Roleplay

(Perfect!! That does help me, lmao

Also, sorry for the late reply, sleep is a hard straw to grab hrmgh)

Samuel had been waiting close to an hour.

He expected the fledgling to have been at least a bit late, of course. He didn't seem the type of man to arrive anywhere on time, let alone a house he'd visited once while near black-out drunk. But as eight o'clock hit his watch, the hunter couldn't help but get a bit ansty in his rocking chair.

God, I even cleaned up. It had been a terrible mess. Scattered books, dishes and scrolls had littered every corner of Samuel's humble abode— layered in half an inch of dust to boot. Remind me to never let it get to that point again. It probably would, but one could only dream of a changr in habit. Maybe that weekly dusting would be the wake-up call the man needed to get his house as groomed as his personal appearance.

...Probably not.

Shot glass in hand, Samuel now sat in a chair planted firmly on his shaded porch, inhaling the scent of rain through both nostrils. Another storm... That many in such a small time had to have been some sort of bad omen, for the city or otherwise. Bad things were on the horizon.

At the sound of a man's expected footsteps, the VHA member stopped mid-sip, peering into the dark of the alley as best as his primitive eyes would allow.

(no worries dude omg i totally get it!! insomnia's been kickin my behind lately too gfhjd-)

He was so sure he'd remember the path to Samuel's home- he was so, so wrong.
The rain wasn't helping any- Theodore's memory was hazy on a good day, but the rain obscured some of the landmarks that Theodore had been using to remember the route; 'the tree with the silly looking leaves' was no longer recognizable in this weather, despite his vampiric eyesight.

Luckily, he'd brought an umbrella, so the roast chicken he'd prepared, along with a 4x6 watercolor painting of Samuel's home, were nice and dry in the wicker basket he'd borrowed from his neighbor. Still, he couldn't help but worry that Samuel would be angry- or worse, disappointed with him. Sure hope the meal makes up for it, he thought.

As soon as he turned down Samuel's street, however, he knew exactly where he was. A bright smile spread across his face as he started to jog. He made out the familiar silhouette of the man on his porch, and happily called out "Samuel! I'm here, I'm sor-"

Theodore really ought to spend more time looking where he was walking, instead of looking at Samuel. He tripped, nearly tumbling over into a puddle- he caught his balance at the last second, so instead he merely stumbled over a few feet. He glanced back up at Samuel with a sheepish smile and jogged up his porch steps, before trying to finish his sentence. "I'm very sorry for being so late, really I am.. I got lost, I don't have a good sense of direction.. uhm.. I-I still brought dinner. I do hope you can forgive me." He handed Samuel the basket with the meal and the small painting tucked away inside.

---

(i'm just describing the painting here for whenever samuel opens up the basket!)

The painting had a shocking amount of detail for a watercolor; evidence of Theodore's abilities as an artist. Fine control over his brushstrokes, paired with the patience of a saint, made it so that spending hours hunched over a tiny canvas didn't seem like all that bad of a way to spend a night.

Considering the short time Theodore spent seeing Samuel's home, the amount of little things he took notice of was staggering- the leftmost shutter on the attic window hung at a small tilt compared to the right, and that was captured in Theodore's painting. For what he lacked in useful memories, he made up for in visual ones, it seemed.
In the bottom lefthand corner, Theodore left his signature- delicate, swooping calligraphy of his name.

On the back of the small canvas, Theodore wrote the following- in a slightly less dramatic font compared to his signature-

"Samuel,
Thank you for inviting me into your home. I hope tonight is the beginning of a lovely friendship for us both. Your kindness has left an impression upon me, and I hope to repay it tenfold.
Sincerely,
Teddy"

Samuel had to take a moment of pause.

It was raining. Storming, really. Great, angry sheets of rain showered down from the heavens, casting a thin layer of moisture on every nook and cranny the liquid could slither into. The air itself had taken on a quiet chill not unlike that of a day in mid-november. Even Samuel had opted to put on a thin, hand-knitted jacket over his plain white wife-beater, lest he start freezing in his wait for Teddy.

And here the man was - all weather, ice and storms disregarded - panting and clutching an umbrella with the widest smile the hunter had ever seen. The lad had even brought an oil painting, christ's sake!

