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The second time that Que-nu had met Aurora's brothers was at a bar. The four of them had decided that the phoenix ought to get to know the triplets better as a whole, and karaoke was the unanimous vote. Que-nu had been informed that the youngest brother, Jake, had quite the voice and enjoyed performing. He hadn't expected said performance to spark such competitiveness in him. Que-nu loved to sing, but he'd never really felt it a competition! The crowd seemed to enjoy his voice just as much as Jake's, and afterward it took all of Kyle’s and Aurora's persuasiveness to stop the two men from arguing over who was better for more than 10 minutes.
They drank and shared small talk. Aurora was the only one of the triplets that Que-nu knew better than a brief introduction would allow, so he wasn't entirely sure what he could talk about with the others. Especially when all three brothers had such differing personalities. Where the oldest brother Aurora was charming and flirty, the youngest brother Jake was loud and aggressive, and the middle brother Kyle seemed more quiet and relaxed. But Que-nu did his best to get to know them, and despite the argument with Jake that he’d just had he felt that he was at least making a good impression overall.
They didn't stay at the bar for more than a couple of hours. Que-nu had had more to drink than the brothers, yet all three of them seemed to be worse for wear than he felt. Jake and Aurora especially looked to be on the cusp of drunkenly passing out. Kyle breathed a sigh as he looked his brothers over.
"Guess I'm carrying them home again…" he murmured.
"How far do you live? I might be able to help." Que-nu offered.
"We've a small place not that far from here. We don’t spend a lot of time there, but it’s convenient for when we want to go out and need a place nearby to crash. But it is a thirty minute walk." Kyle stated. "Usually I'll throw each of them over a shoulder and haul them home that way."
"You're that strong?"
Kyle shrugged. "Stronger still. I could probably carry you, too." He admitted. "The problem is that people are awkwardly shaped, and carrying more than one at a time is a pain in the neck."
"Well, if it's only thirty minutes then I should be able to help you. Plus, uh…" Que-nu paused as he wasn't sure if he could say what he was thinking. He decided that with the way Kyle had been all night that he probably wouldn't take it personally. "You're not all that much better off than they are. I don't want you to pass out either."
Kyle chuckled good-naturedly. "I appreciate that. Then if you'll carry Rory, I'll get Jake. Rory's lighter, and you know him better."
With that decision made the two men managed to get their more worse-off companions onto their backs and out of the bar. Kyle led the way down the road at a faster clip than Que-nu had been expecting. It seemed that the demon hadn't been kidding about his strength. Not that Que-nu was a slouch when it came to that, but Kyle made it look easy.
Just as Kyle had said, it took them around half an hour to arrive at the small two-story house that the three brothers occupied. Jake had continued to mutter incoherent insults the entire way, but Aurora had passed out somewhere around the ten minute mark. As such Kyle decided that the two of them should be put to bed. He directed Que-nu upstairs to where Aurora's bedroom was, reminding him to lay the man on his side in case of vomiting, and then left down the hall to take care of Jake.
Que-nu found Aurora's bedroom easily and had to roll his eyes at the comically oversized bed that took up almost the entire room. He rolled back the covers and gently laid the demon down on his side like instructed. He smiled at the man's sleeping face and leaned over to press a kiss to his forehead. No sooner had he made contact than a hand firmly gripped his arm.
"S'that all yer doin'?" came the slurred voice of the demon. "C'mon. Y'know 'm rarin' fer more. Could flip ya over 'n this bed 'n' fuck yer tight ass 'til 's'raw 'n' bleedin'."
The undignified manner of speech coming from Aurora made Que-nu want to laugh. Yet the subtle, deliberate prickle of claws against his arm had him almost shivering.
Que-nu cleared his throat and smiled down at the half-asleep Aurora. "Rory, you're way too drunk for this. Just sleep it off for now, okay? We can do something next time."
With an incoherent grumble the demon released the phoenix and closed his eyes again. Que-nu breathed a sigh and chose that moment to leave the room in order to avoid any more potential drunken flirtations.
