Rain laughed more as Jeckle flushed, taking his hand gently, admittedly getting a dusting of red on their cheeks as well. She sipped more of her cup with their other hand. “Besides, I think we also have a right to privacy. As do you.”
Alex giggled softly. Even now, little by little, he was getting his focus back. He remembered his friend smiling and blushing at her phone when they were in their dorm together.
Soon enough he looked at Jeckle, and his face fell slightly. “Oh… Yeah. It’s alright, really. There was probably a, um, a better way to go about the situation, but you didn’t ruin anything.”
“Just his grades,” Rain remarked, and Alex grinned nervously. He leaned on Cas and pet his head.
Jeckle sat in awe as he watched Rain take his hand. In the past few months he had been trying to help Alex and and Cas, he had pushed his own relationship off to the side, trying to text or call every night but it hadn't been the same attention he had been giving. He gently brushed a calloused thumb over the back of Rain's hand, testing the waters as he slowly came back to his senses. "And I'm sorry for pulling you along in my little plan, Rain." He said softly, arching an eyebrow as an easy smile appeared on his features. "Privacy?"
Cas could have sworn it had Jeckle who had taken the potion with the way he was looking at Rain, his sharp eyes going soft and compliant as he looked at his partner. No matter how tough and independent Jeckle tried to be, Cas could see the puddle Rain made him become everytime they were close.
Cas knew a similar feeling, though he wouldn't consider himself as cocky as Jeckle, he was equally enamored by the vampire beside him. Cas shifted slightly to accomadate Alex, leaning heavily into his hand while he traced little patterns on his hand, small protection sigils and spells for luck, useless without the right incantation but it was a habit of Cas'. "We'll definitely help with your grades, especially after that test." He agreed
The small smile on Rain’s face grew. She squeezed his hand lightly and let out a breath. “Don’t be. I wanted to. I thought it was just a funny prank to help them out, I guess.” Their gaze fixed on the cup of blood in their hand as she swished it around absentmindedly. Then she glanced at him and chuckled, shaking their head. “Privacy, yes. Cas here is basically asking us to be honest about our feelings right in front of everyone, isn’t he? We don’t have to do that in public. And neither do Cas and Alex.”
“I don’t mind being honest in front of people,” Alex said, perhaps a little too emphatically.
Rain just laughed. “Go off then, I guess?”
He smiled and kissed Cas’s head. He drank more blood and tried to finish his cup when his love spoke. “I’d appreciate that,” he murmured sheepishly.
Cas raised his hands in defense for a moment "I completely agree with Rain, but seeing Jeckle a blushing flustered mess is a rare treat." He teased, sticking out his tongue when he saw the vampire's glare. "But of course you two deserve a nice night out together, especially after having to worry about us." Cas continued, leaning into Alex's affections.
"As much as I want to spend every waking moment with you, you really need to focus on studies for a bit." Cas encouraged gently, running his finger's through Alex's hair. "We're going on our double date and then you're hitting the books and I'm finding a bed to sleep in for a day or two." As excited as Cas was for the the date, he had spent a lot of energy and magic on the potion and desperately wanted the weekend to come sooner so he could sleep in.
“Can’t argue with that.” Rain smirked softly at Jeckle.
Alex sighed. “I know. It’s hard.” He pouted, but quickly smiled as Cas combed through his hair. “Awww, but I wanna sleep with you.” He giggled, biting his lip a little. “Let’s just focus on the date for now. When are we going? Where are we going? I still don’t know.” He bounced a little in his seat. “I’m pretty much done drinking so I’m ready.”
It was then he felt a buzz from his pocket. He reached behind to grab his phone. On the screen a little notification popped up.
Brook: Enjoy your date /gen
He smiled softly, briefly wondering if James and Sam made her say that. He put the phone back in his pocket.
"remind me to never be emotionally open with any of you." Jeckle pouted, toying with Rain's hand.
Cas blinked and brushed his thumb over Alex's cheek. "You can't say things like that and expect me to move on." Cas kissed Alex's hair, having wanting to keep the date a surprise but e knew he couldn't do that with everyone else leaning eagerly.
"I'm taking you to the botanical garden. Usually it's more of a witch hang out place but there's no rules against Vampires going. There's some great little restaurants I thought you guys would like if you're still hungry we could stop by later." He explained, catching a glimpse of Alex's phone and giving his arm a gentle squeeze. "You're friends are more than welcome to join. It's been a while since you talked or been around them for more than five minutes." He encouraged gently, gathering his bag and plate.
Rain just smiled, taking Jeckle’s hand and kissing the knuckles.
Alex stuck his tongue out and grinned playfully. “Well I was being a little silly.” His face then relaxed as Cas kissed his head, and he leaned into it, holding the witch gently.
“A garden?” He tilted his head. “I don’t think I’ve really ever been to a place like that.” He brought a hand to his chin. “Sounds romantic though!” He chuckled. He blinked as he felt Cas touch his arm.
