It was hard to tell what time it was outside; one could normally decide by where the sun was in the sky, but the sun was hardly visible behind the thick veil of thunderclouds. Presumably, it might have been late afternoon.

The parking lot was empty save for one black vehicle, which belonged to the resident crazy, or Cicero Montovani as he was also known. He didn't have a normal nine-to-five job like the rest, more like contract-to-contract, though the pickings were slim as of late. Not that there weren't any, the organization simply didn't have a use for a freshly turned vampire, and what with the peculiar person living with him in his apartment for the time being.

Chickpea stood in front of the sink in his kitchen, idly circling a sponge around a plate for what must have been the twentieth time. He was lost in thought, staring down at the suds. He thought about the creature that inhabited his place, slept on his sofa and used his bathroom. He thought about how he could get him home, or how he would stall that ever happening.

He then heard the bath being drawn. A distinct sound that made his right ear perk ever so slightly, which gave rise to an even grin.

"A bath for the little fool," he cooed, shifting his eyes toward the hallway, "how delightful." He carefully rinsed the plate and set it into the rack and dried his hands with the towel over his shoulder. After tossing it on the counter, he made his way down the hallway and reached for the handle to the bathroom.

"Not locked," he gasped, quite surprised as the door opened with the sound of a click…

Cicero barely had time to adjust to the temperature of the water in the tub before the door moved. He sunk into the tub as far as he could, shielding himself from the intrusion. The scents of the bubble bath were strong this close to his nose, and he was thankful for the cover of suds.

"Cicero is not decent!" he squeaked as he glared at the intruder. This was not the first time he'd been caught with his guard down by his alter ego. He seemed to have a penchant for appearing when Cicero was at his most vulnerable. Knowing each other so well played a large part in that, and perhaps if he were not so out of his element, the tables would be turned. He might be the one anticipating the next move, instead of stuck here in a tub. His glare tightened.

"Not decent?" Chickpea echoed, dropping his jaw to feign shock, "Not decent!" He giggled, covering his mouth to mask the titter as his eyes narrowed playfully. "The silly jester should have learned by now that there's no such thing as not decent!"

He closed the door behind him and popped the lock as he leered across the spacious bathroom. It couldn't rival a suite in the Venetian, but it was a good size, and the tub was made for two. Who could complain?

Chickpea wet his lips as he daintily seated himself upon the lid of the toilet.

"So, what did you have for lunch today?" he asked, trying his best to somehow see past the suds clinging to the little man. He couldn't help himself, who wouldn't want to have a double to play with?

An openly baffled expression played across Cicero's face at the question. He shifted in the water, still uncomfortable with the situation. He blew bubbles just under the surface before he sat up just enough to mutter, "You were out of carrots. Poor Cicero had to put something in the heat box. It was... messy."

He was about to trail off about the pointlessness of freezing perfectly good food when he realized his chest had inched above the water. He sunk again with a snort. More tricks. "You aren't interested in what Cicero has eaten. Weren't you cleaning something? He is perfectly capable of washing himself."

His arms crossed, and he turned his nose up at the wall, refusing to meet the other's gaze as he waited for him to leave.

"Heat box?!" Chickpea squealed, cackling afterward as he doubled over on the seat. "Oh, you are too silly!" He caught his breath and crossed his left knee over his right leg, bouncing it gently as he regained his composure.

The golden eyes were upon him once more, though, as he was certain the cackle had offended the jester's fragile sensibilities. Poor thing was probably starving, too, perfect for leverage.

"Perhaps the jester would like something other than carrots," he snorted on a laugh, "or a burnt mess?"

"The Keeper," he corrected, "would like some priva—!" He stopped as the growl from his stomach echoed through the room. He really was hungry. Cursing his traitorous gut, he heaved a frustrated sigh. Defeated by so simple an enemy as food. Begrudgingly he asked, "What is it you offer?"

"Well, this contract killer offers dinner," he haughtily replied, cocking an eyebrow. "I'd feel terrible if I let you fend for yourself—or worse, burn down my home!" He went back to smiling sweetly, trying to sell the deal. Of course, 'The Keeper' had no idea of the terms, but he would learn soon enough.

