Chapter Text
Later, when the sun fell and the full moon gleamed, Trevor returned to his room. He glanced at Adrian’s door, across from his and closed, and the cold handle clicked under his palm.
The room was empty. He sighed, staring at the familiar bed, the various cushions and toys that were scattered tastefully across the room, and had the urge to invite himself in, to crawl into Adrian’s bed and lie there with nothing but his scent and belongings to keep him company.
If he closed his eyes, he could pretend they were the real thing, and maybe when he woke up, Adrian would be there, watching him.
But the thought flitted away when remembering his family, whom he’d just left after having a quiet dinner with. What if they wanted to see him? What if they needed him?
His arm dropped heavily to his side, and Trevor surveyed the room one last time before turning to his own, pushing it open carelessly.
He froze.
Adrian sat on the side of his bed, watching him. Waiting for him.
All the words Trevor had spoken today turned to ash in his mouth, and he could only stare.
The low glow of candlelight caught on Adrian’s unbound hair, and his eyes flickered down to the dipping neckline of his dress— nightgown, and perhaps it was the long fucking day he had, but he had the outlandish thought that it looked comfy.
“Trevor.”
The door clicked softly behind him, and Trevor didn’t even feel himself move. He was suddenly there, in front of Adrian, who reached for him, frowning at something beneath them.
“Your feet.”
He stared down at his bare toes.
“Oh.” He’d forgotten about them. “They’re fine.” He said honestly.
Adrian’s frown deepened, and Trevor stared at him, at the attention and concern, and something in his chest tightened.
Trevor had run away from him. He’d hidden within the castle, with Isaac and his mother and Adrian’s mother. He’d left him alone, he thought, but Adrian was concerned about his feet.
Shout at me, Trevor thought, something guilty rising in him. Yell or curse or anything. How can you be so good?
But Adrian didn’t, softly tutting as his hand tightened on Trevor’s elbow, preparing to pull him forward, to warm his bare feet beneath the blanket.
But Trevor dropped to his knees, catching Adrian’s wide gaze as he did, offering up no words, no sanity or grace in the movement but pure desperation as he pressed himself forward, laying his face in Adrian’s lap.
Immediately, long fingers twined into his hair, and Trevor relaxed at the action, the acceptance. His face felt hot, and he hid it deeper into Adrian’s thigh, feeling the fabric move as he did.
For a few moments, he said nothing, simply breathing in the lemongrass of Adrian’s skin and feeling the silk under his scruff.
I love you, he mouthed against the fabric, and Adrian inhaled sharply, tucking longer strands of hair behind his ear.
“Trevor,” Adrian’s voice was shaky.
But he said nothing else, and Trevor stayed where he was, feeling his body drop more of its weight onto Adrian’s legs and moulding himself around them, gathering the words that knocked against his teeth, begging to be released.
He’s so tired, Trevor thought. How could everything keep being taken away?
He thought of golden hair in the sun and the soft laughter of his husband in the open field, and he wants.
Fuck, he wants so badly it hurts.
His conversation with his mother had cut his strings, the final connection to honour falling limply around him.
He thought of Adrian and felt nothing but light. He thought of separating one day, and it took his breath away.
What are you waiting for?
His lips part, and the words bloody his teeth as they escape.
— —
Trevor mumbled something he didn't catch.
“What?” Adrian asked, gently prying his head from his lap. His breath caught at Trevor’s expression, the red dusting across his cheekbones.
For a moment, Trevor avoided his eyes, squeezing them shut, and when they opened again, Adrian found himself trapped by the bright blue.
He spied the movement of Trevor’s throat as he swallowed but couldn’t seem to break away from his stare.
“Don’t leave me,” he croaked. Adrian’s breath hitched. “I know it’s selfish of me to ask, but,” his hand fist into his nightgown. “Please, don’t leave me.”
“Trevor,” he breathed. The gentle rhythm of his heart crashed against his bones, and the dragon in him roared. “What…?”
“He’s gone, Adrian.” Trevor shook his head, and the hair he’d previously tucked away escaped with the movement. “Zach is gone and my mother—“ He broke off, eyes fluttering shut as he exhaled. “I finally spoke to her. I know everything, and she loves me.”
The blue of his eyes shone as he looked up at him, disbelieving and crinkling with joy. “She loves me. All this time, I thought— My father—“
He buried his head back in his lap, and Adrian made a sound similar to a wounded animal.
“Trevor.” Something in him ached as he looked down at him, scratching at the surface and begging to be let out.
He ran his fingers through Trevor’s locks, trying his best to gently nudge his attention to him again. When it didn’t work, and Trevor’s breathing harshened, the thing inside him coiled and snapped.
His free hand clasped the collar of Trevor's shirt, and he hauled, throwing an unexpected, grunting Trevor into the bed, and settled in his lap.
Trevor’s hands quickly found his waist, steadying him, and Adrian shuddered at the heat of them, pressing through the fabric of his nightgown. The silk itself felt warmed by Trevor’s touch.
His own hands cupped Trevor’s face. Something twisted in him as Trevor’s eyes fluttered, and something possessive rose with it.
“Please,” Trevor breathed. “Don’t leave me.”
“I won’t.” But he doesn’t open his eyes. “Trevor,” he breathed. “I won’t.”
Hands tightened around his waist. Blue eyes watch him intensely. “Swear it.”
He doesn’t hesitate. “I swear.” Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to Trevor’s temple, light and fleeting. “I swear it.”
Trevor shuddered under him. His hand left his waist and settled on the curve of his collarbones, thumb fingering the necklace.
Adrian watched the movement closely.
“Everything is changing, and I have to choose what happens after.” Something changed in his expression, serious and determined.
“I’m choosing you, Adrian. Once this is over and the world isn’t fucking destroyed or who knows,” he spluttered, “I want to stay with you. As your husband… and your mate.”
Adrian flinched as if struck, mouth parting in shock.
Trevor wanted to stay with him.
Mate—
Something shapeless formed in his throat, congesting and sticky. He couldn’t speak. This couldn’t be. He must have heard wrong. But Trevor’s expression was tender and vulnerable.
He wanted to press the words into shape and stick them to his walls, to read them over and over to make sense of them but Trevor’s expression dimmed with every second they remained in silence and it’s wrong.
Beneath his own lullaby of altruism and lies, Adrian knew what he wanted.
“And you still…” He swallowed. “Even after what my mother said?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” He breathed, staring. Trevor really wanted it? Him? He’d heard his mother spill the large risks and little rewards and he still wanted it?
It was everything he’d wanted, everything he only ever imagined in quiet, selfish moments, tracing Trevor’s skin and feeling himself ache.
Something in him thrummed with delight, but he pushed it down. “Trevor that’s…” He exhaled. For a few moments, he simply had to breathe. And then, he didn’t want to say anything. He wanted to leave it at this, at Trevor’s simple acceptance and love.
But he cannot.
“Trevor. I don't think I’ve explained my behaviour well enough.”
“I’ve got it.” His eyes narrowed. “You’ll get possessive and whatever. Whatever. I want it.”
He froze. “You do?”
He stared at the mattress. “No one has ever loved me as you do. You… I know you want to protect me.”
“I do,” he whispered, and Trevor’s expression crumbled.
“Fuck,” he hissed. “I am some fucking Belmont to hear that and like it.”
