In Need of Saving

[Demeter]

Sorin chuckled. "You seem quite jumpy, Kiyo. I'm sure that it has nothing to do with the fact that you're alone in a house with a man who's made it quite clear that he wants to sleep with you," He reached around and snagged a bottle of a local beer. He popped the top, tossed it into the trash can and drank.

He lowered the bottle to the kitchen counter. "I'm a very patient man, Kiyo. Granted, I'm not a monk but I am patient. When we do get around to sleeping with each other, Kiyo, it will be because you wanted it," he leaned close to Kiyo, close enough that his lips brushed the Leopard's ear, "And you will enjoy it."

"Until then, I have a very hot date with a very fine looking man. He's a local. He has arms like 4x4 and his skin looks like oiled wood. I wouldn't expect me back until the morning." He gave Kiyo a little wave, a little grin, before leaving the cabin and heading down the crush shell path.

He did indeed have a date with a local man. Several of them infact. He planned to spend the night skinning, and getting skinned, in a game of poker. And he did know a man with skin like oiled wood and 4x4 arms. He just didn't visit the island this time of year though, which was a pity because Sorin meant it when he said that he wasn't a monk.

There was a small community of locals on the island. Some were people the states who now lived in the island year round or native-born people who worked for the people who owned houses.

Sorin whistled as he walked down the path. He wondered what Kiyo thought about him meeting up with another man.

[Maira]

When he'd heard the noise behind him, Kiyo hadn't exactly jumped. Twitched maybe, but he hadn't jumped. And maybe it -was- because he knew that Sorin wanted to sleep with him but Kiyo wasn't really going to admit to that.

What he -would- admit to was that Sorin leaving on their first night of the vacation, that he had dragged Kiyo on, to go spend it with somebody else really irritated him. What the hell was the vampire thinking? If he wanted to have any chance at working up to whatever it was he thought he was going to get from Kiyo, irritating him wasn't the best way to go about it.

By the time he had worked up the nerve to say anything, Sorin was already turning to go. Kiyo just glared at the back of the older man's head. He'd just tell him off in the morning...

[Demeter]

Sorin strolled back towards the cabin. He'd spent the night playing poker and now, as he walked, the sun was just starting to rise and paint the clouds pink. He didn't doubt that Kiyo had worked himself in a fluffy because he'd left on night one. Sorin considered it fair, given that he planned on keeping the Leopard on the island for a month. Kiyo need to to relax, to take some time and remember just who he was. To Sorin, it seemed like he was still trying to make up for Noreen.

Shaking his head, Sorin let himself into the cabin and looked around. When he wasn't pounced immediently, he went Kiyo-hunting. He found the Leopard sacked out in the second of the two bedrooms. Smiling softly, Sorin parted the misquito netting and sat on the edge of the bed. He looked so...calm when asleep. Unable to help himself, Sorin leaned over and kissed the sleeping man. And he kept the pressure firm, only pulling back when the man started to stir.

Hoping that the man was still befuddled with sleep, Sorin smiled and ran a hand through Kiyo's hair. "I love you, you silly Leopard. You torture me on a daily basis but I keep coming back for more," he said before leaving to go into his room and crash for a few hours.

[Maira]

He'd spent most of the night prowling around the cabin and along the stretch of private beach that went with it. Guardian was happy to be getting so much time to roam but he knew it was because his other half just didn't want to think about Sorin. The man was infuriating to Kiyo, and while Guardian was quite fond of the vampire Kiyo just wasn't. The leopard wasn't about to push his affections for the vampire onto his other half but was hoping that someday he'd get over his aversion all on his own. After all, Sorin was -very- warm and what cat didn't enjoy snuggling up with something warm?

Shortly before dawn, Guardian padded his way back to the cabin and jumped in the window that Kiyo had left open before. After a quick bath to remove all the sand from the beach, the big cat slipped between two curtains of mosquito netting and settled down on the bed. Within moments he was asleep and with sleep came the transformation back to his human form. When a slight breeze came in through the window the man pulled the lightweight blanket over his naked form and with one soft sigh slipped into a deeper sleep.

It took a while for the pressure on his lips to wake him, and when it did he just blinked at Sorin in confusion. Had the man been kissing him or had it all just been part of the extremely odd dream he'd been having? Then Sorin declared his love for him and said something odd about Kiyo torturing him but Sorin liked it or something... What the hell? Then, the vampire was gone from his bed and Kiyo almost instantly fell back to sleep.

