Justin arrived home with a few minutes to spare before sunrise. He made sure all the boards were firmly lodged in the windows, before flopping on the mattress he kept on the floor.

From the moment he'd seen the old house advertized - after moving to Pittsburgh the previous week - he'd wanted it. When he'd told the real estate agent which house he'd selected, the woman had tried to talk him out of buying the old Victorian building.

No one had lived there in decades. The grass was tall all over; ivy was growing in wild disarray across the walls; the floorboards were loose and rotting; the paint was peeling off; and there were too many scurrying residents to name.

Justin had heeded none of it, insisting it was his dream home. The woman had accepted that her client was plumb crazy and had sold him the house at half price.

Justin was anxious to start renovating, but couldn't begin when he was so exhausted.

As sleep claimed him, a pair of hazel eyes and a deep, beautiful voice danced in his head. He hadn't been so infatuated with a human in a long time. So long, he had no idea what to do with the newness of the feeling, though the pull to be with Brian was unlike anything he'd felt before.

oOo

Brian slept through the alarm, so he had to rush his morning routine. He had a meeting at nine and couldn't afford to be late.

Damn that twink last night, he thought as he sped to his company. The blond somehow managed to tire me out. Brian couldn't believe that was true.

In his office, he found his best friend, Michael, who stood up from the couch when Brian came in. "What are you doing here?" Brian asked as he dropped his briefcase on his desk, before hanging his jacket on the special hanger he kept on a coat rack in the corner of his office.

"You said you'd help me today with a promo for the store."

"Shit. I can't now." Brian picked up the receiver, pressing the digit for line one. When the call was connected, he spoke quietly, "Cynthia, I want you to clear my lunch period."

"Sure thing, boss."

"Thank you." He hung up, smiling at Michael. "Problem solved. I'll drop by the store for lunch and we'll discuss it then. I have a meeting in ten minutes and I have a feeling nothing is ready."

"So how was your night?" Michael asked, watching his friend prepare the portfolio for his meeting.

Brian glanced up from searching through some files. "Amazing. The little shit almost tired me out."

"Wasn't he a little too young for you? I bet he's still in school."

"Don't be a hypocrite, Mikey. We were around his age when we first went to Babylon. Now, as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I have to go and land a new account. See you." He breezed out of his office, folder in hand.

Michael left too, frowning at the way his friend was acting.

Throughout the day, Brian's mind kept wandering to the bluest eyes he'd ever seen. He didn't do repeats, and he kept telling himself to forget about the blond already.

He had almost convinced himself he'd forgotten the blond by the time he stepped into Babylon that night. Until he saw him in the middle of the dance floor, moving like he was king of the place.

Their eyes met over the dancing masses. Brian sneered, raising his glass. Justin flashed him the most beautiful smile.

Before he knew what he was doing, Brian found himself pushing his way to the blond boy, shoving away the guy who was trying to feel up his new toy. "We meet again," Brian whispered, falling in sync with Justin's moves.

"So it appears. You couldn't stay away?" Justin giggled, throwing his arms around Brian's neck.

"Actually, I own the place. I have to be here. What kind of respectable owner would I be if I didn't mingle and show my patrons a fabulous time?"

"You own this place? Wow."

Brian grinned. "Want to see my office?"

Justin glanced at the guy he'd been dancing with when Brian had interrupted. He'd planned to satisfy the monster before going anywhere near Brian.

Brian followed his gaze. "Forget him." He seized Justin's hand, pulling him towards a room behind the bar.

Inside the soundproofed room, Justin looked around warily. He was thirsty, but hurting Brian was something he wanted to avoid if possible.

"Let me introduce you to my comfy couch." Brian sprawled across the leather sofa, unbuttoning his jeans. "Come here," he beckoned seductively.

Tentatively, Justin walked closer, straddling Brian's legs. Then their mouths met in a heated kiss. Justin pressed closer, groaning loudly.

Brian helped Justin out of his pants and underwear, before grabbing a lubed condom from his pocket. He sheathed his dick and dived into Justin. He held him close, pumping in a relentless rhythm.

Justin burrowed his face into Brian's neck, eyes locked on the pounding blood in his lover's jugular. He wasn't going to miss another opportunity. Before Brian could somehow escape again, Justin kissed the pulse point, then bit down.

That earned a loud, guttural sound from Brian.

Brian had the sweetest and most addictive blood Justin had tasted in his entire life. His whole being focused on the hot liquid flowing down his throat, so his sudden release took him by surprise, Brian following suit seconds later.

Justin forced himself to pull away. Sealing the two small punctures with a few swipes of his tongue, he sagged into Brian's arms. As Brian's pounding heart returned to a normal level, Justin basked in a sensual haze.

For the first time in a very long while, Justin wanted someone to drink from him. More than anything else, he wanted to be close to the human in that special way but wasn't sure how to proceed - he could hardly ask Brian to drink from his wrist. When Justin spied a bottle of whiskey on the man's desk, he got up, retrieving the bottle and two glasses. He poured some liquid into each glass then, unseen by Brian, he cut his finger, letting a few drops of his blood fall into Brian's glass.

"Here." Justin handed Brian the whiskey.

Brian looked amused but accepted the drink, downing it in one gulp. "What was your name, again?"

Feeling a stab of hurt, Justin sipped from his glass. "Justin."

