CL-Ingro 💗💜💙

@cl-ingro.bsky.social

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M/M writer, unrepentant geek, and a Baroness of Sealand. Currently working on a series about two vampire dads and their human son. cl-ingro.com

“Oh.” A stunned Demetrio lowered his now forgotten drink. “Domenico, you don’t have to—” “Yes, I do,” Dominic interrupted. “So accept my apology, and don’t argue with me.” “Well, what choice do I have when you demand it so elegantly?” The brothers shared a look and a laugh. For once, Dominic didn’t try to downplay his amusement. They resumed drinking in amiable silence for a few minutes. Dominic would have never admitted to such a thing out loud, but he greatly treasured these moments with his brother. Theirs was a relationship that few could truly understand and a rarity even among other twins due to the vampiric enhancement of their genetic bond. Vincenzo had been justified in his envy of that bond, another admission that Dominic opted to keep to himself.
The tires on Will's car squealed in protest as he whipped into the parking lot of the tattoo shop, clipping the curb of the adjoining sidewalk and causing Mikey to issue a melodic concoction of prayers and curse words. The car came to a sudden stop that sent the boys lurching forward in their respective seats, and Mikey vehemently refused to release his death grip on the passenger door armrest until Will pulled the keys out of the ignition.
The hiding spot had always been their very own refuge, namely because no other student was insane enough to risk life and limb by treading through the sharp, thorny branches to get to the small clearing of land within the sea of shrubbery. Will and Mikey had each received a number of cuts and scratches during their many adventures there, and on one occasion, they spent almost an entire class period trying to untangle Mikey from a family of leafy bushes that had refused to let him go.
Jacob’s hands were clasped in his lap and his thumb caressed the gold signet ring that Dominic had given him shortly before nearly delivering on his vow to kill a delirious James if he didn’t leave Jacob alone. “I was worried about how things would be after I left. I’m glad to know that everything worked out. At least something good came out of what happened that night… I assume you know the story?” “Broad strokes,” Nathaniel responded. “Papa never wanted to talk about it too much and James never wanted to talk about it at all, but I pieced together what I could from eavesdropping on the others. You were quite the topic of conversation around the house sometimes, long after you were gone.” Jacob tucked an unruly lock of hair behind his ear. “It was a party, a big one full of all kinds of fancy and important people,” he started with a long sigh. “I was told to keep to the kitchen. I think my complexion hit a little too close to home for some of the guests. Maybe some of them even knew who my mother was. One of Mast—” He paused, cutting off the word and hating just how easily he had almost slipped right back into slave-speak. “One of James’ father’s friends came into the kitchen and found me. He chased the others out and decided he was going to have his way with me. I pushed him off me and then all hell broke loose.” Jacob laughed bitterly. “All because I made the grave mistake of considering myself a person. Silly me.” “You don’t have to go on,” Nathaniel told him. “I know what happened next.” “Did you know they all cheered with every single lash? My punishment was very entertaining, apparently. I guess it’s a good thing they didn’t hang me. The show would’ve been over much quicker.” Jacob blinked away the tears he didn’t know he had left over everything that had happened that night. “But they all died bloody and I’m still here, so the joke is on them,” he concluded.
Javier walked out of the bedroom, through the living room, and into the kitchen… where Justin was standing at the counter and heating some leftover wings in the microwave. “Oh, shit.” He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the freckle-faced man and was glad that he had opted not to traipse around the apartment buck naked. “We didn’t know you were home.” “Surprise,” Justin said flatly. Thinking back to his pre-game conversation with Daniel, Javier decided to try and make nice with Justin instead of fixating on the fact that he used to fuck his boyfriend. “How was the pub?” “Crowded. I kept poking people while I was playing pool.” “With your cue stick, right?” Justin grinned and relaxed against the counter. He narrowed his eyes, observing Javier as if trying to solve a great mystery. “Are you always this clever, or is D rubbing off on you?” “A little bit of both,” Javier answered, smiling in return. “I don’t think I’ll ever reach Daniel levels of smartass, though.” “I don’t think anyone can.”
There was no coming back from what had happened. Hannah understood that now. There would be no more school, no more playing in the park, no more arguing with her friends about why the Jonas Brothers sucked only to swoon over them in the privacy of her own bedroom. No more life. The foster parents who had loved her and her siblings, or at the very least pretended they did to keep getting paid, were dead. Hannah, Joseph, and Rosie were also dead, but they hadn’t stayed dead. And so this was how things were going to be from now on. For months. Then years. Then decades. Then centuries. Forever.
