Work Text:
Vince:16
Howard:19
It starts as a headache on the morning of Vince’s 16th birthday.
He thinks nothing of it until he catches a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror. His vision is still blurry from sleep but the two dull shapes that have grown up and out of his temples are hard to miss. When he hesitantly touches the black bumps he finds them hard, like a fingernail.
Now, Vince has already seen a lot of weird stuff. Even at such a young age. Everything has always been different in his world, especially when you’ve spent your formative years in the jungle with animals and pop stars alike. This new dermatological occurrence throws him through a loop though. The skin around the base of the bumps is tender, which is where the headache is coming from. They’ve also disrupted his fringe, which will not do.
He could freak out. He could scream the boarding house down. He could cry and refuse to be seen by anyone, and he's tempted, but this is serious. Plus, it's his birthday and he’s been promised a free day at the zoo where Howard works. Vince is there all the time anyhow, but a free day is nothing to scoff at. He might even be able to convince Howard to take him somewhere for dinner after. He’s been looking forward to this day for weeks and he won't let this put a damper on things. He can freak out about this tomorrow.
Confidence restored, Vince goes about his morning routine as normal. He has a bit of an issue in the shower while trying to wash his hair but he manages it. After a shower and a full beauty regiment. He finds some pain medication and washes it down with his juice and sugary cereal. Conveniently his chosen outfit for the day goes perfectly with the wide brimmed black sun hat he chooses to wear to cover up the issue. All he has to do is get to the zoo and find Naboo.
“Naboo’s a monkey genius,” he tells himself while peering into the mirror. “He’ll know what to do.”
Vince gets to the Zooniverse an hour after opening to find Howard arguing with a fellow employee at the gates. This is a daily occurrence and Vince takes a moment to stand back and watch, laughing quietly to himself. What would Howard do without him? He’s sometimes surprised Howard's even managed to find employment without Vince there to talk him up. He watchs Howard get more and more agitated before giving in and going to help.
“Alright Graham?” he greets.
“Oh, Vince.” Howard replies in relief. Vince grins, pleased that he was able to get such a reaction from Howard.
“Ah hullo Vince,” Graham greets back, all cheerful and polite. So different from his demeanor with Howard only moments before. “Here for your birthday?”
“Yeah,” Vince shrugs, readjusting his hat slightly. Only a little apprehensive of the issue hidden underneath. At least his headache is gone. “Can you let me and Howard in?” he asks sweetly.
“Oh is this one with you then?” Graham asks, gesturing at Howard.
Howard makes a frustrated noise that is somewhere between a cat's yowl and an angry badger. Vince knew it grated on Howard. How no one remembered his name or face. But he can't help laughing. “Yeah, he promised me a free zoo day.”
“That so? Well mate I think you’ll have to pay for Vince’s ticket then wont you?” Graham asks, eyeing Howard.
Howard only rolls his eyes and glares. “I work here Graham! I am a licensed zoo keeper and as such I don’t need to pay for myself or Vince, now please let me in??”
“Even if that were true, which it isn’t. You’d still need to pay for him now wont you?”
“How can you know Vince, who doesn’t even work here?? But you don’t know me? Someone who does!? Graham, you see me everyday, and everyday we go through this!” Howard insists loudly, causing a few passersby to stare. Again Vince giggles at Howard’s antics, he always has. Howard just makes him laugh. When he was angry, when he was happy, even when he was sleeping.
He knew a few choice words would get them both in without paying but it was too funny.
“I’d think I’d remember a daft berk like you!” Graham counters “Now either pay for your tickets, or no zoo birthday fun times!”
Howard looks ready to argue but Vince is growing tired and wants to go inside.
“Come on Howard, just give him the money. I’ll pay you back.” Even though he had no intention of doing so.
Graham was laughing as Howard hands over the money, he gives Vince a friendly wink as they enter the zoo.
“Right,” Howard starts, turning towards Vince. “What first?”
Vince goes to answer but the intercom crackles to life first.
“Howard Moon!!” Bob Fossil’s voice pierces through the quiet morning air. “I want you dressed in a meat suit and at the alligator sauna in 10 seconds with their music! And none of that jazz crap or I’ll put you in a sack!” he screeches. Howard to groans in annoyance. “OH!” Fossil continues. “And I want to wish my happy little boy Vince Noir a beauteous 16th birthday! Finally legal Vincy!”
Vince frowns in confusion.
Howard sighs, “right, um I gotta take care of this Vince. I’ll be back shortly.”
“What? You're gonna leave me by myself on my birthday to work??” Vince asks, only slightly upset. He did want time to go talk to Naboo about the issue.
“Only for a short while. Go talk to Bollo or something? I won't be long.” Howard assures and leaves Vince to his own devices.
Vince did want to talk to Bollo and all the animals but he had more important matters. Making his way to the small booth tucked into the corner he knocks on the shutters and waits. When nothing happens he knocks louder.
“Oi Naboo! You in there?” he whispers. Looking around nervously in case Howard returned. When the shutters open to reveal a tired but put together shaman Vince sighs.
“Haven’t even opened yet Vince.” Naboo grouses in his odd lisping way.
Vince liked Naboo. He was smart but never made Vince feel stupid. He knew all sorts of cool secrets and had loads of neat gadgets and spells. Vince knew what he was about and he liked it. Howard was still wary of what he called bad juju but Vince suspected that Howard was jealous of Vince’s continued amazement with the shaman. That or he was just upset that Naboo routinely called him a ballbag.
“Sorry, only I’ve got this issue and I need to talk to you about it?” he askes, trying to disguise how nervous he was. He hadn’t freaked out at home but he suddenly felt like bursting into tears. Which was the most uncool thing he could think of so he held them back and clutched at his arms instead, digging his nails into his skin hard. He wasn’t used to feeling like this and he didn’t like it. And even when he did get close usually Howard would comfort him. Make him tea and give him cakes, but Howard couldn’t help him with this.
Naboo regards him with a critical eye, frowns, and then his eyes went sort of glassy. Like he wasn’t exactly focusing on Vince himself but rather looking through him. It was uncomfortable and Vince hugs himself tighter. “What?” he asks softly.
“I think you’d better come inside.” Naboo replies as the door to the right swings open on its own.
Vince smiles, “Cheers.
Entering the small booth was always an interesting experience. From the outside it looked like it barely held one person, but if you entered via the small door it somehow became bigger. With a couch, a coffee table, and a hot plate. Naboo was already returning to his usual position on the couch where his hookah sat waiting. Vince sits on a squishy looking bean bag and immediately begins chewing on a fingernail. He knows Naboo has seen something with his magic eyes and Vince is more worried then he was before.
Naboo remains silent and picks up the pipe of his hookah to take a drag. Vince coughs when smoke pillows out around Naboo. “Look, are you going to help or not?”
“You haven’t told me what the issue is.” Naboo replies.
Vince scowls. He has a sneaking suspicion that Naboo already knows but instead of snapping about it he simply removes his hat and ruffles the hair that had been squashed. Naboo is quiet again for another few minutes as he regards Vince. He knows its sort of hard to miss the...bumps? So he waits, and waits, and waits some more. Then Naboo gets up and goes over to him. Even though Naboo was shorter than Vince, he still shrunk back. Afraid of what the tiny shaman would do.
“I need your arm,” Naboo explains.
Vince frowns and offers it. His hands shake slightly and he forces himself to stop. He isn't afraid. Naboo knows what he's doing and Vince knows he'll deal with it. Before he knows it, Naboo is sticking a large syringe into his arm. He goes to scream but then Naboo is pulling away. The syringe is full of Vince’s blood.
“What was that for!?” he cries, his voice cracking. He looks at his arm and found nothing, no entry marks, no bruising. It doesn't even hurt.
“Don’t worry about it,” Naboo says as he sits back down and pockets the vial in his robes. He takes two more drags from the hookah and gazes at Vince. “You're a succubus, or cambion if you want to get technical, since you're only half succubus.”
“A succu-what?” Vince asks, more confused than ever. “Is that a clever way of calling me thick?” he scowls. He knows he's a little slow on some things but Naboo doesn't need to rub it in.
Naboo rolls his eyes, already done with the conversation. Reaching over he produces an aged pamphlet and gives it to Vince.
The pamphlet reads; “So you’re half demon”.
The Y in ‘you’re’ had a pointed tail, and the O in ‘demon’ had two little horns.
Horns
Vince pales and looks up at Naboo, “I’m a demon?”
“Half demon,” Naboo mutters around the tip of his hookah. “I suspect your mother was a succubus and your father was most likely human.”
Vince stares at Naboo, his wide bush baby eyes bright but confused. “I don’t know who my parents are, Naboo.” he says in a soft voice.
Anyone who knew Vince, knew this about him. It was common knowledge and it wasn’t talked about; besides a few late night chats between him and Howard. Even then it had all been whispered to each other. Vince made up fantastical stories about two people he’d never met. Howard would go along with these stories while offering up a few more logical ideas. That was the extent of ‘talking about it’ they'd ever done. No one had ever tried before.
“I know,” Naboo replies, blowing out a few shimmering smoke rings that Vince follows with his eyes for a few good minutes.
“Can you look into it for me?” Vince askes, genuinely curious. He never thought to ask Naboo, never cared enough.
“I’ll have to tell the Shaman council anyway but I can tell you that your mother most likely killed your father,” at Vince’s stricken look he adds. “By accident.”
