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“Move, I’m driving” Daniel cut in-front of Armand, lunging for the driver’s side door. In the car window a silhouette, backlit by the neon club lights, swayed and struggled to stay balanced.
“Are you sure that’s wise Daniel? You don’t think you might have overindulged somewhat?”
There was a smugness on Armand’s face Daniel didn’t like. It was humiliating sometimes, the way he was so frequently inebriated by the city-nightlife offerings, or by the even more intoxicating substance in his lover's veins, while said lover remained stubbornly unaffected and sober at all times.
They’d started the night in a fancy bar uptown. Armand had picked him up in a sleek Cadillac, a dark, jewel toned green convertible he’d stolen from who knows who, and who knows where. As Armand drove them to their first location, Daniel had fidgeted in his tailored suit, one of several Armand had gifted him in recent months, messing with the pointed, exaggerated collar. Had Armand killed the man who owned this vehicle? Was it his blood that Daniel should thank for the pleasant, gentle glow on Armand’s cheeks, which were framed so well with his hair cut short to his ears like this. There was even a pinkish hue to his skin that continued down his neck and into the collar of Amand’s own teal coloured suit. Had Armand chosen the car to match the clothes he wore? Was that what sealed his victims fate to die in the arms and mouth that Daniel so loved to be at the mercy of himself.
Daniel didn’t doubt that Armand was aware of the cycle of questions in his head, but he made no attempt to answer them. Instead they had spent the first part of their evening sampling the entire lavish cocktail menu at the bar Armand picked out, with its Art Deco furnishings and a jazz band somewhere in the corner behind the potted palms.
Afterwards Armand had driven them to the other side of town, to a street lined with bars and clubs illuminated in multi-coloured flashing signs, with revelers crowding in and out of every door. If it had actually been his car Daniel would've been worried about parking here, but they never kept these cars Armand stole for more than a week before a new ride took his fancy. They had wandered from bar to bar, Armand appearing from the crowd with glasses and shots for Daniel to drink before dragging him to whoever seemed to be the most interesting person in the room to talk to.
But with only a couple hours left before the sun came up, they’d finally made their way back to the car, and Daniel was determined to have a go at driving it before the night was up.
“Shut up, I’m alright, just get in the car” Daniel tried to make an effort not to slur his words together, which had the strange effect he worried of making him sound even more drunk. Armand slipped him the keys regardless, and Daniel let himself fall into the quilted leather seats, letting his hands run over the smooth vinyl wrapped wheel, taking a breath to steady himself before starting the engine and pulling out onto the street.
“What you worrying about anyway” Daniel said, flexing his hands on the steering wheel to try and shake off the numbness that came with being drunk, a feeling he usually welcomed. “It’s not you that’ll be hurt if we crash, it’s me that should be worried y’know, the way you drive s’metimes.”
“I am in full control of the vehicle when I drive Daniel, and you know I don’t want to see you hurt, beloved.”
Daniel felt himself jolt forward a little as they came to a stop too fast at a red light. He’d been looking over too much at Armand, who had barely moved at all as Daniel braked, or when he swerved too wide at corners.
“Yeah well, if you want to stop me from getting hurt you know you have the power to do that, don’t you” the bitterness in Daniel’s tone tasted like bile rising in his throat.
“Let’s not tonight Daniel.” Armand had a way of speaking that sounded so small and sad Daniel had a hard time arguing with him. “What did you think of the drinks this evening? Which was your favourite?”
Daniel tried to remember back to the bar at the beginning of the night. There had been bright blue drinks which emanated fog, drinks garnished with twists of lemon peel or gold flake, drinks that shimmered with clouds of edible glitter, and one “showstopper” cocktail had been set on fire before being served.
“That… Fruity one was okay I guess” the drink was more food than liquid, a large glass filled with slices of pineapple, melon, strawberries, blood orange and whole cherries, soaked in a mix of rum, citrus and vanilla syrup. The drink had come with a long, intricately decorated fork for the fruit, but Armand had hand fed most of the pieces to Daniel, even holding them to his lips as Daniel had sucked the sweetened alcohol out of them. Daniel cleared his throat, “it’s something different I suppose, or maybe I was just hungry.”
Daniel started to laugh at his own joke, but Armand suddenly reached out to touch the steering wheel.
“Daniel! We have to turn here!”
Daniel turned the corner wide and late, riding up onto the curb and grassy verge beyond, rejoining the road with a bump and a worrying scraping sound from under the car. Daniel was still processing what happened when he heard Armand’s voice again.
