taxonomites | oo1 | [holo] | down down in a loo lee oorah

"-- smelled like bacon --"

When Tiberius' taller-than-Shane body disappears from in front of him, replaced by the sheen of a metallic wall, Shane's animated conversation about something apparently smelling like bacon stops right then and there. Stunned, he freezes, looking somewhat comical with both of his hands raised -- and then he turns around, suddenly on the defencive, looking everywhere he possibly can in the small room.

Not good. Not good. Not good. "Ty?" With his head ducked a little, he's almost like a threatened animal. "Ty, where are you?"

Nothing. Shane is ready to pounce the first person who shows their face.

"Okay, Kanye." Defencive, but still expressive as hell. It's hiding the fact that he's slowly getting scared by reality of this interruption. "You better put me back before you find out what a mistake this is." ... Still nothing. And that's when Shane notices the door... as well as the device on the pedestal. He approaches neither in favour of making one last attempt:

"I mean it, you want somebody taller!"

... Shane shifts his weight, then picks up the device without immediately looking at it. Instead he looks at the walls around him again, suddenly feeling very nervous, and says quietly, more like a thought than anything: "Levi?"

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The house is very quiet, and Levi finds he misses the crowds, even the small groups that spend time in his company. It's almost unnerving, to have something of a hotel one day and an empty mansion the next.

He feels Shane flop down next to him, but he doesn't move his arm away. He's burning with guilt, and it hurts almost as much as the sunlight had. The fact that Shane is the same as he always is, moving Levi's arm and kissing him-- it makes something inside him ache.

Levi leans into the kiss, slipping a hand into Shane's hair and gripping it slightly as a sudden rush of emotion flows through him. He needs Shane right now, selfishness be damned.

Levi is upset, Shane can see it on his face, feel it in his movements, and he wants to know why. But at the same time, the thought of confronting whatever it is scares him. But it's hurting him. And the only thing he can think of doing short of letting Levi decide whether to explain on his own is try to kiss that pain away... for now, at least.

He shifts, taking Levi's face in both his hands, not breaking the kiss.

Shane knows there's something wrong, Levi's sure of it-- they simply know each other too well, have been attached at the hip for several years, and something this obvious is hard to miss. He has to tell him, because he hates lying to Shane, but it scares him to think of Shane's reaction. The reason the younger vampire had become a vampire in the first place was because nobody had cared about him, and Levi doesn't want him to ever feel that way again.

When Shane takes his face in his hands, Levi's grip on Shane's hair tightens, and he can feel the guilt forming into tears behind his eyes, the sweetness of the gesture getting to him. He presses harder into the kiss, a little more desperate.

Shane, now sort of kneeling on the cushion next to Levi, feels the grip tighten, can practically sense the surge of emotion within Levi, and for a moment he feels a brief sting of panic. No, no, he doesn't want him to get upset. Levi shouldn't have to feel that way, because Shane has been there, and he's sure that Levi's been there many more times than him, but still...

Shane pulls away - not much, but just enough that their noses are barely touching - without moving his hands, looking at the older vampire, worry written all over his face. Should he ask? Should he leave it? He doesn't know what to do. But this sadness... he wants to fix it.

Shane pulls away by that amount, and Levi keeps his eyes closed, trying not to let the emotions whirling around in his chest escape. Shane's worried, he knows, and he doesn't want that. The urge to tell Shane is going to win, he knows that too, and so when he opens his eyes, he lets go of Shane's hair and strokes it instead, expression miserable.

"I have to tell you something," Levi nearly whispers.

Shane bites his lip as if it will stop the sudden rush of 'what if's going through his mind. Once he quiets those thoughts, he looks at Levi, prepared to listen, briefly touching his forehead to Levi's.

"I'm listening."

It takes a moment before Levi can force himself to speak. His hand drops to the back of Shane's neck, resting there, and Levi hopes almost fervently that Shane won't pull away.

"The party last night," Levi begins, taking a deep breath. "I wasn't thinking straight, I'd been alone for a month... It is absolutely no excuse for my actions, but..."

Levi keeps his gaze on Shane, ready to punish himself by watching Shane's face at the news. "I kissed someone else at midnight."

He was afraid of this, but somehow that lessens the blow; it's not any worse. Involuntarily, his gut twists, and Shane swallows, looks down, then nods once, almost imperceptibly. He doesn't pull away, but for a moment, he doesn't look at Levi, either.

"Okay," he says quietly.

Levi's biting his lip so hard he's probably going to break the skin if he's not careful. The look on Shane's face-- it's worse punishment than Levi could ever do to himself. The fact that it's Levi's fault that that expression is there at all is just an added blow.

"I'm sorry," Levi says softy, simply. "I love you."

"I understand." Shane makes sure to look up, even though seeing Levi like that hurts, so he can see the sincerity of his statement. And it makes his heart twist a little bit, but Shane leans forward again and kisses him lightly, then looks down, resting his forehead against Levi's.

"I love you too."

Hearing that, feeling Shane kiss him again, Levi lets out a shivery breath and tries not to start sobbing again. It's okay, they'll be okay. Levi just has to figure out how to deal with this, and how forgiving Shane is.

"I would... I would never do anything to hurt you, Shane," Levi breathes, voice cracking. "Not purposely. I can't stand to see that, I just... I..."

"Hey... I know." Shane looks up into his eyes again. "Being alone for a month, I can't even..." He hesitates, glancing away, and bites his lip. "I understand."

"You understand, but it still hurts," Levi finishes, quiet, looking down at his hands.

He's not sure what to say; Shane has barely ever been able to console himself, let alone other people. So he just puts his arms around Levi and pulls him close.

Levi was hoping for that; for the first time in years, decades, even, he's afraid to touch someone. But Shane initiating the touch reassures him that he hasn't royally screwed up, and he ends up clinging, pressing his face into Shane's hair, stroking the skin of Shane's neck with gentle fingers.

For now, neither of them have to say anything.

oo1 | [holo] | down down in a loo lee oorah

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