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(freshman year)
Rudy sighed, tucking his elbows back to his chest and dropping his open book onto his face. He had only been holding it up for a minute or two. Why was it so hard to find a comfortable position to read in?
He sighed again, rolling over to try the other direction- only to jump back as he bumped into Tony, shirtless in the sweltering temper of midnight in July. He had nearly forgotten that his friend was there.
Tony jumped too, startling where he lay on his stomach. He laughed. “Man, I forgot you don’t have, like, body heat. Weird.”
This was Tony’s second visit, outside of the chaotic weekend that marked their first meeting. When the clan moved into the castle, Rudy had chosen Tony’s old room without hesitation, and that was where the pair spent most of their time when they got the chance, but Tony’s last visit had been all the way back in January- by now it was nearly August. The windows were thrown wide, although the air was too painfully still to hold much relief from the oppressive heat. It was too hot to do much of anything, for Tony at least, which was why the two of them were just lying in bed, reading and scrolling respectively, with the covers thrown all the way off.
Rudy had forgotten too- that they were so different sometimes. Tony was sweating, and while it wasn’t much, the whole function was so foreign to Rudolph- bumping into his friend had reminded him of that. He sat up on his heels and held out his hand, hesitated, then placed one finger on Tony’s bare skin- it wasn’t like his friend would care.
“Oh,” Rudy said. His skin was warm. He ran his fingertip down Tony’s back, running from one mole to another and back, then opted for his whole palm instead. He brushed his open hand from his waist to shoulder, marvelling at the intensity of the heat radiating off of him. How a human could be so feverish up close, but tepid or even cool from only a few inches away. He had never even noticed it.
Tony shivered, shoulders rising towards his ears.
“What?” Rudy asked, stopping.
“You’re cold!”
“And you’re so warm….” Rudy murmured absently.
He stared at Tony’s open back for a moment. Then, he pushed himself forward, flopping on top of him and smushing his cheek against Tony’s far shoulder blade.
“Oh, dude!” Tony laughed as he got crushed. “C’mon!”
Rudy didn’t respond, just went limp, and stuck his tongue out in mocking- like Tony could even see. He folded his arms under his head and got comfortable.
“Alright, fine…” Tony mumbled. “It’s kinda nice, now that you’re not tickling me. I’m usually too warm anyway.”
Whatever Rudy was going to say back got lost in a jaw-cracking yawn. He tucked his head a little lower.
Rudy was heavy and cool against him, like an unfamiliar weighted blanket, and when he didn’t say anything after that, Tony realized that his friend had fallen asleep. “You’re like a lizard,” he huffed, amused. “Enjoy your nap, you reptile."
(senior year)
Tony dropped his backpack with a thump against the ancient hardwood and flopped into bed, groaning quietly into the pillow. Rudy’s room was dark. The curtains were pulled tight against the mid afternoon sun, the air was heavy and still, and the cottony pillow was soft beneath his head. Tony knew the coffin against the far wall would be silent for another few hours. He kicked off his shoes, then squirmed under the heavy red blankets, sighed at nothing, and fell asleep.
When he awoke, it was slowly, and groggily, to the observation that it was very warm. Tony took a breath in through his nose and huffed it out his mouth. He grunted lazily and rolled onto his side, opened his eyes, and waited for the room to come into focus. He watched Rudy drag his feet past the bed, looking equally bleary-eyed as he covered his mouth in a yawn. His checkered pants hung low on his bony hips. Tony had been thrilled to discover how much Rudy liked modern sleepwear when he introduced it to him; he always liked it when he was able to offer his boyfriend something new. Rudy threw the curtains open and basked in a fresh breeze from the open window, bare muscles shifting as he stretched out the sleep aches in the light of the rising moon.
Tony sat up to see out the window, watching the stars begin to appear. “Good morning,” he said thickly.
“When are you going to get over that joke? It’s never been funny.”
Tony chuckled. He rubbed one eye, still feeling too warm, and stretched his arms over his head.
The fabric of his hoodie got caught between the blanket, which was still tucked into his waist, and the uneven scrunching of his sleeves, and all of a sudden it hit him that he was still too warm. It was unbearable. He made a face and pulled the hoodie over his head- then his shirt, only a moment later. He laid back down on his stomach and threw the covers halfway down his thighs. The air was cool with the last reaching tendrils of winter, but Tony always managed to overheat anyway.
