Fic: Be Like You 01/02, Bill/Gustav, NC17/18
Title: Be Like You (Das Geschenk (The Gift) Series II) 01/02
Series: Das Geschenk (The Gift) Series - section listing
Author: Beren
Fandom: Tokio Hotel / Jrock RPS (mentioned)
Pairing: Bill/Gustav, Bill/Gackt (mentioned)
Rating: NC-17/18 for sex and language
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, the real people in it are used without their permission and I definitely don't own them or have any copyright to any part of any of them. I do not believe any of this happened, is likely to happen or should happen it is simply a story created around known facts about those involved.
Warnings: vampires
Summary: Tom has decided he wants to be a vampire like Bill, but Bill's not so sure it's a good idea. There could be consequences.
Author's Notes: Don't ask me where the Gustav/Bill pairing came from; it just sort of happened :). Thanks to Soph for the beta, all mistakes remaining are my fault.
Word count: ~17,190
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Bill knew what was coming, he'd seen it brewing for days and he was dreading the conversation because he had no idea what to say. It was obvious his time was up the whole day they were out and about because he caught Tom looking at him and then turning away as soon as he turned around. Being a vampire it was much easier to notice these things now, but with Tom he would have sussed it anyway. He became absolutely sure when Tom walked into his room after their parents had gone out for the evening.
"I want to be like you," Tom said, without any preamble.
For a moment Bill just sat there looking at his brother and processed that, even though he had been waiting for it for three days. He had been a vampire for four weeks and two days and he wasn't sure of everything yet, but it seemed Tom was.
"Um," he said, still not really knowing how to answer, "I'm not sure that would be a good idea."
"You're fine," Tom pointed out bluntly, clearly not in the mood to be turned down.
"So far," Bill replied.
He had a strong suspicion he knew why Tom was asking, but he still didn't think they knew enough yet.
"You're faster, stronger and have developed perfect skin and hair without the need for any of that gunk you used to use," Tom said, putting his hands on his hips and all but glaring; "so far the only side effects seem to have been that you were as moody as hell for the first few days and when it's really bright out you need your shades. You haven't tried to kill anyone and you aren't any weirder than you were before, so why not?"
Bill took the weirder comment in his stride since he couldn't exactly argue that he was what anyone would call normal.
"Because I'm still new at this and for all we know there could be some huge problem just round the corner that we haven't thought of yet," Bill replied, worried that Tom was rushing into something he might later regret. "This isn't something we can undo, Tom, if I change you you're stuck like me forever."
"That's the point," Tom told him and Bill knew what he suspected had been right.
He just looked at his twin and tried to think of a valid reason to say no and keep saying no, but the look in Tom's eyes was very determined.
"I can feel that you're different to me and I don't like it," his brother told him quite plainly.
Bill felt his resistance just about vanish and his worry spike up very high. Any other argument and he would have been able to find an answer, but that one he understood far too well to say anything. He had been feeling the same thing ever since he had adjusted properly to being a vampire and, although he never would have mentioned it to Tom, it had been bothering him. He wasn't about to tell anyone, but he had come to realise that was why he had been so moody to begin with.
They might have looked very different when it came to the superficial things and listened to different music, but at a fundamental level they had always been the same. Now they weren't and it was clear it didn't sit right with either of them. It wasn't something he thought anyone who wasn't in exactly the same situation would understand, but it was more than real to him and Tom.
"Are you sure?" he asked after a minute of contemplative silence.
He already knew the answer; Tom wouldn't be in his room asking for this unless his twin was sure.
"If you were me, you'd be sure," was what Tom said and Bill really couldn't deny it was true.
The idea of passing on something so unknown to the person who meant the most to him in the entire world was scary, but part of Bill wanted very strongly for Tom to be like him again. There was no argument left and, hoping that he was not about to condemn Tom to something that would eventually destroy them both, he nodded.
"Okay," he said before he could change his mind, "but we wait until the weekend. When Mum and Dad go to visit Nana we'll stay here and we'll do it then."
He held Tom's gaze for a while and then his twin just nodded before turning and walking out. It was decided and Bill knew neither of them would change their minds.
====
Tom looked about as nervous as Bill felt on Saturday morning after their parents had left.
"So, how do we do this?" Tom asked, seemingly trying to sound more confident than he looked.
"I bite you, then I feed you my blood," Bill replied in as casual a tone as be could manage.
"That simple?" Tom asked.
Bill just nodded. He had rung Gackt to make sure of the details, but that was all it took. The bite set up what Gackt called a soul connection between them and then his blood would start the change in Tom fuelled by his vampire power. All very straightforward really, just completely terrifying at the same time.
"Let's get on with it," Tom said and headed for the stairs.
They had agreed that the best place to do this would be one of their bedrooms. Bill remembered the disorientation and the need to sleep and he really didn't want to have to explain Tom flaked out on the sofa downstairs if anyone came round. Forcing himself into motion, Bill followed his brother to the first floor.
"Where do you want me?" Tom asked as soon as Bill walked in.
"Sit on the bed," Bill said quickly, having already planned everything out in his head; "I'll kneel behind you."
To his credit Tom did as he was told without the slightest hesitation. The fact that his brother trusted him so implicitly just made Bill more nervous, but he had made up his mind to do this and he wasn't about to back out now. Climbing onto the bed he crawled over to where Tom was sitting and knelt up against his twin's back.
"It'll hurt for a second," he said, placing his hands on Tom's shoulders, "but then you can't feel it anymore."
Tom just nodded and turned, looking up at him with a slight smile.
"Just do it," Tom said, clearly afraid, but being brave, "I know you won't hurt me."
