Blood Thieving 2.0 (INVITE)

[Lancaster]

Before Freddie could press the frozen peas to Hannah’s bruised nose she took them from him. The woman settled in against him and Freddie manoeuvred to fit her in, *** sliding down a little on the couch so that his legs sprawled out in front of him like sticks belonging to an insect.

Hannah was quicker than Freddie had thought she’d be, expecting the woman might want to climb in and have a scalding shower to wash the day (and night) from her skin. At least she’d changed into something she deemed more comfortable. Lacking the ability to gaze at Hannah, Freddie instead pushed at the lines of his own palms, staring at the calluses that had formed in specific areas. He wondered what had formed them. What had he spent his days doing? Had he been a labourer or tradesman? A mechanic or wood worker? They weren’t the fingers of someone who sat around at home all day, or someone who sat in a cubicle.

It wasn’t so much the who he knew part that Freddie was curious about, but more what he could do. What were his skills? What were his hobbies? He shook his head.

”Around,” he said with a non-committal shrug. He never went anywhere specific. It wasn’t as if he had his regular haunts. Not yet, anyway. He felt like he would, eventually. He had to just find somewhere his feet wanted to stop. ”I don’t stop anywhere. I just. I walk,” he said, shifting just slightly so his head could rest on the top of Hannah’s, his hands dropping to his lap. ”Around in circles. I’ve got a lot of energy. It’s nice to stretch my legs,” he said. They were long legs to stretch.

”It’s not such a bad city once you peel back the layers. I like the edges of the city, where the wilderness creeps in. I like to imagine what it would look like if humans disappeared and the wilderness was allowed to take control again…” he murmured.

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

Hannah nodded her head after an 'Oh,' passed through her lips. Was Freddie wandering around to find something? Or maybe someone? Or maybe it was just as he said it. To stretch his legs. She couldn't argue that he probably needed to get out of the apartment. During the day he was dead to the world it seemed and while he wasn't a 'captive' here, it probably felt like it. Freddie could live here in secret. Maybe he wasn't looking for something-like 'Lancasters' at all. But what if he was?

Hannah laughed at Freddie's thoughts about the woods. "I know a great place where there is a river, and a hiking trail. It's a completely different world at night. You might like it? I could give you directions on how to get there some night?" Hannah suggested with a press of a kiss to Freddie's jawline. As innocent as that was supposed to be, just a small form of showing affection, it was perhaps the wrong one to take.

The bag of peas were set on the arm rest behind her back, as Hannah inched her seated position up to better suit the desire that overcame her. She had only fed off Freddie a couple nights ago, but that didn't mean anything to Hannah. And she forewarned him as much, while an arm came up and around the side of his face that was opposite to the one Hannah faced. "I'm going to bite you." She said as that very arm came to rest against his cheek, the hand resting on the top of Freddie's dark hair. Her sharp, tiny fangs pierced the flesh of Freddie's neck after Hannah positioned herself at an angle that didn't make her at quite the disadvantage.

As soon as Freddie's blood tantalized her taste buds, Hannah let out a soft, yet satisfactory moan against the cool flesh of his throat. Once again, her cheeks grew warm as the thoughts and feelings from a couple nights ago returned as the heat coursed its way through Hannah's body. When the repeated heat from two nights ago found the tips of her toes, Hannah's arm dropped from around Freddie's face and grabbed at the fabric of his shirt. Injured nose or not, it would be very easy for Hannah to wind back up in Freddie's lap, or somewhere else. "Nine tomorrow night?" Hannah asked as her back found the side of the arm rest, offering Hannah a different smell, other than Freddie and some much needed fresh air. If those things were actually needed.

[Lancaster]

There she went again, Freddie mused, assuming that he would want to do things without her. Unless, of course, hiking at night time wasn’t her bag of chips. She did work a lot, and he hadn’t the right to hijack her nights and steal her sleep from her. Still, he was about to suggest that they go together – call it a second date – when the words fell short. Whatever response he was ready to give was silenced by Hannah’s warning – threat? No. Just a statement. No sooner had she said she was going to bite him did he feel the baby fangs pierce his skin. Regardless of the warning, he hadn’t been ready for it; his knee jolted, hands immediately grasping at thigh and waist, breath caught in his throat, holding on to it while he forced his body to relax.