“What do you mean by accident!?”
“Succubus are dangerous demonic creatures Vince, they use sex as a way to feed off humans. Gain their life force and sometimes souls. A lifetime of that can kill a human. It's dangerous.” Naboo explains in perhaps the most serious voice Vince could ever remember hearing from him.
“So,” Vince starts, looking disappointed. “I shouldn’t tell anyone then? Even Howard?”
Naboo nods. “Especially Howard.” he agrees, giving Vince a pointed look.
Vince blushes and looks away. There was no secret between him and Naboo. What sort of feelings Vince had for his best friend. After all, he'd been coming to talk to Naboo about this since the day Howard got the job at the Zooniverse. Which hadn’t been very long ago mind you, but Vince saw his chance to spill his heart to someone who didn’t care one way or another about human relationships and was perfectly content to act as Vince’s unofficial therapist
“I understand,” Vince says. He doesn't want to hurt Howard and if Naboo was to be believed, he really could somehow.
“Viiince??” Howard calls from outside the booth. Finished with his chores, he’d come looking for Vince.
Vince stands and smiles sadly.
“You better go, just keep your hat on and read the pamphlet.” Naboo instructs before waving his hand in a mystic sort of way. Vince waits an extra few minutes to see if anything happened. When nothing did he sighs in disappointment and leaves the booth to meeting Howard outside.
“There you are,” Howard says in relief. His pants are shredded towards the bottom and one of his sleeves is missing. The alligators were going to get a serious talking to later, Vince decides. “Thought you might have left.”
“As if, you promised.”
“Where to first then little man?”
“I’m thinking Bollo first, then the parrots, the lions, and the zebra and then you're buying me sweets.”
Howard shakes his head fondly and agrees before leading Vince away from Naboo’s
Vince puts on a big smile for the other man. Trying to make like everything is fine, even though inside Vince feels like dying. He was dangerous and they could never be together.
Not like he wanted.
Interlude with the Shaman Council
That night. In the darkest glade of the dark forest on the darkest night. Naboo, on his magic carpet, arrived to have a most serious discussion with the ones known as the shaman council.
“Naboo the Enigma,” Dennis the head shaman states. ”For what reason have you appeared before us on this night?”
Naboo regards those assembled before him.
Saboo looks unimpressed and uninterested. Watching Naboo with dark eyes, like he was just keeping his seething rage in check.
Tony Harrison in comparison, is bright eyed and grinning down at the ancient looking blackberry phone clutched in one of his many tentacles.
Kirk as usual is gazing off into the unknown. Possibly high, or more likely dreaming of the carnage he might engage in.
Without a word. Naboo held up the small vile of blood he’d drawn from Vince. The council gazed upon it. Some curious, others skeptical, “This,” Naboo starts. “Is the blood of a newly emerged succubus.” he explains, watching the other’s eyes go wide.
“Where did you come across such a thing?” Dennis asks in a hushed voice.
“Yes, explain to us how you just happen to have new succubus blood Naboo?” Saboo demands roughly. “You know succubus are strictly forbidden from entering the earthly realm.”
“I do,” Naboo replies, stashing the vile away in his robes. “But the blood is rare, yeah? Almost a 100 euros at Shamansbury’s. No one is going in for that even with the card and discount.”
“He’s right,” interjects Tony. “You only ever need the one drop but they make you buy the pack and it goes bad within a week, it's an outrage!”
“We all know how capitalism works Tony,” Saboo rolles his eyes.
“I sense you have a proposition for us Naboo.” Dennis states with all seriousness.
Naboo nods, “I’ll allow you all to take one drop each under the conditions that you allow me to investigate the succubus’s origins.”
“You realize this means they are under your responsibility?” Dennis asks. “We cannot allow a newly emerged succubus to run wild without them being under supervision.”
Naboo nods again. “Of course, I plan on monitoring them as they develop. At the moment they are in the first stages of the transformation, but I believe with the wrong motivation they could become dangerous given time.” he sounds sad as he says it. A rare emotion for the petit shaman but he found he was rather sad for Vince. He liked Vince as a mate and was disheartened, worried, and sorry for him. By shaman years, Vince was a baby.
“Let us hope that the wrong motivation, as you say, does not make an appearance.” Dennis says gravely. “For if this succubus were to wreak havoc it will be on your head Naboo.”
Outwardly Naboo gave no indication of his emotions but inside he was scared of what they would do if he failed. Of what would happen to Vince if Naboo were unable to properly look out for him.
He left the dark glade and the dark forest with much to think about.
Vince: 20
Howard: 24
In the past, Vince saw his well used mirror as a friend. Now it seemed more like an enemy.
Before, he would have taken a glance at it to fix his fringe, smudge some runny eyeliner away and be happy. Now however, he’d spend hours looking at his own reflection. Terrified of what he might find, of what he’d forgotten to hide. It was turning into paranoia. That’s what Naboo called it anyway. He couldn’t stand the thought of Howard finding him without his glamor on. Something that Naboo taught him.
His glamor was easy to understand once the shaman explained it.
It was a special power Vince had. To hide his demonic features. To blend in with humans. Vince hated that phrase. He’d never felt human. Not in the jungle, not at school, not anywhere. He supposed he understood why now, but he hated the thought of having to blend in. He wanted to stand out and be noticed, but for the right reasons. So he hid his true self with carefully focused magic.
5 years on and he was still amazed he’d managed to hide all of this from Howard. Then again Howard had never been the most observational person in the world. Vince sometimes wondered if Howard would even notice if Vince dropped his glamor. Because after the horns it had only gotten more complicated.
The horns had elongated. They were almost 5 centimeters long now, black at the top and red at the bottom where they met Vince’s skin. His skin too had changed. The morning he’d woken to find himself a bright magenta red had been scary. If the horns had been a shock the change of skin color had been frightening. That had been back before he knew how to use the glamor and had refused to come out of his room for days until Howard, worried and at his wits end, had gotten Naboo involved.
Naboo taught him about glamor and used his own shaman powers to disguise Vince’s skin for the time being. Until Vince figured out how to hide it himself. It had been a rough day and Howard was left confused and worried. Vince had tried to assuage the older man by blowing the whole thing off but Howard kept a close eye on him all week just in case.
It had only gotten worse when Vince came to the zoo to work. Being of age now he could no longer live in the boarding houses he’d grown up in. So he moved into the keepers hut with Howard. It forced him to learn his glamor quickly and efficiently to the point where he could keep it up even while sleeping. Sometimes he even forgot he had it on. It made things easier. Especially when the tail came into the equation….
The tail had been the worst one so far. Worse than a headache or a panic attack. It hurt.
A sharp piercing pain wakes Vince in the middle of the night. At first he doesn't know why he's awake but when the pain comes again he gasps sharply and sits up in his sleeping bag.
Howard wakes with a start, he sounds groggy when he asks Vince if he's okay.
As Vince’s mind clears he became aware of two things. One; that Howard can't not know. Two; he has to get to Naboo’s without making Howard worry.
It wasn’t easy. Claiming to be fine while in tremendous pain, but he eventually manages to get Howard back asleep before escaping the keeper's hut. Naboo wasn't been pleased at first but Vince’s pained expression, both pathetic and worried, prompted Naboo to let Vince inside. By this point his tail, red and pointed like a proper devil’s tail, emerged. It was slender and at least an arms length long. At first Vince wasn't been pleased but as he inspected it he found it rather amusing.
“This is important Vince,” Naboo explains, watching Vince play with it. “The transformation stage is almost complete.”
Vince sighs and drops his new appendage. It sags towards the ground. “Why’s it taking so long?” he asks. He’d grown used to the idea over the years. When he was alone he sometimes let the glamor drop and would inspect everything. The more he did this the more he grew to like it. He’d read the pamphlet Naboo had given him backwards and forwards. More reading than he usually did honestly, and he knew what would happen in the end. Even though he wasn’t looking forward to any of it, the aesthetic pleased him. In the right clothing and accessories the horns, skin and now tail looked amazing. Like a year around Halloween costume that he couldn’t technically take off.
He even figured he could get into some goth and emo bands. All he had to do was convince people that it was fake. He was still working on the angle.
Meanwhile, hiding it all from Howard and the zoo was becoming a chore. But he had to if he wanted to keep Howard in his life, if only as a friend. He was too scared to think about what might happen. The one thing keeping him from giving up the ruse was hurting Howard. He’d already basically lied to the other man a thousand times. He knew Howard wouldn’t like that on principle. It was enough to make him cry, and he never cried, not if he could help it.
“It's a tough process,” Naboo replies with a subtle frown. “Every subspecies of demon is different. And since you’re still only half, it's probably taking longer.” Naboo didn't know what else to say to Vince. In his duty to remain vigilant and helpful to Vince he discovered some things. Things about Vince’s birth parents that he kept to himself for the time being. Vince was distracted with his life and transformations and didn't ask about his parents again after the first day.
Ruffling his bed head Vince hums in thought. “How many more changes then?”
“Just one more and it’s tricky. Keep your glamor up, it'll help.”
“Cheers Naboo,” Vince yawns and makes to leave.
"Vince..." Naboo says and looks pointedly at the long tail still sticking out from under Vince’s sleep shirt. Vince blushes and concentrates, watching his tail vanish with a sparkle of magic. He gives the shaman a nod before leaving the booth.