Upon waking for the day Kiyo lay in bed for a few moments, trying desperately to sort out the weird dreams he'd had. Or, at least he thought everything that had happened had been a dream. Well, except for maybe the part where Sorin had told him he loved him. That part had just seemed too real. What he needed to do was talk to Sorin but on the chance that it was indeed a dream the last thing Kiyo wanted to do was tell the vampire that he'd been dreaming about him. The man would definitely take that the wrong way.

Finally, giving up on trying to figure out what his possibly traitorous brain was up to, Kiyo got out of bed and went to find some clothes. Knowing that he'd likely be spending most of the day outside again, Kiyo rummaged around for another pair of shorts. Once he'd found a pair and put them on he decided it was time to call home and check on everybody.

[Demeter]

Sorin slept till midafternoon. Once he did wake up, he all but slithered from the bed and into the kitchen. Once there, he peered into the fridge. Finding nothing desirable, Sorin rifled through the cabniets until he found some bottled blood. While drinking that, Sorin dressed for the day in cutoff shorts and no shirt. Then he found a warm spot on the beach.

He lounged in the sand, watching Kiyo as he talked on the phone. He seemed to be talking to the kids. Sorin was pretty damn sure that he'd be killed if the tossed Kiyo's phone into the ocean. He was also pretty damn sure that the thing was velcro'd to Kiyo's hand.

Once Kiyo hung up the phone, Sorin stood and wandered off to him. He plucked the phone from Kiyo's hand and tossed it into the cabin. He snagged Kiyo by the belt loops. "Come on, Lover, we're going to go do the tourist thing and scare some of the Tidy Subdivison Tourists by pretending to be the token flamboyent gay couple on vacation."

[Maira]

The growl that escaped Kiyo when Sorin took his cell phone from him and tossed it into the cabin was only partially involuntary. Even Guardian was a bit miffed at that action, nobody came between him and his cubs. Especially after recent events... Luckily for Sorin, he'd waited until Kiyo had hung up the phone otherwise there very well could have been some bloodshed.

The sudden jerk as he was pulled toward Sorin by his belt loops startled Kiyo, but not nearly as much as being called "Lover" by the overly affectionate, totally delusional vampire. Of course, after that initial shock the words that followed barely affected Kiyo. He knew that Sorin wouldn't really have to pretend to be all lovey-dovey with him and Guardian was assuring Kiyo that so long as he didn't act like a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs then his part wouldn't be that hard to pull off either. After all, except for his delusions about ever having a relationship with Kiyo, Sorin was a good guy and Kiyo genuinely liked him.

Instead of flinching away from the vampire at the suggestion to pretend to be gay, Kiyo just sighed with resignation and muttered, "I'm going to need a couple drinks for this." Then he followed where the other man led him.

[Demeter]

Sorin snickered and scooted closer to Kiyo as they sat on a bench. Across the street, another couple (a very repressed couple by the way they dressed and acted, in Sorin's opinion at least) sat and tried to covertly motion towards them. He so loved horrorifing conservative people. He drapped his arm around Kiyo's shoulders and leaned towards him.

"I'll buy you a gallon of tequila if you help me completely freak out Mr. and Mrs. Repressred over there," he said, whispering the words into Kiyo's ear while one hand petting Kiyo's thigh. He'd enjoyed playing tourist today, even going as far as to buy completely ridiculous presents for everyone he knew. He was pretty sure that Kiyo had enjoyed the day as well.

Now all he had to do was finish his goal of terrorizing some people couple and his day would be complete.

[Maira]

Kiyo had already had three beers and some sort of fruity thing that, according to Sorin, was way more gay than beer. He was pleasantly buzzed as they now sat and waited at some outdoor cafe waiting for their dinner to arrive. Throughout the day Kiyo had slowly gotten used to Sorin's touch. He'd even gone so far as to let the insane vampire hold his hand as they walked around town. Now that they were relaxing and waiting for dinner, apparently Sorin was taking advantage of their close quarters and had an arm draped over his shoulders. He was even getting bolder than normal and was petting Kiyo's thigh which under normal circumstances would have earned the vampire a very stern look if not more. Only, before Kiyo could land that look on the vampire, Sorin had whispered into his ear the proposition to buy him a gallon of tequila if he helped him freak out a couple that was sitting across the street from them at another cafe.