“If you were any other Belmont, you would not love me.”
His eyes widened, and Adrian met them steadily.
“So please,” he murmured, brushing Trevor’s hair behind his nape and shivering at the squeeze of his hands, “do not think like them, husband.”
Trevor laughed, the bark shaking their bodies and pressing them closer. Adrian smiled softly at the sound, a rare sight over the past days, and not for the first time, he admired Trevor’s spirit, his heart.
So good, Adrian thought, and something in him settled, determined, and the words came freely.
He must be brave like Trevor.
“I know that we’ve spoken on this before. It’s the reason I sent you to my mother in the first place. But I haven’t told you everything. And the truth is I love you, Trevor.” He didn’t stop. “More than you could fathom.”
“I think I—“
“I have the blood of Dracula flowing through my veins, and I am possessive and greedy with it. I have not even marked you and yet I feel as if I would break apart the castle if I needed you and could not find you.” Trevor’s eyes were wide.
“I feel unfooted. Angry. It’s like the baser instincts I feel when I transform to my wolf form still linger.”
“I make you angry?” Trevor asked.
“No. No. I do. Myself. Angry that I’m not near you. That I haven’t bitten you. Angry that I haven’t taken what I want. But it’s not just that, I… feel so good too. That I am near you. That you choose to come to me. It’s exhausting sometimes,” he admitted, “because I know what I feel for you and then I turn into this monstrous thing and I realise I don’t even know myself.”
“I’ve tried to hide the truth from you, because it’s been so good.” He whispered. “You think I’m not like the others and that I have control, but I’m just another vampire.”
“You are not like any other vampire,” Trevor said, almost angrily, and gripped his face with one hand. “You’re my husband,” something licked up his spine, “you’re mine, and fuck Adrian, I don’t care—“
“Please,” he blurted, halting Trevor’s words. “Please let me just say this, I cannot keep it from you any longer.” Because Trevor must know. He must.
Wordlessly, Trevor nodded and he swallowed.
“If I mark you, I would love you endlessly until it turns into obsession and selfishness. There would be times when you cannot recognise me and times where I wouldn’t care if I thought I was keeping you safe.” Trevor’s eyes turned sad.
”Even now, I can’t bear the thought of you harmed. I killed every vampire on that field and I felt nothing for it. I only cared about you, wanting you safe.” He paused, remembering his father’s words and his behaviour. “You saw the scratches, I was like an animal.”
“But—“
”You’ve let your guard down around me.” He said bluntly. “You used to watch me all the time when you first arrived, waiting for me to break the pact and harm you. Sometimes, I wish you still did,” he chuckled mirthlessly, “only so you could see the way I watch you. Trevor, I look for you all the time. I wait for you like a hound does its master and you cannot think it’s normal.” He looked away, unable to see Trevor’s expression. His disgust.
The word is thrown into his head the same way he’d once been thrown to the ground. “A freak.” He blurted, feeling young and confused and still the same.
Fingers gripped his chin. His eyes closed briefly, and he could’ve jerked away, could have ran from Trevor’s lap, but he let himself be guided and opened to his eyes to Trevor’s tortured expression.
“Don’t,” he said almost angrily, “call yourself that. You’re not a freak, you’re my friend. My husband.”
Something tore in him. ”But I—“
”No.” He interrupted and he even placed his hand over his mouth as if he were a flailing child.
For a moment, Adrian leaned into it, feeling all too heavy. His eyes fluttered closed and all he could smell was Trevor, all he could feel was the roughness of his palm, the scarring of his bravery leeching into him.
Trevor had confessed to him, he remembered, under the presence of shining stars and the absence of his family. He’d been everything Adrian was not, and Adrian couldn’t let him down now, not like this.
He pulled away.
“I know I’m making a mess of this,” Adrian sighed. “First it was your mortality and now it’s my own nature but I-“ He just wanted Trevor to understand. “I never want to imagine being the source of your misery. I couldn’t ever trap you in what used to be a good thing.”
“You couldn’t trap me,” Trevor rasped. “Maybe someone else. Someone ordinary. But I’d fight back, Adrian.” He held up his hand and he stared at the ruby, glinting the candlelight. “This is who I am, what my nature is. I’m not going to lie back and listen to everything you say when you get all vampire-grumpy.”
His heart despaired. “Grumpy won’t cover it. You’ve seen my father, his rage. You heard what occurred whilst you and my mother were hiding.”
“Lisa was almost burnt at the stake by heretics.” His lips pursed. “So was I. If you think it’ll pain me that my husband is killing the ones responsible, you’re wrong.”
“Fine,” he said. “But when I don’t let you leave my sight? What if I separate you from your family and—“ He stopped. “And your family? What would they think?”
Trevor leaned forward into Adrian’s chest, hair falling over his face as he breathed him in for one second, two, before pulling back.
He ached at the loss.
“Adrian,” he started softly. “This is something that you– you’re obviously thinking about. Maybe all the time?” He’s too ashamed to meet his questioning stare.
“That’s okay.” He rubbed comforting circles into his sides. His nightgown bunched at the motion to his thighs. “That’s fine. Because I think about you too.”
“No,” he breathed, his heart quickening at the words. “Not like I do.”
Trevor watched him for several seconds. His finger skimmed the line of his throat before he thumbed the pearl.
He began to speak about his mother, and Adrian listened wide-eyed as he recounted the details of it all.
At the beginning of it all, Mrs Belmont had told him to look after Trevor. He hadn’t understood the request at the time, but now, he remembered her sadness at Trevor’s departure, her admittance of his difficult birth.
He had never asked Trevor about it, he had forgotten.
If I had just asked him… Why didn’t I ask him? How could I forget?
Trevor had never alluded to his mother’s situation. He never pulled attention to it. Adrian remembered how he’d finally been forced to knock on his door after a nightmare and wondered how, how could Trevor ever keep this in?
No wonder Trevor had bonded with his father to such an extent. No wonder he fell apart after his death.
He imagined Trevor, young and confused, and in his face, Adrian saw his own.
If they had let us, I would’ve been his friend, he thought. I would’ve tried to make him happy.
In the middle, Trevor has to stop because Adrian has coiled himself around him in despair, but he only chuckled and continued, breath hitting Adrian’s shoulder from where he was trapped.
It’s no fault of his mother’s, he thought sadly. He’d seen cases of the post-birth depression and there was no cure. He remembered Mrs Belmont asking him to look after Trevor, to allow him to put himself first.
He understood why she said it now. He understood the guilt she must feel to this day.
It’s not fair. To either of them. But Trevor…
How could Trevor bear it? How could life has dealt him such a cruel hand? Couldn’t he have one thing he wanted?
‘Trevor will never put himself first. And I hate that. He deserves a chance to live for himself. To discover what he wants.’
His necklace felt heavy and Adrian swallowed.
Trevor…
When Trevor tapped him, Adrian grudgingly detached himself, freezing when Trevor gripped his shoulders, staring at him with wide eyes.
“Don’t cry.” Scarred fingers wiped the wetness from his cheeks. “Fuck, Adrian, don’t cry. It’s alright. Everything’s fine now.”
He nodded because what else could he do? Trevor had undertaken this journey, one that had been coming for so long.