“Daniel pull in! This is it, right here!” Armand’s hand was on Daniel’s shoulder now, heavier than seemed natural.
Daniel’s mind felt like a wheel spinning with no traction, he followed Armand’s instructions, possibly the only thing he knew how to do anymore come to think of it, and swerved into the side. The world outside the car spun and Daniel reflexively slammed his right foot down on the brake. There was the sound of crunching metal, screeching, and finally a thud as the car lurched to a stop. Then the only sound accompanying the ringing in Daniel’s ears and the pounding of his heart, was the sound of Armand’s overjoyed laughter by his side. When he looked over, Armand had his head thrown back against the headrest, fangs catching the light from the orange streetlights as he laughed with his mouth pulled in an open grin at all the chaos. As Daniel’s vision cleared he could see the glint of crimson tears gathering in Armand’s eyes.
Turning his attention to outside the car, he began to piece together what had happened. He’d driven into the mailbox outside the duplex they were currently renting, and the car was currently “parked” across the sidewalk and into their neighbour's lawn. He didn’t feel hurt at least, though if he woke up tomorrow aching from injuries he hadn’t noticed the night before while drunk it wouldn’t be the first time. Armand was clearly fine based on how hilarious he found the whole situation.
Daniel opened the car door and pushed himself up and out, holding onto the door while he found his feet. He walked around to the front of the car, stumbling a little as made his way from the sidewalk onto the grass. The left side front headlight was smashed and pieces of it lay on the ground around the car. He leaned down to get a closed look when suddenly he felt as though he were free-falling through space, only to land on his rear in the damp grass. “Fine” he thought. “Fine, it doesn’t matter, none of it matters” and he let himself fall back onto the lawn, brushing his hair from his face and letting his eyes close. The warm tones of the streetlights blended well with the sound of Armand’s laughter, still drifting from inside the car, perhaps increased in volume since Daniel had toppled over. Daniel was long past the point of being able to pretend not to be drunk.
Daniel lightly scratched through the hair at his temples as the passenger side door opened and closed with a thud. He felt his own lips start to form a smile as Armand’s infectious, glorious laughter got closer and louder until it was right above and all around him. He opened his eyes to see Armand standing over him, a foot planted on either side of his hips. Armand’s hands were clutching his own sides, his face had more than a few red streaks where his eyes had spilled over from tears, and he took multiple tries to say Daniel’s name when he started to speak.
“Daniel do you think” more laughter. “Do you think maybe we shouldn’t have let you drive home tonight?”
He fell to sit on Daniel’s lap like a puppet that had its strings cut, his ringed fingers clutching in Daniel’s white shirt as he struggled to get control of the giggles still bursting out from his chest.
“What will I do with you lover, you’ve ruined my new car, and look! Your lovely suit, it will be filthy, we’ll never get the mud and grass stains out.” But there was no bite to his tone, and Armand slid his hand up Daniel’s chest to cup his neck and jaw. His cool hands felt soothing and grounding as Daniel tried to slow the pace of his heart, still racing from the crash.
Daniel felt as though he could look at this picture for the rest of time, Armand overflowing with laughter, bathed in warm light against the backdrop of the trees lining the road and the setting moon behind him. Daniel traced the patchy red trails up and down Armand’s face, if only he could find the coordination in his suddenly boneless body to sit up and lick the salty blood from those rounded cheeks, and collect the drops forming on the underside of his jawline before they fell and were wasted.
When he refocused his eyes on Armand’s whole face, he found the expression open and adoring, still with traces of his earlier mirth.
“Here beloved, let me help you.”
He leaned down, face close to Daniel’s. The thoughts in Daniel’s head were still slow, as though they were having to flow through the many syrups he'd drunk earlier. But he realised Armand’s intentions and reached with his tongue to lick across the flat of Armand’s cheek, and while the blood was never as euphoric as when it was fresh from Armand’s veins, it still left a pleasant, warm tingling on Daniel’s tongue, and his mind felt clearer and more at ease the more he cleaned off. His arms lost their heavy feeling and he tangled one hand in Armand’s hair and used the other to tilt his jaw so that he could trace his tongue along the ridge there, where so much of the blood tears had collected. Armand giggled once more at the sensation of Daniel’s tongue, and Daniel soon joined him in laughing at the absurdity of the situation as he used open mouthed kisses to chase every last drop of blood on his strange lover’s face.
When the sun came up Daniel would have many problems. He’d be alone, with a hangover, perhaps in pain from the crash, and with a broken mailbox and a damaged, stolen Cadillac to attend to. But for the moment there was nothing but the highlights of this insane, ridiculous life with Armand to enjoy.