TW: Vampirism

It was a stupid idea.

Will had promised himself he wouldn't be that cliché romantic and yet here he was, standing outside Parvis' door at one in the morning, nervously clutching the rose he'd picked earlier.

It still had its thorns, too, though Will honestly thought that Parv would like it more that way. But maybe it wasn't safe? What if Parvis hurt himself on it by accident? Will wouldn't put it past him.
His fussing was cut short by footsteps on the other side of the door. Panicking, Will shoved the rose into his bag to hide it and tried to not look guilty as he turned to face Parvis.

Parvis stared at Will before looking up at the sky. He frowned at the moon before glancing back to him and said, "Don't you normally come during the day?"

"I- It's just that this is more convenient for you, Parvis," Will stammered, and then hurried on, "and for me, too, because then I can visit other people who actually sleep at night."

Something ever so subtle changed in Parv's expression. "Who do you visit besides me?" He whined, long limbs bunching together in a way Will could almost call possessive.

"Clients," Will said stiffly, instinctively distrusting this new side of Parvis.

Parvis hummed softly, considering this as he ushered Will inside. There was a new glint to his eyes that Will didn't like - something that made him feel like prey, made him reluctant to enter the hunter's den.

The feeling faded as Parvis led him further inside, to where the stone seemed worn down from being washed too often and the lingering scent of copper reminded Will of too many close calls.

"Why did you decide to visit me?" Parvis sank onto his altar - treating it with such familiarity that Will could practically cry - and grinned at the blond. "Not that you need a reason to visit the wonderful and successful Parvy, but a businessman never does anything without a reason."

"I - uh-" Will flushed a bright shade of green at the thought of the rose in his bag, and mumbled, "N- No reason, I just haven't seen you in a while..."

Parv's grin widened. "Was Strifeykins lonely?" He rose fluidly from his seat, sliding an arm around Will's shoulders and pressing close in a way that made Will's stomach flip.

"I- I just - I thought you'd be missing me," Will managed, tripping over the words as he tried to speak.
"Missing you?" Parvis was teasing now, lowering his head to let his words blow air over Will's ear.
Will refrained from reaching out and grabbing Parv - he'd never been like this before, but vampirism had made him so much smoother.

"Of course I miss you," he said brightly, suddenly not seducing and more like his old self. "And of course you miss the awesome me too, right Strifey?"

"Right," Will agreed automatically.

"Goody!" Parvis grinned and clapped his hands together like a child on Christmas, then spun away from Strife and headed for the stairs.

"Come on!" He called over his shoulder. "I want you to see the thing I did!"

The 'thing he did' was, as it turned out, a massive crater in a too-familiar volcano with a very long backstory. Will didn't bother to listen to Parv's erratic explanation, too busy quenching nearby trees and running damage control, as per usual.

It took several hours of discouragement and many rejections of a demonstration to finally herd Parvis back towards his home. Threats of sunlight and a cross Will had taken to carrying in his waistcoat speeded their journey, though Will would be lying if he said he wasn't concerned the sun would actually rise before they made it back.

As they finally closed the double doors behind them Will let out his breath; a band of gold was steadily appearing over the water, but the vampire was safely sealed behind stone walls.

That didn't stop him from being angry, of course.

"Parvis," he began as soon as the doors closed, "you can't be so careless! Another five minutes and you would have been burning like a bonfire."

"I'm fine," Parv protested leisurely, stretching his arms and not bothering to disguise a yawn. "I'm the great and powerful Parvy. It takes more than a little light to kill me!"

"You are not fine," Will snapped, trailing Parv down the stairs. "You're powerful but you're too irresponsible!" He let out a frustrated groan. "At least stay inside once it gets light! Don't risk umbrellas or clouds."

"Mhmm," Parv mumbled in agreement, already face-down on his bed, fully clothed and almost asleep.

"Parvis, are you listening to me?" Will growled, glaring at him.

He received only silence.

Will sighed, his hands already following old habits and pulling Parv's shoes from his feet, unlacing them and leaving them beside the bed. "You do need to be more careful," he murmured, rummaging through his bag to find a clock.