Have I ever had a guest this eager...? Samuel had to wonder off-handedly as he grasped the wicker basket, sorting through the thick bit of contents and fishing out the elegant painting. Another several moments was dedicated to reading the eye-achingly excellent cursive on the back.

Nope. Never. This evening was going to be a handful.

Grunting in acknowledgement of the gift, Sammy stood from his rickety rocking chair, stretching out his aching shoulders. Bah. That's what I get for sitting still that long in weather this terrible. It was a sharp twinge that travelled from the small of his back all the way up to the man's brainstem.

Another heavy sigh of relief followed as his back gave a satisfied cracking noise. He gestured Theodore inside.

"In with you, then," Samuel said gruffly, patting the vampiric on the back as he gestured him in. The door— a beautiful, thick oak frame with a similarly constructed door, complete with a scratched but shiny handle; clicked shut quietly brhind the two. The lock gave another soft noise as he turned the dead-bolt with his free hand.

"You're quite an eager guest." The hunter mused off-handedly. He had set his glass down, guiding Theodore into the cramped foyer. "I'll let you know up front before you fo anything that you shouldn't expect anything good from me. I've got hot tea, cold whisky and a collection of preserved food large enough to feed an arment of men."

"I like your jacket, Samuel. It's lovely- perfect for this sort of weather. On my way over, there was a bit of lightning; it lit up the sky so beautifully.." Teddy practically had little hearts in his eyes, describing the sights of the storm. "I've always loved the rain- though it's certainly a bit cold for it tonight, I won't lie."

The dark blue cable knit sweater Teddy wore clung to his frame in certain spots- where he'd been a bit careless with the umbrella, always airing on the side of keeping the basket dry instead of himself if it came down to it. The gentle scent of pine graced Samuel's senses as Teddy leaned closer to hand him the basket; Teddy had cleaned up well for dinner. His wavy, midnight hair seemed to curl ever so slightly more in this weather- a strand kept falling in front of his face, a delicate little spiral curl that he kept blinking his long lashes against as it blocked his vision slightly. Those dark tones gave a good bit of contrast to his ocean blue eyes, gazing at Samuel with all of that same naive innocence he'd given him two nights prior.

He watched Samuel's expression as he looked at the painting, holding his breath; the little grunt of acknowledgment made Teddy smile even brighter; looking every part the sun even on a night as dreary as this. He knew Samuel wasn't one for big reactions- any acknowledgment at all of the painting would've been considered a success in Teddy's eyes.

"Oh- of course, thank you." He stepped inside and quickly unlaced his boots, not wanting to track wet footprints along Samuel's home. Teddy laughed at Samuel's comment, a soft melodic tone laced into it. "I am! I was looking forward to it. Oh, don't worry- in the basket there's some roast chicken and seasoned, grilled potatoes. If you have an oven, I can heat them both up just fine; otherwise, if you light a fire that'll do just as well. They're already cooked, I'd just hate for you to have to eat a cold meal on such a cold night.. tea would be lovely, Samuel. I'd best refrain from drinking if I want to make it home in one piece tonight." He laughed again, this time it sounded closer to a lighthearted giggle.

He'd no idea the irony of his words, of course.

What an odd little thing. Samuel was horribly familiar with bargians. There was a wide variety; ranging from those that pleaded a false family to the occasional man or woman that outright threatened the hunter with some vague, obtuse warning that put his health in jeapordy.

The most ridiculous one had been a vampiric, a few centuries' old, who had been cornered in his own home by Samuel wielding both holy water and a handful of sharp, silver stakes. Terrified, the monster had fled deep within the confines of his maze-like mansion— only to pull Samuel after him like a fish after a particularly shiny lure.

The man, hands raised, had uttered the funniest plead the hunter had heard since the day his father had driven both his hands through a vampiric's heart.

"I'll haunt you!!"