The first thing that Que-nu heard upon leaving Aurora's bedroom was Jake loudly complaining about being babied. He could just barely make out Kyle's voice attempting to soothe his irate brother. Que-nu made his way downstairs cautiously and was surprised to discover that the two were still down the hall, presumably in Jake's bedroom. If they had been that loud the whole time but Que-nu hadn't heard them until leaving Aurora's room, that must mean that Aurora's room had been soundproofed in some way. Again Que-nu had to roll his eyes. Aurora really was a sexual deviant, wasn't he?
Just as Que-nu was beginning to consider what he should do from there, a door closed and Kyle came back down the hall breathing a long sigh. He stopped briefly when he saw Que-nu.
"Is…Jake okay?" The phoenix asked.
"Hm? Oh! The shouting. Yeah, he'll be fine. Fighting and arguing are basically his love language." Kyle shrugged. "The more he protests, the more he appreciates the help he's getting. But more importantly…" he flashed Que-nu a grin. "You're not staying with Rory?" When Que-nu sputtered instead of giving an immediate answer, the demon smirked. "He propositioned you, didn't he?"
Que-nu flushed lightly. "Yeah…"
"That sounds like Rory. You know you can take him up on the offer, right? He wouldn't mind. Especially with you. I assume you know where his boundaries are pretty well by now."
The phoenix shook his head. "No. It's the principle of the thing. I'd rather he be sober."
Shrugging, Kyle began to step past him. "Suit yourself. I need to get some things ready for him and Jake when they get up tomorrow. You're welcome to stick around tonight. You can crash on the couch or stay in Rory's room. He won't mind."
"I know he won't." Que-nu relented. "But I think I'll wait until he's asleep."
"Fair enough. Care to keep me company then? I'm pretty buzzed myself, and you’re fun to talk to."
A little taken aback by how blunt the demon was, but nonetheless delighted by it, Que-nu followed Kyle into the small kitchen. The demon got them both a glass of water and directed Que-nu to sit at the table before rummaging through the fridge and cabinets. While he didn’t get a very good look into any of them, Que-nu was moderately surprised that things seemed relatively empty. He’d known Aurora long enough to understand that demons didn’t need much in the way of food or drink in order to survive. What’s more, they frequently preferred meat, and they preferred it raw. Also, Kyle did say that they didn’t spend a lot of time in the house. Once he gave it some thought Que-nu decided that to have a kitchen with anything in it at all was honestly what should have surprised him more.
“What are you looking for?” he asked after Kyle had opened practically every cabinet and drawer.
“Painkillers…” the demon muttered. “I’m pretty good with light magic, and healing on top of that. But I refuse to use it on my brothers when they’re hungover. If I can drink without passing out the first time I’m drinking with a new friend, then so can they.”
That actually got a snort of laughter out of Que-nu. “You know, all three of you seem like lightweights.”
“We really are.” Kyle sighed. “None of us can hold our liquor at all . But I at least know when to drink some water, eat some food, and not immediately chug down my second glass. Which, speaking of…”
Seemingly abandoning his search for pain medication, Kyle opened a drawer full of tea bags and contemplated them carefully. He selected a box and set it aside on the counter. He then found a kettle and put it on the stove.
“They’ll need something to drink…” he muttered softly to himself. “And eat…” Kyle opened the freezer and retrieved three small packages that were clearly meat of some description. He put them in the fridge to defrost. “And…right! Painkillers!” At last he opened up a drawer and the rattle of a bottle of pills told Que-nu that he’d found them before the demon could even pick them up and put them on the counter.
As he’d apparently found everything he had been looking for, Kyle filled the kettle and put it on to boil. At last he breathed a sigh and sat down with the phoenix and sipped at his water.
“So…” The demon began, “how did you and Rory meet?”
Kyle’s tone was playful, such that Que-nu might’ve been able to play it off as mere teasing if he’d wanted to. But honestly the demon was probably going to find out eventually so he decided he might as well tell the truth.