Bill gave a small smile back and then Tom turned to stare at the wall. Looking down at his brother, Bill felt and did nothing for a moment and then he ran one finger down Tom's neck. For the first week or so he had had to work very hard to keep the vampire inside, but now he had adjusted and he had to change mindset to bring it out. He concentrated on the blood vessel he could see pulsing in his brother's throat and he let himself sink into only that. The familiar ache from his gums let him know as his fangs descended and he stared only at his goal.
Bending down slowly, he opened his lips, mouth already watering at the knowledge of sweet blood to come. As he pushed his fangs lightly against Tom's skin, he felt his twin stiffen and he moved his arms down, hugging Tom to him to make sure nothing happened he couldn't control. Then he bit down and Tom gave a tiny cry as he held his twin still.
Gackt had warned him that a soul link could be intense, bringing vampire and blood donor so close together that they could sense each other for moments at a time. Gackt had told him that he was kind of a warm, bubbly presence in a soul link. What he did not expect when wonderful-tasting blood burst onto his tongue and he swallowed reflexively was for his mind to explode with images and feeling. He felt fear and pain and then pleasure and random flashes of the past and he couldn't have stopped if his life had depended on it.
He drank and drank as only one corner of his mind rationalised what was happening. Rather than the vague but intense feeling of presence that Gackt had warned him about, he was seeing into Tom's mind and he knew without a doubt Tom was seeing into his too. It was liberating and wonderful in a way and terrifying and mindblowing in another and it was only when he felt distress coming from Tom that he managed to drag his mouth away from his twin's neck.
His head was spinning and it was difficult to tell what was real and what was in his mind, but he tried desperately to concentrate. Tom was limp in his arms and he knew that he had to finish this. Focusing as hard as he could on Tom, he clawed on to reality. Bringing up his right arm he skewered his wrist with one fang, tearing a messy hole, and tipping his brother's head back he allowed the blood to drip into Tom's mouth.
This was not supposed to be the way it was, but Bill didn't know what had gone wrong. As Tom swallowed, he felt the connection intensify again and it was too much. Dragging Tom with him he fell back onto the bed and then everything went away in a mess of images and feelings.
====
Bill groaned and tried to roll over, only to find that he was pinned to the bed. It took his fuzzy brain another couple of moments to realise that he was pinned by Tom and that Tom seemed to be very much out of it. Glancing around, he realised it was dark and it occurred to him that they had been in the same position for hours. If it had not been for the fact that the wrong feeling he had been carrying around with him over the last few weeks was gone, he might have panicked.
As it was he moved slowly, trying not to aggravate the pounding in his head, pulling Tom off of him and onto the bed properly. The only sign of life Tom gave through the whole thing was a quiet moan before seemingly returning to deep sleep. Bill felt woozy and hungry and he was craving blood, all of which eventually forced him off of the bed in search of something to rectify the problem. He didn't know what had happened, but he was absolutely sure it wasn't quite what was supposed to have happened.
Stumbling to his wardrobe he opened the door and fell to his knees, moving the pile of t-shirts and porn mags off of the mini fridge he had hidden below them. He had figured that if his mother ever came poking around his stuff she would move the t-shirts, find the porn and think that was all he was hiding. So far it had worked a treat. He pulled out two small blood bags and then put everything back the way it had been.
Getting downstairs to the microwave was even more fun than forcing himself out of bed, but somehow he managed it without taking a header down the steps. He pulled two mugs out of the cupboard, poured the blood bags into them and then put them both in the microwave. It only took a few seconds to heat the blood up enough to be drinkable and, once the microwave dinged, he grabbed one of then and downed it as quickly as possible.
The familiar feeling of complete bliss passed through him, leaving him leaning on the counter trying to scrape back together his wits, but it didn't last for long. Almost as soon as the craving retreated he felt it creep back again and he stood there for a while trying to figure out what was going on. It slowly dawned on him that the craving was not his own.
He looked at the mug still in the microwave and then lifted his eyes to the ceiling. There was only one conclusion in his head; he was feeling Tom's need and it was making him feel vaguely nauseous. Picking up the mug he walked back the way he had come, at least feeling steadier on his feet now even as he obeyed the urge to help his twin.
Tom was still lying on the bed, but his brother had flipped over onto his back and it was clear that Tom was only partially asleep now.
He placed the mug on the bedside table and then climbed back onto the bed. Tom didn't give much resistance when he pulled his twin into his lap so that Tom was leaning against him leaning against the headboard. Tired, confused brown eyes opened momentarily and looked up at him, but closed again rather quickly.
Reaching over, Bill picked up the mug of blood and held it a little way from Tom's nose.
"You need to feed, Tom," he coaxed gently, feeling the tiredness warring with the need in his twin. "Drink this and then you can go back to sleep."
Bill had no idea what had happened to cause the weird things that were going on between them, but he was more worried about getting Tom fed and comfortable than figuring it out just then. Tom groaned quietly and opened his eyes again, but it was clear to Bill his twin was not really with it. Holding the mug to Tom's lips, he carefully tipped it up and Tom at least opened his mouth to accept the liquid. He finally knew why Tom teased him about the things he did when he fed, because the moan from his twin was positively obscene. Shaky hands came up to hold the cup as Tom drank, but Bill made sure to keep control of the mug and make sure it did not spill. Trying to get the little spots of blood out of his bedcovers without his mother seeing was going to be fun enough as it was. At least he could claim that he cut himself shaving or something like that at the moment, but a mug full might be a bit much.
"Enough," he said, finding it quite difficult to pull the mug away against Tom's strong grip once the blood was gone; "there's no more."
[Still hungry,] was the somewhat garbled response he got, but what made him just sit there as Tom made a clumsy grab for the mug was the fact that the only part that had come out of his brother's mouth was a disgruntled moan.
