12. Chapter 12 Interlude (1/1)

you know the drill, this is a short-and-steamy one (though not that steamy). enjoy!

disclaimer: not mine. c'mon.

robin never took his eyes from bertrand's as he worked his way down the buttons, determined not to miss any sign that the vampire wanted him to stop. there wasn't any such flicker of doubt in bertrand's expression, though, just a sort of resigned acceptance to the fact that robin was going to see the scars he'd hidden for so long, and then he was going to reject him. robin looked down – the last button was being uncooperative, but he managed it – and pushed the shirt gently away from the vampire's torso, exposing the skin beneath.

bertrand tensed noticeably under robin's gaze, as he let his eyes wander slowly up from the long, thin scars on his toned stomach to the smaller ones at the bottom of his chest until they finally came to rest on the scars around his heart. robin couldn't help gasping; he'd felt the scars there before, of course, but he hadn't realised what they meant. looking at them, though, it was clear that these marks had been left by a stake, or stakes. they had tried to slay his bertrand. he glanced up to find his boyfriend looking wounded, and realised how that sharp intake of

eath must have sounded to the vampire. he hurried to reassure him, kissing him passionately as he let his hands continue exploring the scarred surface of bertrand's body.

bertrand wasn't entirely distracted by the kiss; he could still feel robin's hands trailing over ruined flesh, stroking softly in a way that was not remotely unpleasant, but wasn't as soothing as the

eather probably hoped it would be. still, he was just beginning to relax a little, enjoying robin's mouth on his, when suddenly the boy drew back. he opened his eyes, intending to complain, but the words never left his lips as robin leant down and began to trail kisses down his chest, making sure to pay especial attention to the damaged tissue that tended to be left when someone tried to force a pointed piece of wood through you. he'd never really considered the idea that simply having someone's

eath ghosting across his skin could actually be exciting, but he was certainly thinking about it now.

bertrand's eyes fluttered closed again as robin kissed his way from one scar to the next, sinking to his knees when bending down to reach his stomach became too uncomfortable. it had been so long, before robin, since anyone had shown him any kind of genuine affection at all – he wondered, in fact, if anyone really had – and to have such attention paid to his insecurities, to making him feel good about himself, was almost overwhelming.

"ew. if you were going to do that, you could have at least shut the door."