His searching fingers closed around something soft and silky, and he pulled it out in surprise.
Of course, the rose. He'd forgotten all about it. It looked slightly sorry now, a few petals crumpled, but he smoothed it out as best he could.

Carefully Will placed it on the pillow, above Parv's head and out of harm's way. Something tugged at him, and he bent down before he could stop himself, burying a kiss in the mess of black hair.

"It's rude to fall asleep while you have a guest over," Will reminded him, his voice quiet even though he doubted he could do anything to wake Parv.

Ah, well. He had a project that needed careful babysitting tonight, but the night after he could come visit again.

Will turned a ungodly shade of lime green at the thought of the rose, and Parvis' reaction.
He'd come the night after tomorrow, if he could show his face.

A knock.

Three knocks, in quick succession.

No answer.

Will scowled at the doors, wondering why Parv didn't answer. Was he still asleep? Will glanced at his clock; sundown was hours ago. Surely Parv hadn't slept in again?

He let himself in, knowing Parv wouldn't care but still feeling prickly with unease about arriving unannounced.

"Parvis?" He called loudly down the stairs. Was Parv even home?

A faint, rumbling snore answered him. Yes, Parvis was home, and yes, Parvis had slept in once more.
Will sighed to himself, reaching out and grabbing the pale hand tucked under the pillow. Parv slept with his knife and Will had gotten jumped once too many times to not make sure.

However, when he pulled the hand out, Parv's fingers were limp, no handle in his palm. Will frowned, carefully reaching under the pillow and feeling for it.

It wasn't there. He glanced over at the altar, starting in surprise when he saw the ruby and gold knife perched on a stone ledge.

Was Parvis finally trying to ease off the blood? Will certainly hoped so.

He shook Parv roughly by the shoulder and took a step back, preparing to catch flailing limbs.

No response.

Odd, Will thought distantly. Parv usually woke up from that, regardless of how much he'd slept.
He tried again, shaking and stepping back. Still his quarry lay still, the steady rise and fall of his chest the only sign that he was even alive.

Or, existing. Vampires weren't alive, so technically Parv was already dead? Will gave a mental shrug. It was all objective. Or subjective. Whatever.

Didn't matter; it wasn't going to wake Parv up.

With some difficulty, Will managed to perch Parvis on the edge of the bed. He was all long limbs and he didn't seem to want to stay, so Will gave him a push and down he went.

He hit the floor with a thud, and Will listening for movement with growing desperation.

Anything.

Nothing.

"Parvis!" Will darted around the bed and grabbed him, shaking him roughly by the shoulders. "Parvis, wake up!"

His voice was shrill by now, and painfully loud in the silence of the empty stone walls. Why wouldn't Parv wake? He was a light sleeper, for god's sake. He didn't sleep through rain, let alone someone yelling his name.

Will shoved Parvis back onto the bed, struggling with the long, bendy limbs and how could someone this thin weigh so much.

He had to wake him up. Will stared down at his sleeping form, racking his brain.

He didn't really bother that much with sleep; when he did, it was on hard surfaces, his face squashed against humming machines and tools barely held in his hands.

Was it magic? Will scanned the room warily, green eyes searching for wards or spells. It might be a curse of some kind.

Well, getting someone else in to help might be worth the trouble. Who could he call in for a favor?
Only one face rose to mind immediately, and much as Will disliked the idea, it was either himor Lomadia, and she was still a novice witch by his standards.

"He won't wake up?" Two of the three eyes fixed on him in a rather disconcerting way, electric blue and puzzled. "Are you sure?"

"He wakes up if I knock on his front door, Kirin," Will said, hating how pleading and helpless he sounded. "I was yelling in his ear and he didn't so much as twitch."

"And why should I help him?" Kirin seemed unusually benevolent today, much to Will's surprise.

"You owe me one, right? For helping you defeat the Lich King?" Will begged, knowing the two things didn't quite match up but hoping desperately it would work.

"Ah, of course." The third eye closed, and Will had to hold back a sigh of relief. It had practically been staring through him. "But why are you calling to save him with your own favor?"

"None of your business," Will snapped. "This gets you out of my debt and saves Parvis."

Kirin grinned. "Of course. I mean, without him, the only friend you'd have would be me, no?" His smile was a kind reminder that Will ought to stay out of his way as much as possible.