"No you're not," he said, shaking himself out of the daze he was in as Tom's hand almost made him drop the mug, "that's just the blood high. If you have any more you'll be sick. You'll feel better in a second."
If the growl from his brother was anything to go by, Tom did not agree, but he put the mug back on the side and held Tom until resistance left his twin. His mind was still reeling at what he had felt from Tom, but part of him didn't really believe it had happened so he decided to try for himself.
[Better?] he thought directly at Tom, feeling stupid.
"Hmm," Tom replied and left Bill thinking that he might be going mad.
It couldn't be real, it had to be his imagination; they sensed things from each other occasionally, usually in a crisis, but this was so completely different. Then again a few weeks previously vampires had been so much fantasy as well.
"What happened?" Tom asked, voice not very clear, but Bill had no trouble understanding since he heard his brother on two levels.
"I don’t know," Bill replied honestly, trying to rationalise everything out; "but I think us being twins might have heightened the soul connection."
"So I didn't imagine seeing into your head?" was Tom's next almost coherent question.
[No,] Bill replied silently, needing to assure himself that last time hadn't been a fluke.
"Weirder than I thought," was Tom's opinion on the whole thing, but it was clear to Bill that his twin was beginning to fade again.
He wasn't sure if the comment was about him or the general experience, but he knew he wasn't going to get a sensible answer yet.
"Go back to sleep," he encouraged while trying not to freak about this new development.
Tom looked as if he was trying to rebel against the suggestion for a bit, but his brother's eyes slowly fell shut again as Tom lost the battle. It took about five minutes before Tom was fully asleep again and Bill just held his brother while Tom drifted off. Once he was sure Tom was completely out of it, he moved and then set about putting his twin to bed as well as he could.
====
Once Tom was tucked up safely, Bill walked downstairs and slumped into the sofa. He thought he had come to terms with the whole vampire thing, but this was pushing him even further and with Tom all but unconscious he had no one to lean on. Picking up his mobile he opened up his phone book and found Gackt's name, he pressed the dial button and then put the phone to his ear. It was early morning in Japan; he'd done the calculation in his head, and he only hoped Gackt was available to speak to him.
"Moshi, moshi," Gackt's familiar voice answered almost immediately, "what can I do for you, Bill-chan?"
Number recognition was a wonderful thing, it removed all the need for awkwardly figuring out who was calling.
"I turned Tom this morning," Bill said, doing his best to keep all his thoughts in order in his head; "it wasn't like you said."
"Is everything all right?" Gackt asked immediately, sounding concerned. "You are both unhurt?"
"We were both asleep for over twelve hours," Bill replied quickly, not wanting his friend to be too worried, "but I think we're okay now. After we woke up I gave Tom some blood and he's gone back to sleep now."
"Twelve hours?" Gackt sounded astonished.
Bill bit his lip, trying to come up with some way to explain what had happened in words. It was all very clear in his mind, but feelings didn't translate too well to language.
"I didn't just feel him," he said, working things out as he went, "I saw into his head; everything all at once and he felt the same. It was like we merged minds and I only just managed to make him drink before it knocked us both out. It was the most intense thing I've ever felt and that includes having sex with you."
There was a contemplative silence from the other end of the phone for a few moments.
"And has this connection remained?" Gackt asked.
"Not exactly," Bill said, doing his best to remain completely calm. "I can sort of feel him sometimes in the back of my head. When I woke up I was hungry and so I fed, but then I could still feel the hunger only it was Tom's not mine."
He paused, still not quite believing the rest.
"And I can speak to him in my head," he eventually revealed, "and he can talk to me, only I don't think he realised he was doing it."
"You're telepathic?" Gackt requested clarification in his usual tone.
"Yeah," Bill replied quietly, the full impact settling on him as Gackt described it so starkly.
"Is it constant or do you have to think about it?" was the next question, which Bill hadn't even considered before.
"I think it's like talking," Bill said after examining his thoughts for a bit; "I only heard Tom when he was trying to say something to me and I think he only heard me when I thought at him."
"Good," Gackt replied, "hopefully that means you're in control. I've never heard of anything like this before between vampires outside a soul connection, Bill-chan, but if you need me there I can be on the next plane."
For a moment Bill's thoughts latched onto the idea eagerly, but then logic came into play and he realised quite how difficult that would be to explain. Then if the press got hold of it the whole situation would be a nightmare.
"Thank you," he said and he really was very grateful for the offer, "but that might be too complicated unless something else happens. You've really never heard of this at all?"
"Never," Gackt replied with his usual straightforwardness, "but then I have never met twin vampires. Vampires are more psychically inclined and I have known others who see more in the minds of those they bite, but all were very old even compared to me. I would suggest that making your brother a vampire has simply increased what was already there. There is always a slight lingering bond between maker and child and this may be a variation of that."
Bill thought about that for a while and it gave him at least a little comfort that this wasn't completely extraordinary.
"Do you think it will fade?" he asked, finding that he was not sure if he wanted it to or not.
"I don't know, Bill-chan," Gackt told him honestly, "I'm sorry, but psychic tendencies tend to come out with age for vampires, not disappear. I developed my ability to see spirits in my second century and it has become clearer as I have lived longer. We are all diverse and I believe this may be unique to you and your brother."
Bill always prided himself on not being one of the crowd, but on this one he would have liked some more company. He felt a little guilty that he was glad Tom was part of this as well, but he couldn't help it.
"What should I do?" he asked, needing someone to tell him he wasn't doing it all wrong; that this was his fault was something which was all too clear to him.
"Just what you have been doing," Gackt reassured him. "Let Tom-chan sleep until he is ready to wake and call me if it takes any longer than the morning. No one could have predicted this, Bill-chan, try not to worry."
"I'll try," Bill promised, looking up at the ceiling and wondering silently what Tom would say about the whole thing; "thank you Gaku-chan."
