Sebastian Ellington

I thought you knew I was filthy rich
I thought you knew I never answer my phone
I thought you knew I was a late night with a bad bite I thought you knew.

The vampire knew better than most, the sort of concerns that weighed heavily upon Arlo's mind. He had been there. His past was decorated with those same life positions. It wasn't often that Sebastian spoke of those less than glamorous years within his life, years when he was once again attempting to build his empire from the ashes of his ruined life. Prostitution was hardly a glamorous job in the slightest and yet, with the right clientele, it had paid exceptionally well. He suspected, truly, that Arlo needed the pick-me-up. Though the man attempted to make light of his situation, Sebastian knew well how it might so linger upon the mind and, in turn, on a man's moral. His crystalline blue eyes settled upon his companion's features, observing that glimpse of surprise that so clearly registered there. A small, weak simper crossed his features as he watched that curl of Arlo's lips at that singular glance into those early years of Sebastian's life as a member of the undead. Still, even with that point made, the vampire eyed his companion with a hint of dubiousness as Arlo presented him with a rather warm grin. He somehow doubted that the vampire's concerns had been brushed away so easily and yet, for tonight, he was willing to let it slide. His head bobbed ever so slightly, his attention resettling upon that keyboard in front of him, as if it was far more intriguing than that near emotional conversation the pair of friends had.

Fortunately, Arlo seemed altogether content to let that conversation shift to those idle fantasies of the pair of them starting a band. It was an ill-conceived idea, of that he was absolutely certain of. His affinity was hardly as easily controlled as Arlo thought it might be, the effects they could have had the potential to be utterly devastating upon their fans. Not to mention the simple fact that Sebastian had accepted the limelight that had begun to follow him since Dorian's announcement of that claim to the Italian throne and his own title as the King's crowned Consort. The number of eyes upon them would be far greater than he was sure Arlo anticipated and when everything went awry, the consequences of it would be equally as magnified and unforgotten. He could hardly let himself taint the fae King's reputation in such a fashion. It was with that in mind that he so vehemently spoke against Arlo's creation of a band - not that the two of them were really a 'band' to begin with. Arlo's insistence that he think of it coaxed a soft sigh from his lips, the Englishman falling silent in the wake of those words, happily taking up the distraction of playing for the man what little he had started on.

The tune itself certainly sounded well enough to his own ears, as far as those simple notes and that music theory went. What he was vastly more interested in, however, was the way it made Arlo feel. That little bit he was capable of playing, however, only seemed to prompt a sort of peculiar obsession within the vampire over the proper state of his clothing and yet, truly, Sebastian thought rather little of it, simply commenting his own thoughts on that shirt and where clothes belonged. Rather, he busied himself with those suggestions his companion had, testing out those renditions with the hopes of a far more dramatic influx of emotion. Those moments in which he played were near lost to silence, the vampire's thoughts wholly occupied with those memories of those moments with his fae lover that he so deeply cherished. Arlo, in comparison, seemed lost enough in his thoughts that the man had hardly stirred from that sofa in the slightest. It was only once his fingers settled again on his lap that those blue eyes turned expectantly towards his companion, the Englishman almost apprehensive in those moments after before that single word of amazement left Arlo's lips.

He could hardly help that small simper that crawled across his features as Arlo made some effort to explain all that he'd felt during that song - those words somehow managed to capture everything the man felt towards his boyfriend. They were words that often escaped him in those rare moments that he verbally spoke of his adoration to the fae himself. There was a reason, surely, why Arlo had succeeded in an actual band while Sebastian himself stuck largely to those classical tunes. The vampire had a way with words that Sebastian simply did not. His own answer was rather focused upon that music, the man easily announcing that the second rendition was apparently far better. He was, perhaps, quite like Arlo in that fashion that he drew some level of discomfort of speaking out loud of those emotions for Dorian that had, of late, become quite near overwhelming. He was hardly oblivious of all Dorian did for him. He denied himself the sun on a daily basis, he let the vampire drink from his veins, he fought the Italian Parliament, the president and his own religion, he allowed Sebastian to engage in those more flirtatious antics that guaranteed his meals. Dorian did so much for him and he could offer so little in return.

It was Arlo's voice that drew him from his thoughts, his gaze lingering upon his companion as Arlo voiced his own difficulty in experiencing those things the Englishman had so subjected him to. His head bobbed ever so slightly in some vague fashion of understanding. "I know." He commented softly, clearing his throat before continuing with a small shrug. "Sooner or later, it simply becomes natural. Like the very air you breathe." Was that not what Dorian was like? The sun in his life? The blood in his veins? The air in his lungs? Even he could hardly remember the point when the Monarch had suddenly come to mean so much to him. That inquiry of his lover's species caused his attention to turn back towards the vampire near him, his head shaking ever so slightly as he admitted Dorian was not of their kind, though the inquiry in and of itself was certainly curious to Sebastian. He hardly had to wait long, however, before Arlo commented of his surprise. His eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly as he considered the peculiarity of his relationship and yet, he could offer little other than the simple fact that Dorian was truly an anomaly. "It is rare...but it does happen the more others know of our existence. It hardly ever ends well though...they either die from time or....from us. You might have better luck though, I mean, if their blood doesn't call to you." Arlo might never have to wrestle with that control, with that desire to drink the very life force that kept his lover alive or that battle that came with wanting to stop because you loved them and wanting to not because your love for them somehow made their blood taste all the better. Sebastian knew well how dangerous that line was that he walked, just as he knew well how much of a threat he was to Dorian's own life.

Even so, he was hardly surprised that it was that comment that the pair of vampires were hardly that different that Arlo objected to, the Englishman entirely content to provide the fellow with a small, knowing smile. Arlo was still so young and so naive, he still had a long way to go on that walk of eternal life. "Perhaps." That singular word was all he offered his companion before Arlo offered him that notebook with several additional notes. His blue eyes skirted over his own name written in the margins surrounded by those little hearts, the man entirely incapable of helping that chuckle of amusement. It was that idle comment of how hungry that Arlo was that prompted a snort from the man's nose, his head shaking ever so slightly. "You poor thing. Are a bit of feelings too much for you?" His eyebrows rose, quite clearly teasing his companion in return even as he placed that notebook upon that stand in front of him. He'd hardly forgotten his promise. In fact, Sebastian had every intention of seeing through each of those offers. After all, this song meant far more to him then he was sure even Arlo realized.

His fingers lightly touched those keys, moving with ease across that keyboard as he played that final version of the song they'd worked to create, the vampire hardly made an effort to hold back his emotions or his affinity, letting it sweep up Arlo in the process. He had only just gotten through those flirtatious bits of that song and his own relationship when the vampire appeared at his side, that brush of Arlo's fingers against his shoulder caused his gaze to flutter towards the man before shifting back towards that music in front of him. "Hello, Arlo." He offered softly in a way of response, the vampire accepting those emotions he'd forced upon his companion rather good naturedly. After all, this was how his life so often went, didn't it? Forcing people free from those inhibitions, manipulating them to feel things with an intensity they likely did not alone. It was how he fed every night. That question brought a soft snort from his nose as he shook his head ever so slightly. "Not recently." He admitted pausing for a moment before, quite purposefully, giving Arlo a task in an effort to fulfil that promise to ensure Arlo kept his clothes on and his hands to himself. "Be a love for me and turn the page when I get to the end of the measure, will you darling?" Maybe those pet names were a bit much but, he was trying to be kind to the vampire that had fallen under his sway when Arlo was being kind enough to assist him in all of this.