come out come out wherever you are

[bitterchill]

Ari patrols most nights. He frequently whistles as he does so. He's on friendly terms with many of the people of the town, though some of them think he's a dangerous weirdo. (They're not wrong, but it's not very polite to say it outright like that.)

Vampires still come to Sunnydale. Because it's Sunnydale, and because vampires are idiots. The ones who live here already, though, have picked up a habit of either visiting the kosher butcher's or the bite shop, or moving to LA. Or having their heads ripped off by an excessively cheerful blonde half-Kal'shekk witch.

Speaking of the kosher butcher's, he pops his head into that alleyway. Maybe he'll see Mr. Ray, that nice vampire chap who comes by for some fresh cow's blood every Thursday. (Ari acts cheerfully oblivious to the fact that every vampire he knows is blind terrified of him. Some of them are alright when he keeps them from eating people; being unrepentantly amoral doesn't have to mean you're not a nice person.)

Comments

[unmarred]

It is the cutest little stone robin and it is pretty and nice and representative of interpersonal goodwill and Mark loves it so much. Snuggle snuggle.

[bitterchill]

Sunnydale is a pretty big town, and it's made bigger by the presence of eighteen different cemeteries, but eventually they arrive at Danforth IV. It's a newer one, close to the outskirts, but parts of it have managed to become properly dilapidated. Ari's got a few demonic friends living here (and a few vampiric acquaintances), so he's familiar with the real estate. Is Mark living in the Ashworth mausoleum, like he thought?

[unmarred]

Nope. He walks right past the cemetery and down the road to the abandoned mansion with the twelve-foot-tall iron fence surrounding its extensive grounds.

"...It occurs to me," he says, looking at it, "that you might have more trouble getting to my crypt than I do."

Which neatly explains how he managed to score his own crypt: while it's technically possible for a vampire or demon, or even a sufficiently motivated human, to climb that fence, it's not something most people would do for kicks. And the gates have long since rusted shut. He could probably even be living in the mansion itself, if he wanted, assuming it's still standing; no one has been in there in years to check, and there's a formerly well-tended forest blocking any direct view of the house from the road.

[bitterchill]

Ari looks at the mansion.

"How did you get- unless- oh, yeah, the forest got uncursed a while back. Used to be if you went in you'd have a subjective eternity in a hellish pocket reality and go insane. Makes sense it wouldn't have trickled down through the househunters, they'd only really know if they tried to go in. I guess I shouldn't tell Garro about it yet, he'd be glad of the space but I wouldn't want to make you cohabit with a Rallk unless you're fond of being serenaded every morning with a hundred and twenty decibels of nails-on-chalkboard screeching."

[unmarred]

"Yeah, I much prefer the quiet."

[bitterchill]

Ari looks at the fence, makes a judgment, and crouches. Then he leaps into the air, accelerated by the push of telekinesis, and clings to the upper bar of the fence. From there he pulls himself up and over, does a brief handstand on the top, and drops to the ground for a three-point landing. He stands in order to bow extravagantly.

[unmarred]

Mark grins.

He takes a running leap, touches the fence about two-thirds of the way up, hauls himself the rest of the way without breaking momentum, and comes down neatly next to Ari. Not as flashy overall, but much faster. Showing off in his own way, perhaps.

[bitterchill]

Ari applauds politely. "Eight points from the Kal'shakk judge. Not enough showboating, but excellent performance."

[unmarred]

"I'm a trained bloody assassin. Showboating is not my style."

[bitterchill]

"I don't make the rules, Mark. I just enforce them, with brutal efficiency. Occasionally that means drastic measures like two points off your fence-jumping score."

[unmarred]

Snort.

[bitterchill]

"If you're broken up about it, I can think of some activity where we can both win. Maybe a game best practiced inside. Would you like to show me your crypt?"

[unmarred]

Mark grins.

All right. Last moment for him to admit he is a little bit terrified of touching people.



Nah. Maybe it'll be fine. It's not like he's tried this before and knows he'll fuck it up.

"I would love to show you my crypt," he says brightly.

[bitterchill]

Mark is a very good actor! Ari suspects nothing. Ari suspects that this is going to be very fun, because Mark seems remarkably (ooh, he'll have to save that one) enthusiastic.

[unmarred]

The crypt is in the forest. Mark knows the way.

[bitterchill]

Ari follows cheerfully! He does most things cheerfully, but following someone he's imminently going to have sex with is one of the things he does most cheerfully of all.

[unmarred]

And: crypt! It's smallish and half covered in dead ivy and honestly isn't a much hotter prospect than the sewers even considering the lack of mind-destroying curses. But it has a nice solid stone roof and walls to keep the sun out, a distinction the house itself cannot boast.

"Welcome to my tiny miserable home," Mark says dryly.

[bitterchill]

"It looks cozy," Ari says as he looks around disapprovingly. Living in mausoleums is one thing, but you don't have to let them get so depressing. He makes a note to ask Mark if he wants the place cleaned up and colored something less dingy.

But not right now. Right now, he has other priorities. "So," he grins, "how do you want to play this? You mentioned the ring, but I like to go sweet before going hard, unless you're just dying for it."

[unmarred]

"I'm not opposed to sweet."

[bitterchill]

"In that case..." Ari bends down and goes in for a kiss. His lips are soft; he uses a honey-sugar scrub thing that Sally gets practically wholesale from this beauty company, it works wonders.

He's very good at this.

[unmarred]

He is so pretty and so nice and Mark had no idea of the extent to which he would be unable to cope with this. He ceases to move or breathe.

[bitterchill]

Ari is not known for his sensitivity, but he can recognize the difference between a lover and a statue. He pulls away and looks at Mark in confusion. "Mark, are you alright? I know I'm a good kisser, but I don't usually induce paralysis."

[unmarred]

"Sorry," he murmurs dizzily. "Sorry... I don't - I didn't know it would be so nice."

[bitterchill]

"...Yeah, that's why I do it. It's nice. Do you want to keep doing it? I can treat the statue act as an endearing quirk if you're enjoying yourself."

[unmarred]

"Does it not... feel like falling down a bottomless pit, to most people? A very nice bottomless pit, but still... oh what the hell, maybe I'll get used to it," he says, and this time he kisses Ari. For implicitly never having done this before, he seems to have picked up the basics pretty fast. And he doesn't freeze up as soon as they make contact this time.