Cicero nodded, trying to puzzle out what he was sure was a trap. He could feel it in the other's words, but in the end he didn't have much of a choice. "I suppose... that would be nice," he agreed. "But Cicero must finish his bath first."

"Oh, of course, of course," Chickpea cooed, uncrossing his leg to stand. "We wouldn't want your water to grow cold…" He looked down, praying that more of the suds would dismiss themselves from his line of sight.

He could have just left the jester to soak in his lovely bath, giving him his desired privacy, but that would be too easy. He didn't enter the bathroom just to leave empty-handed.

He wet his lips again and leaned down over the tub, admiring the streams of rain that played over the wet skin of the jester through the window. A small rumble of thunder accented Chickpea's advance as he gripped both sides of the tub, staring.

"Surely 'The Keeper' wouldn't mind… company, hmm?" He narrowed his eyes pleasantly, looking sweet as can be.

Eyes widening in startling recognition, Cicero sputtered syllables with no discernible pattern. Eyes darted for some method of escape, but only found images of himself drawing nearer by the moment. His assailant still carried those weapons in leather holsters at his sides.

They were what kept him pinned to the porcelain wall, more than any threat the other man posed. They were the reason his face approached acceptance, and why he moved with eyes locked towards approaching lips.

Chickpea grinned and paused to reach down to unzip his boots and slip them off, socks with them. With that, he climbed into the tub, obviously not giving a damn that he was about to soak his pants and shirt. He was quite the impulsive creature when he allowed it, but refused to ruin that beautiful Italian leather.

He closed the distance afterward, as if he pressed play, hands still gripping the side of the tub, sending small cascades over the edge of the tub as his mass disturbed the water. His lips were gentle at first, testing as they pressed against the other's. He opened his mouth to snake his tongue inside, eager for more…

Wriggling against the incursion, Cicero reached past Chickpea to brace himself on the walls of the basin. Grunts of resistance slipped over the new tongue while he tried in vain to control his own. It was natural instinct to explore a foreign object, he reasoned. He pushed away the voice telling him that it was not foreign at all, that he'd tasted it before, and that it had a pleasing texture.

So focused on his thoughts, he didn't notice the movements of his own tongue until it had worked its way into another mouth. Lips firmly pressed against a matching set, his gasp became a sigh that escaped through his nose.

Chickpea smiled against the requited kiss, sliding in a bit more until he was bumping Cicero's thighs out of his way moving between them. He grew excited over the conveniently naked body, already wet and ripe for the taking.

How easy this would be, what with the little jester already giving in. A little quicker than usual, which Chickpea found to be odd, but with the sensations of the hot water and equally hot flesh in front of him, he couldn't be bothered to care.

He moaned freely into his twin's mouth.

Cicero wrapped his arms around Chickpea's waist, pulling him into their accelerating kiss. They brushed against something, and he returned the smile. He relinquished control of his body, allowing it to do as it pleased. There was no point in resisting now, when it would not matter in the end. Hands wandered freely, and their kiss deepened into a primal struggle, each side thirsting for more of the other.

So frenzied were they that a sound was almost missed below the splashing water and escaped breath. Two metallic clicks, deliberately spaced brought the room to stillness.

Cicero's grin became triumphantly sinister as he pressed steel barrels against Chickpea's outstretched chin. He tittered and announced melodiously, "Look what Cicero has found!"

Chickpea's breath hitched in his throat once he realized what had happened. He let his guard down, assumed the fool wouldn't attempt something this, let alone think about it. He shut his mouth and eased his face away from the others'.

He was fearful at first as the steel followed his slow recoil, sweat starting to bead at his temples. Then he remembered that there was no way the idiot knew how to use them...

"Clever little fool," he spoke softly, tipping his head up as the barrels were pressed further under his chin, "but did you check the safeties?"

Cicero pulled a trigger, eager to be rid of his haughty double. Nothing. He tried the other as concern grew in his features. Still nothing. "The... the what?" he stuttered with an audible gulp.

The other burst into laughter, but only to mask the fact that behind the laughter he was horrified that if not for the safeties, his brains would be the new paint on the bathroom walls--he meant to kill him! His laughter tapered and then it was clear with his expression he was going to get down to business, and that his little roommate would pay dearly for that.

