Killing Loneliness

A/N: I don’t know how I feel about this. It’s... okay?

DISCLAIMER: I know jack about Romanian history, Swedish education, and either language. Know I did my best! I also had to put accents in cursewords so it wouldn't be private. Sorry. :(

On the side is Rune, aka Alexi Laiho. External link is Avenged Sevenfold To Matt’s (center) right are Synyster and Rev in that order. (Kelly--Matt, Vanille--Rev, and Velk--Synyster). Look up Alissa White-Gluz with blue hair if you wanna see Aurelie.

I hope you like it, Turtle. *blushes and hides behind my laptop*

So, I put a plethora of references in here. Whoever finds the most gets to request something of me. :) PLEASE PLAY NO ONE EVER PLAYS. :’(

(The SharkTale reference doesn’t count because Velk called Rune out for that one.)

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Killing Loneliness

Rune Sunden was sitting on a tall chair at a mexican restaurant. He was sipping a sweating glass of brown pop waiting for his ‘date’ and the burrito he ordered upon arriving to the small, skater-themed establishment. He sincerely hoped said date arrived before the burrito, though he wouldn’t be opposed to giving something else on the menu a fair shake if the burrito was delicious.

He spun his ring around his finger, deeply regretting the fact that he let his dumbass of a roommate arrange this date because he thought that, ‘you look like Fishstick fücking died or something, dude.’ Rune cared deeply about his ironically named piranha, but the darling fish was not dead, and he was not going to admit that he needed cheering in the first place.

Kelly had pouted and taken off his mirrored sunglasses, begging shamelessly for Rune to just give in. With those big blue eyes untying the callous knots of his blackened soul, how could he say no? Rune was antisocial, not heartless. And so he was waiting on the burrito he’d taken seven minutes to order, very narrowly avoiding two panic attacks with the help of his inhaler, and whoever it was that Kelly had decided to con into spending a full three hours with him.

He was surprised that Kelly had even managed to arrange it at all. It had to be one hell of a challenge pitching him to potential lovers. Because who in their right mind thought that, ‘heavily tattooed, socially awkward, piranha-loving, emotional-baggage-carrying, guitarist,’ was an attractive combination of traits in a potential mate?

The thought occurred to him that maybe the person who agreed to the date wasn’t, in fact, in their right mind. He shifted on the chair, biting down on the straw in his drink. “What the fück did I let Kelly do?”

As if conjured by thought alone, the green-haired man appeared next to Rune’s table with a not-quite-sane smile on his lips. “Hey, Rune. Guess what time it is.”

Frowning, Rune said, “Time for me to run before something terrible happens?”

“No!” Kelly scoffed at his blond friend. “It’s time for you--”

“To meet my brother,” the man standing next to Kelly said, brushing inky strands of hair out of his dark eyes.

Rune blinked. “Hey Vanille. You have a brother?”

He nodded. “His name is Vincent. We’re twins.”

“Mine’s hotter though,” Kelly said, hooking an arm around his boyfriend’s waist. “Yours is ordering right now. We’ll send him your way. If things go south, we’ll be just across the restaurant.” Kelly grabbed both sides of Rune’s head. “Good luck, beebs. Don’t scare him off.” He kissed both of Rune’s cheeks with a loud, ‘mwah,’ and grinned.

Rune wiped his face with the sleeve of his hoodie. “That was really gross, Kelly.”

He just grinned and took Vanille’s hand, leading him away. Vanille shared a slightly amused look with Rune before turning around. They walked up to a man who had the same spiky black hair as Vanille. Vanille started talking to him and pointed at the table Rune was seated at. When he looked over at the table, Rune ducked his head, hiding behind his hair. He used his pointer finger to swirl his pop with his straw.

The chair across from Rune scraped against the floor and he looked up, catching red eyes with his hazel ones. “Hi. I’m Rune.”

“Vincent,” he said, his lips forming the sounds identically to Vanille’s. He sat in the chair. “But you can call me Velk.”

The blond smirked. “You couldn’t have saved the manly nickname for Vanille?”

“We wrestled for it on our living room floor.” His lips held a soft smirk.

A waiter came and placed the burrito down in front of Rune.

“Besides,” Velk said. “If there’s one thing that Vanille isn’t, it’s manly.”

That made Rune laugh and Velk smiled softly. “At least Kelly makes up for it--well, as much as a green haired pansexual with the personality of a mother of five can make up for a lack of masculinity.”

“That may have been the most accurate description of Kelly I’ve ever heard,” the red-eyed man said.

“I’ve known Kelly since his hair was lighter than mine by nature.”

Velk’s eyes widened. “Kelly’s a blond?”

