The Velvet Brew Lounge (NeroMeowington/ChibiMonkey)

[NeroMeowington]

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Welcome to the Velvet Brew Lounge​

We hope that you enjoy your stay​

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The Velvet Brew Lounge was a quaint little café placed at the corner next to a busy junction. The window walls on the façade allowed to have a clear view of the square across the street and the monument at the centre of it. Like always, it was a busy day: many people passed through this area of the city, day and night. Perhaps this was the reason why the owner chose this location, aside from the aesthetic qualities.

The café was small, having fifteen covers total and six of those were at the counter. It had everything to evoke a sense of serenity: leather couches, pillows, aromatic candles, soft orange lights, gentle music, and rustic furniture. Above the counter were the TV and the blackboard with the beverage and dessert menu, and for the right price, the barista could take a custom order.

A few of the regulars were already here – the local beat cop that always seemed to get the short end of the stick; the weary, soft-spoken attorney that often stayed up late to work a case; the taxi driver that came by for a latte at the start of his shift. In the middle of this cozy picture was the owner and the almost perpetual night shift barista, Kaoru Williams: a pale, slender, feminine male in his early-to-mid-twenties with medium-length wavy dark hair. He always wore a black polo shirt, dark jeans, and a brown apron for work, and tonight his habits haven't changed in the slightest.

The man's main point of sale wasn't his skill as a barista, even if he was pretty good; no, it was his hospitality. He had a knack for knowing what people want, when they want it, and how they want it done. He weaved the questions about his customers' desires into the conversation effortlessly, and offered a smile to kill for while they wait for their order.

Right now, Kaoru gracefully floated between the espresso machine, the dessert cake showcase, and the tea station, preparing the orders of his current patrons, whilst entertaining them with small talk.

"How goes the beat, officer Miller?"

"Nice and quiet, Kaoru, just the way I like it."

"Glad to hear it! I hope your colleague will come back from his sick leave in no time."

"You and me both, bud; God knows I don't like working nights."

Kaoru chuckled. "Well, a cup of coffee should make the wait more bearable."

Miller laughed.

"…freak storm is approaching the coast…" The newscaster chimed impassively.

 

[ChibiMonkey]

Akiho wasn't dumb, however, sometimes he could be a bit naive. While he was confident in what he was thinking Kaoru was...he was entirely clueless to the true danger he was now in. He didn't fear Kaoru even after learning what he was - perhaps that was his first mistake. But he had thought it didn't change anything...why should it? Akiho knew that sure, perhaps things would be a bit different if Kaoru was a vampire out for his blood and all... but he didn't think that would change anything in their relationship. He severely, and naively, thought they would remain close and without any true threat from the creature of the night.

Akiho soon found out just how misplaced that naivety was, when he felt that grip tighten almost painfully so on him, and the Kaoru's very real threat of snapping his neck right here and now. He could tell he wasn't just bluffing, either, causing a slight chill to run down his space.

Finding himself on his back, with a tight grip around his neck threatening to crush it, Aikido's body was tense, a slight sense of fear, as well as confusion seeping in. "Kaoru?" he questioned, his mind reeling as he tried to process the sudden change of atmosphere and how this date had turned out. "W-wait" he spoke a bit nervously as he looked to the others bleeding wrist, and back to Kaoru's face "I don't understand what's wrong with me knowing?" he spoke naively "It's not like I'm going to tell anyone. I swear. Don't you trust me?" he asked with a frown and furrowed brows, heartrate pulsing quick in a slight panic, eyes glancing back to the others bloody wrist. "What happens if I take that? Will I be like you?" he questioned, not necesarrily afraid of such a prospect, but...well, he had just no idea what he was getting himself into. Not that he wanted to die, either, though...