Returning to the keeper's hut, Vince sits gingerly on his sleeping bag with a tired sigh. He has no intention of going back to sleep but Howard’s mumbled greeting, tinged with worry, pulls a smile from him. Turning towards Howard, he lays down facing him.
“Sorry, bad dream.” he lies, watching as Howard’s brow furrowed and his tiny eyes became almost invisible.
“You could have stayed,” Howard whispers back and Vince’s smile grows. He was reminded of late night talks when they were younger and less prone to fatigue in the mornings. “Where did you go?” he asks. His hand beneath the sleeping bag moves as if he were trying to reach out to Vince, to lend some comfort. Howard was always more accommodating and soft when half asleep. Vince treasures these moments. He only wishes it wasn’t mixed up in his transformations.
Vince shrugs and wiggles just a little closer to Howard. “Just wanted some fresh air,” he lies again. “I’m okay.”
Howard nods, content with Vince’s words, and relaxes. Vince watches him sleep, which isn't as creepy as it sounds. Vince watched him most nights when he was unable to sleep. Dreaming about a future where he was normal. Where he and Howard could be together properly. The urge to kiss Howard was always the strongest on those nights. Each time he thought about laying even an innocent kiss on the other man’s face, the pamphlet’s words rushed to the forefront of his mind.
By the end of maturity the succubus’s final form will be complete. They will hunger for pleasure in all forms. Seeking it out above all else. Sex and overindulgence will become optimal for the survival of the succubus.
It had taken Vince a few tries but he understood it now. He’d either die refusing to give into his full form’s hunger or end up killing someone else. It had been a tough realization, and he still wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He knew Naboo would help and he was grateful, but he’d feel ten times better with Howard’s input. Even though he knew logically there was nothing the other man could do, having Howard’s support would do wonders. He always felt safer and calmer around Howard. Even his presence now was soothing to the point where Vince felt tired enough to sleep.
“I’m sorry Howard,” he whispers, still feeling guilty for having to lie all the time. “It's for our own good. I don’t want to hurt you.”
He didn’t want Howard scared or upset. The man had enough to worry about other than Vince slowly turning into a demon.
Vince: 25
Howard: 29
The wings came in just after they’ve left the zoo. When Vince is at his lowest point.
He loved the zoo. It had been the only place he felt comfortable outside of the forests in which he grew up. It was gone now and worse of all he didn’t know why, or what had happened to it. For weeks afterwards they would go looking for it but could never find it. Howard would drive them down the same roads to where it ought to be but it was always something different.
Confused and a little heartbroken they conceded defeat and moved to a third floor flat that Naboo owned. Vince had pleaded with Naboo to let them stay and thought nothing of the easy acceptance they were granted. Having Naboo just down the hall made Vince’s life easier by far. The shaman's room was open to him at all hours provided he promised not to mess with anything beyond his own understanding, which to be fair was pretty much all of it. He was to stick to pre-prescribed books and gummy vitamins Naboo urged him to take. To help the transformation and to help keep the glamor magic strong.
It had been on one of these occasions that the wings had emerged much to Vince’s shock and embarrassment.
He was alone in Naboo’s room, absently paging through one of the less advanced books when the ache in his shoulder blades starts. At first he assumes its the position he put himself in, but after moving he realizes his muscles hurt. They strain and ache, the pain turning sharper and sharper until he's on the verge of tears.
He can hear Howard out in the kitchen, puttering around to soft jazz on the radio. If he notices Vince’s distress, there would be problems. Standing gingerly, Vince quietly makes his way to the bedroom door and closes it slowly but the sharp pain suddenly starts to burn making him sob harshly.
The radio in the kitchen abruptly switchs off.
“Vince?” Howard asks, his voice growing closer.
In a moment of panic, Vince slams the door shut and clicks all 4 locks into place in quick succession.
“Viiince!?” Howard cries in alarm before knocking politely. “Little man is everything alright? Why...why did you lock yourself in Naboo’s room?”
“Uh,” Vince flounders for an answer that doesn't sound suspicious. “I’m fine, I stubbed my toe?” he lies, hoping the fact that he posed it as a question wouldn't be noticed.
“You barely ever take your boots off Vince, I’ve seen you sleep in them multiple times.” Howard answers, clear skepticism in his tone.
Resting his head against the door Vince sighs. “Yeah okay, but don’t worry about it Howard. I swear I’m fine.” he responds, his own tone serious. His back is still burning and he feels like he might be bleeding. He hates blood, especially his own. He had to figure out what part of the transformation this was without calling Naboo. Howard would likely know if he tried and that would only make this worse. He knows the best course of action was to wait it out, hide it and pretend like it never happened. Like any reasonable person would.
The only issue is that the pain is increasing to the point where Vince knows he wont be able to keep quiet. It feels like being stabbed by a curling iron. With the door locked, he backs away and crawls onto the large bed and curls up among the pillows. A fresh wave of pain overcomes him and he gasps, muffling himself against a pillow and shaking. After a moment it passes he's able to pull the open book closer. After a few tries he finds the right page and squints at the words.
Wings.
He's growing wings. With a panicked whimper, Vince tugs his shirt off and sits up on his knees. Almost terrified of ripping the expensive blouse then the prospect of another transformation. It would be fine, it would be over soon and he’d hide it like the rest. Taking a deep breath he tries his best to relax and breathe.
“Vince?” come Howard’s concerned voice again. He knocks softly.
“I said I’m fine!” Vince snaps. More annoyed now than worried.
There's an angry huff from the other side of the door and Vince imagines Howard with his arms crossed in his hideous roll neck, looking as if he’d just eaten a lemon. The image is enough to bring a sad smile to Vince’s face.
“I don’t think you are, can’t I come in and...help?” Howard replies, his voice wavering between concern and confusion.
“No, I said I was fine!” Vince repeats. He feels a curious numbing sensation as medium sized leather bat-like wings unfold from where they emerged on his shoulder blades. He stares at them in open mouth awe.
They're shiny and black with a membrane that hangs down between two slender bones. They're by far the most extraordinary thing he’s experienced. He can't believe they're attached to him. “I...I don’t think it's something you could help with anyway.” he finally says as he reaches up to gently feel the leathery skin. He’d felt real bat skin at the zoo and sometimes at shops (he’d never buy it but it was fun to touch). They're were real. He has real wings!
When the pain is completely gone he sits up and gently moves his arms, watching the wings move up and down. He wonders if he could use them to fly. Now that would be an experience. he’ll have to ask Naboo before trying it himself of course.
“What, what is it?” Howard asks from the other side of the door. “What did you find in there? Do I need to get the mop?”
Vince giggles and shakes his head even though Howard can't see him. “N’offin, Howard I’m really fine, no spills promise.”
He wants to inspect the wings some more but he can’t expect Howard to give up until Vince proves he's alright. So, with a sigh and some well placed concentrated magic the wings vanish with a sparkle. He doesn’t know where any of it goes. Naboo never could give him a clear answer and Vince tried not to imagine his demonic body parts anywhere but on himself.
Taking a look in the mirror on the wall Vince concludes that he was well hidden and can be seen by the right people. Unlocking the door he opens it without warning, causing Howard to fall through onto the shag carpeting that make up Naboo’s floor. Vince can’t help laughing at Howard’s misfortune.
“Have a nice trip?”
“Ha ha!” Howard mocks as he hauls himself up and takes a quick inventory of Vince’s self and the room. When he, thankfully, finds nothing out of place he gives Vince a suspicious look.
“Wot?”
Howard takes another look around, “Nothing.” he mumbles. “What are you doing here anyway Vince? Naboo’s said it's off limits.”
Vince scoffs. He can’t tell Howard that he has special permission of course so he shrugs. “Was just looking for Naboo’s miracle wax, don’t get yer mustache in a twist.” he replies and leaves the room. He’ll forever hate lying to Howard about it and he vows to one day make it up to the other man.
For now he sits on the couch and takes a deep breath. His heart is racing from the transformation and his muscles still ache from how they were stretched. He’s drawn Howard’s eye again and steadily ignores him in favor of re-reading an old cheekbone article. He’s thinking about changing up his hair and needs some tips about the best course of action.
Vince: 25 (press age, 21)
Howard: 29 (assumed age, 60)
For all intents and purposes, technically, the band is going well. If you don’t count the angry mobs, the uncoordinated stage performances, and the less popular music of course. Vince tries not to count those things. He knows, deep down...really deep down, that it's not about all of that. It's about having fun and looking good and really they are. Well, he’s looking good at least but they are having fun with it.
They are meant to be practicing when Vince realizes what's about to happen. Like a sixth sense he can feel it at the back of his mind, a slow burn that grows into a migraine. When he stops moving and singing Howard notices and the discordant rhythm fades away. Vince refuses to look towards him. He knows he’ll see a confused look and he knows he’ll just have to come up with another lie.
Because this time Vince knows he won't be able to deal with it and let it pass. He’s come to the end of the transformation. Already the hunger stabs through his gut making him wince silently. He needs to leave and now or he’ll do something he’ll regret. Without a word he turns and stalks towards the back bedroom he shares with Howard. He’ll have to go out and he’s nowhere near being dressed properly for it.
Sure Vince is aware that his erupt departure and odd silent demeanor will put Howard on edge for hours, possibly days. It's not the first time Vince’s made Howard think he’s mad at him. And he hates how that works out for him. If Howard thinks he’s mad, or better yet if Howard is mad at him, then it's easier for Vince to deal with lying to him about his true nature.
