FicWad

Out on the dance floor, the partying teens and thereabouts were packed tight like sardines, looking like nothing more than a writhing mass of bodies and limbs- at least to Tenrai. Tenrai, who was leaning quietly on the 'employees only' side of the bar, trying to look as unobtrusive as possible. He'd only just gotten accepted for a job at the club, and figured he'd better do his best to be good at it. It would look really bad to be fired only after a day or two of work...

At least things were relatively slow so far. With everyone dancing out on the floor, not too many people were coming up to the bar for drinks, and Tenrai hadn't been given an opportunity to get any orders mixed up. Idly, he played with one of the fifty or so delicate silver bangles gracing the length of his left forearm; his new boss had looked at him a bit oddly when he'd showed up for work in his usual attire, but had let it slide with hardly a word. Given what some of the patrons were wearing... Tenrai's clothes weren't all that strange. With the addition of a somewhat foolish-looking apron to his wardrobe, Tenrai had been ready for work.

Extricating himself from the clog of bodies, a dark haired vampire twisted around an obviously heavily intoxicated young woman, eyeing her frame titter off into the lurching ground in the middle of the nightclub's floor. Shaking his head, taking his right temple unconsciously, the dull irritation from the heavy music working its way up, he pushed forward to the bar, clambering into one of the high stools.

Slumping over the counter, Malachi peered wearily along the rows of liquor, a few bottles a tad dusty despite the generally good upkeep of the place. Absently, he stretched, arms unfurling much like a cat before he pulled himself "back together," the movement a decent ploy to catch the bartender's attention.

Tenrai glanced up at Malachi's approach, already growing used to the influx of customers to the bar, and preparing to serve up whatever drink the older-looking man might order. Quietly, almost studiously, he eyed Malachi- even before the silent bid for his attention on the part of the other. He seemed to be taking his time... But that wasn't a problem.

"May I help you?" Tenrai asked cheerfully enough, in his carefully polite 'on the job' voice. He smiled lightly, more out of reflex than anything else- especially seeing as there seemed to be something more to the man newly seated at the bar than met the eye, and because of his instincts alone, Tenrai was paying proper attention.

Malachi shifted, slightly bloodshot eyes twisting in their sockets to raise a study to Tenrai. Idly, he rolled his right shoulder in a purely habitual fashion, gaze dropping from the male's features to wander the rows of drink again.

Sharply he straightened.

Hands braced against the edge of the bar, Malachi's eyes twitched abruptly back toward Tenrai, eyebrows arching slightly. "I'm sure this place's a bit of rum and coke, hmm?" It was a tad too sweet for his usual liking... but... perhaps the sugar would keep the headache at bay.

"Coming right up," Tenrai agreed, voice still falsely cheerful. That was the problem with jobs where you had to interact with people all of the time; even after a short amount of time on the job, you found yourself faking things as mundane as simple emotions. On the other hand, Tenrai now found himself quietly telling the voices inside his head that the skin on the back of his neck was not beginning to crawl uncomfortably in the presence of the man. Tenrai wondered if he might be one of those people who just had to make chit-chat with the bartender while they drank. Given, he doubted it- the man looked a bit too... prickly for that, plus he looked as if he might have a bit of a headache.

Placing the drink in front of the man, Tenrai forced his smile to widen a bit. "Here you are. And you know... It's been my experience that sake can actually help ease headaches. You wouldn't think it, seeing as I'd worry about anything alcoholic only worsening a headache, but... I guess this place might not even have something like sake, huh?" The last was said wistfully, and Tenrai shook his head lightly, just slightly, as if to clear it. He wasn't usually the talkative type- why bother recommending which drink he thought might help with a migraine?

The scowl settled over Malachi's features comfortably, as if a common expression for the male's attractive features to carve themselves into. Idly, he downed the drink, the sweet taste biting. The scowl deepened, gaze lifting from the bottom of the glass, twisting toward Tenrai.

Just a fraction, the vampire tilted his chin up, eyeing the other from under shaggy strands of dark hair. "Oh really? Never tried..." He hesitated, word awkward on his tongue. "...saki -- or whatever. Mind looking for a bit of it?"

Tenrai's lips curved upward at the request, this time in a bit of a genuine smile, not one of the pseudo-smiles so often put on for the sake of a job. Not only that, but for some reason, he was actually a bit more relaxed with the man scowling darkly, as opposed to being slightly nerve-y.

"I suppose I could try and scrounge up a bottle," Tenrai murmured, tone neutral- no longer falsely sweet. He wondered for a moment at how the man had taken his suggestion at face value, when it could have been a mere marketing scam- after all, the more drinks Malachi bought, the more money in Tenrai's pocket. "Sake's a sort of Japanese wine, you know? Although it's more of a cross between a wine and a beer, seeing as there is fermentation involved... But you'd rather drink it than learn about it, huh?"

Shaking his head lightly, as he'd done before, Tenrai turned away with a faint jingling of silver bangles. Long, slender fingers trailed along the many bottles behind the bar, passing over the ordinary bottles of domestic wines quickly- after all, if they did have any sake, it'd probably be in a dustier bottle than any of those. Tenrai pulled out a few bottles, meeting with little success. He was about to give up, but upon grabbing one last bottle to test, he noticed that the label was in Japanese. Upon further inspection, he smiled; it would do.

Tenrai placed a second cup before Malachi, this one a dainty looking ceramic thing filled with a liquid looking like a cross between white wine and tea of some sort. Still feeling rather wistful, Tenrai wished he could pour himself a cup as well.

Malachi shot the ceramic cup a doubtful glance, gaze twitching toward Tenrai. "How's it tast--Oh never mind how it tastes. I'm paying for it anyway." With a shrug, he took up the minute iridescent cup awkwardly, tipping the contents down without much more than an inkling of hesitant curiosity.
Carefully, Malachi replaced the cup on the bar counter, tapping the little thing's rim delicately. "Tastes... different."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Tenrai asked, tone comprised of equal parts neutrality and amusement. He actually debated fluttering his eyelashes- rather long ones at that- like a girl and seeing if he could weasel out a cup of sake for himself at Malachi's expense, before dismissing the idea as utter foolishness. "You don't think it's foul, do you? ...And tell me if it happens to do anything for the headache. I'd like to know."

Malachi shrugged, impassively spinning the ceramic... cup... in between his thumb and forefinger. "Not foul; different." He smirked idly, bloodshot eyes twitching up across the other's features, the furrow of his brow easing a fraction or two. "Tell me, how many of these little glasses does it take someone to drink themselves into the gutter, hmmm?" He chuckled, holding up the delicate sake cup.

"I've never tried, so I couldn't tell you," Tenrai first murmured, tone still neutral- although his honest, genuine smile from before seemed like it was threatening to return. "If you wanted to drink yourself into the gutter, you wouldn't drink sake by the cupful.