Fumbling, the nude jester searched for a way to make the weapons operate. Right there, a button near his thumb. He leveled the pistols once again at his opponent and pressed them. Two plunks followed a sudden decrease in the weight of the weapons, and he looked in horror at the pieces of metal that now lay on his belly just under the water.

His gaze slowly rose to the other man, defeated.

"Oh," Chickpea started, tilting his head to feign pity, "foiled again, little Keeper." His tone had been everything mocking when he'd called him keeper, grinning afterward as he lunged in for a hungry kiss, turned on by the failed attempts of ending him. He grappled the pistols from his hands with little difficulty as the fool was still dumbfounded by the malfunction of his plan.

He tossed them out of the tub without a care and fought against the writhing body below him.

Cicero fought futilely against Chickpea, held in place despite his straining. The other man was stronger, a difference he thought must be related to the enlarged fangs that were now so near his lips. He was outclassed, but he'd not surrender now, not when he had tasted freedom.

He thrashed against the man atop him; occasionally earning a brief respite from the tongue that seemed to seek the back of his throat. His endurance was failing, and he began to wonder just how long he could keep this up.

Water was going everywhere by this point, which only fed into Chickpea's lust and hunger. Between flailing wet thighs and slippery grabs, the madman managed to brace Cicero against the end of the tub, delving once more into that reluctant trap.

He moaned against his other half, tightly clutching one of the thighs, dangerously close to breaking the skin with his nails. The storm had picked up in the moment, lighting up the sky, and following with clap of violent thunder.

It made Chickpea jump as he'd been so absorbed in dominating his prey, and briefly he looked to the window at his right.

Taking advantage of the lapse, Cicero dove over the edge of the tub. He slipped in the soapy water in his scramble to escape, and was left halfway out, his belly stuck on the ledge. He glanced, terrified, back at Chickpea, before attempting to claw the rest of the way to freedom.

Chickpea quickly recovered from his surprise and was then greeted by more surprise as his wily captive was trying to escape! First attempted murder, now escape? Never.

"Leaving, so soon?" he rasped, sinking his fingers into the fleshy mounds of both of Cicero's trapezius muscles. He yanked him back until he was on his knees with his backside to him. Without hesitation, he sank his right canine into the jester's left ear lobe.

The screech he heard was piercing, and he had to wrap his arms around his chest to keep him from thrashing again. He hushed him a few times, licking the punctured lobe and up along the curve.

"Keeper already knows what I could do to him…" he whispered suggestively, breathing against the fresh wound as he undulated his hips against the jester's hind. "But I don't want to hurt him… even if he tried to kill me!"

The pain served to bring Cicero out of his frenzy long enough to comprehend what Chickpea had said. It was true, and he could do nothing to change the facts of the matter. He settled back into the tub, not wanting to leave himself exposed for longer than was necessary.

His face carried the same sadness his voice did as he said, "Cicero is sorry". He hung his head dejectedly and absentmindedly pushed a clump of bubbles around the surface.

A stab of pity, maybe even the realization that he was treating his delightful keeper the same way he'd been treated in the past. It wasn't fair.

Still… the fool did try to kill him, and would have successfully so if not for his lack of knowledge with firearms. Even so, Chickpea sighed deeply and curled the little thing against him in the tub. It was the first time he expressed shame out of actually having shame, rather than having it because someone told him he should.

He sulked and dropped his chin on Cicero's shoulder, giving up on collecting payment over the previous acts. He didn't say anything; he just sat there in the tub with his limbs wrapped around the other, as if to apologize without words.

Cicero cooed under his breath at the small comfort. For once he was content to simply sit there and enjoy the company, even if he was still technically alone. He was nuzzling his face into a more comfortable position on Chickpea's chest when a gurgle once again interrupted him. Remembering the promise, he looked up at his other self, eyes filled with hope and pleading.

"Oh… well, we'd best get on this quest!" Chickpea announced, before grimacing down at his own midriff, and there came the sound from his empty stomach. It was possibly more fierce a growl than what the jester's had done.

"Ehhehh… supper for two!" He smiled, pecking the fool on the temple and ending the too brief mending period. They both knew how cranky they could become without food in their bellies, so perhaps this would fully repair what had been broken.