11
Lathan
The evening is peppered with chaste glances stolen between the men, making small, casual conversation about their days that distract from their homework. Lathan makes a humble attempt to continue that paper so rudely interrupted by cross-species porn the other day. But he gives in rather quickly, taking his laptop to his bed where Kylo can’t just look over his shoulder and see his screen, so he can search for potential restaurants to try tomorrow on their date.
At the clinic, he was injected with an antibiotic to make sure any bacteria festering in his wounds were killed—he decided against admitting that the werewolf who did this also licked them clean. The staff ask no questions about the incident, about the obvious cause of the lacerations. Lathan assumes they’ve all be briefed on the school’s fuck-up, instructed to keep their mouths shut to avoid a lawsuit.
After his fifty-some stitches—most of the bite wound left open to vent itself of infection—he doesn’t pay attention to the lectures he goes back to attend. Kylo’s lips are all he thinks about. And he wants more, so much more, as he replays the wolf’s voice in his head, sweet as fresh honey: “ I’m yours .”
He’s asked people out before, but this just feels different. Even as he waits for the hours to tick by, picking up and double-checking the bus passes over and over. Brushing his teeth twice before noon. Pulling out his nicest clothes.
Because he’s already fallen for Kylo.
He’s never fallen first before going out with someone. Actually, he’s never fallen in love, ever. Guess that’s not true anymore. And perhaps it’s naive to assume this is love, with not much to compare it to. But that’s also why he’s starting to understand that’s exactly what this is.
As his academic days are shorter this term than Ky’s, Lathan is first to be back in their room and get ready. He showers before pulling out his nice shoes, a pair he rarely wears unless for an event. Then he layers black on black on black—shirt, zipper hoodie, leather jacket, the dull shine reflecting that of his shoes. He pulls his hair out of the low bun it’s often tied back in and shakes it out. A single spray of his usual cologne, and he’s ready.
He pockets their evening passes and his excitement. Kylo will meet him in the courtyard by five, giving him enough time to decompress after his last class. He leaves their room so when the wolf shows up he doesn’t feel smothered or pressured.
Finding a shaded spot to sit on the wide stone ledge of the brick-laid stairs, Lathan rests one leg over the other and scrolls lamely on his phone to pass time. He started inside, with the air conditioning to keep his nerves and sensitivity to heat at bay, waiting until closer to their meeting time to brave the Californian heat. Even fall weather teeters on too much for many vampires.
People come and go and he doesn’t look up, but after tasting his blood several times he can sense Kylo, smell his particular flavour of iron, so as he approaches, Lathan lifts his head, clicking off his phone and tucking it away. Pulling himself off the ledge, he looks the werewolf up and down, pressing his lips at the satin, black-and-white patterned button-up that’s loosely tucked into a pair of belted, black jeans. His date night outfit is finished off with white sneakers and a little black beanie—his dark hair cutely escaping around his face.
“Mm,” Lathan nearly purrs, still taking Kylo in as he walks up, “don’t you look nice.” His stare is sultry, but he also thinks Kylo is just adorable. Those fucking curls.
Kylo smiles brightly at the compliment, swaying with his hands in his pockets. “Thanks,” he says, and then gestures with one of his buried hands at him. “You clean up pretty nice yourself.”
Lathan lets a small smirk bend his lips. He begins walking backward, silently encouraging Kylo to follow. “So I have a few ideas of where we can go. What do you like to eat?”
Kylo falls into step, following him. “Oh, man, I could eat anything. I’m really not picky. Except for celery.” His face warps with disgust, sticking his tongue out with a small eugh . “Disgusting devil sticks.”
Exhaling a single-beat laugh, Lathan raises his eyebrows. “ Devil sticks ? Really?” He slows, letting a chuckling Kylo catch up beside him, and then turns so they’re shoulder-to-shoulder, heading in the direction of the bus loop—not exactly romantic, but the only means of transportation from campus.
“What about you? Do vampires have favourite foods?”
“Ah, no, we don’t have preferences, we aren’t people,” Lathan says sarcastically, but his gaze is playful. “Of course we have favourites. We still need to eat like normal. Blood is just a necessary supplement.”
Kylo pretends like he isn’t blushing for the hundredth time. “What’s your favourite then?”
“I grew up on a lot of Korean food,” he says, “so it’s kind of a comfort. But I really like Thai. And pizza, obviously.” He glances at Ky. “But I’m not a cheap first date, so no pizza.”
