The Pet Shop (bxbxb)

22. Antagonize

Warden felt something gently sift through the damp plumes of his left wing, enticing him to stretch the appendage. After a few moments of that attention he was able to figure out that someone was running a cloth slowly through the pinions. 

Cerat? 

Drake had run out to get dinner, and unless he came back silently, which was impossible, he would have woken up. He felt a hand rustle against his hair at the thought, then a cool puff of air blew over his ear. A shiver involuntarily ran through his body, earning a quiet chuckle from Cerat.  

"You're awake." 

Guess there's no way I can hide that fact now. 

Blinking sleep from his eyes, Warden yawned and began rubbing at his left one. He realized at that moment that he had a blanket over most of himself, and Cerat was sitting on the edge of the bed. 

"Hey, what are you doing?" Warden asked quietly as he pushed himself up, flexing his damp wings. 

Cerat shrugged and tugged on a pinion. "Just helping a bit. I was bored." 

"You were bored... so you decided to dry my feathers while I was taking a nap?" Warden asked, an unenthused expression on his face. 

When Cerat grinned, fangs and all, Warden rolled eyes and fell back against the pillow, letting his wings splay out on either side of him. The left one dipped slightly to the floor while the other took up the entire right side of the small bed, then hung over a little. 

"You're hungry, yeah? You could have just woken me up the normal way." He said as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes, giving a clear signal that Cerat could drink. 

He didn't hear anything for a few moments and was about to open his eyes back up when he felt the bed shift from Cerat's weight. He did his best not to tense, expecting the bite at his throat at any second. When, instead, his mouth was covered by cool lips, Warden jerked his eyes open and reached up, grasping Cerat's shoulders. 

He tried to gently push him away, but Cerat grabbed onto his right shoulder with one hand and tangled his other hand in Warden's hair. The actual kiss was surprisingly gentle considering how strong Cerat was holding him. 

A few slow, light knocks against the wooden frame by the door had Cerat leaning back and glancing over his shoulder, allowing Warden to see Drake standing in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. 

"Hey leech, let's have a chat, yeah?" 

Warden could here the anger in his voice, but was shocked about how well he was holding back. He wasn't even trying to pull Cerat off the bed or anything. Thankfully, Cerat didn't challenge him and got off right away, then walked over to stand in front of Drake. 

They watched each other for several moments before Drake glanced over at him and lifted one hand to point. "Stay there, War. I won't kill him... yet." 

Drake turned after that warning and walked out of the room, Cerat following and closing the door behind them. They walked out into the living room and as Drake pointed to the sofa, Cerat sat. He then pulled up one of the old chairs from the table and put it a foot or so away from the vampire before dropping down into it. 

"Alright, for some reason, my wolf doesn't want to tear you apart, but he sure as hell isn't happy about you trying to encroach on something he wants. So, why are you after my chicken? There are plenty of poultry in this city." Drake said, crossing his arms back over his chest as he leaned back in the chair. 

Cerat leaned back, too, but just settled his hands on either side of him as he shrugged. "I like him. He's sweet, in a frustrating way. I didn't think that when I first met him that I'd become attached."