Rune smiled, sipping his drink. “He’s the blondest blond I’ve ever had the pleasure of blonding with. Even after the shít black hair dye turned his hair green four years ago.”

“You’re kidding.”

“He keeps buying the same brand because his hair is ‘unique’ and ‘very chic’ and ‘him’.” Rune rolled his eyes. “I’ve stolen or thrown out every item of his clothing that is pink, grey, or brown. That boy.” Rune shook his head.

The waiter came back and set a burrito to match Rune’s--but with red sauce, instead of green--in front of Velk. He murmured a polite thank you and picked up his silverware. Both men cut a corner off of their burrito. Rune grinned. “I guess you could say that we’re really cutting corners on this date.”

Velk laughed softly and raised his bite of burrito toward Rune. Amused, Rune copied his actions. “To us,”  the black haired man said. He smiled, showing off dimples that Vanille had failed to inherit.

“To us,” Rune agreed, nudging Velk’s fork with his own. They took the bites, small smiles dancing on their lips. “Damn,” he mumbled.

Velk nodded. “This is fücking good.” He turned around and hollered, “GOOD CHOICE OF RESTAURANT, VANILLE.”

Rune snorted as Velk turned back around. “At least the food is good because I’m not the best company. And you don’t have to pretend I am.” He took another bite.

“So far, you’re just fine.” He smirked. “My brother and your bon ami had a grand idea, putting two antisocial, kind of dark, music-loving, wordsmiths together on a date at a hole-in-the wall skater mexican restaurant.”

“IT’S A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN,” Kelly agreed from his table with Vanille.

“More like hèll,” the antisocial duo chimed cheerfully. They smiled at each other and laughed.

“Now mind yo bidness, aight?” Rune yelled at Kelly. He shook his head. “I swear, that man.”

“Was that a SharkTale reference just there? Before the swearing?” Velk leaned forward tilting his head to the side.

Rune blushed. “Perhaps. But, only if a twenty-two year old man quoting a Dreamworks movie is attractive to you. If you’re one of those people who like that kind of thing.”

Velk smiled, his dimples appearing in his cheeks. “Yes. You’re very cute, Rune.”

“Th-thanks,” he managed, covering his face with the sleeve of his Dethklok hoodie. “You’re aesthetically pleasing, as well. You’d be dashing on my couch.”

The red eyed man laughed. “And what color is your couch?”

“An astonishingly disgusting shade of beige,” he said cheerfully. “It’s made of leather and the only redeeming qualities are the soft blankets that inhabit it and the fact that it was free.”

Velk raised his fine black eyebrows. “Bad pickup lines aside, why would I be dashing on your couch, which you have professed to be hideous?”

“One: you’d provide nice contrast with the beige leather and cool-colored blankets. Two: you’re unbearably attractive even without the boost of my couch.” Rune, resembling a ripe tomato, busied himself with his burrito.

He tried to suppress a smile and failed miserably. “Well, I’ll have you know that you would look simply marvelous on my couch, also. Though, my couch is pointedly comfortable and not hideous.”

“I’d be honored to meet your couch.”

He wiped his lips. “Only if I get to meet yours first.”

Setting his fork down on the empty plate, Rune raised his eyebrows and said, “Trust me, Velk. You don’t want to meet my couch. Once you get in its monstrous leather clutches, you can never get out.”

Velk’s eyes crinkled at the corners as his lips pulled back from his impeccable white teeth in a smile. “Sounds promising. Let’s sneak out of here, grab some coffee, and pay this couch a visit.”

“Essssscahpay.” Rune finished off the last of his pop before grabbing Velk’s hand and tugging him toward the lesser used exit.

Velk laughed, stumbling after him. “Funny, It’s spelled just like the word ‘escape.’”

“Where have you been all my life?” Rune held onto Velk’s hand as they made their way to the closest coffee shop--a Starbucks.

He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth to keep from smiling. “At your best friend’s boyfriend’s house, apparently.”

“Do you think Vanille would trade you for Kelly?”

He smirked cheekily. “I sure hope so.” He left Rune there gaping like a beached whale and ordered a white hot chocolate. He paid and stepped aside for Rune to order his drink.

Rune gulped and fisted his hands in the sleeves of his hoodie. “Ah, I, uh, er, I will....” He sighed through his nose, blushing madly. “Couldsk I, uh, have a, um, mochka frappe, pleasek?” He scratched furiously under his ear, on his hairline, and paid the woman at the counter. “Rune isk tha neme on tha, er, cohp.” He huffed walking over to the straws and fiddled with the objects on the table.His eyebrows were furrowed dramatically.

