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

[bitterchill]

There are so many snuggles. Ari attaches himself to Mark and shows no signs of letting go at any point in the future.

"So, was that a good introduction to positive physical contact?"

[unmarred]

"Yes. It was perfect. I'm delighted. You're delightful." He kisses Ari's shoulder, this being the nearest kissable part of Ari. "I couldn't have asked for a better person to cry all over."

[bitterchill]

"And you were a delight to be cried on by, if I might say so."

[unmarred]

He giggles. "Thanks."

[bitterchill]

Ari does boast hybrid vigor, and it's been a pretty slow day, but it's 2am and he's cuddling a tiny adorable man.

He snores with amazing volume. And he drools a bit into Mark's hair. And he probably couldn't be pried off with a crowbar.

[unmarred]

In light of what Ari has done for him, Mark will even put up with the drool.

[bitterchill]

That's good, because short of involving crowbars or putting a stadium airhorn up to his ear, no force on Earth is going to remove this man.

[unmarred]

Mark can think of some other options. (He rather wishes he couldn't.) But he likes Ari, so: snuggles.

[bitterchill]

Zzzzzzzz.

[unmarred]

Snuggle, snuggle. Hey, he doesn't even have to make excuses for not having slept when Ari wakes up: he's a vampire, he sleeps during the day. Which this isn't.

[bitterchill]

How fortunate.

Ari smiles in his sleep, it may be noted. He's as happy when he's dreaming as he is the rest of the time, but with less interference from the varied unpleasantnesses of the world. He dreams himself adventures and battles and fair maidens and/or princes, the last of which is probably fairly obvious at the moment.

[unmarred]

Well, that's adorable.

[bitterchill]

Ari would probably object to Mark's choice of words, were he awake and aware of them. As it is, he continues being adorable.

[unmarred]

He is utterly adorable. Mark adores him.

[bitterchill]

Ari sleeps until about noon. When he wakes up, he is (as always) a bit fuzzy around the brainpan.

"...Maaark? Mark. 'morn'n."

[unmarred]

"Good morning, Ari."

[bitterchill]

Fragmentary thoughts buzz about his head and begin to piece themselves together. As they do so, Ari yawns and snuggles in closer to Mark. Then he pulls back, rearranges himself slightly, hazards an apology, and snuggles back in.

"Dreamed 'bout saving you from... dragon," he mumbles conversationally.

[unmarred]

Mark laughs and cuddles him. "Yeah? And then what?"

[bitterchill]

"Then weeeeee... had sex? Think so."

[unmarred]

"How'd I guess."

[bitterchill]

Ari laughs sleepily. "Sorry for poking you. It was nice."

[unmarred]

"I don't mind." Snuggle.

[bitterchill]

Ari's thoughts coalesce steadily until he seems to have most of a brain to work with. Most of that quantity of brain is devoted to snuggleloving Mark, but some amount is glaring at this damn gloomy crypt. Eventually, that amount wins out.

"Mark, can I please fix your misery hole? Crypts should be cheerful, homey places. This looks like somewhere you'd put dead people."

[unmarred]

"It is somewhere you'd put dead people. There are in fact dead people in it, even if you don't count me." He gestures to the coffins in their alcoves. "What exactly do you want to do to my misery hole?"

[bitterchill]

"Make it pretty and less miserable, and possibly give you a spacious basement in which to put depressing corpses. Corpses are a secondary function of crypts at best."