"The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it." (Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray)

Was drinking blood from a vampire really better than drinking human blood? Maybe it was, but not by much - not that Fayez was in the right state of mind to care about ethics anyways.

The starved vampire surged forward, ready to drink blood straight from the source, but to his great dismay, he was harshly pulled back against the same hard chest than before.

"N-no" he cried, pain oozing from his voice, but the grip on his hair was tight and unrelentless.

"Ake!" another person exclaimed. "Let it go! You're hurting him".

Their protests went ignored and Fayez suddenly felt a warm breath against his cheek.

"You're not allowed to harm my boyfriend" someone whispered against his ear. "If you drink too much of his blood, I swear I will fucking kill you, vampire or not, student or not."

Although the words were harsh, the voice remained soft, and Fayez distractly wondered how a person could be so contrasted. The same hand that had been carding through his hair so soothingly, not even a few minutes ago, was now bringing fresh tears to his eyes.

"Do you understand?" the voice hissed, and Fayez could only nod obediently.

"Ake-" the person with the lighter voice tried again.

"No, Zeph. I need to have his word. Do you promise not to drink too much of his blood, newbie?"

Somehow, the pain had cleared his head a bit and Fayez managed to utter a barely audible "Yes" in response.

It was only then that the hold on his hair eased a bit, and Fayez sighed in relief.

"You know his promise doesn't mean shit, right, Ake?" - this time, the voice sounded mildly mocking. "He is so hungry he would promise to give you the world just to get fresh blood."

"Doesn't matter" the deeper voice grumbled. "At least, now I have an excuse to kill him later, if he doesn't keep his promise not to harm you."

"You're such a child. It's obvious he won't harm me. Just open your eyes! He looks a bit scared, now. He might not even dare to take one sip of my blood, that's how frightened I think he is. Well done, Ake."

I'm not scared, Fayez mentally corrected him, for he was too exhausted to say these words out loud.

The other person, the one that had been treating him poorly, sighed, then a warm hand was lightly pushing against his back.

"Come on, newbie. Don't get all shy on us. Drink, now"

Fayez took the delicate wrist that was being presented to him, but, to the greatest surprise and entertainment of the two other persons, he merely pressed his lips against the wound.

"Such a gentleman! I wasn't expecting that from a guy who looks at you like he wants to jump your bones"

"He doesn't look at me like that! Stop making fun of him, Ake."

Slender fingers started tracing the inside of his forearm, and Fayez knew, without even looking at them, that they belonged to the guy with the thin wrist - the one whose voice had a dreamy quality, the one who sounded constantly enthusiastic and didn't inspire him the same dread the other man did.

" It's okay, Fayez. Forget about my psychotic boyfriend, he won't hurt you. He's all barks and no bites. You are allowed to drink my blood"

Was it the way the person with the thin wrist was adressing him - like one would do to a scared animal or an infant ? Was it the fact that this person had explicitely told him that he was allowed to drink? Was it because they had called him by his name, something that only a handful of people had ever done during his hundreds year of existence?

Whatever the reason was, the hungry vampire started to suck on the pale wrist with a gentleness such that the expressions of the two lovers turned bewildered.

"Aw, he is such an angel! We know this big guy here is starving, yet I can barely feel his fangs against my skin"

"Stop cooing at him, Zeph! You always give your trust too easily. That's why Ashur and I are constantly worrying about you. Do I need to remind you that he is a total stranger, who could have ill intents"

"No need to worry about me, love of my life. I can beat your ass in a fight any time."

"What? You little... do you-"

They banter for a few seconds, until the nicest one of the two said, curiosity lacing his voice:

"I wonder why he always keeps his gloves on."

"Whatever the reason is, I don't think he has a choice keeping them on at all time. Do you imagine never being able to touch anything with your bare hands? Never feeling the texture of your lover's skin under the palm of your hand?

There was a moment of tense silence, which went completely unnoticed by the vampire that was now comfortably sitting between Akhenaton's long legs, his gloved hands resting on the brunet's thighs, as if they had always belonged here, his tainted lips pressed against Zephyr's smooth skin.

Fayez had never drunk such a divine blood. Words weren't enough to describe such a unique taste. Before today, Fayez had never really liked drinking blood. He knew he had to, so he drank it regularly, in order to keep himself alive, but he didn't enjoy it.

This blood was truly out of this world, though, and this was the reason why Fayez was keeping his eyes closed, while he drank as slowly as he could - you couldn't drink such a nectar bottoms up , that would have been a profanation.

There was something strange, but Fayez couldn't tell what it was. It was a foreign sensation to him, a new kind of warmth pooling into his lower regions. He was entering unchartered territories, and it was a bit scary, to say the least.

What was happening?