Velk walked over to him. “So, what was that all about?” He leaned against the low counter, looking up at Rune, who was hiding behind his hair. He reached up with a long-fingered hand and brushed Rune’s hair behind his ear.

He stayed quiet for a moment, chewing thoughtfully on his sleeve. “I am Swedish. I moved here a few years ago, but for whatever reason, salespeople, waiters, cashiers make me nervous.” He smiled sheepishly. “My accent rears its ugly head and my knowledge of English evaporates out of my head. It’s embarrassing.”

“It’s cute,” Velk disagreed. “But you should’ve just told me. I would have ordered for you.”

Rune tucked the other side of his hair behind his ear. “I appreciate the offer, but I need to get over my aversion to them.” He smiled. “And there’s only one way to do that.”

Velk nodded. “So how did you order at the taco place?”

“I escaped very narrowly with my life.” Rune smiled. “There are so many questions involved with mexican food. I almost had two panic attacks ordering my burrito.”

Velk made a sympathetic noise. “From here on out, I’m ordering for you. No arguments. Panic attacks are dangerous.”

“Thank you, Velk.” Rune bit the inside of his bottom lip.

The black haired man smiled at him and turned around, grabbing the drinks off of the high counter with a polite thank you. He handed Rune his frappe and grabbed his hand. “C’mon. You have a couch to introduce me to.”

Rune led Velk back to the apartment that he shared with Kelly. It was a modest three bedroom with one bathroom, and a spacious living room that was connected to their kitchen. The front door was a soft shade of blue. Rune opened the door for Velk and moved aside, raising his arm to let him into the house. “After you,” he murmured.

Velk walked into the apartment, looking around at the off-white walls and the carpet the color of chocolate. A little black cat darted around his legs with a soft meow. Velk stooped down and picked up the kitten. “Hello cutie.”

Rune closed the door behind him, locking it. He took off his converse. “That’s Kelly’s cat, Nightmare. He’s really sweet.” He walked over to the pair and scratched behind Nightmare’s ears. He purred quietly.

“His name is Nightmare, but he’s sweet? Isn’t that a little... ironic?”Velk let the kitten down. Nightmare climbed the beige couch and curled up on an armrest.

The blond smiled. “I have a piranha named Fishstick. Kelly and I have a knack for ironically naming our pets.” He gestured to the couch the cat was curled up on. “Monster couch?”

Velk grinned. “Monster couch. It really is hideous.” He took his shoes off, setting them by the door.

“Yes she is,” Rune said, unzipping his hoodie, and throwing over the back of the brown armchair. “She’s sticky and hot in summer and cold as fück in winter, but she’s comfortable.” He leaned over the armchair. “Go ahead and try her out.”

“Monster couch is a she?” Velk laid down on the couch, sinking into the blanket-covered cushions. “Oh. Oh my. No wonder she’s a she.” It made perfect sense. The couch grabbed Velk and cradled him like a mother, a hideous but cozy mother with good intentions. “I’m going to fall asleep.”

Rune grinned. “That’s always the risk you run with that couch. She demands naps.”

“That’s the thing about naps,” Velk said. “They demand to be had.” He turned toward Rune. “Do you cuddle?”

“I do,” Rune said, walking over to the couch. Velk patted the cushion next to him. Rune leaned over, pulling the lever on the left side of the couch, before doing the same on the right side.

Velk gasped. “She reclines?”

“She does.” Rune smiled, laying on the couch next to Velk. He wrapped a tentative arm around the other man’s waist. “I warned you that once she had you in her clutches, you’d never escape.”

Velk grinned. “Yes you did. You weren’t exaggerating.” He closed his eyes and exhaled. “Now you’ll never be rid of me.”

Rune snorted. “You only like me for my couch,” he said, feigning hurt.

“Your couch, your taste in music, and your looks.” A smile crossed Velk’s face.

Rune rolled slightly away, reaching behind him for a remote. “Speaking of my taste in music, it’s too quiet in here.” His fingers captured the correct remote, and Rune pressed the power button. A softly haunting melody began to play quietly. Rune dropped the remote back on the table and curled himself back around Velk. [[Melody on the side--Killing Loneliness-H.I.M.]]

“Is this your subtle way of asking me for a kiss before naptime?”

“Only if it’s venomous.”

Velk grinned. He pressed a soft kiss to Rune’s lips. Smiles playing on both sets of lips, they fell asleep on the couch.

 

v--v

 

Rune woke up to the sound of a familiar voice repeating his name. He rolled away from Velk, rubbing his eyes. “Kelly?” He looked at the face above him, blue eyes, strong cheekbones, blond hair. “Sigvard?” Rune fell backward off the couch. “Ow.”