The laugh that escaped Kiyo at the bribe was genuine and with a bit of alcohol-induced boldness (insanity?) of his own Kiyo turned and whispered back to his friend, "You're on!" before nipping his ear lobe and entwining his fingers with Sorin's where his hand draped over his shoulder.

Even without his heightened feline senses, Kiyo was certain the gasps from across the street would have been audible. Looking at the couple out of the corner of his eye, Kiyo was pleased to see that his gallon of tequila was in the bag. The man and his wife got up to leave the cafe just as their order was brought to the table and Kiyo could hear the man complaining about the "offensive scenery" and watched as the man gestured vaguely in their direction.

After the couple had scurried off, presumably to their hoity toity hotel, Kiyo let his fingers slip from Sorin's and he placed his other hand restrainingly on the one petting his thigh and asked pleasantly, and a bit pleased with himself, "Happy now?"

[Demeter]

Sorin rolled his eyes. "Exceedingly happy," he said in a dry voice and turned Kiyo loose. After dinner and another round of drinks, Sorin steered Kiyo towards the cabin. The leopard was pleasently buzzed and seemed to be a friendly guy when buzzed. Sorin plunked the both of them down in the sand outside of the cabin so they could watch the sun sink behind the horizon.

He sat as close as he possibly could as the air was rapidly cooling and he always ran hot. When the buzzed Leopard leaned against his shoulder, Sorin swallowed. Of course, his self restraint didn't last for long. Kiyo was just all too tempting.

One quick roll and he was kneeling down in the sand, facing Kiyo. "You are too tempting," he said before kissing Kiyo. Slowly, oh so slowly, he lowered Kiyo down the sand. He nipped at his jaw before returning to those lips he had dreams about.

[Maira]

After dinner and another round of drinks the two men made their way back to their cabin. Having a teensy bit of trouble walking in a straight line Kiyo couldn't help but wonder just how long it had been since he'd actually been drunk. He wasn't horribly drunk yet but he was more than a bit buzzed. Luckily for Sorin, Kiyo had always been a very pleasant, very friendly drunk.

When Sorin led him around to the beach and did something to him to make him plop onto his butt in the sand Kiyo just smiled, he even laughed when Sorin plopped onto the sand beside him. With the sun going down the air began to cool, and despite his better judgement Kiyo found himself leaning against Sorin. The man was very warm and suddenly Kiyo realized he just didn't care anymore. Why suffer in the cold when there was a walking talking heater he could gain warmth from? Especially considering that said heater was more than happy to let Kiyo snuggle up next to him?

The sun had just about set when suddenly Sorin was no longer beside him, but was on his knees in front of Kiyo. The look in the man's eyes should have set off warning bells in Kiyo's mind but as it was a bit fuzzy with alcohol currently, he just watched curiously as the older man said something about him being 'too tempting'. Before he knew what was happening, Sorin's lips were pressed against his, his eyes had closed, and he was being lowered slowly back onto the sand. The nipping on his jaw caused Kiyo to moan quietly and his arms to instinctually slide around Sorin's waist.

Not used to being the partner on the bottom, Kiyo brought one leg up to brace himself and then shoved Sorin over onto his back with his hips. When he was comfortably on top, straddling Sorin and his hands now planted on either side of Sorin's head, Kiyo took a good look at the man who had been kissing him. He nearly bent down to continue their little make-out session when reality of just -who- he was making out with sunk through the alcohol-induced haze. Kiyo froze.

He only stayed straddling Sorin for a moment before he practically jumped off of the man. It took all of Guardian's strength to keep Kiyo in human form instead of hiding in his leopard form and the result of that struggle was that Kiyo was starting to panic.

[Demeter]

Sorin groaned and thumped his head back against the sand. He looked up at Kiyo. "I take it you are sober now?" He asked before pushing himself in a sitting position. He couldn't help the grin. "But you did enjoy yourself, didn't you?"

He rose to his feet and smiked at Kiyo. "I'm a patient man, Love, and you're not as straight as you think." With a quick finger wave, Sorin headed for the cabin and his own net drapped bed

[Maira]

Kiyo said nothing as Sorin spoke to him before walking back to the cabin. Only when the vampire had dissappeared from view into the house did Kiyo start to shake. He collapsed onto his knees in the sand and shook. He tried to tell himself it was because of the sudden loss of Sorin's warmth and -not- because Sorin was right. He -had- enjoyed himself. Way more than he should have if he were as straight as he'd always thought.