"You'd drink it by the pitcher. Straight out of the bottle."

For a fleeting moment, Tenrai smirked lightly back, before the smirk seemed to collapse in on itself, melting back into his usual little smile, which then proceeded to fade entirely.

"Not planning on trying to get yourself shit-faced drinking sake at a place like this, are you? Because if you're that determined... There are places you can get it cheaper."

The male rolled his eyes, waving his hand and the male. "Don't be silly." He grumbled, putting down the ceramic cup. He shifted, fishing a hand into his back pocket. "Money's not exactly a problem." He smirked, his holding for a lengthy time before fading into that haughty, knowing grin. "Besides, what sort of business man would you be if you turned me to some place cheaper? I'm not driving home, so you've no risk of me getting in an accident will I'm piss-drunk and suing if that's what you're worried about."

Idly, he pulled his hand from his pocket, not moving to pull the wallet from the loose jeans, grin settling, spreading out and disappearing, leaving him to scowl at the growing headache in his temples.

"I'm not a businessman," Tenrai murmured immediately; apparently the idea of someone such as himself in that sort of profession struck him as horribly off. "And I don't think you understand the complete nature of the places I was suggesting... But I guess that isn't really my problem, hmm? So then... If you'd like to find out how much sake it'd take to drink yourself under... Shall I pour you another cup?"

Tenrai swiped away the little ceramic cup with that, taking the neck of the sake bottle in his other hand; all Malachi would have to do was say the word.

Features tilted just slightly to the side, gaze fixed on the other's facial planes, one eyebrow tilted unceremoniously upward at a curious angle. Shifting, Malachi nodded, motioning to the bottle. "Please." He murmured, settling back on his stool, the headache swimming happily between his temples in a taunting, irritating fashion. Damn music.

Rather cheerfully, Tenrai filled the little cup, placing it back before Malachi and removing his hand with a flourish- although he kept a hold on the sake bottle. The way things were going, he'd probably be pouring cupfuls of the stuff in rapid succession. Still, just after depositing the cup squarely in front of Malachi, Tenrai slipped two delicate silver bangles from his left forearm, placing them on the right side of the sake cup.

"We'll keep count, shall we? You've got up to seventy-five cups. Enjoy yourself." Tenrai's tone was a bemused one, his eyes sparkling with a mischief of sorts. No one else who'd come by the bar that night had been nearly as interesting as this fellow. And Tenrai still didn't even know his name.

Malachi nodded, chuckling wryly. Raising the cup just a hair in the implications of a toast, he tilted back the ceramic cup, draining the strange tasting liquor easily, offering the cup forward a third time. Fortunately or unfortunately, Malachi could generally hold quite a few drinks behind him, suggesting it might take quite a while -- and quite a lot of his wallet -- to get himself intoxicated on the tiny cupfuls of sake, but, eh...he liked to try new things?

"Out of curiosity, per se, what other establishments were you suggesting previously?" The dark haired man murmured, tilting his chin a fraction or two to the left.

"...Curiosity?" Tenrai murmured in almost the exact same way Malachi had, even as he topped the little sake cup off yet again. He left the single word dangling in midair as he removed a third bangle slowly, tossing it carefully down with its two brethren. "Establishments?" Tenrai murmured again, after another handful of moments. His tone of voice was curious, but slowly lightening. "No place, really. You shouldn't trouble yourself over it."

Tenrai was fairly certain he could have done a better job with the evasiveness, but where was the fun in that?

His eyebrows shot up, threatening to disappear completely in that shaggy mess of dark brown, perhaps completely black hair. Lazily, he tipped back the glass, gaze measuring Tenrai thoughtfully, shoulders held at just an angle to suggest more musing than the male's eyes flickered.

Malachi chuckled, shaking his head. "Bartenders are all snakes." He growled, offering the miniscule cup back to be filled for a fourth time.

Perhaps he'd inquire again later.

Refilling the sake cup and adding a fourth bangle to the little pile, Tenrai flashed Malachi his most charming little smile. "No one ever informed me of this requirement for the post," Tenrai mused jokingly, making as if he were actually considering the possibility that information had been concealed from him. "Although if you think I fit the bill..." And he continued to smile, in the most winning fashion he could manage, before rapidly changing the subject without warning. "So- how's your head? Mind you, downing cup after cup like this probably wouldn't have done any good... But I figured I'd ask."

Malachi shrugged, seemingly unsurprised by the rapid change of subjects, conversation altering and shifting as quickly as a kite in March. He'd never liked it -- March that is. The weather was always so unpredictable.

"It's fine, thank you. A tad irritated -- it's the damn music -- but beyond that," He shrugged, leaving the end of the sentence open, if not specifically for deliberation.

Tenrai wasn't the only one capable of leaving conversation open-ended, thank you.

"Curt, aren't we?" Tenrai mused softly, although in a light tone of voice. He spun the bottle of sake idly on the table, not having anything better to do with his hands in between pouring drinks. Figuring it was as good a time as any to ask, Tenrai continued speaking. "So, don't believe I've caught your name, hmm?" He leaned lightly on the bar, allowing himself to smile in a way that invited conversation. Usually, Tenrai wasn't much of a talker... And he still wasn't. He was speaking, sure, but that didn't necessarily make him the most skilled conversationalist. A little assistance never hurt anyone.

He hesitated, lips parting to answer. Instead, he tilted back the little cup, downing the drink, offering out the ceramic piece to be filled once again. "Don't believe I got yours either." He stated with a shrug, shooting the bartender a sidelong, vaguely bemused glance, bloodshot eyes half veiled by the shaggy mop of hair that needed to be trimmed here and there. "Though, don't seem to be catching much now do I? Certainly not catching what sort of place you intended to brush me out to before..."

He allowed his voice to die off, the fluctuation of his tone offering the start of a question, but not finishing.

Tenrai made a light 'tsk'-ing noise, the corners of his mouth beginning to curve up again. He filled Malachi's cup, wondering at the man's ability to download both the rum and coke and a half dozen cups of sake, and still be able to needle at Tenrai when he wasn't gifted with information before giving out any sort of personal facts.

"Perhaps the sake's finally beginning to get to you, hmm?" Tenrai suggested a bit teasingly, not really wanting to give in so easily, but having no reason to conceal his name, even from a stranger. "Tenrai. Although it makes it easier for a person to know what information you might want to catch when you actually ask, hmm? Still... Criticism goes both ways. I suppose I shouldn't speak." Tenrai hummed rather cheerfully with that, completely disregarding the barb about the establishments he'd mentioned to Malachi- at least for the time being.

"There are a lot of places where one could buy sake, you know," Tenrai began again, after a pause of reasonable length. He spoke almost at random, but the way he measured his words bespoke of calm deliberation. "Then again, there are also a lot of people you could buy sake from. I myself am one of them."

