Apple Smirnoff

The blonde head nods slowly. "In a minute, okay? Just hold on a second," he whispers quietly, planting a kiss on her forehead. Feeling quite full, he lowers her to her back onto the mattress, silently thanking her. She has no idea what she's done for him. The hunger pains are gone and he feels rejuvenated, better than he has in weeks. He props her head on the pillow and crosses her slender arms over her stomach.

Groaning as she's moved around, she lets out a long sigh as she's finally allowed to rest on her mattress, her body sinking into the sheets. She was hungry, tired, and her neck throbbed. Two fingers came up and gently pressed on the spot where it hurt the most, and she bit her lip again so she wouldn't scream out, worsening the cut on her lip. Great. Now her neck and her lip stung, not to mention she was cold.

On top of all that, the small throb between her legs had only gotten worse as he had pulled his fingers. So now she was hungry, tired, in pain, cold, and aroused. Augh.

Pushing himself off the bed, he zips his pants back up. He turns on his heels and shuffles out of the room towards her small kitchen. She needed some nourishment before she went to sleep or she could slip into a coma. Sugar and fruit juice worked the best, and he searches her refrigerator first. There's a carton of orange juice and he pulls it out. Gripping a glass from the cabinet nearby, he sniffs around for some snack cakes or something similar. There's a box of cookies in the pantry and he figures that will do. Pouring the orange juice into the glass, he replaces the carton back into the refrigerator and returns to her room with the drink and cookies in hand.

Sitting down onto the mattress next to his new partner, he nudges her arm gently. "Sakura, hey... drink this and eat some of these, okay?"

Dull green eyes peer at the body next to her before she attempts to sit up. Was she really that tired? Wincing and grunting after a moment, she manages to sit up enough where the juice won't spill all over her and she won't choke on the cookies. Huh. That was thoughtful of him.

“Thank you,” she whispers before taking the glass and downing half the cup, taking a long sigh when the rim is pulled from her lips. The room is quiet except for her munching on the cookies, and she stares quietly at her white comforter. What could she say?

Once he's sure she'll be able to finish her snack easily, he nods at her and gets up once more. "Hold on one more second, alright? I'll be right back, I promise." Wandering the hall looking for her bathroom, he finally finds it and moves inside. His hand grasps at the light switch as he flips it on and looks for a small hand towel. Pulling one from the rack next to the shower, he holds it under the sink and turns on the cool water, soaking it for a few minutes.

Brighter green eyes, now that she's gotten some nutrition and he isn't sucking the life out of her, blink at him curiously as he walks out of the room again, listening to him shuffle around her apartment. Well, he made himself at home. But she can't complain, she feels like a little kid again and her mother is taking care of her. The thought makes her smile slightly, and the twinge of pain to lessen.

Returning to her room, he sits back down at her side once more. He pulls the almost empty glass from her and sets it on the nightstand near her bed. She's still munching a cookie and he allows her to finish, pulling himself up next to her and stretching out. His arm wedges behind her and he pulls her closer to him. Raising his other hand, he gently dabs at her forehead and neck with the moist rag.

Her eyes slide closed once more when a cool rag wipes at her forehead once he returns, leaning her head into the hand that's leading the refreshing cool cloth. How could he know it's what her mother used to do when she was sick as a kid? Automatically she's soothed, not only from the little bit of food and the tender care, but that a person, er vampire, could care about her when he hardly knows her.

What the hell was he doing? Nursing one of his victims, bringing her a snack to help her recover... cuddling? He can honestly say he'd never done this before. Not that he wouldn't do it, just that he hadn't. For some reason he once again feels a deep connection with her and he has no idea why.

Still wiping her brow gently, he sighs. "Are you feeling okay? Do you want me to stay and make sure you're alright tonight?"

“Only if you want,” her voice is a little clearer and stronger, not that frog's croak she had heard earlier. With a little bit of hesitation, she grabs the wrist that's holding the cloth in his hand, and leads her eyes up to his face, still a little flushed from his feeding. His feeding of her blood. “But thank you.”

A genuine smile spreads across his lips as his bright blue eyes stare deeply into her emerald ones. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be right now," he purrs, ignoring the depressing thoughts of his dark apartment and lonely life thus far. If she would just be a small part of his existence, he knows everything would be immensely better and easier to handle.