The nickname still sounded strange when he said it, but it was what Gackt had invited him to call him, so he did. The Japanese propensity for changing names with endings was a bit mystifying, so he had just accepted it.
"If you need anything please do not hesitate to call me," Gackt replied; "you are part of my family now, Bill-chan. I will always be here for you."
"Thank you," Bill said again, feeling a little less out of his depth.
He looked up again.
"I think I need to go check on Tom now."
He didn't like having Tom out of his sight and he hoped that that was one thing that would be temporary.
"Of course," Gackt said, seeming to understand, "please give him my best wishes when he wakes up. Good bye, Bill-chan."
"Bye," Bill replied and after a moment took the phone away from his ear and hit the disconnect button.
Everything seemed somewhat less epic now, but he stood up quickly, wanting to make sure Tom was alright with his own eyes.
====
Bill woke up to find that his right arm was completely asleep and it didn't take him long to find out why; Tom was lying on it. At some point in the night his twin had rolled over and snuggled up beside him on his arm.
"Tom," he said sleepily and tapped his brother on the shoulder.
A grunt was the only reply.
"Tom," he tried a little louder.
A more disgruntled grunt.
[Tom!] he projected firmly into his twin's mind.
"Fuck," Tom said as he moved instantly, rolling away and putting his hand to his head, "not so loud."
"You were on my arm," Bill complained back, trying to ascertain if his fingers would still move.
He could tell the moment Tom's brain actually switched on, because his twin sat up and turned to stare at him.
"It's morning," Tom said, clearly confused.
Bill sat up and nodded.
"We slept all day yesterday and you slept all night as well, I've been asleep for a couple of hours I think," he replied as he looked at the clock.
"But we had a conversation last night as well, didn't we?" Tom countered, frowning.
Bill nodded.
"You were pretty out of it so I gave you some blood and put you to bed. How're you feeling?"
Since it was a serious question Tom took a moment to think about that.
"Fine," Tom said eventually, "and hungry."
"Good," Bill said, wondering if some of last night had been real, [fancy an omelette for breakfast?]
"Yeah, that sounds good, but if you want it to be edible, you better be cooking," Tom replied having seemingly not noticed anything odd about Bill's chosen method of communication.
"I wouldn't let you near a frying pan if my life depended on it," Bill replied, trying to keep the mood light.
It was a conundrum that he had no idea how to solve; how did he tell Tom what had happened. He didn't think Tom would overreact, but this was rather unusual so it was difficult to tell.
"I need a shower," Tom said, pushing off the bed and standing up.
"I'll start breakfast then," Bill offered, taking the way out for what it was and putting off the whole talk until a little later.
He had had a shower before finally falling asleep so he was quite happy to let Tom hog the bathroom and at least making breakfast would give him time to think some more. As Tom wandered into the hallway he stood up and quickly headed downstairs. Their parents would be back by midday so they had to have the talk before then, but they still had a few hours.
As he pulled out the ingredients for a very mean omelette, even if he did say so himself, he began singing to himself quietly. The song was a random one that his brain just pulled up and he went to work as if on a mission. He was in no way a gourmet chef, but he could throw together food when required and he fried off some bacon pieces before breaking some eggs into a bowl. When Tom finally walked in, the first thing Bill noticed was that his twin was humming the same tune he had been singing and Bill was pretty sure it wasn't a song Tom would have listened to.
Bill divided the omelette in half and put it on two plates before turning to placing one plate in front of Tom and one on his side of the table.
"Thanks," Tom said with a broad grin and dived in.
It seemed that becoming a vampire agreed with Tom, since his twin was in a great mood. Thanks to the thoughts going round and round in his head Bill wasn't quite so forward in eating and he picked at his omelette still mulling over what to say to his twin. It was only when his stomach gave an almighty growl that he actually put anything substantial in his mouth.
"Something wrong?" Tom asked as he chewed on his first mouthful.
Bill frowned at that and slowly shook his head.
"Not wrong exactly," he said quietly.
Tom put his fork down even though Bill could clearly see just under half of his twin's share of the omelette still on the plate.
"Tell me," Tom said simply.
They had always told each other everything and Bill followed the instinct when encouraged.
"We're telepathic," he said, a little more bluntly than he would have liked, but he was at a loss as to how else to do it.
For a while Tom just sat there looking at him.
"Telepathic?" his twin asked eventually.
[Yes,] Bill replied, since he was pretty sure only a demonstration was going prove he wasn't losing it, [we can send and receive each other's thoughts. I don't know why it happened, but it did.]
He sat there letting the worry build as Tom stared at him. It was very disconcerting to be the centre of his brother's firm gaze and he was about ready to snap by the time Tom actually blinked. To his surprise his twin suddenly smiled.
[Cool,] Tom said cheerfully, shocking Bill into complete silence.
For a moment he didn't move and then he did his best to wrap his head around the situation. While he was doing so Tom went back to the omelette.
"Cool," he finally said aloud, "all you have to say is cool? This is so screwed up, I'm supposed to be the one that leaps in without looking and you're supposed to be the one that thinks things through and worries and all you can say is cool."
[Come on,] Tom replied seemingly taking to the mental communication like a duck to water, [we always wanted to be telepathic as kids; now we are. It is cool. It's weird, but it's cool.]
Bill couldn't really argue with that; it had been one of the things they had wished for when they were small. They had always been very close and they always had a handle on what the other was feeling, but this was that one step further although Bill couldn't say it frightened him. It began to dawn on him that he was worrying for the sake of worrying, which was really very unlike him and he finally stabbed a large piece of omelette.
[You're right,] he said, stuffing the forkful of breakfast into his mouth.
Thinking about it, he hadn't felt this right about something in quite a long while.