The heat that flushed Hannah’s skin could be felt against the coolness of his neck and cheek, in any place where her skin touched his. And he could hear it, too, that sudden flush fuelled by a rapidly beating heart. The vampire wanted nothing more than to pull her into his lap, to become the prone body beneath her. His fingers itched to slip beneath her pyjama top, to increase the skin on skin contact. Before he could achieve any of this, however, Hannah had thrown herself away from him, her back against the arm of the couch as if it could save her, somehow. Or anchor her. Despite the bruised nose, he could see the flush to her skin, the healthy glow. And the drop of blood at the corner of her mouth. He didn’t let her keep her distance for long.

With limbs as long as Freddie’s it didn’t take much to push his back from the couch and lunge forward, thumb swiping at the stray drop of crimson. His hands felt strangely bereft, not like it had been only weeks or months since he had last properly held a woman, but like it had been years. In the past couple of days they were reminded how it felt, and now they just wanted more. He would, however, respect the distance that Hannah wanted. He nodded.

”Nine tomorrow night,” he repeated, voice heavy with the lust he was denied.

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

Her eyes glanced down to the droplet of blood-his blood; that was now on his thumb because Freddie had 'stolen' it out from under her with a quick movement of his arm. It was too precious to allow it to be wiped on the side of his jeans, or smeared carelessly, in her mind. Did she need that drop? No, she had tasted Freddie's blood in the form of a mouthful seconds ago. So what was one tiny drop of blood? Everything.

Hannah's right hand curled around the one that possessed the tiny bead of red, as her dark brows arched up mischievously. Her back lifted off the side of the couch, before her top lip curled over the tip of his thumb, the bottom pressed against the flesh of the bed of Freddie's thumb. Hannah's tongue quickly darted over the space between both her lips to take back what she wanted.

Hannah was aware that she was testing the waters with that were churning between the two of them with that single action. The second Freddie spoke and agreed on the time, she could almost hear it, feel it coming from him. Almost a mirror image of things Hannah wanted too. “Nine o'clock.” Was repeated softly against Freddie's thumb, before she pressed her lips to the inside of that very thumb. Fingers were slipped between Freddie's, before her head found the crook of his neck, Hannah's forehead nestled tightly to the base of Freddie's throat. “If she would have broken my nose, that would have been a first. I've never had anything broken before. A sprain once.” Hannah said quietly, before adding on. “Ice skating. I've not ice skated since then.” She laughed softly, her lips finding the underside of Freddie's jawline.

“Come on.” Hannah suggested after swiping up the bag of peas. The brunette moved off Freddie, waved for him to follow, and headed into the kitchen. The peas were shoved back in the freezer, before she turned around and grabbed for one of his hands. When her hand became secured with his, Hannah led Freddie into her bedroom. “We can finish the story in here. And maybe, I'll tell you another one while I settle in for the night.” Hannah offered, as she flipped her bedroom light on and moved to the bathroom. “I was nine...” Hannah began, as she uncapped the toothpaste and put it on her toothbrush. She ran the water to wet the brush quick, then said a little more. “I wanted to learn to skate after a class trip.” She started brushing her teeth, and paused the story there for a few seconds. After a few brushes and rinsing her mouth, Hannah gently wiped her face against a hand towel. “I wasn't good at it, but I was young and full of adventure.” Hannah confessed, as she crawled into bed. “And so, I got a pair of ice skates for Christmas one year and after one too many falls, and almost breaking my neck, my dad sort of forbid me to take up the sport and I think bought me some barbies instead.” She laughed, her head finding a pillow as she did this.

[Lancaster]

Hannah’s proximity was in conflict with the story she told. Such an innocent story, a memory from her past – a story she started with her fingers tangled with Freddie’s, her lips so close to his skin he could feel her breath dancing across the stubble he’d allowed to grow.

And then just like that, she was gone. Teasing Freddie’s senses until he was on the brink of relinquishing any self-made promise to give Hannah space, and he had the excuse that she had initiated this lack thereof. His fingers grasped at dead air and Hannah was already halfway to the kitchen – though Freddie didn’t have to be urged twice to follow. Long limbs acted like springs as he meandered after Hannah, watching as the peas were deposited back into the freezer. Hannah was aloof – Freddie was curious.

And then her fingers were once more tangled in his and she was leading him into the one place of the apartment he had not yet visited. Hannah’s bedroom. He paused briefly on the threshold before he stepped through, hands shoved into pockets as he listened to Hannah. He was unsure why she’d invited him in – was it to just keep talking, or was it for other reasons? The singular pronoun was used, rather than we. She would tell him stories while she settled in for the night.

