一期一会 » MEETING ONCE IN A LIFETIME

[stormbelow]

He didn't stay in the nexus after the encounter left him all tense and anxious, two sensations he'd pretty much been hoping to avoid for at least a little while longer while he got things back to normal. He didn't even bother finishing the rest of his errands; there was no time for that.

Instead, he goes straight back home. The second he sets foot in the house, he senses around for Harvestman's presence, hoping like hell that he won't have to track him down anywhere else.

"John?"

Comments

[stormbelow]

Arashi thinks about it, as he distantly contemplates pouring himself another glass.

"Why not Necropolis?"

[fuckvampires]

"I'm not going back to that place even if you pay me."

Harvestman is still bitter. Just a little.

[stormbelow]

His subsequent eyeroll is only mild. "I think you're being a little dramatic."

[fuckvampires]

"No demons, Arashi. I mean it."

Dramatic is kind of Harvestman's thing.

[stormbelow]

"What about incubi?"

[fuckvampires]

Harvestman's look is decidedly unhappy. "As long as none of them fucking touch me."

[stormbelow]

"Erasmus' strip club has a few private rooms in back that aren't for lapdances et cetera. At least, they aren't explicitly for that. It's not the most innocuous venue, but it would be very safe for all three of us. But, honestly, you could pick anyplace familiar out in the human world and just be subtle about it. You're part of a coven, remember? You have the run of the entire United States."

[fuckvampires]

"I... I don't know where to go," he says lamely.

[stormbelow]

Arashi sighs, and stares at nothing on the counter for a second or two.

"All right. What about a rest house."

[fuckvampires]

Try as he might, there was no objection he could think of against that idea. He obviously tried, though, before sighing. "Fine. I'll see if he can wait a little longer."

[stormbelow]

"I'm sure he's on the edge of his seat," Arashi murmurs, filling up his glass again.

[fuckvampires]

Harvestman gives him a dirty look and considers taking the alcoholic blood away, but maybe Arashi would be less obnoxious while drunk.

(This is clearly wishful thinking.)

"We're going to have to meet him in the Room, or something. He can meet us in twenty minutes."

[stormbelow]

Arashi pauses before drinking, narrowing his eyes. "I thought he was too busy to meet us anywhere but HQ."

[fuckvampires]

"Maybe," Harvestman pauses, stressing every word. "He considers this important enough to work around his schedule. And since you got your shorts all twisted up and he's walking into a vampire's den, he's bringing a friend. I'll vouch for him, by the way. If it makes you feel better."

[stormbelow]

"It doesn't." His eyes narrow further, although he does shove the bottle aside. His faith in Harvestman's character judgment has been crumbling at the foundations lately. "A safe house is not a vampire den. It's a safe house. He shouldn't even be allowed near it because he's a hunter, but I'm the one chaperoning, here."

[fuckvampires]

"He doesn't know that, does he?" Maybe it would help if Harvestman was not the point of communication between the two of them, but too late now. "And he ain't bringing another Hunter. Happy?"

[stormbelow]

"No. What do you think makes me happy? Who is he bringing, that is not a Hunter and that you think is so trustworthy?"

[fuckvampires]

"A vampire. Comes up to about here - " He waves a hand an inch over his head. "So you could take him in a fight. Not that there's gonna be a fight, right? So don't worry."

He pauses, the sarcasm dying down. "Who is this for, Arashi? If it's for you, I ain't going."

[stormbelow]

Arashi almost points out that very often size matters exactly not at all when it comes to vampires, but it's really too late to change anyone's mind and he just wants to get this over with. Harvestman's question makes him frown; it checks his temper, but something about the way it's said, he doesn't like.

"This is all you. That's the only reason I'm going."

[fuckvampires]

Harvestman holds his gaze for a moment. "Okay," he says quietly. "Because this is hard for me, and meeting Gabriel and Martín is the biggest step I can take right now. I know you want this to go faster, but I can't. It hurts too much."

[stormbelow]

"That's not--" He stops, and pauses for a second or two before trying again.

"I want you to be safe. I'm not going to be satisfied about that until this meeting is over and you're all right. I don't get any calmer than this when I'm worried. But I'm on your side here, understand?"

[fuckvampires]

He sighs. "I do. I know, I do. It's just... Gabe is sticking his neck out, doing this for me. He's doing it entirely behind Brisbane's back, he's skirting the treaty laws - he wouldn't do that for no reason. I know he's just a Hunter and I get it, but believe me, he does to. He ain't human either."

[stormbelow]

Arashi doesn't know how to explain to Harvestman why this doesn't make him feel better, without upsetting the other vampire more, and at this point he figures the argument should probably be dropped in any case. He seems to have gotten as much as he can expect by way of circumstances, without losing the meeting altogether.

"Fine. I will keep my mouth shut and the glaring to an acceptable minimum. All right?"

[fuckvampires]

"Thank you." Harvestman reaches up to brush a hand against Arashi's cheek, pressing his other hand against Arashi's heart. It was a gesture he'd taken up since Arashi had come back, to feel for his heart beat. To check, maybe, that his eyes didn't fool him, and the hole was truly gone. "Are you alright with going now?"

[stormbelow]

"As much as I'll ever be," Arashi mutters, although he deliberately dials back on the aggressive edge to his voice. He's simply resigned to this, now, because he wasn't exaggerating; he won't be satisfied until they're both out of there, safe and sound.

Impulsively, he reaches up and slides a hand through Harvestman's hair, coming down the side of his face to rest against his throat. "You can do this, you know. I don't trust your friends, but I have faith in you."