Velk sat straight up at the sudden shift of the couch. “What?” He looked around for a moment, looking confused. He then leaned over the couch. “Are you okay, Rune?”

“Peachy,” Rune pushed the footrest of the couch back in. He stood up, looking at Sigvard. “Hello, Mr. Randomly-shows-up-at-his-brother’s-apartment. How did you even get in?”

“Kelly let me in. His new boysfriend ams verysk tall.” Sigvard ruffled Rune’s hair. “And you ams just as shorts as evers.”

Rune glared at Sigvard, smoothing his hair back into place. “Why are you here?”

Sigvard shrugged. “Juskt finished tour and everyone was annoyinks me. Pickle suggested I visit you. I say okay. They say hi. Díldo drew you a picture buts I burnsed it.” He shrugged again. “It was brutal.”

“Wait.” Velk said. “Pickle? As in--”

“Yep,” Ronan said.

“Which means that--”

“Yep.”

“Your brother--”

“Yep.”

“For--”

“Yep.”

Velk grinned. “Dude, that is so fücking metal.”

Sigvard squinted at Velk. “Who ams you?”

Velk stood up and ran a hand through his hair, straightening his shirt. “I’m Vincent Velk. I’m Rune’s... friend... that’s a boy?”

Sigvard looked at Rune. “Boysfriend? He ams your boysfriend?”

Rune turned a lovely shade of pink and shrugged. “We’ve gone on a date, but I don’t know... if either of us would... call it that?”

“Boysfriend,” Sigvard decided. He looked at Velk. “If you hurts him, my friendsk and I will feeds you to our tr--”

“You killed him with your phones, remember?” Rune said, sitting on the table.

“Then we’ll give you to--”

“Not the fücking clown, Sigvard.”

“Dâmmits, Rune!” Sigvard, glared at Velk. “We’ll takes you to our díldoes ex-rhythm guitarsist and then to the iskland with the kitties.”

Rune put his face in his hands. “Dear God, Sig.”

“Do nots say these wordsk to me, Rune. Nots after that díldo Mikko.”

Rune sighed. “You know that it’s not his fault.”

Sigvard scoffed. “Nots his fault my âss. He was the onklys one who coulds have done anysthink.” He sighed. “But I juskt got heres and I don’ts want to argues with you agains. What do you haves to drinsk?”

“There’s spiked Kool-aid in the fridge. It’s in the yellow pitcher.” Sigvard raised an eyebrow. “The clear pitcher isn’t spiked, calm your títs, Sig.”

He walked into the kitchen with a call of, “I’m not a ladies!”

 

v--v

 

Despite the awkward conversation with Sigvard and the consistent pressure from Kelly and Vanille, Rune and Velk continued to see each other. Velk made good on his promise to order for Rune, though Rune wasn’t sure if it was more embarrassing to stutter through his order or to have his boyfriend order for him. They’d gotten into lengthy discussions about their love of metal guitar and had compared guitars. On a day filled with laughter and guitar riffs, they decided that they’d have to play guitar for different bands because of their fierce desires to play lead.

Rune was working at a music store on a sweltering Monday afternoon. No one ever went to music stores anymore, regardless of the afternoon, so Rune was listening to the Slipknot beat coming through the speakers on the ceiling, his hips swaying, as he looked through the new albums in one of the cases that proclaimed their newness in grossly bright colored marker. The bell above the door chimed and Rune called out, “Welcome to Singularity. Let me know if I can help you find anything.” He found the German metal CD that Kelly was trying to find and walked back to his place behind the counter.

“No, I just walked in,” the customer said into his phone. “I haven’t even made it to that section yet, Van.” He looked at the Rune, who was writing on a sticker, and began to laugh. “There’s a slight issue with this plan. Hit the nail on the head. So smart. I’ll talk to you later. Mhm. Bye.” He walked over and leaned on the counter.

Automatically, Rune said, “Please don’t lean on the counter, sir.” He capped the thin black Sharpie and looked up to see Velk draped alluringly next to the cash register. “On second thought, please lean on the counter, sir.”

“Oh, ‘sir.’ I like that.” He leaned up and pecked Rune across the counter. “I missed you today.”

Rune smiled. “I’ve missed you, too. So what’re you looking for?”

Velk sighed dramatically. “It doesn’t even matter because I’m sure you have first dibs on everything that passes through this beautiful establishment.” He looked around. “Are you here by yourself?”

“No, my boss is in the office.” He jerked his thumb at the door behind him. “Are you looking for music for me?”

Velk nodded. “Sure am.” He smiled wickedly. “Oh. Then I can kiss you as much as I want to.” He leaned forward and kissed his boyfriend, reaching up to cup his face.

