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“Too much power for someone so young,” Marius had sighed, shaking his head with disappointment, when Armand had returned from his first solo hunt. His words had hurt Armand more than he could say, but at this moment, as he watched the blood drip from the walls of the small apartment, he began to understand what he meant.
“Oops,” Daniel said, shrugging as he looked at the remnants of the body slumped onto the floor, the head now squashed like overly ripe fruit.
Armand pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes, as he took a long, deep breath. Of all the things to do, slamming the head of a victim into the wall so hard that their head exploded was not what Armand had prepared for.
“Let’s just…” Armand gritted his teeth as Daniel looked around him, a bored expression on his face. “Clean this mess up.”
An hour later, Armand has the body wrapped in an old blanket with plastic taped around to keep it shut. He’s scrubbed the blood off the walls, torn up the carpet, and bleached the surfaces. All he had to do was air out the rooms when the sun went down.
Armand rolled his shoulders, squeezing his stiff muscles, before relaxing his arm again. He sighed and turned around again, facing Daniel as he sat on the floor, flipping through a random notebook in his satchel. Armand’s jaw tightened at the clear disinterest as he resisted the urge to scream at him.
He pushed his hand through his hair and sighed before dropping onto one of the small chairs, crossing one leg over the other. He glared down at Daniel as he yawned, his large fangs sharp and stained with blood, before scoffing as he shook his head.
Daniel spared him a glance before shuffling where he lay on the floor. He crossed his arms over his stomach and closed his eyes, like he planned to take a nap.
Armand scoffed again, sneering as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Would you keep it down?” Daniel said. “I’m trying to take a nap,”
Armand knew what he should do. He should remain calm and not act out. He should teach by example, like Marius would. He shouldn’t do anything rash. Then again, Marius also used to beat him, and he would never – well, he would try not to do that. He also used to sell Armand to people, and he wouldn’t sell Daniel to anyone. (The quiet possessive voice in the back of his head whispered to him mine, mine, mine, but Armand forced it down.) So, there were already so many differences in the way Marius and he approached being a Maker; why stop there?
Armand rushed across the room and grabbed Daniel by the back of the neck, forcing him to his feet and resisting the urge to slam his head into the wall, similarly to what Daniel had done to the victim earlier.
“What the hell?!” Daniel snapped, struggling against Armand’s tight grip.
“Quiet,” Armand hissed. He tightened his grip and held Daniel firm as he tried to wiggle from his grasp. “I have had enough of you taking advantage of me,” He dropped Daniel, watching as he fumbled to the ground, and sneered down at him. “You are going to help me, do you understand? You are no longer going to sit around and wait for me to come fix all your problems.”
Daniel glared up at him and got to his feet, dusting off his clothes.
“Like hell I am!” Daniel snarled. “Neither of us would have to deal with crap like this if it weren’t for you.”
“You are a ridiculous child!” Armand shouted.
“You’re the worst maker in the world!”
“I hate you!”
“I hate you!”
The heavy silence chokes them as the room grows warm, a mutual heat burning them both from the inside out until one of them – maybe it was Armand, or it was Daniel, neither would admit it, and neither particularly cared - grabbed the other and pulled them together, catching their lips in a burning kiss, their whimpers and moans muffled between their desperate touches.
Armand pressed Daniel into the wall, his hands wandering over his body, tugging his clothes out of the way and feeling the cool skin underneath. He moved his lips over his jaw, kissing and nipping at the skin before repeating it down his neck. He lingered over the space where the quiet remnants of his heartbeat fought to be heard.
Armand sighed against the skin, sucking on it lightly before scraping his teeth over the sensitive flesh, relishing in the sensation of Daniel’s body shuddering against him. He rolled his hips forward, pressing against Daniel, as he took the reddened skin between his teeth, teasing it without the pressure to pierce the skin.
Daniel tightened his hold on Armand, muttering under his breath for Armand to hurry up, to get on with it, to do it.
Armand pulled away, stumbling back, as he breathed heavily. He ran his hands through his hair, pushing it out of his flushed face, as he tried to steady himself again.
“What the hell!?” Daniel snapped as he fumbled away from the wall. “What the fuck was that? Why’d you fucking stop?”
Armand pointed at Daniel, keeping himself at arm’s length, and spoke through gritted teeth.
“If you want something like this again,” He said. “You will behave, you will follow the rules, and you will stop causing problems for me. Do you understand?”
“And if I don’t?” Daniel said smugly, crossing his arms over his chest with a challenging look.
Armand shook his head, biting his lower lip, as he scoffed out a laugh. He laid his hands on Daniel’s chest, feeling the firm body underneath, as he stepped closer again. He lingered in Daniel’s space, his eyes flickering between Daniel’s confused gaze and his parted lips. Armand leaned forward, tilting his head to the side, before slamming his hands into Daniel’s body and throwing him through the wall, the debris crumbling around him.