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It had been a few nights since they'd last seen each other.

Nico had awoken the evening after their night together in a bed that was empty save for himself, the blonde he had fallen asleep beside no longer curled up next to him with an arm flung across his body. It had been confusing at first, and tightness had gripped his chest, something constrictive that ached in a way he did not quite understand. Of course, Matteo had left without saying, waiting around to say goodbye. Why had the dark-haired vampire thought any differently?

But then, as he moved his stiff muscles, rolled his shoulders slowly, and stretched out his limbs, he realized that a piece of paper was tucked into his hand. He sat up and read it, then scoffed out an incredulous laugh, giving his head a slight shake, a tangle of messy, black hair falling around his eyes.

It was an address. Presumably, for Matteo's home, Nico had to wonder how long it had even been since the other Giovanni had left, his gaze moving to his bedroom door, which was just partially ajar.

Unfortunately, a job Nico's father had him on would force the vampire out of town for a few days. But maybe that was a good thing. He wouldn't want Matteo to think that he was desperate...though he certainly didn't want the blonde to think him uninterested. But it would only be three days, four at the very most. Surely, that was the perfect amount of time to let things sit.

Every night he thought of Matteo. Of the way he smiled, the warm richness of his brown eyes, the taste of his lips and the feel of his hands and body. Nico had never had anyone occupy his mind so much. It made him eager for the night he would get back home and be able to see him again.

And that night had finally come.

Nico stood outside the place, gazing at it with piercing blue eyes from the other side of a closed gate. It was about as nice as he expected from what he’d heard about the family who owned it. Knowing he might be meeting some of Matteo’s family, he’d worn some of his nicer, more expensive clothes. However, the style was similar to what the other vampire had already seen him in before. Nico wasn’t the fashionable sort. More predictable, really. He knew what he liked, and there was no need for anything drastically different.

He hadn’t been standing there long when he reached over and pressed a finger against the call button on the intercom, gloved hands then going into his jacket pockets while he waited.

Of course, it wasn't Matteo's voice on the other end of the intercom. He had not expected it to be, but it might have made things a little easier if it was. Would anyone in the manse even know that the blonde was (maybe) expecting him?

The dark-haired vampire cleared his throat before answering, trying his best to fill his tone with good-natured intent. "Evening. I'm here to see Matteo. Nico Puttanesca? He should be expecting me."

Well. He might have been expecting him 3 nights ago, really. But it wasn't as though Nico had any way to contact him to tell him he was going out of town. He just had to hope he was still waiting and hadn't moved on.

Nico did not trust that long pause.

Nor the way he was referred to by his last name only.

His face fell from a smile to a firm, hard, line, but he turned toward the gate as it opened anyways and slipped inside, following the path the way the voice had instructed him to, toward the main mansion. As he moved along, he let his gaze wander over the scene in front of him, and just how very expensive it all looked.

Somehow, even though he had put on his most expensive clothing, he suddenly felt extremely cheap.

Well, whatever. It's not like he cared about that kind of thing anyways.

Stepping up to the front door he was only a little surprised to see it swing open for him, and he offered the gentlemen who stood on the other side what was, hopefully, a pleasant smile.

"Good evening." He greeted the man, and only winced slightly when he called him 'Mr.'

"Ah. Mr. Puttanesca would be my father. Just Nico is fine." He said, though he somehow doubted it would make any difference. Stepping past, he took in the splendour on the other side, icy blue eyes roaming over the furniture and decor.

Ushered further inside, he only nodded when the butler asked him to wait at the bottom of the stairs, hands going back inside his pockets again as he continued to let his gaze wander, rocking back on his heels and letting out a huff of breath that puffed his cheeks out.

This place was waaaay too fancy for his tastes.

The movement at the top of the stairs caught his attention, and his eyes lifted to see what appeared to be a young-ish girl, though her poise, demeanour, and the way she looked down at him with a steely gaze all made him think that perhaps what he saw was not quite the reality. He did not offer her a smile, nor a wave of his hand, only a cool gaze in return. He had enough practice hiding his intentions behind a blank or icy stare, and no matter how hard her gaze, or how high above him she stood, he was not about to let it get to him.

Thankfully she moved along quickly, and Nico's brow furrowed slightly. What had that even been about? He did not have much time to think it over, however, since right at that moment, Matteo appeared at the top of the stairs.

His unbeating heart leapt at the sight of him. Somehow, he was even more gorgeous than he remembered, and he could not stop the smile that came to his lips then. No forced pleasantries, it was all genuine, his eyes lighting up when he saw him.

"Never." He said, and it took a lot of willpower not to climb those stairs to get to him faster and wrap his arms around him. He scoffed a light laugh then and shook his head.

"I had work to do out of town, which," He paused for a moment, his smile growing. "I could have told you if you hadn't snuck out on me."