Guardian, realizing that his human really could use a bit of time to not think about the situation, finally let Kiyo slip away. As soon as the leopard had free reign of their body again, he went for a very quick run around the perimeter just to soothe Kiyo into sleep and then once again jumped in through the bedroom window. Only this time, instead of making his way to his own bed, the leopard padded through the cabin to Sorin's bedroom. Before entering the vampire's room, Guardian checked once more to make sure that Kiyo was sound asleep. Satisfied that his human half was resting, the large leopard nudged open the door with his nose and silently made his way to Sorin's bed.

Like he had the night before with his own bed, Guardian nosed aside the mosquito netting draped over the bed and settled down to sleep. Only this time, he laid down next to Sorin and rested his big head on the man's chest. As he drifted off to sleep himself, Sorin's warmth seeped into his body causing the leopard to purr, a gentle rumble going through his entire body.

[Demeter]

Sorin woke early in the morning and wondered why he was awake. Vacations were supposed to be times of sleeping in. Groaning, Sorin rolled and came face to face with Kiyo. Momentarily stunned, Sorin sucked in a breath and tasted cat. He grinned. Guardian had a thing for him.

Since Kiyo appeared to still be down for the count, Sorin hauled the feline were closer. He pondered what they could do today and wondered how hard it would be to get Kiyo in a hammock built for two. Or maybe he should let the man wondered around what happened last evening. Smirking, Sorin absently ran a hand up and down Kiyo's shoulder.

[Maira]

He wasn't conscious of being wrapped in another man's arms, let alone having his shoulder stroked by that man. All that mattered to the sleeping Kiyo was that he was warm and at peace. Then, in a very feline gesture, Kiyo snuggled even closer to the source of heat and buried his head against Sorin's chest.

Only when the warmth became too warm did Kiyo start to wake. Trying to toss off the blanket he had pulled over himself sometime in the night, Kiyo's hand brushed against something more substantial than blankets or pillows. Before he even opened his eyes, Kiyo knew exactly what it was that he'd touched. After all, his feline sense of smell was very good and Sorin had a very distinct scent.

Feeling a bit more level-headed than he had the night before, Kiyo refused to let himself panic at finding himself in bed with the man he'd been all too happily making out with the night before. After all, he knew for a fact that they hadn't done anything. Sorin had gone back to the cabin and Guardian had taken them both for a run until Kiyo had passed out.

He still hadn't opened his eyes when in a still slightly groggy tone he asked, "Did I dream that you told me you love me yesterday? Or were you really there?" Kiyo wasn't sure what he wanted to believe but either way he needed to know. If it had been real, it meant that he needed to tread more carefully around Sorin. He didn't want to risk hurting the man by doing something stupid like he had the night before. But if it had been a dream, it meant he needed to be careful of himself. If he was dreaming that the other man said he loved him didn't that show that he wanted him to?

[Demeter]

Sorin was impressed that Kiyo wasn't on the otherside of the room and stuttering after realizing just where he was. Sorin remained put, and kept his hands on Kiyo's body. He arched a brow at the question. So, Kiyo had been awake for that momentary lapse in common sense yesterday morning.

"I did tell you that I loved you, Kiyo, but you have to understand something. Love is, in a way, different for mortals and immortals. Rather, in this case, someone who is a step away from being immortal. Thousands of people have come and gone in my life and I've loved a good portion of them. Some have been mortal, and feline like yourself, and others have not. When it comes to those of us who are one small, tripping step away from being immortals, love isn't defined by gender.

"When someone is found that, in some way, sparks a fire that burns hot and high, we tend to hold on to them, even if they don't love us back. Madness is always a step away, just like immortality. I've been alive for 2,000 years, Kiyo, and I'm tired of losing those who I love. If it is by time or another cause, I'm tired of it. And you, well you are wonderful. Kind, caring, hotter then a bonfire, and sweet.

" If you want it, I'd leave you and save myself that heartbreak, but you haven't pushed me away yet, Kiyo. You've just run away from me. And, given last night, I have a hope that soon you'll be running to me, rather then away. I love you, Kiyo and I want to know if you're that one person who I'll always come back to no matter how far I wander."

[Maira]

His face was still buried in Sorin's chest, and while the man smelled good and was very warm, Kiyo didn't think that the position they were in was very conducive to the serious talk they seemed to be about to have. With a deep breath to steady his sudden case of nerves he pulled away just enough to be able to look Sorin in the eyes.

He had listened carefully as Sorin had spoken and his head was trying desperately to make sense out of most everything, especially about how it was he felt.