Between kisses, Rune said, “My boss... might... be watching... the video... right now... and if... you get me.... fired... I’m going... to be... very upset... with you... Vincent Velk.” He brushed his thumbs across Velk’s cheeks. “So why... are you... looking for... music... for me?”

“Because... our six... month... anniversary... falls on... your... birthday.” He pulled away and looked at Rune. “I want it to be special.” He held Rune’s hands. “Why would your boss fire you?”

“I’m sèxually harassing a customer.” Rune smiled, kissing Velk’s hand. “You don’t have to do anything special for me. You thinking about my birthday is special enough.”

Velk smiled crookedly at Rune. “I want your birthday to be special. That’s what birthdays are for: making the birthday person feel special. Celebrating your birth is definitely something I want to do. And the customer is technically harassing you.” He poked Rune’s nose.

“You’re stupidly cute.” Rune kissed him and Velk bit his lip.

“I am not cute,” he protested. “I am metal and therefore brutal.”

Rune smiled. “Okay. You’re brutally cute.”  He ran his knuckles across the dark haired man’s cheek. “Like a cast iron bunny. With splatters of red paint on it.”

“Being eaten by a metal snake?”

Rune nodded. “Like that.”

A blue haired woman stepped out of the office. She stood next to Rune and looked between him and Velk. “This is your new boyfriend you won’t tell me about.” She looked at Velk. “What’s your name? Where are you from? What’s your favorite genre of music? How old are you? What are your intentions with our Runey?”

Velk looked momentarily confused. “Vincent Velk, Romania, metal, twenty-three, um, classified?”

She glared at him. “Do you do drugs?”

“Aurélie, darling, leave him alone.”

She looked at Rune. “He’s hot. Good catch, baby.” She glared at Velk again. “If you hurt him, you better pray his brother gets to you first. Lord knows we don’t need another Mikko.” She patted Rune on the cheek and walked away to put out new albums.

“If you want to get me music for my birthday, Aurélie is the person to talk to. She knows my music library like the back of her hand.”

“Bish, I know you like the back of my hand, don’t even play.” Aurelie flipped her hair over her shoulder and put the pop tracks in the back of the store. “Fückin’ junk.”

Rune smiled at her fondly. “Anyway, she’s the hèllbat to talk to.”

Velk smiled to himself. “She’s taller than you, Rune.”

“For the love of--” Rune groaned. “Yes, I’m short. Okay. I get it. Does everyone have to mention it?” He slipped a stack of CDs into a cardboard box. “God.” He wrote on the label. “With the way you people act you think you’d never seen a short Swedish guy before.”

“Well, Sigvard is the most recognised Swede on the face of the planet and he’s like thirty--”

“Twenty. Point. Three. Two.”

“Okay, he’s twenty point three two centimeters taller than you. Which is a hèll is difference. So in the minds of the common people of the world, Swedes are tall, which causes a shock when you tell them you're Swedish."

Rune rolled his eyes. “That’s like saying all french people are smelly pansies. I happen to know a very manly frenchman who doesn't stink.”

“I know a Romanian Satanist. And a short Swede.” Velk kissed Rune’s head. “I like your size. You fit in my arms perfectly.”

“You guys are going to make me throw up rainbows.” Aurelie said from behind a display of country music. “It’s disgusting. So come talk to me about the blond bâstard’s music or get the hèll out.”

Velk laughed. “I guess I’m going to go talk to Aurélie.” He kissed Rune and walked over to the blue haired woman.

v--v

Velk looked at the foyer of the house he shared with Vanille. There were white rose petals  leading from the entryway to the dining room, where there was mexican in takeout boxes and leftover cake from the party they had for Rune earlier that day, then lavender shoots lead to the living room, where Rune’s favorite movies were waiting to be watched, and red tulip petals lead to Velk’s room, where they would either take the next step in their relationship or sleep. There was a lot of love in the dismembered flowers, but Velk didn’t think he’d ever been so sure of anything in his life. He loved Rune.

“I don’t know about this,” he said to Kelly and Vanille. “It’s kind of.... It’s really really gay.” He thought the destroyed vegetation was a little too romcom for a relationship consisting of two dudes who thrive on death metal and paint their fingernails black on a regular basis just to chip them on the strings of their guitars. “What if he hates it?”

“Don’t let Rune fool you, Velk,” Kelly said from the other side of Vanille. “He’s a hopeless romantic at heart and he’ll fücking love this. He went on for twenty minutes about how you remembered his birthday.” Kelly smiled to himself. “He loves you, okay? Just relax, he has a massive heart. And don’t freak out if he starts to cry.”

