cross my heart and hope to die (epic vampire au) part two, 1/3
“Pete, wake up.”
Pete awoke with a start, “Mikey? What the fuck?” He stirred, pressing himself up against the wall. The light from the sidewalk and stores illuminated the taller vampire’s bony features. He knew he, himself, must look like shit in the neon illumination.
“How long have you been here?”
Pete scrunched his eyes up, stood, and popped his shoulder back into place with a grimace. He had fallen last night and been too lazy to relocate the bones before curling into the corner of the alley and passing out.
“Here? Seven, eight hours tops.” Pete responded, before leaning against the wall-trying to flatten his hair against his head.
“In the fucking alleys? When was the last time you slept in a damned bed? You smell like shit.”
“Since I was at yours and Alicia’s place.” Pete admitted, grudgingly. Mikey’s ability was more useful than his own. Mikey could make you tell him the truth.
“That was months ago Pete.” Mikey said softly, “Come on. I’m taking you back to our house. You’re going to at least take a shower and get some new clothes. When was the last time you fed?”
“A week and a half ago.”
Mikey’s lip curled in distaste. “You can’t do that to yourself, before that?”
“Two days before that. Before that three weeks.”
Mikey’s grip on his wrist tightened, “You’re coming to my house. Alicia will get you someone. You’re going to kill yourself like this.”
“I want to live like this.”
“No you don’t.” Mikey snapped, “You want to wallow in your misery until he comes back to you and apologizes or throws himself at you. He’s not going to do either of those! I don’t know how the kid fooled us both, but he’s interested in self preservation. He’s hiding from William and in order to do that he has to stay damn far away from you.”
“You don’t fucking know, Mikey.” Pete snarled.
“Mikey hissed at him, “I’ve been around longer than you can dream of. I know what it’s like.”
Pete shrunk back, resigned to following Mikey still because of the death grip on his wrist. There was an anguished look on his face, “For two and a half years he was the only person I ever spoke too, the only other person.”
“Yeah. And it was his fault. Get over it.” Mikey shot back, pulling him into an apartment building. Pete wasn’t sure how he felt that it was this close to where he had been. Mikey didn’t say anything until they were at his and Alicia’s loft, most of the top story and a room on the roof. They were wealthy, too put it lightly. Mostly? It was Mikey’s “family fortune.”
“Alicia.”
“Mikey! Pete?” She didn’t look shocked that they were right there, after all, she probably sensed them coming into the building. Mostly, she just looked puzzled at Pete’s appearance. “Dude? Go take a shower, now.”
“Seriously.” Mikey said, gruffly. He let go of Pete’s wrist, “And I’m serious. Clean yourself. Don’t just get in and out to make us happy.”
***
“Pete.” Alicia snapped, as soon as he was out of the shower and dressed in some clothes that fit him perfectly (that Mikey and Alicia had scrounged up incredibly quick). “You can’t keep starving yourself, you’re going to seriously hurt yourself. You look so bad off. Your arm is broken. We’re not supposed to have broken bones.” She said, fretting.
“He’s malnourished.” Mikey said, scrunching his nose up. “I called Gerard, he told me a lot about what happens when you don’t eat properly as a vampire. Injuries, breaks and fractures don’t heal completely until another meal. Dimmed senses. Pete, how long has it been since you left Patrick?”
“Eight months, two weeks, five days, and three and a half hours, exactly.”
Mikey looked at his computer for a moment. “You’re wrong.”
Pete was livid, “No. I can’t be wrong.”
Alicia looked even more worried, “He can’t be wrong Mikey. He’s never wrong about the time.”
“It’s been eight months, one week, three days, and twelve hours. I checked. Assuming the times you gave me when you told me what happened were correct, that’s the real time. It’s because you haven’t been eating. You’ve been on a diet like the one you told me since you left here before.”
“Yes.” Pete admitted.
Mikey cursed, “You fucking idiot. Alicia?”
Alicia went down stairs and came back up-carrying an unconscious girl that looked about her visible age and giving her to Pete.
“I knocked her out.” Alicia exclaimed, “You need to eat, now. We’ll make you if we have to.”
There was no reason that he shouldn’t do as they say. So he did, drink. And he enjoyed it and he wasn’t ever giving that up again.
***
“Have you gotten in touch with William?” Mikey asked, drifting onto the roof where Pete was set up, watching the bright lights and pedestrians of the city from above.
“No, but I will be? He’s here, isn’t he?” Pete asked, laughing a little. A week had passed, he had gone back to old habits-feeding whenever he was thirsty. That was how they all did it, really.
“Yeah.” Mikey said, with a little distaste, “Don’t extend a long invitation. One day, two tops?”
Pete nodded, understanding. Mikey left, and moments later William Beckett was in his place-looking fresh and hip in New York City department store fashions. Pete laughed a little, and shook his head.
“So, Patrick.” William said, conversationally.
“What about him?”
“You marked him.” The other replied, amusement evident in his words.
“I was an idiot, okay? I didn’t see through his fucking lies.”
William’s lips fell into a frown, “Silly, silly Pete. You’re letting it happen again. Getting caught up with a human. It’s bad for your mental health.”
“It’s already happened, and I’m all too aware of that now. I don’t learn well from my mistakes.”
The taller vampire chuckled, “Obviously. He’s not in Alaska any more. They’ve relocated him back to Chicago. A week ago he booked a flight for tonight, to New York City. His hotel is five minutes, by his own feet, from here.”
“What do you care?”