"Are you then?" The male murmured, tilting back the cup slowly, allowing himself time to savor the taste, holding the cup to his lips a few moment longer than was necessary. Nodding, he offering the small piece out again to be refilled. "Malachi, Mr. Tenrai; the name is Malachi."

Momentarily, the dark haired male raised his unoccupied hand, massaging his temples soothingly for a moment, bloodshot eyes closing in on themselves, the deep throaty growl of the music reverberating off the wall of the bar and his skull.

"What, surprised?" Tenrai asked, tone returning to being possessed of a light, teasing air, as opposed to the deliberate air from before. "Sake is alcohol. Alcohol is like drugs. But the nice thing about sake is, if you "deal" it, you don't run the threat of arrest... As you might, were you an actual drug dealer."

As he was speaking, Tenrai had refilled Malachi's sake cup, placing yet another bangle in the growing pile he'd decided to use to keep track of Malachi's "progress." Then, when Malachi closed his eyes in massaging his doubtlessly aching head, Tenrai took the opportunity to study him once more. Sure, he'd given Malachi his customary once-over when the man had first shown up at the bar... But after actually speaking to him, Tenrai figured there was no harm in taking another look.

He didn't open his eyes. Fingers still pressed to his temple, Malachi pressed the cup to his lips, gently easing back the edge to allow the liquor to trickle down, swallowing hard. Idly, he rubbed his head, eyes opening abruptly. "So, you my friend, are..." He paused, eyeing the male without much thought, simply weighing possibility. "A dealer in foreign liquor who undercuts the regular market. Sounds perfectly legal and profitable to me; albeit, I'm not sure how fair it is to your current employer -- whoever the poor bastard is -- that you're soliciting as you keep his bar."

Malachi chuckled, shaking his head. Bartender snakes. Idly, he stretched out the cut to be filled once more.

Tenrai paused, blinked once, twice, and then pouted, offering Malachi his best and most impressive 'hurt look.' "Don't make it sound so honorable." With that, he paused again, merely so he could screw up his face further, in one last bid for pity, before allowing his expression to smooth back into neutrality. "It's not like a lot of the customers here are coming just for the top-of-the-line sake. The bar here is just a bonus- the dancing and the socialization is the true attraction. And even for the people who do come just to get drunk at the bar... They'll want something they can get drunk off of quicker. I'm afraid this general-grade sake just doesn't fit the bill."

Tenrai reached his own hand out to meet Malachi halfway, filling the little cup, depositing a bangle, and plastering a mournful look designed to match the mournful tone he'd used with the last of his explanation onto his face. Of course, Tenrai only remained mournful for a handful of seconds, before smiling in an utterly innocent fashion.

"My sake's better, anyway. I really do buy it for myself... Mostly... In bulk-sized orders... Hmm. Guess I see your point."

"See, even piss-drunk bastard like me can have a good deal of common sense." He grinned, tilting back the ceramic cup, chuckling absently. His fingers, massaging his temple, slowed by fractions, finally stilling on the cold flesh, dropping quietly to his lap despite the faint murmur of pain still residing between his temples. It was dimming. Quietly, lips pursed, he offered out the cup for a refill, eyes closed again, toe unconsciously swinging with the blaring throb of the establishment's music.

"Oh, but you aren't just any piss-drunk bastard, are you now?" Tenrai asked cheerfully, once again refilling the cup with sake and adding to the growing pile of silver jewelry he'd started. It really had been a useful idea... By that point, Tenrai had completely lost count of the number of cups of sake Malachi had downed.

"And my sake's still better."

The male shifted, opening one eye to peer at Tenrai through shaggy locks of hair, one shoulder dropped at a severe angle, elbow up against the counter in a supposed casual manner that quite possibly was helping the male keep upright. "Oh? Not just anyone am I?" Malachi murmured, pausing to sip absently from the little ceramic cup, laying it with a gentle ting on the counter, brushing it forward toward Tenrai, a wave of the hand ordering a refill.

Pulling himself about slightly, Arms crossed along the edge of the counter, Malachi reeled forward, pulling himself right momentarily, hovering in a slightly pitched forward manner, easily level with the shorter male across the counter, his breath whispering just shy of Tenrai facial features.

"What, per se, makes me different, hmm?"

"No," Tenrai replied with easy warmth, speaking at only about the same volume as Malachi's murmur. The 'no' was in response to Malachi's reiteration of Tenrai's own words; Tenrai smiled in amusement as he heard them murmured back at him, lifting the little sake cup for a refill with deft fingers. Placing it back in front of Malachi moments later, Tenrai added yet another bangle to Malachi's 'collection.'

Of course, Tenrai's easy amusement was only that simple to maintain while he could still believe that Malachi was merely teasing. A fact made oh so much harder to believe in, with the other man's soft breath on his cheek, Malachi's face scant inches from Tenrai's own.

Tenrai's easy amusement was oh so much harder to maintain while Tenrai's breath was caught, when Tenrai's heartbeat was racing, and when it felt as if the very bottom had dropped straight out of his gut. 'Well, shit. This isn't supposed to happen...' Choking back whatever garbled response was already fighting to make itself known, Tenrai calmed himself carefully, groping for a suitable answer to Malachi's question.

"Well, for starters, you drink my sake. Not to mention the fact that you certainly aren't hard on the eyes..."

And, at least in Tenrai's opinion, the reply he'd scrounged up had been passable.

The air stretched between them, Malachi easing faintly back into his seat, fingers awkwardly grasping the cup, lips pursed thoughtfully. Head bowed over the liquor, the male's long fingers worked over the rim of the ceramic piece, features thrust heavily into a vague scowl. Finally, with a rumbling chuckle, he straightened, throwing back the sake, offering the ceramic dish back to Tenrai.
"The Saki--" Malachi hesitated, waving himself off, clearing his head with a slight, starting shake. "The sake," He purred, licking lips that came suddenly dry "Is excellent; however it's supposed to taste. As for me being kind on the eyes or not..." Malachi sat back with a roll of his shoulders in what appeared to be a shrug.

"Perhaps..." He started rather sharply, leaning forward just a fraction -- more stooping over the counter. "I'm not the only one kind on the eyes." He smirked, nestling his chin on the top of his hand.

When Tenrai refilled the little sake cup, the motion was almost automatic. As was the way Tenrai reflexively removed one of his silver bracelets, placing it carefully with the rest as he returned the refilled cup. Relatively recovered from what could or could not have been a come-on, at least in Tenrai's eyes, Tenrai smiled, spinning the bottle of sake once more on the top of the bar. And then Malachi had to go and employ flattery as well.

"Thanks, Malachi," Tenrai murmured, the sentiment sounding completely genuine. To a straight compliment... Tenrai wouldn't bother constructing a witty reply. "Although now we know you're drunk, hmm?" Tenrai's tone of voice turned fond, and he shook his head lightly.