Mikey tossed aside his half-smoked cigarette and slowly unbuttoned his shirt with feigned seductiveness. A highly amused Will watched as his best friend revealed his thin, bare chest, which was also peppered with freckles, just like his face. The two teenagers had not been shirtless around each other since the previous summer, so while Will was fully aware that Mikey had gotten pierced since then, he was still shocked to see a beaded ring dangling from each of his nipples. "Double the pleasure," Mikey said, proudly sticking out his bird chest—freckles, ribs, and all. "Tell me this isn't hot." All Will could do was laugh. He laughed until his stomach hurt from it, and he was gradually able to let go of the despair he had felt earlier that morning. Being around his best friend always made it easy to forget a little thing like being destined to destroy a large portion of the human race. "Oh, it's hot," he agreed sarcastically. "Damn right it is. You want to touch one?" "Hell no." "Come on," Mikey pleaded. "You know you want to." "Screw that. I'm not fondling your nipples no matter how much you beg." "Your loss."
Antonio came knocking at one, armed with a couple of salads and Diet Cokes. They sat on the floor and dug in while discussing their day. There were no rude or inappropriate remarks; the one time Antonio could be trusted to act like a decent human being was when he was on the clock. “I have to see a guy later today,” he said as he picked cherry tomatoes out of his salad. “He owes your uncle ten grand and hasn’t made a payment in two months.” “Which guy?” “Gerbik.” Javier speared one of the unwanted tomatoes with a plastic fork and popped it into his mouth. “I know that guy. He borrowed the money to bury his wife. Go easy on him.” “Easy isn’t in my job description. Unlike you, I don’t have the luxury of not getting my hands dirty. Or bloody.” Antonio took one look at Javier’s sour expression and rolled his eyes. “I’ll see what I can do.” “Thank you, Antonio.” “Whatever.” Javier grinned at the sullen young man and sipped his soda. He regretted that all of their interactions weren’t like this. It wouldn’t have changed the outcome of their sexual relationship, but perhaps they could have been true friends if Antonio had not been so focused on being a jerk most of the time.
Their eyes met momentarily. And because they were twins who were often able to communicate with merely a glance, Demetrio instantly knew what Dominic wanted to mention next. Or rather, whom. “Damn it, Domenico…” “I didn’t say anything.” “You didn’t have to.” Demetrio sighed. “No, I haven’t talked to him, and no, I don’t want to.” “I understand, Demetrio, but please do not deprive yourself on my behalf. I know you miss him.” Demetrio frowned at his brother. “He hurt you. And you buried that hurt for centuries. Buried it so deep that I couldn’t even feel it. Yeah, I miss him. But that doesn’t mean I can forgive him.” “Okay,” Dominic responded softly, knowing better than to argue further. “I’ll say no more.” “For now?” Demetrio suggested. “For now,” Dominic agreed. “I guess that’ll have to do.”
Marko sighed deeply in exasperation and reached for a nearby pack of clove cigarettes. (“They’re an acquired taste,” he had explained to Will when the teen first smelled their unique scent and scrunched his nose accordingly.) After placing one in his mouth, he realized that he left his lighter on the nightstand in his bedroom. Content to remain seated, he raised his right hand to his chin and summoned a small yet brilliant flame on his palm, which he used to light the cigarette dangling from his lips. He began dragging deeply, letting the clove-flavored smoke saturate his lungs while he lazily twirled the fire between his fingers and let his mind wander.
Speaking of the human police officer, who was presently keeping an eye on the club’s parking lot to make sure other humans stayed away, Jacob turned to the vampire sitting beside him at the desk and saw that the usually serious Elliot was staring down at his cell phone with a lovesick smile. It was too cute for words. But Jacob managed to find some, all the same. “Tell Brian I said hello.” Elliot jolted and quickly shoved the phone into his pocket as if that would somehow undo the adorableness that Jacob had just witnessed. “I wasn’t… he… um…” he stammered while shakily pushing up his black-framed glasses. “I’m sorry.” “Relax, Elliot,” Jacob said, clapping him on the shoulder. “I would be a massive hypocrite to give you shit about texting your honey considering all of the sex my son has had on this property.” Elliot smiled appreciatively at his employer. “Thank you, Jacob. But I shouldn’t let this… development… with Officer Goodridge distract me at work.” “Maybe a little distraction is exactly what you’ve needed,” Jacob countered. “Don’t worry. I believe you’re perfectly capable of multitasking.” He winked at the flustered vampire and decided to cut him some momentary slack since, as far as he knew, relationships were new to Elliot. Besides, they had the rest of the night to discuss preparations for Niccolo Alessandrini’s concert next month. “How are things going with him, by the way?” he asked, unable to resist being at least a little bit nosy. “Did the two of you do anything special for Thanksgiving before you came in tonight?” “Nothing too far removed from what we usually do,” Elliot replied. “Except tonight it involved a turkey dinner for him.” “Sounds extra kinky.” Elliot blinked at Jacob for a moment before grinning. “I’m afraid we’re not that adventurous,” he said. “It was nice, though. Just the two of us.”