“This is my fault. I didn’t get you out of there before you could become attached.” He mused, eyes gazing at the stars, “I’m sorry . . . that you were in there for so long. But, that coven of fledglings-they needed me. Gabe and Travis would have been okay going in with me, but none of the others would have listened. They wouldn’t have stood a chance against them. They would’ve been locked up too. I knew you wouldn’t have wanted that.”
“I wouldn’t have. They were my coven before they were yours, Bill.”
“I know.”
“Thank you for not coming after me, given that explanation.”
William smiled softly, “I knew you would understand. Do you want me to bring him here?”
There was a tense moment of silence-or as silent as it could get in the city. “I don’t care anymore. I’m just going to let the pieces fall where they may, and hope that destiny is feeling friendly towards me.”
“I think that he’s just human, and that I was after him. You need to take that into account. He was afraid, he wanted to live and he knew that no matter what happened you were going to live.” William explained softly, “You’re older than me, Pete, so you might know better. But that’s my honest advice.”
“That’s good advice.” Mikey said, stepping onto the roof. “Alicia and I are going hunting. They invitation is extended to the two of you.”
William waved a hand, “No thank you, I’ve already. I’m at Travis’ for the rest of the week, if you want to talk, Pete.”
“Mmkay. Mikey, I’ll go.”
William waved, “Goodbye to the lady.” And jumped off, disappearing in a quick blur from roof top to roof top.
“What he said is true. Patrick is only human, and obviously experiencing many conflicting emotions.”
“That’s no excuse.”
“It isn’t. But you can’t even try to forget it and put it behind you until you forgive him. And maybe you won’t want to forget once you do . . .”
***
The first thing Patrick said to Pete was, “I want you to kill me.”
Pete narrowed his eyes in response, glaring at Mikey and Alicia standing behind Patrick-knowing that they were responsible for bringing him here, to Pete, from the air port.
The Doctor looked the same, only more tired and even more pale. There were dark scars on his neck that made Pete’s gut clench with memory. However, otherwise he was physically unchanged.
“What kind of kill?”
“The kind where you obliterate me from this earth. That’s what I deserve.” Patrick said, looking him square in the eye. Anguish, suffering, and torment flooded the air around him.
“No.” Pete said, calmly and left for the night. He came back the next day and Patrick was tucked away in a sleeping bag on his bed. Mikey and Alicia had both given critical looks when he returned covered in blood. Patrick woke up with a start when Pete entered his room.
“Peter!” He muttered, wide awake at the tiny click open of the door.
“You have a hotel, you know.”
Patrick shook his head, “Mikey cancelled my reservation. He brought me here.”
“Bastard.” Pete muttered, low enough that Mikey wouldn’t be able to hear it downstairs. “Move over. This doesn’t mean I forgive you.”
“I don’t expect you too.”
Pete took off his messy clothes, and crawled into bed “I’m not going to change my routines because of you.”
“I don’t expect you too. I’m an inconvenience. I shouldn’t be here.” Patrick muttered rolling to the far edge of the bed and curling in on himself.
“Doctors aren’t supposed to lie to their patients.” Pete whispered softly, brokenly into the air. He was satisfied with the fresh wave of agony that he felt roll through the air, emanating from the man.
***
When Pete woke up, he was wrapped around Patrick like a snake. Pete could sense, feel, that Patrick was nervous, apologetic, and just a little bit happy. Pete didn’t pull away for an hour, Patrick didn’t say anything-he just sat their and kept a regular heartrate and breathing rate.
“Is the fact that you are only human a good enough excuse, I wonder?” Pete mused softly as he got up and took a shower, lounging around with Mikey and Alicia.
Patrick didn’t come down and Pete didn’t care. He ignored the nagging when he noticed that the Doctor hadn’t even gone to eat anything. When Pete went out that night he brought a carton of Fried Rice and handed it to him (he was in the exact same place Pete left him), “Eat it. If you get thirsty drink they have a faucet and glasses. Take a shower when your done.”
Patrick did. Pete went downstairs.
“He’s going to do everything you tell him to, exactly as you tell him too.” Alicia said, softly.
“That’s what he told us his plan was.” Mikey explained. “He’ll kill himself if you ask him too.”
“Why?” Pete roared, confusion and anger wrapped into one shout.
“He loves you.” Alicia said softly. “He explained it all to us, in so many words. He watched you, for the company at first. Then for himself. Then they gave him orders to capture you, so he did. And the whole time you were in that white room he was falling in love with you. He intended to make you more human, to find some way for you to live off of substitutes or animals so that the company wouldn’t be able to hurt you ever again. But he realized that wasn’t what you were, when he saw you feeding. That night in London? He was telling you the truth because he loved you. Because he thought that you might understand.”
She waited a moment before continuing, “He left the company, right before he flew out here. That doesn’t seem like that big of a sacrifice for us, because we’ve given our very lives over for whom we love.” She looked fondly towards Mikey, “But for him, that is his life. And I think that if you asked him too he would willingly give you the real thing.”
Pete stood up silently, and left. He returned three days later to his room, finding Patrick asleep in his spot on the bed. “Tell me about your family.” He said, poking Patrick in the side lightly.
The Doctor was silent for a moment. “I gave up my family when I joined the Company. When I left the Company I left the family I made there. I’m alone now.”
“Your childhood.”
“I was average, I didn’t have many friends-I was in a band or two that never got bigger than a middle school dances.” He paused for a moment, “That was it, really. I was never anything extraordinary.”
Pete snarled, “You’re pitiful, insignificant, selfish.” He was silent, “Why did you come here, to me? Why did you give up that company when it was obviously one of the best things that ever happened to you? It was different; it was a change in your mundane human life!”