"Hey, hey." The male growled, sipping on the miniature cup, downing the strange tasting liquor. "I may be drunk, but I've got good eyesight, thank you very much. Besides -- I can still see straight. There aren't two or three of you floating around instead of one."

The male cracked into a broad grin, the expression certainly suiting his face better than the obviously more oft worn scowl -- even with the faint tint of a drunken flush scrawled across his cheeks. Malachi certainly looked better smiling than not...

Sharply, Malachi proffered the ceramic dish forward, gripping it between forefinger and thumb, waiting for the refill he would undoubtedly receive.

Tenrai merely continued to lightly shake his head, more than slightly charmed by the way Malachi was behaving. He was a horribly cute drunk, after all. Spinning the sake bottle once more, Tenrai grabbed it up, topping off the little cup with a flourish, replacing the bottle on the table, and tossing yet another silver bangle to lie in a heap with its brethren.

"See straight, hmm," Tenrai murmured softly, almost under his breath. And then, with surprising bluntness, considering that it was him, Tenrai, speaking... "You know, it's easier for people to tell if you're hitting on them... Or rather, sincere in hitting on them, when you aren't drunk." Still, Tenrai smiled slightly after speaking, as if to soften whatever sharpness his words might have contained, liking the look of Malachi's smile and not really wanting to say anything that might result in its disappearance.

Malachi either hadn't registered the words or didn't care that they were sharp, smile or not. That grin remained plastered over the length of his features even as he tipped back the ceramic sake cup, downing the liquor. "Suppose I'll have to be more obvious then," He murmured, setting the cup down in a moment of pause, fingers snaking out faster than could be expected of the drunk, twining with a stingingly tight grip on Tenrai's wrist, pulling the male down to his stooped level.
"You've got a pretty face, Mr. Tenrai, and a good taste for alcohol, so if you don't mind me saying I'd like to shove you in a broom closet and fuck your brains out."

Just as suddenly, Malachi released Tenrai's wrist with a delighted, stupor-induced laugh, rocking back fully into his seat, shoving the small glass an inch or two farther to be refilled.

That abrupt declaration nearly stopped Tenrai's heart cold in his chest. Light flirtation could be played off because of Malachi's obviously drunken state. Outright declarations of such an explicit sexual nature, on the other hand... Could not be quite so easily ignored. The smoldering heat rising in Tenrai's cheeks, too, was also incredibly difficult to ignore. And would probably be equally difficult to play off.

At least Tenrai was fairly certain that his face was no less pretty while flushed to a near-crimson.

His wrist released, Tenrai robotically refilled Malachi's cup, his body stalling quite obviously while his brain made near-futile attempts to catch up. He almost forgot to toss another silver bangle onto the growing pile, but added one of the bracelets at the last minute, absently, before setting the sake bottle back on the bar top.

"I don't think my boss would appreciate that much," Tenrai said pertly, after a significant and quite noticeable pause. Also, despite his cheeky response, his actual voice was rather weak, as compared to how it had been before Malachi had spoken. "My shift won't be over for a little while yet, after all."

Dark eyebrows threatened to disappear up into his hairline, bloodshot eyes flickering in a bemused fashion over Tenrai. "Right you are," Malachi murmured absently, carefully hoisting the ceramic dish off the countertop. Fingers trembled slightly but not a drop spilled before it was due, sake poured back into the vampire's throat.

Again the minute disk was offered out for a refill.

"A shame. That face of yours looks just fine with a tint of heat on it." That grin twitched wider, eyes flashing over Tenrai thoughtfully, chin tilted just a fraction up and to the left.

Tenrai valiantly resisted his initial urge to pout at Malachi's failure not to comment on his blushing, only managing to scowl slightly instead and flush harder. And what he wouldn't give for one of those little sake cups to himself... And several sake bottles to fill it from.

Still rather disgruntled, Tenrai lifted the sake bottle for yet another refill, accompanying the tip of the bottle with the typical downward toss of a single silver bangle. "You really should ease off the sake by now," Tenrai mused. "As much as I'm sure you'd like to get piss-ass drunk, I kind of do make a point of avoiding sexual encounters with men whose ability to stand is at the time questionable."

Slowly, Malachi tightened his grip awkwardly on the cup, tilting it back just with just as much grace. Hesitantly, he placed the ceramic dish down on the counter, folding his arms over the edge and letting his head flop down into them, shoulders moving lightly with his thick breathing.

Carefully, the dark haired male turned his head. Enough to bare one eye in the cause of studying Tenrai. "Eh. I got close enough," He purred, voice an odd half-slur, tongue garbled just a touch from the liquor.

Tenrai couldn't help smiling, somehow finding Malachi's "defeat" of sorts to be strangely endearing. Leaning over so his elbows rested lightly on the bar top, he regarded Malachi with darkening sapphire eyes.

"Close enough," he murmured in echo of Malachi. "Care to count and see just how close "close enough" is, or..." Tenrai trailed off, sounding just slightly thoughtful, and yet not dreadfully inclined to complete his train of thought. "Well, no need to count." Quietly, Tenrai slipped his bangles back onto his forearm, doing so in a manner that was almost pointed with its slow deliberation. "Thirteen... Lucky number?"

Malachi spouted a mirthless hack of laughter, nuzzling his arm absently as if intending to fall asleep on his barstool. "It could be. Probably that long since I've had sex -- hours I mean." That bark of a laugh came again as if it was something he was unused to doing.

"I take it you don't want my honest thoughts on that one, hmm?" Tenrai murmured wryly, punctuating his words with a light shake of the head. "Because somehow, you don't come off as the kind of guy who can actually manage to maintain a single ongoing relationship with just one person. I'm pegging you as a bit of a nympho... Or at least an incredibly spontaneous guy... But I guess that's offering my thoughts after all, hmm? I'm sure you don't mind."

With that, Tenrai flashed an almost foolishly cheerful grin, before the expression dropped from his face, and he tilted his head to the side, regarding Malachi calmly.

"Don't mind." He murmured, smirking gently. "The only stable relationship I've had's been with God. Though, that thing sort of collapses when you're feeding off people's blood." He shrugged absently, that silly grin plastered over his features fading away gently, replaced with almost a depressed resignation.

Absently, Malachi shifted on his stool, eyes half-hooded, the ache in his temples long forgotten, the heavy music dulled considerably -- as if he'd had cotton stuffed down his ears.

"Somehow, that kind of relationship almost always seems to collapse," Tenrai commented dryly, of the mind that Malachi wouldn't exactly appreciate sympathy of any sort, and therefore bypassing that part of the conversation entirely. "If it weren't for the fact that I rather know God to be in existence, I'd probably be an atheist. Personally, the only people who can pull off a long and healthy relationship with God are the stupid- they're without the ability to maintain a relationship with anyone else, but somehow, they manage to cling to their God. It's kind of comforting... In a way."