“I’m proud of you. You deserved to know,” he murmured, “to have this happiness.”
Trevor doesn’t let him look away.
“I do. But Adrian… If you want me to take everything else I want, then I have to take you too. But I don’t want us just as it’s meant to be for me as my husband. I want you to have me as you want. And Adrian everything you’ve said… how could you think I’d blame you for it?”
His brows furrowed. “You make it seem like I’m supposed to be disgusted but my only thought was that you seemed so scared to tell me. I must have done something wrong, for you to think I’d ever hate you for this.”
”No.” He whispered. “Never. I was just too much of a coward to ever tell you before.”
“You keep being ridiculous. As if you could ever be.” Trevor thumbed his cheek. He shook his head, voice a murmur. “But I get it. And I’d told you before l, hadn’t I? That I was selfish? Well, this should soothe your troubles because after everything you’ve said, all that’s going through my mind is that you really love me.”
His voice shook. “You’re ridiculous.”
“I know.” He brought his hand up, placing it at the juncture of his shoulder and neck. “Mark me. Take me as you want because I would never want to leave you, Adrian. And if I did, I would. You couldn’t stop me.”
Adrian’s breath came in shallow bursts. “And my behaviour? What would you do about that?”
“You said we have to wait it out, right?”
He scoffed. “That’s correct.”
Trevor’s voice was soft. “Then it’s fine. I’d wait as long as you needed. But Adrian, your mother said that they can’t even predict the effects of your behaviour since you're a Dhampir–”
“Considering how I feel about you now, beloved, I think there’s an obvious conclusion.”
Trevor said nothing, chewing on his lip. He finds himself drawn to the sight.
“I’m sorry,” he said dully. “That I’ve sullied you with this.”
Trevor blinked, and for some reason, a smile grew on his lips. “Sullied?” He snorted. “You think that’s how I feel when you confess how in love with me you are, when I catch you looking at me like—“ His voice grew strangled.
“How?” Adrian edged closer. “How do I look at you?”
“You know,” he gruffed and shook his head. “I’m not scared of you, Adrian. I don’t hate you for what you are,” but Adrian couldn’t believe him and shook his head until Trevor held his face between his hands.
Something determined settled in his expression. His eyes crinkled.
“I will help you. If you think this is a weakness you cannot defend yourself against, then I will be your shield.”
Adrian gasped at the familiar words.
“You can defend me,” Trevor swore. “Be your vampire self, I don’t care. But I’m here too. A Belmont protects what’s his.”
“My mother knows I love you. She knows how I’ve felt my entire life and she knows I need you.” He faltered. “I think… my father would have liked you too. Once he got over you being a vampire, of course.”
“Of course,” he said softly, watching Trevor closely. He’d always been so vulnerable regarding his father. And that vulnerability had always been truthful.
Adrian hid his teary eyes behind his hand.
Oh, Trevor…
“You make me happy.” It was said so easily, so bluntly that Adrian faltered. “No one would protest if I stayed with you Adrian, no one who really mattered to me.”
“So stop thinking about them.” He continued. “Just me. I’ve said it. I want it. I want you.”
For a moment, he just wanted to stay here, in Trevor’s will and love. For a moment, he almost let himself do it. But before his own conviction ran out and he let himself break, he had to try one more time.
He could not be the cause of suffering.
“Trevor—“
“You’re holding back for me. That’s sweet. But I’ve spoken to your mother and mine and… Adrian,” he lifted his chin with a finger. Their eyes held. “I want it. Truly. What else can I say? How else can I convince you?” He fidgeted. “I’m not good with words but I mean them.”
Adrian’s blood roared at the familiar words, eyes stinging at the desperation in Trevor’s voice. But in the end, he said nothing and Trevor nodded.
“Right. Okay. It’s the marking you think I have an issue with?”
He nodded again, unsure where he was going with this.
“Hmm, alright.” Trevor began to gently lift him off him, and Adrian made a sound, confused, already missing the heat off Trevor’s body.
He halted the movement, half his body already back on the bed.
“What is it?”
Trevor looked at him with innocent eyes that he’d never seen before.
“If you think marking is what bothers me, then I’ll have to show you it isn’t.”
“How…”
A smirk pulled at his lips. “Dracula said he was going to bring some vampires to the castle, right?”
“Yes?” He said, mind not catching up.
“Then I’ll ask one of them to mark me.” He kept speaking, not noticing how Adrian’s breathing stopped. “You’ll see me be perfectly fine with how they push me around and—“
Trevor grunted as he was slammed onto his back.
“You,” Adrian snarled, “will not.”
“I—“
“No.”
He fisted Trevor’s collar, hard enough that it ripped, lowering his face in front of his.
“You are mine. Mine. My husband.” He took in the wide blue of Trevor’s eyes and something in him melted and cooed.
Trevor’s hand clutched his, fingers splayed over the back of his hand.
“Then mark me. Take me as you want and no one can take me away from you.”
Adrian pushed Trevor’s head further into the mattress, watching the exposed strain of his neck.
“I want to,” he said, brokenly. “Trevor, I ache.”
His teeth had elongated. Adrian could feel them aching in his mouth, wanting this so badly.
Trevor’s gaze was at his mouth. Slowly, enough that Adrian could pull away if he wanted, he reached up and traced his fangs, pressing the pad of his thumb against a point.
The smell of iron was immediate. It wasn’t large enough to be considered a drop but everything of Trevor’s was tenfold in his senses.
“Once this is over, once Zach is safe, I want to live as I want. I might even leave Wallachina, see other lands and monsters. Come with me,” he urged. “Stay with me.”
“Of course,” he murmured. “Of course, I will.”
There was no question in his mind that he would ever not.
“Will you?” There was no suspicion in his voice, nothing that made him tremble but Adrian pressed himself closer, beseeching.
“Yes. You’ve asked me, Trevor. How could I ever say no?”
Trevor stared, a small smirk on his lips and Adrian blinked, once, twice, before the words caught up to him and he laughed.
A huff of air escaped him at first, but then Trevor grinned and Adrian laughed.
“You,” he shook his head, pulling Trevor up so he was no longer splayed in the bed, “are—“
“Wonderful?” Trevor guessed as he pulled Adrian back onto his lap as if he couldn’t bear the separation as much as he could.
“Yes,” he laughed, resting his head on Trevor’s shoulder, closing his eyes and breathing him in. “Always.”
Trevor let him stay there, let the minutes pass in silence as he held Adrian’s weight and started to draw patterns again on his side.
“You don’t have to.” Trevor said lowly, suddenly. “If you really can’t do it. But if you do… just know that I do also. I don’t… I want every part of you, Adrian.” He finished softly.
His lashes fluttered, and Adrian spied Trevor’s collarbone under his ripped collar, the lines of his neck, relaxed and waiting.
He really wants it. Me.
Adrian imagined it. Seeing the world with Trevor. Seeing new sights and new medicines and new monsters to hunt. Lands where no one knew who they were, where he could kiss Trevor under the sun with no pact over their shoulders.
He could lose Trevor in a crowd, leave him in a city to later return and he’d feel him the entire time. The bond would thrum with every move he made, every emotion Trevor had.
He would smile when Trevor felt joy, panic when he felt danger. He’d return at the slightest hint of sadness and—
He frowned, something dark in his chest.