[Maybe I was in no state to worry so you felt the need to worry for me,] Tom suggested with a cheeky grin.
Bill just rolled his eyes and went on eating. Tom was right; it might have been weird, but it suited them really. If they'd been telepathic in school their teachers would have really known true terror.
====
Bill stared at his ceiling for what had to be the third hour in a row as he failed to be able to sleep. The day had been pretty normal once their parents had returned home, but it had gone downhill once Bill had decided to go to bed. They were supposed to be doing a live gig the next day; nothing big, just a small local gig that had been arranged quietly via the fan club to keep the home fans happy, but enough so that if he didn't get any sleep it wouldn't be good. He knew what the problem was as distinctly as he knew how to fix it and with a sigh he threw the covers off of his body.
Standing up, he picked up his pillow and headed for the door. Tom's room was literally next door and he walked in without bothering to knock. Tom was lying on one side of the bed and looked over at him as soon as he entered. There was no need to speak, they both knew that they seemed to have a problem and Bill walked over to the empty side of the bed. Throwing his pillow down, he lifted up the covers and climbed in, turning his back on his twin.
As if by one accord they both moved towards the middle until they were lying back to back. As soon as he came into contact with Tom, Bill felt the tension he had been feeling melt away and he was suddenly very tired. Closing his eyes he drifted off to sleep as if there had been no problem at all.
====
"Bill, you'd tell me if there was anything wrong wouldn't you, sweetheart?"
That was not really the question Bill expected when he made it down to breakfast the next morning. Having lost a few hours sleep, he wasn't really awake and it took him a few moments to banish the tune that had been wandering around his head and process his mother's question.
"Umm," was the closest he could come to a real answer and he just blinked at his mother rather stupidly.
"I saw you coming out of Tom's room this morning," his mother clarified.
"Oh," Bill said, glad that his mother was not referring to anything else, "nothing's wrong, I just couldn't sleep, nerves or something, so I went into Tom's room. Slept like a baby after that."
"And that's all?" his mother asked and looked him directly in the eye.
Lying to his own mother was not something Bill had ever been any good at and he didn't know what to say.
"Morning, Mum," Tom all but bounced into the kitchen and saved him from having to answer the question. "Need me to hold your hand over breakfast, little brother?"
He took a swipe at Tom's arm for that, even if the diversion was getting him out of a hole.
"I can't sleep one night and suddenly everyone's a critic," he said dramatically and threw up his hands. "Next time I'll just sleep with the dog; he snores less."
"Well then I might actually be left with some of the bed," Tom replied in kind. "I had this much," Tom made a very small distance with his hands, "bed left by the time you sprawled."
Bill did his best to look completely affronted and they bickered all the way through pulling the cereal out of the cupboard, filling their bowls and moving to the table. By the time they stopped, their mother had given up taking any notice of them and Bill gave Tom a smile.
[Thanks,] he said silently.
[It is a brother's duty to save his sibling from the maternal inquisition,] Tom replied and then went to concentrating on eating.
Bill was very glad he had a brother he could rely on so completely. He wasn't quite ready to tell his mother the whole truth yet and she was always very good at wheedling out all the details. That was something for another day, or maybe never if he could help it.
====
[Feel that?] Bill asked as they waited next to the stage for the beginning of the concert.
The energy in the atmosphere was electric, even though there were only a couple of thousand fans in the audience. The small venue was packed out to capacity and it felt incredible.
[Wow,] was Tom's response, [no wonder you bounce around like a madman. Please, make sure I don't do anything stupid.]
[You won't,] Bill replied with a grin and let himself absorb the energy.
He knew from experience that when they made it on stage it would be ten times as strong and it paid to acclimatise first. Closing his eyes he ran over what he was going to say and what they were going to be playing in his head. The morning rehearsal had been virtually flawless so he really wasn't that worried. However, as he mentally prepared himself and felt the energy rising, he felt something inside himself shift. The ache in his gums told him what had happened.
Keeping his back to the other's he put his hand to his mouth and, sure enough, his fangs were almost fully descended. Not only that but his surroundings were brighter, which meant his vampire side was out and his eyes were probably glowing a lovely greenish colour. The main problem was that he hadn't encouraged his vampire to the surface at all and even as he tried he couldn't put it away.
[Bill, what's wrong?] Tom's mental voice sounded in his head; clearly he must have been broadcasting his shock.
[I can't put my fangs away,] Bill said, on the verge of panicking.
He had no idea why this was happening; it had never happened before, not even when he was getting used to the whole vampire thing.
[What happened?] Tom asked, walking up to and round him so that they were face to face.
[I don't know,] Bill replied, desperately trying to tuck his vampire nature away again, [it just happened.]
[Are you hungry?] was Tom's next question. [If you need to feed I can delay here while you head back to the dressing room. No one will mind if we're a few minutes late on stage.]
Bill shook his head; he wasn't feeling any need for blood at all which was why it was so strange. At least Tom seemed to be fine, which was a blessing.
[What are we going to do?] he asked; he couldn't go on stage looking like he was now.
Tom stared at him for a bit, obviously thinking, but not sharing any details.
[You really can't get rid of them?] his twin asked in what Bill thought was an incredibly calm manner.
[Nothing's working,] he replied.
[Can you sing with the fangs?] Tom asked next.
Bill frowned, but nodded; he had tried speaking with his fangs descended before and had had no problem.
[Then you go on like that,] Tom decided and made Bill blink at him in shock. [You look like you're wearing really good special effects makeup; the fans will probably love it.]
There was only one slight hitch to that plan.
[What about the other two?] he asked, not even daring to glance round. [They know I haven't been anywhere near special effects.]