But how would she feel about that? The evening had started with him hunting and stalking her and evolved into him nursing and caring for her. It was a strange reversal that still has him confused and not fully understanding what was going on. Was he so lonely before that he could cling so desperately to the first stranger that had shown him kindness and allowed him to feel the comfort of mutual company? 

A long dormant part of his personality awakens deep within him and he feels a strong protectiveness over his new partner. Being the predatory creature that he was brought with it a powerful territorial instinct, but whereas his behavior once involved a possessiveness of a large part of the inner city, it now seemed to be focused on a single human being.

Whatever the cause of his strange behavior, he silently resolves to watch over and observe her in order to protect her and try to understand just what it was that had him acting so unlike himself.

"I'll be right here with you if you need anything."

His voice is so soothing that now, she can't resist the pull of sleep. But she has to ask one more question before she's pulled under, one last spark of curiosity that wills her to have her thoughts answered. “Do vampires sleep?” she shuffles around a yawn, her jaw stretching and making a small twinge in her neck to make her eyebrow twitch. Would that take long to heal? She doesn't know if she can give an excuse that seemed believable enough to the people who could quite possibly get too curious at school.

School. She wondered what her friends were doing now? The club was probably still open, but it was doubtful they were still there. Would they wonder where she had disappeared to? Did anyone even see that she had walked off with some strange blond male? She's pretty sure the only one who had paid even a little bit of attention to them was the bartender working there. If anything, it was possible he forgot their faces. There were so many people there.

Too much thinking. Her head hurts from everything that has happened through the night, her drinking, the loud music, getting 2 pints and half a cup of blood sucked out of her, it can all pile up on a person. “Mmhmm,” she mumbles, feeling her breathing getting even.

Sleep. How long had it been? Around a hundred years? He hadn't slept since that first week after he had changed. At first he could fall asleep, but after a few days it had become impossible. He blamed his insomnia on the nightmares that haunted him those first days, but as time wore on, it became gradually clearer that he would never sleep again. His body didn't require it anymore, but that didn't mean he didn't miss it.

"No," he responds quietly. How weird this must be to her, especially now that she knew he didn't sleep. Would she feel awkward with him holding her all night? He notices a slight pained expression on her face as she fights back a yawn and he leans forward to kiss her temple softly. The displays of affection towards her were becoming second nature already and he hopes she doesn't mind. He had never had a friend as close as she was, which was a bit sad to think of when considering they had just met that evening and they knew almost nothing of each other... except his huge secret.

Tomorrow he needs to get to know her, after school or whatever she had.

"I just think a lot," he continues, whispering quietly because he knows she's drifting closer to the sleep he wishes he could partake in.

She didn't think so. If those dark circles under his eyes were any indication, but she had to make sure. “Could you wake me up,” she shifts slightly on the bed, so she's turned on her side and facing his front. “Around six? I have a project I need to finish before...” A hum finishes her sentence, and she's already drifted off. Finally the weight of everything comes crashing down, and she goes along with it, body going lip and chest rising and falling evenly. It was a wonder how such a small girl had been able to withstand so much in just one night.

Would he be gone in the morning? It would probably hurt a little to see him gone, however unorthodox it was. Would he melt in the sun like the legends foretold? For his sake she hoped it was either cloudy or raining tomorrow, so the sun would be hidden in the clouds. She wasn't quite ready to lose her new acquaintance just yet. An overwhelming protectiveness enveloped her in her dreams. Protective of a vampire? Was she crazy? She must be, as offering her blood to a vampire was a sure sign.

The suddenness of her passing out has him concerned at first. Two fingers reach up and check her pulse and he listens carefully to her breathing. It seemed like she really had just fallen asleep, so he lets out a relieved sigh. The poor girl was exhausted and it was all his fault. A good night's sleep alone might not be enough to help her, and he winces at the fact that she needs to get up early, hoping she would feel better in the morning.

He settles into his nightly routine of thinking, except this time he has a warm body to keep him company. His arms wrap tightly around her unconsciously as his mind wanders. He planned on staying tomorrow. There was no telling what the weather was going to be like and he hadn't payed attention to the report, believing he would be safely at his own home before morning. There was no harm in being out in the day as long as it was cloudy or overcast, but he might be stuck in her apartment until evening came.