The bus loop has a shack to wait in during poor weather. But the sun is out, and it’s softly warm against their faces now that it’s later in the day. Only a few others linger, busy on their devices as they wait for the shuttle to arrive. Lathan leans his good shoulder against the side of the bus shack and keeps his eyes solely on his date.
The vibration of an incoming vehicle circles up the loop within minutes. The others look up from their phones and Lathan pops off the glass wall, inching toward where it’ll stop. They board last, but there aren’t more than five people inside. Their passes are scanned at the front and the driver motions for them to take a seat. Lathan lets Kylo slide into a booth first, giving him the window, mostly so he can monitor the aisle. He lifts a shiny dress shoe to rest on the back of the seat in front of him, his knee bent, and places his hand on Kylo’s mid-thigh.
Kylo shifts slightly, but continues to watch the Academy blur through the window as they leave it behind for the evening. Lathan caresses his thigh with his thumb, and it jerks his thoughts to touching him, back to how he did touch him, with his hand so close now to his groin. He instantly holds his thumb still. Keep it under control, the date hasn’t even fucking started.
“You ever been off campus like this?” he asks as a distraction. The bus chugs along, passing a stretch of nothingness, of fields outside the campus perimeter heading into the touristy town fifteen minutes away.
“Oh, uh.” He’s bouncing his knee, and Lathan wonders if he’s also trying to dissuade thoughts hot as lava. “Yeah, during first year. Ridley has a really quaint library, I studied there a few times. What about you?”
“No, actually,” Lathan admits. But I’ve done a ton of research so I don’t look like an idiot.
The bus slows to a stop. Everyone stands to get off; this is its only destination, commissioned specifically for students of the Ether school. Lathan drags his hand off Kylo’s leg as he lifts too, leaving a quickly cooling patch of skin on his palm without the shared warmth between them.
Downtown is a long stretch of street with various restaurants and shops to explore. It’s a small town, with the majority of its hotspots and amenities in the heart of its downtown district, including the one gym, fire hall, bank, and little library.
Joining Lathan on the sidewalk, Kylo asks, “Where first?”
“First,” he hums, “I take you to dinner. Should just be down the street.”
Sure enough, just another minute of walking brings them to a separate row of buildings, one being a cute cafe called Benedict Bistro. Lathan opens and holds the door for Kylo to step through with a gentleness to his expression. He’s trying his best to make an effort for him, to make an impression, but he also genuinely wants to come across as a gentleman. He feels like he has a lot to make up for, being a vampire.
Inside the building is more colourful than the photos on their website displayed—a brimming indie diner. It has tables and booths alike, with a retro sort of feel, while still feeling modern. Fun, cultural paintings decorate the walls, and the lights lining the ceiling are hung in a tantalizing pattern. It isn’t exactly Lathan’s choice of decor, but Kylo looks pleased by the atmosphere, and Lathan admits that it’s romantic in a comfortable way.
“This…” Kylo shakes his head, at a loss for words. “This is incredible,” he mutters under his breath as they wait for someone to take them to a table.
“Glad you like it,” Lathan murmurs close to his ear, leaning in from behind him, watching the pointy tip twitch. He pulls back as a thin body in a black button-down half-skips up to the podium of menus.
“For two?” the girl asks, just as chipper and friendly as Kylo.
“Please,” Lathan says with a nod, and the girl beams a brilliantly set of teeth—no fangs, no sharp bones at all, and without any other identifying features, Lathan determines she’s also a vampire. She plucks two menus and a couple rolled sets of cutlery before escorting the boys to a lovely little booth closer to the back, with a nice window view of downtown Ridley.
“I’ll actually be taking care of you tonight,” she squeaks, folding her hands in front of her as her customers sit down. “My name is Eunice. Any drinks I can get you to start?”
Lathan looks at Kylo for his order. The wolf’s eyes widen with unprepared panic and flips open the drink menu. He clears his throat and looks up at the waitress.
“How about Sex on the Beach?”
Very quickly, his caramel skin deepens with the blood of a thousand wolves, spreading anxiously down his throat. “Th-the drink,” he sputters. “Or—you know what?” He shoves the menu in his face again. “I’ll just have a pint of your house red ale.”
Lathan covers his smirk with his fist, looking down, as to not isolate Kylo’s embarrassment even more. When he looks back up at Eunice, he says, “Two red ales.” And then shifts to his date. “And a Sex on the Beach, please.”
“You got it. I’ll bring by some waters, too.” And then she hops off, her shoulder-length box braids swaying after her.