Tenrai shook his head lightly, not much liking the depressed expression Malachi had worn, and yet amused by how sleepy he was beginning to look. It really wouldn't do the man any favors to be caught falling asleep at the club's bar.

That bark of a laugh shot out of the male again, awkward and harsh on his vocal chords. He should stop laughing. Sharply, he twisted in his seat, fumbling in his back pocket. With all the grace of a flopping, rolly-polly puppy, the male managed to wrestle two belongings from his back pocket.

One was his wallet which he dumped unceremoniously on the counter. The second he fondled with more than a little affection, a warm smile twitching over his features.

"Comforting indeed," He murmured, setting down the tiny pocket-sized New Testament bible -- the sort they had in motel rooms -- next to his wallet.

"I'm not even going to point out how disturbing, in an almost indescribable way, it is that you carry around that bible. It's probably half the way you talk, the way you act, but still. You are one twisted, twisted fellow." Tenrai couldn't help grinning, although it wasn't exactly a mirthful grin, and he rather hoped Malachi wouldn't take offense. "My congratulations. It's almost as if you strive for your title... of sorts. And I take it you've decided to pay the bill, hmm?" Tenrai poked the wallet once, lightly, as if taking askance. He wasn't about to lift it without something that could be passed off as the other man's word.

Malachi smirked, looking ready to simmer down into a fit of chuckles once again. But the grating spatters of laughter never came as he tucked the little Bible back in his pocket.

With a shaky motion, he shoved the wallet toward Tenrai.

"Take what its worth," He murmured, closing his eyes momentarily. "I don't think I could see clearly enough to tell anyway." With a vague growl in the back of his throat, Malachi dropped his chin into his arms again.

"I'm not going to say a word about the intelligence displayed during this little adventure," Tenrai murmured wryly, scooping up the wallet and flipping it open, rifling through the bills as he did. "I'd just like to let you know that you're horribly trusting, allowing a stranger to count out your money in payment. Either that, or you just don't care about how much I rip you off. I think I'm going with the second."

That said, Tenrai removed a few bills from the billfold, before shutting it with the utmost of care and placing the wallet back in front of Malachi. He popped open the register of sorts under the bar, stowing away the bills. Task completed, he turned back to look at Malachi. "So... Going to tip me, hmm?" The last was said with the utmost of innocence, as Tenrai blinked serenely down upon Malachi's head, resting in his arms on the bar top.

Slowly, Malachi took back his wallet, shoving it in his back pocket docilely. Idly, he tilted his chin, blinking for a long time up ant Tenrai, apparently considering the idea.

"How about after your shift." That face cracked with a twinge of a smirk, bloodshot eyes smoldering slightly despite their half-closed state.

"Now, how did I know you were going to say that?" Tenrai murmured, this time not sounding at all flustered by the suggestion of Malachi's. "You're growing all too predictable, you know," he half-chided, although his lips were smiling.

"It's almost enough to make a fellow take you up on one of these offers, cocky as you are. Although the deciding factor there is probably the fact that I'm only trapped in this place for about ten more minutes, and it's not like I have anything better to do..." Still smiling rather cheerfully, Tenrai's tone had gone decidedly cheerful.

"Oh, goody." Malachi purred, the slur on his tongue sticking more heavily than it had before. Despite his rather blatant offer, the male looked more prepared to fall asleep rather than go after more... exerting... tasks. Despite it, those eyes continued to smolder lightly -- though it could have been the liquor making them shine so.

"Now, while I should probably be questioning myself, in deciding to go off with someone who's bound to have an abysmal sexual history," Tenrai began, tone of voice lightly teasing. "However... I'm nodding in favor of questioning you, seeing as you're the one who extended the offer while drowsing on my bar top. It rather looks more like I should be tucking you into bed, not jumping into bed with you, you know." Tenrai shook his head lightly, something he seemed to do often, although he was still smiling a soft little smile, as if amused by Malachi's mind- or the way it was trying to prove just how high its sex drive was.

"You can do that after." Malachi conceded rather wittily...considering the current circumstance. "How long did you say?" Well, the man was certainly impatient. Christ, he didn't even know where he would take the guy. Home would be good, he supposed. Though, it was always dangerous letting someone into your hou-- screw it, he was too tired to think of somewhere else. Not to mention he might not be able to puzzle his way home afterward.

"Impatient," Tenrai nearly purred, grinning in an almost mischievous- and doubtlessly uncharacteristic- fashion. "It was ten minutes, although by now it'll be less. And just where, might I ask, will you be taking us on this little rendezvous?"

As he spoke, Tenrai took back the sake bottle and the cup, quickly ridding himself of the two- to prepare to leave work, no doubt. Wouldn't really do to be cleaning up even after his shift was over. The items disposed of, he turned back to Malachi.

"Home." Malachi growled, slowly unfolding his arms, stretching and shifting on his stool. Slowly, he made a move to stand, sliding the palms of his hands along the surface of the bar. Surprisingly enough, the male stood with relative ease and kept his balance rather well considering the half-asleep state two seconds ago.

Though, he did still look about as ready from a romp in between the sheets as a nine-year-old boy in the sandbox.

Tenrai shrugged with relative ease, shedding his work apron and abandoning Malachi for the room behind the bar for just a moment. Emerging a minute or two later, this time without the apron, Tenrai walked to the end of the bar and stepped out into the club. "No arguments," Tenrai murmured, mildly enough.

"Although I offer you my compliments on standing so easily. Can you walk without weaving, too?" Somehow, Tenrai managed to speak with nothing but curiosity tainting his tone, as if he were utterly serious.

"We'll apparently find out..." Malachi mused, eyeing his feet as if he himself were surprised at how easily they functioned. Shrugging, he wandered forward.

Definitely not a straight path.

Flopping forward, he hooked an arm unceremoniously around Tenrai's shoulder, nuzzling the male's neck with a purr. "Hmm... you smell of alcohol..." He chuckled roughly, heedless of the good few stares they were receiving from the club's patrons, pushing Tenrai to the door.

"Of course I smell like alcohol," Tenrai murmured dryly. "I work in a bar." Unlike Malachi, Tenrai did notice the collection of stares he and Malachi were being offered, but it wasn't exactly in his nature to pay them much heed. Instead, he merely reached his own hand up to pat the arm draped over him, a crooked little smile falling into place across his face. Smiling all the way, he walked with Malachi out the door he had been led to. Not knowing where they were going, despite being informed that the place would be Malachi's home, Tenrai merely followed along as the other man led.

From the out, Malachi's apartment looked less than inviting. The green paint on the door was peeling heavily and the apartment number of 115 was faded, the second one at an askew tilt, probably prepared to fall off within the hour.

The interior might have stood to be worse though. It was clean to the point of obsession, a collection of things that looked more than pricey giving the apartment a stuffy air and the cavernous way the single hall twisted back suggesting something might be hiding at the end. A crucifix hung near the coat hanger and the umbrella bucket.

