Ivan was lounging on the couch in Malkav’s apartment and was waiting until Dimitri finished painting him. The vampire had proclaimed that he needed to be the first to paint the Russian when Ivan had told him he had never been painted before.

Nikola was preparing some blood candy, with blood bags that Dimitri had zapped out of thin air. It appears that Ivan had been grudgingly attempting to replicate that effect. That had been until Dimitri made him stop snapping his fingers and sit down amid the dusty tomes to pose.

As Nikola was making the panda faces on the red colored candy, he watched as Ivan attempted to rise his hand discretely to his nose.

“Stop that,” snapped Dimitri and Nikola snickered. Of course, he noticed.

“But, my nose itches. Didn’t you say you will do my face last?” Whined Ivan. For such a big man, it was strange to hear him whining.

“True, but you are moving too much! Niki is a better model,” when had Dimitri ever painted him? Ah, back during his last life. Nikola remembered that first painting and then the week in the videos when he had to pose with corpses. Nikola shuddered.

Dimitri had apologized about that. Had told him his beast had been reeling its ugly head from all the time loops. But that had not made things right. Nikola hadn’t spoken with Dimitri for an entire week after that. Just watching the videos and wondering if he had ended up as less than human because of fear. He was almost certain that it was the case.

He finished the last circle and began arraying them in a platter. Malkav moved behind him and snatched one, staring at the cutesy face on it.

“Why doesn’t it have vampire fangs?” Nikola turned to regard the Antediluvian. What a weird question.

“It is a panda with a closed mouth. Why should it have vampire fangs?” Malkav hummed deep in his throat and popped the candy in his mouth.

“It could be a ghouled panda?” That came more off as a question and Nikola remembered that in the videos, there had been animals and humans who were known as ghouls.

“Can you free all your ghouls?” Pleaded Nikola. “Can it be done?”

“No,” Malkav calmly rejected the idea, and Nikola looked down at the candy. “I have two ghouls and have had them since centuries. To let them go is to kill them.”

Nikola hadn’t known about that. There were so many things the past him had researched that Nikola had not been bothered with. It was time that changed.

“Tell me more about ghouls,” asked Nikola, and he extended a piece of candy as a form of bribe. Malkav took the candy with Nikola’s fingers still holding it, in his mouth and stared him in the eyes.

Nikola blushed and got his fingers out. They had done something similar, after he had attempted to run off during the last life. But, now, was not the time for Malkav’s idea of romance. He needed to know about ghouls.

“My ghoul are cultivated from a special bloodline. Their mothers were kept as ghouls and pregnant for centuries before they were allowed to give birth. They died immediately after,” Nikola sucked in a breath. How had Malkav stood by and allowed something like this?

“Don’t judge me, I was sick,” Nikola was once again reminded that Malkav could read thoughts.

“I wasn’t, not really,” ok, maybe a little. Malkav smiled knowingly and leaned in for a kiss.

“Um, Malkav…”

“Hush now, my heart. Just for once, oblige me,” and he captured Nikola’s lips in a tender kiss. When it was over, Nikola looked down. But, he saw this for what it was. An avoidance tactic.

“And, what else about the ghouls?”

“Do I get a kiss for every tidbit?” Asked Malkav with a daring grin. Nikola sighed.

“If there is no other way,” Dimitri turned to look at them from his place behind the canvas.

“Russian Hulk, sit still and don’t move. I want to be a part of this,” and Dimitri stood up and made his way to his lovers.

“I can tell you about ghouls too, plus the clans,” offered Dimitri. He wrapped his arms around Nikola and rested his head on top of Nikola’s.

“Let me guess, for a kiss?” Asked Nikola with a huff.

“Maybe something more?” Dimitri nuzzled Nikola’s neck, just above where he had bitten him before. Nikola turned around and snaked his arms around the vampire’s neck.

“Go back to painting Ivan and I promise we can have this discussion in bed later tonight,” Dimitri looked at him incredulously, and he quirked an eyebrow. “I am serious.”

“Tired of being unreachable already?” Well, the two already knew he thought them handsome, so, there was no denying Malkav’s words.

“There is no chance of either for you to let me go. You are both too selfish for that. I know it both because of the videos and because of my time in this apartment,” Dimitri hummed his agreement and he leaned in.

“It is good that we don’t uphold any pretenses with you, is it not?” He spoke gently, but there was something harsh in his eyes.

“And I don’t want you to. Provided that your behavior, one vastly different from the videos. Well, at least in your case, Dimitri, stays the same,” Dimitri gently pushed Nikola into Malkav, and he took out a camera.

“It will. I promised you that I will be on my best behavior, did I not? Say cheese,” and he snapped a photo of them. Nikola looked at the Polaroid photo and saw that he looked spooked.

He knew his time for denying was over, and he was both looking forward to and dreading the night.

“Can we make it into a date?” His last ditch attempt at slowing down this, whatever this was, was met with knowing grins.

“The park has good lawns with tables. We can take this candy and whatever masterpiece Dimitri cooks up and go there. But, we will be coming back after we sate your curiosity,” the unspoken, to sate our needs, left Nikola on edge. But he was glad that Malkav had not been brazed enough to say it.