The sound of a Chevelle driving into the driveway put all three of the boys in the house into action. Vanille patted Velk’s shoulder and pulled Kelly after him, careful not to disrupt any of the petals. They exited the house out of the back door and took Vanille’s Mustang back to Kelly’s house. Velk took a breath.

The door opened with, “What the actual fück is going on here, Aurélie? Where are you taking me? You know I don’t like being blindfolded.”

Aurélie led Rune in, holding onto a black piece of fabric over his eyes. “Shut your trap, you big baby. You’ll understand soon enough. You have to learn to trust me, díckhead.” She sighed. “Now, I’m going to let go of the blindfold. If you take it off before the door closes you’re fired and  I’ll kill you. Understand?”

“Fine.” He crossed his arms and sighed through his nose.

Aurélie pointed at Velk. “You owe me for this.” Velk nodded and she walked out of the house, closing the door and sprinting for her Chevelle.

Rune tore the blindfold off of his eyes, squinting to adjust to the light. He blinked four times then looked around the foyer. The eggshell walls, the hardwood the color of caramel, the victorian-looking lamps, the white rose petals, and, finally, Velk, who was dressed in an Amon Amarth band T-shirt, a pair of torn-up jeans, and a few wristbands. He smiled at Velk. “One of these things is not like the other,” Rune teased, walking up to Velk and wrapping his arms around Velk’s neck. Velk’s arms went automatically around Rune’s waist. “I told you that you didn’t have to do anything special for my birthday or our anniversary.”

“And I told you that I wanted to.” Velk kissed Rune softly. “Are the flower petals too much? I thought they were but Kelly and Vanille insisted--”

Rune cut Velk off with another kiss. “They’re perfect. It’s perfect. Don’t worry. So,” he said, taking Velk’s hand. “How long are they staying away?”

“The whole weekend.”

Rune laughed. “Lead the way to the weekend, babe.”

Velk smiled. “Right this way.” He lead Rune to the kitchen.

v--v

Rune’s favorite horror series lasted a little over eleven hours, total. It took the duo fourteen hours to watch it, taking bathroom breaks, eating, and pause-worthy make-out sessions into account. By the time the sixth movie ended, they were exhausted and had consumed enough energy drinks to kill a small horse. Rune turned off the TV and was carried to Velk’s bed by his boyfriend.

The walls were a deep shade of red and the carpet was white. The black bedlinens were made of silk, and the frame was mahogany. It matched the other wooden furniture in the room. Atop the dresser, was a fish tank with a turtle in it. “That’s Sneeze,” Velk whispered to Rune when he caught him looking. Posters of metal bands decorated the walls and three small plush bats hung from the ceiling. His Schecter sat in a corner next to his amp. Velk laid Rune in his bed, stripping him of his camo cargos, Dethklok tee, and bracelets. He stripped down to his own boxers and crawled under the sheets with Rune, letting the smaller man use his arm as a pillow and wrapping his other arm around his waist. “Good night, Rune.”

“Goodsk night, Velk,” he slurred tiredly. He kissed Velk gently. “I luff yous.

Rune woke up before Velk and smiled. Velk’s hair was feathered out across his pillow, his mouth was slightly open and a little drool was leaking its way out of his mouth. His left arm was under the satin pillow and his right arm was loosely draped over Rune’s waist. The lines on his forehead were smoothed in sleep. He was precious.

Rune gently moved Velk’s arm from his waist, setting it on the mattress. He softly kissed Velk’s shoulder and got out of the bed. He pulled on his pants and a beanie and walked into the kitchen, pulling out pans and eggs and bacon and pancake mix. He brewed coffee. He made the bacon and pancakes and then made the eggs in the bacon grease. He got out plates and arranged the food on them and put the extra food and fixings on the table.

He went back to Velk’s room and laid down on the bed next to Velk. He pressed kisses to Velk’s face and whispered good mornings to him. Velk opened his eyes blearily and blinked at Rune several times. “Hey, babe,” he said, his voice rough from sleep. He sniffed, rubbing his eyes. “Why do you smell like bacon?”

The blond sniffed a clump of his hair. “I made breakfast.” He let the strands drop. He smiled, placing a kiss on the corner of Velk’s mouth. “Come on.” He leaned back on his knees, tugging Velk up after him. “I don’t want it to get cold.”

“Okay, okay.” Velk sat up and smiled. He stood up and pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a black tank. The pair held hands on the way to the kitchen. Velk stopped to make himself a cup of coffee, letting Rune go ahead to the table. Rune separated his eggs and bacon from his pancakes and poured syrup over the proteins. Velk walked in carrying two packets of ketchup and a steaming mug of coffee. He sniffed the room. “It smells amazing, babe.”