An hour after he’s left the room he expects Howard to knock politely and ask him if he’s alright but it never happens. He’s too hungry to be upset over the lack of concern. He knows Howard is worried, and has been for quite a while but Howard wont do anything about it. To chicken shit to try, Vince thinks. With a growl that is altogether not human he exits his room, glamor up, makeup on point. His recently dyed black hair is teased and root-boosted to new heights. His three inch red and black heeled boots are new and they match the blood red leather skinnies.
Howard looks up from the keyboard as Vince throws a black studded jacket over the silky black tank and mesh undershirt. Howard’s eyes slide over him and Vince tries not to feel it but it's very hard when he can feel himself getting aroused. The older man’s gaze lingers on the silver pentagram necklace. Vince reaches up to run his fingers over it. He knew it was a little cliché but he couldn’t help it.
“Don’t wait up,” Vince explains as he checks his reflection one more time. Just to make sure the glamor is still up. At some point tonight he figured it wouldn’t matter, but for now it was important to look human. Howard looks a little disheartened to realize that Vince probably won't be back until morning. He’d done it before, in preparation for this moment actually. So it's not a new occurrence by any means, it's just spontaneous.
Vince offers Howard a small smile. “We can practice some more tomorrow alright?” and he means it.
Howard only nods and plays a slow melody. It sounds sad, like his fingers are seeking out the saddest, most depressing notes they can find. “Be careful,” he finally says, so softly Vince barely hears him. Wouldn’t have if not for the inhuman hearing. His smile widens.
“Of course!” he replies and is off down the stairs and out the door. The fresh air feels amazing in his lungs and on his skin. Pulling out his phone he dials Leroy’s number and hails a cab at the same time.
The Velvet Onion
An hour and half later
“So, let me get this straight.” Leroy says, confusion written across his face. “You’re some sort of sex demon?”
Vince rolls his eyes and plays with cherry in his flirtini. He knew he wasn’t meant to tell anyone but he had to. Especially now that he felt like he was more of a danger then originally.
His first foray into the whole thing hadn’t exactly gone the way he thought it might. He hadn’t killed anyone of course and he’d slaked the lust for the moment. Somehow, he still felt guilty though. He’d barely done anything and the girls flocked to him in the dozens. It was overwhelming.
After he’d finished with his chosen target he’d returned to Leroy looking dazed and punch drunk even though he hadn’t had a proper sip of anything yet.
“Sort of,” he responds, screwing up his face in thought. Even though he’s been living with it for a long time now the particulars of what he actually was elude him. “I think it's more complicated than that.” he shrugs and pulls the cherry off the plastic toothpick with his teeth. There was nothing he could do about it but try and get past it.
Understanding the Occult
What Vince doesn’t know about the occult could fill a bigger book then the big fancy one that has a pentagram on it. He’s wanted to look through it forever. Ever since Naboo claimed everything but a few off limits to Vince. The shaman claimed there was nothing in it that Vince needed to know. Vince disagreed. He was a full succubus here, if there was a book about the occult he figured it was worth looking through. Who knew what else he could do besides the glamor and soul sucking abilities?
The opportunity to find out came soon after.
He’d been at one of the many goth clubs in full makeup and gear. Vince found it easier to find willing victims at goth clubs. He didn’t even have to lie, tell them he was a warlock or demon and they were all over him. Especially the very mean vampire goth girls. They were willing enough, but he’d overplayed his hand and found himself inviting them back to the flat later that night.
Like always it was a breeze to not only lie to Howard but get him to agree to hosting the girls. Perhaps Howard would get lucky and one of the girls would actually be into him and then Vince could….well perhaps it wasn’t a good idea but he was running with what he got.
His plans don’t go as planned, in fact they go so far off course that it's almost the end of the world. Via an army of demonic nana’s. Could’ve been worse of course but Naboo was furious with him. Apparently the shaman council was as well and demanded that Naboo lock up all his reading material, even the ones that Vince needed.
“Come on Naboo, it ain’t fair.”
“No Vince, what isn’t fair is stripping me of my powers because you can’t keep your hands off my things, all to impress some girls??” Naboo replies. Vince groans in annoyance, it wasn’t like he meant for any of it to happen. Why couldn’t anyone understand that things just got out of control for him. Howard thought he had fantastic luck but sometimes Vince felt like he was the unluckiest person-demon alive. “Just be happy they didn’t demand your head Vince.” Naboo concludes, puffing angrily on the hookah. Sending great big clouds of smoke about. He reminds Vince of the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland.
Bollo grunts with a nod and Vince knew it was serious
It was late, way after Naboo and Bollo had come back from the club with girls. Howard was safe in his bed and Vince couldn’t sleep after the whole thing.
“It wasn’t just to impress them. I was trying to do what I’m…supposed to do. I just got carried away” He finally explains sadly, twirling strands of hair around his finger absently. Reaching up, Bollo gently pulls his hand away and smooths the strands in a loving manner causing Vince to give him a warm smile. He appreciates them both for the help and comfort but they still aren't what he wants.
“Try not to get carried away again. You're more powerful than you realize. If you thought Nanatoo was bad you’ve seen nothing.”
Vince doesn't ask and Naboo was right, he didn’t want to know. He's offered nothing else in the way of advice so he leaves for bed. Though he knew he still wouldn’t be able to sleep.
Vince: 26
Howard: 30
Vince makes sure to not go overboard with his conquests again. He’s been at it for a year and he hasn’t accidentally killed anyone yet. Nor has he accidentally summoned any more demons. For that he’s thankful, but he still worries that he will and that seems to stop him from really letting loose. It doesn’t hinder the process. He still feels satisfied after each successful night. It just means he’ll have to hunt again in a week. Which is fine by him. He’d go out every weekend regardless.
It's not as bad as he once thought. Taking a bit from everyone he hooks up with. Giving them a good time, stealing items of clothing. It works and it's okay but Howard is growing more worried about him. They barely see each other anymore and when they do it's not always the best circumstances. The band has gone off the rails and Vince finds that he’s too busy with his social life, and double life, to care much. After all, he’s a full time demon now and as much as it pains him to see Howard’s concerned looks he can’t stop.
It would be so easy to fess up. Tell Howard everything . From the moment he started to transform to last night when he almost tore a girl's throat out from the sheer power he’d felt while feeding off her energy. Vince won't tell Howard, not now, not ever. For one it would send the older man running. Even if it didn't and Howard somehow foolishly felt the same. Vince would only end up killing him just like his mum had done to his poor father.
Vince loves him. Sometimes, so much that it hurts. Every successful hunt ends the same. He’ll finish up, leave the girl or boy or whoever, passed out and blissfully happy, and he’ll return home to the one person he wished he could be with above anyone else. Vince has convinced himself that it's all to protect Howard. He doesn’t know what else he can do besides leave for good and that is something he still can’t fathom, so he doesn’t.
As he looks into the bathroom mirror he thinks about it all again. Let those thoughts replay in his mind until he’s sure of himself. He’s let the glamor drop while in the shower. His jet black hair is wet and hanging in his face. His red skin glows under the fluorescent lights making the odd sparkles in the black of his horns shine. He’s grown to appreciate his demonic form for more than just its aesthetic. It's a part of him now and he would honestly miss it if it all disappeared one day. His teeth in this form have gotten sharper and deadly, he enjoys flashing smiles at himself, watching the sharp edges glisten. He really could kill someone and while he still hates the idea, the urge has never been more strong. His black nails, basically claws now, haven’t been painted but they always are in his true form. His tail, once an odd embarrassing thing, is like a friend. It waves and curls in delicate circles behind him. It's the most sensitive thing on his body, even in human form the area tingles when it's touched. The wings are a different story. He can’t fly so he doesn’t see the point of them. He shifts them back and forth, letting them curl up against him where they aren’t vulnerable. He’d ripped them once, while foolishly trying to fly and the fight he put up when Naboo attempted to fix them was intense. It wasn’t worth it to try again so he didn’t.
The only thing that was an oddity, to Naboo at least, were his eyes. A traditional succubus should have yellow or red eyes but Vince’s refused to change. They’ve stayed stubbornly blue his whole life. He still thinks they are his best feature so he doesn’t mind. Naboo theorizes that it's because he’s only half succubus. Vince wrinkles his nose at the thought.
“Don’t feel half.” he mutters to his reflection.
All in all he likes himself, he likes this form and he wishes he didn’t have to hide.
There's a knock at the door, he jumps.
“Everything alright in there Vince?” Howard asks, attempting to open the door but Vince’s locked it. Howard knows how long Vince takes to get ready and it's only been an hour.
“Fine, be out in a few,” he soothes though he makes no move to get ready. He’s not done taking inventory of himself. The doorknob twists again and Vince eyes it with a glare, making sure that it doesn’t open on its own. “Leave off, I said I’d be ready soon!”
“You can’t monopolize the bathroom Vince, other people need to use it too!” Howard fights back. Vince rolls his eyes and puts up his glamor. The rush and tingle of magic, covering him from head to toe tickles but once it's in place he wraps his towel around himself and lets Howard in.
“You can’t be patient?” he asks with a fake smile that Howard see’s through a mile away.
“Just get out, you can have it back in a second.”
