New Obsession? Or just a way to pass time? [cw]

Even though he felt the comfort from Eden, he still felt worried for the vampyre. It was clearly a topic that he had to thread lightly with in the future. "Nothing could ruin this moment," he promised him, sending him a reassuring smile. He didn't like the pretend smile. That hurt more than anything he could've said. He felt the pull, chuckling at the notion but made sure to grab their underwear from the sand first.
After getting in to them he followed Eden back out and under the waterfall. The falling water was loud, but he couldn't sense anyone nearby. He swam over to the edge, pulling himself out of the water. "Fuck it's cold," he chuckled. The water had really.been warmer than it appeared. He got in to his clothes, although he was still wet, it was better than no clothes.

Romeo listened as Eden decided to talk, and frankly he had thought the conversation in the cave would've stayed there. But it felt as though the vampyre felt the need to explain his actions. Romeo patted his pockets to find his packet of cigarettes as well. Thankfully they hadn't gotten damp when he had more or less just thrown the clothes on the ground. Lighting his cigarette he walked by Eden's side, placing his free hand in his pocket to keep warm.
"Sorry to hear that," he said quite genuinely, not wishing what he was going through to have happened to anyone else, past, present or future. He looked up at the treetops above, sighing as his hair was still wet, but hopefully his body heat would slowly evaporate the water away. "To be honest you were right ... I'm far too young to be thinking about stuff like that, but sometimes it's good for me to remind myself of what my parents want for me - in the end what they mostly want is stability," he pondered. But then again, the people in his family rarely got a divorce. It was better to show a great face outwardly than deal with the problems in their own home.
Chuckling a bit to himself he looked at the vampyre, taking his now warm hand out of his pocket, reaching down to hold Eden's. "Now, I want you to stop worrying, because I don't want this to turn in to a bad memory for you," he said taking a big drag from his cigarette as he considered his next words carefully. Breathing out he smiled as he saw the smoke. "What we did in that cave really blew my mind," he chuckled, not scared to admit it. "I don't think I've ever really felt like that."

"Do only fools fall in love?" he asked, chuckling as it felt good to see the vampyre smile just a little bit more genuinely. Romeo usually used his touch to check on people, that was true, but somehow he wasn't too focused on that in this moment. He more so wanted to use his touch to comfort. He didn't think he was a fool, and Eden certainly was not, but then again maybe not even fools knew when they were fools. They continued through the forest, back to the trail they had come from. It felt a little surreal after what had happened in the cave, and Romeo was really happy about his healing abilities, or else he might've had a harder time standing and walking right now.
Getting out of the forest, Romeo discarded his smoked cigarette in an ashtray hanging by a trash can. "What time is it?" he asked a little curiously. The sun moved over the sky rather differently in the winter months, and it wasn't always so easy to tell time by looking at it. He thought it might be best to go back to the hotel and get dried before they headed out to the drinking event that Eden had mentioned.

Getting dried and afterwards in to some clean clothes felt great. He wore something more simple, a nice long sleeved shirt and a pair of grey pants. As they followed the signs he could feel his curiosity peak a bit more, and once inside the tent he hung up his jacket next to Eden's, just to keep track of it. He sat down at their spot, looking around at the atmosphere of the whole tent setup. Smiling to himself he suddenly felt a set of eyes on him, turning his head to look at Eden with a glimmer in his eyes. "See something you like?" he asked, reaching under the table to touch Eden's thigh, grabbing at it slightly. He could remember that look the vampyre had had in the cave, the one that still gave him shivers to think about.

Being introduced to the tray was clearly a surprise. There were quite the few drinks, all of them very different in color and smell, but they didn't look repelling. The host spoke, and Romeo's attention was on the man on the scene, just touching Eden's thigh under the table in calming strokes. It was as if he had a hard time keeping his hands off of the handsome man by his side. Lifting up the first drink he sniffed it, being surprised at the smell of what seemed to be lavender and chamomile. This was tea? He wasn't sure, but drinking it it didn't go down like tea. It felt more like a soup, though down it went. He took some time for the drink to take effect, though his heartrate did slow. Turning his head he looked at Eden, smiling at him as he clearly looked relaxed. It wasn't a high feeling, it was more like being cozied up under a blanket.
The host kept his promise however, and the effects of the drink soon enough wore off, making Romeo wonder if Eden had felt a change. "That felt weird," he chuckled, placing a hand on his chest, feeling his heart rate return to normal. It had felt a little unnerving to feel his heart slow down like that. "Please do tell me if you feel an effect from any of this," he urged him, smiling before the host went on to explain the next beverage.
Next up was a orange-reddish colored drink with small black specks of what Romeo thought reminded him of poppy seeds. The drink supposedly had an intoxicating effect on the body, as if one had been drinking for a while. "The local's nicknamed it giggle water, because it made people laugh at their own drunkenness," he explained and Romeo was curious. Lifting the drink it smelled a bit like tomatoes and celery all blended together, but there was a strong liquorice smell as well. Such a weird combination. Downing the drink he wrinkled his nose, the taste horrid, but it somehow made him giggle. Leaning against Eden, he giggled in to his shoulder, having a hard time keeping all of those bubbly chuckles from the surface.