"Right. I'm not good with names," Brian said lamely.

"More?" Justin poured him another glass, adding a few more drops. He could already feel Brian's emotions more clearly.

"Do you want me drunk?" Brian laughed but again didn't decline the drink.

"On me, yes," Justin whispered, leaning closer and kissing Brian's lips.

After a few more glasses, Brian lit a smoke, before offering to share it with Justin. "So, you in school?"

Ah, here come the questions. Justin closed his eyes. He knew there was a reason he didn't get attached to humans. They were such curious creatures.

"I'm in college. Between my sophomore and junior years."

"Yeah, right." Brian snorted.

"It's the fucking truth," Justin hissed. For once in his life, he was telling the truth and the man didn't believe him.

"You still look wet behind the ears."

"Fuck you," Justin spat. "I'm not an animal to be licked by its mother."

"It's an expression. Calm down. What crawled up your ass?"

"Your dick," Justin barked, fighting off a smile.

"Mhmm… I might need an encore performance."

"Oh really?" Justin smirked, pushing Brian onto his back. He was leaning down to get a taste of Brian's cock when the door opened, making both of them quickly look up.

"Shit, Luke! Haven't you heard of knocking?" Brian glared at the stunned man in the doorway, hastily pulling his pants up.

Justin hurried to get dressed as well.

"Sorry, Boss. Some tweaked queens got in a brawl."

"Fuck. Don't leave," Brian told Justin, rushing out of the office with Luke.

Justin was pleased to know Brian wanted him again, though he didn't like how angry Brian was at the moment. Such surges of anger could be bad for humans. Deciding to intervene and de-stress him, Justin followed them out.

While Brian was demanding answers from the witnesses, Justin pulled one of the tweaked guys to the side. "You will go to the man you punched and apologize. Tell him your mind was playing tricks on you. Then go to Brian and apologize for causing a scene in his club. If he bans you from the club, you won't protest."

"Apologize to Pete. Apologize to Brian. Too fucked up to think." The guy nodded, turning to leave.

Satisfied, Justin turned around and ran smack into Emmett. "Shit. I'm sorry." He could see in the man's eyes that he was suspicious. He'd heard Justin compelling that guy.

"It's okay." Emmett waved a hand dismissively. "Was that idiot giving you trouble?"

"Nah. I was trying to find out why he punched the other guy. I guess he was too tweaked out to know what he was doing."

"Those guys are dangerous. Just so you know."

Justin smiled, touched by Emmett's concern. "Thank you. I can take care of myself."

"I think the party is over for tonight. Want to grab a bite?"

Justin glanced in Brian's direction, and found him talking to the tweaked guy. "Sure. I mean, I'm not hungry, but I'll come with you. Let me tell Brian I'm leaving… we sort of made plans."

Emmett's eyes widened. "Then you'd better not disappoint him."

"Don't worry." He steered Emmett in Brian's direction. "Sorry to interrupt." Justin touched Brian's elbow, smiling. "I'm going with Emmett to…"

"The diner. We'll see you there," Emmett butted in, when Brian's eyes narrowed at him. He didn't want his friend thinking he was trying to steal his trick.

"Okay. I'll be there soon." Brian pecked Justin's lips. "Try not to corrupt him," he added to Emmett.

Emmett chatted Justin's ear off on the walk to the diner. Inside, they sat at the counter where Justin noticed Brian's friend from the other night. Mikey.

"Now you're taking Brian's hand-me-downs? That's so beneath you, Em."

"Actually, I'm babysitting Brian's hot twink." Emmett patted Justin's cheek.

If Justin were still capable of blushing, he'd have been bright red. "Shut up," he mumbled, beyond embarrassed.

"Had a busy night, boys?" the waitress addressed them as she came to their table. "Don't you all look tired," she teased.

"We'd like to eat," Mikey muttered, shooting Justin dirty looks.

What's up his ass? Justin frowned, glancing at the redheaded woman. Her hair was wild and caught in two buns on the sides, while her attire was colorful and clashing - from the red printed t-shirt to the purple vest adorned with many buttons saying the craziest things. "Nothing for me, thank you."

"A pretty, hot, young thing like you has to keep up his strength." She grinned, "So what'll it be?"

Knowing these was no escape, Justin ordered a milkshake. Emmett opted for fries, and Mikey asked for a burger.

"Jeez. What a freak," Justin found himself talking out loud, staring after the woman who'd gone to place their orders.

"You get used to her," Mikey shrugged. "But don't get any ideas. You're already yesterday's trash."

"Michael Novotny! I taught you better than to talk like that to people!" The waitress, whose name was Debbie according to her nametag, returned with her hands on her hips, glaring daggers at Mikey.

"Sorry, Mom," Michael mumbled like a berated child.

Mom? Oh, shit. Could he have fucked up any worse?

Justin hadn't experienced embarrassment in longer than he could remember. He threw Debbie a sheepish smile.

"I like you, Sunshine. You're adorable, that's what you are." She patted his cheek lovingly.

Sunshine. Justin bit back a snort, though a cloud of sadness enveloped him. He'd never see the sun again. When he was a child, he used to spend all day long in the sun, drawing and playing with his friends. He cherished those memories, hoping they'd never leave him. The more time that passed, the more his human life slipped through his fingers.