“Yeah fine, need to get some things anyway.” he reasons and steps out. Howard shuts the door in his face and Vince retreats to their room. It isn’t until he’s sat at his vanity that he realizes that his black claws haven’t vanished along with the rest. He stares at them, hoping that Howard hadn’t noticed, or had at least thought they were normal. With a growl and a shake of his hands they vanish. He meant to grab some things and return to the bathroom when Howard reappeared but he’s too busy worrying over the accident.
Howard doesn’t seem any more neurotic or anxious so he probably didn’t notice but the fright of it all left Vince feeling raw. The only way to escape was to get dressed and leave the flat. He’ll need another night with a new victim.
Vince: 27
Howard: 31
“Vince, are you listening?” Naboo asks, looking up at him from across the bed. He’s got a large book open in his lap. Vince curled up at the foot of the bed on his front. His pointed tail waves behind him. His wings are folded against his back and he’s been drawing lazy circles onto the bedspread with his claw.
He looks up at Naboo and shrugs lazily. “Course I was.” he replies, knowing full well that Naboo will see through the lie. Naboo scowls and Vince yawns, too tired and drained to care. He’s in only his pants and vest. He had been blissfully asleep until Naboo dragged him away to his bedroom. Vince hasn’t needed to read any info on demons or succubus for at least two or three years. He knows everything, he’s lived it all at this point. But he understands what Naboo is doing, reminding him.
Vince hasn’t been hunting and thus hasn’t had energy besides what he gets when asleep. He's really refusing to hunt. It's been four days since his last hunt and it hadn’t gotten particularly well. He’d been close to killing before but not to the point of blood and screaming. He winces when he remembers it. How frightened the girl had been. She’d screamed so loud and he hadn’t stopped until Naboo intervened. Vince didn’t know how Naboo knew but he was thankful. He’d told himself years ago that if he ever got that close he’d give up. It wasn’t worth it. As a result he’d lost all the energy he’d been collecting and hadn’t been out of bed. Howard, as always, was worried but seemed to be calmed by Naboo’s assertion that Vince would be right as rain by the end of the day.
Vince scowled and turned over on his back.
“You can’t give up, you’re killing yourself.”
“Yeah,” Vince responded, his voice a little shaky. “It's better than killing anyone else.”
“It was a fluke.” He doesn’t sound like he believes that. “Besides they're just humans.”
Vince glares and sits up, his wings unfurl and his eyes go cold. “I was just human not long ago, until,” he gestures at himself. “This happened. It was okay for a while, even fun, but I can’t do it if I’m going to end up killing people.”
“It's what demons do.”
“Well not this demon, besides only half yeah? Couldn’t I just forget it?”
“Keeping the glamor up indefinitely will only drain more energy and then what will you do?”
Vince lays back down and shrugs. “Don’t know, could go back to the jungle, the animals wouldn’t mind.”
“What about Howard?”
Vince frowns and looks up at the swirling patterns of the scarfs around Naboos’ bed.
What about Howard?
He still loves the other man, to the point of tears sometimes. Leaving Howard all alone in the flat without him seems cruel. But what other option does he have?
“You could tell him.” Naboo interjects into his thoughts, probably reading his mind.
“I can’t he’d hate me.”
“He’ll hate you if you leave.” It sounds like Naboo is only saying what he wants to hear.
“No, he’ll be sad and he'll miss me.”
Vince would rather it be like that then being hated. They aren’t in the best place right now anyway. He knows Howard is still sore at him for the jazz record even though Vince apologized afterwards. He was still amazed that Howard hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary. He was convinced that his insides were probably more demonic then his outsides at this point but what did he know about biology?
After the incident with the fox and the cape Vince thought they were back on track but as the days went on he began to realize that their friendship simply wasn’t what it once was. They were strained at each end. Like they were both pulling in opposite directions but the string refused to break. He knew he was at fault. For lying and hiding things, but he didn’t know how to fix it.
He knew Howard’s birthday was coming up and thoughts of parties, bouncy houses and miles of streamers danced through his head. Giving Howard a birthday party would be a dead sure fire way to show the other man that Vince wanted to fix things.
Vince: 27
Howard: 32
Vince doesn’t mean to mess Howard’s birthday up. In fact, up until a certain point Vince thinks it's all going very well even when Howard complains about it. He realizes it's all gone up in flames when he finds himself in the stock room closet with the head shaman’s wife. These things just happened to him now. He barely ever had to look at a person and they would be willing to do anything for and to him. At first it was wonderful. His ego was huge to the point of bursting and every appreciative glance sent it skyrocketing. Sure it was all because of his powers and the fact that he was just a soul sucking demon on the inside, but he tended to forget that part.
He wasn’t stupid enough to try it on with her, no matter how good she looked. The head shaman would go ballistic if he found out. The shaman knew what he was. He’d be killed on the spot. And he didn’t fancy finding out how they would go about that. So he ran, just in the nick of time too.
He wasn’t surprised to find Howard on the roof. Not after what had happened in the shop. Naboo, a great help to Vince, was a right ball-bag sometimes and Vince hated the way he treated Howard. Hated the way everyone did. Lying for years and keeping a part of himself hidden from the other man didn’t help. Howard had never been enchanted with him like other people were, perhaps because Vince kept himself so well hidden that Howard just wasn’t affected. Keeping his distance while longing for more was hard.
He’d tried in vain to reassure Howard. Being a virgin at 32 was impressive. Vince longed for that freedom. The freedom to choose instead of being driven by hunger, instinct and the threat of death. Howard could never understand that though. He was too caught up in the silly social label. He’d never get to appreciate what he had. Vince tried to explain but like always it wasn’t coming out right.
Just as well when the head shaman finally found him.
“There you are, you dirty Succubus! Prepare to die!”
“Mate,” Vince begged, glancing at Howard before looking back at the head-shaman. “I ain’t interested in your wife alright. She came onto me!”
“A likely story from a creature like yourself!”
Vince sighed and did the only thing he could, he lied. Or more accurately, for once, he told the truth. “I’m in love with someone already.”
“The lies of a demon.”
“I’m in love with Howard!” He cried gesturing to the man beside him helplessly. It wasn’t a lie, not really. But somehow it still felt like one.
It didn’t take Howard more than a two seconds to understand before he was nodding.
“Oh yeah, we’re in love.” he sounded less than enthused by the idea.
“Succubus don’t fall in love, prove it.”
Vince’s eyes widened and Howard turned, obviously to ask what that meant. Vince panicked and grabbed at him, kissing him soundly on the lips. He tried to ignore the way his heart burst with happiness at finally getting to do so. Even if the kiss was a little clumsy and chaotic. It felt amazing
In the past Vince had made a point to decline kissing his victims. He’d learned after his first clumsy attempts that kissing was a bad idea. It was a death sentence. A black mark on their soul. He remembered very well what happened to the last girl he’d kissed and the memory of all that blood still made him shudder.
Pulling away from Howard with a gasp he gave the head shaman a wild eyed look. He must have seen something serious in Vince’s blazing blue eyes because he left with a grumbled comment. Turning back to Howard, Vince was met with a glassy eyed stare, his heart plummeted. He’d seen that look before on a few unlucky victims trapped under his spell.
“Thank you,” Howard muttered, reaching for his hand.
Vince pulled away, horrified at himself for letting this happen. “What, what do you mean?”
“Thank you for the gift of love.”
“No, no Howard, it was just a kiss.” Vince begged, hoping that Howard was just being ridiculous instead of truly spelled. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if this train of thought continued, this wasn’t what he wanted.
“You’ve flicked my switch baby.”
Vince tried, he really tried but the more Howard talked about their obvious love and the tension the more hopeless it all seemed. Vince knew it was just his powers finally affecting Howard and while it was lovely to hear, Vince knew it was wrong.
Howard stood, to proclaim to the world his feelings. Vince went to grab him at the same time that Howard lent down to kiss him again. They must have off set the precious balance and fell. Thank god for the bouncy castle. Somehow, when they finally landed for good, the spell had been broken. At least it seemed that way when Howard finally came to his senses and went off the pencil case girl.
Vince tried to be friends and make a go of with the other girls who clamored for his attention but by the end of the night he found himself alone. He had no idea where Howard and that girl had run off to but as far as Vince was concerned Howard was safer for it. The party had wound down, and soon the sitting room was empty. All but a billion red solo cups and two drunken shaman in the corner. He eyed them warily for a moment before turning away and going to find Naboo.
Vince found him longing on a large red beanbag chair in his room. Bollo was oddly absent, probably off having a good time with party goers somewhere else
“Wots happened now?” Naboo asks.
“I think I’ve made a mistake.” Vince answers and sits down in the matching blue bean bag chair to Naboo’s right. He curls his knees up and hugs them like he used to do as a boy. Naboo gives him an indiscernible look. He sighs. “I kissed Howard.”
Naboo wrinkles his nose in disgust. “I know, Dennis told everyone.”
Vince scowls, “What do I do?”
“Nothing. There's nothing you can do.”
“You know it's dangerous! I’m...dangerous.” he says softly, sadly.
“Then why did you do it?”
Vince sighs and fell backwards into the beanbag. Its comfy and he's tired, closing his eyes he recalled the kiss. It hadn’t been what he expected their first kiss to be like. He’d put a stop to those fantasies long ago but still, he feels disappointed. First of all, It would have been better had he not been a succubus. Second of all. It was rushed and flimsy. Howard hadn’t gotten a chance to respond, though Vince suspected he wouldn’t have anyway. He’d done it mostly to distract Howard and to prove something. Afterwards, he’d felt relieved but as he watched Howard's small dark eyes glaze over with the spell Vince had wanted to cry.
