#daniel pulling armand's tricks here using sex and kisses as a distraction

[desertfangs]

I might be a little late here on the question prompts so no pressure but:

“ where have you been? ” - Marius/Daniel?

I am not doing these in order, but I am trying to do all of them! Also this one got a little smutty. Vampire smutty, but still. About 1300 words.

“Where have you been?” Marius demands. He’s at the door of his apartment before Daniel can even get it open. 

Daniel blinks at him. “In Paris, with Lestat. I texted you.” 

“You did not,” Marius says, anger flaring. His blond hair is loose and wild around his handsome face and his blue eyes are intense as they bore into Daniel like a laser. “Nor did you return any of my texts.” 

Daniel frowns at his phone. The screen is black and none of the buttons he presses bring it back to life. It was low on battery when he left—he’d forgotten to plug it in before bed yesterday—but he hadn’t realized it had died. He walks through the rooms that make up Marius’ space here at the Chateau, big and elegantly furnished, and heads into the bedroom, Marius on his heels.

“You can’t go off without telling me!” Marius is not quite yelling but he’s on the verge of it. 

“I did tell you,” Daniel protests. He plugs his phone and a little dead battery icon flashes on the screen, along with the charging symbol.

When the screen finally loads, Daniel pulls up his text messages and sees that the text he tried to send while Lestat was whisking him through the air did not actually send. And the failed text is followed by over a dozen new texts from Marius demanding to know his whereabouts. He shows Marius the screen, abashed. “Guess it didn’t go through. I tried.” 

“That’s not good enough,” Marius says. “It’s irresponsible! I need to know where you are all at times!” The last line does come out as a yell and irritation pricks at Daniel. 

“I’m not a child. If I want to go hang out with a friend—” 

“Lestat is the Prince and he has duties to fulfill!” 

Daniel glares at Marius, whose arms are folded over his chest, fury radiating off him in waves. “Jesus Christ, is that what you’re mad about? That I took Lestat away from work?” 

Marius turns away. “I didn’t know you were with him. Though I suppose I should have guessed when the two of you vanished at the same time.” 

Daniel runs his fingers through his hair, tugging at the short blond strands. “You need to chill out. We just went hunting together.” He drops his arm to his side and lowers his voice. “We weren’t even gone that long.”

Marius sighs. “I had no idea where you were. If you’d wandered off, if you were lost…” 

The word ‘lost’ sends uneasiness worming through Daniel. 

“I’m fine.” Daniel taps his temple. “You know I am.” 

Marius doesn’t answer, which makes Daniel’s nerves burn. The idea that Marius might have thought he had some kind of relapse is harrowing and frightening. Daniel has been better for years now and though sometimes he himself fears the darkness overtaking him again, he wants to believe he’s healed. 

“I worry,” Marius says, voice soft.

Daniel laughs, ignoring the way Marius narrows his eyes. “Understandment of the year, old man.” 

Marius drops his arms and his face softens slightly. “I have good reasons.” 

Daniel sighs, annoyed that it’s true. “I know.”

“Not just about your mental state.” Marius steps closer and strokes Daniel’s cheek with his long, pale fingers. “There are enemies who would move against members of this Court. We all need to be cautious and none of us should be running off alone without telling a soul.” 

“I wasn’t alone,” Daniel points out. 

“No, but Lestat ditched Cyril and Thorne as well. Everyone was up in arms about that. Even he shouldn’t be so careless.”

“Nothing can hurt Lestat,” Daniel says. 

Marius is silent, his jaw tight. 

Daniel puts his arms around Marius’ shoulders and leans in close. He presses his lips to Marius’ mouth and it yields as he kisses him. His tongue is hot from the blood he’s drunk and Marius’ mouth is cool. The contrast of their temperatures sends tingles down Daniel’s spine. His hand slides up, cupping Marius’ face, pulling him closer. Marius kisses him back fiercely and then trails little kisses down his chin and neck, up and down his throat on both sides, his lips feather light and leaving little impressions on Daniel’s immortal skin.

Then Marius pulls back and meets his eyes. “You can distract me all you want but you still need to check in when you leave the Chateau.” 

Daniel rolls his eyes but he knows beneath the nagging and anger, Marius was scared. It’s fear that makes him demand such constant updates of his nightly actions, fear that makes him send so many texts even as they go unanswered. Fear that causes him to yell and rant about Daniel being careless. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Daniel says. “I’ll make sure my phone is charged next time. And that the damned text message actually sends.” He presses his forehead to Marius and their noses touch, which makes him tingle again. He wants Marius’ lips back, wants his fangs in his throat. 

“Yes, you will,” Marius murmurs. He’s already kissing Daniel again, unable to resist the heat of his blood-warmed skin against his cool lips. Marius pulls back and tears off Daniel’s sweatshirt and the t-shirt beneath, tossing them aside. 

His eagerness makes Daniel’s pulse race. Marius kisses his neck again and this time, his fangs sink through Daniel’s flesh, piercing his throat. He gasps at the sharp pain. Then he closes his eyes as his blood floods into Marius’ mouth, hot and rich and stolen from some Parisian bastard just hours ago. The movement of Marius’ lips as he drinks is as intoxicating as the swoon that comes over him. Marius’ heart hammers against his. 

Daniel rubs Marius’ shoulder encouragingly, eyes flitting open and closed as the world fades and he sees Marius standing at an easel, filling a canvas with blood red flowers. Everything is red. His heart slams into his ribs matching the rhythm of Marius’ heart. He breathes heavily, the feeling of Marius against him steady and strong even as he draws the blood from his veins. The pressure builds and his heart resists the pull, fighting back, tugging against Marius as he drinks. 

He thinks his heart might explode when Marius finally releases him. Then his mouth finds Daniel’s again. His tongue is coated in blood and the kiss tastes of iron and copper and heat. When they finally part, Daniel smiles at him. “You know, if this is your way of teaching me a lesson, I’ll never learn.” 

Marius smacks him playfully on the shoulder. “Next time I’ll resist your temptations. Perhaps that will be more effective.”  

Daniel shakes his head. He sits down on the bed, his heart slowly returning to normal. Marius heads for the door. 

“Where are you going?” Daniel asks.

“To have words with Lestat,” Marius says. 

“Lucky him,” Daniel mutters as Marius retreats. 

Daniel picks up his phone and scrolls through the increasingly panicked texts sent by Marius. He wonders what kind of lecture Lestat will get, and is almost tempted to go see, but he doesn’t want to be dragged into whatever argument might ensue, so he fires up Plants vs. Zombies on his phone instead.