 

[NeroMeowington]

Unlike the usual cordial and affable demeanour Kaoru usually displayed, right now he was cold, blunt, and ruthless. He kept staring into Akiho's eyes without blinking. "You don't have the luxury of talking or asking questions, dear. Drink or die. That's all I'm willing to offer." He said calmly and monotonously, his voice now low and gravelly. He still hung the wrist high above Akiho's mouth, blood droplets now splashing across the body piercer's face. The grip on the throat kept tightening.

It was time to make a choice.

 

[ChibiMonkey]

Another shiver ran through his spine at Kaoru's cold and blunt demeanor. He was acting entirely different than how Akiho was used to, and the change in demeanor caused a cold feeling to run through him, realizing Kaoru very much would kill him in that moment if he wanted to. He looked nervously back at Kaoru's wrist, watching the blood continue to run from his wrist.
There was a slight hesitation - after all, Akiho had no idea what was really happening, or about to happen. After another moment though, practically feeling the clock ticking on his life right now with the painful reminder of Kaoru's hand tightly grasped around his neck, growing tighter by the moment, Akiho's lips parted, opening them wide enough so the blood from the others wrist could trickle down and drip into his mouth.
The moment it had, and he swallowed as the vampire's blood began to enter his system, his eyes widened slightly, even dilating some as a new sensation rushed through his spine, and body. Despite how hesitant he'd been moments prior to tasting the others blood, it had the opposite effect now, where it was like he all but craved it. Reaching a hand up, he grabbed the others bloody wrist, pulling it closer to his mouth and pressing it to his lips to get more of a taste of the others blood, his tongue gliding across the bloodied wound.

 

[NeroMeowington]

Poor kid, Kaoru thought as Akiho greedily sucked his vitae out of his pierced wrist. He slammed his hand into the body piercer's chest and forced him back to the ground, removing him from the wrist. "Good boy. Good choice." He said, a soft smile once again spreading across his face. Kaoru stood up and offered his hand to help Akiho do the same. "What you had before is now in the dust, my dear. If you tell anyone about this, both of you will die. You might think of me as a monster, but I'm doing you a favour." He looked over the picnic towel. "Pack up. I'll wait by the car. We can talk on the way back, you'd better think what questions you want to ask now, and I promise I'll be honest. I don't have any reason to lie now – you won't talk even if you wanted to."

It wasn't the way Kaoru expected the date to end, but he always played the cards he was dealt. It felt bad, to enslave a potential lover like that, but nothing could interfere with the masquerade, not even love: Kaoru knew what the cost could be. He looked at the moon high in the clear night sky, and Akiho could catch his date and almost killer being visibly sad. The moment was almost ethereal. A sorrowful corpse bathed in moonlight.

And with a flick of a switch, it was gone. "Take me back." Kaoru said with a soft smile when Akiho approached the vehicle. "And ask away."

 

[ChibiMonkey]

Akiho could feel this unnatural shift in his body, in the back of his mind aware that something was different. Right now though, all he could really think about and focus on was Kaoru's blood. His eyes glazed over in a desire for more of the other, but he was suddenly snapped back to the present as he felt the hand slammed to his chest and his back hitting the soft sand again.

He stared up at Kaoru in a slight daze as he felt his senses coming back to him a bit, knocking him back into place with the reality of everything that just happened. Everything happened so quickly...how did this date become so turned upside down?

He watched as Kaoru walked off back to the car, thinking about the contrast of Kaoru's soft and warm expression, to his cold and ruthless one. It was a side of Kaoru he'd never seen before... and while it had been a bit frightening at first, at the same time, he found himself all the more enthralled by the other.

He didn't take long to pack everything back up, packing everything into the bag, and soon meeting Kaoru back at it. After tossing the bag back in the trunk, and getting in the car with the other, he just sat there for a moment in silence, his mind still processing. There were so many things he wanted to ask, so many things he was confused about, it was hard to organize his thoughts.

As he began driving though, one priority question was at the of his mind as he asked. "What exactly am I now?" he glanced to Kaoru curiously, before his gaze went back to the road "I also don't understand....that choice. You really were going to kill me" he frowned slightly at that thought "you really trust me so little?"