Just the recollection was enough to bring up the urge to snort. Funny, really. A creature with no soul nor ghostly impression threatening to tackle its killer from the grave and terrify him until his own untimely demise. Oh, God. He didn't even have a weapon. The guy had to have been out of options and terrified at the foreseeable end to his own immortality. But who resorts to laying their pride down instead of dying quiet and solemn?[/] Samuel, if ever found in the poor, late vampiric's own spot, would have preferred to just kneel and take it like a man. Better than the alternative of looking stupid or cowardly to the last man to ever see you breathing.

He gave a grunt as Teddy stepped in past the crickety doorway, kicking off his own shoes haphazerdly against the strangely clean wall. "I do have an oven."

He gave a light laugh at the idea that Theodore was escaping the evening fully sober. "Sure, son. Sure." His hand clapped Teddy on the back. "I don't invite men over for the prospect of a peaceful dinner." You'll be going out in peace, lad. Hopefully that was black-out drunk and killed in his sleep with a stake to the ribs.

Teddy grinned at him, merely from the sound of the older man's laughter. "Ah.. you know, just for you, I'll drink then. It's only fair, since I was so late.. can't promise I won't make a fool of myself though, Sam. Promise not to laugh too hard at me."

He heated up the dinner he'd brought, and before long he found himself lounging in a chair, sipping on some whiskey Samuel had handed him. One glass turned to two, two glasses turned to half the bottle; he really wasn't any good at telling Samuel no, whenever he offered more he happily obliged.

Teddy held onto his glass with a swaying hand, the remnants of the amber liquid swirling around. He couldn't tear his eyes off of Samuel, and his drunken state made it impossible to hide that fact. Unashamedly staring, with a warm, pretty smile on his lips.

"Samuel.. I've hic really gotta tell you somethin'.." he murmured, his voice sounding even more melodic and honeyed now, thanks to the alcohol. "You've.. got such gorgeous eyes.. such a nice shade of brown, reminds me.. mmh, reminds me of mahogany.. matches your personality, really- you're so steady, so stable.. I'm an artist, Sam, I notice these things.." He ends his sentence with a low, melodic laugh. He would've died before calling the older man by a nickname if he weren't so drunk, but alas.. the alcohol makes things easier for him.

Samuel had met a few light-weights in his long, oddly complicated history with drinking. A few men got a bit red-faced after a beer, and some were even blacked out thirty minutes after a shot of weak whisky. It truely depended on the man and how much liquid courage he was used to downing.

But this fledgling...

...Whoo boy.

One shot in, he'd been a bit tipsy. Understandable. It was a heavy brandy, coupled with the lack of carbs he had in his system. It was bound to have more of effect than Teddy had meant it too.

Two in was a bit similar. A bit red-faced and stuttering, the man had started fumbling with his speech— at one point going off on a half-incoherent tangent about a farm and the best way to gut a dead pig. Informational, sure, but the boy had said it like he had grown up on an outskirts farm himself. It took a signifigant bit of coaxing to get him to shut up about the herding habits of cattle, cows in particular.

Finally calmed down, Samuel had thought to himself gratefully, managing to get the uppity vampiric to sit himself in a chair with a plate of reheated potatoes and a glass of ice-cold water. Theodore seemed calm and collected compared to how he had been previous. It'll be fine.

Then, the stupid man downed a third shot!

It had only been downhill from there. Besides how generally disoriented the man had gotten, tripping over both his own feet and his words at the same time, he'd gotten oddly touchy. Little prods here, small pokes there. It was as if Teddy was trying to sap the warmth from Samuel's skin as subtly as possible (a bit difficult when he was that inebriated). He'd also been lathering on a startlingly large amount of compliments. Everything from 'you have a lovely home' to 'I love your jawline.'

Now, with Theodore staring him down, glassy-eyed, Samuel had to clear his throat awkwardly. Don't remember giving the lad to use an abreviation of my name.

"That's... kind of you, friend. Do you need to sit down?" Teddy looked ready to keel face-first into the coffee table.

(hey man i hope you were able to catch up on sleep last night!! ^^/)

How could Teddy refrain from complimenting Sam? From Teddy's perspective, Sam had been so unwaveringly kind to him, even when he didn't have to be... let alone the fact that Sam was, well... handsome. Teddy couldn't deny it, and in his drunken state, he had no other choice than to draw attention to it. It seemed like not telling him would've been a crime.