He listened, studiously, to Hannah’s story – each word was filed away to be remembered at a later date. He laughed when she reached her conclusion, and when she was settled into the bed Freddie took a seat at a respectful distance nearby, an armchair that wasn’t covered in clothing. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped in front of him.

”Ice skating, huh? Maybe we should make that a date, when the snow comes back around,” he said. He didn’t know whether he could skate or whether they’d be as disastrous as each other. He somehow didn’t think he’d have much grace on the ice. He’d laughed, and now he laughed again.

”I wish I could share childhood memories with you, but…” he spread his empty hands – they were as empty as his head was of memories.

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

The suggestion of ice skating being a date in the far off future didn't get missed, but she didn't pin point it out. Hannah took a different approach, and laughed. "Maybe. You'll find that I'm not all that graceful, but the cold or bundling up doesn't bother me. I actually...like it? The air is crisp and feels...fresh. Does it bother vampires? The cold?" Hannah asked, pretty sure the answer was no, because he was a little bit cool to the touch every time they shared skin on skin contact. "Oh. Right. You probably don't know, or remember." She laughed at herself, then watched Freddie drop into the same style chair that matched her vanity and dresser.

It wasn't where she anticipated him ending up at, and there was a fleeting moment of disappointment, before Hannah thought about his lack of childhood stories. "That's alright. I'm sure I have enough stories for the both of us." Hannah could tell him a lot of things and the experiences she had growing up with a mom who was some born again new age hippy. It brought a smile to her lips-the funny stories, but the gentleness her mom possessed as well. Even if they weren't close, Hannah was aware of the type of woman her mother tried to be-even if she was running around saging the house, or planting this and that to ward off mosquitoes, ants and other sorts of things that made sense and didn't make sense to Hannah.

"One more story, before I let you go do whatever it is vampires do at night." Hannah relinquished herself to the idea that Freddie wasn't going to make his way into her bed and allow her to invade his personal space. It was probably a good idea, but it's not that one Hannah wanted to focus on. She had other ideas, but Hannah could respect the need for distance. She was all too aware of how things ended up when they were in close proximity. "Well, maybe more like a confession, than a story..." Hannah restated the idea of a story, for something else.

"I hate horror movies. The scary ones." Hannah admitted. "The ones with ghosts, demons or whatever." Strangely enough, vampires never bothered her, but then again, vampires were hardly scary these days. "I was twelve or thirteen and found Ringu on the television. Ever heard of it?" Hannah asked, more so rhetorically, than anything. "It probably wouldn't bother me now, but...Let's just say I avoided phones for a good while." Hannah groaned, but still finding humor in it. "So needless to say, I'm not a fan of horror movies."

[Lancaster]

Freddie could feel the disappointment like a jolt of static electricity between the bed and the armchair. He shrugged and straightened as Hannah asked about the cold. He’d not paid much mind to the temperature or how it affected him but he seemed to get away with wearing jackets when it was rather warm outside. He was never hot. So he doubted he’d get cold, either.

Hannah continued to talk and Freddie used his toes to rid his feet of his shoes. They were shoved aside. His movements were slow, semi-subtle. He could be reading the cues wrong. He hoped he wasn’t reading them wrong. He was going to take a chance – which could result in him being told kindly to leave.

Again, he shook his head. Hannah asked if he’d heard of ‘Ringu’ and he wanted to remind her that the only movies he’d seen – or remembered seeing – were movies he’d watched in the past couple of weeks. If he had watched any, Hannah would have watched them with him. He’d not been much drawn to the television, and hadn’t a desire to watch it much. But he didn’t remind her. Not with words – just with a small laugh and a shake of his head.

The tell-tale sign that he had something planned would be when he unbuckled the belt that held up his jeans. Sleeping in belts wasn’t exactly comfortable. Not that Freddie would be sleeping. And even when he was sleeping he wouldn’t be coherent enough to notice. He said nothing as he stripped down to only his briefs and his t-shirt, all while Hannah was watching.

”We haven’t watched any scary movies but I’ll stay with you anyway. In case you have nightmares,” he said, careful not to shock Hannah’s warm skin with his cold feet as he climbed beneath the blanket.