“I was miserable, because I love you.” Patrick whispered, heart racing, “Because I can’t live without seeing you. I’m obsessed with you, I need you.”
Pete closed his eyes, and laid down in the bed.
***
“Peter Panda!” Pete scrunched up his nose and rolled over, burying his face in his pillow, “Wake up!”
“Damn you William Beckett.” He hissed, “Leave before I slit your throat.”
William rolled his eyes, “You know that won’t do much good. Come on, up. We’re going shopping. You promised me. It’s ten o clock, it’s best we not wait until the lunch rush.”
Pete sighed and sat up, stretching his arms and climbing out of bed.
“Is this the little bugger?” William asked, peering onto the bed, tugging at the covers a little to get a better glimpse at the sleeping Doctor’s face. “Did you two kiss and make up? Why are you both wearing clothes then?”
“Because we didn’t kiss and make up.” Pete grumbled, walking across the room and going to put on a pair of jeans from the chest of drawers that was half open.
William made a face, Pete was ready to knife William Beckett through the heart. Nevertheless, he headed to the shower down stairs.
***
“William.” Pete said, raising one eyebrow as he walked into the room.
“I was having a conversation with your lovely little friend.” William replied, cheerily, putting an arm around Patrick’s shoulders and drawing him closer, fingers petting his hair softly. “He’s fun. He’s going with us.”
“You are?” Pete asked, a tinge of amusement as he asked Patrick. Pete noticed that the human looked vaguely sick to his stomach, and realized that this entire mess had happened because Patrick had been terrified of William. Pete didn’t wait for an answer, “You don’t have to, but you can. You need to take a shower and put on some clean clothes, first. We can get you some nice things.”
Then William nodded, releasing Patrick from his hold, “Ignore Pete’s asshole bossing around.” He suggested as Patrick stood up and started towards the bathroom.
“He wasn’t like that.” William said as soon as the Doctor was out of earshot, eyes narrowed. “He was as sharp as a tack.”
“I know.”
William closed his eyes and sighed, “The troubles you have, dear Pete. I think you broke him.”
Tragic grief flooded onto Pete’s face as he began getting dressed, “I know I did. But it isn’t as if I walked away intact either. What the hell am I supposed to do?”
The other vampire sighed, walking over to Pete and placing a hand on his shoulder-fingers falling to trace at the ring of thorns on his shoulders. “You can fix each other, I believe . . . My informant, which I’m sure Patrick vaguely mentioned to you, Jonathan Walker--He was relatively close to Patrick, in the work field. Enough so that they ate lunch together, occasionally.” He paused for a moment-Pete was unsure of whether it was for dramatic effect or to search for words. William had a way of making you think he was doing one when he was really pausing for the other.
“Jon said that Patrick under went through the biggest series of changes in the time that he knew him-shortly before your capture up until very recently . . . He began as a very friendly, open coworker-once you had his friendship. But, as time passed-he began spending more and more time in observational. And he seemed more and more miserable. Jon waited a very long time to tip Patrick off about me, understandably. I believe he saw . . . an opportunity for Patrick to act upon his obvious feelings.” William sighed. “He has loved you for a very long time, for his kind. He saw past the carnal rage that consumes us, and he saw past the preternatural, and into you. Otherwise he would not be here with you.
“He would be running for his life.” William mused, pecking a kiss onto Pete’s cheek. “I think that he needs to hear that you’ve forgiven him, and I think he needs to hear that you will not leave him again.”
Pete narrowed his eyes, “Presumptuous. I never said-“
William smiled, quirking his head to the side a little, “No, you never did. I can see it in your eyes, and smell it in your veins. You love him more than you’ve loved anyone in a very long time. It’s painfully obvious to everyone but you, Peter.
“Otherwise, what reason would you have had to waste away in the alleyways? Mikey was trying to appeal to the old you, and he reached some last vestige of it. And I’m glad he did.” William took back his usual much-less-serious grin, “I would’ve hated to collect you in the gutters, or have Patrick find you there.”
Pete scrunched his nose up, “You think you know everything.”
“About you I do.”
William bickered with Pete over shirts for much longer than necessary-in fact, by the time they were finally compromising on one, Patrick was out of the shower and back in the room.
“I’m going to meet you two at Macy’s in an hour and a half.” William said firmly, “I expect you to be there.”
Pete rolled his eyes and nodded, muttering something about indecisiveness as he plopped down on the bed, burying his face in the comforter (that smelled like Patrick and him), “William Beckett is highly frustrating.” He paused for a moment, before continuing on a much deeper note and a much softer voice, “I want to say I forgive you completely, but I don’t. But at the same time, I feel like I’ve hurt you enough for us to be even.”
Patrick looked shocked for a moment, “I hurt myself. You don’t have to take the blame for anything, it’s all my fault.”
“No.” Pete growled, rough, “Quit saying that. Quit being a push over and start being that cynical Doctor again. I’m tired of you pretending for my sake-I’m not the kind of person who’s attracted to a Dominant and Submissive relationship.”
Patrick turned away, red faced and heart abuzz with something Pete couldn’t quite identify. He picked up some clothes from his open bag, going to the walk in closet and getting dressed, silently.
“You can’t keep quiet for the rest of your life.” Pete said, stepping closer to Patrick as he finished buttoning his shirt a few minutes later. “I want an answer.”
“You never asked a question.” Patrick said, voice shaking slightly.
“Have we broke even?”
Patrick turned and moved, crashing into Pete and wrapping his arms around him-holding onto his shirt for dear life because he didn’t know that his knees would keep him effectively upright. “Oh God, Pete-yes.”