[We'll deal with them afterwards,] Tom told him, clearly thinking on his feet. [It's not as if we could have kept this secret for much longer anyway; they've both noticed things about you and I can't play interference any more.]
Bill just stared as his brain froze at what Tom was suggesting.
[You want to come clean?]
[Bill, I think we have to,] Tom replied. [Georg already asked me if you were doing drugs once. You're hideous at keeping secrets from people you care about and Georg and Gustav have both noticed you have a stash of something. I was going to suggest we talk to them about it anyway, just not before the concert.]
It was like a light dawning as Bill had a revelation.
[That's why you were so insistent,] he said as it all suddenly made sense, [you knew this was coming and you wanted to be like me when we told them.]
Tom just gave him a half smile for figuring that out.
[Couldn't risk anyone trying to stop us,] his twin admitted with a shrug.
At that moment Bill felt even closer to Tom.
"If you two have finished communing, everything's ready," Georg's voice cut through his thoughts.
Bill couldn't help a little smile; his friend had no idea how close he was to the truth. The smile didn't last for long as he prepared to turn round, but he knew there would be no big problems before the concert. They might all be young, but they were professionals and they would not disappoint the crowd.
"Let's go," Bill said brightly and finally turned around.
He had just enough time to see the surprise on his bandmates' faces before he bounced past them towards the stage. His shades were hooked in his back pocket and he had intended on leaving them at the edge of the stage, but he slipped them on instead. If his eyes were going to be almost luminous, he decided he'd use them with dramatic effect and reveal them a little later. He could only imagine what concert reports would make of his current look.
====
By the time they performed the last set, Bill was really worried that he was never getting rid of his fangs ever again. Throughout the whole performance they had stayed very much in evidence and, as they finally piled off stage, he still couldn't put them away. The fans had loved them if the screaming had been anything to go by and when he'd taken his shades off he was pretty sure a couple of girls had passed out. Vampires obviously did it for some of the fan base.
The moment he hit the dressing room he went for his phone rather than anything else. He didn't care that it was the middle of the night in Japan, he needed advice and he needed it before he tried to explain anything to his friends.
"Bill-chan, what's wrong?" Gackt seemed to realise he wouldn't be calling in what was the early hours of the morning for Japan unless it was important.
"I've just had to do an entire concert with fangs, that's what's wrong," Bill said, possibly a little over excited by the whole thing.
He really didn't care that Georg and Gustav were standing across the room staring at him.
"Oh," Gackt said sounding more curious than shocked, "did it cause you problems?"
"Nothing that can't be explained away," Bill said, not happy at all, "but that's not the point. Why the hell can’t I make myself look normal?"
"When did it start?" Gackt asked in a reasonable tone.
"Just before the concert," Bill replied, hoping that there was an easy explanation, "when I was trying to sync with the crowd."
Gackt made a noise as if he was thinking.
"I'm assuming it's not blood related," his mentor said carefully.
"Nope, unless I need more since this morning and I don't feel like I do," Bill explained and wondered what could be going on with him now.
"Then I suspect it's sexual," Gackt said as if it was a perfectly logical conclusion. "When was the last time you had sex?"
"What's having sex got to do with anything?" Bill asked, really not following at all.
"Please, just answer the question," Gackt requested politely.
"I would have hoped you'd remember longer than this," Bill replied, finding himself in a very sarcastic mood; "I didn't think I was that forgettable."
There was silence from the other end of the phone.
"Bill-chan, are you saying that I am still the only person you have ever had sex with?" Gackt asked as if he had to be sure of the point.
"Yes," Bill said, feeling more than a little exasperated, "I thought you'd worked that out about me; I don't sleep around."
"And you have felt no urges?"
That almost made Bill laugh.
"I'm a teenager," he said a little more bluntly then he had meant to, "or course I've felt urges. I ignored them."
"Ah," Gackt said almost immediately, "then I believe we have an explanation. My apologies, Bill-chan, you have a stronger will than I realised. Vampires require blood to live, but we also crave sex, heightening the sex drive. I had assumed your instincts would take care of the matter and did not wish to burden you with the idea that you would seek out sex in a way you had not before, but it appears I was wrong. The sexual tension of the concert has excited your vampire half and because you have not indulged recently it has been driven to the surface. It will fade once you are out of such a sexually charged environment."
"Are you saying this will happen every time we do a concert unless I have sex regularly?" Bill didn't quite believe it.
"Yes," was Gackt's plain answer, "I'm sorry, I had not anticipated it would be a problem."
Bill lashed out and hit the side of one of the metal trunks in the room, letting out some of the tension that had been building up since Tom had asked him to change him. Everything was a little too much all at once and the metal crumpled under the punch.
"Holy shit," he heard Georg say, but he didn't look over.
At least he felt a little better after attacking the inanimate object. He wasn't usually a violent person, but just occasionally an outlet was a good thing.
"Thank you, Gakuchan," he said after taking a deep breath, "I'll figure it out."
"Follow your instincts, Bill-chan," Gackt said in a kind tone, "they will not lead you astray."
Bill made a non-committal sound, he hoped Gackt was right.
"Sorry for ringing in the middle of the night," he apologised as he calmed down.
"I was not sleeping," Gackt replied and did not sound the least bit upset, "and I would not mind if I had been. Your wellbeing is more important than the time of day, Bill-chan."
Now he felt guilty, but he didn't say anything about it.
"Thank you," he said, "bye."
"Good bye, Bill-chan," Gackt replied, "stay well."
Bill let his eyes rest on the huge dent in the metal case as he pressed the disconnect button. It was a good thing the case was empty because there was no way anything inside of it wouldn't have been buckled beyond belief. There was no way to explain that away as anything normal. Very slowly he turned to look at the shocked faces of his friends and perversely it was then he felt his vampire begin to fade inside again.