Still, out of everything that barely made sense to his sleepy brain, Kiyo understood the basic jist of Sorin's feelings and he needed to address them. "I want you to know that as of this moment, I'm not sure how I feel about anything anymore. I do know that when I first met you just the thought of a man loving me freaked me out. Since then, with everything that has happened, I don't think my views are as black and white as they used to be. I know I've been running away from you for years and after last night, especially after last night, I can't help but wonder if maybe you loving me isn't so scary anymore..."

After gnawing on his lip for a moment as the thought about what to say next, Kiyo continued, "My question for you, I guess, is why do you want to bother loving me when as you put it, you're a step away from being immortal? I'm nowhere near immortal and I'll grow old and die. If you're so tired of losing those you love, how am I even worth the effort?"

When he finally stopped talking, Kiyo was surprised to find there was a lump in his throat. The last person he'd talked to about love, and had thought loved him for years, had hurt him so deeply that even just talking about the emotion made him relive a lot of that pain. He couldn't help but wonder if maybe part of the reason he was currently running away from Sorin was because Noreen had so totally destroyed his faith in love...

[Demeter]

"What makes you think the non-mortals that I've loved stick around? They either die or move on. If there is no mutual pull, we won't return to each other. Those of us who just keep on living have a bit of wanderlust, I guess you can call it. We want to go everywhere and see eveyrthing and learn anything that can possibly be learned. And we want to return to those places."

Sorin looked towards the ceiling. "Someday, years from now, I'll probably hit the road to see what I can see. I'd love for you to come with me, Kiyo, or for you to be waiting for me when I came back. If I had someone to come home to, I'd return far more often."

Now, he glanced down at Kiyo. "And what makes you think that I'm going to let you die? Maybe when I've finally got you where I want you, which is deeply in love with me, I'll starting working towards turning you."

Sorin flashed his fangs at Kiyo. "I've learned alot in these past few years. You're father and sister will, apparently, be living forever. You and your mortal siblings have a choice, Kiyo, of dying or living."

[Maira]

Kiyo had always known that Saiyuri was different from the rest of his siblings, that her angel and Custos heritage would grant her a lifespan that none of the rest of them would enjoy. Then their father had been bitten by a vampire and now he too wouldn't grow old and die. Only in passing once had Dominic mentioned that if Kiyo didn't want to be buried in the relatively near future, relative to the vampires and other immortals in the family that is, then he could always do him the favor of ending his mortality for him.

Kiyo had toyed with the idea for only a short while because it was only a couple months after that that Noreen came into his life, and with her eventually came his children. The love he had for the twins made the decision to be Turned very tricky. What if they chose not to be Turned later? The thought of outliving his children scared him shitless. At Sorin's suggestion of eventually Turning him, Kiyo was still scared shitless of what it would feel like to outlive his children. At least Saiyuri would never have to endure that pain with her biological children, and her two adopted children, well they would have the same choice as Kiyo's twins if it came to it he supposed.

Knowing that his long silence was probably starting to worry Sorin, Kiyo cleared his throat and finally said something. "While the idea of being Turned doesn't frighten me, its the repercussions it would have on my life that scares me shitless. With the children in my life I'm not sure I could ever make that decision unless I knew up front that they too could make that choice unhindered when they were old enough. They -are- my life now Sorin and no matter how much I come to love anybody else, they will always have to come first for me." That last was hard to say, especially consdering the rather intimate moment they were having. He didn't want to shove Sorin away, especially not so soon into their vacation, but he also thought the man needed to know up front where Kiyo's priorities were.

[Demeter]

Sorin pushed Kiyo back just a little and shook his head. “You know that I would never ask you to pick between your children and me. However, just know that whatever you decide, I will always support you, even if you gain wrinkles and go bald,” Sorin chuckled at the look on Kiyo’s face and pulled him back down. “However, for now, why don’t we just sit back and relax. We have several days to enjoy our vacation.”

And they did enjoy it, even if the most stressful things they did was figure out what to eat for dinner. They spent hours sprawled on the sand, Sorin all but buried in the fine grains. He didn’t press Kiyo but he didn’t exactly back off. There were a few close encounters but nothing truly happened. Eventually they went back home and, as he stared out the car window at the gray clouds and wet pavement. He turned to look at Kiyo. “I miss the beach already,” he leaned forward, arms braced on the back of drive’s seat. “’Nura, please tell me the house is warm.”