Rudy perched himself on the edge of his open coffin. “So, how was school?”
“Oh, you know.” Tony put his elbow under his head and turned his face towards Rudy. His boyfriend had his arms out to either side, fingers and claws wrapped loosely around the tiered edge of his coffin. His shoulders were slumped forward, chest caving hollowly. His skin was clinging to the contours of his ribs, the highest parts of his pelvis, the smooth flatness of his sternum, and even his face held the same gaunt acuity, from the tip of his nose to the corners of his lips to the shape of his eyebrows. His fangs glinted dully in another yawn. “It was school-y.”
Rudolph snorted. “How very eloquent.”
Tony shrugged, but Rudy didn’t seem to care anyway. He was busy stepping bare feet across the scratched floorboards, then bending a knee at the edge of the queen-sized bed and folding forward to drape himself crookedly over Tony’s back like he’d done a thousand times. His cheek smushed against Tony’s shoulder blade and Tony could feel the edge of his boyfriend’s smile. He relaxed even more, going limp on top of him with his legs splayed thoughtlessly to one side. Tony scoffed in amusement.
“Comfy, there?”
Rudy just hummed. “It’s cold.”
“Sure. Why don’t you put a shirt on, then?”
Rudy brought one hand to Tony’s side, brushing a thumb back and forth over his ribs. “I think I’ll just stay here, actually.”
Tony huffed another tired laugh. “You’re like a damn lizard.”
He liked it all the same, though. Rudy was a cool blanket, leeching the warmth off his skin and keeping him from overheating again. The contact was nice, too, and with Tony’s brain still a little fuzzy from his usual evening nap, he was happy to stay where he was for a while longer.
Until Rudy’s stomach grumbled, and Tony could feel the vibrations in his spine. “Ruds, don’t you need breakfast?”
“Ugh.” Rudy thunked his forehead against Tony’s shoulder. “Eventually, I suppose. I’m not ready to get up yet.”
Tony shrugged again, gently this time so as not to jostle his passenger. “As long as you eat.”
- - -
Rudy just sighed, for no reason other than that he was comfortable.
Tony liked to call him a lizard, and as funny as it was, he wasn’t too far off the truth. Rudy hadn’t seen the sun in well over three centuries, but to his memory, Tony was everything he had ever loved about it. Right now, slung over Tony’s back, Rudy was basking in his heat, like a reptile sunning itself on a rock. He was so warm, warm skin and warm blood pumping through warm veins to disperse into the warm structure of his muscle tissues. Rudy marveled at it, how one body could produce so much torridity. To anyone else, it might have been too much, forcing them to toss off the covers or sleep on the opposite side of the bed, but Rudy? Rudy loved it. It was like sitting right in front of a woodstove, melting so comfortably that you never wanted to leave. Yes, Tony reminded him of everything he had ever loved about the sun, and he wasn’t sure how he’d gone so many years without him.
His stomach growled again. Rudy groaned.
“Ruds…” Tony mumbled. “C’mon, babe, you gotta eat. Time to get up.”
“Don’t wanna,” he said, intentionally childish. He ran the tip of his nose up Tony’s shoulder blade. “Maybe I’ll just eat you.”
He meant it mostly as a joke, but… it had been a while. It wasn’t a bad idea. Tony chuckled underneath him. “Sure, I don't have practice till Tuesday.”
Tony’s skin was dotted with moles and freckles, making an abstract path for Rudy to draw his fingers over. He traced a constellation of three near the bottom of Tony’s ribs.
“Should I?”
“Sure, love. Whatever you want.” Tony still had the side of his face pressed into a pillow, sounding borderline sleepy, but Rudy felt his own eyes open the rest of the way, finally awake.
He rolled, swinging one leg over to straddle his knees around Tony’s hips and plaster his chest up the whole length of his back. He swept his lips lightly along Tony’s trapezius. His hands still outlined constellations of devotion and fascination down his side and one of his biceps; Tony just sighed contentedly, putty in his hands. He tilted his head to the side for easier access.
“Yes?” Rudy hovered over his carotid.
“Go ahead, Rud,” Tony mumbled. Rudy sank his fangs in, as swift as he could while still being gentle. Tony’s breath caught in his throat and came out as another pleased sigh. He relaxed ever more into the mattress.
Rudy waited a moment more for the anesthetic in his saliva to take effect, then pulled his fangs out and let Tony’s blood tumble into his mouth, tangy and sharp and so, so warm.