No Place Like Home

[Astaroth Merula]

Astaroth sighed as he wondered what had hurt him so much. He had seen vampyres feed before, he had even laughed before at the victim's squirming. He had killed countless people throughout his life... So what was it about Echo feeding off of Ana until the last drop that had damaged him so?

The daemon decided to take a shower to clear his head, letting the warm water wash away his worries and his hurt; and tears. Just as he was exiting the shower and had wrapped the towel about his waist, he heard a knock on the door. He rushed to the door, for some reason hoping that it would be Echo, though the logical part of his mind said that he would probably never see her again. As Astaroth opened the door, he stared at her... Echo.

Even though he did want to see her again, he was not yet ready for it. His eyes were still bloodshot from crying and his wet hair was clinging to his face in a mess as he stared at the female... Honestly, he didn't even have anything on besides the towel around his waist. But none of that mattered as he calmed himself down and opened the door for her. "Come on in," he said as he stepped away from the door and sat down on the bed closest to the door.

For some reason, he felt compelled to tell her why he had left... He didn't want her thinking that he saw her as a monster... But he had no idea how to express that; how to express his feelings for her. So instead, he sat on the bed in silence, waiting to see what Echo would do... If she were to drink his blood dry, he would have no problem with it, for if that was all she was, he would rather not have to deal with the pain that she would bring him... Although he hoped that she would prove herself to be more than a heartless killer who toyed with people's emotions... He wanted her to be more.

The door opened merely seconds after she knocked, and though Echo wanted to see him to explain, she didn't think she was as ready as she thought. She felt like she was the main character of a play and had no clue what her lines were. Her eyes were wide as she took in Astaroth. He was only clothed in a towel and obviously had just gotten out of the shower, but the bloodshot eyes were what got her; he had been crying. No one's tears had ever moved her this much. She watched as he invited her in and sat on the bed nearest to him. Echo walked in and and closed the door behind her, leaning on it for much needed support.

"I just met you an hour ago, two at the most. Nothing you do should affect me. I've known people for years and anything they say, I could brush off. But seeing you make that face...makes me so sad." Echo said closing her eyes. She opened them after a moment and went to stand in front of Astaroth. She ran a hand though his dripping hair. She held a sad smile. "It makes me really, really sad. I don't want to see you sad. I'm sorry. I didn't tell you because even though you're clearly a demon, anyone can see me as a monster and that's something I don't want you to see me as."

Echo touched the corner of Astaroth's bloodshot eyes. He had looked so hurt in that alleyway. She thought about just thirty minutes earlier he had been beaming at her. She hugged his head gently to her chest and rested her cheek on his hair.

"So can you forgive me for being the way that I am?" Echo asked referring to her race.

[Astaroth Merula]

Astaroth watched Echo lean against the door as though seeking support, and he knew that his leaving her earlier had hurt her. He gripped the edge of his bed, holding himself back from running back to her and embracing her. He wanted to comfort her, even though she had just hurt him.

'But seeing you make that face...makes me so sad.' Those words coming from Echo's lips tore through Astaroth. He realized that she wasn't just someone who only thought of others as a source of food. Although it might not be true, he believed that she cared for him. When she walked towards him and ran her hand through his hair, he couldn't help but let a sad smile rise to his lips. She came because she didn't want him to see her as a monster, because she cared what he thought of her.

When hugged his head gently to her chest and laid her head on top of his, Astaroth reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist, closing his eyes and melting into her embrace. "You don't need to ask me that, Echo. There is nothing wrong with you... I was simply worried because I saw how you drained that girl back there. She loved you and you just saw her as a meal..." The daemon's body shook slightly as tears once more flowed from his eyes. "I was afraid, Echo. I was afraid that the same thing would happen to me. That I would fall in love with you... But that you would see me as nothing more than something to feed off of... I couldn't bear that thought." The male broke out sobbing as he pulled away from the vampyre and propped his elbows against his knees, placing his face into his hands as the tears flowed from his eyes.

He couldn't believe that someone who he hadn't even known for more than two hours could make him feel in a way he hadn't felt for over a century... She had opened his heart back up, and now he was afraid to give it to her.

Astaroth had returned Echo's hug and had said something about her seeing him as a meal. And as he continued, her heart broke for him. He pulled away sobbing, but Echo didn't want to let him go. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. She didn't want to see him sad or ever hurt because of her. After a moment, she pulled away to look Astaroth in the eyes. She wiped away his tears.

"I didn't see Ana as a meal. I saw her as the person she was, which is why I disregarded her confession. I've been feeding on people all my life, and I've received those kind of confessions almost every single time. And I wish that I could believe them, but they don't mean what they say. " Echo said with a sad smile. "My race of vampire has a particularly enticing and addicting bite. They don't love me, Astaroth. They only love the pleasure I can give them. And that's why I ignored her words. I wouldn't ever disregard someone with true feelings for me; I would never disregard you." Echo said hugging Astaroth again. "So please don't cry because of me."