“Don’t just say that because you want to be with me. Do you honest-to-whatever-God believe we’ve paid each other even?”
Patrick nodded, slowly. “I think I’ve hurt you very deeply-and I expected your reaction. But . . . it still hurt so much.”
“Humanity.” Pete whispered, softly, as he wrapped his arms around Patrick, “Pain is the price of humanity. I think I might be in love with you.” Pete had not said those words in a very, very long time. It felt as if a pressure was being relieved.
“I am in love with you.” the other responded, voice muffled slightly as Pete’s arms tightened a little-careful not to hurt him or cause him discomfort.
“I know.”
“Good. You’re supposed too.”
***
And then, Pete froze. He snarled lightly, pulling Patrick close to him-tilting his head and putting his lips to the Doctor’s throat. “Gerard’s here.” He muttered, tickling Patrick’s throat with his cold breath and the vibrations of the anger in his voice. “This is bad.” He whispered, “I need you to do exactly as I say for the rest of the night, but don’t listen to half of the shit that spews out of my mouth.
“Gerard is an old fashioned vampire. He believes that humans belong to us, and those of us who are more modern in our beliefs . . . For tonight this is not an equal relationship.” Pete muttered, sounding almost apologetic. “I’m the master, and if I tell you to quit breathing, you quit breathing.
“Otherwise, he won’t respect that I’ve marked you, like most vampires will. That will mean nothing to him and he will take you away from me and make you and I both miserable.” Pete sunk his fangs into Patrick’s neck without any warning, puncturing the flesh and almost melting at that sweet taste.
Patrick slumped into Pete’s arms; they would not be going anywhere tonight. Pete felt horrible, but he did what he had to do.
The vampire shifted, lips trailing softly along Patrick’s skin until he met the doctor in a fierce kiss. “Please, please act your little fucking human heart out. Gerard is not a merciful person when it comes to dealing with humans.”
Pete pulled away, suddenly but was careful to keep Patrick standing. “We’ve got to go down now; he’ll expect a prompt greeting and explanation of why your smell is every-fucking-where.”
So they went down stairs, Pete the perfect marble picture of ferocity and Patrick playing (and feeling) the part of the drained and devoted human.
There was Gerard Way, sitting on the couch. “Hello Pete. It’s been a while.”
Pete nodded, putting on a forced smile, as he nodded, “It has.”
Gerard’s eyes trailed over to Patrick, an amused expression on his face. “And who is this? I thought you learned your lesson about dabbling in the lives of humans.” The expression quickly soured.
“This is Patrick.” Pete said, not offering anything else. Let Gerard ask questions, he would answer them-but he sure as hell wasn’t volunteering any information that he didn’t have to.
“He’s lovely.” Gerard said, voice almost soft as he spoke the words. “You should let me draw him some time, his image would make any painting exquisite.”
Pete threw an arm around Patrick’s shoulders, holding him close, “He’s very timid. He wouldn’t do well in that situation, I don’t think. And I like him, I’d like to keep him for a while longer.”
The elder vampire had an unreadable expression on his face for a moment, as he watched Patrick cling to Pete, holding him possessively.
Gerard stood up, elegance and grace rolled into one package as he walked over to the two of them, one hand trailing over Patrick’s shoulder and down his arms. “You’re very different from Pete’s last human. You’ve got a more developed, refined sense of beauty.” He looked to Patrick, expectant for an answer.
Patrick took a shaky breath and shifted his eyes to Pete, who nodded briefly, before speaking. “Thank you.” He said, voice catching in his throat a little. The Doctor had been working with vampires for a very long time, but Gerard had a very distinct manner about him that was, frankly, terrifying to be so close too.
Gerard grinned, the grin of a predator, and ducked his head in. Pete snarled and pulled Patrick away from Gerard sharply, “He’s mine, Gerard.” His voice was almost a growl, “Don’t touch him.”
The elder vampire frowned, a grimace slipping onto his lips. “You should learn to respect your elders, Peter.” He said, slipping around, behind and between the two of them, his own hand placed almost possessively against Patrick’s hip.
“Get the fuck away from him Gerard.” Pete hissed, fiercely, glaring at Gerard. Something inside of him, that didn’t seem to understand that Gerard could probably skewer him, was roaring for him to fight. Fightfightfight over what was his and only his. Patrick pulled away from Gerard-burying himself in Pete’s arm.
“His.” Patrick whispered softly, “I’m Pete’s.”
Gerard grew livid. “I don’t know who you think you are, Pete. But you have no right to deny me of what I want.”
“When what you want is mine, I have every right.”
“I’m your superior, your elder!”
“I’m his master.”
Gerard shoved Patrick to the side, out of Pete’s grasp, almost roughly to stand face to face with the shorter, younger vampire.
“You have no clue who you’re dealing with.”
“You have no clue who you’re dealing with. I’ve changed a lot since the last time you saw me, Gerard.”
“You’re still not strong enough to fight me.”
Pete narrowed his eyes, “You have no clue.”
Gerard wheeled around to face Patrick. “You’re dedicated to him, but how much? Would you spend the rest of eternity with him? Would you kill yourself for him? Would you face damnation and an eternity on earth filled with killing for *him?*”
Patrick swallowed, taking a deep breath. “If Pete wants it, I’ll give it to him. No matter what it is.” He looked, helplessly, towards where Pete was standing, Gerard was too close-Pete was too far.