He would burn any chains the Church had, never allow them to click them onto Trevor’s wrists as they had his mother's.
His father had only sensed a few seconds of her alarm when it suddenly washed away, chalking it up to a patient's illness or wound. Time had gone by, and Dracula had realised then, he’d felt nothing.
His mother had always blocked out the world when she practised, nothing but determined and focused when she helped others. But this was nothing. His father could not feel her usual relief after the fact and quickly returned.
By then, she was gone. Taken.
The very thought of it happening to Trevor was unforgivable. He wouldn’t allow it to happen. He couldn’t.
Trevor would be with him always, a lifeline to sanity and reason.
For a moment, when he came back to himself, he reached for Trevor’s emotions and was frozen when he couldn't find them.
Ah. Of course.
Something settled in his stomach, and he rose, watching Trevor’s gentle expression, his easy smile.
He felt the weight of the necklace on his throat, Trevor’s mark on him and eyed the empty space of Trevor’s skin.
‘I’ll follow you forever, a wandering star that science won’t ever be able to explain.’
Just as Trevor watched Orion, Adrian would watch Trevor until time made him forget.
Trevor’s mortality was still an ache whenever he remembered it. But he couldn’t allow it to eclipse what was happening now.
He thought of his father, who would lose his mother in the distant future, who had let go of his past lover, though it pained him to this day.
If I am just like Dracula, Adrian thought, I must take this chance.
Be brave, his father said, and Adrian lifted himself further, facing Trevor.
“My mother remarked on the necklace.” He said.
Trevor blinked at the change of conversation, a furrow between his brow but he tilted his head. “What did she say?”
“That it’s beautiful.” He paused, a crooked smile taking over. “And that you must have expensive taste.”
“Funnily enough, I don’t.” He murmured. “But I told you, didn’t I? That I looked at it, and it reminded me of you?”
“You did.”
“Well,” Trevor’s hand ghosted the column of his throat. “You are beautiful.”
“Trevor.” His voice sounds strangled.
Trevor tugged at the necklace, urging him closer. He’s staring into his eyes now, but the heat Adrian felt was all over.
“I thought you were beautiful the moment I saw you at our wedding. You were wearing that damned kohl,” Adrian’s breath caught, “and you were assessing and biting and beautiful.”
He doesn’t know where to start, his ears still echoing the sound of Trevor’s voice through to his heart, aligning itself to its beat and the rush of blood.
He found himself speaking nonsense. “You liked the kohl?”
“Don’t sound surprised. And then you wore it again in Iasi. You had to know,” Trevor said, amused and dumbfounded. “What it did to me.”
“I didn’t,” he breathed. “Maybe I should put it on now so I can see.”
Trevor huffed, his warm breath hitting Adrian’s chest. “As much as I’d like that, I don't want you to leave.”
Adrian shifted in his lap. “I’m not getting heavy?” The blank stare Trevor gives him made him chuckle. “Ah, my mistake. A Belmont never gets tired, do they?”
Trevor held his gaze, eyes dark. “You might get appreciative of that, someday.”
Something hot coils in the pit of his stomach. “Trevor.”
But Trevor ignored his call, eyes falling on the necklace again. Silence reigned for a minute before he spoke.
“I want to give you more. Would you— Is that fine?”
“More what?”
“Jewellery.”
“You—“ He scrabbled closer, as impossible as it is, pressing their chests together to the point that neither of them could lift their hands to the other comfortably.
“You gave me this because of the mark and—“
“Because I love you.”
His teeth clack, and it’s loud. Trevor shifted back and Adrian reached for him, but he didn't go far, just enough that he could grab Adrian’s hand and raise it to his lips.
His breath caught at the press of warmness against his skin, his ring. The metal thrummed against him and when Trevor pulled back, they watched its changing hues together.
He found himself speaking without thought. “Your mother said you picked this out for me.”
But Trevor didn’t freeze or pull away. He snorted, running his thumb over the pearl. “I did.”
He swallowed. “Why not just let your family pick something at random. Why choose yourself?”
“I guess… I wanted some control.” He murmured. “Everything was happening so quickly and yet not, but I… felt left behind. This was something I could do myself, that no one could deny me.”
His eyes drifted. The pearl on Adrian’s finger caught the moonlight. It was shimmering, a soft red sheen covering it.
“Oh.” Trevor held his hand up, inspecting it with the same intensity he had with venom in the lab. But there was awe there. Something soft that he couldn’t place.
“I haven’t seen this shade before.”
“It’s probably the moonlight. Full moon, too.” Trevor mumbled.
Adrian’s gaze snapped up. “Does the moon affect it? I never— I never asked how it changed. Is it magic? Your mother told me you chose it from the Belmont collection.”
He exhaled. “I did.” He reached out and hesitantly grabbed Adrian’s hand. His finger brushed over the pearl. “It was found a few generations back. My ancestor saw a mermaid.”
“A mermaid?” He blinked. “I haven’t seen one myself, but aren’t they…”
“Not very nice? Yeah.” He huffed. “But there was one that… I don’t know. My ancestor had lost her child in an attack. One day, she was at a lagoon, and she just began to cry. She didn’t notice how her tears fell into the water. Just as she was going to leave, she spotted the mermaid in the water. It was watching her. My ancestor, I think she was going to kill it.” He frowned, watching the gleam.
“She went into the water. It was a stupid thing to do, going into its territory like that, especially if she wasn’t a good swimmer.. But after her child died… I don’t think she cared about that.”
His eyes flickered. “But I get that.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, just as she was going to strike it, the mermaid held out her hand. Her tears… they’d formed the pearl. She had fashioned it into a ring, but after her death, it was stored in the collection. I found it, as my mother said, and,” he shrugged jerkily, “gave it to you.”
“Why?” He whispered. “Why this one?”
Trevor was quiet for a moment, but when he spoke, he didn’t break eye contact.
“Because the mermaid was supposed to be a monster. And because my ancestor should have killed it. But they didn’t follow the paths they should have and something good came out of it.”
Adrian placed his hand over his heart, feeling its gentle thump quicken. Trevor watched the movement, his eyes moving from the ring to the necklace.
Something good…
“And you don’t think the mark would ruin it?” Adrian swallowed, his conviction broken down to single threads that snapped every second he was in Trevor’s presence. “The goodness we share?”
“I won’t let it,” Trevor said simply. “We have the rest of our lives to figure it out.”
And for some reason, those were the words that broke Adrian. They blew apart the sanity he’d been holding onto and he could only think of Trevor, older, with silver in his hair and his bite on his skin.
He must have seen the struggle on Adrian’s expression, the line he balanced on, and moved quicker than Adrian could track, surging forward, and the initial clack of their teeth was nothing compared to the press of his lips, the wet slide of his tongue.
“Adrian,” Trevor sounded wrecked as they parted, lips shiny, and he dove back in, hands woven in his hair as Adrian kissed down his neck.
“Adrian,” he repeated. “Please.”
“What do you want?” He panted, nipping at skin.
“I want—“ The sound that escaped Trevor as he sucked would haunt Adrian until time turned him into dust.
“Bite.” He panted and Adrian did, scraping his fang lightly over the red mark.
“No,” Trevor gripped his hair, guiding it forward. “Bite. Mark.”
He groaned, tortured. “Trevor.”
