Chapter 49 Oh. He burst out in shock
The days passed. Passed in a flurry of exotic outings and the hot press of skin against skin, mouths locked together and the taste and scent of them mixing until Cullen could no longer separate them at all, no longer remember what he even smelled like.
It didn’t concern him as much as it might once have.
And the next time they emerged from their hellish realm, Cullen was startled to see that the human town they walked into was decorated in white and rainbow lights.
Red and green decorations lined each business they passed, and the scent of chocolate was strong in the air, courtesy of the vendors lined along the streets, most of them selling candy or various cups of steaming cocoa.
“It’s Christmas.” He whispered, feeling as if somebody had punched him in the chest.
“Fucking hell.” Leviathan hissed, wrapping his arms tightly around his chest. They’d both worn nothing more than light jackets to come out tonight. “I hate this damn season.”
Cullen tsked. “This is the best time of the year.”
“It is not!” He objected, reaching for his wrist. “It’s cold and icy and snow is so sparkly it makes me cringe.” His fingers curled around his wrist. “Let’s go home. We’ll come back when it's warm again–”
Cullen pulled away from him with a small frown, irritation making the movement harsher than he’d meant it. But–
“Walker didn’t like Christmas either.” He said quietly. Leviathan’s gaze went tight with displeasure. Cullen stared expectantly back at him, his face pinched unhappily. He hadn’t meant the words to hit something so deep–but they had. For both of them.
Slowly, rage flickering in his eyes, Leviathan smiled and took his hand.
“We can stay for a while, I guess.” He grimaced down at his own chest. “Different clothes will be necessary though.” He snapped his fingers and Cullen felt the familiar brush of fabric against his skin.
A twitch of surprise escaped him when he saw the long, dark frock coat that was now draped around his shoulders.
“Oh.” He burst out in shock, his face reddening as he glanced towards the mouth of the alley, where people teemed along the busy street. “This is very…vintage.”
“You don’t like it?”
His blush deepened. “It’s not that I–” He broke off, his eyes widening as he watched Leviathan adjust his own coat, a dark gray fabric that hung to his thighs, the lapels folded neatly and the front of it buttoned tight, showing his thick frame and tight waist.
“Cullen?”
He jerked, his eyes going back up to his face. “What?”
Leviathan smiled. “You were saying you don’t like the coats?”
“No, I…” He sucked in a breath and shifted a bit to calm his body. “I like them. You look…” He swallowed hard. “Wow.”
Leviathan chuckled and took his hand. The gloves that separated their skin irritated him. “You look amazing as well, my love.”
Cullen doubted he looked that good, but he took the compliment anyway, smiling sheepishly before turning for the exit of the alley, his hand tight on Leviathan’s.
They’d hardly made it out of the alley before Cullen drew him towards a vendor, a smile spreading across his face as he took in the small hot chocolate bombs the woman was selling.
Leviathan handed money over to him without a word and Cullen was quick to buy two of the little bombs, tucking them away into the deep pockets of his coat.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Leviathan shiver and grimace, as if the cold really was bothering him, though Cullen thought it was quite warm in this teeming crowd.
He found himself smirking in response, remembering how hard it had been for his body to adjust to that smoky realm of fire in the beginning. Let the bastard suffer a little bit.
They moved on, Cullen pausing at a few other stands, buying everything from a gingerbread man keychain–grinning wickedly at the horrified look Leviathan gave him when he plopped it into his hand–to a large pack of chocolate candy canes that Leviathan grimaced at once before flicking his fingers at it.
The box vanished. After a long moment of glaring, Leviathan rolled his eyes and promised him it was waiting in their bedroom back home.
Cullen smiled and moved on, not stopping again until he found a stand selling hot chocolate.
He bought two cups and offered one to Leviathan with a proud smile.
He eyed the drink suspiciously before taking it, bringing it to his nose for a small sniff. He made a face.
“Haven’t you ever had hot cocoa?” Cullen demanded.
“No.” He muttered, lowering the cup. “I’ve been locked away for the last few hundred years, remember? And anything I could taste through their senses was…dull. Almost flavorless.”
Cullen smiled softly and pushed his finger to the bottom of the styrofoam cup, raising it back up to his mouth. “Try it.”
Grimacing, Leviathan took a small sip. His eyes popped wide.