Gerard frowned, concentrating on some thought. “I’m hungry.” He paused for a moment, leaning in closer to Patrick and inhaling sharply. Patrick froze, and abruptly, Gerard turned away. “We’re going to feed. Pete, you’re coming with me-bring your little toy along if you want too.”
part two of part two
Pete awoke with a start, “Mikey? What the fuck?” He stirred, pressing himself up against the wall. The light from the sidewalk and stores illuminated the taller vampire’s bony features. He knew he, himself, must look like shit in the neon illumination.
“How long have you been here?”
Pete scrunched his eyes up, stood, and popped his shoulder back into place with a grimace. He had fallen last night and been too lazy to relocate the bones before curling into the corner of the alley and passing out.
“Here? Seven, eight hours tops.” Pete responded, before leaning against the wall-trying to flatten his hair against his head.
“In the fucking alleys? When was the last time you slept in a damned bed? You smell like shit.”
“Since I was at yours and Alicia’s place.” Pete admitted, grudgingly. Mikey’s ability was more useful than his own. Mikey could make you tell him the truth.
“That was months ago Pete.” Mikey said softly, “Come on. I’m taking you back to our house. You’re going to at least take a shower and get some new clothes. When was the last time you fed?”
“A week and a half ago.”
Mikey’s lip curled in distaste. “You can’t do that to yourself, before that?”
“Two days before that. Before that three weeks.”
Mikey’s grip on his wrist tightened, “You’re coming to my house. Alicia will get you someone. You’re going to kill yourself like this.”
“I want to live like this.”
“No you don’t.” Mikey snapped, “You want to wallow in your misery until he comes back to you and apologizes or throws himself at you. He’s not going to do either of those! I don’t know how the kid fooled us both, but he’s interested in self preservation. He’s hiding from William and in order to do that he has to stay damn far away from you.”
“You don’t fucking know, Mikey.” Pete snarled.
“Mikey hissed at him, “I’ve been around longer than you can dream of. I know what it’s like.”
Pete shrunk back, resigned to following Mikey still because of the death grip on his wrist. There was an anguished look on his face, “For two and a half years he was the only person I ever spoke too, the only other person.”
“Yeah. And it was his fault. Get over it.” Mikey shot back, pulling him into an apartment building. Pete wasn’t sure how he felt that it was this close to where he had been. Mikey didn’t say anything until they were at his and Alicia’s loft, most of the top story and a room on the roof. They were wealthy, too put it lightly. Mostly? It was Mikey’s “family fortune.”
“Alicia.”
“Mikey! Pete?” She didn’t look shocked that they were right there, after all, she probably sensed them coming into the building. Mostly, she just looked puzzled at Pete’s appearance. “Dude? Go take a shower, now.”
“Seriously.” Mikey said, gruffly. He let go of Pete’s wrist, “And I’m serious. Clean yourself. Don’t just get in and out to make us happy.”
***
“Pete.” Alicia snapped, as soon as he was out of the shower and dressed in some clothes that fit him perfectly (that Mikey and Alicia had scrounged up incredibly quick). “You can’t keep starving yourself, you’re going to seriously hurt yourself. You look so bad off. Your arm is broken. We’re not supposed to have broken bones.” She said, fretting.
“He’s malnourished.” Mikey said, scrunching his nose up. “I called Gerard, he told me a lot about what happens when you don’t eat properly as a vampire. Injuries, breaks and fractures don’t heal completely until another meal. Dimmed senses. Pete, how long has it been since you left Patrick?”
“Eight months, two weeks, five days, and three and a half hours, exactly.”
Mikey looked at his computer for a moment. “You’re wrong.”
Pete was livid, “No. I can’t be wrong.”
Alicia looked even more worried, “He can’t be wrong Mikey. He’s never wrong about the time.”
“It’s been eight months, one week, three days, and twelve hours. I checked. Assuming the times you gave me when you told me what happened were correct, that’s the real time. It’s because you haven’t been eating. You’ve been on a diet like the one you told me since you left here before.”
“Yes.” Pete admitted.
Mikey cursed, “You fucking idiot. Alicia?”
Alicia went down stairs and came back up-carrying an unconscious girl that looked about her visible age and giving her to Pete.
“I knocked her out.” Alicia exclaimed, “You need to eat, now. We’ll make you if we have to.”
There was no reason that he shouldn’t do as they say. So he did, drink. And he enjoyed it and he wasn’t ever giving that up again.
***
“Have you gotten in touch with William?” Mikey asked, drifting onto the roof where Pete was set up, watching the bright lights and pedestrians of the city from above.
“No, but I will be? He’s here, isn’t he?” Pete asked, laughing a little. A week had passed, he had gone back to old habits-feeding whenever he was thirsty. That was how they all did it, really.
“Yeah.” Mikey said, with a little distaste, “Don’t extend a long invitation. One day, two tops?”
Pete nodded, understanding. Mikey left, and moments later William Beckett was in his place-looking fresh and hip in New York City department store fashions. Pete laughed a little, and shook his head.
“So, Patrick.” William said, conversationally.
“What about him?”
“You marked him.” The other replied, amusement evident in his words.
“I was an idiot, okay? I didn’t see through his fucking lies.”
William’s lips fell into a frown, “Silly, silly Pete. You’re letting it happen again. Getting caught up with a human. It’s bad for your mental health.”
“It’s already happened, and I’m all too aware of that now. I don’t learn well from my mistakes.”
The taller vampire chuckled, “Obviously. He’s not in Alaska any more. They’ve relocated him back to Chicago. A week ago he booked a flight for tonight, to New York City. His hotel is five minutes, by his own feet, from here.”
“What do you care?”