”When I wasn’t here, did you used to talk to your cats as much as you talk to me?” he asked, head settling on the same pillow – careful to keep the topic neutral.

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

Hannah hadn't noticed anything until Freddie stood up and made his way out of most his clothes. Shoes, socks, belt and pants had all been discarded at some point. Hannah inched back from the side he was climbing into the bed, offering him more space as Freddie did this. "No. For good reason." Hannah wasn't a big television or movie lover, but if she were going to take part in any of that, scary movies were not on the top of her agenda.

Once he was in the bed, any mild disappointment that had been conveyed had disappeared as she inched back into the spot she had been in prior to Freddie's arrival. When he asked about her cats, Hannah laughed and then propped her head up to shake it. "No, it was usually very quiet here. Most nights." Not all, but most. "I mostly listened to music to make the apartment not seem so...quiet. I don't mind quiet, but I can't go from work, to dead silence. I need a winding down period." Hannah's elbow found her pillow as she propped her head to come to rest on the uplifted arm.

"Is that your very polite way of telling me I talk too much?" She teased him, wrapping a leg between both of his. "Or are you confessing that while I'm at work, you and the two cats have deep, insightful conversations?" The side of her head found the pillow again, as Hannah wrapped the other arm around Freddie's side so she could use him to inch her way into his body. Her laugh was squelched against his shirt before adding on, "I'm kidding." Her eyes looked up at Freddie, before she decided to change the subject. "I'll give you a freebie tonight. Nothing too heavy. One thing you can ask and I'll answer."

[Lancaster]

The two of them fit together comfortably in the bed, the blanket settling over them and Hannah’s smaller body curling so readily into Freddie’s. His arm slid beneath the pillow, his other sliding around her waist and aiding her to pull in close. He was a good boy, and didn’t initiate any skin on skin contact beyond their tangled legs. He was as comfortable as he was going to get – as comfortable as he could be.

As close as she was, Hannah would feel the rumble of laughter as it originated in his chest. She would feel the way he nodded, his blue eyes staring into the semi-dark. ”Yes, actually. The cats and I have plenty of conversations. They tell me all your dirty secrets,” he said, only belatedly remembering that Hannah was secretive. The threat of dirty secrets wasn’t so much a joke, but a reality.

”You do talk a lot, but it’s not something to be ashamed of. I like listening,” he said, and there was not a hint of a lie. Couldn’t have been, as she well knew. There were plenty of questions he wanted to ask, too, but she’d requested that it not be heavy. Most of his pre-prepared questions were shot down. He wondered, too, what he would have to pay – in time or something else – to be able to ask those questions. One date, she had said. But would that give him only a certain level of clearance? What was the next goal? He hummed under his breath and, on the tangent of pay…

”If you found out you had just over four million dollars to your name, and counting, what would you do with it?” he asked. It wasn’t a question about her past or her reasons for being where she was. Stories about her past that she was willing to share were done so freely anyway. He’d already heard two. So he would instead ask a question that would enlighten him as to her personality. Her morals, maybe. Her wants or needs. The future was just as important as the past.

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

She laughed with him about the cats and secrets. "Well, if they have any complaints about their food-I don't want to know that. I get the best there is in the stores." The comment made her mind wander for a brief moment, thinking about how she could get better. Online. Levi had said that about his own cat at one point.

"So unless they're going to get a job..." Hannah trailed off, her blue eyes fixed on Freddie's shirt that was in front of her. When he gave her a compliment about talking too much, Hannah looked away from his shirt and to the bottom of Freddie's chin. It was a brief glance in his direction, before her blue eyes disappeared beneath closed eyelids.

"What?" Hannah asked, surprised at the random question. She laughed nervously, before parting her lips to speak. "Four million?" She made a thinking sound, before her eyes disappeared once again. "I'd go back home for a visit for a little bit." And make sure that her family was okay. As far as she knew, everything was fine. Her sister hadn't said any different in their last Facetime conversation.

"Travel a little. I'd save most of it, as boring as that sounds. But still keep working. Maybe tell them forty hours a week is my cut off." Hannah laughed, knowing that would probably never happen. "I'd go to Tibet. I've seen pictures of it in magazines every now and again. It looks pretty amazing. So, travel home and to Tibet." She scooted her head back a little to look at him. "Pretty boring, hmm? I wouldn't even spend twenty-thousand dollars doing both those things." She shifted the conversation away from her and to him. "What about you?"