Envy settles over him as he watches her sleep peacefully. What he wouldn't give to have that peace for a change. He marvels at the fact that she can sleep at all, being held by a monster like himself, much less with such an at ease look on her face. 

Morning comes slowly to the waiting vampire. The clock nearby flashes the numbers six and zero and he sighs. His hand reaches up and strokes her cheek gently as he shifts a bit, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Hey, Sakura?" he whispers, trying to be as gentle as possible in his rousing, "it's six o'clock." He nudges her gently and nuzzles her cheek with his own.

A rather unladylike grunt is his answer, she closes her eyes more tightly at her pounding head and throbbing neck. Something familiar and sweet invades her nose, and a memory of blond hair and blue eyes aids the rousing her bed partner was giving her. Augh. She didn't feel like she got any. What had happened? It sort of felt like she was hit by a car a few times. But this person knew to wake her up at six, so it must be someone she knows or talked to.

Her hand curls around her neck where it's throbbing, feeling two marks on the side. Oh yeah. Vampire. And vampire was in her bed right now, nuzzling and stroking her cheek, not to mention kissing her forehead. He must have been an outcast, or vampires were actually very affectionate when they weren't hungry.

“Already?” she moans, burying her face into the pillow under her head. She had to get up at six to finish her project. A book report on, ironically enough, 'Dracula' in her English class. Maybe...

What was his name again? Well, whatever it was, he could help her with it. Not that she needed it. But a second opinion is nice. “Okay. I'm awake.”

"Good," he replies with a goofy smile, sitting up and pulling her with him. "You need to get up and do your report or whatever." There's no telling if she's a morning person or not. She very well could be, but with all that happened last night, who could expect her to feel nice and refreshed? Steadying her, he pulls himself off the bed and grabs her empty glass from last night. "I'll get you some more juice to get you awake."

“Okay, mom” she wrinkles her nose at him slightly, but a smile dances on the corners of her mouth. What a weird vampire. He was warm, caring, and gentle in the morning when vampires were supposed to be cold, only did for their own needs, and primal. However primal he was last night, this motherly new Naruto -that was his name- was kind of...

Adorable.

Definitely not a common term used to describe what he was.

He shuffles across her bedroom floor towards the hall, deliberately avoiding the window. It's still barely dawn but he can't tell if it'll be a cloudy day or not. Remembering the way to her kitchen, he quickly finds it and pulls the carton out of refrigerator, finishing off the last of the orange juice by pouring it into her glass. His eye catches sight of some aspirin and he grabs the bottle, knowing she probably had a hangover from the alcohol, not to mention the pain in her neck.

Sakura's smile widens when he walks out of her room, and she takes the time to stretch her arms and body, only having to wince once at the pain in her neck. Some aspirin might be nice for that problem. Could he read minds? It would be a useful but annoying trait to have. And it looks like luck is actually on her side today. She doesn't see any sunshine filtering through the blinds, which means it's a cloudy February day. Perfect day for vampires.

'You are officially insane now, Sakura.' she mentally groaned.

The blond returns to her side and offers the glass. "Drink up, you need your strength." Popping the cap off the bottle of medicine, he shakes a few pills out onto his palm. "Here... these will help."

She looks up from her stretch when her vampire is in her line of vision again. Her vampire? Wasn't some kind of ritual needed for that? She still felt human. And is a little glad for it, one life might be enough for her, and offering him a grateful smile, she takes the glass and pills. “Thanks again.” She swallows them quickly, mentally willing the pills to work sooner. It's hard to keep her eyes open with a pounding headache.

"No problem," he answers, watching her take the pills and a few sips from her drink. He remembers hangovers from before. Not anymore, though. No matter how much he drank, there was no getting drunk. A girl her size must really suffer. She probably had terrible hangovers after only a few drinks. How much had she drunk last night? Well, he only saw the one, but she had probably had a few before he saw her.

Hangovers were probably the worst part of a long night at the club. Sakura had gotten used to it the more she went out, but she supposed she couldn't help the fact that she was a bit of a lightweight when it came to alcohol. Drinking more often usually resulted in a higher tolerance, but not so in her case. A few drinks of the strong stuff and she was done pretty early for the night.

