Starting Coversation

Rowan looks up from setting down the second plate, brushing his hands off on his jeans before heading to the door. A nervous habit obviously…could vampires even sweat? He shakes the thought from his head, clicking his tongue piercing against his teeth as he thought to move back to that later.

Who was at the door, and what was happening now was more important.

Opening the door, he has to remind himself vampires don’t need to breath, and that’s why he was breathless. He knew this was a lie, the figure in front of him still as stunning as the day they met, but he needed something to keep his cool.

“Welcome Kai. Come in, foods ready.”

“Unlike you, I don’t need invited indoors.” Ah…he was still mad. Rowan feels his chest squeeze as he closed the door, walking in to find Kai had gotten distracted by the wall of wine.

“If you want to pick one for tonight you can. That was going to be my next stop but maybe it’s better you pick so you actually like it.” Rowan’s eyes trailed down Kai’s snowy long hair, not tied up for once and he found himself wanting to run his fingers through it.

Kai looked for a little longer before grabbing one just out of Rowan’s reach and holding it up. Rowan nods, motioning Kai to follow him as they both went to the dining room. Rowan takes the wine from Kai, pouring a glass for each of them before sitting down opposite of the other man.

“So…where to start?”

“How about we start at why you didn’t die 76 years ago? I watched you go out into that explosion, I tried…” Kai trails off, looking down at his food and using his bangs to hide his eyes. He starts eating, as Rowan looks at his hands in his lap and sighs.

“I’m a vampire. I was trying to stage my death when we met. I thought you were mortal, I didn’t want…I didn’t think I could tell you or actually grow close to you. I figured even if you didn’t die in the war, you’d die afterwards.” Looking back up to find Kai’s ice blue eyes open in shock, Rowan blurts out a passing thought that kept coming back since Kai burst into the bakery. “Why aren’t you dead?”

“I…” Kai pauses, blinking a few times. “You’re a vampire? You don’t…no offense but you don’t seem like one.” Rowan stayed quiet, waiting for Kai to catch up on everything he said. “Oh! I’m a witch. I’ve made a pack with a demon that gives me immortality.” Kai shrugs, eating more. “Are you going to eat or are you going to make me feel awkward eating alone? I know you don’t have to but you can.”

“Oh, right sorry.” Rowan twists the spaghetti on his fork, using the time he chewed to think. Kai was a witch huh? That would explain a few things. Especially if the powers came from a demon.

Rowan pauses, processing the thought before quickly swallowing and shouting “A DEMON?!”

Kai laughs, nodding as he sips his wine.

“It’s a family thing. I can explain it sometime if you’re interested.” Rowan blinks, and then starts wondering if vampires can blush.

“You…you’re sticking around?” Kai pauses, staring Rowan down before sighing and setting his wineglass aside.

“I’m not going to lie Rowan, I’m hurt. I’m sure you are too, finding out I also kept something from you.” There’s a pause, Kai seeming to let Rowan think before a slow nod edges him on to continue, confirming the thought.

“Let’s consider this conversation the start. Because I think we can both admit there’s something here, right?” Rowan could see Kai’s eyes twinkling like ice, and he wondered again if vampires could blush as a very distinct memory came floating to the surface. He could see Kai smirk and he started really hoping his eyes gave him away and vampires in fact can’t blush.

“The uh…the start?”

“We can’t just act like neither of us were hurt. Both of us kept a major secret from one another, obviously causing lasting effects by the fact we instantly recognized one another.”

“I…” Rowan pauses, wanting to disprove this, that he had moved on from Kai immediately and never considered him again. But it would be a lie. There wasn’t a single day in the 76 years he hadn’t thought of his ‘Knight in Shining Armor’, as much as he had been annoyed with Kai’s interference at the time.

Kai simply sips his wine again, letting Rowan think and instantly recognizing the other man had a different tactic than him when it regarded the two of them.

And he would be right in what he had seen. Rowan had acted as though Kai being in his head was just due to annoyance, or something recent enough it would still come up in his memories, especially with the war being talked about a lot. He would brush it off as nothing, but having Kai here, now, having him say these things,

It made him realize how hurt he had been to lose him.

Tears started running down his face as he looked up at Kai, who was looking shocked, like he hadn’t expected this type of reaction.

“I’m so sorry,” the words were hushed, his voice cracking as he tried to push it out without bursting into sobs. Is this how Kai felt as well? Had he felt this way for 76 years? No wonder he exploded, Rowan probably would have too. He needed to do something, anything to let this pain out, to make his chest feel less like a dark hole, and exploding was one of the things he considered.

But then he went back to that thought. That Kai’s reaction was brought on by 76 years of this pain, and all he could think to do from there was apologize. His brain didn’t even fully process Kai moving until his arms were around Rowan, holding him close and shushing him.

“It’s alright. I understand. We both did it to each other, remember?” He pulled away a little, cupping Rowan’s face with his hands and gently wiping the tears away with his thumbs. Rowan sniffed, looking away embarrassed.

“You’re right, and that’s why you don’t need to apologize.” He plays with the edge of his seat nervously, thinking back to the last time he had been this close to Kai.