“My friends?” He frowned a little. “But this is a date. I… I don’t know if that would make things more enjoyable. They haven’t even properly met you yet, and…”
“At least one of them is gonna say something insensitive,” Rain huffed. “I think that would be awkward for you, Cas. Already, you’re the only witch with three vampires, do we really want to add like five more?”
“I do want to talk to them though…” Alex’s brain paused for a bit as his focus gradually shifted to something other than Cas. “Damien’s still sick, isn’t he? And Sam and Brook have work around this time…”
“Yeah. It’s alright, there’s always another time.”
Cas watched as his friend, if possible, fell even more for the vampire beside him. It was the small gestures no one thought a guy like him would crave that made his heart flutter, even more so coming from Rain, someone Jeckle had thought for the longest time out of his league. He brushed his thumb over Rain's cheek and dropped a kiss to their brow before returning to the conversation. "Finally! I've been looking for an excuse to go to the witch's botanical garden. Obviously, we're allowed in but it always feels like we're breaking some unspoken rule when we get too close."
Cas nodded "Yeah, it's mostly witch territory. But I'm hoping we won't have too much trouble if I'm bringing you guys in. It is really nice around sunset, and I want to show you it all."
Cas thought for a moment and gave a slight shrug. "What better way for us to get to know each other? Besides, any reservations they have about me, I've probably heard worse." He stood with the empty plates and slung his bag over his shoulder. "Hae your friend drop by the shop after, I can probably whip something up to help if he wants. If not today, we should meet up with your friends another time. I think we owe them an apology and an explanation as to why you weren't around for a month."
“Not today,” Alex insisted. Ever since Cas brought up the idea, he had it in his mind that it would be just the two of them, plus Jeckle and Rain having their own date alongside them. That’s what double dates were, right? And including more friends felt wrong, somehow. Perhaps he would feel differently if he wasn’t at least partially under the potion’s influence, but he knew because of that he would not be able to give everyone the attention they deserved.
He stood up after Cas and picked up his cup. “Yeah, sure. I’m all for that.” He went to put his cup in the trash before coming back.
Rain was still working on her drink, so she held onto it as they stood up. They knew that even if Brook had the time for something like this, she’d say no if asked to join. If they were going to explain things to the rest of the group, they would need to go slow.
Cas nodded slightly "Well, if they ever want to join us, don't hesitate to invite them." He reassured, glancing around the dining hall for Alex's friends as they headed out, wondering if they were close by and if they seemed to know about the date. He didn't want Alex to separate from his friend just because he was dating a witch. He knew even now, witches and vampires kept to themselves, not trusting the other even after decades of peace for some prejudice or another. Cas was ashamed to have felt fear sometimes around vampires, especially when they outnumbered him. There was a certain look in their eyes, a deep-seated hunger that, while rationally Cas knew they could control, sent a chill up his spine. He assumed similar whenever they saw a witch.
Apparently, one of the only ones not to get the memo of witches staying with witches and vamps with vamps was a certain vampire who seemed to keep getting hurt and finding his way to his little shop on the other side of campus. It was a pleasant and confusing surprise back in freshman year when Jeckle dropped by his shop for a cut, a bruise, or some sort of injury that a nurse could clearly handle, but the stubborn yet oddly charming vampire went to Cas instead. Since then, they've been an odd duo but friends nonetheless.
The young vampire nudged Cas' shoulder "Hey, you have nothing to worry about. Once they see how much you care about Alex, they'll ease off the hostility. You're dating one of their best friends, of course, they're gonna go into parent mode." He smirked, rolling his eyes teasingly. "Give em a chance to know the Cas that Alex fell in love with before the potion. They'll love ya!"
As Cas glanced around the area, he might have spotted a familiar face or two in the crowd, but they seemed pretty preoccupied with their own business. Alex noticed and followed Cas’s gaze, recognizing the two individuals as James and Cameron. They were the more academically inclined of their group, James being more nerdy and studied diligently, while Cameron made good grades with seemingly little effort. James had his nose buried in a textbook and Cameron was drinking blood and doing something on their laptop; Alex guessed it was something for one of the clubs they were part of. Since they were both busy, Alex just smiled to himself and continued on.
“Yeah, they’ll definitely warm up to you once they sus you out first. But I think we need the right environment for that.”
Cas gave a sheepish smile "I have nothing to hide." He leads their little group out of the dining hall, the campus grounds bustling with students enjoying the warm weather of the day. Jeckle flicked up his hood and slipped on a pair of sunglasses as they started towards the outskirts of the campus. Technically, the botanical gardens were off campus, a bit away from the main buildings, to have a more secluded area for students to study and work. Cas made a quick stop at his shop to make sure the inventory had been dropped off and that the store was safe before they went off toward the gardens, the midday sun still high above them as they kept to the shadows cast by the buildings around them. "So you've all never been to the gardens before?" He asked. Jeckle shook his head "Nope, as much as the campus loves to promote unity between witches and vamps, it's not as accurate as they like to think. We stay where and when we belong; you guys stay where you belong. It's already hard enough with the day and night thing we gotta balance, so making friends with witches isn't encouraged." He explained with a slight shrug. "I guess we're the exception." He motioned to their little group.
