unlucky

’October 13th. I remember them bringing you home two days afterwards. Such a quiet baby, if I hadn’t seen them bring you home I’d have barely known you were there.’ Until his parents had made that first rush to Mrs Graham for her to look after their baby. After that it had been a constant request – just have him for the night, he’ll be good for ya. He had been, Mrs Graham had assured him of that, but it hadn’t been fair on her to raise a kid at her age, one that she wasn’t even related to by blood.

He’d been three or four before he’d realised that other kids had special days every year. They’d come to playgroup with new clothes and little treats for the class, babbling around the gifts their parents had got for them. Linc remembered asking Mrs Graham about it and winced as he let the shop door shut behind him. He supposed she’d given him little things for Christmas before then, but there hadn’t been parties at McDonald’s like the other kids had – the ones he wasn’t invited to – or the brightly wrapped stack of presents waiting for him when he woke up. She’d done her best and he’d made sure he hadn’t asked too much of her after.

Instead of heading home like he usually would’ve done to clean up before work on any other day, Linc headed past the turn off that would’ve led that way and strolled towards the square. If Magnus had thought it’d mean something to him he’d have put on a spread like that. Presents piled high, singing at him the minute he’d walked down the stairs, a cake dripping in candles for later – there had been a couple added to the top of the stack of cherry-berry pancakes in the end. It would’ve felt a little much, like his slow easing into this normal family life thing had gone from slowly easing his way chest deep at the shallow end to dropping off a mile deep ledge. Another year maybe, if Magnus kept wanting to make up for all he hadn’t had when it’d been two addicts doing all the raising.

Linc licked his bottom lip, catching the slightest hint of the berry syrup on it. Magnus had made an effort and he’d appreciated it, not dropping stupid jokes about Magnus finally joining the 21st century by taking him for brunch somewhere that had avocado toast and frittata on the menu. Maybe there’d be some part two later when Magnus locked up his shop for the day, but for the minute he was more than satisfied with how his birthday was going – especially since he wasn’t working tonight and Cassie was waiting at the pawn shop for him.

Knowing Magnus, he’d dropped hints about his son’s birthday to Hector. Tomorrow he’d probably walk back in and the place would be draped with streamers, jokes about just hitting toddlerhood fired his way like party poppers by the others. Didn’t matter, Linc told himself as he hit the square, because he’d have had this first. Her.

Cassie was already waiting outside the shop for him when he reached the other side of the square, bouncing on her toes in that way that radiated happiness. He could bask in it for hours, like it was the sun, closing his eyes and letting that warmth wash over every inch of him. Before he could reach her she was running at him, jumping at the last minute so he was bracing himself and throwing his arms around her as she almost took him down. The thank you for the first lot of birthday wishes stuck in his throat as he grinned. Cassie was never gonna stop with just one. She was pressing those words into his skin with kisses, her arms locked tight around his shoulders that he couldn’t have pulled away if he wanted to (and obvs absolutely didn’t want to).

”Thanks,” Linc murmured as Cassie drew back just far enough to start tugging him down the street. In the direction of home, although that didn’t necessarily mean they’d end up there. Hanging out on his birthday with his girlfriend covered a lot of ground. Holding her hand, Linc tried to keep up with her. ”Magnus took me out to brunch.” Linc’s grin brightened, it still sounded just a bit too modern for Magnus. ”Had a stack of pancakes almost as tall as you. We’ll have to go there some time.” Because that’s what blokes who didn’t get all their real sustenance from little plastic bags in the fridge did with their girlfriends. ”Then I took a little stroll around town … dipped in and out of the shops. Got myself this …” Lifting his hand, Linc twisted his wrist to show Cassie the leather banded watch there – not as old as the one he’d gone to find to give to Magnus as a long overdue thank you, but probably almost as old as Mrs Graham had been when she’d died. The bloke in the shop had shown him how to wind it up – same with Magnus’. The little plastic bag that’d been handed over still crinkled in his coat pocket.

Yeah, they were definitely going home. Maybe just for a pit stop before they went and caught the movie Cassie had mention, maybe for longer. Linc let her lead, not wanting to go spoiling anything that was coming his way unexpectedly today. He pulled out his keys as she tugged him up to the door, nudging her in ahead of him. Unlike Cassie had shrugged out of his jacket – if they were going out again he’d just put it back on. Not sure when Magnus would be back he intended to head upstairs anyway, but Cassie was definitely nudging him there – or was it leading him on with those little pecking kisses that trailed around his mouth.

Linc shrugged as he started up the stairs, drawing her with him towards his room. The sort of dinner that would really hit the spot was chilling in the fridge, but he was still on his schedule and that bashfulness about letting Cassie see him swigging down blood had remained. ”That sounds great,” he said honestly. His lips pursed for a moment as he tried to come up with something he knew she’d like. ”How about Chinese food? Or Mexican?” He’d have got them something if they had gone out, he was definitely earning more than Cassie after all – and had less overheads, although he made sure he gave Magnus something every week.

What had seemed like a quiet sort of date night (which he totally wouldn’t have had any complaints about) vanished in a heartbeat (one of his ridiculously slow ones) as he nudged open his bedroom door. The fact that it was a dozen times tidier than he’d left it barely registered after everything else did. Linc puffed out a breath, looking around open mouthed. It wasn’t Magnus who’d festooned the place for his birthday, it was all Cassie.

