While Draluc took a shower and got ready in the bathroom, Ronaldo started getting dressed in their living room area.
“John, has he been that sick since he woke up?”
John nodded sadly with a quiet “Nuu…”
Ronaldo frowned, getting dressed the rest of the way. He was wearing a red dress shirt and tie, with black slacks. Draluc’s family tended to have formal parties, so Ronaldo was debating putting on the suit jacket right now. However, Ronaldo decided against wearing it right now, pacing back and forth in their living area instead.
Ever since Draus had shown up unexpectedly at their office apartment, Ronaldo had his contact number just in case the man’s “darling boy” ended up in real trouble. The hunter had the elder vampire’s contact open, ready to call or text him. On one hand, Draluc hadn’t made a big deal about his “hangover”, but the man often had a habit of downplaying stuff when he thought it would only create (annoying) problems. But Draluc truly looked and sounded sick. If even Ronaldo could notice, surely his family would notice too right? And if they didn’t think it was a big deal, maybe it was some vampire illness that he has no business knowing about.
Ronaldo’s mind kept going in circles. Before he could make the decision to contact Draus, Draluc exited the bathroom at that moment, fully dressed and ready to go.
“Let’s go Gorilla! We can’t be late!” Draluc shouted through the door. Ronaldo, broken out of his disaster spiral, huffed at his stupid idiot friend. He picked up his jacket and John, and exited the living room.
“I’ve BEEN ready, dumbass. You’re the one who’s making us late”
+++
The trio arrived at the party thirty minutes late. By the time they arrived, the party appeared to be in full swing, buzzing with vampire activity. Ronaldo felt a tiny impulse to reach for his gun given the sheer amount of vampires, but fortunately he had left it at home. It clearly would have been rude for the hunter to show up with his hunting tools. Plus, as Draluc had said before, his family were amiable vampires who got along with humans.
That did nothing to ease his PTSD from the last family party Ronaldo had the pleasure of attending though. Luckily, it seemed like the main pain-in-the-ass, Draluc’s grandfather, was too busy to attend this party.
Sighing, Ronaldo readied himself for a night of mild pleasantries and correcting others that he was never a pole dancer.
Ronaldo walked over to the appetizers while Draluc was approached by his cousins.
“Draluc it’s been so long!” one of his older male cousins, Luca, said as he hugged him gently. Draluc returned the hug warmly. He saw Ronaldo walk away from the corner of his eye, but guessed it was to give the vampire some time to catch up with his family without the awkwardness of talking about family drama in front of an outsider.
“So how’s your boyfriend doing? I’m surprised he came with you after that disaster the first time!” Luca laughed. “He looked good in that bunny suit though.” He waved at Ronaldo.
Ronaldo saw Draluc’s cousin wave at him while snacking on the hors d’oeuvres, and waved back with an awkward smile.
Draluc would have probably done a spit take if he had picked up a drink, but instead he just froze, unable to speak. After a couple seconds passed, he cupped his hand and let out a hushed “He’s not my boyfriend!”
Luca looked at him with disbelief. “It’s okay, you don’t have to hide it from me. You haven’t ordered your blood supplements in a while right? I can see it on your face. You must be in-between blood meals right?”
Draluc face-palmed. There’s no way this party wasn’t going to be a disaster. He had to leave right now if he was going to escape without his loving, overbearing father causing a scene about his health.
“We’re not dating, I just forgot to drink recently.”
Luca scoffed, giving his younger cousin a shit-eating grin. “You haven’t told him yet? You guys have been living together for a year! Isn’t your coffin in the same room as him?”
Draluc couldn’t take it anymore, and covered his face with both hands, red blossoming on his grey face. He was glad Ronaldo had walked away, too absorbed in the great appetizers provided by the chefs hired for the party. Did his whole damn family already know about his stupid crush on that ridiculous hunter!?
Draus saw commotion near the entrance to the party hall, and made his way towards it. No doubt, his darling son was late, and was being surrounded by their family for greetings.
+++
Draus approached his son, wading through the crowd. He was currently conversing with Luca. “Draluc, I’m glad you could make it!” Draus went to embrace his son in a tight-but-gentle bear hug.
“Father!”
Instantly, he felt that something was off. Draluc felt much cooler than he normally was, and he could see the slight pallor on his cheeks and lips.
Draus grabbed his son by the shoulders, giving him a hard look.
“Son, have you been eating recently?”
Draluc was waiting for this. He had come up with the excuse in the shower, and to be fair, it wasn’t even that untrue.
“Geez, you’re overreacting! I went drinking yesterday and drank too much. I had a hangover when I woke up this evening.”
Draus narrowed his eyes, searching for the boy’s friend. “Where’s Pole-kun?”
Before Draluc could deflect, Draus spotted Ronaldo not too far away, sitting at a chair near the wall, next to Gorgona. She appeared to be describing something vivid to him, moving her hands wildly.
Draus marched over to Ronaldo, Draluc in tow.
“Father, wait! It’s not what you think!” Draluc pleaded, following behind.
They reached Ronaldo in no time, the hunter noticing Draus’ tense approach. Ronaldo figured the old man had probably come to bitch about Draluc’s condition, but honestly that stupid idiot deserved to get chewed out for not taking care of himself. He had questions anyway.
“Ronaldo-kun, glad to see you joined us here! Care to explain why you haven’t donated to Draluc recently?”
Ronaldo stared blankly at Draus, getting up from his chair. “Donate? What are you talking about?”
Draus blanched, turning around to face his son. “Pole-kun wasn’t your donor? When was the last time you had a meal? You asked me to stop sending supplements from your donor, so I thought….”
“I…” Draluc didn’t know what to say. There was nothing he could say in this situation that wouldn’t immediately reveal his no-doubt-unwanted feelings, and he would rather die than reveal them this way. Instead, he disintegrated into a pile of sand.
“Draaaaluc! My poor baby! Don’t worry, Papa will take care of it!”
Ronaldo stood there, flabbergasted at their exchange. He knew Draluc died easily, but he didn’t understand what their conversation was even about. However, it seemed like Draus had noticed that his son wasn’t feeling well.
The hunter sighed. Whatever it was, at least it was being taken care of by someone who knew what the hell was going on.
End Notes:
I just made up a name for Draluc’s cousin, hope that’s alright lol.