Vampiric Rites: Catalyst

Erasmus steepled his fingers beneath his chin as he sat at his office desk, lost in thought. A series of papers were scattered about before him—a few business profit overviews from the past few seasons, as well as a number of texts he’d found on the new influx of vampirism in Burrowgatory, along with a deeper study of the changes in nature of the affected buns.

All things considered, Erasmus’s hybrid gentlemen’s club and speakeasy had been receiving a recent influx of vampiric clientele over the course of the last season while he’d extended his business hours later into the night. He’d done it as an experiment into how later hours would affect his profits, which had turned out to be a massive success.

The amount of vampires had been unexpected, of course, given the sudden nature of their appearance, but they had been remarkably respectful of his business, and only a few of his employees had issued complaints of near-bites or hungry looks. He had supplied them with a safe place that catered to their nocturnal nature, and he’d received almost double the amount of customers as usual.

He himself was not much for late nights, unlike his darling, who kept him awake with the most hare-brained ramblings most evenings, and while his club’s hours being extended had provided him more than enough extra funds to allow for a number of upgrades—and sufficient pampering for Reuben—it hadn’t exactly done wonders for his ability to stay awake afterward. He’d gotten into a nasty habit of falling asleep either in his office, or worse, in one of the lounges.

Quite a few times, Reuben had seen fit to heft him up to their bedroom, which was an impressive feat in itself. Even now, he could feel the grogginess seeping into his body as he reached out a hand to draw one of the papers closer, and squinted down at it behind his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose with his other hand.

A soft knock sounded at the door, and Erasmus carded his fingers back through his hair with a heavy sounding sigh.

“Yes?” he called, trying his best to keep any hints of annoyance out of his tone.

“Ah! Good, you’re awake,” came the sweet, crooning voice of Reuben, who, upon receiving Erasmus’s reply to his knock, had promptly let himself into the office. He closed the door behind him, arms behind his back as he tilted his head in a curious manner upon spotting the state of Erasmus’s desk. “Paperwork? You don’t usually do paperwork so late, Ras.”

“Mm, no dear, not paperwork,” Erasmus murmured in reply, sounding distracted. He turned in his chair, offering Reuben a gentle, lopsided smile. “Actually I… I’m happy you’ve interrupted me. I wanted to talk to you.”

Reuben raised one eyebrow, though Erasmus knew that Reuben knew him well enough that it wasn’t out of any concern for what the so-called talk would be regarding.

“Oh?” There was a curious lilt to Reuben’s voice, and he took the initiative to step closer to Erasmus’s desk, peeking over at the papers. “What about? Are those profit margins?”

“Yes and no,” Erasmus hummed with a nod of agreement, and patted his thigh as an invitation for Reuben to sit, settling his palms around Reuben’s sides while his lover swiftly fixed himself in his lap. “It’s about the matter of vampires, actually.”

“Vampires?” Reuben echoed, blinking up at him. “Why? I thought you liked them? Has something happened?” He leaned closer to the stacks of papers, scanning over them in hopes of gaining some form of context. “Are one of these papers a complaint?”

Erasmus shook his head, offering him an amused chuckle. “Not nearly, Reu, no complaints have been filed,” he said in an attempt to ease him. “They’re perfectly fine, it’s just…” He trailed off, not knowing precisely how to approach the subject. “Ruby, what would be your thoughts on me?” he asked, “If I were one of them; a vampire?”

“Well you already look the part,” Reuben tittered, though at the face Erasmus pulled at him in response, he rolled his eyes. “I’m only teasing, Ras, really. But, taking your question seriously, I would think of you no differently than I already do.” He leaned more heavily into Erasmus, resting his head against his chest. “Why do you ask? You’re not usually one for hypothetical questions. That’s my job.”

The latter smiled warmly at Reuben, and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I’ve been thinking for the past few days, is all. We’ve had customers pouring in, more money than I can spend…” He shook his head. “I was considering the idea of changing our hours a bit more… permanently. To keep evening hours and have them go just before morning, when the vampires typically start heading out to rest.”