"So what's this report about?" Naruto asks offhandedly. He remembered waiting till the last minute to do reports. He had tried the whole school thing for awhile when he was really bored once. Turned out more boring and bothersome than sitting around doing nothing all day, so he dropped out. It's not like it matters. If he really wanted to go back, he could. He had all the time in the world.

Scooting onto the bed more, he stretches out and rests his head on the pillow, staring up at ceiling. He watches her carefully, noting she still twinged a little at some neck pain. His eyes drifted towards the window and he noticed that there was still no sun peeking through. Looked like it was going to be a dreary day, the best kind for him. Although he still kind of wanted to stick around her apartment all day...

She gave him a short laugh at his question. Well, what would be worse? Answering him and having it awkward, or not and having him keep asking until he finally figured it out when she pulled out the book, and then having it awkward. No matter what, it looked like a lose-lose situation. Taking a deep breath, she shuffled off the bed, stumbling over to the bed because for a moment, it seemed like she had forgotten how to walk.

He watches as she stumbles out of the bed and across the room, grinning at her a bit as she reaches the stacks of books. She was having a bit of trouble shuffling around, probably due to the combination of the hangover and the weakness from the blood donation last night. Rolling to his side, he props his face up on his elbow.

“Dracula,” she mumbled, pulling out the novel from the stack of books in the corner and showing him the cover. Dracula was probably the reason why she expected vampires to be dark, but Naruto totally ruined that image with his caring and bright eyes. “We have to find symbols, motifs, those kind of things in here. I just have to finish the last chapter and then I can start my report.”

Dracula. That has to make him laugh a little. What an interesting coincidence that was. Well, now he knew what she thought vampires were like. What did she think of him, though? Dracula sure had the market cornered on the stereotypical vampire. It was mostly just a silly fiction, though, even though several of the ones Naruto knew played to that stereotype.

"Dracula, eh? Didn't know him personally," he teases. Patting the bed, he motions for her to join him. He felt more at ease when she was close by, for some reason. "So, what did you think of the story? Want some help?" Scratching his cheek, he sighs quietly. "I bet you had your mind made up about me when you realized what I was."

"Did I disappoint?"

Ah well, she knew there was going to be /some/ kind of teasing reaction to that bit of information. Although she's surprised it's not awkward. He seems rather amused at it all. She's not sure if she would have been too if she had been a vampire. He was so weird. The complete opposite of what she was expecting, and he was probably more human than some actual people she knew.

“I suppose not,” she sighs, “you only look to be in your twenties. Dracula was said to be hundreds of years old.” But he didn't look hundreds of years old either. Maybe it was the same in all cases. Just because Naruto didn't fit the 'perfect vampire' description, didn't mean he really was twenty or so years old. He could be alive for thousands of years.

Whoa. Too old for her. Would that fall under the category of pedophile if they were thousands of years apart? She was only twenty one after all.

“So far it's interesting, though I have to ask if some of the myths are true,” she joins him back on the bed, laying on her side and facing him, watching with careful green eyes. “Like, does garlic ward you away? Does a stake through the heart kill you? Do holy water and crucifixes burn you?” Those stupid things she's read and heard about. She waits for a reaction, not knowing if he would be offended or remain amused.

Amused seems to win and a sly smile spreads across his face and her eyebrow raises.He was some kind of animal, but when he smiles like that she's reminded of a fox. Was she the rabbit? She had felt like one last night, running from him constantly and he had chased her, purring and luring her closer until he finally got what he wanted. Bet he wasn't expecting her to give it willingly though. She's probably the first to be crazy enough to do that.

But such fun myths. Where did they come up with those things? Naruto wondered. That same smile remains as she names off a few silly legends and crazy half truths. His hand reaches for his chest and scratches idly at his shirt while he takes a moment to think. At least she had payed attention to her book, however goofy the fiction might be.

"I'm of legal age, if that's what you were wondering," he grins as he draws circles on her mattress. How old was he again? He tried not to think of his past as much as he could, but he didn't mind satisfying her curiosity. After all, in a way he wanted her to know all about him. It made him feel like he had a friend. "I'm one hundred and twenty-one... I was twenty-one when it happened so I'll always look like this."