Hearing and seeing the effect it had on Eden in contrary to himself was quite fascinating. But then again, they were rather different biologically speaking. As they got to the pink drink, Romeo was curious and a bit nervous. He knew he didn't have anything to be nervous about, well besides the fact that he indeed was here with someone that was clearly his lover. Taking the drink he lifted it to his lips, drinking it before placing the cup down. His body felt nothing at first. He thought maybe he just wasn't in love, but that was when he felt the tingle in the hand that was touching Eden. It wasn't until he really noticed it that he felt like it was some sort of heartbeat almost. He knew it wasn't his own heart, no this was different. It was more a feeling than an actual sound he could hear, but he didn't know how else to describe it. Looking up at Eden, he smiled as he looked at his blue green eyes. Was it weird that he wanted to lean in and feel his lips against the vampyre's right this moment? Feel if the heartbeat was also between their lips. He refrained from it, seeing as they weren't alone and this place wasn't meant for things to escalate.
As the effect wore off he didn't say anything. Perhaps because he felt like there wasn't anything to say, other than smile at Eden, one that perhaps said more than any word could. He had felt the neediness of the vampyre's hand, but he couldn't just give in right here. The next drink was labeled the almighty cure, said to heal any hangover or bad trip that one might encounter. And with that their taste testing came to an end. "Don't forget to take your complimentary bottled drink with you - It's an old aphrodisiac that was usually shared between two newly weds," the man said. Romeo took the bottle as it was handed around and they clapped and thanked the man who was in charge.
The lycan got up, smiling at Eden, "I want to go ask him about something ... You can just go have a smoke," he encouraged the vampyre with a warm smile. Romeo held the bottle for them as he went up, falling in to a decent conversation with the host. Afterwards he went outside, looking around for Eden as someone poked him on the shoulder, "Romeo?" a middle-aged man asked. The lycan looked confused for a second before he felt all the blood in his body freeze. He couldn't even reply, "it is you, I haven't seen you since you were a kid," the man bellowed, chuckling to himself but Romeo was barely responding. "How is your old man? Still a rascal like he used to be I bet," the man asked, frowning as Romeo wasn't responding. "What's wrong with you kid, don't you recognize me?"

Romeo's face was pale as he looked at the man, feeling like his ears were starting to cancel out the sound around him. Was he having a panic attack? When Eden showed up he barely knew how to react, watching at the two men now talking in front of him and yet they felt so far away. Their voiced muddled together in a mess in his head. "Gabriel?" the man repeated, a lifted eyebrow as he looked at Eden and then Romeo who wasn't seemingly responding to anything, "ah, you must be Romeo's tutor," the man smiled, holding out his hand. "My name is Michael. Michael Louis," the man introduced himself, "I knew Romeo back when he was a kid - me and his father go way back." Romeo was starting to shake a little, muttering an excuse me that sounded more like he was getting choked.
He didn't know where he was heading, he just needed to get as far away from Mr. Louis as possible. Michael scoffed, "his manners seem to be the same - Oh well, do give my best regards to his father; Haven't seen the man in a while, but it was nice seeing Romeo," he said before he went on his way to join his wife that was standing by a booth and looking at some of the drinks they had had inside the tent that they could purchase.

Romeo was in flight mode, needing to get as far away as possible, so as Eden grabbed his arm he flinched, collapsing on the ground, heaving for air. "Please," he whimpered. He sounded almost like a kid getting caught in doing something bad. "I don't want to be near him," he said. It was clear he was freaking out, tear in his eyes as he just sat helplessly on the ground. Was there a better way to deal with this? Probably, but you couldn't decide your own response in situations like this. "Can we ... Can we just go back to the hotel?" he pleaded, hyperventilating at this point and shaking like a leaf in the wind. Cold sweat was running down his back as his senses were clearly heightened, ready to run again if he saw just the shadow of the middle-aged man from before.

A bit shaky on his legs, he got up, walking beside Eden but keeping his gaze down. Hopefully anybody who saw them might just think Romeo had had a bit too much to drink. It felt like eternity getting back to the hotel, but once they were in their room, he started taking off his clothes. He was still breathing rather fast as he moved out to the bathroom, turning on the shower he needed to get rid of that dirty feeling. It was like he could smell Mr. Louis on his skin and he didn't want that.
Eventually he ended up, sitting at the bottom of the shower. His skin rubbed red as he had cleaned himself multiple times. He had tears in his eyes, just staring at the tile, counting them to calm himself down.