The second she leaves, Kylo folds forward and puts his head in his hands. “For gods’ sake, I’m so embarrassing. How are you so cool and collected all the time?” Despite his frustration, he still laughs at himself.
Lathan admires his cute fluster for a moment, then decides to be vulnerable with him, something he doesn’t usually do. “I’m not as collected as you think,” he says, and then lifts a hand, holding it flat out above the table. When Kylo looks up, he can see its nervous tremble.
He balls it into a fist and hides it back under the table, glancing off. The restaurant is about half full: same-species couples, families, what looks like business partners, friends. Lathan and Kylo are the only table that is obviously different species, and obviously on a date.
The menu options are varied, which is why Lathan chose this diner. He wanted to give Kylo the most options, not force him into a more specific cuisine. He thought it’d help his very obvious nerves. Lathan already knows what he’s ordering himself, since he looked at the menu online to try and seem more ‘collected.’ So, even with the menu open, he doesn’t look at it, instead glancing around the restaurant at the other occupants, feeling like a spotlight illuminates their booth for everyone to gawk at.
Eunice returns with a skip in her step before Kylo can say what’s on his mind—Lathan knows he followed his gaze toward the other patrons. She sets down their beers, their waters, and Kylo’s suggestive drink from her tray, and then presses it flatly against her stomach. “Are you ready to order, or do you still need a few minutes?”
Lathan reorganizes the drinks on the table. “I’m ready if he is.”
“Yeah, I’m ready,” Kylo says, quieter than before. It unsettles Lathan, but he swallows the feeling with a sip of his ale. “I’ll have the sirloin steak, with the collard greens and mashed potatoes as my sides.”
Lathan places his menu on top of Kylo’s where their waitress can reach. “And I’ll just do the pad Thai.”
Eunice collects the menus and disappears again. Lathan watches Kylo inhale a hefty amount of his beer and then fiddle with the glass when he sets it down.
“So I’m guessing you’ve never dated a vampire before.”
The wolf doesn’t look up right away, but the tension in his shoulders builds. “No, uh, I haven’t.” His throat bobs like he’s trying to summon his regular cheer. “I’ve only been with other werewolves. You’re the first vampire.”
“Does it scare you?”
Surprised, Kylo finally meets his date’s serious inquiry. “No. With you, not in the slightest.”
He worries that will change, when outside pressures and judgements come into play. He must have reservations. Worries. We could hurt each other—we already have.
But he leaves it for now, not wanting to bring the mood down. He shifts to look more engaged. “What’s your family like? Are you close with them?”
“They’re fine, I guess,” Kylo says, accepting the change in subject and eyeing his Sex on the Beach. “They’re family.” Both his smile and his shrug are lopsided. “My brother and sister are older, so I’m not really close with them. See ‘em every once and a while. My parents are supportive, but they’re still parents, ya’ know? We’re not best friends, but we’re chill.”
Lathan nods in understanding, though truthfully that kind of relationship far exceeds what he’s ever had. “Still sounds nice. I hardly speak to mine.”
His brows tuck in slightly. “What’re they like?”
“Uh.” Lathan stares at his pint. “They’re distant. Only really care about my education and helping them with their firm.” He clinks his black and silver steel rings against the glass. “They try to pretend they aren’t vampires. They’re ashamed.”
Kylo’s worrisome brows compresses further. “That’s awful,” he offers, and his voice is only loud enough for a vampire’s ears. “Are… you ashamed?”
“No,” he states after considering for a moment, “I’m not. That’s why we don’t see eye-to-eye.” He clears his throat, seeing their waitress duck out from the kitchen with their plates. “Sorry, this isn’t great dinner conversation.”
Kylo opens his mouth to argue, most likely, but Eunice appears at the edge of their table and interrupts his train of thought. Their meals are placed in front of them, and she encourages them to reach out if they need anything before bowing her goodbye.
Lathan enjoys his food—a safe dish for him, that he’s found very few establishments can manage to cook poorly—checking in intermittently with Kylo about his own. While he says he isn’t picky, steaks can be finicky, and he assures Kylo he’ll throw fists with the kitchen if it’s anything but perfect, but the wolf just laughs. As they make small talk, Lathan appreciates him from across the table, his choice of dish, his cute curls framing the rim of his hat, his adorable fanged smile and expressive ears. Once they finish their food and drinks, Lathan pays for everything without batting an eye, and they find themselves out on the street again, the sun setting in oranges and pinks, and the nightly air crisp and refreshing like the first bite of an apple.