“Please, I want it. I need it.”
Adrian pulled back, staring at his face, examining every twitch and breath.
“You won’t be able to reverse it.”
“I don’t want to.”
Trevor had begged him not to leave him. Adrian had let him down if he’d even had to ask.
He painfully peeled himself away from Trevor and crossed over the room, hooking his fingers into the dresser and dragging it closer to the bed.
Adrian stopped when it lined the edge of the bed and Trevor stared at it, at his reflection, and then Adrian.
“Redecorating?”
He huffed, slinking back to the bed and dragging his hands to Trevor’s ripped collar, bringing him in for a deep kiss.
Trevor hummed against him, sliding his tongue across his until the kiss turned open-mouthed and panting.
He smirked when Adrian blinked blearily but followed his lead when he fiddled with his buttons, lifting his arms when Adrian slid the shirt out from around him.
It dropped onto the bed and Adrian stared at his bare skin, tracing his fingers over each scar, lining his nails up at the ridges over his stomach.
Michael’s rage was set into his skin, and the anger bellowed, his blood rushed but he reminded himself that the vampire was dead. That he killed him.
He caught Trevor’s eye, frowning, and bent his upper half to catch the skin between his lips and trace his tongue over each scar.
Trevor gripped his hair, fisting it, and Adrian hummed at the pressure, nipping at the skin as he finished the final lazy lap of his tongue.
Adrian looked up, meeting his flushed face.
“You’re mine.”
Trevor swallowed and his expression was similar to awe.
“Yours.”
Something possessive curled at the base of his stomach at the affirmation and he bent his head, continuing to lick his scars, to claim his mark over the touch of every creature that had dared touch his husband.
When he reached the dark hair colouring his pelvis, Adrian nuzzled the scattering, smiling softly at Trevor’s curse and inhaling deeply.
Oh, but he was dizzy.
He licked as low as he could, his tongue dipping into the fabric of Trevor’s pants, and quickly rose.
“Adrian.” Trevor sounded wrecked, and he watched with great interest the red blush that coated his chest, spreading from his neck.
Adrian had done that. He had raised Trevor’s blood to the surface, covering him in such a beautiful blush and presenting himself to him.
It was Adrian’s, he thought. He was the only one who could spark this reaction, who deserved the blood that settled at his touch.
Trevor was offering it to him, he thought, almost drunk as he licked at the heated skin, and it was his.
“You…” Trevor gripped his chin, forcing him to straighten and meet his gaze. “Are going to drive me mad.”
“Oh, beloved,” he whispered. “And what is it, you think, that you do to me?”
Their kiss was gentle and sweet, the antithesis of everything he felt coursing through him but Adrian still had to use every piece of strength in his body to pull himself away, to run his fingers through Trevor’s hair and shuffle around him, settling at his back.
He stopped as he stared at the muscle, fingers skimming the long scar that stretched from shoulder to hip.
Trevor trembled at his touch.
“You’re so brave.” He murmured against his scar. “You protected your family. My mother. You’re so strong and I love you.”
Trevor’s breathing was erratic and harsh, and he enjoyed the movement of it beneath him, the reminder that Adrian did this to him.
That it would only ever be him.
“And you’d protect me too, wouldn’t you?” He whispered.
Trevor twisted his head, meeting his gaze over his shoulder. His pupils had widened, and Adrian froze at the sight of them.
Mine.
“Of course,” Trevor said lowly. “Always.”
Adrian buried his head into Trevor’s hair, squeezing his eyes shut.
When he settled his want into control, he rose and froze.
They were both directly in front of the mirror, Adrian’s head beside Trevor’s. He stared at the marks littering Trevor’s skin, darkening from his neck to his stomach. His hair was ruffled, messier than it had been in any memory and he found himself mesmerised by its shape.
He inhaled the strands, eyes fluttering shut.
“Beautiful,” he murmured, and Trevor watched him through the mirror.
Shifting, Adrian lowered himself to the junction of Trevor’s neck and shoulder. The scent of earth rushed to his lungs and he swallowed as his mouth suddenly became wet.
For a moment, he simply breathed him in and then placed a kiss on his skin, his beating pulse.
“I want you to look at yourself. At me. See what I become and know…” His fingers traced over skin, “That everything will change.”
He met Trevor’s gaze through the mirror. “You won’t look away. Promise me.”
And Trevor held it, blue to gold.
“I promise.”
— — —
Trevor exhaled as he watched Adrian through the mirror. With everything he’d been saying, it was Adrian who was a sight to see.
He reminded Trevor of the night he’d tried to bite him, albeit less feral. He’d been taking his time, and Trevor stared at the evidence of his devotion, trying to ignore how hard he was.
Long fingers combed through his hair again, and Trevor leaned into the motion.
“Your hair’s grown,” Adrian whispered and he grunted, trying to think of something to say but nothing came out.
“Don’t cut it.” He stared but Adrian wasn’t looking at him, staring at the strands of his hair as if it were a gift personally lent to him from God.
“Adrian,” he groaned at the suspense. “Please. Please.”
Adrian gripped his hair tighter, eyes glancing down the trail of his body and there it was. The gold of his eyes had been pushed out by his black pupils, and Trevor could feel it against his scalp, the sudden scratch of longer nails.
“I want you.”
Adrian sounded closer to an animal when he kissed him, harshly pulling him about by his hair when he finally, finally, bent his mouth to his skin.
Trevor watched him press quick kisses against the skin, watched him taste the sweat that had risen with the devotion of a reverend.
Or a husband.
Trevor wouldn’t look away.
His body kept pushing back against Adrian’s, urging him for more. He was going to call out his name when he felt the creep of fangs against his skin, the trace of Adrian’s tongue against his pulse.
Their eyes met through the mirror. Neither of them blinked.
“Please,” Trevor begged; he begged.
Adrian’s lips curled and the sight of his elongated fangs sent his stomach curling and this was Adrian, this was who he truly was, and he was showing it, giving it to Trevor and—
Adrian caught his eyes as he bared his sharp teeth, the flash of white and fang distracting. When he looked up, Adrian held his gaze and sank his teeth in.
Pain.
Sharp, burning pain ripped into his neck, and he jerked in his hold, cringing and a hiss escaped his lips. Adrian moaned, the sound vibrating up his neck and continued to bite down, holding him tightly in place as his free hand reached over and gripped Trevor’s own.
“Ah, fuck!” He’d been bitten by monsters before but this seemed to go deeper, to the depths of his soul and if Adrian hadn’t been holding him, Trevor would’ve pulled away.
But he couldn’t and he didn’t and Trevor watched, as he promised he would, wide-eyed, through the mirror.
Adrian had looked wilder than he’d ever been, loose hair falling over both their shoulders. Half his expression was hidden but what Trevor could see was ravenous. Every moan thrummed against his bones and Trevor trembled, knowing it was him who did this to Adrian, him who Adrian chose to bond with, who unraveled him.
The line of Adrian’s throat moved as he swallowed, and Trevor could see the flash of red on his face as he adjusted his mouth.
He stared, panting. Adrian was consuming his blood, the tragic imaginings of every Belmont in his line. But Trevor always indulged more than he should’ve and his breath hitched at the thought of his blood coursing through Adrian, smothering them both in another connection.
