Both Alike in Dignity

A/N: After a couple of reviews I've received, I'd just like to say that I'm not really cutting any scenes, merely editing them. Also, I'm a dude. Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews you guys have given me - I take all comments on board and appreciate it all. Keep 'em coming, folks. Got my hair cut today and went to the doctors (not necessarily in that order). I had to give blood for some tests and wouldn't stop bleeding lawl. Fun times.

Word Count (overall): 13530
Word Count (this chapter): 2657
Updates: Mondays and Thursdays

Chapter Seven


Sebastian's fangs slid neatly into Jasper's arm, tidy and graceful. There would be very little pain – just two tiny puncture wounds, slight burning, like having blood drawn. Sebastian's lips sealed over the puncture wounds. He swallowed smoothly, not letting a drop escape, too hungry. He needed every little bit that the other would give him.

Jasper jerked faintly as the fangs entered his arm. He stared down at Sebastian, his lips parted slightly, watching the way that the vampire's mouth clamped over his arm. His breathing picked up, a tremor going through his body. He shifted faintly on the bed, squirming just a little, though he kept his arm as still as he possibly could.

The gush of blood into Sebastian's mouth warm and vibrant. Metal burst across his tongue. He just closed his eyes and drank. It slid smoothly down his throat, making him ravenous for more and at the same time satisfying a deep need inside him. He moaned against Jasper's skin, sucking at the wound. It wouldn't make Jasper bleed any faster, but he was too out of it to control his instincts. He wanted to bleed the other dry.

It didn't take Sebastian long to get hard. He wanted to rub against something. He wanted to palm himself, just slide a hand over his aching, throbbing cock. Anything to take that need away. He wouldn't do it in front of Jasper, couldn't do it, but the blood sang through his body. Tempted him. He wanted to touch himself, so close to doing it, nearly did. Hanging on by a thread.

Jasper just watched the way that Sebastian's throat worked, the way that warmth rushed back into the other's skin.

Sebastian's cheeks flushed pink, his skin taking on a human tone. As human as anyone else. Too human. Not delicate, not feminine, but pretty with a masculine edge, his jaw angular and very male. Sebastian just took more and more. Jasper's skin took on a paler tone as the vampire's became pink and healthy.

Jasper rested his hand on the back of Sebastian's head and pulled gently. “Need to stop, now,” he said, a little dazed. “Need to stop. Sebastian.”

It took Sebastian a second to register the hand on his hair and the urgent words spearing through the air. He had to stop. Had to leave Jasper strong. Couldn't take more than a pint.

Slowly, reluctantly, he retracted his fangs. It wasn't enough. He would normally take more. Between that and the blood that he needed to replenish due to recovery, he ached for more. But it was so much better than it had been. He didn't need to be greedy, didn't need to put Jasper at risk.. But he was grateful. He didn't release the other's wrist. Instead, he lapped over the would repetitively, again and again until the wound closed beneath his ministrations.

Jasper looked down at Sebastian and frowned. “What're you doing?” he asked, shaking his arm weakly, like he couldn't quite get his limbs to work properly.

Sebastian just kept licking the wound, closing it up, showing his appreciation for what Jasper had done for him.

Then, Jasper finally shook the other free. He shoved Sebastian, pushing him down hard onto the floor. Sebastian sprawled out helplessly. All it took was a quick flick of Jasper's eyes. The werewolf's gaze lingered, travelling down Sebastian's body and finding his groin.

Sebastian flushed hard. There was no way that Jasper could possibly miss it. He was hard. Not just a little hard – his cock was a prominent, thick line in his pants. He drew his legs in together and avoided Jasper's eyes, trying to preserve a little dignity.

Jasper just stared for a moment, then looked down at his wrist, expecting to have to stem the flow of blood. All he saw were two tiny, needle-fine puncture holes. No bleeding. He had to look hard to even see where Sebastian had bitten him.

“My saliva,” Sebastian said roughly, still on the floor. He scrambled to cover himself, flushing hard at having been dumped off of the bed like a dog being pushed from the furniture. Not only that, but Jasper knew that he was... fuck, the other probably thought it was him. Just a biological reaction. Just blood. “It... uh... it works as a clotting agent. Don't normally take such care, but... I thought... I mean...” He shrugged, getting to his feet. He had to resist the urge to clasp his hands in front of his groin.

It wasn't usually this bad. The intimacy of doing it with someone he knew was... stimulating. This wasn't normal. It didn't usually affect him this badly. He didn't normally need to... take care of himself after feeding. It made him hard. It always made him hard. But he didn't usually need to act on it. The need coursing through him set his teeth on edge.