“Pretty good, right?” Cullen grinned.
After a moment, Leviathan smirked. “Well, it’s not the blood of a virgin, but it’s pretty good.”
Cullen winced. “Come on. Don’t say stuff like that here.” Not that he really wanted to hear it while they were alone either, but he saw several people throw them strange glances and flinched again, quickly pulling Leviathan away from them.
Leviathan remained quiet while Cullen buzzed along the stands, getting food for them–giant marshmallows and vanilla cookies, and some type of donuts smothered in sugar–and paused to watch some sort of show the ice skaters were doing across a large frozen pond.
Wherever they were, these people really loved the Christmas season.
Cullen thought it might have been one of his favorite places in the whole world.
Leviathan followed along, sipping his hot cocoa.
It wasn’t until the cup ran dry that he poked Cullen in the shoulder and waved it in front of him.
He raised an eyebrow, but couldn’t help the way his lips curled into a smile. “Is that your subtle way of asking for more?”
Leviathan gave him a withering look before darting his eyes off to the side and holding the cup closer to him.
Cullen grinned and took it from him, leading him back to the stand they’d bought it from.
He told the smiling vendor to add marshmallows this time and saw Leviathan throw him a surprised, curious glance.
Seconds later, he had made a startled, pleased sound, plucking one of the white puffs from his drink before popping it into his mouth.
Cullen chuckled and led him away from the stand.
“‘Thank you, Cullen’.” He muttered, rolling his eyes. Leviathan chuckled and hooked an arm around his shoulders.
“You’re the best, Cull. I’m having the servants make this for every meal from now on.
” He eyed the drink. “I bet they could do better than this human drivel, really.” He unhooked his arm and nudged him with his elbow.
“Let’s go home. I’m freezing my balls off.
And I don’t think either of us would like it if that happened. ”
“Shut up.” Cullen scoffed, his face growing warm despite the soft laugh that escaped him.
“Such a damn pervert.” He gave a quick glance around, noticing that the festival did seem to be shutting down for the night.
“Okay, one more stand and we can go for tonight.” Though he would most certainly be convincing Leviathan to bring him back here tomorrow.
Leviathan grumbled an agreement, but Cullen had already walked away from him, nudging his way through the crowd until he found a stand that had caught his eye earlier.
Seconds later, he had returned to Leviathan, an embarrassingly large unicorn cotton candy in one hand. He held it up with a grin, laughter bubbling in his chest when he saw Leviathan’s shock.
“You’ll like this. It’s candy.”
“I am not eating a damn unicorn. Do I look like a child to you?”
“No, you look like a grumpy old man with a sweet tooth. So here.” He tore some of the soft candy off and brought it to his lips. “Open.”
“No.”
Cullen scowled. “Do I need to snap your ankle to get you to do it? Just open your mouth.” He added, ignoring the smirk that flickered to Leviathan’s lips.
“Please?” He tried, softening his glare.
A thoughtful look passed over his face before he turned his head to the side, pressing his lips into a tight line. “And what do I get out of that?”
He hesitated, hearing the implication beneath the words.
Sex. That was always the key with Leviathan. But it seemed like he was asking for something…different this time.
Slowly, nerves fluttering in his belly, he lifted his face, putting his lips as close to his ear as he could get. “Try it…and we can try something different tonight.”
“Different?” Leviathan purred, turning his face so that Cullen’s lips brushed his cheek. “What did you have in mind, pet?”
He swallowed hard, a slow burn starting to flow along his skin. “I…I don’t have anything…”
“Don’t you?” Leviathan asked softly, his lips moving to his ear. “How about I give you exactly what you’ve always wanted?”
He exhaled shakily. “I don’t…”
Slowly, Leviathan pinched off some of the candy and popped it into his mouth, his lips twitching up into a smile while they watched each other. Cullen saw his throat move and swallowed hard, panic tearing into him as Leviathan stepped towards him.
Stupid. Stupid to offer something different. Who knew what Leviathan might do? Even if Cullen was interested in…more…to do those things with someone like Leviathan…
He moved away, letting a playful smile flicker on his face as he backed into an alley, ignoring the people that glanced up at them as they walked by. Leviathan’s eyes did not leave his face, his gaze growing dark and playful as he followed him.