The Taste Of A Warrior

Part 23

Posted: October 2003
Author: Dhvana

*****

"Elijah, you're a lifesaver," I say, taking the cup of steaming coffee from his hand. The fiends who run the infirmary have refused me any caffeine since I was brought here and I am about ready to break out and find my own when Elijah grants me my reprieve.

"What flavor?" he asks, blue eyes wide with impish delight as he sits in the chair next to the bed. "I think I'm cherry myself, but Paul swears I'm pineapple."

"I don't know. I'd have to lick you and find out."

"Why, Colin," he says, eyelids fluttering flirtatiously, "are you asking what I think you're asking?"

"You keep bribing me with coffee, and I will not only ask, but give you a full demonstration."

"You've got a deal. I've always wanted a personal tongue bather. Do you tongue bathe clean bodies, or do you just open your mouth and tongue whoever's handy?"

"Usually, I demand a clean body, but because it's you, I'll make an exception."

Elijah opens his mouth to respond, then snaps it shut again, giving me a suspicious glare. "I can't tell--are you insulting me?"

"You're free to interpret my words any way you want to."

"I knew it. You are insulting me. You are banished from being my tongue bather."

"The loss is entirely mine," I chuckle, sipping from the cup.

"Damn right it is," he grins, then leans back in the chair. "So, how much longer are they going to keep you here?"

"Another day at least," I shrug. "The blood Nazis are insisting that I stick around so they can make sure my neck doesn't open up again. I don't know why they bother. The wound is actually starting to close. I guess my bite just wanted to go out with a bang."

"And speaking of banging," he begins, sounding entirely too casual, "Peter come by to see you lately?"

I narrow my eyes at him. "Yes, and we're just friends, as I've told you a thousand times already."

"Buy why?" he questions with a slight whine in his voice. "Come on, Colin. He's beautiful, he's fun to hang out with, he's a great guy, he's awfully fond of you. . ."

"Elijah, of the last three men I've been with, I watched one die, one got his head ripped off, and the third, well, we all know about him." He's the one who holds my heart. "I'm really not in the mood for dating another future dead man." I'll stick to one who's already dead.

"Then what are you going to do? Be miserable and alone for the rest of your life, afraid to get near anyone in case they die on you?"

Yet another perk of loving a vampire--Orlando will never get old, or sick, or even die, unless some serious damage is done to him. Which I won't let happen. So I'm safe.

"You're near me," I say, flashing him my most charming grin. It doesn't work.

"Yeah, but only because I feel sorry for you. At least give Peter a chance. He hasn't known you long enough to pity you."

"And if that's the speech you used to sell me to him, it's no wonder he's not beating the door down as we speak."

"Colin, stop being difficult and date the man already."

"No."

"Colin—"

"Elijah, drop it, okay?" He gives me his hurt puppy dog face, and I sigh. I always give in to the hurt puppy dog face. "They won't even let me out of the building. Bug me again when I'm allowed to reenter the world."

"You can count on it," he grins. "Now, where are the cards? You said you were going to teach me how to play strip poker."

I pause as I reach to grab the deck off the bedside table. "I said I was going to teach you how to play poker--just poker."

"That's what I said," he says, removing the cards from my hand and shuffling them. "Strip poker."

I roll my eyes and allow him to deal. "We're going to start with a basic game of five card draw, so hold it right there, or we'll have more than five cards."

"Gotcha," he says, setting the rest of the deck between us on the bed. "What next?"

"Now, the point here is to get the best hand, which would be a Royal Flush. Do you know all the different—"

The words freeze in my mouth and we both look up as angry shouts fill the air, followed quickly by sounds of pounding feet and gunfire.

"Colin, stay here!" Elijah says, jumping off the bed and rushing to the door.

"Elijah!" I shout, too tangled in IVs to immediately follow him. I start pulling the tubes from my arms when a soft chuckle reaches my ears.

"Going somewhere?"

"So, we're really going to do this?"

"You're not having second thoughts, are you?" George asks, amused, as he turns his head to meet my eyes. We're currently preparing for our attack while peering over the roof of the building across the street from the block of hunter homes.

Well, it's not an attack, really. More like an impromptu abduction.