“Ras,” Reuben began, fixing him with a knowing look. “The few muscles I do have are not meant for long-term tasks of carrying my nearly comatose partner up a flight of stairs,” he said. “What would make you think that you could stay awake for that long? Unless you’ve developed a sudden interest in injecting yourself with caffeine.”

“You are full of judgment today,” Erasmus tutted, tapping him on the nose. “And missing my point. What if I was able to stay awake? What if—what if I could sit in bed with you and listen to your rambling with rapt attention, and keep up with your night owl tendencies? To have you be the one to fall asleep in my arms. To go out more?” He held Reuben closer to him, giving him a gentle squeeze. “Think of the influx of patrons!”

Reuben’s eyes widened in realization. “Are you saying that you’d want to become one?”

“It would be a wonderful idea, wouldn’t it?” Erasmus spoke in a rush, unsure if Reuben’s question was one of interest or one of concern. “The loss of taking pleasure in normal food or drinks is… regrettable to say the least, but it is a welcome trade to being something better. Better for the business, and more importantly, better for us, Reu,” he enthused, desperate for understanding.

He saw very little downsides—Reuben himself usually slept through most of the day, as he wasn’t a morning person like Erasmus, and if being a vampire meant that he could get even a minute more with Reuben every day, it was something non-negotiable. His business was an entirely secondary factor in his debate; what he cared about most was making sure that Reuben was happy.

And if Reuben told him not to, he wouldn’t.

“I’ve been considering the idea of finding someone who might be willing to change me,” Erasmus confessed, then continued on with his explanations. “I wouldn’t do such a thing if you disapproved, of course, or without consulting you, which is why I wanted us to talk.”

Reuben’s expression shifted to one of sympathy. “Erasmus, you know that I don’t mind our usual routine. Sure, it doesn’t promote too much quality time, but I’m more than fine with what we have.” He bit his lip. “Though… I would be lying if I said it wouldn’t be a nice change of pace,” he admitted softly, and Erasmus detected a hint of excitement in his tone at the idea. “You would really do something like that for me? Give up normal food, normal hours? Hell—rearrange the schedule of your entire business?”

“Ever since I laid eyes on you, you have been the object of my every desire, Ruby,” Erasmus crooned to him, absently nuzzling his nose against the latter’s cheek. “You are my priority. My focus. If you say to jump, I’ll always make a point to strive to jump even higher than you asked.” He grinned at him then, a mischievous glint in his gaze. “Besides, you like being spoiled, don’t you? And trying new things in the bedroom, if I’ve learned anything by now.”

Reuben made an undignified sounding squeak and shied away from him, glancing away from Erasmus’s face. “You really are too sappy, Ras,” he grumbled, but couldn’t hide his own smile from passing over his lips. “In all seriousness, I would like it, Erasmus. I would like that a lot.” Reuben’s smile softened. “Besides, if it gives us any trouble, I’ve heard you can always have cherubun blood to reverse it, isn’t that right?”

“Mm… would biting happen to fall under what qualifies as ‘any trouble’ by chance?” Erasmus asked, raising a suggestive eyebrow at him, at which point Reuben began to stammer helplessly.

“I-I—well—well, no, I sort of—” Reuben coughed, clearly flustered by the question. “That’s not important. For reasons.” He crossed his arms over his chest in a huff, and made to change the subject. “Honestly Ras, teasing me with all your romantic talk. I mean really, you’re basically saying that you’d die for me. You do realize you’d have to do that, right? Die?”

Erasmus smoothed a palm up over Reuben’s back, rubbing in gentle, comforting circles. “Seems par for the course as far as me being romantic goes, no?” he asked, then planted another kiss atop his lover’s head. “We’ll set a date for it, then. I’ll see about visiting the hospital’s blood bank. I’ve been told there’s a vampire that works there, and I may have some luck with him.”

Reuben gazed shyly up at him. “Would now be a bad time to admit to liking the idea of being bitten?”

Erasmus’s grin widened further. “I’ll see about visiting tomorrow.”