He could have argued that leaving while he was sleeping was precisely the definition of snuck out, but the words died in his throat as Matteo approached him, wasting no time in pulling Nico down for a wonderful kiss, his lips meeting the others with just as much enthusiasm, his own arms sliding around to meet at the other vampire's lower back.

His eyes were half-lidded when Matteo pulled back, and it was easy to forget that they were standing right out in the open at the bottom of a flight of stairs, and not somewhere more private.

"Really? Are you sure?" He grinned before he found himself being kissed again, and again, a breathy question asked in between that made Nico smile a little against those lips, unable to help himself. The entire time he had been apart from Matteo, he wasn't sure he had smiled a single time. And now, it was like he couldn't stop.

"Maybe...just a little." He teased, but when they stopped again, he gave Matteo a soft look. "Or maybe a lot."

Ah. That was certainly a question that Nico hadn't even considered. What were they going to do with their evening? He had assumed they would stay in, but after the way he had been greeted by a butler who had appeared to look down his nose at him, and a teenage-looking woman at the top of the stairs who most definitely had looked down at him, he wasn't sure how much he wanted to hang around.

"We could go out." He said, before tacking on, "Maybe dancing?"

Not that Nico really liked dancing, he just sort of thought that Matteo looked like the type who would.

Nerves that Nico wasn't even really aware he had were finally let go. Matteo was happy to see him. Matteo had missed him. A lot. It was all the dark-haired Puttanesca had wanted to hear, the velvet words filling him with just as much warmth as those incredible kisses. He cared for him, so much, definitely more than he had ever cared about anybody before, and while it still surprised him, it also sparked a strange excitement inside of him.

He didn't really want to stop, but the way Matteo's eyes lit up when Nico mentioned dancing had the darker-haired male chuckling, and he brushed his lips against the blonde's cheek just a second before he began to pull Nico towards and up the stairs.

"Are you sure? You already look great." Nico said that he had a feeling that he was wasting his breath. Matteo was obviously a lot more fashion-oriented than the Puttanesca, though Nico really did feel like he could throw on a burlap sack and still somehow look fantastic.

Once inside the other vampire's room, he let his gaze wander around, taking in the decor, feeling Matteo release his hand. Already, he missed the feel of his touch, as well as the closeness of his body. He gazed after the other male with a touch of longing, but shook himself out of it, going to find a place to sit as was suggested.

Lacing his fingers together, he set his hands on his lap and waited, his eyes scanning the room once more.

It didn't seem to take long at all for Matteo to change, and icy blue eyes snapped back to the closet as the other vampire emerged, before they roamed up and down his body appreciatively, pausing momentarily on his exposed chest, remembering just how it felt beneath his hands, claws, lips and tongue. Smirking to himself, his eyes shone with amusement at the little spin the other male gave, and he lifted his eyes again as he stood from his chair and strolled closer, pretending to give Matteo an appraising eye as he looked him up and down again and pursed his lips together.

"Hmmmmm." He gave a critical hum and reached a hand out to brush some of that blonde hair to the side so he could see both of Matteo's eyes before he grinned.

"Perfect, of course. You always are."

But now that begged another question, and Nico frowned slightly, looking down at his own attire. "What about me? Is this ok?"

"Hm, well, I suppose everybody has a flaw or two. I will take 'close enough'." He teased with a warm smile, giving the other vampire yet another once over with his eyes and appreciating every part of him that he could see (and remembering very clearly the parts of him that he currently couldn't).

He felt a little bit strange being appraised himself, suddenly self-conscious, a feeling he was not all that familiar with. He knew that he wasn't exactly fashion-forward, though he did his best to dress nice even when he was out on a job and knew he might end up with a few bloodstains on his suit.

Ah well. The criticism wasn't as bad as he was expecting, and he quirked a small smile, thinking that would be it.

But oh no. Matteo had come back with some clothes in his arms. Nico arched one eyebrow when he saw the red shirt with gold accents and gold tie. Had he ever worn such a thing in his entire unlife?

The answer to that was a most definite no. Still, he took the offered articles and watched as Matteo sat down.

And then he grinned, flashing his sharp fangs, his icy blue eyes twinkling as he gave his shoulders a shrug. "Here is fine." It was not as though Matteo hadn't seen all of him already before, anyways. Moving closer to the bed, he set everything down and then began unbuttoning and slipping out of the clothing he already wore, starting with his shirt and tie. Bare abs and arms flexed as he moved, his own articles of clothing neatly folded and placed on the bed side before he tried on the items that Matteo had gotten for him, the light in the room casting illuminating his body in a rather flattering way as he changed.

Eventually, he was finished, even trying on the pants to see if they would look okay. The final touch was the tie, which he looped around and tied in the deft and quick movements of a man who had done this many, many times before.

"Better?" He asked, with a smirk.