“I didn’t want him to know,” he finally says. His voice sounds small and rough, like he really was about to cry. He hadn’t truly cried about the situation since he turned red. “Dennis kept calling me a monster and a succubus. I had to distract Howard and make Dennis believe I...I loved Howard. Or he would’ve killed me…” He doesn't want to die. Not for something he can't control. He can feel real tears leaking down his cheeks and for once he doesn't care that his makeup would run.
Naboo hums beside him and takes a long pull from the hookah before letting the smoke billow from his nose. “The way I see it. You can either tell Howard the truth or distance yourself.”
Sitting up Vince gives Naboo a distraught look. “Distance myself more than I already have? Naboo I’ve been lying to my best friend for years! Because you told me to! What more can I do besides leave.”
He's sad and frustrated. With a sniff, he wipes away his tears and growls when black eyeliner smears across his hand.
“You can’t leave. I’m meant to look after you,” Naboo states.
Vince rolls his eyes. “I don’t need looking after, not from you or Howard. Not anymore. I’m full grown aren’t I?”
“For a human? I guess? But for a succubus you're little more than a teenager.”
Hugging his knees again Vince shakes his head. He can't tell Howard the truth and he can't leave, which left the only other option and he wasn’t thrilled. Maybe, he thought. Maybe Howard would really hit it off with the pencil case girl and run off with her. At least that way Vince wouldn’t have to worry about hurting Howard. Even though his heart would be broken. It was better than nothing. All his life, he’d been lucky even when he felt unlucky to be a demon. Still, He always managed to have his cake and eat it too. But Vince was starting to realize that this time wouldn’t be the same.
“Look,” Naboo continues, sitting up slightly to gain Vince’s attention. “The spell will wear off in a few hours if it hasn’t already. So don’t worry about that.” When Vince doesn’t respond, Naboo tries again. “Don’t worry about Howard,” Vince looks at him as if to say ‘are you kidding?’ “Howard may be a ballbag and an idiot but he’s going to be fine.”
“Yeah,” Vince agrees and stands. “Without me.”
“You can’t leave.” Naboo reminds him.
“I won't, don’t worry.”
Vince knows he still needs Naboo’s guidance and wisdom. No matter how flawed and unfair it was. He’d gotten a hang of the glamor. He’d gotten good at hunting without killing. He even didn’t feel so guilty anymore for taking souls from unwilling victims. He knows he wouldn't have been able to do any of that without Naboo. He owed the small shaman his life and he also owed Howard a safer one.
He left Naboo’s room without a word. He wasn’t sure if their talk had really helped anything besides calming him down. In doing so, it had helped him figure out a plan. Something he normally couldn’t do without the plan pony.
XXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXxX
A whole month goes by and each day Vince, sadly, sticks to the plan. Distance. They need distance. He sleeps all day, and then goes out all night. Either to feed or to dance or to do both. It doesn’t matter what he does with his time as long as he’s away from Howard. He’ll always come home eventually, when Howard’s out or asleep himself. They haven’t had a real conversation in weeks and Vince knows it's starting to upset Howard. Even though the older man won't say anything about it, Vince knows. He can feel the hurt and confusion every time they end up crossing paths.
He dodges pleading looks and ignores half started inquiries that lead nowhere. He hasn’t spent more than a few waking hours in the flat and even with his social butterfly tendencies he’s starting to get annoyed. Leroy offers room at his place but he lives in a one room flat and while Vince doesn’t take up much room by himself he needs space.
He needs a distraction.
A distraction comes about a week later in the form of Bob Fossil. The man comes to Vince in a blind panic looking for a way to rake in a load of cash quickly or the Velvet Onion will be toast. Vince thinks up a scheme fast. It's hard when he doesn’t have Howard’s input but eventually he comes up with a show and they sell tickets quickly. Everyone wants a slot
The distraction helps for a while. Vince has never been so busy, he barely gets time for himself to feed now that he’s gone back to it.
The distraction lasts up until Howard catches wind of the whole thing. Of course he wants a slot, Vince isn’t sure why only that Howard thinks he’s an actor of some sort. Vince gives him as much attention as he can muster. He’s still not sure sometimes if the spell from the ill fated kiss is completely gone. Often Howard will give him a look and Vince doesn’t know how to interpret it. He doesn’t know if Howard is just hurt and lonely by their distance or if he really is longing for Vince. Either way Vince would like to put a stop to it so he refuses, claiming that there are no slots open even though they only have 5 so far.
Unfortunately for Vince and a bunch of their acts Sammy the Crab goes on a rampage fueled by anger and alcohol. It's a bloody massacre and Vince has no choice but to call Howard and beg. What Vince doesn’t expect is for Howard to show up, and actually deliver a stellar performance.
It's not till a week after the failed show that Vince realizes that Howard might be gone for longer then Vince initially thought he would be. They haven’t been apart this long since before Vince started at the zoo and at first he’s thrilled. It was tiring trying to keep Howard safe. Not just from Vince himself but from every crazy monstrosity that might come crashing into their lives at any given moment.
Vince is happy that the problem fixed itself. He’d gotten what he’d wanted. It was nice not to have those beady little eyes focused on him. Beaming all sorts of thoughts at him causing Vince either to snap or leave the room. It's nice for a while to be on his own and do basically anything he wants. And it's nice not always having to put up the glamor while at home either. Naboo and Bollo don’t care, and Leroy has seen him a dozen times without it. It's almost freeing in a way.
Still, by the end of the first week Vince is lonely. It's not something he’s used to feeling. There's always someone with him. Either by choice or by spell. For the first time in a long time, longer than Vince can remember, he finds himself alone. Of course he hates it, but he tells himself it's for the best.
After all he’s a succubus now, he’ll just have to get used to it like he did with everything else.
XXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXXXXXXXX
The first week without Howard is the worst. Somewhere around the middle of the second week however Vince starts to feel better.
So what if Howard finally had enough of Vince and his lies and left? So what if Vince screwed up his chance to join the Black Tubes? He doesn't need a band or a front man gig to remain popular. His natural talent and succubus magic were all he needed to make his way in the world.
He believes that up till the end of the second week and then it all comes crashing down the moment Howard steps back in the store. Looking sheepish but relieved to see his friends.
Outwardly Vince remains the same but inwardly he's panicking. It hadn’t been very long but he'd gotten used to not having to hide his true self. He's almost angry at Howard for returning despite how happy Vince is to see him.
His conflicting feelings make him grumpy. He takes it out on Howard. Laughing at his dumb commercial. Howard of course takes it all like a champ but there's something in his small eyes that tells Vince he's hurt. Vince ignores it. Something has changed between them and Vince isn't sure how to fix it or if he should try too.
He goes out that night in an attempt to get away from Howard. An old stand by plan that still works. When Vince returns Howard will be in bed and they won't have to speak or even see each other. It pains Vince but he doesn't know what else to do. Maybe if Howard is ignored enough he'll leave? He hates the idea of it but at the same time he hopes.
Those thoughts stay with him through the whole night, making him drink more than usual and barely pay any attention to the multitudes of souls he should be trying to steal.
5 hours later
The slam of the front door jolts Howard out of a sound sleep. In the past, he'd been used to the sounds of clunky footsteps and doors slamming at all hours of the night, but since being away he'd gotten used to the quiet stillness of living alone.
Groggy and grumpy, Howard checks the time, 2 am. With a groan he rolls over and attempts to fall back asleep. He knows it’s Vince, back from his usual night out. Making a ruckus without a care in the world.
The noises carry on for a while before everything goes quiet again. Howard sighs in relief and relaxes, only to jolt awake a second time when a large thud echoes around the flat. It sounded to Howard like Vince had thrown something into the bathtub.
Sitting up Howard waits and listens. After a few moments he can pick up the faint sound of water running and underneath that; sobs.
"Shit," he mutters, dragging himself out of bed. If Vince was hurt or worse, then Howard definitely needed to check on him. Even though he and Vince hadn’t been on very good terms lately. He was still Howard's friend, or at least flat-mate. That thought stung a little but Howard couldn’t ignore the fact that it felt like Vince was trying to get rid of him somehow.
He hadn’t blamed Vince when Howard had left the first time. That hadn't been for any other reason than Howard’s own drive to make a name for himself. After the fact. When he had time to think about it he had to admit that Vince’s unsympathetic attitude was a deciding factor. Worst of all Howard had no idea what he'd done and didn't deserve it. Vince always teased him, just as Howard teased back but once upon a time Howard knew without a doubt that Vince liked him for who he was. Just as Howard liked, loved, Vince for who he was. Or had until recently.
Entering the hallway he strains to hear anything else over the noise of the shower. Maybe he imagined the sound of crying? But no, underneath the hiss of the shower small hiccupping sobs can be heard. Vince never cried and Howard was afraid to find out why.
He felt stupid when he gently knocked. Vince would never hear him over the shower. Stealing his nerves. Howard knocks louder, when he still doesn’t get an answer his nerves melted into worry. Any moment now they would reform and he would panic.
"Vince?" He tries, raising his voice an octave above the sound of running water. Pausing to listen, Howard realizes that the sobbing has stopped. That was when he kicked the door in.