“I had been singing. It was a lovely afternoon and I was sitting on a tree branch bored out of my mind. So I sang. Rory had been out hunting and heard me. My song was distracting him so he came to deal with me himself.” Que-nu shrugged. “Honestly I’m a little surprised he didn’t try to eat me, since he was after meat and I’m a bird. But he only wanted me to shut up and leave. When I didn’t he tried to fight with me.”
Kyle sputtered and laughed. “That sounds like something Jake would do!”
“I think he was really hungry.” Que-nu stated. “Anyway, we tussled for a while until we were both tired. And then of all things he invited me to his hotel room to rest. And I, for some reason, decided to take him up on the offer.” he shook his head. “I still have no idea where my head was when I did that.”
“And…the rest is history?” the demon asked with a smirk.
Que-nu flushed. “The rest is history…” he confirmed.
“Well, I suppose that’s what you like about him. That Rory’s so forward.”
The phoenix nodded. “Forward is right. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who could say the things he does, be serious about it, and not sound ridiculous.” Briefly, Aurora’s drunken proposition played through his head. “Well, when he’s sober at least.”
“And you’re a phoenix! Which means he could do just about anything he wants to you without consequence. Right?” Kyle flashed him a grin.
Que-nu’s blush darkened. “Phoenixes aren’t inherently masochists…”
“Mm-hm…” Kyle took another sip of his water.
There was a moment’s pause in their conversation. They both nursed their drinks a little until the kettle began to whistle. Kyle hopped up and quickly turned the heat off. He dropped a tea bag into it and fetched a couple of mugs.
“Sorry, I forgot to ask if you wanted any.” he said as he went about doing all this.
“I’m not a big tea drinker. But I’ll try a bit.” Que-nu stated.
Kyle nodded to his answer. “It’s not anything fancy. Just a cheap black tea I picked up somewhere.”
The phoenix shrugged a shoulder. “I’ll still try a little.”
The demon came and sat down with him again while the tea steeped. To Que-nu’s surprise the man breathed a deep sigh.
“I should think about finding somebody to bite…” Kyle murmured.
Que-nu quirked an eyebrow. “Bite?”
“Yeah. Jake and Rory are going to wake up hungover and famished. I’d prefer to avoid that. That’s why I’m doing all this right now.” He gestured to the kitchen. “It’s for my sake as much as theirs.”
“Famished as in blood thirsty?”
“Yep. A consequence of being half-vampire. Blood fuels us better than most anything else. If we run ourselves ragged, or in this case stupid, blood will do wonders for helping us heal.” The demon combed his claws through his short red hair. “I won’t be as poorly off as my brothers, but I should still find somebody. Jake’s probably going to end up biting our master’s younger sister. She’s usually open to feeding us in a pinch. And Rory,” Kyle gave the phoenix a pointed look, “is going to ravish you.”
A hundred thoughts passed through Que-nu’s head in an instant, all of them involving Aurora’s fangs and claws and di-... He shuddered and blushed again. “So…” His throat suddenly felt dry and he had to clear it. “Who are you planning on biting?”
The demon shrugged nonchalantly. He got up to pour them both some tea. Que-nu’s cup only had a handful of sips in it, which was fine with him. The phoenix took a drink and tried not to blanch. The taste was too light, and yet he felt that he wouldn’t have enjoyed it even if it had been heavier. Still he resolved himself to at least finish the little bit he had. Kyle was kind enough to give it to him, after all.
“Honestly? Probably Delalo. That’s our master’s sister. Like I said, she usually lets us. And I don’t have anyone I’m intimate with right now. I could always hunt down an unsuspecting human but that’s not exactly my preference.” Kyle replied at last.
"You could bite me." Que-nu offered without thinking. Immediately he realized what might be the problem with doing that. "That is, as long as biting me doesn't mean you're going to want to fuck me."
Kyle snickered. "Nah, not particularly. It's a pleasant sensation, for sure. Being so close to somebody who trusts you. The taste of blood. But it doesn't turn me on. It's more akin to sharing a hearty meal with good friends." He shook his head. "Plus I'm not into men."
