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]

He does wind down after a while.

"...Thanks. Sorry. I didn't... mean for that to happen."

[bitterchill]

"Man, don't apologize for freaking out. You can try to tell me why it happened if you want, we can try again if you think it's over with, you can tell me to get out of your misery-hole and leave you to rot. I probably wouldn't though, leaving people to be depressed while I could be there bugging them is against my religion."

[unmarred]

"I suspect it happened because this is the first time in my life someone has touched me for nice reasons."

[bitterchill]

Ari squeezes Mark a bit. "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard. I'm not going to stop hugging you for at least a week."

[unmarred]

He giggles softly. "Aw. You're very sweet."

[bitterchill]

"And you're sweet and sad and I want to pile good things on top of you until you're covered in an endless blanket of happy."

Ari nudges Mark's head with his own. "In case you're wondering, yes, this is the quickest I've gone from giving someone death threats to promising to shower them with rainbows. It's a hotly contested record, but you've just blown past every other participant."

[unmarred]

"I'm very proud," he giggles.

[bitterchill]

"You should be. My hugs are in high demand, and you've just been given a voucher for a lifetime supply. I might make you a medal too. And a sonnet. And more birds. Maybe I'll get you some flowers. I mentioned burying you in nice things, right?"

[unmarred]

"Why are you so nice."

[bitterchill]

"I believe, and have no reason to doubt, that there is absolutely no feeling better than knowing you've made someone else happy. So I do it as much as I possibly can. And you deserve so many nice things that I couldn't give you enough in a million years."

[unmarred]

Mark hugs him tightly.

"You are agonizingly nice. It's lovely. Continue. I will probably cry on you a lot."

[bitterchill]

Ari kisses the top of his head. "I'm writing you that sonnet."

[unmarred]

Weepy giggles ensue.

[bitterchill]

"O Mark, that pretty vampire who is so... I mentioned I'm bad at sonnets, right? I'm bad at sonnets. Good at punching, good at kissing, good at related activities, sonnets not so much."

[unmarred]

"I'm good at murder and impersonating my brother. And having emotional breakdowns, apparently. I want better talents."

[bitterchill]

"You're good at being cute. You're good at keeping your soul. You're good at climbing fences and finding a place to live and at laughing at stuff that's only funny to you, which really belongs under "being cute," but I'm giving it to you separately because it deserves another point. I don't know, Mark, I'm seeing a lot of checks in the plus column."

[unmarred]

"Flatterer."

Apparently the answer to flattery is snuggles.

[bitterchill]

"I never denied that." He kisses Mark's head again, because he's cute and that merits head-kisses.

[unmarred]

Sniffle.

Hug.

"I'm not so sure that I kept my soul," he says. "I might just not have been using it for anything in the first place. I'm not sure what a sense of morality is or how I would know if I had one."

[bitterchill]

"...well, if you didn't keep your soul, you're good at being fine without a soul. Souls are overrated, in my opinion; I've known some perfectly nice demons without any."

[unmarred]

"Well, all right then."

Experimentally, he wipes his eyes. Maybe he is done crying for now! Wouldn't that be exciting!

[bitterchill]

Ari hopes he is. Mark crying is a thing that shouldn't happen.

"So, the bottomless pit of terror thing. Is it the kind of thing that could be overcome with exposure? Because I can do that. Or anything else that might help, really, I can move mountains etcetera for the sake of making you feel better. Though if you want me to move an actual mountain it'll take a while and I'm not sure how it'd help, so I might request an explanation."

[unmarred]

"Exposure does seem to make it more... bearable. Sort of. And even if the practical benefits are questionable, I still like kissing you."

[bitterchill]

"Bearable. That is a new one. I shall take this adjective and treasure it." He knows what Mark meant, but not being obnoxious is against any number of his religions.

"So, was that an invitation, or just a statement of fact? I'd rather not presume."

[unmarred]

"You're adorable. Please kiss me."