Howard had been expecting a lot of things. To be yelled at by the younger man, to be met with a gruesome sight that would traumatize him for years to come. There were many things Howard was expecting but what he actually found was something altogether alien.
It was still Vince, Howard was sure about that at least. Only it wasn't a Vince Howard recognized. Howard had seen Vince dressed in all manner of costumes and outfits. Hats of every style. Boots, slippers, pumps, trainers. Every kind of coat with different colors of faux fur. It wasn’t uncommon to find Vince in different states of undress either. The other man had no shame. But here and now Howard wasn't sure what he was seeing.
Reaching over, without taking his eyes off the other man, Howard turns off the shower so that the warm spray ceases raining down on the passed out young man.
"Vince?" Howard tries again, hoping to rouse him so that Howard could get an explanation for what he was seeing. The first and most obvious thing was that the other man's once porcelain skin was a weird pinky red. Magenta, Howard's brain says in a very Vince voice.
Moving closer Howard notices that what he once thought was a pink scarf was in fact a tail. Red and pointed like a stereotypical devil tail. It was long and curled around itself in a little S as it lay at the bottom of the tub. It was clearly attached to Vince.
Still staring, Howard gazes at the small pair of black leathery wings protruding from Vince back. They dropped around his shoulders sadly. Peeking through the other man's fringe were two black horns. They were rounded at the top and while they were odd they were almost charming and cheeky on Vince. The long black claws on each of Vince’s fingers made Howard only a little nervous.
The rest of Vince seemed normal besides the fact that his clothing and hair were now soaked. Leaning over the tub, Howard carefully gathers Vince close and lifts him up into a bridal carry. Sure, Vince’s damp clothing was soaking through Howard PJs, but that wasn’t important.
Taking Vince out of the bathroom is harder than Howard expects. It takes some maneuvering so as to not bonk his head into the door frame or get his wings stuck on anything. Once in the bedroom Howard is stuck on where to put the soaking wet man in his arms. He decides to set him on the floor. It takes some time, but he manages to get Vince out of his skimpy wet clothing and into bed.
He was still...pink and devil looking. Howard is worried. Worried and confused. He desperately wants to wake Vince and demand an explanation but he holds off when he remembers the crying he heard. Obviously something was wrong and Howard wonders if it had something to do with the way Vince now looked. Had he run afoul of some wicked sorcerer or shaman? Had an equally odd creature done this to Vince? Was it fae magic? Some bad juju that required a lengthy and ridiculous adventure?
If this happened tonight then Howard could understand the crying. Not that it was a bad look really. Vince looks rather fetching. He looks like a halloween costume, one of the...attractive kinds that appeared in all the stores round the holiday. Trying not to pace and get really panicky, he covers Vince with the bedding and leaves. If there was one person who could help it was Naboo, that's who.
4 hours later
He has a headache, a horrible pounding headache that Vince attributes to something he was very familiar with. A hangover. A bad one at that. Normally he would have enough sense to down a glass of water or two before passing out. Normally, Vince wouldn’t have drunk so much.
As he lay there, hating himself, he became aware of a few things. He was naked and in his own bed. The last thing Vince remembered was entering the bathroom, and starting the shower. He couldn’t remember why however. His eyes felt gritty and hot, and not just from sleep. He’d been crying. Why had he been crying? Rubbing his tired eyes, he blinks when he catches sight of his own hand.
His skin was magenta.
He’d lost control of his human glamor.
Vince bolts out of bed and scrambles to his trusty full length mirror. His glamor had completely dropped. Now he remembers. He’d lost control of it while drunk and the thought of not being able to hide himself from Howard gave him a massive anxiety attack. That's why he’d been crying. That's why he’d tried and failed to take a shower.
Thinking about it now threatens to set him off again. Vince only remembered passing out in the tub. How did he get undressed and into bed then? The possibility that it might have been Bollo and Naboo crossed Vince’s mind but he knew deep down that it had been Howard. As much as Bollo cared, he and Naboo wouldn't have undressed him and tucked him in.
Knowing that Howard had definitely seen him like this makes Vince want to panic even more. Well, Howard wasn't the most observant. Maybe he thought it was a very well put together look? Maybe Vince could convince him that it was just a really good Halloween costume?? No, it would never work. Howard was the smart one here.
Trying to calm down. Vince got back into bed and concentrated. The first step was to put the glamor back on. After a long moment, longer than it usually took, Vince felt the tingle of his magic incase him. Opening his eyes he’s met with clear skin and normal features. Like always he misses his succubus form. Naboo had once said it was his natural form and thus felt more comfortable.
Rubbing his eyes again, he lays back down and sighed heavily. The panic faded and now Vince was just scared. Scared of what Howard would say or do. Maybe he was already gone. Vince laughs humorlessly, feeling like he was about to cry again. Perhaps Howard tucked him into bed and then ran screaming into the night at the site of his demon friend.
Turning over, Vince closes his eyes. There’s no denying what happened, he couldn’t just ignore it. Couldn’t pretend that it never happened. He’s too tired and upset to even try and think up a solution. He falls back into a fitful sleep, plagued with nightmares.
4 more hours later
After a sleepless night and a dozen or so cups of tea, Howard thinks he might understand what's been happening. Though he can’t quite believe that it's been going on so long. He never pegged Vince for someone who could keep such a fantastic secret. When he asks Naboo why, the petite shaman refuses to explain. Saying something about it being Vince’s business.
As if the business of slowly turning into a demon isn’t just as important as WHY the younger man felt the need to hide it from his best friend.
Honestly Howard feels a little wounded. From the way Naboo explained it, the process sounds like it hurt, alot. Why wouldn’t Vince come to Howard for comfort? He remembers every odd incident that seemed out of place or that couldn’t be explained. It all makes sense now. Not to mention the delicate way Naboo explained just what a Succubus was and did. He knew that Vince was experienced in bed but he hadn’t realized to what extent.
He couldn’t actualize the idea that every time Vince left the flat he was attempting to…
Howard couldn’t finish the thought, it was too much to take in. Naboo explained that Vince, thankfully, hadn't yet killed anyone and didn’t want to. That put Howard at ease at least. Now all he had to do was check on the younger man and get it all out in the open. Howard was even confident that if they could do that maybe their friendship, or…eh relationship wouldn’t be so strained.
Leaving his cold cup of tea on the kitchen table he goes to the bedroom and slowly peeks inside, hoping to find Vince awake so they could talk. Saving Howard from the awkwardness of waking the other man. Unfortunately Vince was still asleep. Slipping in, Howard went to Vince’s bedside. He’d honestly been expecting to see the same magenta skin and black horns from before but they were gone. Replaced by the smooth pale skin Howard was used to.
Running a gentle hand over the curve of Vince’s arm he hums and gives the younger man a shake.
“Vince?” Howard whispers. When Vince stays frustratingly asleep Howard huffs and gives him a harder shove. The younger man jolts awake with a yelp and curls up. Howard frowns; he'd never seen Vince act like that. Like a dog who had been kicked. “Vince?” Howard asks louder as he backs away to sit on his own bed. After a moment Vince sits up and looks towards Howard.
“O’ward?” Vince asks, like he’s surprised to see Howard in their bedroom. Their shared bedroom.
“Hey little man.” Howard replies softly. “How are you?” He’s more worried about how Vince was after his obvious breakdown in the bathroom than anything else.
Vince let out a sigh that sounded suspiciously like a sob and ran the hand that wasn’t supporting himself through his hair and face, rubbing his eyes like a little boy. Howard smiles; instantly charmed, as always, to see it.
“Feel like shit honestly,” Vince answers. Howard nods, it was still early morning and he knows Vince was unused to being up so early. On top of the drama from last night Howard doesn’t doubt that claim.
“Yeah, I bet,” he says before clearing his throat. “Vince, we need to talk.” He continues, realizing that before now they hadn’t had a proper conversation for months, possibly even a year. It was always banter and insults, forced silence and cut off intentions.
Vince peers up at him through his messy fringe. Howard can see fear there and feels the need to comfort him. Howard shakes his head. “It's nothing bad, or at least…I don’t think it is.” Vince still looks terrified and Howard doesn't know how to make it go away.
“O...kay” Vince says slowly before sitting up fully. Howard swallows as more of Vince b
becomes visible from under the blanket. He can’t help staring at the pale flesh on show, remembering the jarring magenta color from the last night. Vince seems to notice Howard staring and pulls the blanket closer to himself. Howard has never known Vince to be shy before. “You said it was nofin’ bad” Vince says in a small voice.
“It, it's not…” Howard doesn’t know how to approach the subject. How did one go about telling your best friend that you knew their secret and you were fine with it? More than fine even. Curious really. He knows that Vince knew he knew. Might as well go for it. “All these years Vince, you’ve gone through this. Somehow keeping it all to yourself, which frankly I’m impressed with. You’ve never been able to keep a secret.” he says, attempting to keep things light hearted. Vince even cracks a smile. It urges Howard on. “I’m just a little confused as to why you kept it from me. I..I could’ve helped, sounds painful.”
Vince stares at him for a long moment. His large bush baby eyes bright with fearful tears. He looks at Howard as if Howard was about to smite him. “Did you talk to Naboo?” he finally asks.
