Fic: The Fountain
Title: The Fountain
Pairing: Eduardo/Mark
Word Count: 1,286
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: TSN and its characters are not mine.
Summary: A snippet of a vampire AU where Mark is literally The Fountain of Youth.
Eduardo Saverin smelled blood. Old blood.
Granted, he was at Harvard, where good number of students originated from families that could be traced back to the Mayflower, but still.
This blood was different. Eduardo could smell the wet pines and cold snow and bitter gunpowder and salty seawater all at once, all tangled in a scent of vintage parchment, old and golden with history. There were other scents too, dusty streets and soot-lined roads and sewage water of Industry, damped earth and suffocating trenches and decaying flesh of War, icy fear and sharp prejudice and sterile walls and disillusionment of the Modern. And then there was something else too, a mix of something indistinguishable and incomplete, as if it was still forming itself. Eduardo guessed that this was Present.
He pushed through the darkness, past the throng of indistinct bodies rubbing against one another to the pulse of beating music drumming the walls. The air was stuffy with sweat and heat and saliva, but that smell of Old Blood remained strong, piercing through the misty haze. Eduardo followed the scent to the open backdoor, where the cold air flowing in did nothing to abate the heavy heat wave thrumming in the atmosphere of the party.
As he took one step outside, his body jolted with electricity, making each hair in his body stood on its end. The world flashed before him in a glassy screen of bright white light, and Eduardo could have sworn that the entire history of mankind, coded in fragments of colors, was reflecting before his eyes. He felt powerful, because he Knew, because all that was Knowledge rested in his hands.
“And that’s the end of the show,” a finger snapped in front of his face, and Eduardo fell back to the empty present. Cold.
“Who-” Eduardo was shocked into silence as he looked at the boy in front of him, taking in the curly hair and the chilly blue eyes and the cool smirk. Most of all, Eduardo couldn’t help but take another whiff of the strong scent of Old Blood bleeding from the stranger’s pale skin.
This was it. This person was The One. He was the Fountain.
Eduardo couldn’t believe his luck. He came here hunting for a meal but found something much more valuable instead. It was tempting, but he wasn’t so foolish as to suck the Fountain dry when so many humans were around.
“My name is-”
“You’re a Saverin,” the Fountain finished for him. “You’ve been searching for me.”
Eduardo swallowed. “You know.”
He received a snort as a reply. “Of course I do. I know everything. Besides,” the Fountain tilted his head slightly. “You’re not the only one who’s looking for me,” he shrugged dismissively.
“I’m the only one who succeeded,” Eduardo shot back, feeling a sudden strong urge to defend his pride. Although, he did sense two powerful presence coming their way, so that was about to change.
“Unfortunately, no,” said the Fountain. “Many did, but the Winklevoss twins beat you to it today. They tried to confront me this morning. Actually,” he gestured with disinterest to the two towering figures approaching from the snow. “There they are. Right on time.”
Eduardo hissed instinctively, stiffening his body in preparation. The Fountain didn’t do anything but leaning against the back railing and watching Eduardo in amusement.
“Ah, Saverin versus Winklevoss,” the Fountain smiled coldly. “Haven’t seen that fight in a while.”
“I’m glad that our bloodshed entertains you,” Eduardo snarled, all pretense of politeness long gone.
The Fountain scoffed. “If I’m being hunted, I might as well get something out of it.” His eyes flashed with annoyance as who Eduardo presumed as the Winklevoss twins came to a stop in front of them. Eduardo had heard of them, the Winklevoss family who controlled a large portion of the Northeast, who probably had at least five US presidents distantly related to them (They preferred that the humans remained ignorant of their influence).
“Are you Mark Zuckerberg?” One of them asked.
The Fountain lifted his chin but said nothing.
The other twin chuckled. “I guessed we don’t need to pretend we don’t know who you are already, like you don’t need to pretend you don’t know why we’re here.”
The Fountain, apparently named Mark Zuckerberg, smirked. “Ah, at least one of you had a resemblance of a brain.”
Eduardo wanted to laugh, but he didn’t.
The first twin bristled, but his brother lifted a hand to stop him. “Don’t, Tyler.”
“Cameron-”
“Just wait.”
One of the twins, whom Eduardo deduced as Cameron, took a step toward Mark and cupped his face, rubbing his thumb over Mark’s jaw line. “He’s just as delicious looking as we thought,” he said, but when he moved his hand down Mark’s neck, Eduardo stepped forward and snapped his hand around Cameron’s wrist, stopping him.
Cameron’s gaze didn’t leave Mark as he said, “We were here first.”
“He’s ours,” Tyler piqued up.
“I belong to no one,” Mark said, but no one was listening to him. He sighed. “I hate vampires.”
“A Saverin,” said Cameron. “I didn’t know that there was any left in the North.”
Eduardo clenched his jaws. He needed to calm down. He needed to control himself. Even though he wanted to rip these arrogant bastards apart and not give a shit about the clan hierarchy.
“Last time I checked they were hiding out in Florida like the fucking cowards that they are,” said Tyler.
Florida was a neutral zone. There was no vampire wars allowed in Florida.
The Saverins moved to Florida in search of The Fountain hundreds of years ago. On paper, they immigrated sometime in the 1980s. In reality, they were there since the end of 1490s, beginning 1500s; their bloodline could be traced back to the first European expedition to Florida. In fact, ‘Saverin;’ was not even their real family name, but for security purposes, they adopted the name sometime before World War I. They were powerful, but they were no match for the Mayflower families.
But over time the Saverin family began to splinter off, breaking into tiny pieces all over the States (all except for the Northeast.)
If Eduardo could get the Fountain, he could restore the glory back to his Family. He wasn’t going to back down now, not even to the Winklevoss.
The Fountain was his.
"Wait," Mark suddenly spoke.
Eduardo blinked, momentarily ignoring the Winklevosses to look at Mark. He didn't know why, but he felt this strong urge to give Mark his utmost attention. There was something intense in Mark's gaze, something that made Eduardo's blood felt like it was burning him inside out. Scorching like life. That wasn't possible. Everything within him was dead. He was death.
"You're Eduardo?" asked Mark.
"I am," Eduardo replied.
"Huh," said Mark. "I should have paid more attention." He turned to Cameron and Tyler. "Sorry guys, but I can't let you kill him."
"Ummm, thanks?" Eduardo said uncertainly, not fully understanding the sudden change of heart.
Cameron chuckled, while Tyler guffawed. "Oh really? How are you going to stop us? You're a mere human."
Eduardo appreciated the thought, but 1) He could take care of himself, 2) Mark should really worry about his own self before he worry about others, and 3) As much as he despised the Winklevosses, they were right.
But.
But The Fountain had been there forever, since the beginning of humanity, and yet, despite all the evils that went after it, The Fountain was still intact. Suddenly, Eduardo realized that just because the Fountain was of flesh and blood like humans, didn't mean that obtaining him would be easy. He faintly remembered Mark saying that he belonged to no one.
Eduardo stared at Mark, wondering if he didn't think this through long enough. He wondered if there was a crucial fact that he has missed.
Mark caught Eduardo's gaze and smirked.