“Oh,” Jasper said, flexing his hand. He pressed two fingers over the tiny wounds that Sebastian had left and pressed lightly. “I expected it to hurt more,” he said. “Dunno why.” He peered at Sebastian, looking for a glimpse of the other's fangs. “Hardly even felt it.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian replied, his voice still low and rough. “It shouldn't hurt that much. Or even at all, if you're not focused on it. That's the idea. So that they... won't notice.” He chewed at his lower lip and looked at Jasper. Fuck, he didn't want to talk about it. He wanted to lock himself away in the bathroom and take a shower, get away from Jasper for a bit. He didn't want to have to deal with having an erection with someone right there, watching him. Sebastian started to edge toward the bathroom.

“Does that usually happen?” Jasper asked, waving a hand lazily toward the other man's groin.

Sebastian stopped in his tracks. He hesitated, then heaved out a sigh. His cheeks flushed red even as he schooled his features in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. That was one thing he hated about taking blood – it gave him the ability to blush, something that he'd never been able to control.

“Yes,” Sebastian snapped out. “It's an intimate thing. It doesn't mean anything. Just... a physical reaction. Nothing more. Than that.” He shifted, then gave into his childish urge to cover himself. Trying for casual, he clasped his hands in front of his groin.

Jasper's mouth twitched. He chuckled, unable to hold back laughter. “You look like a naughty school kid with a crush,” he said, shaking his head. Jasper eyed Sebastian, looking over him from head to toe, like he had a right to it. He grinned. “I guess the rumours that vampires can't get it up are a load of shit, then,” Jasper said.

“Yes. Obviously,” Sebastian answered. He unclasped his hands from his groin. He was getting tired of being made fun of for a perfectly natural male reaction. “Look, it just happens. You can let it go now, okay? I'm going to take a shower.”

Jasper just snorted. “Sure. A 'shower',” he said, his eyes lingering on Sebastian. Something flickered into his eyes, a flare of heat. His laughter died off quickly. He swallowed, watching as the other man turned, eyeing his back and ass leisurely.

“Yes. A shower. That's all,” Sebastian said, biting his tongue against a further retort. He marched into the bathroom and turned his head, looking at Jasper. “I suggest you get one after, too. You haven't bathed since I met you.” With a disgusted, withering glare, he slammed the door behind him.

Sebastian stared at the ancient controls for the shower and very deliberately didn't think about the encounter in the bedroom. He would just get a shower, get clean, and not think about it. He wondered if telling himself not to think about it counted as thinking about it, then decided that he wasn't going to think about that, either.

It took a few minutes to get the shower to a temperature that didn't include oscillating rapidly between boiling hot and freezing cold. Sebastian stuck his hand under the spray, the hot water prickling across his skin. He stared down at his hand – pink and flushed from the water. He smiled. It was always pleasant to see his body reacting normally again. Then he remembered why and how he looked that way and jerked his hand out of the shower with a scowl.

Sebastian stripped off quickly. He folded his clothes neatly and looked around for somewhere to set them down where there was no chance of them getting wet. Eventually, he settled for the far corner of the room. Those clothes were all he had to wear. He grimaced with distaste at the idea of wearing dirty clothes after a shower.

He tested the water one last time, then stepped under the hot spray of water. Sebastian immediately relaxed. The water cascaded soothingly down his back. He shivered with pure, physical pleasure. There were few things he liked more than a hot shower. It washed away all the stress of the day, made him forget.

Sebastian sighed and looked down at himself. His cock throbbed insistently. He chewed at his lower lip. It was humiliating to be subject to such needs, especially after what Jasper had said to him. He still slid his hand slowly down his stomach toward his cock, a very human part of him informed by a very human need.

He pulled his hand away and reached for the soap instead. He refused to touch himself with Jasper in the next room. Thinking of him. Wanting him. He refused. He didn't like Jasper and he wasn't going to jack off to him. Sebastian swallowed hard. He wondered what it would be like to feed from Jasper's neck, his fangs piercing and penetrating such a sweetly vulnerable area. What would Jasper even do? Fist a hand in his hair and pull him off, toss him away, dominate him. Dominate him.

Sebastian groped at the controls for the shower. He gritted his teeth and turned the dial down, holding back a yelp as ice sprayed across his skin. It was the only way.

