The Sun Also Rises

How curious a man his lover was. Dorian entirely unsure if he would ever come to understand all the peculiarities of Sebastian's nature. The vampire so clearly distressed over his own thoughts to the point Dorian was assured he was all but miserable and yet, he seemed to fear to speak those thoughts lest he, in turn, affect Dorian's own mood- when all along it was that unwillingness of the vampire to merely tell him what was wrong that had so seemed to effect the Monarch at all! How foolish they were sometimes. How caught within the ethics and standards of their own ages in which it was seen as a folly of sorts to ever discuss in depth those more personal affairs. Tonight however, Dorian was entirely determined such a conversation would be had regardless if either man desired it or not. It was surely just as foolish after all, to allow these things to be unsaid and pressed further down where they might only worsen like a forgotten wound to reappear later with a vengeance the sort of which Dorian held no desire to see. He could not bear his lovers distress, not in any sense. Sebastian's silence on this matter far worse than any words the man could give, of that he was sure and as such the Monarch moved to attempt once more to draw out those worries of the man he so adored, directing him towards that plush bed before making himself comfortable upon it and gesturing for his lover to do the same. It was easy then, to hand out those game boards and too that little bag that went with it. The vampire so seemingly doing his best to attempt to cast aside those worries as he so often did, Dorian unwilling to allow the man to pretend all was well for his own benefit. He knew Sebastian far too well for such a game as that. The Fae King leaning back against the bed post then to offer his idea.

The bewilderment upon his companion's features was hardly missed. His own chest fluttering with that hint of nervousness that Sebastian might well simply refuse to speak at all and as such ruin any hope that the evening might yet be salvaged. How difficult it was to draw the man out of those age-old habits of so concealing ones concerns, how ironic too, that it was Dorian whom so attempted to draw Sebastian when he was by far the elder and yet- for all Dorian's own indoctrination in those traditions of old he was assured entirely that when it came to those matters of the heart and indeed this relationship of boyfriends- some rules and ideals were distinctly allowed to be broken. He would fix this. Whatever it was. Sebastian's gaze had returned to that game board beneath him, that same uncomfortable tightness seeming to form within the Monarch's chest, assured he was about to be denied any further words, his longing to make this right almost painful and yet he could hardly help that glimpse of surprise that so touched his features at the sudden rush of words that befell his lovers lips. It was undeniable, that wave of relief that seemed to see that hint of tension leave his own frame and too- that soft simper appear at the vampires utterance that he was not in any way opposed to marrying him. Dorian having begun, somewhere within, to so believe it was him Sebastian might be opposed to ever considering worthy of marriage. How ridiculous it was that only hours before he had hardly known marriage was an option and yet how he had come to worry in the same evening that the very thing he had never considered might be never considered by his lover in turn! This notion of the legality of it saw his own features knot slightly together, this a matter Dorian wholly intended to look into, for several reasons now- the man barely afforded a moment to consider this when Sebastian so begun to query just how he might be proposed too.

Minted was hardly a word he knew. His head tilting slightly in a clear inquisitiveness. Sebastian's words, whether by nervousness, alcohol or a combination of both, had become heavily accented. Dorian forced to listen carefully to each syllable lest he lose all hope of understanding him at all! The Monarch's lips parted to assure him that the matter of how one might propose was surely not the biggest of their concerns this very evening, that really any offer that was not ended with the mention of vegetables would surely do, before Sebastian seemed to note his own drifting- the vampire acting to bring back that conversation to its more prominent points with a flick of his wrist. His lover murmuring softly then that he knew he was being daft, that Dorian was not this Isabella. This the first time Sebastian had so much as even mentioned the name of that wife he had once had. She alone having proven a topic distinctly difficult for the vampire and one even Dorian dared not ask upon in most instances, the man remaining silent still as if fearing any comment from himself just yet might see his lover cease to speak at all. 'Blooming rows' was an equally unknown term to the Fae and yet to so conclude it meant 'argument' was not terribly difficult. Dorian so coming to realise in that moment that Sebastian's marriage, at least in the end, had been terribly and horribly unhappy. His features frowning now.