"Just want to make sure you aren't," I grin at him. "After all, you can barely handle me. What are you doing to do with Colin around also?"

"Hopefully, have someone else to look after you so I can take a break every once in a while.

"You're not funny. And we really should have asked Angelina along. She gets a kick out of this sort of thing."

"We're still not on speaking terms," he says, shaking his head. "Maybe next time."

"Next time? You're planning on breaking in there a second time?"

"I always return to the scene of the crime. I like to see if they've learned anything my first visit."

"And if they haven't?"

"Makes it easier for me to break in the second time."

"You're a twisted man, George."

"That I am," he nods, turning his gaze back to the block. We've been watching the buildings since sundown, and it's been a quiet evening. Most of the humans are out hunting for us, leaving their headquarters virtually unprotected.

I do love it when things go my way.

However, Marton is still in there, as is Sean. I haven't seen my cherub or his lover emerge, nor has Green Eyes deigned to cross our path, so he must be in there as well. All the key players in our little game have stayed behind to make sure we have a proper challenge.

Or just to make things difficult.

Probably the latter.

Time to get this over with, just in case.

"Hey, George?"

"Yes, Orlando?"

"Do you want to know the real reason why I never forget that you found me?"

His eyes slowly turn to meet mine, a questioning expression on his face.

"I was playing in the woods not far off from the road when you spotted me. You were on a large brown stallion--I'd never seen a horse that tall before, and I was scared at first, but then you jumped off and knelt down beside me. With one look into your face, my fear vanished. Your expression was so kind, and so gentle, and so welcoming, that I knew I had nothing to be afraid of. You held your arms out to me and I immediately threw myself into your embrace. Do you know why, George?"

He shakes his head, his eyes continuing to hold mine.

"Because with one look at you, I knew I was home. My family, my past, everything I'd ever known to be true or even thought about who I was--none of that mattered because I knew I belonged with you. I knew I belonged to you. You finding me was the happiest moment of my life. That's why I've never forgotten."

George is quiet for a minute as he looks at me, the depth of love in his eyes unfathomable, and I am glad I told him.

"Thank you, little one," he says softly, leaning over to kiss my forehead, then sits back and assumes a mockingly superior air. "And as we set off on this glorious mission, should I die tonight, I shall carry your words in my heart. As the last breath of air passes from my body, I will still be able to smile knowing that at least one man will be out there, mourning my loss, but carrying on my dream to generations to come. It is through you that I will live on in memory, if not in life, and that is the greatest gift of all."

"Oh, piss off," I chuckle, bumping my shoulder against his.

"What? You didn't like my speech?"

"Let me just say the troops on St. Crispin's day would have been somewhat less than inspired."

"Not everyone can be Kenneth Branagh," he grins. "So, you ready to have some fun?"

"Always."

"You remember which room he's in?"

"Of course." Not that I'd need to know. I can feel Colin even from here.

"Give me a few minutes to create a distraction, and then I'll be back to help you get him out of there."

"Thanks for this, George."

"Anything for you, little one," he says, then leaps off the roof and is gone.

I hold my place until a bright light and smoke fills the garden between the houses, then I follow him off the roof and to the window of Colin's room. I watch as Elijah leaves, then force it open and slip inside while my lover is busy fumbling with the tubes in his arms.

I am so happy to see him that I have to use all my self control not to just throw myself on the bed and yell ‘Take me!'

Instead, I lean casually against the window frame, and grin. "Going somewhere?"

Colin's head shoots up and he freezes. "Orlando?"

I pretend to examine my hands and arms, glance over my body, press my fingers to my face, then look back up at him. "So it would seem."

"Cunt," he growls as he rips the remaining tubes from his skin.

"Colin!" I wince, knowing how that had to hurt. "What the fuck do you think you're doing? You could have torn your arms to shreds."

"I don't care," he says and I find myself being smothered by my beloved warrior. "I couldn't wait any longer to reach you."

"Well, then, my objections are withdrawn," I say as I find myself being guided backwards by his mouth and his body and his hands towards the bed.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he demands in between kisses. "Are you mad? Are you trying to get yourself turned into a shish kabob? Oh, god, how I've missed your taste."