“Thank you.” Rune eyed the packets of ketchup. “Are you one of those people?” he asked teasingly.

Velk chuckled, squeezing ketchup onto his eggs. “Yes, I’m one of those people. Tomatoes make everything better.”

“No matter the form?”

He winked at Rune. “Now you’re getting it.” He took a bite of his eggs. “Mmm. Where have you been all my life?”

Rune looked amused. “At your brother’s boyfriend’s house apparently.” He began to eat.

“Do you think Kelly would trade you for Vanille?” He took another bite.

“I sure hope so,” Rune said with a smirk.

Velk smiled at Rune. “God, I love you.”

Rune blushed and looked down at his plate, missing the ‘dâmmit’ look that crossed Velk’s face. “I lo-”

“Don’t.” Velk said, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “Don’t say it. Not yet.”

Rune’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Why not?”

Velk sighed. “There’s something I have to tell you first. You probably won’t believe me, and if you do, you’ll hate me for it.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I wanted to tell you before I told you I love you because if you left then I could lie to myself and your leaving wouldn’t hurt as badly.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Vincent,” Rune said seriously, his eyebrows still furrowed. “You could be a fugitive hiding from the Romanian justice system and I would still be here.”

“Remember when Aurélie asked me my age that day at the music shop?” Rune nodded. “I told her that I’m twenty-three. That simply isn’t true.” Velk pursed his lips. “Vanille and I were born Viorel and Sorin Vaduva in Craiova in the Oltenia region of Valahia--which would later become part of Romania--toward the end of the sixth Russo-Turkish war and during the final year of the second Turkish-Austrian war. We don’t know the exact date of our birth, but, as far as we can tell, it’s right around February eleventh, 1791.”

Rune blinked, chewing thoughtfully on a bite of pancake  . “That makes you.... Two hundred twenty-three?!” Velk nodded. Rune snorted. “Cradle robber.” Velk blushed. “So, how is it that you’re that old?”

“This is the part you’re not going to believe.” He sighed. “In 1799, my family moved to America--which was a young twenty-two, mind you--and I grew up in Connecticut, speaking English and Romanian and learning about both cultures at once. We went to University in 1810. In 1814, we met Razvan Dalca. Romanian, charming, handsome, friendly.” Velk chewed on the inside of his cheek. “He was a vampir.”

Rune’s jaw dropped. “You’re shitting me right now. A Romanian vampire?”

“I told you that you wouldn’t believe me.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you.” Rune shook his head. “It’s just funny. I’ve been going out with Dracula for six months and I didn’t even know it.”

Velk rolled his eyes. “You’re ridiculous. Anyway, yeah. Razvan turned Vanille and I.” Velk shrugged.

“You mean Viorel.”

Velk shook his head. “Viorel hasn’t gone by Viorel since 1820. He adopted Vanille when we moved to Paris at the turn of the twentieth century and hasn’t looked back.”

Rune grinned. “He does realize that Vanille is a girl’s name?”

Velk looked amused. “You do understand just how gay my brother is, don’t you?” Rune laughed. “Why aren’t you freaking out? Kelly freaked out.”

“You told Kelly?”

“Of course we did. Vanille loves him.”

“And Kelly let me date a vampire?”

Velk shrugged. “He’s dating one. So, why aren’t you freaking out?”

It was Rune’s turn to shrug. “One of the men my mother saw more than once during my childhood was a Hunter. He was convinced that the supernatural was out there. He used to tell me stories about his hunts and how to identify creatures.” Rune’s nose wrinkled in amusement. “I guess I should have paid more attention. Speaking of, shouldn’t you have caught on fire a long time ago, Mr. Vampire-Who-Walks-Out-In-The-Sun-With-His-Human-Boyfriend?”

“Sunscreen is an amazing invention.” Velk smirked. “It took many a brave vampire soul, but it was worth it in the end.”

Rune pointed at Vel’s eggs, pancake in hand. “Not ketchup.”

“Not entirely ketchup. We’re pretty creative at getting the amount of blood we need daily while keeping the appearance of normalcy.”

Rune smiled. “The red sauce, the day we met--”

“Vanille snuck a packet of blood on top of the sauce. Kelly distracted the waiter.”

The blond looked dreamily at Velk. “Awesome. You ingest blood as sustenance. That’s so fücking metal.” He sighed. “You’re hot. Why the hèll do you love me?”

Velk grinned. “I don’t think it’s love if you can explain it. I just love you, and that’s all there is to it. And babe, you’re fücking nuts.”

“I know.” Rune nodded. “I love you more.”

“Doubtful.”