(The sun is setting? I was under the impression that this was in the morning or early afternoon)
(shoot yeah was going closer for early afternoon, lemme change that)
(Oof thanks, I’ll try to respond soon)
“Apparently, they think you do,” Rain said as she pulled on her hood as well. Alex had nothing to protect himself from sun, so he stayed in the shade when he could.
When Cas asked the question, the other vampires shook their heads along with Jeckle. Rain chuckled. “Yeah, even if we have classes with witches, there’s still a lot of self segregation going on.”
Alex scratched the back of his head. “I’ve just never felt a reason to go? I’m sure there are vampires who are interested in biology or alchemy and that kind of thing, maybe even witchcraft. But in general, why would a vamp need to go to the gardens anyway?”
Cas wordlessly offered his jacket to Alex with a gentle nudge at his arm. He knew the sun wasn't as big of a problem as media or history made it out to be but it was obviously still a discomfort to them, enough that they had to keep to the shadows or always carry some sort of jacket or shawl. "I know I have some sort of reputation with running the apothecary on campus but I didn't think that would garner much attention." He shrugged slightly, still grappling with the separation between witches and vampires. "Did we do something to your people? He asked, looking at the three. He had heard rumors, mostly on campus about war or some conflict decades ago before their generation. The school they were all currently enrolled at was supposedly meant to have been a place of peace and a symbol of unity when times were hard but whether the detail of a resolution to the problem always remained murky no matter who was telling the tale. Cas chewed his lip in thought, making a mental note to go to the library and start researching the history of the place, not just of his people but of vampires and any other creature he might have been less aware of.
"It's peaceful?" Cas offered with a tentative smile, to which Jeckle gave a laugh "True, but what's the fun in life if you're not constantly on edge? Though it would be nice to relax and not worry about anything for a few hours."
Alex looked over and took the jacket with a grateful smile. He pulled the hood over his head, but didn’t put his arms through the sleeves, so that he was wearing it a little bit like a cape. He couldn’t resist giving Cas a kiss on the cheek.
Rain pursed her lips. “I’m trying to figure that out right now. I know it’s very… complicated. From what I’ve found, it goes beyond just vampires and witches. It involves undead vampires and non magical humans as well. At least, when I heard my family talk about it, they make it sound like it was just a big thing between the most prominent true vampire lineages and witch covens, but it always sounded too simplistic to me.”
Alex found his smile fading as he listened. It was so strange hearing this now, and being able to engage with the conversation properly instead of only thinking of Cas all the time. For the first time in a while, he thought of his own family.
“My family always told me that the witches did do something to us. They were the reason why there were so few ‘great and noble vampire families’ left. For a while now, I’ve thought it was a weird narrative, but I’ve never really looked into it.”
Rain hummed. “Again, it’s probably more complicated than that. Or it’s not true at all.”
Alex turned to Jeckle. “Pfft. Why would you want to live on the edge when you’re already going through college?”
Cas laced his fingers with Alex', making sure to keep them in the shadow of the jacket as they walked. Cas had heard of undead vampires before, but it was usually talked about amongst students rather than actually taught at the college. He had always assumed for safety purposes and to not cause unnecessary panic but now he suspected a different reason. He hadn't even suspected non-magical humans at this point but it made sense why they'd be involved too, especially being the most vulnerable population. He thought back to what his parents had taught him, even before transferring to college.
Even without his parents telling him much so as to not scare the young witchling, Cas had known a bit of the history between the witches and vampires. He knew it was pretty. He knew a lot of people died on both sides. The Lerouxs had been involved somehow but explicitly how was something he hadn't looked into much. Cas had always seen his family as peaceful, or at least as much as possible. He knew he had a big one but they mostly kept in contact with immediate relatives mostly aunts and uncles. He didn't really visit his grandparents much, save for an occasional birthday or unfortunately a death when he had been younger. His parents never really talked much about them, whether that was because there wasn't much to say or that they were avoiding the topic Cas could never really tell.
"Some messed up lie to tell if it isn't true. All for what, to make a big show? to separate us more?" Jeckle shook his head, glaring off into the distance. "I, for one, don't know if I care much what hundred-year-old witches did to hundred-year-old vamps. We're still here. We don't have to carry what they messed up anymore." In his own weird way, Jeckle understood the history. He also understood that what was in the past didn't have to affect him or how he interacted with his friends. He grinned and peered over his sunglasses at Alex "Cuz what's the point of living a second life if you waste it being safe? Safety was a human thing. We're not necessarily human anymore. Never really was if we ended up like this instead of undead."
