20. Hassle

Waking up next to Warden was exactly what Drake had been dreaming about before his eyes slowly cracked open around six in the morning. His body was sore, but that was to be expected after he'd lost control. He lifted his arms above his head and felt his back muscles ache as they were pulled taut. He paused mid-stretch when he felt Warden move against him, then roll over and nuzzle into his chest.

Fuck this chicken... He thought as he lowered his arms, using his right one to greedily wrap around Warden and pull him closer, away from Cerat's still-sleeping form. Is fucking adorable.

A quiet groan left his lips as he fought to keep his hand from going any lower on Warden's smooth back. The guy just had to take his shirt off. Of course, he knew right away that he was in Warden's bed, and granted that he was in his apartment, too, he had every right to have his shirt off.

"I'm really hungry..."

Thankful for the distraction, for once, Drake slowly made his way out of the large bed. It took him a bit of extra effort, but he made it over to the other side where Cerat was sleepily sitting up, rubbing at his eyes. When he offered his wrist through, the vampire frowned and looked toward the kitchen briefly before turning back to him.

"Spinach then?" Drake asked as he stood from the crouch he'd settled into.

Cerat nodded and stood up after Drake, then followed him quietly from the room, neither of them wanting to wake Warden. There was plenty of spinach in the fridge and Drake and he didn't have to care about giving it to Cerat, since he wasn't the one who signed the contract to only feed him blood. Grinning at the council's stupid rules, he grabbed a full container and tossed it to Cerat.

Cerat raised a brow at him as he took the container, then settled into one of the blankets he'd pushed into the corner of the living room with the rabbit on his lap. Turning his attention away from the guy, Drake noticed the ring tone for his phone going off in the kitchen somewhere.

No idea where I actually put that darn thing. He thought as he followed the noise.  Instead of answering it when he found it on top of the microwave, as he didn't recognize the number, he let it go to voicemail, then picked it up once the message had been recorded.

"Hello, Drake. This is Jonson, one of the council's clerks. I'm calling to ask you to inform Warden that we will be sending someone over to do a welfare check on the vampire this afternoon, as we have been unable to contact him."

The message ended abruptly after that and Drake rolled his eyes, tossing the thing back on the counter before sauntering into Warden's room. He noticed the guy's phone on the nightstand beside him and checked it for messages, but it wouldn't even turn on.

Idiot let his phone die.

"Hey chicken, time to get up and at em." Drake said in a sarcastic, sing-song voice. They were all surprisingly off for the day, except Warden might be called in, but still. Now's not the time to sleep in.

He shook the guy's shoulder after he didn't respond for a moment. When he still got no response, he thought of two other ways he could wake him up. One would probably get him permanently kicked out, but solve his current horny yearning toward the guy, and the other would just likely get him smacked.

Two, then. Damn.

Reaching forward, he grabbed Warden's arm and yanked him abruptly out of bed and onto the floor. His wings were out and he was immediately smacking his back against the ceiling after one abrupt downward thrust. Oops. Forgot he sometimes freaked out when I do that. Even with that thought, Drake couldn't help but crack a mischievous smile as Warden dropped to the floor, groaning and rubbing the back of his head. He was also glaring up at him, but Drake knew that it had been worth it.

"Morning, sunshine."

Warden scowled, then slowly got himself to his feet. "Funny thing hearing that from you." He grumbled as he turned to grab his phone. When he noticed that it was dead, he hurried to plug it into its charger.

"I'll save you the trouble of checking that message." Drake said as he glanced over Warden's shoulder at the phone.

"The council is sending someone to check on your pet today."

Warden nearly dropped his phone at that information. He then set it down on the nightstand and whirled around. Cerat was watching them from the doorway.

Drake followed Warden over to him and watched as his angel checked the electric collar, then gestured for Cerat to follow him and help him clean up the rabbit cage. As Cerat finished that up, Warden grabbed the blankets Cerat normally used when he wanted to sit alone, usually in the corner of the living room, and tossed them in the washer. Drake could have helped, but he was enjoying the show too much from where he sat on the edge of the bed.

"You could have helped, you know?" Warden said when he finally turned off the vacuum cleaner.

"I could have." Drake stated matter-o-factly. Warden rolled his eyes, then headed for the kitchen as he replied. "But you're Drake, and I already made you do way too much work this week."

"Exactly!" Drake chimed as he followed after Warden.

