Ch.1 - āokay, youāre prettyā
(surprise, bitch! bet you thought youād seen the last of me :)Ā iām not even in this fandom any more, but i do so hate to leave unfinished business lying around... and i had 30k of perfectly good fic with like three chapters left to complete, so. here we are. me, posting yogfic, in the year of our lord 2022. god help us all. )
(also, three notes before we start: 1- this will update every sunday until itās done (iāve got 11 chapters planned). 2- yes this chapter is similar to the oneshot i originally posted, but itās lightly edited and significantly extended, so i donāt feel bad reposting it. 3- this is the funniest thing i have ever done.)
Art credit for banner.
[ao3]
āWhat ifā yāknowā¦ā Thereās a pause where Parvis struggles for words. He heaves a sigh when he canāt quite find them, and turns his face a little further into the comforting warmth of Willās thigh instead. āVampires.ā
āVampires?ā asks Will, exhaustedly.
Itās gone four in the morning, the sun just beginning to rise over the horizon, and heās sat on a bench in a park with his best friend draped over him and a stranger leant against him because they all decided it would be a good idea to watch the sun rise. Heās really not drunk enough to be able to justify this to himself ā to be able to justify any of this evening to himself ā but here he is.
Because of Parvis. Story of his damn life.
Parvis is sprawled out across Willās knees, head in Willās lap. The rest of him is draped across the bench theyāre sat on, his legs hanging off the end at an angle that doesnāt look particularly comfortable but apparently works for him. Or, at least, heās not complaining about it ā though considering the amount of alcohol in his system at this point, that doesnāt really count for much.
Someone apparently called Kirin is on his other side, perched on the small sliver of bench not taken up by Parvisā sprawl and Willās tired hunch. Heās got an arm around Willās shoulders, leaning against him and doing what feels like his best to crush him. The manās a good foot taller than him, probably more, broad shouldered and heavy and very definitely not doing anything to keep himself even remotely upright. His cheekās resting against the top of Willās head, beard a barely-felt scratch against Willās temple, and Willās not entirely sure heās actually still awake.
Part of Will is honoured that he apparently makes such a good pillow. The rest of him is rather more concerned about the way the arm trapped between the two of them is going numb.
Willās not actually entirely sure who Kirin is, if heās being honest. Heās seen him around the place once or twice, recognises his face ā but an impressively drunk Parvis had dragged him over to where Will had been sat in some unfamiliar bar at a little before midnight, introduced him as my new favourite person ever, and that had been it. Parvis had dragged them both around for the rest of the evening and Kirin had followed, an arm around Parvisā shoulder and a bemused smile on his face at Parvisā exuberance and enthusiasm.
All in all, heās been the easier of the two to deal with, even taking the lack of feeling in Willās arm into account.
āVampires,ā repeats Parvis, and tries to dig his teeth into Willās jeans-covered thigh by way of clarification. He fails, mostly ends up drooling a bit, and Will sighs.
āI will push you onto the floor,ā he says ā but itās mostly an empty threat, one hand coming up to card through the mussed and slightly sweaty tangle of Parvisā hair.
Parvis giggles, wrinkles up his nose, and doesnāt seem too bothered by the prospect. āWhat ifā what if Iām a vampire, Will?ā he says. Thankfully, he doesnāt try and bite anyone again. āIāve got teeth. I could be a vampire. Iād be a good vampire.ā
Thereās a momentās pause where Will considers dealing with all the problems in that sentence ā starting with why do you want to be a vampire and ending with Iām not sure having teeth is the primary requirement there ā and then just gives up. He strokes a thumb through Parvisā hair, feels the way Kirinās breath stirs his hair with every exhale, watches the sky fade from black to blue, and breathes.
āHe talks a lot, doesnāt he?ā
Kirinās voice is thick with sleepiness, lips only an inch from Willās ear, and Will canāt help huffing out an amused noise. āHe really, really does,ā he says, and canāt help but smile when Kirin chuckles.
After a long moment, Kirin shifts a little, so Willās arm is no longer trapped between the two of them. On the bright side, that means itās no longer going numb. On the less bright side, that means the pins and needles can begin as the blood returns to it. It also means heās leant even more against Willās side, leaving Willās arm nowhere to really go other than around Kirinās shoulder ā but Willās sort of okay with that.
Apparently bored by the lack of attention being paid to him, Parvis makes a noise somewhere between a growl and a distressed kitten, and begins his inefficient attempt to chew through Willās jeans again. Thereās an unpleasant wet patch forming against Willās outer thigh thatās entirely the fault of Parvisā mouth, but Parvis doesnāt seem to notice.