"Right," Will said, swallowing down a bolt of fear. "Right."

"Come on, then. I can set up a circle to bring us to his base directly," Kirin said, rising from his seat and gesturing for Will to follow him out to the garden.

Will bit his tongue, holding back his questions, and obediently followed at Kirin's heels. He hated the feel of magic, hated the way it draped over him like a second skin, but it was quickest, and arguing with Kirin would get him nowhere.

They shimmered into existence - rather slowly, Will noted with mild horror - in the center of Parvis' base. Kirin carefully smudged a chalk line of the circle as he went, sealing off the trip back.

"He looks rather peaceful," the storm sage observed. "Are you sure he'd be happy to wake up?"

"Kirin," Will said, defeated, "please."

A grin broke across the sage's face. "Once more?" He pushed, too triumphant to let it go.

"Please," Will repeated, grabbing at Kirin's sleeve, not caring how helpless or needy he looked. "Help me, Kirin. Please."

"If you say it like that..." Kirin wheeled around and strode towards Parv's limp form. He bent low, close enough to kiss him.

Before Will knew what he was doing, his disassembler materialized in his hands. Kirin grinned at him sideways, eyes teasing, before simply breathing out.

His breath was cloudy and green, like new leaves on a tree, and Parv shuddered as he breathed it in, limbs twitching in spasm.

The disassembler dissolved as Will rushed to the other side of the bed, scanning Parv's face. He seemed pained now, as if he were almost awake and it was killing him.

"What did you do?" Will demanded.

"It would have broken any curse placed upon him," Kirin said, amused. "Which means it must be because of his.. un-human-ness."

"He won't wake up because he's a vampire?" Will stared at him, incredulous. "Is that all?"

"It's part of it, but there must be something else," Kirin said. "Did he touch with anything poisonous? Anything holy? Anything that would require regeneration."

"No," Will insisted, "I told you, I looked. I can't wake him up."

Kirin glanced around the room, all three eyes searching. He finally spotted a dried rose, sitting beneath the edge of the bed.

He picked it up curiously, turning to Will to ask something.

Will saw it before Kirin could get a single syllable out and grabbed it, feeling a green flush spread across his face and down his neck. "Don't. Say. A word," he hissed, shoving it into his bag.

"But Strife," Kirin said gently, "thorns keep the dead away. Didn't you know?"

"Thorns?" Will frowned at him in confusion. "Keep them away? What?"

"People put thorns above graves to stop the dead from rising and becoming vampires," Kirin said with an easy grin. "It was stopping Parvis from returning to his body."

A loud cough interrupted him as he spoke, and Parv shot up, eyes wide and chest heaving.

"The fuck was that?" He gasped, breaking off to cough again.

"An accident, I'm sure," Kirin said, grin widening. "An honest one."

"Strifey?" Parv stared at Will, who was standing in stoney silence, then glanced at the sage. "Kirin?"

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Parvis," Kirin said, clapping his hands together. "I'll be going, then."

He turned and strode towards the nearest wall, which promptly swallowed him without so much as a ripple.

Will stared blankly after his abrupt exit. Parvis rose from his bed, legs unsteady, and reached for Will. 

"Strifeykins?" He said, grasping at his shoulders.

"Sorry, Parvis," Will said quietly. "I screwed up."

"It's fine," Parv cooed, curling around him as he always did. "I don't know what happened, but I'm sure I've done worse."

Will laughed, shaky and uncertain and nervous. "Yeah," he agreed quietly, leaning into Parvis' touch. "I'm sure you have."

"See?" Parv grinned at him. "Better already."

"Not quite," Will mumbled. "Kiss it better?"

His face flushed green with the words, but he honestly was beyond caring at this point. Kirin had humiliated him already; why not go the extra step?

"Kiss what?" Parv looked at him curiously, confused.

Will stared pointedly at the floor, his words quiet and shy.

"Me."

Parv's triumphant cackle echoed off the stone walls. He lunged, cutting Will off even as he desperately tried to take back his words.

"You can tell me exactly how you messed up later," Parv said, grinning. "But right now, Strifeykins, you are mine."

Credit to britishparty on tumblr