“This is my fault. I didn’t get you out of there before you could become attached.” He mused, eyes gazing at the stars, “I’m sorry . . . that you were in there for so long. But, that coven of fledglings-they needed me. Gabe and Travis would have been okay going in with me, but none of the others would have listened. They wouldn’t have stood a chance against them. They would’ve been locked up too. I knew you wouldn’t have wanted that.”
“I wouldn’t have. They were my coven before they were yours, Bill.”
“I know.”
“Thank you for not coming after me, given that explanation.”
William smiled softly, “I knew you would understand. Do you want me to bring him here?”
There was a tense moment of silence-or as silent as it could get in the city. “I don’t care anymore. I’m just going to let the pieces fall where they may, and hope that destiny is feeling friendly towards me.”
“I think that he’s just human, and that I was after him. You need to take that into account. He was afraid, he wanted to live and he knew that no matter what happened you were going to live.” William explained softly, “You’re older than me, Pete, so you might know better. But that’s my honest advice.”
“That’s good advice.” Mikey said, stepping onto the roof. “Alicia and I are going hunting. They invitation is extended to the two of you.”
William waved a hand, “No thank you, I’ve already. I’m at Travis’ for the rest of the week, if you want to talk, Pete.”
“Mmkay. Mikey, I’ll go.”
William waved, “Goodbye to the lady.” And jumped off, disappearing in a quick blur from roof top to roof top.
“What he said is true. Patrick is only human, and obviously experiencing many conflicting emotions.”
“That’s no excuse.”
“It isn’t. But you can’t even try to forget it and put it behind you until you forgive him. And maybe you won’t want to forget once you do . . .”
***
The first thing Patrick said to Pete was, “I want you to kill me.”
Pete narrowed his eyes in response, glaring at Mikey and Alicia standing behind Patrick-knowing that they were responsible for bringing him here, to Pete, from the air port.
The Doctor looked the same, only more tired and even more pale. There were dark scars on his neck that made Pete’s gut clench with memory. However, otherwise he was physically unchanged.
“What kind of kill?”
“The kind where you obliterate me from this earth. That’s what I deserve.” Patrick said, looking him square in the eye. Anguish, suffering, and torment flooded the air around him.
“No.” Pete said, calmly and left for the night. He came back the next day and Patrick was tucked away in a sleeping bag on his bed. Mikey and Alicia had both given critical looks when he returned covered in blood. Patrick woke up with a start when Pete entered his room.
“Peter!” He muttered, wide awake at the tiny click open of the door.
“You have a hotel, you know.”
Patrick shook his head, “Mikey cancelled my reservation. He brought me here.”
“Bastard.” Pete muttered, low enough that Mikey wouldn’t be able to hear it downstairs. “Move over. This doesn’t mean I forgive you.”
“I don’t expect you too.”
Pete took off his messy clothes, and crawled into bed “I’m not going to change my routines because of you.”
“I don’t expect you too. I’m an inconvenience. I shouldn’t be here.” Patrick muttered rolling to the far edge of the bed and curling in on himself.
“Doctors aren’t supposed to lie to their patients.” Pete whispered softly, brokenly into the air. He was satisfied with the fresh wave of agony that he felt roll through the air, emanating from the man.
***
When Pete woke up, he was wrapped around Patrick like a snake. Pete could sense, feel, that Patrick was nervous, apologetic, and just a little bit happy. Pete didn’t pull away for an hour, Patrick didn’t say anything-he just sat their and kept a regular heartrate and breathing rate.
“Is the fact that you are only human a good enough excuse, I wonder?” Pete mused softly as he got up and took a shower, lounging around with Mikey and Alicia.
Patrick didn’t come down and Pete didn’t care. He ignored the nagging when he noticed that the Doctor hadn’t even gone to eat anything. When Pete went out that night he brought a carton of Fried Rice and handed it to him (he was in the exact same place Pete left him), “Eat it. If you get thirsty drink they have a faucet and glasses. Take a shower when your done.”
Patrick did. Pete went downstairs.
“He’s going to do everything you tell him to, exactly as you tell him too.” Alicia said, softly.
“That’s what he told us his plan was.” Mikey explained. “He’ll kill himself if you ask him too.”
“Why?” Pete roared, confusion and anger wrapped into one shout.
“He loves you.” Alicia said softly. “He explained it all to us, in so many words. He watched you, for the company at first. Then for himself. Then they gave him orders to capture you, so he did. And the whole time you were in that white room he was falling in love with you. He intended to make you more human, to find some way for you to live off of substitutes or animals so that the company wouldn’t be able to hurt you ever again. But he realized that wasn’t what you were, when he saw you feeding. That night in London? He was telling you the truth because he loved you. Because he thought that you might understand.”
She waited a moment before continuing, “He left the company, right before he flew out here. That doesn’t seem like that big of a sacrifice for us, because we’ve given our very lives over for whom we love.” She looked fondly towards Mikey, “But for him, that is his life. And I think that if you asked him too he would willingly give you the real thing.”
Pete stood up silently, and left. He returned three days later to his room, finding Patrick asleep in his spot on the bed. “Tell me about your family.” He said, poking Patrick in the side lightly.
The Doctor was silent for a moment. “I gave up my family when I joined the Company. When I left the Company I left the family I made there. I’m alone now.”
“Your childhood.”
“I was average, I didn’t have many friends-I was in a band or two that never got bigger than a middle school dances.” He paused for a moment, “That was it, really. I was never anything extraordinary.”
Pete snarled, “You’re pitiful, insignificant, selfish.” He was silent, “Why did you come here, to me? Why did you give up that company when it was obviously one of the best things that ever happened to you? It was different; it was a change in your mundane human life!”
“I was miserable, because I love you.” Patrick whispered, heart racing, “Because I can’t live without seeing you. I’m obsessed with you, I need you.”