As they wander further up town, Lathan spots the old brick building on the corner of the road that Kylo mentioned on the bus. “Hey”—he points at it—“wanna give me the tour, Mr. Librarian?”
“Pfft.” Kylo rolls his eyes, but then smiles wide. “Hopefully they haven’t remodelled recently.”
With still an hour before the library should close, as Kylo recalls to Lathan, they cross the street and climb up the shallow, crumbling staircase, which essentially answers Ky’s comment. The immediate serenity entering the building is almost eerie; it’s always been a bit ominous to Lathan that libraries have this effect, and he wonders how it makes Kylo feel if he wants to spend his future surrounded by it.
Mainly a one-storey building, the Ridley Library has an indoor balcony for a partial second floor, an L-shaped overhang stocked with seating and racks of archived magazines. Lathan leans closer to Kylo and whispers, “Lead the way,” as if people can’t talk—which of course they can, just not loudly. Still feels like a sin, though.
Kylo reacts to Lathan’s hushed voice, lengthening his spine and tilting his head. “Alright,” he breathes back, refamiliarizing himself with his surroundings. Lathan trails behind him as he beelines for the little GOTHIC LITERATURE section, aptly located in the darkened corner under the balcony. Kylo scans the spines while Lathan hovers, glancing back at the curious librarian at the front desk craning her neck to watch them.
“Come here.” With a few books hugged to his chest, Kylo plops down on the velvet loveseat under the stairs to the second floor. Lathan sits down beside him and lays an arm around the back of the loveseat, behind the shoulders of his date. Their legs touch, and he fills with warmth being so close to him. When he looks over the two books he’s brought with him, Lathan’s flattered to see his favourite piece of literature amidst the bundle. He remembered.
“Can I read to you?” Kylo asks, his passion just about bubbling over. “Just a few of my favourite excerpts.”
Lathan leans close, breathing him in quietly. He’s noticed a certain smell to werewolves after his exchanges with Kylo. It’s not a bad scent by any means—quite intoxicating, actually. He smells so alive , in so many definitions of the word. “Of course.”
Kylo smiles and picks up the first, The Picture of Dorian Gray , flipping through quickly, then having to double back, until he hits the right page. He clears his throat before reading the passage: “‘ I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them. ’” He holds the page with his thumb and closes the book over it to talk. “It’s short, but it’s always resonated with me.”
“Mm. Too many people are at war with the things they feel, and just assume that’s a normal battle to fight.” He side-eyes the wolf, studying the way his ear points. How have I never been attracted to wolves before him?
“Totally.” He sighs with relief and then picks up Frankenstein . “Okay, I could quote this whole book at you, but I’ll just give you this: ‘ Yet how many things are we upon the brink of becoming acquainted if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries. ’”
Kylo’s voice absorbs into Lathan’s skin, the literature ruminating within him. He could write a thesis around Mary Shelley’s quoted novel, structuring a personal essay around his fears, his anxieties about being so different from Kylo. Their literal biologies aren’t comparable. And he doesn’t want to dwell on it, but so much has happened so damn fast between them that he can’t escape it. It’s in his head, how dangerous this can be. How it’s ended poorly for other people. But should that fear stop him? Can it stop him from loving Kylo? The emotions he’s built weren’t exactly by choice. Am I a coward?
“She was brilliant. I aspire to write like her one day,” Kylo says, awestruck, tracing the dog-eared pages of the timely book.
“You like writing?” Lathan looks up from the opened book to the dreams swirling around Kylo’s chocolatey eyes.
“Yeah.” A smile pulls his lips, the kind you can’t control—Lathan can see him try. “But I haven’t really tried my hand at fiction yet. I mostly write poetry.”
“Really? Wow.” Lathan’s intrigued. Impressed. His adoration grows tenfold with the simple reveal. So he’s creative, too. “What kind of poetry do you write?”
“Usually whatever comes to mind.” He adds the book to the small table in front of their knees and then lifts his butt from the seat. Reaching a bit awkwardly into his back pocket—the fabric snug—he slips out a small, beat-up pocket book with a bright orange cover and a miniature, dulled pencil strapped to its side. “It’s not the best, the structure isn’t professional, but I write from the heart.”
“Damn, you really are a writer. I didn’t know you carried a notebook with you.” He almost laughs, not expecting the pocketbook, and keeps his eyes on it to try and lessen the intensity of what he’s about to ask. “Can I hear one of them?” Poetry is so personal, I probably shouldn’t have asked. But I just… I need to know his thoughts.
