn't eaten in hours. He wanders out of the room, because that went so well last time. He won't be doing any sneaking this time, he decides, hopefully that'll keep him from seeing anything he shouldn't.

He walks down the central stairs and sees warm light flickering in the door frame opposite of the dining room. He approaches without trying to mask his footsteps that way if anything spicy is going on in there hopefully everyone involved will know he's coming.

He peeks in. It's a sitting room with a couch and armchairs settled cozily around a crackling fire. The walls are lined with a few bookshelves and there are some knickknacks  and candles on the mantle.

Darling is sitting in one of the armchairs just staring into the fire.

Orsino clears his throat and Darling looks up at him slowly as if not really seeing him for a moment. Then he jumps.

"Oh, Mr. Ortiz, you're awake!" He pushes himself to his feet with his cane.

"Yep, sorry I hope I didn't scare you."

"Not at all! Well, a bit actually, that was quite the tumble. I apologize, I should have turned back immediately as soon as I saw the sky grow heavy with rain again. How are you feeling? Please feel free to take a seat."

Orsino sits down in the armchair opposite Darling and sinks into it, it's very plush. Darling sits back down as well.

"I'm alright. Bruised, but not broken."

"I'm glad, I would have called for a doctor, but it didn't seem as though you sustained any more than a light head injury. And, I hope you can forgive me for this, but I'm not very fond of doctors." His smile is touched with bitterness.

Orsino snorts, "Who is?" Orsino gets caught up in watching the flames lick up from the logs in the hearth and thinking about the ride. After a pause, he asks softly, "Um, so what happened exactly when I fell, because I thought I'd seen..." he trails off.

"Well, Toast was spooked by the thunder, and threw you from her back, she ran off, but I managed to pull you onto Licorice--"

"Licorice?"

"The name of the horse I was riding."

Huh. Are food names common for horses? Orsino wondered.

"--and I rode back to the house with you." Oh. Orsino's face catches more than just the heat of the fire at the thought of Darling galloping through the rain with Orsino tucked into his arms. Sounds like a fairytale or a dramatic period show.

"Thank you, Mr. Darling. Sorry, you had to do all that. I guess I didn't turn out to be much of a horseback rider after all."

"Oh, not at all, most don't have to ride through a storm on their first outing. As long as you're not put off by this I'm sure you'll have no trouble becoming proficient. And please, call me Elliot." He smiles, leaning over the armrest of the chair. Orsino tries not to grin like a fool, but it's very endearing.

"Alright, Elliot, then," Orsino pauses with the aftertaste of the name still on his tongue. There's something intimate about it, "you've got to call me Orsino then, though."

"Of course! Orsino." He smiles again, a small, soft thing. Orsino's stomach flips... and then also gurgles. Darling- no, Elliot straightens, "What a terrible host I'm being! Can I get you something to eat?"

"Yes, please." Elliot gets up and leaves and he returns with a tray with plenty of dishes on it. "Oh, you didn't have to go get it yourself!"

"It's no trouble at all, I'm happy to feed a guest! Besides William and everyone else do so much work day and night, it's the least I can do to give them a bit of a rest." Elliot's fingers brush his as he takes the tray. He distracts himself from the tingling by tucking into his meal.

He's halfway through eating when he realizes Elliot brought nothing for himself, "Did you already eat?"

"Oh yes, quite some time ago, after the little nap I took post today's excitement." Elliot becomes quiet after that staring absently into the fire, occasionally glancing at Orsino only to whip his head away when Orsino tries to meet his gaze. His brows are drawn and his lips pushed tight against each other. Every instance where their eyes almost meet Elliot's dart away, faster and faster, but with more frequency. Orsino tries to focus on his food, but Elliot's being so antsy he can't help but get nervous too.

Best to let Elliot say what's on his mind when he's ready, Orsino decides, so he shrugs it off, despite the anxious energy flooding the room.

"Mr. Orti-- I mean Orsino. I have something to confess. I-- well, William and I were in your room," Orsino rubs at his neck as the dark, cloudy memory of someone at his bedside drifts back into his mind, "to see to your well being, of course, and we thought, perhaps, that this sort of unconscious spell was normal for you and you had medications or medical records in your bag..." -- his bag, Orsino's heart drops --"it was none of our business really, we shouldn't have looked, but I'm afraid I didn't understand what we found..." Elliot reaches under the arm chair. "What... what is this?"

He's holding Orsino's laptop.