There was something methodical about the snow falling, passing Kai's view, that finally roused him from his sleep. Once he opened his eyes, he was greeted with the sight of the city that was forever moving.
The snow was bright, coming down in quick flurries and Kai felt the pure white sky piercing against his sensitive irises.
Yes, at first glance, having his bed placed directly against the only window in his bedroom proved to be a bad idea. Kai's natural anatomy made his eyes delicate to the sun so most days, waking up to the bright sky was an unpleasant feeling.
In the winter months he was extra cold, yet he became burnt and too hot in the summer- the heat seemed to magnify through the glass panes. Plus, the lack of curtains turned into a lack of privacy. Honestly, the list of negatives has outweighed the pros.
Yet Kai found that nothing could beat the feeling of soft sun rays warming his cheeks, pushing him to begin his day. Especially on the quiet mornings, where the world was still and time appeared to freeze just for him and the rising sun.
Kai was quite content on staying in and simply relaxing, since occasions like this were becoming scarce. Truly, the internship that was forced upon him caused his free days to become highly limited.
If he knew it would've come to this, Kai would've stayed in college. Balancing eighteen credits and mountains of homework was much less of a hell than dealing with his brother Silas and his ridiculous requests at the shop.
"I hate him. Aris, it's official. Next time you see Silas, chew off his fingers." Kai plopped the covers back over his head, trying to melt back into his pillow and fall into his previous dream. His dream where he was greeted with warm brown hands, a mess of dark curls tickling his nose, all belonging to- "Actually, it's coffee time." Kai plopped up from his sheets, cheeks becoming rosy at the thoughts that shouldn't be plaguing his mind at the start of the morning. He turned to peer at Aristorat, his pet rat who lived in a large cage across his bedroom, who appeared to be sleeping in.
Even Aris enjoyed Kai's free days more than he did.
"Kai, you're a literal mess." He spoke to himself as his feet grazed the cold wooden floor and he padded his way to the bathroom. After hitting the light switch, which made sure to make a show of sputtering before finally flickering on, Kai began his morning routine.
This consisted of him washing his face with the hand soap sitting on the sink’s edge and brushing his teeth- but there was a different aspect to himself that made him pause as he gazed into the mirror.
His dark circles were increasing, standing out against his pale complexion. There was no vibrancy or bounce to his hair, the blackness and usual life to his locks appeared to turn to a dull gray. Hell, even at the simple task of brushing his own teeth, Kai's fangs had popped out and refused to go back into place.
His fangs were meant to be hidden from the world, not free.
Kai knew this wasn't something he could keep putting off. He could only live off of coffee, red meat and spicy ramen for so long. Soon he'd need to feed or else his cravings would only get worse.
"Okay, okay I have a game plan," he sputtered, feet creeping off of the freezing tiled bathroom floor as he made his way to the kitchen in order to start his coffee maker. He was careful to grab his favorite mug from his kitchen shelf (it was all black with the phrase 'I'm Ratical' written on top, and an image of the most rad rat Kai had ever seen on the bottom) before letting the coffee brew, and then heading to his closet- which only took a matter of seconds.
Why must New York apartments be so small yet so expensive?
Kai's fingers pushed past the name brand articles of clothing, gifts that were forced upon him by his brother, and reached towards the back to grab a tattered green turtleneck, then a loose black sweater to go on top.
It was going to be a quick trip and then he'd be back in his room, teaching Aris how to play the miniature drum set that Kai had built.
First, he'd go to Eternal Ink and hound Silas and Aurora into helping him with his current eating predicament. Then, he'd hit up the grocery stores and get his much needed supplies of hot ramen and more sweet treats.
Dark curly hair, sweet and small freckles.
...and then just maybe, Kai would allow himself to indulge in his latest habit.
A single visit couldn't hurt, right? A few blocks down from his apartment, stood a single cafe that held Kai's current interest. No, the coffee wasn't superb and the atmosphere was nothing above average or memorable.
But the cafe did have Castel Sanchez, and that most definitely, made the visit much more enjoyable and worth trudging in the slushy snow.
"Right." He muttered to himself. "I deserve to treat myself. Their snickerdoodle cookies are to die for." The lies seemed to fall from Kai's mouth seamlessly.
Even if he ignored the real reason that he was going to the cafe, the soft sensation pooling in his stomach told another story. For the second time this morning alone, red was searing his cheeks, and that was enough to remind him of the truth.
✧
The foot tapping against the pavement only got louder as Kai stared down the 'closed' sign that was resting outside of Eternal Ink, one of New York's busiest tattoo parlors.
Silas had always said it was busy. Aurora, prone to never lie like Silas, also said it was always busy.
So why the hell was the place closed?
They literally worked Kai to the bone. If this was an official job, they would have violated so many worker and human rights that Kai would've had the right to sue. He was currently, quite pissed off.
If the annoying tapping of his foot that seemed to speed up as he grabbed the phone from his jean pockets and searched for Silas' number didn't convey his frustration, maybe the high pitched "Silas!" That poured from Kai's lips, did.
"Good morning, baby bro." There were still hints of sleep in Silas' deep voice which only spun Kai even tighter. He could be sleeping right now, too, and be drifting into a world where his thoughts were much warmer than the air outside.
"Why's the shop closed? Eternal Ink literally never closes. Y'all were open last year on Christmas, who does that?"
Even before Silas spoke, Kai could feel the grin on his older brother's mouth radiating through the phone. "Ya see, Aurora and I came to an agreement, kinda." There was a stiff yawn before he continued, "since our hard-working intern had the day off we decided we needed a break ourselves. Win-win kinda situation, ya know?"
"No, I don't know." When Kai's demeanor of pure annoyance hadn't broken up, Silas turned a bit more serious.
"What were you dropping by for anyways? Forget something in the shop? Just give Aurora a call and-"
Kai was pinching the bridge of his nose, eye squeezed shut as he took a seat on the door's front step. People had been pushing past him to get by, clearly ignoring his on-going crisis.
Snow fell onto his sweater, melting into the black fabric.
"Food." He said shortly in a low, huff of a tone.
"Ah- what?" Silas asked. Shuffling was heard on the other end and Kai caught the phrase stop kissing me, as Silas moved about. Kai felt for Silas' boyfriend, he truly did. The man could never catch a break, living with his monstrosity of a brother.
"I needed food. I figured you or Aurora would have some left over here from last night. Felt like it was almost time I ate." He was sure to mumble the last part. "So, yeah."
"See this is why you should call before just going places.,"
Kai was going to bite back but there was truth to Silas' words.
He replied anyhow, after not-so-careful consideration. "Or maybe stick to the schedule you guys made. The schedule that you made me edit onto the Parlor's website, and the Google search website,"
"Okay." Silas responded. "I get it-"
"Oh, and I had to make flyers with the date and time openings too," Kai continued to ramble about, venting his frustrations. "Do you know how many of those flyers I had to hand out?"
"Do you want food or not?"
Kai bit his lips, the thought of feeding already making his mouth salivate and mind focus on just the food alone. "I do." He responded honestly.
"Give me an hour or two? Wait nearby the shop and I'll make the call," Silas sighed, doing something unknown on his end of the line. "I'm gonna get yelled at for ya. But I'll try okay?"
Kai was ready to complain again but bit his tongue instead. A few blocks nearby was where Bruce's Brews was and Kai was ready to waste the few free hours he had there, as he waited.
He'd get to see him again.
He got up from the freezing step, limbs already stiff and cold yet his annoyance defrosted as his mood shifted. "Call me when you're ready Silas."
"Ditto, kiddo."
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