Echo had a strong affinity for this demon, something she had only felt once. It was a love broken. She had been thrown away and at the time she had wondered why she would even want to love someone; she never had felt pain like that before. But she remembered how good if felt to think she was loved by the one she loved. This feeling; Astaroth did have feeling for her, she could see it. It was so good to feel wanted. Lightly she pressed her lips to his.

[Astaroth Merula]

Astaroth knew that he had nothing to fear when Echo continued to hug him. Then she pulled away and wiped his tears. He knew in that moment that he had fallen for her.

As she explained that she disregarded Ana's confession because she knew that those feelings weren't real, Astaroth's face was covered with a be-puzzled look, until she said that she said that her particular race of vampyre's bite was addictive. She was a stone vampire; Astaroth had come across them before... Similar to his own race's succubi. He knew that she would not hurt him, that she wasn't some heartless monster that only cared for food.

Then she said that she would never disregard him and Astaroth felt something warm spreading throughout his body as he blushed. He took her words as a confession and was about to reply when she pressed her lips to his. Astaroth looked at the female and hugged her back, wrapping his arms about her waist. "Echo, I just met you, but... I.... I think I might love you."

Echo felt her heart warm at Astaroth's confession. She smiled, afraid though to repeat his words. She hugged him tightly wishing that the love she had before had never existed and that she could still be innocent enough to be able to say those words back. She pulled away slightly smiling, tears welling, but she pushed them back.

"I feel for you Astaroth, just give me some time to build up those courage to say those words. Like most people, my first love didn't end well and my scars are still fresh." Echo said smiling.

She looked over his shoulder and stared at the moon for a moment, in a trance. Tonight was a very strange night, a night unlike any other. She wondered if it was real at all. A budding romance on her first and last night in Germany. It seemed more like a movie. She was afraid to tell Astaroth it was her last night in Germany; she was afraid of how it would change if they weren't in such a beautiful place as Germany. However, she didn't want to leave without him. She smiled at him.

"Maybe you would like to get dressed now?" Echo said with a slightly teasing voice. "We wouldn't want you to catch a cold, now would we?"

[Astaroth Merula]

Astaroth hugged back just as tightly and nodded his head at what Echo said. Although he had never felt like this before, he understood her feelings. The male laughed as he picked up his underwear and Scooby-Doo pajama pants from the foot of the bed and walked into the bathroom, not bothering to close the door behind him. "Come on now. Me, the big bad demon, get a cold?" The male laughed some more as he finished drying off and pulled on his clothes. However, he slept with no shirt, a habit that he shared with his old master, Kyrian.

Upon exiting the bathroom and seeing Echo once more, Astaroth couldn't believe that they had only known each other for a few hours and yet she had had such a huge impact upon him. The daemon covered the distance in-between the two and softly kissed the vampire. When he ended the kiss, he put his forehead against hers and smiled. "I have forever to wait for you to say those words, Echo."

As the male pulled away, he saw the table where they had been at maybe around an hour ago, with the half-drunken tea sitting in their cups and barely touched cake looking lonely. The male chuckled a bit. "So you don't eat cake, huh? Well, what about ice cream?" He went to the room's mini-fridge and pulled out a quart of strawberry ice cream. Then he grabbed one of his armbands and re-arranged the metal's molecules in order to form two spoons from it, handing one to Echo.

The daemon then sat down on the bed further away from the door, since the one he had been on earlier was now wet, and pulled Echo down onto the bed with him. He then grabbed the remote for the room's TV and looked to see if... Yes, they had Netflix. So the daemon logged into his account and handed the female the remote. "Pick a movie."

Astaroth went to change and even though he left to door open, Echo turned out of politeness. However when she turned she was immediately met with a kiss. She smiled, liking the spontaneous affection. After hearing him say he'd wait forever, she leaned up to kiss him again before letting him go.

He offered her ice cream and though it would do nothing for her body, she accepted one of the spoons that re had made out of one of his armbands. They sat on the bed and Astaroth handed her a remote. She flipped through, finally choosing "House of 1000 Corpses" because...well let's face it, Rob Zombie is awesome. She let the movie play and took a spoonful of ice cream; it was good despite the fact that she probably shouldn't be eating it.

"You never told me why you were visiting Germany." Echo said ignoring the beginning of the movie in favor for talking to the demon.

[Astaroth Merula]

Astaroth smiled at Echo's movie choice, having never seen the film himself. He wrapped his arms around the vampire as he watched the movie and silently at ice cream. Strawberry was his favourite flavour. Another thing he shared with Kyrian.

He looked down at the pale female in his arms, wondering how the hell he had ended up like this in just a few short hours... Oh well, he wasn't one to complain about a good thing. The female reminded him that he had not answered her question earlier, and the daemon decided to ignore the movie and focus upon his new found vampire love.