His eyes dropped to the hand clutching his and swallowed thickly at the claws. In a fit of pain, he tried to pull away but Adrian squeezed tightly.
Breathy whines echoed past the smack of wetness and Adrian’s moans and Trevor realised they were coming from him.
No, but it hurts, Trevor thought as he pushed his body against Adrian’s. Doesn’t it?
It did but there was something else there, clashing with it, distracting him with a low heat in his stomach that made him squirm.
His entire body moved back and forth, leaning closer and away, unable to make up its mind. Trevor couldn’t control it. He felt hot, ears buzzing.
When he pressed up against Adrian, shaking uncontrollably and sweaty, he felt something poke against his lower back. Adrian shifted his head and his eyes met Trevor’s through the mirror. Trevor wasn’t sure what he saw, but the groan he released echoed through both their bodies and he bit down harder.
The sharp burn intensified, his body trembling as Adrian kept biting and fuck, he understood how the scar was still so prominent after so long. He could feel the fangs beneath his skin, against his fucking heart.
Something warm trickled down his chest, and his eyes widened to see blood running from what Adrian’s mouth could not catch.
Adrian breathed deeply against his back. Trevor could feel the vibrations of his chest, the low gravel from his throat. Was he growling?
“Shit,” he cursed as the pressure hit its peak and Adrian's nails dug into his skin. He stared at their reflection, at the blood leaking down his chest, the curl of Adrian’s lip and the flash of his fangs and cursed lowly, his stomach flipping.
And suddenly, the pressure eased, and Adrian released his teeth, panting and licking around the wound, tracing the trail of every rivulet of blood that had escaped him.
Trevor watched him, unable to look away as Adrian chased every bit of crimson, every taste of him.
“Yes,” Adrian murmured along his skin, low enough it was a hiss. “Yes,yes,yes,yesyesyesyesyes—“
His skin burned. Trevor grit his teeth, a low sound escaping him.
Adrian’s hand tightened on his, and when he glanced up at the mirror, Trevor froze.
His mouth and chin were covered in blood. Adrian blinked, and his eyes were blown black. The thin ring of gold reminded him of an eclipse and he swallowed.
“You did so well,” he didn’t look away from him. “So good.”
All he could manage was a groan, and there was the lightheadedness.
He dropped against Adrian, who held his weight effortlessly, hooking his chin over his shoulder.
Beneath his eyelids, Trevor saw and felt Adrian drawing one hand up, tracing it over his stomach. His muscles clenched under the light touch, and Adrian shook beneath him, chuckling.
As his lashes fluttered, he saw Adrian reach the trail of blood that escaped him. His eyes closed, and he felt his finger slide over it, the sound of Adrian’s tongue lapping next to his ear.
“Beloved, you are nectar of the Gods.”
He groaned. “Just give me a minute.”
He couldn’t believe how tired he felt. He’d had worse injuries than a bite, but fuck, did he just want to melt into the mattress.
He wanted to get up, to inspect the mark and Adrian’s mouth. He wanted to throw Adrian down and take—
“Shhh,” fingers ran through his hair. “Rest, beloved. You need your strength.”
Another muffled groan of denial but Trevor’s muscles didn’t move.
Ah, fuck. Alright.
“Okay.” He murmured. His head fell to rest on Adrian’s shoulder. Adrian's erratic breathing and his own laboured breaths made them move slightly in the air.
His strength fell completely now, but Adrian’s grip only tightened.
“Don’t leave,” he whispered.
“Never.”
— —
He woke up on the mattress.
Blinking blearily, Trevor groaned, barely reaching out with his hand when he hit something firm.
“Beloved.”
When his eyes finally opened, Adrian was sitting at his side, the mattress dipping at their combined weight, and watching him intensely. The gold of his eyes were impossibly bright.
He opened his mouth to speak but Adrian shoved a cup of what smelled like juice in front of him.
“Drink.”
He pressed the metal goblet to his lips, and Trevor shifted back.
“Do you… want me to choke?” He was still waking up. “Let me get up.”
Immediately, Adrian shifted, a clink sounded and hands were under his armpits, gently pulling him up onto a mound of softness.
“I can get—“
The goblet pressed insistently at his lips again, and he glared, Adrian blinking innocently but decided to drink.
He hated how much clarity it gave him and raised a brow. “What did you put in this?”
“Shh.”
“Don’t shush me, Adrian. I’m not an invalid.”
To show it, he hauled himself up and smirked at the smooth movement. “See?”
A hand cupped his cheek. Adrian stared at him so intensely that his breath caught.
“Adrian…”
“How are you feeling?” His eyes ghosted every inch of him like Trevor suddenly injured himself while sleeping.
“Complete fine.” For the most part. “How long was I asleep?”
“Not long.” He frowned, looking over him. “You should’ve slept for much longer for your recovery.”
“I’m a Belmont. I’m just surprised I slept in the first place.”
His eyes lowered. “The bite affects your energy. It’s instinctual to release some venom to… keep our mate calm.”
He jolted. “Venom? Adrian—“
“Not enough to turn,” he reassured him. “Just to take the pain away.”
He twisted his shoulder, feeling a light sting. “Well, it feels fine.” Seeing the dresser still in place, he shifted across the bed to get a closer look.
Adrian was attached to his back as he moved but Trevor didn’t say anything about it.
“Oh.”
He stared at the bite. It was red and deep even from this distance. How Adrian had stopped the bleeding was beyond him.
The larger puncture marks took most of his attention, and slowly, lightly, he touched the wound, shuddering at the slight sting.
This was Adrian.
Adrian was watching him carefully, his reflection shifting, swaying closer to him and pulling himself back and then closer as if he couldn’t be further away from Trevor than an inch.
This was his devotion.
Trevor reached back, bringing Adrian’s hand to his lips. His eyes widened as he kissed his palm lightly.
“Thank you.”
He nodded wordlessly, eyes wide and shiny and suddenly, Trevor grunted. Adrian had wounded himself across his back, similar to how they’d just been, and was gently pressing his lips to the mark, light enough to only graze.
“It suits you well.”
He snorted, but still smiled at Adrian’s expression and gently separated them so he could turn and face Adrian. “How do you feel?” He peered into Adrian’s eyes, comforted to see the gold of his eyes back.
Trevor followed the movement of his throat as he swallowed. “Complete.” He paused. “Intense. I… feel like a third eye opened up as soon as I marked you.”
“I think you’re doing great.” He gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “I don’t see you hiding me away under the bed.”
He actually brightened. “No. No, I feel… content.” He smiled. “It may be because you’re in my sight.”
A thought occurred to him. “Where did you get the juice?”
His brow furrowed. “Ah… That was my father,” he slowly admitted.
“What?” He spluttered. “Dracula gave this to you? Dracula knows? How?”
“… I may have told him.”
“Explain.”
Adrian rushed forward, spluttering, guilt etched into his features.
“I did not want to, husband. I would have simply stayed with you as you asked but I remembered my father once said taking care of our mate after the bite was critical and I could feel you in my mouth and I’d taken much of your blood.”
His eyes were wide and beseeching. “I needed to get your energy up, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave you. So I called for my father from the door,” he murmured. “He saw the blood on my face and I think he pieced it together before I told him.”
”Oh my god,” Trevor muttered. “Oh, fuck. What did he say?”