Howard sighs and nods, “I did actually, seemed like the best option for when you find your flat-mate and best friend passed out in a bathtub looking like a,” he clears his throat. “Like a demon.” Vince winces and looks away, looking for all the world like he was in immense pain. “Which is fine!.” Howard barrels on. Vince cuts his eyes back at Howard in surprise. “Perfectly fine. Naboo told me it was genetic.” At Vince’s confused look Howard smiles and goes to join him. Sitting on the edge of Vince’s bed, It feels good to be close again and Vince seems to take comfort from Howard’s proximity. “Genetic means it comes from your family, your parents.”
Howard knows of course that Vince never knew his parents. They only ever talked about it once their whole friendship, after that the subject was forgotten. Howard figures that if Vince wanted to talk about it he would have. Now it seemed like they had no choice.
Vince nods in response to Howards explanation. “Naboo figures my…mother k-killed my father.” Vince whispers, his voice still tinged with fear. “I didn’t want that to happen to you Howard.” he confesses, looking about two seconds away from crying again.
Howard frowns, confused. After what Naboo told him he isn’t sure what that meant.
“Why would that happen to me?” he asks, proud of himself for keeping the creeping fear out of his own voice. “Have you almost killed someone?” he whispers and watches Vince’s eyes water and overflow with tears.
“I didn’t mean to,” Vince sobs. “I got carried away, they were fine but…it was an almost thing. I got so scared.” He sniffs and uses the blanket in his lap to wipe the tears from his face. Howard hums and reaches forward to snag the tissues from the side table. He offers them to Vince who takes them with a grateful watery smile. “You’re scared Howard, I know you are. You’ve gone all white.”
“Well, it's not every day this sort of thing happens. Please tell me you’re alright?”
Vince shakes his head and looks away with another sniff before using the tissue. “I was and then you…” Vince doesn’t finish and lets out a small sob. “Oh Howard, ever since I woke up like…that I’ve been so afraid.”
Howard stares at him, he can’t believe what he’s hearing. Even after he’d found Vince and interrogated Naboo he was confused, but hearing this from Vince was worse. According to Naboo, this had been going on since Vince was 16. Howard remembers Vince’s birthday with clarity. He never would have guessed that there was something going on.
"Talk to me Vince?" Howard pleads. He knows Vince needed this outlet. Even if he was scared. "I know you think you aren't good with words but it's alright. This is important and you have all the time right now to get it out."
Naboo told him to be patient with Vince, something Howard was ashamed to admit he wasn't good at. Vince always drove him to frustration. His emotions ran high for the younger man. Every emotion. Anger, sadness, embarrassment,... love. Howard knows now that what was going on with Vince was bigger than anything and Howard couldn’t let his feelings get in the way of that. All he could do was be there for the younger man.
After what seems like a long time, but was really only a few minutes, Vince takes a deep breath. “Every time,” he pauses in thought. “Everytime I changed it hurt, the worst one was the wings.” he finally says in a soft voice.
Howard’s breath caught, “Wings” he whispers. Yes he’d seen the wings but somehow the thought of Vince…growing them hadn’t occurred to him.
Vince nods and runs his fingers through his hair, a clear sign he’s stressed. “The horns, the tail, e-even the skin color, it was all so difficult. I don’t know how I did it.”
Howard looks down. Reaching for the blanket, he lets his fingers knead at the soft down, in need of a distraction. When Vince doesn’t continue Howard looks up. “How are yo-how did you hide it?”
Vince gives him a soft sad smile. “Naboo taught me magic, well easy to do magic. It's called glamor,” he shrugs. “ it lets me hide the…real me.”
“The real you?” Howard parrots and scoots closer. Sure Howard had seen it but he hadn’t really taken it in. Hadn’t taken a close look. Mostly for modesty sake but he was so curious. Because whatever Vince was, or however he looked, Howard still thought he was amazing and gorgeous.
Vince frowns. “A succubus Howard. I seduce people and steal their life force, I could take souls if I tried.” he whispers in awe. “I could take yours if I wanted. That's why I lied, it's why I…I tried to distance us because I was afraid I’d hurt you and kill you. Everything that's happened the past couple of years is because of this. At first it wasn’t so bad. Was even kind of cool. The horns and the tail, even the red skin. It grew on me you know? But then it…became serious. I had to…find people to seduce.”
“That's why you went out almost every night.” Howard guesses sadly. Vince can only nod, curling his fingers tighter into the blanket. They lapse into silence. Vince’s tears subside but his breathing is still choppy.
“Can I see?” Howard asks and Vince stares at him. “Can I see the real you?”
“You’ve seen it already haven’t you?”
“Well yeah but you were kind of having an episode and needed taking care of.”
Vince doesn’t ask if Howard was sure because he was still here after everything that’s been said and if Howard was still there then that meant it was okay right? Besides, he'll feel better without the glamor. He closes his eyes and concentrates. The familiar rush of magic over his skin makes him relax. What followed was a quiet gasp. Opening his eyes, he’s met with Howard’s gaze running all over him. Vince doesn’t think he’s ever seen Howard concentrate so heavily on any part of himself before now. When he smiles sheepishly at Howard he can tell that the older man's focus is zeroed in on his sharp canines.
His small wings are folded against his back and his thin yet strong tail wraps around his ankle protectively. His horns, which were once small bumps at his temples, are now as long as they are going to get. Flexing his fingers, Vince is careful not to let his sharp black claws tear into the comforter over his lap.
Vince feels instantly better in his true form and he can’t help a small stretch and a soft smile. He’s grown so used to this form now, it felt natural. If only he could take that feeling and force himself to believe it was okay to look like this.
“Your eyes are so bright, you're beautiful.” is all Howard say’s.
Vince feels like crying again, even though his heart sores.
“You're only saying that because of what I am Howard. You don’t really mean that.”
“Of course I do. Trust me little man, the way I feel is no spell. Naboo told me about it. I think I’d know if I was spelled. I have been, we both have. This doesn’t feel like that. This feels real.”
“Did it feel real on the roof?” Vince asks, not needing to clarify. “Because I don’t ever kiss people Howard, it's a death sentence. You have no idea how scared I was after that, even after you’d seemed to go back to normal. I thought I’d really done some damage.”
“Well I’m fine aren’t I?” Howard asks, scooting even closer. “I’m not scared of my best mate, even though I know I should be.” reaching forward Howard gently cups Vince’s face, rubbing his thumb over the dark red apple of Vince’s cheek. Vince hums and leans into it, loving the attention like a cat who had gone too long without a pet. Howard takes a deep breath. “Vince, I’ve…loved you for so long.”
Vince’s breath catches. “What?” he asks, stunned.
Howard nods, “I loved you before this,” he continues, gesturing to the demonic features. “It's not a spell, it's just how I feel, how I’ve always felt. And I know you're scared of hurting me but I don’t think you can if you wanted. Sure this is who you are now but that doesn’t mean you have to let it rule your life. You're stronger than that.”
Now Vince really is going to cry again.
“Besides, we have Naboo to make sure nothing happens.” Howard finishes lamely. Vince laughs through the need to cry.
“I guess you’re right. I’ve been so worried and scared and confused. I only ever wanted you to make it better, cause that’s what you do.”
“I wish you had told me little man, we could have figured it out together like always but I’m not scared, this is just another part of you.” he says running his other hand over the smooth red skin, mesmerized by the strange alien-likeness of it and yet curious about it all the same. Howard startles a bit when Vince’s thin pointed tail gently wraps around his wrist.
“Sorry, it has a mind of its own.”
“I don’t mind,” Howard says, gently touching it, causing Vince to gasp.
“Sensitive.” Vince explains when Howard gives him a questioning look. They both smile and then laugh before Vince is crawling into Howard’s arms for a proper hug. Something neither of them had indulged in for quite some time.
“It’ll be okay.” Howard say’s and presses a bristly kiss to Vince’s cheek.
Turning to face Howard better, Vince sits back and regards him. “Can I kiss you…again?” he asks, only a sliver of worry in his tone.
“Of cour-” Howard barely gets to finish before Vince is diving forward to claim his lips once more. It’s remarkably the same but somehow widely different. For one they were safely indoors with no danger of falling anywhere but on the floor. And for another, it wasn’t a life threatening situation. It was soft, cozy. For the first time, Vince feels free. Free to be himself, and free to love Howard how he’s always wanted. Without fear of hurting anyone. He no longer feels like a monster parading around as a human. He’s neither of those things really. He’s just himself, and maybe that's all he ever needed to be in the first place.
Meanwhile…
Naboo grimaces and switches off the crystal ball in front of him, he’s seen enough of those two kissing. With Howard’s pent up feelings and Vince’s powers Naboo suspects they won't be leaving their room for quite a while.
“Ballbags,” he mumbles, sliding off the bed and landing on the floor. Bollo looks up from the bubbling hookah.
“Should we stop them?” Bollo asks in concern for Vince, despite Howard being in more danger.
“Wouldn’t help, once a succubus falls in love there's nothing on earth that can stop them, they’ll be fine,” Naboo shrugs. “Eventually.”
What Vince never understood was that Howard couldn’t be a victim to the succubus sway. They were a bonded pair, long before Vince woke up at 16 they were meant to be. Vince, for all his dark power still thought positively, he had no reason to suspect that his parents, or really the people who conceived him, were not bonded nor in love and thus posed a danger to each other.
A low moan reverberated through the wall.
“We should give them some privacy,” Naboo states, grabbing an overnight bag from under the bed. “For a week.” Another high moan breaks through the silence, this one a little more high pitched. “Make that a month.”