"Oh my God, Ake!" the first person exclaimed, giggling a bit - which made them sound even younger.

"What now?"

"I think that our sweet Fayez... I think he has a little or, should I say, not so little problem"

"He is certainly not our Fayez, and what do you - oh!"

The guy with the hard chest paused, obviously realizing something. Whatever his discovery was, he didn't seem to enjoy it one bit, contrary to the other person, who started to laugh harder, delight more and more apparent in his voice.

"Bloody Hell! This horndog, how dare he get an erection while drinking my boyfriend's blood? And when I think you were calling him an 'angel' a few seconds ago! Angel, my ass".

"What can I say? My blood truly is a delicacy" the mischevious blond creature replied.

"It isn't"

"You're just jealous because I said he was an angel. Who would have thought such a big, tall and rather scary guy could be such a huge softie."

"I'm not jealous. I hate you."

"I know, babe"

For some reason, the word 'hate', stayed in Fayez's foggy mind. He knew what hatred was, he vividly remembered seeing it in Ana's mother eyes, the day when he had accidentally killed his daughter.

What these two guys had for each others wasn't hatred, on the contrary. It was something precious, not as common as stories make us believe it is. It was something only Fayez's parents had ever shown him, and it hadn't happened after the 'incident', as his mother called it, when he was still a toddler who thought it was only natural to be loved by his family.

"I think he has had enough." the guy sitting just behind Fayez eventually said. "Let's get the fuck out of here. I don't like the idea of someone getting a boner while drinking my lover's blood. That's a kink I don't have."

"There isn't a kink you don't have, Ake."

"True. Now, let's go."

"You do realise what it means, though, right? The fact that he reacts so strongly to a few sips of my blood?"

"You're wrong. You have to be wrong"

"You want me to be wrong" the other guy corrected him, his voice softer now. "But you know I'm right. It all makes sense, now that you think about it. The fact that we - "

"Please, Zeph, let's go. I don't want to think about it now" Hard Chest pleaded, suddenly sounding strangely vulnerable.

"Fine, okay, be in denial, you big scaredy cat. Lead the way."

A few seconds later, they were gone, and gone was the warmth, as they took it away with them. Fayez wished he could have run with them. Energy was coming back into his body, and with it, unsollicited thoughts and questions.

The first one being, what was this sticky liquid soiling his underwear? It was gross. It felt gross. He didn't like it. Not one bit.

What had happened? He remembered a cristallin laughter - Zephyr. He remembered a guy with a hard chest, who had the power to both hurt him and calm him down - Akhenaton.

He wanted to cry, but big boys didn't cry and he hadn't shed a tear since Ana's death.

You're not supposed to cry, his father had told him, rather harshly, when he had seen the little boy's face wet with tears. After all, you're not the one who lost someone dear today. Think about the pain you've caused in this family, and have the decency not to show unsollicited grief.

His father had used a lot of difficult words, but little Fayez had gotten the main idea: he had to keep his feelings to himself, and not bother his parents with them. They were unsollicited, and so was his presence, words, or even, life.

Maybe his father hadn't really meant to say all these words. Maybe he had been talking out of hurt and anger, but the damages were already done. Fayez would never forget what his father had told him with the most serious expression he had ever seen on his usually joyful face.

He thought about how he wanted to have what Akhenaton and Zephyr were sharing, and how impossible it was. He would never know what it felt like to have someone willing to risk their life to make yours a little brighter.

He knew that already, he had learnt his lesson a long time ago, so why was this hard truth suddenly so painful?

And God, did he wish he could be back in his bedroom already, forgetting about the rest of the world under the hot spray of the shower. He felt so disgusting.

He was missing something. Something important had happened, but he couldn't analyse it. He had heard most of the things that had been exchanged between Zephyr and Akhenaton, but he was too tired to analysed them now.

Later. Later, when he wouldn't feel so confused and hurt and disgusting, then he would try to decipher the meaning of everything that had been said today.

Not even ten minutes later, he felt well enough to head back to the castle.

He met a few students, and he had a feeling that they were starting at him, possibly laughing at him, so he walked faster, wishing to be alone already.

At some point, he even started running, no longer paying attention to his surroundings, as his mind was only preoccupied with one thought:

Being back in his bedroom.

" You sure seem to like running into people."

He winced, barely resisting the temptation to shamely rub his now sore ass. He had collided into someone, and, for some reason, he was the only one lying on the ground.

He looked up at the hand that was offered to him, and then at the owner of said hand, who actually had a familiar face.

And then, because, even as an introvert, he was still way too spontaneous for his own good, he said aloud the most unrealistic prayer a supernatural creature could have said:

"Dear God, if you exist, please end my life right here, right now."

Unedited. Will edit tomorrow, because its 11 am here, time for an old lady like me to go to bed.