Heirot

"If there is another way," Vlad agreed slowly. He couldn't argue Atul's point, and had to be grateful that the man seemed to know his limits without Vlad having to explain them. Of the vampire's many skills, admitting weaknesses was not the strongest. He watched the way the man burrowed comfortably against Tenele and wondered for a moment what it had been like between them while he was trapped here. Had they been lovers? Friends? Had they enjoyed each other's bodies?

He didn't ask. "I should find Talon. Did he seem recovered last night?" he asked them, remembering the way the man had screamed while Vlad and the girl hauled him to the basement.

Atul blinked, lifting his gaze to Vlad. "I think he was sore. He seemed sluggish, but he was determined... He retired early to his room, like the rest of us," the King sighed. "He ate a large dinner, maybe that helped him?"

Vlad turned his gaze toward the door, relying on Atul's description to let him know how bad off the man was. The entire time Talon had been with him here, he hadn't heard one complaint from the bloodling. The younger vampire knew how to be stoic. "Maxwell shot him with a lethal dose of holy water yesterday. Be careful with him; I suspect he'll be too ambitious for his own good today."

Atul nodded. "I will keep an eye on him," he promised.

Tenele pursed her lips together, remembering what holy water had done to Vlad, and unable to imagine what it had been like for Talon. But, Talon had a way of keeping himself private. Even if he was hurting he wouldn't admit it.

"Today we'll do our research, but most importantly those who are wounded should rest," he said pointedly, casting a stern gaze on the two of them. "I'm going to make breakfast. I'll pick up some blood for you Vlad." Atul gave Tenele a tender kiss, and then leaned forward towards Vlad. He wanted to kiss the man, he'd been holding back since the moment he found the vampire. What would it hurt to kiss him now?

Vlad felt himself want to hesitate. He overrode the instinct sternly, forcing himself forward to meet Atul's lips. It lacked the elegance of Vlad's usual kisses. It felt a bit formal, and Vlad never kissed primly. Even as he leaned back from the kiss, Vlad was already disappointed in himself. He'd wanted to explore Atul so freely when the man was asleep. Why was it so different with him awake? He missed him. He'd thought he would never see his blue eyes again, and now he couldn't even give him a proper kiss?

He'd paid his dues, damn it. He'd worked with Maxwell, survived, and now he was supposed to be free to love his family. He told himself Maxwell couldn't take that away from him too, but right now, it felt like he had. The frustration was unbearable.

He glanced away from Atul's eyes and couldn't for his life imagine what was the matter with him.

Atul pulled away slowly, sensing something wrong in that kiss. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it wasn't Vlad. "I'll be back with breakfast," he told Tenele, giving her leg a squeeze before he slipped out of bed. He strolled naked across the room, and pulled on a pair of pants from one of their bags.

He disappeared out the door without another word, leaving the two of them alone in a very large bed.

Tenele tugged on Vlad, wanting him to curl against her again. She wanted to fall a sleep wrapped in him, and spend the day like this.

Vlad stared at the door where Atul had left. He wondered if he'd hurt the man. He slowly tore his attention back to his wife and eased himself down beside her. He wrapped his arms and legs around her until he had pleasantly encompassed his prey in an inescapable tangle of limbs. He didn't want to rest, but he knew he should, and nothing could make him grow bored of having her safely trapped in his arms.

Tenele jerked awake when Atul entered the room carrying a tray full of food. It seemed being deprived of good things to eat had turned the man into a glutton. There was far too much food to eat, at least for her.

Tenele sat up slowly as he placed a tray in her lap. She smiled up at him. "Thank you." She ate quietly with Atul next to her, devouring his food gleefully. When she was done he took her tray and stacked it with his. He climbed back in bed and curled up against them. "This is going to get me no where... I should go see about Talon and ask how his research is going..."

Tenele wormed away. "I need to get up for a few minutes," she whispered. She scooted to the edge of the bed and sat up. She immediately yelped, curling over and wrapping a hand around her side.

Atul flinched to go to her, but knew from previous experience that Tenele had pride to contend with... and he had harmed that pride by calling her weak.

Tenele stood up and walked slowly into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

"She saved our lives," Atul whispered as he stared at the door. "That's how she got hurt. A rock hit me and sent me sailing off a cliff. We were tethered together. My weight could have broken her spine, but she caught it... somehow. She caught both of us... I'd scolded her so bad when she got sick. I got so tired of her trying to be strong, when I believed she wasn't. I think she's still a bit angry with me for calling her weak. I told her she couldn't keep up with immortals and to stop trying. I was very wrong."

Vlad turned his gaze to Atul as he explained what happened. That certainly clarified some of the awkwardness he'd sensed between them the night before. He could imagine Tenele's reaction to such a speech.

Instead of blaming him, he just shook his head and said "Thank you for keeping her safe. And for getting here before-" he decided not to finish the sentence with "too late". He wasn't used to being so negative. He didn't feel like himself. "You have done so much for me. There are no words..."

Atul smiled, stretching on his side next to Vlad. The King traced a circle on the vampire's bare chest. "That is what we do for the ones we love," he whispered affectionately to him. "I missed you too."

Vlad regarded the king carefully. The man's assertive behavior made Vlad wary, but it also filled him with a dangerous need to unload the things he'd been carrying inside him these past three months. He wanted, needed to talk about it to someone, but he didn't think he could handle it gracefully if he did. His emotions were the one thing he'd controlled no matter what had been done to him, and he was terrified of losing that.

He looked down at the man's newly created goatee, rather than his eyes. "I thought of you always," he said.

Atul smiled. "I thought of you," he whispered. He wanted to hold Vlad, to give him the support he knew the man desperately needed. When Atul had been tortured, even for two weeks, he'd been an unstable emotional wreck. He couldn't imagine what the vampire felt at the moment.

The King glanced down. "I am here for you, Vlad. No matter what you need. I will do anything to help you feel better."

Vlad reached out and spread his fingers across Atul's chest, nestling them in the curves of his pectorals. He bent his fingers, gently sliding along the fabric of his shirt. As if deciding this was what he wanted, he clenched the soft cotton in his hand and leaned down until his forehead pressed to the king's chest just above it. Vlad closed his eyes tightly and listened to Atul's rhythmic pulse. "Atul," he whispered into the space between them. "I..."

He hesitated, unsure how to say it, or even if he should say it. Didn't he want them to think he was fine?

Atul cupped the back of Atul's head. "Its okay," he whispered soothingly. "I'm here. Whatever you need."

Tenele opened the bathroom door quietly, freezing there as she saw her husband clutching Atul's shirt. She smiled softly and crept up to the bed on the opposite side, sliding in behind him gingerly.

Vlad felt uneasy about Atul's gentle caress on the back of his head, mostly because it made him want to hold him and unload everything. But he couldn't. He just couldn't yet. Even though it was over, it didn't feel like it was over. Just thinking about it made him so tense he could throw up. How would he react if he talked about it? How would it change the way they saw him?

He didn't say anything. He unclenched his fingers from Atul's shirt and rested his hand flat on the man's abs instead. "I should go and see Talon," he said, as casually as possible.