Malachi remembered to take of his shoes but had completely dismissed the idea of hanging up his jacket, arms still draped about Tenrai's shoulders. "Hngh. Welcome home."

"Nice place," Tenrai murmured in response, not at all bothered by the feeling the expensive-looking collection Malachi had assembled was giving the room. He did, however, note the obsessive cleanliness, and how Malachi had removed his shoes. He, too, kicked off his shoes at the door, more so out of habit, seeing as he happened to do so upon entering his own home- not to mention the fact that he wouldn't exactly need them, what with the activities they doubtlessly had planned for the night. Idly, Tenrai rolled his head back against Malachi's arm, continuing to look around the entranceway.

Malachi muttered something in reply, nuzzling Tenrai's neck absently. Perhaps it was all the alcohol running through the male's system. Though, he never had been one to take things slow -- probably the reason he'd never been in what anyone could call a 'relationship.' He wasn't complaining though. One time flings and weekend lovers were enough for him. Besides, three out of four landed in a dumpster when he was done with them anyway.

"What are you?" The dark haired male purred, taking a deep breath of the other male's flesh, the obviously immortal blood surging just out of reach tantalizing; mouth watering. He didn't wait for an answer, lips pressing hungrily along the pale haired bartender's neck, jaw, shoulder.

"It's important?" Tenrai asked in return, evasively, tone of voice one that was part doubt, part amusement. Seeing as Tenrai was pretty much just waiting, almost morbidly, for Malachi to stop kissing at his neck in favor of actually sinking those sharp fangs the man had into the flesh, Tenrai seriously doubted the question's importance. Still, he didn't much care to answer- and unless providing an answer became necessary, he wouldn't be answering. "More importantly," he purred, in what really was a fair imitation of Malachi's own tone, "what are you going to do now?"

...Not like Tenrai really had any doubts, but while he suspected a large number of Malachi's "one time flings" merely gave in near-instantly to the man's... Erm... Charm... Tenrai found it to be much more fun to give out as much as he got.

After all, he'd found the same philosophy in bed to make sex just that much more enjoyable.

"Not especially," Malachi admitted, drawing back his lips idly, bloodshot eyes rolling up to meet Tenrai's impassively, a faint smirk dashed across his features. "As to what I intend to do, however... -- I'm sure you're smart enough to figure it out."

Chuckling wryly, the male wrapped his arms more securely around the smaller man's frame, guiding him down the cavernous hall at a sedate pace, the floorboards groaning under their footsteps.

Seeing as Malachi's response more or less echoed Tenrai's private thoughts, he found himself smiling a bit in response to the smirk and the comment. It wasn't as if there was much to be said... But a light smile could speak as much as any number of words, sometimes. Not only that, but Malachi seemed to be almost... Sobering up. At least, he didn't seem to be weaving, even if the pace they moved down the hall at was a slow one, the floorboards creaking. And if Malachi wasn't really PAST being drunk off his ass... Perhaps this wouldn't be about the worst decision Tenrai had ever made in his life.

All right, there was probably one decision that just couldn't ever be topped, but at least agreeing to head off with Malachi wouldn't claim the second spot.

Still, so long as the vampire didn't decide he'd be more interesting as a meal, and so long as Malachi continued to exhibit signs of further sobering... Things would probably go quite nicely that night.

A door at the end of the hall loomed ahead. There was a disturbing set of...claw marks...grating along the edge, looking as if they wrapped around the door to the other side that had been hastily painted over. Impassively, lips grazing along the shorter male's flesh, Malachi loosed one of his arms, fumbling with the door knob, finally managing to swing open the door.

Without much ado, he nudged Tenrai forward, heeling shut the door. The backside of the panel bore a multitude of what now seemed like fingernail markings and a few interesting dark spots splashed across the wood's dark surface. The marks run along the base, partly mangling the wood, crisscrossing the area close to the door knob and one disturbing slash ran down the middle.

Malachi didn't notice the markings. After evening of watching them grow, they began to fade away from his conscious registration of their presence.

Smirking, the dark haired vampire continued to meander forward, Tenrai still comfortably under his arms, finally managing to push the pale haired bartender to the edge of the bed.

Tenrai happened to possess an eye for detail- something which really should be evident, if one considered the relatively elaborate fashion in which he dressed- and therefore had no difficulty spotting the claw marks almost instantly. They caught his eye, and he inspected them carefully out of the corner of his eye, not turning his head, even as Malachi fumbled the door open and more or less pushed Tenrai into what was obviously a bedroom.

Of course, on the inside of the door, the claw marks were just that much more obvious, and Tenrai's eye continued to be drawn to them, even as Malachi walked on into the room. Perhaps against his better judgment, Tenrai trusted Malachi not to walk him into anything, and took the time spent walking from door to bed to examine the claw markings. Of course, then Malachi was purposefully walking him into something- the bed- and any interesting claw markings or stains upon doors in an otherwise immaculate apartment were forgotten. Pushed toward the bed, and finally freed from his position beneath Malachi's arm- one he hadn't fought, of course, seeing as he was happy enough there- Tenrai slipped around so as to face Malachi, backs of knees pressed against the mattress.

Standing between the bed and the vampire, Tenrai caught onto Malachi's shirtfront with long, pale fingers, pulling the other male close once more. Just because Malachi was quite obviously the one "in charge," drunk or no, didn't mean that Tenrai couldn't start anything- and with that in mind, he tugged Malachi's head down with the aide of his clothing, kissing the other on the lips. He did so lightly, not at all hungrily, as Malachi's kisses to Tenrai's neck and shoulders had been; the lack of alcohol in Tenrai's system meant that it would only be his own hormones altering his behavior... And all things taken into consideration, he could still act patient, even when aroused.

Surprisingly, Malachi didn't ask for much in the kiss, lips gently probing in return, half-hooded eyes fluttering shut absently, frame relaxing slowly. Idly, almost in afterthought, the male raised a hand, delicately cradling Tenrai's cheek and jaw. Certainly more gentle than he was used.

It had to be the alcohol.

Body still surprisingly relenting, the dark haired male carefully leaned closer, nudging Tenrai over until, with a desirable "fwump," the sake supplier hit the mattress.

Tenrai continued to kiss Malachi, moving as he was nudged, until... Well, with a "fwoosh" of displaced air and the "thump" that was his body falling backwards onto the bed, Tenrai was successfully pushed over onto his back. Which really wasn't so bad; it was a soft mattress he was landing on, and he would be lying down at some point... Or at least that seemed to be the present plan... But Malachi wasn't about to be allowed to just lean over him like that.

He was too far away. He'd broken off the kiss. Leaning back up, Tenrai tugged Malachi forward again- this time forward and downward- a definite pout etched across his features.