The feeding from last night had put him in a good mood, his true mood. He only got predatory and feral after going long without eating, so it was nice to be himself for awhile. It only amuses him to humor her with answers so he continues. "As for garlic, doesn't bother me. I actually like garlic bread and stuff like that. Stakes don't kill." He had been staked before, wasn't pleasant but he lived... which was more than the staker could say. "As far as I know, the only way for us to die is to be beheaded and burned... or sunlight of course, it slowly burns us away. Very painful. Holy water and crucifixes have no affect. I guess they assume we're some evil beings when we're really just another type of... animal I guess."

“So you've been this way for a hundred years?” she asked rhetorically. Wow. She couldn't imagine having such a life. Everyone you knew was dead, you had no friends, being in a relationship with only those of your kind. Were the females as pretty as the males? Wait. Had she just unknowingly called him pretty? Well, he certainly had pretty blue eyes. His face wasn't bad to look at either.

Okay, he was kind of pretty.

A hundred years. A long, lonely one hundred years. At first it was easy with his friends being still alive, but as they started dying off and he was left ageless, it became more and more difficult. He settled into a deep depression and a routine, going for as long as he could without drinking and then finally giving in. Hate filled his soul every time he had to do it. Only monsters took from others, and he was the worst kind.

She nodded with each explanation. Those myths didn't seem very believable anyway, especially the bit with sacred objects. “Guess you won't be here for the summer, huh?” she smiled a little, lips turning up. It was unbearably hot here in the summer, getting to one hundred degrees. She wondered where he went during that time. There had to be certain cities under a constant cloud cover or dark more often than light, he could hide in, or he really was buried away in darkness for those months like she imagined others would be. It couldn't be very fun and she's surprised he wasn't as crazy as her.

Though he was an animal, that's for sure. The perfect predator.

"The summer..." he repeated nonchalantly. It's true, he did leave during the hotter and brighter months, usually going as far north as possible where the nights were long and cold. It didn't matter before when he was leaving nothing behind, but things might change now. He had a friend, for the first time in decades. Could he shut himself up in the north again without the one person that seemed to be comfortable around him?

Covens never appealed to him. They were so different from the way he was. They were darker and didn't care to feed when they wanted, sometimes doing so several times a week. There was one when he was younger that he had tried to be a part of, but things just ended in confrontation and death. Then again, he couldn't be with humans either because of what he was. 

No matter where he went, he would never be accepted.

"Sometimes I leave, but we'll see."

She finally felt the awkwardness she was prepared for settle over them, and she cleared her throat, tugging her book up and flipping to the last chapter. Her eyes roamed the page, trying to let the words sink in, but his presence so close, distracted her. It stung when she bit the inside of her cheek, wincing when she tasted blood again on her tongue. Great. 'Just keep your mouth closed, Sakura,' she told herself, sucking it off her cheek.

Last night's donation wasn't enough she supposed.

Sunday's were usually incredibly lazy in her apartment. It was her one day off. Mondays through Fridays she had school, Saturday's were party night, and days like this were for recuperating. Eyes trailed from the uninteresting words she was attempting to read to her cell phone on the floor behind Naruto. It must have fell out of her pocket when he carried her inside.

If he left, would he take her with him? She usually got a job in the summer, but a vacation sounded nice. Being alive for one hundred years, you were bound to have money, right? And she could be his constant food source in return, if he wanted. Two pints every week.

What a fucked up mind she had. Was she considering it?

The more he watches her the more he almost thinks he can read her mind. He had heard of the more powerful of his kind being able to read minds. It usually came after several centuries. Whether they could actually read minds or just had had several hundred years of practice of reading emotions, nobody really knew. Perhaps he'd find out when he was older. His kind got more powerful with age.

It almost feels like he can read her. Observant blue eyes notice a wince at one point as she tries to concentrate on her book. Her neck was still in pain, or something else? Her cheek sucked in and he decided she had bitten it in their awkward moment. Did she feel uncomfortable around him? Well, it wouldn't surprise him. After all, he was a bloodsucking freak of nature.

There's something else in her eyes though as he notices her looking behind him. What was it? He didn't have enough practice yet to truly understand whatever it was, so he lets it slide. His hand slides across the mattress and starts to caress her arm as he watches her.

"I can leave if I make you uncomfortable..."