Okay, so, this isn’t so much a Sexy Saturday as it is a Sappy Saturday. Sentimental Sat? Eh. It’s a little epilogue for Mortal Sins based on a prompt that didn’t make it into the final manuscript. I hope you all enjoy it, and I promise porn next week! XD
Beware of spoilers if you haven’t read Mortal Sins!
Warnings: Fluff/SPOILERS
~*~
Everhart’s was packed every night thanks to rave reviews about the food. The local paper even wrote a wonderful article about the restoration project and gushed at length about the incredible menu. Richard Oberon, they said, had an absolutely magical way of working with food.
Magical indeed – since Snod couldn’t taste any of it.
Being a vampire had that drawback, of course. He had to cook based on his sense of smell alone, arguably more powerful than his mortal tastebuds had ever been. He enjoyed being in the kitchen regardless, easily managing the back of the house and running all the food by himself.
Though he was still not able to achieve Frankie’s ghostlike quickness, his speed and strength were well beyond any mortal’s. The new abilities were awesome, but they also created several stumbles to work through; one cooler door handle had already suffered his wrath and snapped in his hands, not to mention all the dishes he kept accidentally breaking.
Frankie was always there to help him and pick up the pieces, literal and otherwise, calming him right back down with that bright smile of his. He was the only one who could make Snod feel better, to make him feel human again.
The emotions were even harder than his powers to make sense of, constantly fighting against the cold chasm inside of him that wanted to absorb everything that he was as a human man. Feeling anything other than the hunger was difficult, but Frankie was such a fantastic teacher.
When Snod’s desire for blood was at its worst and he was certain he would lose his humanity forever, Frankie was there to bring him laughter, love, agony and anguish – the full spectrum of human emotions to wake him back up.
Sometimes it was with his words, other times perhaps a movie or a poem; but no matter what, Frankie always found a way.
Disney films were usually a pretty sure bet, Snod still favoring Aladdin above all the others. He had taken the night off from the bar to spend the evening with Frankie, full of blood and content to snuggle on the sofa while his favorite film began to play.
Frankie was cradling him close, Snod’s head in his lap, mindlessly dragging his nails through his short hair. “You know,” he said with a smirk, “I read that Robin Williams improvised that scene.”
“Oh?” Snod perked up.
“Mmhmm. They gave him a table of weird objects to play with and just let him play around. When he breaks that thing, I think he actually broke something.”
Snod smiled, chuckling softly to himself. He glanced up at Frankie, asking, “Work tomorrow?”
“Always,” Frankie snorted. “My turn to drive the carpool.”
“Hear anything about Ephraim?”
“Amy is going with him this weekend to visit the new compound,” Frankie replied. “You know, the one that the not-so-crazy ex-Order members set up?”
“Ulgh, why?”
“Bring medicine, teach some first aid, stuff like that.”
“Hmmph.” Snod looked back at the television.
“Do you ever miss him?” Frankie asked casually. “I’m sure I could talk to Amy and see-“
“No,” Snod cut in. He sighed, adding more gently, “No, thank you.”
“You guys were such good friends!” Frankie frowned. “Are you sure?”
“We were friends when we were brainwashed to kill vampires,” Snod said dryly. “I don’t think he’s interested and I don’t care. I don’t miss him. I don’t…” He struggled for the words.
*Take your time…* Frankie smiled, his fingers still lovingly petting Snod’s hair.
“What we had is gone,” Snod said at last. “Without the Order, we have nothing in common.”
*Nothing except the abuse, the punishments, the lessons…*
“Okay, okay,” Frankie said gently, trying to send out a calming energy to soothe Snod’s frantic thoughts.
“I’m sorry,” Snod said, glancing up at his lover with a sigh. “I know you’re trying to help me… but not with Ephraim. Not now.” *Maybe not ever…*
“How’s Athaliah?” Frankie asked, seamlessly changing the subject.
“Good,” Snod said, his smile coming back in an instant. “He’s running the kitchen tonight and promised me he wouldn’t burn anything.”
“How many times did you make him recite the recipes?”
“Once.” *Maybe twice…*
Frankie giggled, giving Snod’s head a pat. “I love you, you silly man.”
“Mmm, I love you,” Snod purred, pulling Frankie’s hand down so he could kiss his palm. “Any idea when they’re going to announce that they’re getting married?”
“And how do you know about that?”
“I have ears. I heard them talking about it.”
Frankie raised a skeptical brow. “In front of you?”
“No, they were in their room and probably didn’t realize I could hear them.”
“Mmm, Lorenzo is probably still scared that you’re going to eat him.”
“A legitimate fear,” Snod remarked.
Frankie laughed, shaking his head. “They are totally in love and they will be amazing together. They’re so excited. I’m very happy for them and you should be, too.”
“I am,” Snod conceded. “Truly.” He fidgeted for a moment, adding hesitantly, “They want to adopt children.”
“Well,” Frankie said, “I think that’s wonderful, and that they will be awesome parents.”
Snod didn’t reply at first, trying to sort out why the idea bothered him so much. He was happy for the joy his brother had found, but thinking about the future troubled him. Athaliah and Lorenzo raising a child together led him to wonder what sort of role he would have in his unborn nephew’s or niece’s life.
How would they explain that Uncle Obe never aged? What would happen when it was finally time to bury Athaliah and Snod was still the same-
“Hey, hey,” Frankie said firmly, “come back to me. It’s going to be okay, Obe. We will figure it all out. I’m still going to find a cure-“
“And if you don’t?”
“Then we don’t get cured right now,” Frankie said with a shrug. “It’s going to be all right. Being an immortal uncle wouldn’t be so bad. You’d get to watch the baby grow up, then maybe watch his or her kids, too. Athaliah would love knowing we’d be around to watch over his little one.”
“You’re not giving up on a cure, are you?” Snod’s brows knitted together. “What is this?”
“It’s my way of making the best of it,” Frankie replied with a soft smile. “I will never give up on finding a way to be human again. But if it takes me another few hundred years, hey… we’ve got a lot to look forward to in the meantime.”
Snod snorted quietly, sighing sarcastically, “How do you manage to be so ridiculously cheerful?”
“Because the worst case scenario here is spending eternity with the man I love,” Frankie teased, beaming down at Snod. “Not so bad, right?”
Snod smiled, feeling Frankie’s love and adoration washing over him like the sun, warm and sweet. He sat up to claim a passionate kiss, hugging him tight. “Mm, not too bad at all.”