Malachi managed to snap out a hand just in time to keep himself from completely crushing the smaller male's frame. Though, he held no pretenses about staying completely off Tenrai either. Carefully, Malachi let himself "fall," nestling himself comfortably over his...soon-to-be-lover...if only temporary?

In a natural fashion, Tenrai reached up and wrapped both arms around Malachi's neck, half-clinging to the other man. In doing so, the many bracelets adorning his left arm pressed into his arm and the flesh of Malachi's back, and Tenrai realized that he probably would need to take those off. However... Well, considering the way Malachi had been talking back at the bar, Tenrai hadn't quite expected him to be so... Deliberate. To take things so... Slow, almost. To tell the absolute truth, he probably would have expected to be at least half-stripped by then, if not more. It was almost as if, at least subconsciously or something, Malachi didn't really think he was just in for a one-night stand, and therefore intended to put a little more consideration into things.

Which was kind of nice, really. One-night stands were not usually Tenrai's thing... And he was beginning to wonder how he'd ended up in his present situation.

Kissing Malachi again, this time more firmly, Tenrai pressed up against Malachi. The man had, after all, nestled himself quite close. He was in perfect range for another kiss... And a bit of innocent rubbing against, seeing as Malachi didn't seem to be in any great hurry to get out of his clothes.

The sober corner of Malachi's brain absently mused that he ought to be drunk more often when he carried home people -- it certainly had better results when compared to the methods that resulted in his door being clawed and gnawed on. The sober part of his mind was quickly drowned out in response to the musing.

Malachi jumped slightly, frame seizing up sharply with the almost half-thoughtful friction, bloodshot eyes flickering sharply before he quieted once again, the alcohol making his breath hot, leaving a tangy aftertaste on Tenrai's lips.

He made no hurry though, for the moment content with his position, unconsciously waiting for his mind to become less fuzzy around the edges.

Tenrai paused in both the kissing and the light grinding against the body of Malachi above him when Malachi tensed up, instead blinking up at the other man with calm sapphire blue eyes. Licking his lips slowly, he could taste the alcohol from the sake Malachi had been drinking before, but with his own love for sake... It was a pleasant thing. Still... To Tenrai, something felt almost... Wrong... About lying on someone else- a near-stranger, hardly even an acquaintance's- bed, with said someone pinning you down and having ensured you of... Well... Presumably sex. Especially when said someone had seemed ready to jump you in public... And made hardly a move in the safety and privacy their own home provided.

Simply put, Tenrai felt a bit awkward. He'd definitely been thinking too much that evening, and felt as if he'd give almost anything for a cup or two of sake himself, just so he could pretend that he, too, was drunk. He didn't want to think about Malachi as a person right then. He didn't want to think about what would happen in the morning, if Malachi would turn on him in favor of feeding after all, if he was destined to be dropped into a dumpster, if they would merely part ways with hardly a second word... He just wanted his clean, enjoyable, marvelous, mindless sex. Was that too much to ask? Not even realizing that he was again pouting in a rather childish manner, Tenrai pressed his lips to Malachi's once more, this time kissing not lightly, not firmly, but forcibly, challenging Malachi to kiss him back with at least as much effort- or to back off so they could do something already.

The hungry lips snapped like a well oiled part, falling sharply into place. Gears cranked, dawning arose; all with the lightly forced placement of a "puzzle piece." The lips, no longer so much a charming addition to the vampire but a separate entity -- as if responding to Tenrai's desires for a faceless fling. Responding with all the delicacies of a snarling animal, those lips kissed back, pressing lustily.

Fingers twitched into action, drawing opaque lines down Tenrai's frame, gently outlining each immaculately placed seam and layering of the male's oddly feminine clothing.

Like a well oiled machine, Malachi rather promptly set to pulling off Tenrai's shirt.

In all honesty, Tenrai really didn't know what he wanted- he'd merely decided that he wanted something, and Malachi's relative lack of action previously just hadn't been cutting it. Now, with Malachi kissing Tenrai in the manner the young man originally would have expected of the vampire, meanwhile tracing hands lightly over Tenrai, in a way that allowed him to only just feel the touches through his clothing, Tenrai was actually getting something... And without prior knowledge of what one wants... One can't really determine if one should be satisfied with what one gets.

However, with arms still wrapped around Malachi's neck, Tenrai held himself up as Malachi set to removing the silvery, silky shirt Tenrai wore- not without some skill- and Tenrai found it quite difficult to be displeased.

At least Malachi was now completely acknowledging him to be there- acknowledging the right Malachi had admitted for him, the right to ATTENTION, to not be ignored- or near to it- for once.

Somehow, Malachi managed to wrestle the shirt from Tenrai's possession, the lithe cloth almost watery in his fingers, melting off his fingertips to a haphazardly positioned place on the rug.

Fingers whispered along the male's chest, barely touching even as his lips pressed back hungrily, a curious twisting of lust and hesitance. The fog in the male's mind settled, drifting placidly, subconscious swimming up from its drunken stupor close toward the light that was sobriety. Admittedly, there was still that murky surface of alcohol to puncture a path through, but that was not nearly as hard as taking the first unfogging step...in theory.

Tenrai watched his newly-removed shirt dropping from Malachi's grasp, before Malachi's hands were on the young man's chest instead, ghostly touches causing Tenrai to shiver and write slightly in an entirely enjoyable manner. Even as Malachi was doing his best to sober up and come further to his senses, presumably before proceeding with anything too extreme, Tenrai's mind was beginning to cloud with a different brand of intoxication, eyes glazing over slightly so as to shine like dull blue glass in the light falling on them. Responding eagerly to Malachi's hungry kissing, Tenrai once again strove to rub against what he could reach of the other man, seeking some sort of friction only semi-desperately. Things might have been getting underway... But in a mind rather clouded by hormones and lust, one didn't really stop to think that another might be getting around to relieving a person of certain discomforts residing in one's pants... Meaning one would only think to try and improve matters on one's own.

The aforementioned "matters of certain discomforts" hadn't gone completely unnoticed. On the contrary, due to the altogether close range from one body to another, the sought friction was found all too easily, discomfort in the other's nether regions all too apparent with the other's squirming and rubbing.

Not to say, of course, that it wasn't perfectly enjoyable.

Fingers strayed delicately along the flesh of Tenrai's stomach, winding lower in semi-circles, curling in light handed scrawl down the pale skin before moving just a fraction to toy almost teasingly with the clasp of Tenrai's slacks.

Tenrai tensed up without fully intending to, the move merely occurring as a natural reaction to the light, tickling touches to Tenrai's stomach. He was rather sensitive there, and more than a little bit ticklish, which caused his body to naturally freeze up in an attempt to cut down on the squirming and wiggling it would otherwise engage in. Slowly, Tenrai took in short, breathy gulps of air, not disliking Malachi's hands on his stomach... Just finding it incredibly hard to both hold at least somewhat still and to breathe at the same time. When Malachi's hands moved from his bare skin to the fastening of the black pants Tenrai wore, Tenrai let out a slightly keening, whimpery little moan, half-lidded, half-glazed eyes trained on Malachi, telling the other man without words that, yes, it would be nice if he stopped teasing Tenrai and did something to the effect of what he was indicating by fiddling with Tenrai's pants.

