[Forward-dated to Grab Bag virus] [RL with Radu]

[delilahs_reaper]

Considering that the members of Delilah weren't exactly strict day-dwellers, he was surprised he hadn't gotten caught yet. Not that most would care, but Cassian certainly hadn't said anything, nor had the Cardmaster smugly asked what activities Jezebel might be up to every evening exactly at sunset. He wasn't sure his good fortune could last forever, but he was grateful it had held out as long as it had.

The room where Radu was attached by a staircase to Jezebel's laboratory at Delilah; he'd previously used it for storage but had cleared it out to make room for him. No one seemed to question why he was spending so much time at Delilah's headquarters when he'd had a separate hideout for keeping Meridiana, thankfully.

After locking the door to the laboratory and checking to see that no one else was there, he descended the stairs with a lantern in hand. "Radu?" he asked in a low voice.

Comments

[il-tovaras.livejournal.com]

Radu moaned as Jezebel's fingers found him and began to stroke. He rolled his hips forward a little, craving the friction, and the pace of his own hand sped up.

There had been a time when he would have considered drinking directly from a human's body to be beneath him. Barbaric. Then there had been a time when he did it out of hatred, out of cruelty, and to frighten other humans. Now he seemed to have developed a taste for it, like a wild animal given a taste of human blood.

There was something intimate about it, and the taste was heady. He didn't think he'd attack any other human, but Jezebel's blood was divine on his tongue.

[delilahs-reaper.livejournal.com]

Jezebel's hand moved at a quicker pace, trying to match Radu's rhythm. The way Radu stroked him made his hips push against his hand, eager for more contact, knowing that he couldn't hold out for very much longer.

With a sharp cry, Jezebel climaxed, his hand still stroking Radu as he spilled onto his fingers.

[il-tovaras.livejournal.com]

Radu groaned out as Jezebel's hand sped up, his hips working eagerly. He followed his lover over the edge a moment after him, lifting his head from the bleeding puncture and shuddering with a loud cry, his body spasming and releasing in the grip of the orgasm.

Slowly he relaxed, catching his breath and licking the blood from the corners of his mouth as the climax ebbed. He bent and kissed Jezebel deeply, his lips still carrying a hint of copper.

"I love you," he murmured against Jezebel's lips.

[delilahs-reaper.livejournal.com]

Jezebel sunk into the couch, feeling loose and relaxed from his orgasm. He returned the kiss warmly, enjoying the taste of Radu with a tinge of blood, wrapping one arm around Radu's waist.

"I love you too," he answered. "More than anyone else in the world."

[il-tovaras.livejournal.com]

Radu hummed contentedly and sank down, giving in to the post coital lassitude completely. He sprawled like a cat, graceful and boneless.

His fingers lifted and curled around a lock of long silver hair, twining it around his fingers. Really, Jezebel was beautiful. Beautiful and kind and solicitous. He couldn't imagine a better person to spend a few decades with, even though he knew he'd long outlive the man.

"Mmmm, are you going to sleep now?" he asked, a lilt of teasing in his tone. "Have I tired you out?"

[delilahs-reaper.livejournal.com]

Jezebel chuckled. "Well, you do make for a rather warm blanket," he mused, rubbing his hand over Radu's shoulder blades lazily. It was true that being pressed between the sofa and Radu's body was a comfortable place to be, especially with Radu playing with his hair. "But it would terrible manners for me to fall asleep when I've only just come to see you less than a half-hour ago."

[il-tovaras.livejournal.com]

Radu squirmed deliberately, grinning. He was very comfortable, too, with his fingers twined in Jezebel's hair and his body draped over the warm human body. Jezebel smelled wonderful, of sweat and blood and subtle perfume.

"It would be terrible manners," Radu agreed, slightly smug. "Instead, I think you should take me and ply me with food and drink and entertainment, since you're going to introduce me to Delilah anyway." He nipped lightly at Jezebel's lower lip. "What do you say?"

[delilahs-reaper.livejournal.com]

Jezebel smiled a tiny bit. "I don't see why not," he said, leaning up to press a light kiss against Radu's lips. "Though, food and drink are easy enough, but you'll have to tell me what entertainment you have in mind, dearest."

[il-tovaras.livejournal.com]

Radu considered that, though just the simple prospect of getting out into the air and stretching his legs was almost overwhelming to him. He sat up, stretching like a cat, and then reaching for his clothing.

"I don't know what humans do for fun in the evenings," he admitted, running a hand through his mussed locks to tame them into a slightly less messy and more artful fall of blueish strands. "Do you have theatre, perhaps?"

[delilahs-reaper.livejournal.com]

Jezebel continued to lounge on the couch for the moment, watching Radu. "We do, there's quite a number here in London," he mused, trying to remember where exactly they were. He never really went to the theater, but then, he was never really the type of person who got out very much. "West End isn't too far from here, though I don't know what shows they might have. We could always go and just have a look to see what's playing."

[il-tovaras.livejournal.com]

If Radu had anything to say about it, Jezebel wouldn't stay a complete shut-in. He was an active person, who enjoyed entertainment, though he also liked books and quiet activities.

He grinned and slid from the couch, finishing getting dressed.

"That sounds perfect, beloved," he said, his eagerness to get moving overcoming his poise.

[delilahs-reaper.livejournal.com]

Jezebel's lips nearly quirked into a smile, sensing Radu's excitement at being able to get out of the room. He quickly adjusted himself and rebuttoned his pants before standing. "Well, then, let's waste no time and be on our way then, shall we?" he said, pulling his hair back and putting on his glasses.

