Chapter 24.

The pen in his hand skillfully scratched across the paper in a fluid motion. Dorian's eyes were starting to droop as the candle in front of him flickered and danced in front of him as the night progressed but the dullness of his work left him bored and tired. He wanted to see Moth. However, he knew the person didn't want to see him ad he didn't intend to force him though he was fine with resorting to coercion. He quite liked how stubborn and prideful he was but it wasn't productive for him to be on the brink of death because of his ego. He tapped his finger against the table, he just had to be patient at some point Moth would realise he had no one else but him to turn to. 

While he may have let the two get away the first time he never actually let them out of his sight. He had people observing them from a distance, gathering information that would help with detaining the two. Thanks to this he had way more information about their situation than Moth knew, he just had to wait for the right time to use it. 

Unexpectantly, his patience was repaid early as a slim figure made their way towards him through the darkness. Moth came into his view,

his face was flushed from exhaustion and his eyes were half closed, he stumbled towards him while struggling to stay upright. Dorian greeted him with a smile as the person came to stand in front of him, their eyes locked. Moth took a few short breaths before speaking, "Please help me. You were right, I'm too pri-" Dorian shook his head. "That doesn't matter, no need to apologise or make excuses. I'll help you." He took Moth's hand in his, causing the other person to shiver at the warm touch, he had never felt this sensitive before, was it because he left it too long? Dorian felt his energy being sapped away by the man in front of him but he didn't find it unpleasant like he thought it would be, in fact it felt warm and almost comforting. Instead of feeling drained, he felt like all of his tension and stress was being washed away, like Moth was taking away all his negative feelings and just leaving the warmth. Like an intoxicating deep cleaning of his body and soul. He instinctively gripped Moth's hand tighter, feeling his rough hand clasped together with his. His palm is rough and calloused, I wonder what kind of work he has done. He looked up at Moth's face, Dorian seemed relieved as his expression softened slightly, but the tension and pain was still present in his face. At this rate, this is going to take a long time and it seems like he's still in pain. 

"Is it more effective if you have more contact?" Dorian asked Moth who was still on shaky legs as he stood in front of him. Moth shivered again before slightly nodding. "It is, the more contact the better." Dorian paused to think for a moment before standing up and stepping closer to Moth who immediately took a small step back, far enough to maintain their short distance but not far enough to let go of his hand.

"Alright. Do you want me to hug you then? It might make the process less painful for you." Moth averted his gaze, if it weren't for the painful state he was in he would've screwed up his nose and told him to go fuck himself but he didn't have many options. "You can trust me. I don't have any ill intentions and I won't force you into anything, I promise. In case you forgot, I want to take care of you." Moth met his gaze again before quickly looking away, deep in thought. 

"I'll ask you one more time." He said softly, "Do you want me to hug you?" Moth let out a shuddering breath before nodding slightly, just barely noticeable. But Dorian understood immediately as his keen eyes were observing his every movement. He quickly embraced Moth in a hug before he could change his mind, one of his hands resting on his back, the other on the back of the humanoid's neck. Moth immediately collapsed into the hug, pressing his body up against him in a desperate move for energy, he pressed his face into his chest, sighing contently as he felt the energy flood into him like a wave of cold water. Moth didn't make any move to return the embrace however as all he was thinking about at the time was being healthy enough to see Lane again. 

Moth suddenly felt his feet leave the ground so he clutched onto the man in front of him out of instinct. "What are you doing?" He asked, an iciness in his tone. "Relax. I'm moving us to my bed so we can sit down. It's uncomfortable to stand." Moth glared at him, he didn't agree to this and it felt like Dorian was trying to make their situation more intimate. "If you don't want to, I'll just let go of you now." Dorian said with a cunning smile on his face. 

This bastard. He knows the power he has and now that I've fallen into a position where I need him he's exploiting it. I should've been more careful. "Fine." Moth snapped, making it clear that he knew he was being forced. "I don't really want to let go of my human battery right now so I'll go but put me down." Dorian ignored him entirely and moved them over to the bed with the same smile on his face. Dorian softly sat down on the bed, doing his best not to disturb Moth who was pressed close against him. He moved the person in his arms to cradle him as he sat on the bed, his back leaning up against the bedhead. Moth stiffened and tried to push against him a little before he ran out of energy and relaxed into the touch. He watched as Moth's rapid breathing gently slowed to a calm rhythm and his trembling stopped as he leaned into the touch even more, sighing in relief. Dorian was quite surprised by the turn of events, he didn't expect to have Moth in his arms like this even though he knew that he would need his help but he was still questioning how to get the person to like him. It'd be annoying to have to manipulate him to make the decision he wanted each time so he had to find a way to keep the person coming to him. 

He seems to fit well in my arms. Perfectly, like he was made to rest against me. Dorian tightened his grip on him but only a fraction, he'd only just gotten him to obey so he needed to do his best not to disturb his fragile trust. At first he was a specimen that I was intrigued by but he is interesting to me on a different level. Originally, that human was just a means to an end, I could get Moth to obey by promising his safety but now I think he's rather annoying. Moth cares too much about him... but if he cared for me in such a way. That would be quite the sight. 

As if Moth felt the malice within his thoughts, pulled away from him with his former strength. Moth looked around as if finally recognising his surroundings after not being entirely conscious. He moved away from Dorian, sitting at the other end of the bed. Dorian smiled sadly, Such a shame its already over. "Are you alright now?" 

Moth hesitated to answer, seemingly gathering his thoughts and trying to remember exactly what just happened. "Yeah I'm okay now." He paused to think for a few more moments, considering the situation. "Thank you." Dorian shrugged, "No need to thank me. Are you feeling alright? Tired? Dizzy? Light-headed?" Moth hesitated before answering, averting his gaze. "A little hungry... I didn't have enough energy to gather food." Dorian got up from where he was sitting and walked over to a compartment nearby, pulling out a small plastic container. He brought it back over to Moth and sat down next to him, prying off the lid and presenting the box to Moth who seemed confused by the contents.

"What are those?" Moth asked. Dorian raised an eyebrow. "They are cookies. You've never seen cookies before?" Moth shook his head, taking one of the round pastries out of the container and sniffed it taking in the baked, sweet smell. "I haven't, they seem strange but a bit like bread." Dorian laughed slightly. "It's baked like bread but it is very different, it's sweet." He stares at the cookie, flipping it in his hand in confusion. "Do you want me to eat one first, it tastes good, I'll show you." Dorian took out a cookie from the box and bit into it, making a large crunch. "See? Not poisoned." Moth who is now satisfied, takes a small nibble of the cookie causing his eyes to widen in delight as he stuffs the rest into his mouth and takes out another one. "I can't believe you've never had cookies before." Moth shrugged. "I didn't encounter enough humans to learn about these things but I've always been interested in human things." 

Dorian grinned at Moth's response. Oh, I can use this. He thought to himself.