"I've missed you, too," I say, flipping us over so I'm on top and thrusting my tongue down his throat. Pinning his hands above us, I entwine my fingers with his. "Are you all right? George said you were ill."

"Mmm. . . I'm better now," he says, arching against me, rubbing our groins together.

"Colin," I say, trying to frown as I nip at his lips. "I'm worried and you're supposed to reassure me."

"I'd think my enthusiastic response would be enough to reassure you, and if not, the scolding you're about to get for showing up here will definitely convince you."

"Oh, but I had to come," I say, rolling onto my side and leaning on my arm as I look at him. I can't believe I'm actually going to have the opportunity to look at him for years. How lucky can one vampire be?

"You did?" he asks reaching up to brush the hair from my face.

"George and I are leaving, and I couldn't go without seeing you."

"You're what?!" He quickly sits up, brown eyes darkening with anger. "You're leaving? Just like that? No warning, no thoughts for how I might be affected by this, you're just going to get up and go?"

"So it would seem," I nod.

"You son of a bitch," he snarls, jumping off the bed. "I can't believe you'd do this to me. Have you been fucking with me this entire time? What are you going to do--just run away and forget about me? Again? After all you put me through and why the FUCK are you laughing at me?!"

"Because," I say, standing up and walking over to him, resting my hands on his waist, "you're acting like a complete idiot. Colin, I'm here to ask if you want to go with us."

"I'm sorry. I must have heard you wrong. You want me to what?"

"Take a little holiday. Travel with us to our next exotic location. Join us on a romp across the world. Spend the rest of your life with me."

"Orlando, I don't know." He shakes his head, skirting away from my touch. "I can't just pick up and leave. My life at the moment is a holiday from my life, and I can't just abandon Elijah and the others. They'd know something was up, and they'd come after me--Paul especially. He found out I've been seeing you, and you wouldn't believe the line of bullshit I had to feed him in order to keep him off my back." He pauses in his mad retreat, comprehension slowly dawning on his face. "Spend the rest of my life with you?"

"It seems silly, don't you think, for us to feel the way we do and have to keep hiding it? We should be together," I say, reaching for him again.

"Together," he says, his voice filled with wonder.

"Imagine it Colin," I say, nuzzling his neck, carefully tracing the bite marks with my tongue. "No more sneaking around. No more hiding. No more being reduced to catching hurried kisses just before dawn. We can fall asleep together, wake up together, spend hours in bed together, and never have to worry about getting caught."

"That does sound tempting," he moans, twirling his fingers in my hair.

"Come away with me," I say, looking into his eyes, and he smiles.

"Yes."

Laughing, I throw my arms around him, hugging him tight. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"You do?"

"I do," he says, giving me a huge kiss and we begin moving back towards the bed.

"Ahem."

"Hi George," I say without looking up, but Colin swiftly pushes me away, a panicked expression on his face. I chuckle, kissing his cheek. "It's okay. Colin, I'd like you to meet my creator, George. George, this is my warrior."

"So I can see," he smirks from where he is straddling the window ledge. "But do you two think you could break it up for a moment? We need to get out of here before your friends realize their diversion is no longer diverting them."

My warrior gives George an odd look. "That sounded like something Orlando would say."

"He has that effect on people," my mentor grins.

I have a feeling I should object to this, but I'm not sure why, and I'm too happy their getting along to care.

"Last chance, Colin," I say, taking his hand and leading him over to the window.

"Forget it, you fanged parasite. You're stuck with me now."

"Glad to hear it." I give him another kiss, and hearing shuffling outside the door behind us, push him out the window. Well, not push, but help. Roughly. He ends up tumbling onto the grass below, but is unharmed.

"Orlando!" he and George protest at once, and I grin.

"Sorry."

"You'll pay for that," he says as George grabs onto his arm, dragging Colin to his feet as they make their way down the street.

"Come on, you two can bicker and make up later. Orlando, hurry up!"

"Be right there," I say, turning around to meet a pair of wide blue eyes. "Cherub?"

"Vampire."

There is a sharp pain to my chest and a sudden burning sensation in my veins. I try to speak, but my mouth doesn't seem to be there. I reach for the window, but can't find it anymore. I can't find anything anymore. I can't feel anything anymore. My world is gone.

"Marton? It's Elijah. I got one."

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