Pete closed his eyes, and laid down in the bed.
***
“Peter Panda!” Pete scrunched up his nose and rolled over, burying his face in his pillow, “Wake up!”
“Damn you William Beckett.” He hissed, “Leave before I slit your throat.”
William rolled his eyes, “You know that won’t do much good. Come on, up. We’re going shopping. You promised me. It’s ten o clock, it’s best we not wait until the lunch rush.”
Pete sighed and sat up, stretching his arms and climbing out of bed.
“Is this the little bugger?” William asked, peering onto the bed, tugging at the covers a little to get a better glimpse at the sleeping Doctor’s face. “Did you two kiss and make up? Why are you both wearing clothes then?”
“Because we didn’t kiss and make up.” Pete grumbled, walking across the room and going to put on a pair of jeans from the chest of drawers that was half open.
William made a face, Pete was ready to knife William Beckett through the heart. Nevertheless, he headed to the shower down stairs.
***
“William.” Pete said, raising one eyebrow as he walked into the room.
“I was having a conversation with your lovely little friend.” William replied, cheerily, putting an arm around Patrick’s shoulders and drawing him closer, fingers petting his hair softly. “He’s fun. He’s going with us.”
“You are?” Pete asked, a tinge of amusement as he asked Patrick. Pete noticed that the human looked vaguely sick to his stomach, and realized that this entire mess had happened because Patrick had been terrified of William. Pete didn’t wait for an answer, “You don’t have to, but you can. You need to take a shower and put on some clean clothes, first. We can get you some nice things.”
Then William nodded, releasing Patrick from his hold, “Ignore Pete’s asshole bossing around.” He suggested as Patrick stood up and started towards the bathroom.
“He wasn’t like that.” William said as soon as the Doctor was out of earshot, eyes narrowed. “He was as sharp as a tack.”
“I know.”
William closed his eyes and sighed, “The troubles you have, dear Pete. I think you broke him.”
Tragic grief flooded onto Pete’s face as he began getting dressed, “I know I did. But it isn’t as if I walked away intact either. What the hell am I supposed to do?”
The other vampire sighed, walking over to Pete and placing a hand on his shoulder-fingers falling to trace at the ring of thorns on his shoulders. “You can fix each other, I believe . . . My informant, which I’m sure Patrick vaguely mentioned to you, Jonathan Walker--He was relatively close to Patrick, in the work field. Enough so that they ate lunch together, occasionally.” He paused for a moment-Pete was unsure of whether it was for dramatic effect or to search for words. William had a way of making you think he was doing one when he was really pausing for the other.
“Jon said that Patrick under went through the biggest series of changes in the time that he knew him-shortly before your capture up until very recently . . . He began as a very friendly, open coworker-once you had his friendship. But, as time passed-he began spending more and more time in observational. And he seemed more and more miserable. Jon waited a very long time to tip Patrick off about me, understandably. I believe he saw . . . an opportunity for Patrick to act upon his obvious feelings.” William sighed. “He has loved you for a very long time, for his kind. He saw past the carnal rage that consumes us, and he saw past the preternatural, and into you. Otherwise he would not be here with you.
“He would be running for his life.” William mused, pecking a kiss onto Pete’s cheek. “I think that he needs to hear that you’ve forgiven him, and I think he needs to hear that you will not leave him again.”
Pete narrowed his eyes, “Presumptuous. I never said-“
William smiled, quirking his head to the side a little, “No, you never did. I can see it in your eyes, and smell it in your veins. You love him more than you’ve loved anyone in a very long time. It’s painfully obvious to everyone but you, Peter.
“Otherwise, what reason would you have had to waste away in the alleyways? Mikey was trying to appeal to the old you, and he reached some last vestige of it. And I’m glad he did.” William took back his usual much-less-serious grin, “I would’ve hated to collect you in the gutters, or have Patrick find you there.”
Pete scrunched his nose up, “You think you know everything.”
“About you I do.”
William bickered with Pete over shirts for much longer than necessary-in fact, by the time they were finally compromising on one, Patrick was out of the shower and back in the room.
“I’m going to meet you two at Macy’s in an hour and a half.” William said firmly, “I expect you to be there.”
Pete rolled his eyes and nodded, muttering something about indecisiveness as he plopped down on the bed, burying his face in the comforter (that smelled like Patrick and him), “William Beckett is highly frustrating.” He paused for a moment, before continuing on a much deeper note and a much softer voice, “I want to say I forgive you completely, but I don’t. But at the same time, I feel like I’ve hurt you enough for us to be even.”
Patrick looked shocked for a moment, “I hurt myself. You don’t have to take the blame for anything, it’s all my fault.”
“No.” Pete growled, rough, “Quit saying that. Quit being a push over and start being that cynical Doctor again. I’m tired of you pretending for my sake-I’m not the kind of person who’s attracted to a Dominant and Submissive relationship.”
Patrick turned away, red faced and heart abuzz with something Pete couldn’t quite identify. He picked up some clothes from his open bag, going to the walk in closet and getting dressed, silently.
“You can’t keep quiet for the rest of your life.” Pete said, stepping closer to Patrick as he finished buttoning his shirt a few minutes later. “I want an answer.”
“You never asked a question.” Patrick said, voice shaking slightly.
“Have we broke even?”
Patrick turned and moved, crashing into Pete and wrapping his arms around him-holding onto his shirt for dear life because he didn’t know that his knees would keep him effectively upright. “Oh God, Pete-yes.”
“Don’t just say that because you want to be with me. Do you honest-to-whatever-God believe we’ve paid each other even?”