“So,” Rune continued, as if Velk hadn’t spoken. “ If we’re exchanging declarations of love, I think it’s time I tell you about Mikko.”

Velk stuck another bite of eggs in his mouth. “The ex-boyfriend of yours that no one wants to tell me about but are all terrified of me becoming?”

“The same.”

“Yes, your turn to tell a story.” He finished his eggs and moved onto his bacon.

Rune rolled his eyes at Velk. “In Gymnasieskola--high school, and further into Hogskola--which would be like the first two years of college, I was friends with Kelly, Mikko, Aurélie, and her then-girlfriend Juliette.”

“Aurélie’s gay?”

“Bisexual,” Rune shook his head. “I’d known Mikko since toward the end of Grundskola--grade and middle school. We had a Swedish course together. During the second year of Gymnasieskola, we started dating.” Rune pressed his lips together. “Our relationship was a lot like that song by The Raveonettes--”

Velk raised a finger. “‘If this is the last dance...?’”

“‘Then save it for me, baby.’” [[Last Dance-The Raveonettes]] Rune nodded. “Yeah. That one. Mikko... was a drug addict. I loved him, but I had trouble handling his frequent overdoses.” He ripped his pancake into small pieces and ate them. “I drank. A lot. Mikko died on November fourth, about three years ago. His funeral was the seventh. I went to the hospital with alcohol poisoning on the ninth. On the thirteenth, Kelly, Aurélie and I moved here. Juliette stayed behind and that was the end of Auréliette. It also marked the end of my alcohol consumption.” He looked at Velk. “I’ve been sober for two years, nine months, three days,” he looked at the clock on the wall, “twenty-two hours, seven minutes, and... forty seconds.”

“Wow. That’s fucking rough, Rune.” Velk leaned over and ran a hand through Rune’s hair, cupping his cheek. “And you’re really fücking tough. And amazing for living with Kelly’s booze and not drinking it.”

Rune shrugged. “Kelly was sober with me until I told him he didn’t have to stop drinking just because I did. But he’s always been considerate by labeling cabinets or containers with alcohol in them.” He smiled. “A piece of tape with, ‘NO,’ written on it. Because Kelly’s stupid.”

Velk laughed. “Yes. That sounds like Kelly’s particular brand of idiocy.”

v--v

When Kelly and Vanille returned to the Velk house, there was food on the table and a beanie on the floor, but the flower petals had been cleaned up, and the candles had been put away. The men shared a glance and walked toward Velk’s room. Vanille knocked on the door. “Vince? Are you in there?”

The door opened just enough to see one of Velk’s red eyes, a strip of bare skin, and a leg glad in tight light grey denim. “Yes?”

“Is Rune in there with you?” Kelly asked, peaking over Vanille’s shoulder.

“Yes,” Velk repeated. “He’s asleep.”

Vanille raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

Velk’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why do you think?”

“Sex?” Kelly guessed excitedly.

“Did you turn him?” Vanille demanded.

Velk closed the door. “Yes. But he’s okay. He didn’t reject it. He’s really just sleeping.”

“Open the door.”

“Promise to behave.”

“Open. The. Mother. Fücking. Door.”

“Promise!”

“Fine! Now open the door.”

Velk opened the door slowly and Vanille glared at Velk. “Sorin.”

Kelly walked around the twins and kneeled next to where Rune lay. “Rune?”

Rune’s eyelids fluttered. He smiled. “Gillar du killar som spelar gitarr?” [[Sw: Do you like boys who play guitar?]]

“Nej, jag gillar killar som spelar trummor.”Kelly smiled. “Känner du dig okej?” [[Sw: No, I like boys who play the drums. Do you feel okay?]]

Rune opened his eyes, which were still a soft blue. “Ja. Jag känner mig bra. Jag är hungrig.” He sat up, leaning against the headboard. “Vart tog Velk att gå?” [[Sw: Yes. I feel great. I’m hungry. Where did Velk go?]]

Kelly moved slightly to the side to reveal Velk and Vanille arguing in hushed Romanian. “Han har rätt där.” [[Sw: He’s right there.]]

“Velk,” Rune said. “Kom hit. Kom och lägg dig.” [[Sw: Come here. Come to bed.]]

At the man’s confused look, Kelly said, “He wants to cuddle, and isn’t awake enough to speak English yet.”

Velk crossed the room and laid down with Rune. “Hey babe.” He kissed Rune softly. “How do you feel?”

“I’m hungry,” Rune said with a smile.

Velk laughed. “The kitchen is full of blood.”

“Good.” He smiled. Rune leaned around Velk to look at Kelly. “And Kelly, my Romanian vampire is definitely hotter than yours, you fücking liar.”