It took some effort, but he waited until the man had some bacon and eggs sizzling away in a pan before he wrapped his arms comfortably around the his middle and rested his chin on his shoulder. "I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday. I threw you a big curveball, and then just let it hit you in the face without even saying why."

Warden began replying, but Drake knew what he was going to say before it even left his mouth. And he really didn't want to hear the guy tell him that it was okay. Because it wasn't.

"Shut up, darn chicken. I fucked up. At least let me pretend to be a nice werewolf and accept my stupid apology." Drake growled.

Silence fell over them for several moments before Drake's stomach growled loudly, making Warden chuckle. "Alright. I got it, Drake. I accept your apology, but if you stand me up again, we're going to have trouble with this relationship thing."

Drake cocked his head to the side, a smirk growing on his face that had Warden's eyes narrowing. "I'm not saying that we're dating." Warden said in a slow, deliberate tone.

"Your food's about to burn." Drake growled out before making himself release Warden and take several steps away.

He silently watched as Warden returned his attention to the food. He made a good bit of it, so when the first large plate was done cooling, Drake grabbed a fork and began filling his mouth. His wolf was right beneath the surface, but the food helped calm it. Of course, it took eight eggs and twelve pieces of bacon, but the thing was becoming manageable again.

Right when they were both finishing their meals, still standing in the kitchen, the doorbell chime went off. "I'll give you one guess that you don't need." Warden said with a sarcasm that Drake rarely heard from the angel.

With his own grin, Drake shook his head and walked into the living room to drop onto the sofa as Warden got the door. When the same person who did Cerat's teeth filing came inside, Drake couldn't help but snicker. The man looked over at him and Drake could have sworn that his face turned white in less than three seconds.

Hey love. Come to finally suck me off? I know you've been dreaming about it.

To say that the man was quite unthorough with his check after that, would have been an understatement. He glanced at Cerat's collar. Asked if they were just giving him blood, like Warden was supposed to. Drake cleared his mind at that question and let Warden answer. They both seemed to pass, since the guy didn't question them on it and instead knelt in front of Cerat and tried to open his mouth.

"Do his teeth need filed again? I brought the file if they do." He stated as Cerat fought to keep his mouth shut.

The teeth definitely would need filed again, but Drake sure as hell wasn't going to help the guy torture the vampire. They might not like each other, but he wasn't interested in getting on Warden's bad side by causing Cerat unnecessary pain. When the man realized that he would receive no help from either of them, he tried to force Cerat's mouth open in frustration, but even for a small vampire, Cerat was strong.

That's what you get for making us feed him blood, buddy. Get the hell out if you're not gonna pleasure me like I know you want to. Drake growled mentally, making the man flinch.

"I'll be back in two weeks to file his teeth. If neither of you help at that time, I will make sure to get this pathetic situation voided." The man said as he stood.

If Warden hadn't been sending him warning glances, Drake would have let his wolf take a few good bites of the guy. As it were, he let him go, but sent a few mental images the man would surely be seeing in the back of his mind for at least a few days.

After he heard the front door shut and lock, Drake flopped over onto his back and heaved a sigh. He wasn't that tired, but he was still definitely sore.

"Hey Drake, come take a bath. I know how your body aches after you change like that."

Hearing Warden invite him to bathe had Drake jumping out of the sofa in a blur, only to see the man still fully dressed, holding a towel out to him. "Um. You're bathing by yourself. I'm still a bit miffed at you for standing me up, even if your wolf is to blame. Still you."

Drake glared at the carpet and snatched the towel, grumbling as he stomped into the bathroom. Warden said he wouldn't bathe with him, but Drake left the door open anyways as he quickly stripped. Stupid angel is gonna beg me to bathe with him soon. Only a matter of darn time.

"Gotta admit, you don't look half bad, but thanks for giving me an opening yesterday. I enjoyed my date with Warden." Cerat said from the doorway.

Drake had to drop the shirt he held in his hand to keep himself from ripping it apart with his claws.

"That was the only shot you were ever going to get." He growled before walking over and slamming the door shut in Cerat's face.

He'd been ready to finally relax a little in the bathtub, but as he got the water running, he couldn't stop his mind from imagining Cerat with War. His wolf was livid by the time he sank into the hot water, making him grumble every few seconds at the unwanted thoughts.

"Better watch out ya little leech. This dog has a nasty bite."