[il-tovaras.livejournal.com]

Radu smiled eagerly as he watched his lover get ready. He reached out and tugged at a lock of hair that hadn't been bound up in the ponytail. "Yes, let's. Lead the way, my dear."

[delilahs-reaper.livejournal.com]

By some stroke of luck, no one from Delilah seemed to notice nor care that Jezebel was leading a strange man through the halls of their headquarters out into the night. After that, it was simply a matter of summoning a carriage to take them to West End.

In a matter of minutes, they had arrived in the theater district, where quite a number of people were milling about. Each building was plastered with posters advertising shows, from Shakespeare performances to burlesque revues.

Jezebel glanced around, unsure what to think. He'd never spent much time in this area, really. "What do you think, Radu?" he asked; after all, he was the one who had suggested theater and would hopefully have a better sense of direction that he did.

[il-tovaras.livejournal.com]

Radu enjoyed the carriage ride thoroughly, his hand clasping Jezebel's tightly and his eyes glued to the crack in the curtain, watching the crush of humanity as it passed back and forth. He didn't even mind too much to know that he was surrounded by humans, so far from his home and his people. So long as he had his husband beside him, he could stand it.

He considered for a moment, then reached out and swung open the door. "Let's walk," he said. "I don't know any of these shows," he admitted with a soft laugh. Even Shakespeare hadn't survived the apocalypse in his world.

Though as he stepped out of the carriage, he did his best to calm himself and at least smile with his mouth closed. He was sure if anyone saw the sharp fangs in his mouth that there'd be a panic.

[delilahs-reaper.livejournal.com]

Jezebel chuckled; it made sense that Radu wouldn't know any of the plays. "A walk it is," he agreed, exiting the carriage after Radu. Looking out at the amount of people around and then at his husband, wondering if Radu would be alright around so many humans. There was a part of him tempted to take his hand, but that would only draw attention to them and cause more than a few people to feel scandalized.

"Here, let's head this way," he said, nodding towards one end of the street where there seemed to be less people about.

[il-tovaras.livejournal.com]

Radu had fed a little in the basement, and he was doing well even with so much humanity around. Jezebel brought him enough human blood each night that he never really went hungry, and he wasn't worried about losing control - that was only something an animal would do, in any case.

He wished he could cling closer to Jezebel, even still, but he squared his shoulders and glided with grace and nobility through the crowd, which seemed to part before him. His outfit made him look like some kind of foreign prince, and many people stopped to stare.

He heard Jezebel's suggestion and smiled at him, moving easily to follow. "Is there anything you see that I might like?" he asked as they extracted themselves from the majority of the crowd.

[delilahs-reaper.livejournal.com]

Jezebel noted the reaction of the people around them to Radu, the looks of awe on their faces. While some part of him merely admired how his husband could inspire such a reaction; a more possessive instinct in him wished they would stop looking at him.

"I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with most of these plays as you are," Jezebel said, thinking. "So I'm no use there. But are some good places nearby for some food or drink, if you'd like." He didn't go to this area of London very often, but he could still remember one or two places that he'd been to that had been nice enough.

[il-tovaras.livejournal.com]

Radu smiled, his lips still carefully closed, and his eyes flicked around to the different signs. "Well, in that case I think we should see that one." He pointed, nearly at random, to a theatre playing something by Shakespeare - Much Ado About Nothing.

"And we should eat and drink while we wait for the show to begin." His eyes sparkled with pleasure. "How does that sound, my dearest?"

[delilahs-reaper.livejournal.com]

Jezebel nodded, enjoying the signs of pleasure in Radu's expression. He seemed more in his element out in the world than in his cramped room under Delilah, hidden from the world. It seemed to suit Radu well to be out and about.

"That sounds excellent," Jezebel said. "Come then, let's get tickets."

[il-tovaras.livejournal.com]

Radu was definitely feeling better, just from being able to stretch his legs and do something. He'd spent so much time brooding, worrying over what he'd done like prodding at an infected wound. It was still there, in the back of his mind, but at least now he had something to distract him.

He nodded and moved towards the theatre, squeezing Jezebel's hand as he passed him.

"I hope it's not a drain on your resources to treat me, beloved," he said, more quietly. It wasn't as though he had a penny to his own name. Not in this world.

[delilahs-reaper.livejournal.com]

Jezebel smiled at the small, subtle touch. "Don't worry about that," he said as he got on the line for tickets, waiting behind a few other latecomers. "I do work aside from Delilah that keeps me well-financed. People will often pay whatever is necessary for a doctor who knows how to hold his tongue."

[il-tovaras.livejournal.com]

"Mmm, no doubt," Radu said, bumping his shoulder against Jezebel's as they waited in line. "You must be so talented. My dear doctor."

His red eyes sparkled. "Compared to you, I can't do a thing. All I ever learned how to do was be stuck up and fight with a sword."

[delilahs-reaper.livejournal.com]

"You say that as though fighting with a sword were such a useless skill," Jezebel said. "I say that as someone completely useless when it comes to physical combat."

In a teasing voice, he added, "If we happen to be randomly attacked by miscreants while we're out, I'm trusting you to be the one to defend us."

We should totally do virus aftermath :3 :3 :3

[il-tovaras.livejournal.com]

Radu laughed. "Completely useless? You haven't learned even a single thing about duelling? I had no idea."

He caught Jezebel's hand briefly, giving it a squeeze, then let go and held up his clenched fist. "You needn't worry about that. Any miscreant who tried to hurt you would be a cinder before they could lay a single hand on your body."