Romeo didn't even look up as Eden entered, flinching a bit as the curtain was drawn back and then finally looking at him as he was touched. Feeling that Eden wasn't there to hurt him, the lycan's body seemed to calm down, but his eyes were still fluid. "I just have some ghosts that show up from time to time," he muttered, his breath still a bit all over the place. "He was right ... He knew me as a kid and I ... knew him," he said, feeling embarrassed to say so. It was in his past, he should've been able to just shake it off, be normal and not feel terrified of that man.
With the help of Eden he got up and out of the shower, the fluffy towel that dried him off felt good against his sore skin. Afterwards he just wrapped his arms around the vampyre, burying his face in his chest. He needed to calm down a bit before he could just talk about it all.

If anything could've ruined this weekend it was the people from his past. He didn't want to remember those times, and he had fought so hard to get himself distanced from that. And now, being faced with one of these ghosts, he was shaking and scared like a little kid again.
They eventually ended up on the bed, Romeo curled up with his front to Eden's, touching the vampyre's shirt as it just seemed to calm him down. When he was finally ready he spoke. "I only see my father maybe once or twice a year," he said, frowning as he was surprised to even talk about it. Looking up at Eden's face, his expression said it all. This needed to be confidential. He couldn't bear if this got out, and he needed Eden to promise that it wouldn't. If he gave a nod,  he would proceed with his story. "When my parents got married it wasn't really because of love, sure my dad loved my mother's looks, but my mother only saw it as a business transaction," he said, touching the vampyre's shirt, feeling the cold skin beneath. "Well at least until she got me ... My father suddenly took less interest in her, which she didn't mind - it meant she could get to raise me right," it was clear he was speaking mostly from what he had been told, and what he had been heard repeated over the years. His body tensed a bit as he moved a bit forward in time. "You've probably noticed there's this ... Thing about me," he said frowning as he wasn't sure what to call it. But Eden would be stupid if he hadn't noticed how people seemed to be drawn to him rather easily. "Well my father noticed that too when I was about ... 8 or 9," shaking his head as the years were mixed up quite a bit. It didn't really matter to the overall story. "He began being more affectionate towards me, taking me and my mother on trips to the countryside ..." he trailed off, somehow wishing he could warn the kid he had been back then.
"Long story short, it was all a ruse to introduce me to some of his quote on quote friends," he said, his body tensing as he was fighting with himself to say much more. "I was just a kid," he muttered, closing his eyes, but even that seemed to make him shiver with horror. He took his time to breathe, calming himself and hopefully be able to continue the story. "It turned out my father owed a lot of money to his friends ... And what is better than money? Control over another person's body," he said, his breath going uneasy again.
"They would ... Dress me up in girls clothing ... Touch me where they pleased ... Do with me as they pleased ..." it was clear he could even put words to all the abuse he had went through. His heart was beating faster, almost as if he was reliving the trauma, and yet he knew he was safe here in Eden's arms. "My mother found out," he scoffed, "she castrated my father in his own bed, and cut up one of his vital arteries in his thigh ... but the bastard survived." Looking up at Eden, he had tears running down his face.

"Don't patronize me," he muttered, but let the vampyre pull him in. He didn't like pity or being looked down on, and perhaps that was why he had wanted Eden to see him as the man he was. Because if Eden just saw him as a kid, then would it really be different than what he had experienced back then? He felt the cold arms around him, being held close as he found his way back to breathing somewhat normal again. It was nice that Eden was actually holding him and not shying away from him. He could feel the genuine feeling of being cared for, but he also felt another feeling radiating from the vampyre. Was that jealousy or disgust? Perhaps a bit of both. "The only people in my family who knows are my mother and my uncle ... I guess that's why he took me in as he did," he muttered. He trusted his uncle with his life, and while the old businessman had a cold exterior, he was caring towards Romeo. While Lucius wasn't a generally caring man, he had found it in him to care for Romeo, perhaps because he was the product of his sister. The lycan had never had siblings, but it was so clear that what his mother and uncle had was genuine care for one another.
"Now that you know ... Do you think lesser of me?" he asked, mostly because this wasn't really romantic in any way. He was a victim in many regards, but he had used it to become stronger. Sure he had to grow up earlier than most kids, but he felt it had only aided him in his drive regards to studying and learning the trade of his family's company. "I just don't want you to look at me like I'm some ... Some fucking victim," he said, but he wasn't sure how it came out. He just wanted what they had to not change now that Eden knew. "I guess that was why what we did earlier in the cave blew my mind," he said, his hands caressing the vampyre's arms. Was it really strange that Romeo hadn't felt that connection before? Sex had been more of a way to let out steam, but this weekend had shown him how it was supposed to feel. "Not to mention our night in the tub ... The afternoon in the garden," he recounted. Everything with Eden felt safe. It felt like he was allowed to play up his brattyness without any real risk of getting hurt. The vampyre cared for him, and he felt that in everything they did.