“Nothing. When he gave me the juice, he tried to say something but I closed the door in his face,” he admitted sheepishly at Trevor’s expression. “I needed to get back to you.”
He blinked. “I was right here.”
”I know.”
He was going to say more but saw Adrian’s shift, the tightening of his eyes. No. He couldn’t let Adrian feel guilty or insecure, not now, now after Trevor had begged him for this.
“It’s fine.” He murmured. “We can deal with your father later. Thank you for getting the juice for me.”
“Of course, beloved.”
His lips quirked. “I’m just wondering how you even managed to pull yourself away from the bed.”
His expression shuttered. “It was not easy,” and Trevor laughed, kissing him fondly.
Adrian melted into it and Trevor watched with raised brows, seeing how his lashes fluttered and how he sighed against his mouth.
Hmm… interesting.
He pulled back and Adrian followed him instantly. He noticed the metal jug near them and Adrian followed his gaze.
Trevor licked his lips. “I’m still a bit thirsty—“
Adrian moved so quickly Trevor felt the air shift around them and suddenly he was in front of Trevor again, pouring the juice into the cup. He noticed the stray droplets that had fallen to the covers from his speed.
“Thanks.” He kept his eyes on Adrian as he drank. He was noticed, no, not because he wasn’t discreet but because Adrian hadn’t taken his eyes off him.
Unconsciously, he touched the mark again, feeling its broken ridges under his fingers.
Adrian’s head tilted as he inspected him. “I could feel your pain as I bit you. I felt your arousal.”
Trevor shifted, “So you’re just spying, huh?”
But Adrian didn’t let him look away, hooking a finger under his chin and connecting their eyes.
“You feel so beautifully. So bright. Beloved, it’s like a star has formed in my chest.”
He exhaled. The wonder that is Adrian’s expression made his own chest squeeze. “What am I feeling now?”
“Light… happy.” Trevor nodded and Adrian’s eyes crinkled. “You’re mine. Really mine.”
“Yours.” For a while, they sat there, exploring the new connection. Trevor thought of different memories in his life as Adrian guessed his emotions.
Trevor smirked as he thought of another, the murmur and chatter of strangers and the touch of cool fingers, a welcome memory.
Adrian’s eyes furrowed. “Happy?”
When he said nothing, he hummed. “You feel familiar. Something warm.” His eyes brightened. “Garlic bread?”
He laughed. “No, think further back.”
“Training?”
“No.”
“Lessons?”
“No.”
“What—“
He intertwined their fingers and kissed Adrian’s ring. “Our wedding.”
Adrian’s eyes were wide. “Oh.”
Trevor surveyed him for a moment. His strength had slowly been returning to him, not that he’d lost it all in the first place. But now, he wanted all of it.
He rolled his shoulders, exhaling at the strain at his wound. Adrian had told him not to pull it, so more blood wouldn’t weep. But he liked the way Adrian’s eyes were drawn to it, head tilted and eyes bright like a predator.
“Adrian,” he murmured. Adrian’s breath caught. “We had a nice wedding, didn’t we?”
“I…” His breathing deepened and he smirked.
“I mean, it was tense, but,” he brushed Adrian’s loose locks behind his shoulder, rubbing the strands between his fingers. “Looking back, it was nice. Grand. You and that kohl.”
“Trevor…”
“It was a good wedding,” he repeated and moved until Adrian was lying on his back, breathing erratically and Trevor straddled him.
He lowered his lips to his ear. He knew Adrian could smell his bite. “But we haven’t consummated it, have we?”
Adrian groaned, and sharp fingers were suddenly clutching his back. He shuddered in the grip but pressed himself further.
His lips brushed the shell of Adrian’s ear. “What,” he murmured, “am I feeling now?”
The kiss was filthy, all tongue and spit. He’d pressed himself closer to Adrian when a sharpness made him pull back. Touching his bottom lip lightly, he blinked at the blood smeared there.
“Oh, again? You need to watch the fangs.”
Adrian's focus was hazy. “I…”
“Come here,” Trevor murmured, clutching Adrian’s cheeks in one hand. His mouth dropped at the pressure and Trevor smiled. “There we go.”
Adrian made a questioning sound.
“If you’re going to cut my lip all night, that’s fine. I’m just… going to kiss you properly first.”
“Keep it open.” Trevor squeezed again, licking along the front side of his fang before pulling back and kissing Adrian again.
Adrian groaned, the tremors vibrating across both of them. Trevor held his face in his hand, angled his mouth and tongue and just took. Adrian couldn’t move, couldn’t reciprocate. He could only take what Trevor gave him, his mouth flooding with saliva, and the sounds of the room turned wet and filthy.
Trevor angled his head, forced his mouth wider, licking along every tooth and crevice of his mouth. When he sucked on his tongue, Adrian’s composure almost broke.
A string of saliva connected them when Trevor finally pulled back, cheeks flushed.
Adrian regarded it carefully, then slowly pressed their lips together again. It was soft, sweet and all too short when Trevor pulled back, brows furrowed.
“You’re shaking.”
Adrian looked at his body as if surprised. “Oh. I’m simply getting used to the connection.”
“Do you need me to stop?”
“Absolutely not.”
Trevor grinned at him, focusing on pushing every piece of affection and love he had for Adrian to the forefront.
He thinks he succeeded when Adrian gasped and surged up to kiss him, their teeth clacking.
Adrian’s hand fumbled at his belt, pushing and pulling, a snarl against his lips and Trevor blinked when he heard a rip and air on his thighs.
“Did you—“
Adrian kicked the rest of the fabric down to his knees while Trevor tried to help him. It’s a tangle of flailing limbs and Trevor chuckled against his lips when their knees collided with a clack.
He quickly moved down the mattress to shuck them off. It’s not graceful or eye-catching, but Adrian watched him intensely, mouth wet and panting.
He pulled himself up on his elbows, eyes dark and trailing along every piece of Trevor’s body, lingering at certain parts more than others.
“Well, husband?” Trevor teased. “What’s the consensus? Do I look healthy?”
“Extremely. Now come back here.”
But Trevor grinned, moving down the mattress until he held himself over Adrian’s knees.
For a moment, they simply took the other in.
“You’re so fucking beautiful.” Trevor breathed.
Adrian’s hair spilt like molten gold over his shoulders as he regarded him. “Am I?”
Trevor knelt over him, hands sliding up his legs. Adrian exhaled.
“Yeah.” He said. “In everything. Kohl, cloaked, a fucking apron.” He tilted his head. “But I like this dress.”
“Nightgown,” Adrian breathed as Trevor’s hands settled on his thighs, just below where his nightgown ended.
“Nightgown,” he repeated. His eyes travelled over Adrian, pupils blown. “Yeah, yeah, I like it.”
He fingered the hem, delicate and laced and thought that one day, he’d rip it just like Adrian destroyed his pants. But that wasn’t today.
Trevor slowly lifted the gown, eyes peeled on every inch of smooth, pale skin that was revealed. He paused over his pelvis, eyes hungry but simply pressed a kiss at the juncture of his thigh and hip.
Adrian whined at the touch. “Please—“
But Trevor ignored him, raising the fabric until it bunched above his chest and was kept in place by his armpits.