āStop that,ā says Will, and flicks Parvisā nose. He sighs again when Parvis tries to chew on his fingers instead. āYouāre terrible.ā
āPretty,ā adds Kirin, voice little more than a murmur. Willās not sure whether heās referring to Parvis, the sunrise, or whatever heās seeing behind his own half-closed eyelids ā heās still not entirely sure if Kirin is awake, or just sleeping with his eyes partially open and sleep-talking at convenient moments ā but he hums in agreement nonetheless.
āOkay, youāre pretty, your face is a work of artā¦ā sings Parvis, delighted and out of tune, giggling. He rolls over onto his back so heās staring at Willās face, at the slowly-purpling sky beyond that and the faint scattering of stars laced through it.
āArenāt you in a band?ā asks Will, absently carding fingers through the short hair at the nape of Kirinās neck out of sheer force of habit. āHow are you tone deaf and still in a band?ā
Parvis giggles harder, but somehow manages to get the rest of the words out through his laughter. āYour smile could light up New York City after dark.ā He reaches up vague, questing fingers over his head. Somehow, they manage to find Kirinās face to poke at his mouth. Kirin sighs, chuckles a little, and Parvis grins wider at the rush of warm air over his fingertips. āOkay, youāre cover-boy pretty, stamped with a beauty markā¦ā
His fingers dance over Willās cheeks, tracing out his freckles ā one, two, three, too many to count ā and Will feels his cheeks heat up, knows heās probably gone bright red.
āYouāre terrible,ā repeats Will, though thereās no heat to the words, just tired affection. He threads his fingers a little higher up through Kirinās hair to run careful nails over his scalp, and sighs at the way Kirin curls into him. The weightās almost comforting, now, the warmth of the two people pressed up against him enough to stave off the shivers of the early-morning cold.
āI definitely need both your numbers,ā says Parvis sleepily, ignoring Will completely as per usual and yawning widely. The sunās rising, which seems like the perfect time to start thinking about sleep.
Kirin hums quietly, tilts his head a little more until his lips are pressed against Willās temple, which does nothing to help the slowly fading blush across Willās face. āIām not actually sure I know where my phone is,ā he admits, patting vaguely at his pockets with one hand before giving up almost immediately. āAh well. Itāll turn up. Probably. Everythingās fine.ā
Will laughs, flushes again when he feels the way Kirinās lips curve into a smile against his skin at the noise. āParvis, you already have my number.ā
Parvis blinks up at him, grins wide and slightly sappy. One of Kirinās hands settles on his head, and Parvis leans into it ā into the way Kirinās fingers link with Willās against the tangle of his hair, the heat of their hands sinking into his scalp. āOh, yeah,ā he says, softly, and reaches up to touch two fingers to the corners of Willās mouth. āI do.ā
And then he promptly falls asleep, mouth open and drooling against Willās leg.
Itās around the point that Parvis starts to snore, barely three minutes later, that Will decides they really need to get back to their student accommodation. āWake up,ā he says, tapping Parvisā shoulder. āYou need a bed, and Iām not dragging you to one.ā
When that doesnāt work, Will jams two fingers into Parvisā ribs, and then grabs him around the waist to prevent him from rolling off the bench with his flailing. āUp!ā he growls, detaching himself from Kirin and standing up to haul at Parvisā upper body, ignoring the groaning noises the action produces that are somewhat reminiscent of the undead. āI swear to god, Parvisā¦ā
Kirin watches the performance with something between amusement and confusion, before getting to his own feet and stretching expansively ā something Willās very grateful for. Despite his height, Parvis is scrawny enough Will can just about manhandle him. Judging by Kirinās broad shoulders and solid torso, Will wouldnāt be able to do the same with him.
It takes a considerable amount of hauling and supporting and cajoling to get Parvis on his feet, and he only manages to stay on them by wrapping arms around Willās shoulders and leaning heavily against him. This close, his breath smells of cheap alcohol and something sweet, probably the coke heād been mixing with whatever he was drinking, and Will wrinkles his nose in distaste. āYouāre disgusting,ā he informs Parvis, wrapping a reluctant arm around his waist to stabilise him.
āAnd youāre pretty,ā retorts Parvis, swaying forward until their noses nearly touch, giggling at how red Will turns ā whether from embarrassment or annoyance, he doesnāt know and doesnāt really care. āPretty, pretty Willy Strifeyā¦ā
āThatās not an insult, Parvis,ā mutters Will, pushing his face away and trying to ignore Kirinās poorly-muffled laughter.
As if suddenly reminded of Kirinās continued existence, Parvis perks up a little, prodding Willās shoulders with the fingers of the arm thrown over it. āOh, yeah! Whatās happening to him?ā he asks, hanging off of Willās neck and waving a hand in the vague direction of Kirin.