"Mh.. mhm.." Teddy murmured, rubbing at his eyes with the hand not holding his drink. He took an uncoordinated step forward, and tripped over his own wool sock, sending him stumbling into Samuel. He didn't fully fall, so luckily the pair didn't end up in a heap on Samuel's nice floors, but Teddy did find himself in a... rather peculiar position, with one hand resting lightly on Samuel's chest, their faces a mere six or seven inches apart.

Teddy's wide eyes gazed into Samuel's yet again- how did they keep finding themselves in these situations, where they get lost in each other's eyes like this? But he only let himself indulge in that for a moment, quickly finding his balance and stepping back, creating a more comfortable distance between them... though he couldn't deny how he missed the feeling of Samuel's heart beating against his hand as soon as he pulled away. "S-Sorry, Sam.. I'm not the most coordinated in this state, if you couldn't tell.." He gave a sheepish little laugh, rubbing the back of his neck as he waited to see if Samuel would kick him out into the storm after his little 'transgression'.

(YEAHHH fs!! Ive got tomorrow off, thank god pfft)

Samuel reacted rather calmly, all things considered.

The man atop him was a fledgling vampiric and a horribly lightweight drinker. While Theodore was partially responsible for his own current... ah, state, Sam shared a bit of the blame for pushing it a bit farther than he meant too. Jesus christ. I meant to get him to black-out. Not be on the cusp of it. Making him down another would be easy but would probably mean that Teddy would vomit all over his floors. And god, did bile take awhile to scrub out of hardwood.

"Alright, c'mon, lad." He did his best to not injure the inebriated vampiric. It would have been terribly easy to have him slip and break something in the current situation.

Instead, Samuel opted for carefully wriggle his way out from under the smaller man. Weighs a lot more than I do with a frame near my size. He put the thought aside for later use. Getting to his feet, he rubbed whatever dust from his floor was still clinging to his dark clothing, leaning down to hook both hands under Theo's armpits. There was a soft grunt of effort from Sam as he hauled the vampire to his feet, arms hooked under him still to keep him from toppling over. It resulted in him having Teddy's arm over his in an effort to support him.

"Let's get you laid down." It didn't take much to coax the stranger to the sofa. Samuel fumbled for a blanket, gripping one stuffed on an opposite chair and giving it a half-toss to unfurl it. It floated peacefully down and landed on Teddy's midsection. The hunter then tossed the man a throw-pillow.

What am I doing? Something asked distantly as he began to gather up cups. He looked over at Theo with a snort.

"Go on, go to sleep. Ain't no way in god's pure image am I letting a man wander around drunk in the aIron City slums in the middle of a record-breaking rainstorm. You can stumble back home once you've sobered up." That is, if this storm even lets up by tomorrow morning. Looks like it could cause flooding. He set the shot glasses back down on the table with a deep sigh.

(YEAAAA youve earned it!!!)

Theodore sheepishly nodded, and did his best to support as much of his own weight as he could.
He was surprisingly well built; a result of his life growing up on a farm. He went back to his childhood home a few times a week to help out his parents and sister. He was already strong back when he was a human, but now as a vampire, well... his family certainly (lovingly) took advantage of his ability to haul near endless amounts of livestock feed around.

That being said, he still leaned on Samuel a little- whether it was because he truly was that unsteady, or because Samuel was just so warm... hard to say.
He fell against the couch with a gentle exhale, the pillow landing on his chest despite Teddy's uncoordinated efforts to catch it. He giggled at his own clumsiness, and then smiled at Samuel with all the warmth of the sun, despite the pouring rain. "Thanks.."
He haphazardly placed the pillow behind his head, and then sat up to take his sweater off; he wore a thin tank top underneath, but removing that layer of clothing put his well muscled arms on full display. He flopped back against the couch, tugging the blanket up and lazily putting his arm behind his head. "Sam.. I really owe you hic one.. Can't thank you enough.. I'll make breakfast in the morning, alright? I s..swear.." his seafoam eyes were already starting to lid with sleep.

Teddy fell asleep clutching onto that blanket Samuel had given him like it was a prized possession, with the ghost of a smile still gracing his lips.

(i'm soooo down for them to get rained in together btw!)