"I'm just making sure." the phoenix replied. "Besides, I was in the very same boat as you until I met Rory. So pardon me if I'm still a bit skeptical."
"Yeah, I've heard that before. Rory mentioned how much you kept worrying over not being straight." the demon teased. "If it makes you feel any better, you're not the first 'straight' guy Rory's gotten into his bed. He seems to have a knack for finding closeted men. But as for me," he grinned, "I can appreciate a good-looking man but I've never met one that I've been sexually attracted to. And I've been raw-dogged into a mattress by a man once before!"
Que-nu nearly spat out the sip of tea that he'd taken. He choked and pounded at his chest for a moment before nearly shouting, "You have!?"
Kyle laughed at his reaction. "Of course. It uh…" He hesitated for only a split second before confessing, "It sort of comes with the territory of serving my master. The man's had his way with all three of us at least once." He quickly added, "Consensually, of course!"
"So you let a man have sex with you, but you're not sexually attracted to men? Was it some experimental thing for you or…?"
"No, not in the least. It was expected of me. Like I said, it comes with the territory of serving my master. But…" Kyle closed his eyes peacefully as he softly recounted the memory. "It wasn't unpleasant at all. I chose when it happened; all three of us did. And my master was very good to me through the whole experience. He spoke to me a lot; communicated everything. If I told him to wait or to stop, he did. He was very tender even when things could very easily have hurt. He even went out of his way to ensure that things were good for me, too." He chuckled awkwardly. "In fact, that was the first time I'd ever been given gratification during a sexual encounter. It was the first time I understood that sex was supposed to feel as good as everyone had always said it was. I've uh…" Kyle cleared his throat. "I've had a bit of an odd past."
"I'm…" Que-nu hesitated. So Kyle had been sexually active, but hadn't ever been satisfied during those encounters? Did that mean he'd been raped…? "I don't know what to say. I'm sorry to hear that."
Kyle smiled and shook his head. "It's in the past. I'm over it, for the most part. I've even had a scattered few lovers since then. All women, though. That said, if you ever want to find out if you're really into men or if it's just Rory you're welcome to ask me." The demon gave a toothy smirk and a wink. "I'm not half-bad with my tongue."
Que-nu's face turned beet red and he sputtered incoherently. Why was Kyle hitting on him!? Was Kyle hitting on him?! At the very least he'd just offered to give Que-nu a blow job, right?! What happened to the demon not being into men!?!?
Oh. That's right. Kyle had been drinking, too. And he'd even said he was as much a lightweight as his brothers. He'd been doing a good job at hiding it, but the alcohol must've been talking just then.
"Uh… While a kind offer, I think I'll pass." Que-nu stated carefully. "I wouldn't want to put you in an awkward spot like that."
The demon only laughed. "That's fine. I honestly wasn't expecting you to take me up on it. But I thought I'd offer regardless. That said though," he got to his feet and collected up their mugs and cups. He set the phoenix's in the sink and poured himself what was left in the kettle. After a long drink and a happy little sigh, he continued. "I really am hungry. So I'm going to go find somebody to bite after I'm done here. You should think about getting some sleep."
"I may not want to take you up on your offer, but mine still stands. You wanna bite me instead? If I'll do, that is. I don't know what your tastes are."
"I'm not a picky eater." Kyle said with a shrug. "Are you sure?"
"I mean, Rory does worse than bite me all the time." Que-nu flushed lightly as he admitted it. "Being bitten hurts, but if I can't handle something as simple as that then I'm kind of a terrible phoenix."
Kyle laughed. "Well in that case I may as well. Thanks, man."
The demon set his mug down and Que-nu stood up. Kyle approached him and the phoenix craned his neck to one side, sweeping his pink hair out of the way as he did. The demon slid a hand between Que-nu's neck and shoulder and held his throat gently to keep him steady. Then, to keep himself steady, Kyle gripped the phoenix's upper arm with his other hand before leaning in.