For a brief second, Will is annoyed ā apparently, heās now responsible for the strange man that Parvis picked up, purely because heās the most sober, which doesnāt really seem fair. But Kirinās spinning in circles, peering at the skyline in a mystified and distinctly non-sober fashion, so itās a fair enough question.
Will sighs, and turns to face Kirin, Parvis swaying like a counterweight against his hip. āWhereāre you staying?ā he asks, and Kirin shrugs.
āIām kind of lost,ā he says, apologetically ā as though it remotely bothers Will whether heās lost or not. He doesnāt sound too concerned, though. āIām sure Iāll get home fine, though. My flatās probably somewhereā¦ā He spins in another circle and staggers, before staring up at the stars, frowning. āItās fine.ā
Will sighs, and wishes he were drunk enough to be okay with leaving Kirin to wander the streets in the early hours of the morning. āItās not fine,ā he says, exhaustedly, and grabs Kirinās wrist to tug him along behind them. āYouāre coming with us. Come on.ā
He pretends not to notice the large, slightly dopey grin that spreads across Kirinās face, and very carefully doesnāt wonder whether heās just been played.
The walk back is, thankfully, largely uneventful. Parvis has trouble staying on his feet and staying awake, but Kirinās steady enough to help Will hold him up. Between the two of them, he manages to walk most of the way, his cheerful singing slowly quieting down to an out-of-tune hum.
Kirin gives him a piggy-back for the rest of the short trip, draped drunk and sprawling and still humming to himself over the width of Kirinās shoulders. Itās an effort for Will not to stare, reluctantly amazed at the way Kirin bears Parvisā weight so effortlessly, despite the very distinctly crooked line his footsteps make across the pavement.
The student housing flat block isnāt too far, a ten minute walk from the bar theyād been in, which itself was a five minute walk from the park theyād all ended up in. The walk back takes them over twenty, thanks mostly to Parvisā shambling gait at first, and then to his weight slowing Kirin down, but they do all eventually make it in one piece.
Opening the door to the building, and then the door to the flat Will and Parvis share with Xephos and Lalna, and then the door to Willās room, is something of an adventure. For a heart-stopping moment outside the building itself, Will thinks heās actually lost his keys ā but then he finds them in Parvisā pocket, and from there itās just a case of remembering which key is for which door, and then remembering exactly how keys work.
He realises, as he fumbles his attempt to put the key in the lock for the fourth time, that he may be drunker than heād thought.
When they all finally fall into Willās room ā literally, falling through the doorway when the door suddenly opens with them all leaning against it ā Parvis is asleep again on Kirinās back, and neither Kirin nor Will are particularly awake. While Will shucks off his coat and scarf, carefully toeing off his boots, Kirin heads straight for the bed, taking Parvis with him.
By the time Willās kicked his shoes off, moving both Kirin and Parvisā shoes out the way of the door so they wonāt all trip over them in the morning, his bed has already been stolen.
Kirinās taking up most of it, sprawling expansively across the mattress, eyes already closed. Tucked under his arm and pressed against his ribcage is Parvis, a ball of too-long limbs somehow wedged between his side and the wall.
Will sighs. He can always go and sleep in Parvisā bed, provided heās forgotten to lock the door to his room as he usually does ā and if that fails, he can brave waking Xephos up to try and beg the blow-up mattress off of him. Not that he particularly relishes the thought of waking the other student up at whatās rapidly approaching five in the morning.
Standing there, running a hand through his hair in faint exasperation, he jumps when Kirinās hand curls around his wrist. It tugs him insistently towards the bed, only holds on tighter when he tries to pull his arm away. āNo,ā says Kirin, plaintively. Will tries to extract his wrist again, fails to pry the bands of iron that are Kirinās fingers away from his wrist. āNo, please, donāt do that. Please.ā
He tugs again ā and Will, exhausted and still a little, perhaps a lot, drunk and so very done with all of this, lets himself tumble onto the bed. Onto Kirinās chest.
āBetter,ā murmurs Kirin, sounding inordinately pleased with himself, rearranging an unhelpfully ragdoll Will into a more comfortable position. He ends up with his head tucked under Kirinās chin, curled mostly on the other manās chest, legs tangled with Parvisā. One of Kirinās arms is thrown over his shoulders. āMuch better.ā
Will wants to argue, to point out that this really isnāt better at all. Thereās far too many of them in a single bed. Theyāre going to overheat horrifically in the tiny room, someoneās going to fall off the mattress, and theyāre all going to wake up in the morning with aches from being contorted into strange positions.
But Kirinās a solid warmth beneath him, a slow rise-fall of expanding and contracting ribs, every exhale stirring Willās hair. He has to admit to himself, before sleep takes advantage of the alcohol and exhaustion to drag him down into unconsciousness, that Kirin might just be right.