Patrick nodded, slowly. “I think I’ve hurt you very deeply-and I expected your reaction. But . . . it still hurt so much.”
“Humanity.” Pete whispered, softly, as he wrapped his arms around Patrick, “Pain is the price of humanity. I think I might be in love with you.” Pete had not said those words in a very, very long time. It felt as if a pressure was being relieved.
“I am in love with you.” the other responded, voice muffled slightly as Pete’s arms tightened a little-careful not to hurt him or cause him discomfort.
“I know.”
“Good. You’re supposed too.”
***
And then, Pete froze. He snarled lightly, pulling Patrick close to him-tilting his head and putting his lips to the Doctor’s throat. “Gerard’s here.” He muttered, tickling Patrick’s throat with his cold breath and the vibrations of the anger in his voice. “This is bad.” He whispered, “I need you to do exactly as I say for the rest of the night, but don’t listen to half of the shit that spews out of my mouth.
“Gerard is an old fashioned vampire. He believes that humans belong to us, and those of us who are more modern in our beliefs . . . For tonight this is not an equal relationship.” Pete muttered, sounding almost apologetic. “I’m the master, and if I tell you to quit breathing, you quit breathing.
“Otherwise, he won’t respect that I’ve marked you, like most vampires will. That will mean nothing to him and he will take you away from me and make you and I both miserable.” Pete sunk his fangs into Patrick’s neck without any warning, puncturing the flesh and almost melting at that sweet taste.
Patrick slumped into Pete’s arms; they would not be going anywhere tonight. Pete felt horrible, but he did what he had to do.
The vampire shifted, lips trailing softly along Patrick’s skin until he met the doctor in a fierce kiss. “Please, please act your little fucking human heart out. Gerard is not a merciful person when it comes to dealing with humans.”
Pete pulled away, suddenly but was careful to keep Patrick standing. “We’ve got to go down now; he’ll expect a prompt greeting and explanation of why your smell is every-fucking-where.”
So they went down stairs, Pete the perfect marble picture of ferocity and Patrick playing (and feeling) the part of the drained and devoted human.
There was Gerard Way, sitting on the couch. “Hello Pete. It’s been a while.”
Pete nodded, putting on a forced smile, as he nodded, “It has.”
Gerard’s eyes trailed over to Patrick, an amused expression on his face. “And who is this? I thought you learned your lesson about dabbling in the lives of humans.” The expression quickly soured.
“This is Patrick.” Pete said, not offering anything else. Let Gerard ask questions, he would answer them-but he sure as hell wasn’t volunteering any information that he didn’t have to.
“He’s lovely.” Gerard said, voice almost soft as he spoke the words. “You should let me draw him some time, his image would make any painting exquisite.”
Pete threw an arm around Patrick’s shoulders, holding him close, “He’s very timid. He wouldn’t do well in that situation, I don’t think. And I like him, I’d like to keep him for a while longer.”
The elder vampire had an unreadable expression on his face for a moment, as he watched Patrick cling to Pete, holding him possessively.
Gerard stood up, elegance and grace rolled into one package as he walked over to the two of them, one hand trailing over Patrick’s shoulder and down his arms. “You’re very different from Pete’s last human. You’ve got a more developed, refined sense of beauty.” He looked to Patrick, expectant for an answer.
Patrick took a shaky breath and shifted his eyes to Pete, who nodded briefly, before speaking. “Thank you.” He said, voice catching in his throat a little. The Doctor had been working with vampires for a very long time, but Gerard had a very distinct manner about him that was, frankly, terrifying to be so close too.
Gerard grinned, the grin of a predator, and ducked his head in. Pete snarled and pulled Patrick away from Gerard sharply, “He’s mine, Gerard.” His voice was almost a growl, “Don’t touch him.”
The elder vampire frowned, a grimace slipping onto his lips. “You should learn to respect your elders, Peter.” He said, slipping around, behind and between the two of them, his own hand placed almost possessively against Patrick’s hip.
“Get the fuck away from him Gerard.” Pete hissed, fiercely, glaring at Gerard. Something inside of him, that didn’t seem to understand that Gerard could probably skewer him, was roaring for him to fight. Fightfightfight over what was his and only his. Patrick pulled away from Gerard-burying himself in Pete’s arm.
“His.” Patrick whispered softly, “I’m Pete’s.”
Gerard grew livid. “I don’t know who you think you are, Pete. But you have no right to deny me of what I want.”
“When what you want is mine, I have every right.”
“I’m your superior, your elder!”
“I’m his master.”
Gerard shoved Patrick to the side, out of Pete’s grasp, almost roughly to stand face to face with the shorter, younger vampire.
“You have no clue who you’re dealing with.”
“You have no clue who you’re dealing with. I’ve changed a lot since the last time you saw me, Gerard.”
“You’re still not strong enough to fight me.”
Pete narrowed his eyes, “You have no clue.”
Gerard wheeled around to face Patrick. “You’re dedicated to him, but how much? Would you spend the rest of eternity with him? Would you kill yourself for him? Would you face damnation and an eternity on earth filled with killing for *him?*”
Patrick swallowed, taking a deep breath. “If Pete wants it, I’ll give it to him. No matter what it is.” He looked, helplessly, towards where Pete was standing, Gerard was too close-Pete was too far.
Gerard frowned, concentrating on some thought. “I’m hungry.” He paused for a moment, leaning in closer to Patrick and inhaling sharply. Patrick froze, and abruptly, Gerard turned away. “We’re going to feed. Pete, you’re coming with me-bring your little toy along if you want too.”
part two of part two