When Sebastian opened the bathroom door, he was faced with Jasper's stare. Jasper was always staring at him. The bathroom was steamy and warm behind him, his hair still wet from the water. Sebastian had dressed again, but Jasper still looked at him like he could see through every shred of clothing. Sebastian shifted, then slammed the bathroom door behind him.

Jasper jumped. “Took you long enough,” he said, sliding easily up onto his elbows. He was sprawled out over the bed like he owned it, grinning cheekily, legs splayed and his t-shirt riding up just a little, showing a sliver of skin. “Take care of your little problem?”

Sebastian stared, willing himself not to blush. Heat flushed to his cheeks. He grimaced. “No,” he answered. “I mean... not in the way your perverted mind would rush to, anyway.” He eyed Jasper, then approached the bed. Sebastian hesitated. He gathered his courage and sat on it gingerly, gritting his teeth. “You should shower. You haven't showered yet. I think you should.”

“Wait... lemme get this straight,” Jasper said. “So... instead of jacking off like, you know, a normal dude, you did what? Had a cold shower?” Jasper laughed. “Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you? What guy would choose a cold shower over getting his rocks off? Seriously. What planet are you from?” Jasper stood, surprisingly graceful, in tune with his body, physically confident.

“If you must know, the nineteenth century,”Sebastian answered dryly. He leaned back against the headboard, staring daggers into the disgusting bed, then at Jasper for good measure.

“Oh... well I guess that explains a few things, then,” Jasper said, snickering. He turned on his heel and headed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Sebastian stared after him and fidgeted, trying very hard not to think about the fact that Jasper would be naked very shortly, and only a few feet away. Sebastian tried (and failed) not to stare at the door.

Jasper was much quicker than Sebastian. Quick enough that the vampire was surprised by his appearance. He'd been dozing and Very Much Not Thinking about the whole naked thing.

Sebastian turned to look at Jasper, all ready to snap out something irritable when he caught sight of the other male. His voice stuck in his throat. He stared at Jasper, his mouth half-open and his eyes wide. Jasper had shaved. He was clean, his hair wet, and he'd shaved. Sebastian's stomach twisted hard. His gaze dipped down, over the bulge of muscles beneath the other's tight t-shirt. His mouth went dry.

“What?” Jasper asked. “Do I have shaving cream on my face or something?” He sent Sebastian a quizzical look.

Sebastian shut his mouth so fast that his teeth clacked together. He shook his head quickly. “No,” he said, grasping desperately for cold indifference. His attempts at nonchalance slipped through his fingers. “No.” He paused. “You surprised me.” Another pause. “You shaved.”

Jasper shrugged. “I grow hair pretty fast. Maybe we all do. Werewolves, I mean. I don't like it so much – itches.” He eyed the lone bed in the middle of the room. “So... what're we gonna do about that?” he asked and raised an eyebrow.

“You're sleeping on the floor, of course,” Sebastian said, raising an eyebrow right back. There was no way he was sharing with a werewolf – what if Jasper shed everywhere in the middle of the night or something? He didn't want to pick loose hairs from himself for a week..

“Are you kidding?” Jasper asked. “And why do you get the bed? I'm happy to share, so if you're the one that has a problem, you should sleep on the damn floor.”

Sebastian crossed his arms over his chest. There was no way that he was sleeping on the floor like some homeless dog. “Yes, but I'm a vampire and you're a werewolf. I'm refined and used to a bed, and you no doubt sleep on the floor all the time, like a common mutt.”

That got an immediate, low growl from Jasper, close to a snarl. He took a step toward the bed, his eyes narrowing hard. “Just because I turn into a wolf at full moon doesn't mean I'm a fucking dog,” he growled. “I'm intelligent, I have opposable thumbs, and I've saved your ass more times than you've thanked me in the last few days, so you can go fuck yourself, you arrogant, pathetic bastard.”

Resisting the urge to throw a pillow at Jasper, Sebastian rolled his eyes and turned onto his side, putting his back to the werewolf. He wouldn't give Jasper the satisfaction of a response. That would show him.

Jasper just stared at Sebastian. He took a step closer to the bed, his eyes fixed on the other man's back.

“You still can't share the bed,” Sebastian said.

Jasper hesitated. He crossed his arms over his chest and tried to burn a hole in the vampire's back with his glare. “Fuck you,” he snapped. “I'm sleeping in the bed and there's nothing you can do about it, so suck it up.” He slid onto the bed beside Sebastian and pulled the quilt up over them both decisively.

There was a long silence. “Fine,” Sebastian said. “Just don't touch me.” He paused. “And don't get any hair on the sheets.”

Jasper growled, low and resonant.

Sebastian just smirked.