Que-nu felt the demon's breath on his skin before he felt the first pinpricks of fangs. This was the part that Aurora always had fun with; scraping his sharp fangs teasingly against him, building anticipation and making the phoenix shiver before plunging them down deep into Que-nu's flesh. Kyle did no such thing. He paused for only half a second in order to give Que-nu enough warning to relax before Kyle bit down hard.
The searing pain of four large, sharp fangs piercing his flesh was the same. It made Que-nu want to tense up and it took everything in him not to. He'd found it hurt less when he was relaxed. Kyle waited a moment before carefully opening his mouth and extracting his fangs from the phoenix's neck. Blood gushed from the wounds and Kyle was swift to latch onto all of them at once by sealing the area with his lips.
He suckled gently, causing Que-nu to wince in pain every few seconds. Whether it was from the demon sucking or his tongue lapping at the wounds, it didn't matter. It all hurt. He knew that it would. But surprisingly Kyle was very gentle about it. He didn't do anything explicitly to incite pain, and he was even careful about how tightly he was gripping the phoenix with his hands.
And of course, Que-nu still felt the demon's breath on his skin the whole time.
It took a minute, but Que-nu noticed something more that was very different from when Aurora would bite him. When Aurora fed from him there was always a lot of noise. The demon was prone to moaning and growling against Que-nu’s throat and in his ear. The only thing that the phoenix could hear while Kyle drank his blood was the demon’s soft breathing and the occasional soft slurp as he swallowed or adjusted the seal of his lips. If anything, the stark contrast only served to remind Que-nu that Aurora really enjoyed the act of biting him as more than just getting a meal.
Eventually the demon swept his tongue over the wounds one last time and the phoenix felt the telltale tingling that came with a vampire's special limited coagulation enzymes taking effect. Plus, if Que-nu wasn't mistaken, there might've been a hint of Kyle's proclaimed healing magic in there just for good measure.
Kyle released him and took a step back. He licked at his lips, wiped his chin on his wrist, and then licked that too. The sight almost made Que-nu want to laugh. It was like watching a cat trying to clean itself in reverse! The phoenix reached a hand up to his neck and began applying his own healing magic to the wounds.
"Thanks for that." Kyle said happily as he went to the sink to finish cleaning himself up. "Your blood is delicious! I can see why Rory likes biting you so much." He grabbed a paper towel, wet it, and held it out for the phoenix.
Que-nu took the cloth and wiped any remaining blood and saliva from his neck. "Really? I mean I eat freshly killed meat but I don't really pay attention to the taste of blood. Is there a difference?"
Kyle nodded. "Sometimes it's subtle, but different creatures do have different tastes. Human women are often cited as being a vampire's favorite, and I must admit that they're very tasty. And while I'm not picky I do have my preferences. I think phoenix blood might be pretty up there now…"
The phoenix chuckled. "Well, thanks for the compliment, I guess. But now I have to ask; what is your favorite?"
Kyle sent him a somewhat bashful grin. "Human women are the best I've ever tasted. Pretty generic of me, huh?"
Que-nu shrugged. "Sometimes generic doesn't mean bad."
"That's true, I suppose." The demon breathed a sigh. "Well, I think we should both be getting some sleep now. I'm going to be better off than my brothers, but I'll still have to take care of them in the morning. Especially Jake." He gave Que-nu a pointed look. "And you'll have Rory to deal with. Which, just a reminder, you're welcome to sleep in his bed tonight."
The phoenix flushed lightly again. "Yeah, I know. I was planning on doing that. I'll um… I'll see you in the morning, yeah?"
"More than likely. Good night. Sleep well."
"You too."
The two went off to separate rooms; Kyle to his, and Que-nu to Aurora's. The demon was sound asleep when the phoenix stepped inside. He breathed a sigh of relief and went about making himself comfortable for the night in the oversized bed. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about how ravenous Aurora was bound to be when he woke. Tried not to think about how roughly the man would pin him down. How he would bite and suck and lick…
Que-nu shook his head and chastised himself. Those thoughts were too exciting! He was supposed to be sleeping!
Eventually he was able to cast them aside and he fell into a deep sleep.