"Oh fuck," Gustav said and seemed to succinctly sum up Georg's reaction as well.
"Unless you're offering that might not be such a good thing to say to Bill at the moment," Tom said, breaking the tension by walking past the other two and picking up a bottle of water.
"Tom!" Bill said as he started to blush.
"You just had a whole phone call about sex and now you blush," Tom replied unrepentantly.
Bill knew what Tom was trying to do, but it didn't seem to be easing the tension much.
"You're a vampire," Georg eventually said what no one seemed to want to say.
"Yes," Bill said simply.
"The Japanese guy?" Gustav added, catching up fast.
Bill nodded.
"Not 'guy', 'pompous, arrogant vampire'," Tom corrected and earned another glare from Bill.
Tom and Gackt had a truce, but they still weren't friends, something Bill intended to rectify, especially now.
"He's over four hundred and fifty years old," Bill defended the man he had come to be rather fond of, "he's eccentric."
Tom just shrugged and Bill looked back at the other two members of the band. Both looked rather nervous.
"I don't bite," he promised, holding his hands out in a peaceful gesture.
"You're a vampire," Georg said again as if that fact negated what Bill has said.
Tom reached over to Bill's bag and reached in, finding the small cool bag and the emergency stash Bill carried everywhere with him just in case these days. Bill just watched as his brother threw the single blood bag at Georg who caught it.
"That's what Bill's been hiding," Tom said simply; "not drugs; not alcohol, but blood. The stuff from the movies is all so much shit. Modern vampires use blood bags and a microwave; very twenty first century."
Georg examined the blood bag and then threw it back.
"Bill's also not the only vampire in the family," Tom continued and Bill saw his twin's eyes flash. "And before you jump to the wrong conclusion, I asked to be turned and I had to turn the emotional screws to get Bill to do it. I've been a vampire for two days."
"That's what's been different today," Gustav said as if he'd just had a revelation; "you're the same again."
Bill gave a little nod; there was no point in denying it.
"And we're kind of telepathic with each other now too," Tom said with a half smile. "Bill was all worried about it, but I think it's the way we've always supposed to have been."
"You can really hear each other's thoughts?" Georg sounded like that was astounding to him.
"Only when we think at each other," Bill clarified quickly; he didn't want any misimpressions; "like talking only just in our heads."
"Cool," Gustav said almost instantly.
"That's what I said," Tom revealed with a laugh.
Bill crossed his arms.
"Okay, so I'm the only one who was worried about it, can we drop it now?" he asked, since he could see this turning into a tease Bill session.
"Wait," Georg said looking from him to Tom and back again, "you were worried and Tom wasn't; isn't that the wrong way around? Please don't say you're swapping personality traits too."
"No," Bill said hurriedly, "god no, I can only just cope with my own character, I don't want any of Tom's."
He realised he was being, possibly, a bit overdramatic when the other three laughed at him, but it then occurred to him that at least Georg and Gustav were laughing rather than staring worriedly now.
[Nice once, little brother,] Tom said in his head.
[I was being serious,] Bill replied which made Tom laugh out loud.
"I'm going to shower and change," he said, turning and heading to the one place in the venue with a shower; there was no way he was getting any sense out of the other three now.
On to Part 2
Series: Das Geschenk (The Gift) Series - section listing
Author: Beren
Fandom: Tokio Hotel / Jrock RPS (mentioned)
Pairing: Bill/Gustav, Bill/Gackt (mentioned)
Rating: NC-17/18 for sex and language
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, the real people in it are used without their permission and I definitely don't own them or have any copyright to any part of any of them. I do not believe any of this happened, is likely to happen or should happen it is simply a story created around known facts about those involved.
Warnings: vampires
Summary: Tom has decided he wants to be a vampire like Bill, but Bill's not so sure it's a good idea. There could be consequences.
Author's Notes: Don't ask me where the Gustav/Bill pairing came from; it just sort of happened :). Thanks to Soph for the beta, all mistakes remaining are my fault.
Word count: ~17,190
My Fanfic Listings (LJ) | My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)
Bill knew what was coming, he'd seen it brewing for days and he was dreading the conversation because he had no idea what to say. It was obvious his time was up the whole day they were out and about because he caught Tom looking at him and then turning away as soon as he turned around. Being a vampire it was much easier to notice these things now, but with Tom he would have sussed it anyway. He became absolutely sure when Tom walked into his room after their parents had gone out for the evening.
"I want to be like you," Tom said, without any preamble.
For a moment Bill just sat there looking at his brother and processed that, even though he had been waiting for it for three days. He had been a vampire for four weeks and two days and he wasn't sure of everything yet, but it seemed Tom was.
"Um," he said, still not really knowing how to answer, "I'm not sure that would be a good idea."
"You're fine," Tom pointed out bluntly, clearly not in the mood to be turned down.
"So far," Bill replied.
He had a strong suspicion he knew why Tom was asking, but he still didn't think they knew enough yet.
"You're faster, stronger and have developed perfect skin and hair without the need for any of that gunk you used to use," Tom said, putting his hands on his hips and all but glaring; "so far the only side effects seem to have been that you were as moody as hell for the first few days and when it's really bright out you need your shades. You haven't tried to kill anyone and you aren't any weirder than you were before, so why not?"
Bill took the weirder comment in his stride since he couldn't exactly argue that he was what anyone would call normal.
"Because I'm still new at this and for all we know there could be some huge problem just round the corner that we haven't thought of yet," Bill replied, worried that Tom was rushing into something he might later regret. "This isn't something we can undo, Tom, if I change you you're stuck like me forever."
"That's the point," Tom told him and Bill knew what he suspected had been right.
He just looked at his twin and tried to think of a valid reason to say no and keep saying no, but the look in Tom's eyes was very determined.