Those fingers hesitated, just long enough for a prying bloodshot gaze to flicker unconsciously up Tenrai's lithe frame, run along his collar bones and neck, linger on his jaw, flow over his lips and nose, finally falling on the other's sharp eyes. Those fingers twisted unconsciously on the clasp, teasing touches proceeding to more than casual brushes without realization, closing on the clasp firmly.

Gently, more delicately than the dark haired male had done since the 'puzzle piece' locked into place, he nuzzled Tenrai's jaw with a murmured, throaty purr, fingers twisting the hook free, easing the obtrusive fabric down and away, allowing it to take refuge with Tenrai's shirts on the rug.

Tenrai whimpered again at the nuzzling, although it wasn't a sound meant to indicate any sort of discomfort- rather, Tenrai hardly registered that he was making any sound at all, being too caught up in his need and the way Malachi would delicately nuzzle his jaw. Attention completely caught by the nuzzling, it was a moment before he realized that the clasp to his pants was actually, truly undone, and then the pants were being peeled away by deft fingers- before joining Tenrai's shirt on the floor. Without his pants, Tenrai was made to feel a bit more comfortable- quite the opposite of the way one would feel pants-less ordinarily. The pants had been constricting, and then they were gone... And Malachi... Tenrai assumed Malachi would make good on what he'd been promising since the evening's start, almost.

The surface broke, a gasp of clear air clear of liquor flooding the male's senses. Slowly, Malachi drew back if only slightly, settling himself carefully and straddling Tenrai's hips easily, somehow still managing to lean over the smaller male. A flicker of a grin crossed those sharp, attractive features, lips curling just a fraction.

"A shame," Malachi murmured, fingers lightly tracing Tenrai's chest, running along his shoulder, casting an idle stroke along the bartender's jaw. "It seems I've managed to keep all my clothes..."

At the present, Tenrai's mind was still a swirl of fog, his eyes clouded-over and glassy-looking. It didn't help to have Malachi ever so carefully settling himself into place astride Tenrai's hips, for while Malachi was still in possession of his pants, as he'd pointed out quite succinctly, Tenrai was not in possession of his pants, and could feel Malachi's every movement just that much more easily. Still, despite all the "attempts" Tenrai seemed to be making to prove that his senses could be completely and thoroughly derailed by just a bit of lust, it was not ordinarily the case. Feeling fingers on his torso, fingers idly stroking where they would, Tenrai's body shivered in delight, while some small, buried, rational portion of the young man struggled upwards, seeking to put a bit of coherent thought back into glassed-over eyes.

In what doubtlessly looked like a bit of a desperate gesture, Tenrai moved to grab at Malachi's shirt; the older man had moved back in order to straddle Tenrai around the middle, but he was still leaning forward, and Tenrai didn't have to strain too greatly to stretch forward as well, to meet him. "Exactly," Tenrai got out, although the single word sounded more like a whimper, as a result of Tenrai's movement of his own groin against the seated Malachi. "But I could still... Help you with that."

Nodding, Malachi leaned forward lazily in an attempt to aid Tenrai's quest for shirt-less-dom. Without much care for any possible injury on the cotton t-shirt, the dark haired male wriggled skillfully out of it's confining touch, all too aware of his movement brushing along Tenrai's most treacherous regions. With a shrug, Malachi allowed his weight to settle back rather than be leaned forward, carefully putting nearly his full weight to straddling the other man's hips.

His fingers remained pressed lazily against Tenrai's stomach, the flesh of the vampire's hands slightly chill despite the flush of arousal spread over his features in a pale tint.

In all honesty, Tenrai hadn't been sure what Malachi would do next, but his uncaring willingness to be rid of his shirt pleased Tenrai well enough, and it was plenty easy for Tenrai to reach up and do his half of the "work" to remove the shirt... Dropping it from the bed where it could join the other shed clothing. However, the task had been made considerably more difficult, if not less than enjoyable, by the excessive wriggling performed by Malachi- who was, of course, still straddling Tenrai's hips. As a direct result, the removal of Malachi's t-shirt was accompanied by a good deal of piteous squeaking and squealing, as well as a few whimpery little moans. By the time the t-shirt was off- time that doubtlessly felt longer to Tenrai than to Malachi- Tenrai had once again been reduced to, more or less, a near-gibbering, glassy-eyed state.

And Malachi was still straddling Tenrai's hips. And teasing the sensitive flesh of the young man's stomach. And looking positively fantastic- anything but feminine- with his cheeks stained red with desire.

It really would be horribly nice, to be able to have sex with just one person, to know precisely how they looked flushed and aroused and lustful, to find every detail perfect, regardless of what the other might see. ...Tenrai just couldn't see how Malachi could flat out NOT want something like that.

Tenrai's eyes seemed heavy, weighing without realization, measuring and equating. Or perhaps he was being paranoid. Regardless, Malachi shifted beneath the male's eyes, unaware of the squeaks his shifting roused if only momentarily. Slowly, features tilted to the side if only a fraction, Malachi offered a study of Tenrai's features in return. Absently, he licked his lips, the desirable pieces parting to speak.

"Something wrong?" Malachi murmured, a shock of dark brown hair, nearly black, swept almost completely over one eye, trailing into the next to half obscure it from vision.

"No- nothing," Tenrai murmured in response, having had to take a moment to process what was being asked. With the young man's mind clouded, he seemed to register things more slowly than usual, as if his brain itself were moving through molasses, or underwater. Without thinking about it, Tenrai absently reached up to push at the dark hair falling into Malachi's eyes- even ordinarily he had a fondness for hair, and would be quite pleased to take any excuse he was given to run fingers through hair other than his own. Allowing his hand to fall away after a moment, Tenrai continued to stare up at Malachi, silently willing the man to "get on with the show" without being fully aware of his own thoughts.

Nodding, Malachi leaned forward, crouched over the smaller male's form. A surprisingly sincere smile touched the vampire's features, fingers gently playing over Tenrai's forehead, trailing along the planes of his face.

"That's good," Malachi murmured, smile flashing into a dimly insolent grin. "Maybe you won't be adding more scratches to my poor door then."

"Now, onto more important matters than paintjobs, how about we get me out of these pants, hmm?" Chuckling, the dark haired male straightened, hands moving to his belt in a more than sedate manner. Now he was just teasing, fingers fumbling over the buckle, drawing the belt out of his pant's loopholes at a leisurely going, chucking the accessory off to the floor.

[ABORTED]