It was the strangest of emotions that so afflicted him then, a desire in some sense to so protect the man from an unhappiness long since passed. That idea of his lovers distress once more so proving to be more then Dorian could bear. To know Sebastian as he did, to know well what sort of man he was- the very sort inclined to try over and over to please- seemed only to further assure the King that this marriage had not been....easy upon his lover. How he would have tried! Of that Dorian was sure. That it was this notion of blood that had so eventually torn them apart was perhaps unanticipated and yet too- Dorian could understand just how that might prove to be an issue. That taking of blood was intimate, the Fae King rarely choosing to consider just how his lover went about it when not at his side. It was less then ideal in every sense and yet he had known from the very beginning that this was not what his companion wanted so much as what he required. There was a desperately distinct difference. A vampire could not choose not to have blood any more then he could choose not to have air and was it not far better that such blood was taken from those willing volunteers rather then the man attacking them from the shadows like some sort of.....monster? Had Isabella truly been this selfish as to not understand?

Those hands that gingerly cupped his features so stole his thoughts from him once more, Sebastian's lips pressing gently to his own as Dorian's words caught within his throat yet again. The vampires head shifting to rest against his chest as if in utter defeat before apologising for the 'cock up' that was this evening. It was a curious thing, truly, that his own features softened readily in those moments, a wealth of emotion seeming to stir within him and yet he remained silent for a little longer- simply allowing his arms to lift instead and wrap about the man resting on his chest as if drawing him all the closer. His voice so at last finding its way from his lips with a distinct softness and yet ready determination.

"Then I will remind you every day that you need reminding, one hundred times over if I must, that I am not her. I am not even close."

He shifted but briefly then, leaning away just so as to allow his lover to look up and meet that bright silver off his own gaze. This, perhaps, the most honest of conversations they had ever held, Dorian so refusing to dismiss these concerns as if they were illogical or to be worried of later.

"I know what you are, Bastian. From that moment we so agreed to be in this you have made your need for the blood of others clear. I shall not lie, it is not ideal for it is an intimate thing and yet it cannot and will not ever change. I know this too. If I could give you all you needed I would, but that is the very heart of it, I cannot. You need to eat. It is not a choice on your part."

He paused but briefly then, those faint touches of a simper tracing his lips once more, the Fae so unable to prevent that affection that lingered in each gentle word.

"If you come home smelling of other people then so be it. If you need flirt with them so they might willingly offer you blood then that is how it is- I should greatly prefer you did that rather then lunge at them in an alleyway. I cannot deny your right to feed and I will not. That I promise you."

To so have ones lover, husband even, flirt with another right before them- to know they embraced another was a difficult concept in every sense and one Dorian so often cared simply not to consider. He knew it occurred, he knew well he might one day witness it and yet still if that was the only sacrifice he need make to so be with that man he adored then he was assured he might make it a thousand times over.

"There is a very great difference, Mon Cher, between affection that is a means to an end and true love. Perhaps I need show you?"

The softest of chuckles rose easily within his throat then, Dorian moving to tilt his lovers head upward just a little more, his lips pressed suddenly and with force to the vampires own- pressing back against him as he did, pushing the man steadily onto his back atop that bed until Dorian so rested upon his chest. His tongue swept easily across Sebastian's lower lip, seeking to have the man part them, letting him slide his tongue against his lovers own in that most glorious of kisses before almost breathlessly pulling away.

"As long as it is only me you kiss like that and as long as it is our bed you come home to at night then I have every faith in us. I could ask nothing more of the man I married. You are not going to lose me, Bastian. I love you far too much â€" even when you try and cock up our evening like a damp squib. Though I think it might still be salvaged, no?"

His lips pressed again to the mans own again, drawing his lower lip between his own, sucking lightly upon it a moment before letting his teeth graze against it in that wholly playful fashion. He was unwilling, tonight, to speak ill of the dead and yet for all Sebastian surely blamed himself it had been her fault too, if not more. It was she, it seemed, whom had not loved him enough to accept what he was. Such thoughts cast from his mind for now. His head resting on Sebastian's chest.

"Thank you for telling me."

Dorian Aragona