Vamp Guards ✔️

E I G H T

It was nearly eight at night when Iris got back from his errands. He missed a few on his list but he stopped caring halfway through the meeting, which he barely got to on time. Two hours later he's rubbing his arm while sluggishly walking up the stairs. Having to wave goodbye and shake every hand after it was over never failed to be tiresome. On the bright side, they all knew King Arlo's son wasn't a ball of sunshine, so he got away with limited fake smiles.

When Iris got to his room he peered into the blackness with curiosity. Had Kai already checked out? He was usually up, he always waited for him job or not. Something sunk in his stomach, it was quick and light but he acknowledged it.

At least until he turned to close the door and he saw Kai standing right behind him. He jumped away like a spooked cat while slapping a hand on his chest.

"Jesus, Kai!" he gasped, "don't do that!"

"I'm sorry, I thought you heard me walking up."

Iris let out a deep sigh as he slumped into a crouch. He covered his face with his hands as he rested his elbows on his knees.

"What were you doing?" Iris angled his head but lowered it when Kai turned on the lights.

"Getting tea."

"Tea? You don't drink tea."

"I never said it was for me."

Iris looked back up to see a white mug being held out for him. His eyes skipped from its steaming state to Kai, who he almost did a double-take on due to his casual wear of a tucked in black shirt. "Oh," he mumbled and took the cup after standing.

A shiver danced down his spine as its incredible warmth tingled through him. He brought it up to his mouth considering its temperature and another shudder captured him. He hummed with utter content.

"I feel like I should be thanking you right now."

Kai shook his head with a small smile."Just let the rest of the night be silent and we'll call it even."

Iris looked up as though he had to really ponder on it. "I guess I can do that."

"Good."

"Mm, by the way." Iris brought the mug to his lips and looked over the top at the vampire while drinking. "That's bold," He used his index finger to point at him.

Kai looked down. "Oh well, I had confidence the cooks wouldn't have snitched on me. I assume I was correct."

"Orders in this house are lame." Walking to his bed, Iris placed his cup on his nightstand and sat down to begin undoing his tie. "If I was a woman, I'd never stop complaining about my feet if I had to wear heels until my duties were finished."

"You say that as though you don't do it now, as a male I mean."

Iris rolled his eyes and tossed his tie behind him. "It really is tiresome."

"They're rules."

"They're idiotic regulations that separate us from the poor. Or how they behave anyways. Just because we remain to look professional until midnight doesn't make us royalty."

"Iris, you look into these things far deeper than you should."

"I look into them enough. Apparently enough is too much to you."