“I don’t share my writing much…” He nibbles on his bottom lip, mulling the idea over. Lathan’s about to wave a hand and say never mind , but Kylo nods and swivels to face his date, taking in a big breath.
“Like thorns on a rose bush
So sharp and beautiful
You pricked me
And I fell
“Every waking moment
I became entangled
In thoughts
Of you
“Now I hopelessly crave
To become the earth
Your roots will devour
Body and soul
“So my mouth will bloom roses
That sing the name
Of the man I love.”
He doesn’t recite the final word that completes the poem, but he doesn’t cover it with his thumb, either, which quivers below the name: Lathan.
Silence. Even his breathing can’t be heard under the echoey chamber below the balcony—and he eventually realizes he’s not breathing at all. But he can’t seem to fill his lungs, can’t move forward from this moment. The beautiful verses that tell of his first encounter with Kylo—as rash and irresponsible as it was—to how it never quite left him. Much how it never left Lathan. He hears his own experiences reflected in the lines, almost verbatim, and his heart shimmies so fast against his ribs that he starts to become lightheaded. He stares at the handwriting in Kylo’s lap, at his name sketched into permanence.
“That’s…,” he starts, trying his damnedest to formulate something. He tries to look at the man beside him, but his gaze fails when he finds him staring, waiting, and his eyes are back on his inked name. “That’s beautiful, Ky.”
With the lengthy silence, Kylo’s voice seems so loud as he goes to speak. In fact, it’s the loudest he’s ever heard the wolf, louder than his flustered panicking, his shifted werewolf snarls—even though his voice is barely above a whisper.
“I’m in love with you.”
For the first time in years, Lathan’s blushing. A barely-there sort of dusting of pink, overwhelmed more than he’s ever been. With half the count of blood in their bodies as other beings, it takes a lot to make a vampire flushed, and it’s usually from alcohol consumption or overheating from the sun.
He’s horrible with words, with emotions. He wasn’t shown, growing up, how to express them, so he doesn’t. But he wants to. Kylo makes him want to.
Sliding his arm from the back of the loveseat, he wraps Kylo’s neck and pulls him into a deep embrace. “I adore you,” he breathes into his skin, counting the tempo of his heightened pulse against his warm cheek. “And I love you, too.”
Kylo sucks in air, as if shocked to have his declaration volleyed back to him, and Lathan pulls back enough to cup his jaw and kiss him. When their lips break it’s only for a second before meeting again. Lathan’s flooded with so much warmth, but with it comes more responsibility.
“I want to be with you. Properly with you. I don’t have doubts about that,” he says when they do actually pull away from each other. He pauses, tilting his head slightly with his crawling nervousness, his honesty. “But it isn’t going to be…simple. You’re okay with that? With what people might say?”
“I want you . Let people talk, I don’t care.” His breath warms the close space between them.
“Even your family?” Lathan presses. “You’re closer to them than I am with mine. If they hated us…would you be hurt?” And that’s just it; Lathan realizes that’s what he’s actually hung up on. Kylo being hurt. He doesn’t care about himself. His parents basically hate him already, and he doesn’t have close friends. He has no one he’d care about the opinion of, except for Kylo.
Kylo adjusts his grip on Lathan’s face, tilting it so they’re properly eye-to-eye. “They won’t hate us,” he says firmly. “But if they do, fuck ‘em. I don’t get to choose my family, but I do get to choose you .”
Lathan exhales, and then properly chuckles, a bit embarrassed with himself. “Who’s the cool and collected one now?”
Kylo drops his face and springs to hug Lathan with a giddy smile and a laugh. His force pushes Lathan’s back onto the arm of the loveseat, but he’s too happy to pay attention to the sting of his clawed wounds. He wraps himself around Kylo, with one leg draped off the seat, foot placed flat on the library floor. He kisses him passionately from below him, his hands going from loving to searching, forgetting they’re in public. Their loud giggles and lip-smacking in the quiet library catches the attention of a staff member, and the boys startle when she hovers over them, presses her finger to her lips, and shushes loudly. The angry look on her face aptly explains her thoughts on the situation. Kylo sits up with an apologetic look, holding his breath as she walks away, and then bursts out laughing.
Lathan joins him, and together they sing a chorus of embarrassed, but beautifully happy laughter.
“We better go,” he says, standing and smoothing out his jacket. “They’re closing soon, anyways.”
He holds out his hand for Kylo to take.