A ‘Happy Birthday’ sign was spread across one wall, balloons bobbed about in one corner, a cat sat on his nightstand (he had to look twice to make sure it wasn’t Olive brought along for the ride). Were they umbrellas? Linc tipped his head back and laughed lightly as he started to put together the theme. Friday the 13th, unlucky for some, definitely not for him tonight. He turned in the red glow of his bedroom light, trying to keep up with Cassie as she bounced into the middle of it. ”It’s amazing. Of course, I love it. Thank you!” The words caught in his throat. Nobody had ever done this for him before. He’d have stepped in, catching Cassie’s beaming face in his hands to plant a kiss on her, but she was shimmy out of her …

Heat rushed to his cheeks immediately, his eyes dropping to the bare inch of skin between the waistband of the shorts that showed off the entire length of her legs and the cropped t-shirt. Linc looked back up, the bashfulness giving way to a grin that was almost devilish in that red light. ”Did I get short-shorts too? I dunno if I’ve got the legs for it…” he joked. As Cassie bent to tuck her stuff away, he picked up the mask and slipped it on. Thankfully the knife wasn’t real – that would’ve had him hesitating before he tapped the tip of the knife lightly at the collar of her t-shirt.

”How do I look?” he asked, snaking his other arm around Cassie’s waist to draw her into him. Aaah, only one problem, the mask was a definitely block to kissing her. Linc grinned though, using the back of the hand holding the knife to tip the mask up over his mouth. It left him blind, but he didn’t need his sight to find his way to Cassie’s mouth. ”I can’t believe you did all of this for me,” he breathed against her lips before he finally showed her the sort of gratitude he’d wanted to since they’d walked into his room.

Tagged: CASSIE LUANNA * Word Count: 1530

Magnus probably would’ve had something to say about the nutritional value of Chinese take-out – despite there probably being veggies in every dish except the prawn crackers – but Linc wasn’t sure if they’d even get around to the point of ordering and eating before Magnus was back. Cassie had asked what he wanted for dinner, but it had been in that rush home and into the house it had felt a little like it was just filling the space until they got upstairs.

Birthdays were meant to be about pushing the boat out and both his dad and Cassie were doing it just that for him. It was sad that there was less than a handful of people in his life who’d ever wanted to do that for him, but even if he could wish for his life to have been different with the candles on whatever cake-like thing he might have this year, he wouldn’t have swapped that handful for the world. The bad things that had swallowed up most of the light they’d brought to his life? Yeah, those he’d get rid of in a heartbeat, but not a moment of the rest of it.

He'd probably made a thousand jokes about old vampires and their memories – Magnus could probably still remember just what day in 79BC he’d taken his first ride on a horse – but those good moments he wanted to be able to hold on to for however long his life was gonna end up being. Linc had to force his eyes back above Cassie’s waist, but that long look he’d taken at the smooth length of Cassie’s bare thighs and that glimpse of belly, he wanted to hold on to that along with everything else she’d done for him – that they’d done together.

Linc hummed at the idea they were just for her, the sound cutting off as she grinned nervously at him. ”Definitely for me too,” he said softly, heating rising along his cheekbones. His teeth sank into his lower lip as he got another good look when Cassie turned away. They were definitely the best present he’d got so far this year, although there was no way he’d end up telling Magnus that.

It was a good thing the mask hid the worst of the blushing. Compliments were easier to take now than they had been back at the start, but there were still those irritating moments when he felt bashful again when they came his way. Linc let out what was meant to be an evil cackle, although with him it was probably anything but, and it definitely didn’t last when she added the end bit. ”Good,” Linc breathed, the rest of the words, whatever thought had been spawning them disappearing in a rush of heat as Cassie kissed him back so hard that it felt like the entire world had stopped around them. It was an eternity between heartbeats (even if they were closer together with his brain screaming for his heart to pound in his chest), pleasure spinning around them, through him, each sensation leaving him desperately chasing the next.

If Cassie hadn’t drawn back he might’ve held her there until the sun went down. Unlike him she had to breathe eventually. It might have just been a quick snatch of breath, like you’d take when you popped your head up in the swimming pool, but his gratitude had Cassie whispering again – sinking back down into the deep end of another kiss was definitely gonna wait a minute. ”Everythin’ you do makes me feel special,” he admitted. ”Last year at the carnival was amazing. This is … this is more … I definitely didn’t get this creative.” His chuckle was a little breathless. All he’d done was listen and pay the adoption fee when his idea paid off. Cassie had done way more than that, she’d transformed his room.

With the mask out of the way he could see her again, pinpointing her mouth and starting to zero in on it again as he dipped his head. Cassie met him half way, the kiss spinning out under motion this time. Linc shuffled forward, hands squeezing Cassie’s hips to steady himself – it was easy to imagine her tripping, falling onto the bed with Cassie under him instead of going down slowly as she tried to get the night back on track. ”We can start it up, there’s always the opening credits first right? Don’t have to pay attention to … that …” He definitely couldn’t when he was twisting on his bed, dragging his lips down to Cassie’s throat as he tried to squirm them into a comfortable position on it. Some angle where they could see the screen, one where he could keep kissing her too. Her thigh was warm under his palm as he went to fumble for the remote – with the worst (best) aim – her skin so soft as his fingers curled around it, turning her towards him slightly.

Tagged: CASSIE LUANNA * Word Count: 830