"Well, I could say something horribly romantic, like 'I came here to find you.' But, to be honest, my mother once brought me here as a little boy when she had an important client here... So I sometimes come here and get some cakes from the shop," he replied as he looked down at the female and then quickly averted his eyes, accidentally seeing down her shirt.

Echo hummed in response. So Astaroth like her had been brought here by a family member. "What does your mom do?" Echo asked slightly curious.

She remembered when her dad had business to do in Germany. He would give her five euros to go buy something with. She would literally just wander around by herself and end up back at the inn they stayed at by the end of the night. Her grandfather was much to busy to bother with her so it was up to her to take care of herself. She remembered getting lost one time and her grandfather almost left without her. He had told her, it she didn't want to be left, then she shouldn't get lost. Now, she smiled at that thought whereas back then she had cried.

She turned and looked slightly up at the demon only to see his eyes averted. "What's wrong?" She asked confused.

[Astaroth Merula]

Astaroth didn't really like to talk about his past, and especially not about his mother. But he couldn't be rude to Echo, so he gave her a simple reply, "She used to be a medium." It was the truth, and the answer to Echo's question... But it was not everything.

The daemon flashed Echo an embarrassed smile as she asked him what was wrong. "Nothing's wrong hun... It's just that I can see down your shirt." Astaroth hoped that his words would not be met with some form of negative response, like a slap. After all, it's not like he was purposefully staring down her shirt; he had even averted his eyes as soon as he noticed...

Not that he didn't find her breasts attractive. He found her whole physical appearance attractive... He just felt slightly embarrassed by his viewing of it...

Astaroth's simple answer made her look at him in slight question. However, she decided not to press. His mom was a medium, meaning not anymore. Echo hummed quietly in response and decided not properly respond. She could relate to not wanting to talk about family, her grandfather was one of two hard subjects she hated talking about. She made a small frown thinking that she would have to leave tomorrow. Not really tomorrow, more like later this evening when Astaroth had fallen asleep.

With an embarrassed smile and response to her question, Echo laughed looking down. She pulled up the top of her shirt, enough to give her back some type of modesty. She was a bit embarrassed herself, but more so amused by Astaroth's gentlemanly response. She poked his cheek.

"I've noticed this faint tinge of red that constantly adorning your cheeks. You are very shy?" She asked jokingly, remembering that he had probably blushed about a thousand times this evening.

[Astaroth Merula]

The daemon reached up to rub the back of his neck as he looked away, even more embarrassed. "Well... I don't know what to do... This is kinda the first time I've ever felt like this."

The male dropped his spoon into the ice cream and looked into Echo's dark eyes, realizing that he never wanted this night to end. He laid back on the bed and looked down at Echo. "Promise me that you won't leave me?"

He knew that asking for something like that was childish, but he felt like a child right now. He never wanted to lose Echo now that he had her. She had made him whole and he knew that he would never be the same without her by his side. However, sleep caught up with him and he feel asleep where he lay, not even able to stay up and hear the female's answer. He had a smile on his face as he fell asleep, happy to have finally found a reason to live.

Echo's heart stopped on the thought of making a promise she knew she couldn't keep. Luckily, Astaroth fell asleep before the could say anything else. She was only here for a day, coming to reminisce before her grandfather came back into the country. She wanted to keep herself as far away from him as possible; when she had left home years ago, she hadn't even left a note. She had just left in the name of love, and now that seemed foolish. She let herself drift off into oblivion, knowing that all good things come to an end.

Echo woke up to the sound of vibration on wood. She was hot and had a headache. There was an arm around her waist and breathing in her hair. She glanced at the window slowly, it was maybe two in the morning. She slipped out of Astaroth's embrace as she grabbed her still-vibrating cellphone, flipping it open.

"Hello?" Echo said in a whisper.

"Your grandfather has just entered the city. Your flight leaves in an hour." A deep Russian voice said. Echo closed her eyes briefly before opening them, her mind wakening.

"Thanks Kira, meet me at the airport." Echo said reaching for her bag.

"Of course." The man said before hanging up.

Echo flipped the phone close with a soft snap and slipped into the bathroom. she changed clothes, brushed her teeth and hair,a and slipped into her boots. She exited the bathroom, duffel bag in hand and slipped her shoes on. She found a notepad of paper and a pen in a drawer by the bed. She scribbled words on it and wished she could spend time saying more, but she really couldn't. She looked at Astaroth's sleeping face and kissed him lightly before leaving, the door making a quiet click.

She was out of the inn and in the airport where she met up with Kira in the span of thirty minutes. She was on her flight within the next ten minutes and as she watched German disappearing beneath her, she wondered if what she had written could count as enough.

I'm sorry I couldn't promise not to leave. There are certain demons of my past which I cannot face this time around. It almost seems foolish to come all the way to Germany if I could not stay long, but my most important friend tells me that there is always a bright side. And I like to think of meeting you as my bright side. We will meet again, I know it. I'm going back to America, come see me.
La revedere,
Echo