“Just for a bit,” Trevor huffed, sounding strangled, and pressed his lips down, down, down—
Adrian cried out and tangled his fingers in Trevor's hair.
— —
It’s been hours, Adrian thought, his body hot and shaking, legs twisted around Trevor waist as he thrust into him.
His head collapsed against the pillow, mouth ajar and drooling with every push up the pillow.
Belmont stamina, he thought deliriously, and glad of it because he could not, could not, pull himself away from Trevor now. He wanted to feast upon him, to feel his beating, strong heart against his lips and tongue and Adrian wanted—
Again, just as it had happened multiple times now, he was overcome by a myriad of emotions from Trevor, all of which just served to make him writhe and cry out.
He could feel pleasure, its rocking crests making its way to his chest. Trevor's love was a constant, tangible force that intertwined with everything else he had. Adrian felt euphoric when Trevor looked at him and it spiked, he felt absolutely greedy when more emotions joined it.
All of it. It was all for him.
He was assaulted on all sides, his body and mind and soul pulled into a black hole that consisted only of Trevor. His taste, his touch, his love.
His head wrenched to the side, a cry echoing from his mouth at a rough thrust. Eyes fluttering, he caught sight of movement and stared at their bodies in the mirror.
He could taste the dried blood at the back of his teeth, and could see it there now, smeared along his mouth and chin.
His pupils were blown, hair knotted and spread from Trevor’s fingers. He admired the scratches on Trevor’s shoulders and back, each line moving as Trevor’s muscles flexed and pushed.
Fingers tugged at his necklace. Trevor was staring at it intently, watching its bounce with them. “Fuck,” he groaned, tugging it again. “I didn’t think you could ever look better wearing it but–” Adrian pushed his hand away and placed his own beneath his clavicle, framing the necklace. Trevor looked at the sight of the pearl on his finger and neck as if it were the sun.
If he could simply freeze the mirror, have it as a painting for only them to see and—
Heat erupted in him.
“Trevor.” He moaned. “Trevor, I’m—“
Trevor kissed him fiercely. Tears leaked from his eyes and he smelt it then, the fresh scent of blood.
Trevor’s wound was again weeping from the strain and push of his body and he watched it bleed.
“Take it.” Trevor licked his tears. “Come on, husband, take it.”
As Trevor’s hand wrapped around his leaking cock, Adrian bit down on his shoulder, and the world exploded in colour around him.
— —
“You know,” Trevor huffed from beneath him. “I think, as my wife—“
“I am not,” Adrian grumbled and buried himself into his neck, arching his back to get as close as he could.
His thighs strained across Trevor’s and the movements of his hips slowed to shallow rockings as he focused on Trevor’s bite.
“Right,” Trevor gasped, hand tightening on his hips while the other tugged his hair. Adrian panted lowly at the pressure. “Well, if you were— ah fuck— I think it would’ve taken by now.”
“What takes?” He murmured, licking at a shallower tooth mark.
“Me.” Trevor thrust his hips for emphasis, and Adrian gasped. “The baby.”
Adrian froze, staring at Trevor’s smirking face. His rough hand travelled over his chest, settling on his stomach.
“Look. You’re full of me.”
Adrian was dizzy.
His head tilted. “That and the blood? Gluttonous thing— Shit!”
Trevor’s curse turned to a moan that shook the room.
— —
Adrian stirred, the gentle night breeze curling, pushing Trevor’s scent around him. It was like perfume he wanted to wear, a piece of Trevor he wanted to carry with him.
But he did carry that piece now, and it was deeper than he could have imagined, inside his very being and soul. It was as if his insides had been replaced by salvation, but it was living, breathing and held its comforting weight against his heart, pulling it closer with each beat.
The tears in his body were stitched up and pulled together with glowing blue thread.
He inhaled, feeling his lungs expand and the prickling of awareness scattered down from his shoulders, a spiking, trembling wash of feeling.
“Go to sleep,” Adrian whispered, curling into Trevor’s side.
He shook his head, arms tightening around him. “I can’t.”
He stared at him, feeling Trevor’s worry in his veins. He wanted to jump, wanted to demand what was wrong, but pulled himself back, almost succumbing to the ache in his head. It was alright. Trevor was in front of him, unharmed. He could feign ignorance for now. “Are you still not tired? How—“
“I’m tired.” Trevor interrupted. “I just don’t want to sleep.” Moonlight flittered through the window, falling across Trevor’s eyes and making them a stunning blue. His breath caught at the sight and the stitching in his body pulsed.
“Why not?” He asked, brushing hair away from his temple.
“Because today’s been so good,” Trevor said quietly. “And tomorrow… tomorrow it’s all back. I know it has to be, but…” He didn’t finish the sentence and Adrian pulled the blanket higher.
“I know.” He said. “I know.” His fingers traced over the mark.
“Tell me something. Anything.” Trevor whispered.
“A story?”
“Something.”
He considered, staring as Trevor shifted, curling and holding one arm close to his chest. His ring flashed, and he exhaled.
“I once thought your appearance was questionable.”
He felt sharp offence. “The fuck?”
“Before the actual wedding,” he clarified. “Your family hadn’t sent a portrait to mine like engagements usually entail. I’d thought it odd, considering how normal they were trying to make this be, but—“ he broke off that ramble. “I don’t know, I thought they didn’t want to me to break it off for any reason so—“
“They didn’t send one for being ugly.” Trevor sounded amused. “Did you think I was ugly when you first saw me?”
“I thought you were handsome,” he said honestly. Mind flicking back to seeing Trevor at the altar, at the frown that had pulled at his lips and the heat licked under his skin. “Extremely.”
“Good.” He sounded grumpy, and Adrian kissed his temple. His unruly thing. “I’d divorce you if you said no.”
His arms tightened at the thought. “No.”
“No?”
“No.”
Trevor chuckled. “Yes, dear.” He shifted closer in his arms, voice lowering. “We used to have a lot of portraits. But most were in the section of the manor that burned, and no one bothered to have another painted after that.”
The explanation was short, but there was no pain pulling it down tonight, not in his tone or feeling. Perhaps Trevor was truly tired or perhaps paint wasn’t worth his grief.
“I’m sorry,” Adrian said regardless, because he was.
The shrug of Trevor’s shoulders moved them slightly. “It’s fine. But that’s why you didn’t get one. But it probably gave you a nice surprise when you did see me. Good things come to those who wait.”
“How wise, husband.” He can see Trevor’s frown in the moonlight and says, “What if I didn’t have kohl?”
“What?”
“Would you still think I was beautiful if I didn’t wear kohl? Would I have had the same impact?”
Trevor stared at him blankly. “How can you be so smart and so stupid?”
“I—“
“You’re the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen. Now go to bed.” Trevor muttered, closing his eyes. “You’ve pissed me off.”
He smiled, curling himself around Trevor and nuzzling his hair. He sighed and Adrian didn’t sleep at all, watching Trevor in all settings of the waning moon and rising sun, feeling the dragon in him settle and purr.
He thought of Trevor’s face on canvas, and something in him lightened. He thought of himself next to him and almost crushed Trevor with how tightly he embraced him.
He murmured, not waking up from the movement, and Adrian smiled.
Husband. Friend. Lover. Mate.
It was perfect.
The supernova in Adrian’s chest expanded and settled.