....giggle-coughing is a horrifically ugly sound but that's okay. 

Actually, it's an incredibly pretty sound.

"You're very cute," he says when he thinks the coughing is done. 

"You're cute! My secret ulterior motive is getting to know you better."

"That's an adorable ulterior motive," he says, and curls around Leo.

It is not an adorable ulterior motive. It is a terrible ulterior motive. Leo prefers Sasha's blood to remain inside his body.

"I might be evil but I'm very cute."

"Mm-hmm," Sasha says into Leo's shoulder, and — wow he's really tired, how did that happen — blinks long and slow and then closes his eyes for real. 

Asher kisses him, puts the orange juice in the fridge, and disappears.

Sasha dreams about softness, about Leo's fur and Marlo's hair and the feeling of floating — he wakes up briefly when Marlo presses a kiss against his forehead, murmurs something, falls asleep again — 

"I'm worried about him," Leo says to Marlo.

"I am too," Marlo says, and sits on the bed and pets Sasha's hair. (He's sweating and shivering both.) 

"We should go to the school so I can mind-control people into thinking he's chronically ill."

"I'll bring you to class with me tomorrow, by the time we get there it'll be late enough that they'll have locked the doors. Should I get anything?" 

"For the mind control or for Sasha?"

"I meant for Sasha but either." 

"He seems to be okay. Mostly he's sleeping a lot. --Asher stopped by with orange juice and cough syrup."

"...that's good." He takes his shoes and jacket off and — there isn't really enough space for him to get into bed with them but he sits and puts Sasha's head in his lap. 

"I think Asher has a crush on him."

"...that's less good, but it did get Asher to kill Lilith." 

"It's really not! Although I guess Sasha is safer than most people a vampire has a crush on, because of you."

"Yeah." He pets Sasha's hair and then pets Leo's. "And you, it means he can heal. — I'm not sure what if anything to do about Asher, other than make it clear that if he does anything Sasha doesn't ask for he will wish he hadn't." 

"I think it depends on what Sasha thinks about it. If Sasha doesn't want to date him you can just threaten him. If he does..."

"Then everything is a lot more complicated, yeah." 

"I don't think Asher would hurt him deliberately. Vampires still have a sense of self-interest."