“Hey. Look at me.” Rowan looks up, dark blue meeting light ice as he can see the the tears in Kai’s own eyes. “I’m sorry too Rowan. For everything.” Rowan sees a tear fall before pulling Kai back to him, each burying their face in the others neck as they let lose all those years of held back tears. They clung to each other, not knowing how long they sat there leaving it all out.

A little bit after they settle down however, Kai speaks up.

“Should I be worried the vampire has his face in my neck?” Rowan instantly pulls away embarrassed as Kai laughs and sits up as well. “How are you more embarrassed by that then the way we’re sitting?”

“What do you mean?” Kai simply smirks, raising an eyebrow as he moves his hand up the back of Rowan’s neck to take out the hair clip, letting the ashy blonde hair fall.

Rowan blinks, still confused as he shakes some hair from his face before he realized.

Kai is taller than him, but he isn’t leaning over Rowan anymore.

Instantly, he can feel his eyes widen as a bigger wave of embarrassment washes over him and Kai laughs.

“I’ve always enjoyed your blush.” Well…shit. So he does blush. Rowan huffs, turning away.

“You’re the one sitting on my lap right now. I think anyone would blush from that.”

“From what Rowan?” He looks back to see a flirtatious smile across Kai’s lips, his eyes once again looking like twinkling ice. “Having a super hot witch in your lap? Because I can assure you not everyone does.”

“No! I mean, yes…no no I mean no I mean…that’s not my point!” Knowing he actually does blush makes his face feeling like fire so much worse. “Having the person you like in your lap is what I meant you idiot!”

A pause.

“Like?” Rowan has avoided looking at Kai once the initial shock had crossed their faces. “You…said it…” Rowan sneaks a glance at Kai, blinking when he saw the expression Kai had.

He thought the ever so smooth, charismatic Kai could never blush, but here it was, and he made a mental note to save this to memory. The flush seemed to make him glow, but what Rowan didn’t like was the hand covering the lower half of his face.

Without thinking, Rowan grabs the hand and pulls it away, thinking that this is what he should actually commit to memory as he saw the biggest smile on Kai’s face. Kai shakes his head, turning it away as he uses his other hand to wave in front of Rowan’s face.

“Stop! You caught me off guard alright? That’s all, it shan’t happen again!” Rowan snickers.

“Shan’t?” Kai blushes harder and stutters before seeming to realize something, the smirk instantly coming back to his face and making Rowan wonder if he could actually save everything he wants with Kai to memory.

Then he feels fingers lace through his, making him realize the whole time that he had been holding Kai’s hand. He knew he was blushing again as Kai chuckles, the tables being turned back into his favor. He leans in, his breath against Rowan’s neck causing the other to practically melt in embarrassment.

“I like you too Rowan.” The whisper was soft, the warmth of his face next to Rowan’s quickly fading after it as it was said. Now it was Rowan’s chance to stutter over his words.

He felt so light, so adrift. Those five words had been enough to lift the ache just for a little bit. The knowledge that his feelings were returned, that there was a chance at something he couldn’t make himself consider, made him feel like he was on a cloud.

“What’s that noise?” Rowan blinks, looking at Kai confused and realized he had spaced off to his own world. “Oh…it’s gone.”

“What did it sound like?”

“It was like a clicking, but with two different materials going against each other.” Rowan pauses, before he realizes and clicks his tongue piercing against his teeth. “That! What is that?”

“My tongue piercing. I tend to mess with it when spacing out no matter what my emotions are.”

“You got your tongue pierced?” Rowan nods, sticking out his tongue to show Kai who looked impressed. “I thought you were more of a lip piercing guy.” He brings his hand up to hold Rowan’s chin, running his thumb down the others lip.

Breathlessness is caused by not needing to bre-oh who is he kidding? Kai was an expert at taking his breath away.

On instinct, Rowan licks his lips, Kai’s eyes lingering on them as Rowan parts them, leaning in closer but going slow. Kai leans in as well, their noses brushing but each of them pausing. It was Kai’s whisper brought them out of it.

“Are you sure?” It only took a small nod before the kiss Rowan had dreamed of finally happened. If he thought he was on a cloud before, he was so wrong. Or maybe now he was just off the planet completely, his entire being trembling as the thing he didn’t realize he yearned for so badly was happening in this moment.

They both pull away after a little, breathless and eyes blown, staring at each other while grinning. Kai squeezes Rowan’s hand.

“About time I got that kiss.” Rowan rolls his eyes, sighing as reality came to him.

“I am sorry about that. And you know…from here we should take it slow. Admittedly that was nice but…”

“But the sting of that memory hurts just a bit too much.” Rowan looks into Kai’s eyes, seeing what he assumed was his pain mirrored back at him. Giving a nod, Kai moves hair away from Rowan’s face.

“Can we…stay like this though? Just for now?” It was hushed, but Kai pulling him closer confirmed to Rowan that he was heard. They sat there like that, quietly thinking about the events that lead them here.

Now this would be considered the true start.