"I can feel that you're different to me and I don't like it," his brother told him quite plainly.
Bill felt his resistance just about vanish and his worry spike up very high. Any other argument and he would have been able to find an answer, but that one he understood far too well to say anything. He had been feeling the same thing ever since he had adjusted properly to being a vampire and, although he never would have mentioned it to Tom, it had been bothering him. He wasn't about to tell anyone, but he had come to realise that was why he had been so moody to begin with.
They might have looked very different when it came to the superficial things and listened to different music, but at a fundamental level they had always been the same. Now they weren't and it was clear it didn't sit right with either of them. It wasn't something he thought anyone who wasn't in exactly the same situation would understand, but it was more than real to him and Tom.
"Are you sure?" he asked after a minute of contemplative silence.
He already knew the answer; Tom wouldn't be in his room asking for this unless his twin was sure.
"If you were me, you'd be sure," was what Tom said and Bill really couldn't deny it was true.
The idea of passing on something so unknown to the person who meant the most to him in the entire world was scary, but part of Bill wanted very strongly for Tom to be like him again. There was no argument left and, hoping that he was not about to condemn Tom to something that would eventually destroy them both, he nodded.
"Okay," he said before he could change his mind, "but we wait until the weekend. When Mum and Dad go to visit Nana we'll stay here and we'll do it then."
He held Tom's gaze for a while and then his twin just nodded before turning and walking out. It was decided and Bill knew neither of them would change their minds.
====
Tom looked about as nervous as Bill felt on Saturday morning after their parents had left.
"So, how do we do this?" Tom asked, seemingly trying to sound more confident than he looked.
"I bite you, then I feed you my blood," Bill replied in as casual a tone as be could manage.
"That simple?" Tom asked.
Bill just nodded. He had rung Gackt to make sure of the details, but that was all it took. The bite set up what Gackt called a soul connection between them and then his blood would start the change in Tom fuelled by his vampire power. All very straightforward really, just completely terrifying at the same time.
"Let's get on with it," Tom said and headed for the stairs.
They had agreed that the best place to do this would be one of their bedrooms. Bill remembered the disorientation and the need to sleep and he really didn't want to have to explain Tom flaked out on the sofa downstairs if anyone came round. Forcing himself into motion, Bill followed his brother to the first floor.
"Where do you want me?" Tom asked as soon as Bill walked in.
"Sit on the bed," Bill said quickly, having already planned everything out in his head; "I'll kneel behind you."
To his credit Tom did as he was told without the slightest hesitation. The fact that his brother trusted him so implicitly just made Bill more nervous, but he had made up his mind to do this and he wasn't about to back out now. Climbing onto the bed he crawled over to where Tom was sitting and knelt up against his twin's back.
"It'll hurt for a second," he said, placing his hands on Tom's shoulders, "but then you can't feel it anymore."
Tom just nodded and turned, looking up at him with a slight smile.
"Just do it," Tom said, clearly afraid, but being brave, "I know you won't hurt me."
Bill gave a small smile back and then Tom turned to stare at the wall. Looking down at his brother, Bill felt and did nothing for a moment and then he ran one finger down Tom's neck. For the first week or so he had had to work very hard to keep the vampire inside, but now he had adjusted and he had to change mindset to bring it out. He concentrated on the blood vessel he could see pulsing in his brother's throat and he let himself sink into only that. The familiar ache from his gums let him know as his fangs descended and he stared only at his goal.
Bending down slowly, he opened his lips, mouth already watering at the knowledge of sweet blood to come. As he pushed his fangs lightly against Tom's skin, he felt his twin stiffen and he moved his arms down, hugging Tom to him to make sure nothing happened he couldn't control. Then he bit down and Tom gave a tiny cry as he held his twin still.
Gackt had warned him that a soul link could be intense, bringing vampire and blood donor so close together that they could sense each other for moments at a time. Gackt had told him that he was kind of a warm, bubbly presence in a soul link. What he did not expect when wonderful-tasting blood burst onto his tongue and he swallowed reflexively was for his mind to explode with images and feeling. He felt fear and pain and then pleasure and random flashes of the past and he couldn't have stopped if his life had depended on it.
He drank and drank as only one corner of his mind rationalised what was happening. Rather than the vague but intense feeling of presence that Gackt had warned him about, he was seeing into Tom's mind and he knew without a doubt Tom was seeing into his too. It was liberating and wonderful in a way and terrifying and mindblowing in another and it was only when he felt distress coming from Tom that he managed to drag his mouth away from his twin's neck.
His head was spinning and it was difficult to tell what was real and what was in his mind, but he tried desperately to concentrate. Tom was limp in his arms and he knew that he had to finish this. Focusing as hard as he could on Tom, he clawed on to reality. Bringing up his right arm he skewered his wrist with one fang, tearing a messy hole, and tipping his brother's head back he allowed the blood to drip into Tom's mouth.
This was not supposed to be the way it was, but Bill didn't know what had gone wrong. As Tom swallowed, he felt the connection intensify again and it was too much. Dragging Tom with him he fell back onto the bed and then everything went away in a mess of images and feelings.
====
Bill groaned and tried to roll over, only to find that he was pinned to the bed. It took his fuzzy brain another couple of moments to realise that he was pinned by Tom and that Tom seemed to be very much out of it. Glancing around, he realised it was dark and it occurred to him that they had been in the same position for hours. If it had not been for the fact that the wrong feeling he had been carrying around with him over the last few weeks was gone, he might have panicked.
As it was he moved slowly, trying not to aggravate the pounding in his head, pulling Tom off of him and onto the bed properly. The only sign of life Tom gave through the whole thing was a quiet moan before seemingly returning to deep sleep. Bill felt woozy and hungry and he was craving blood, all of which eventually forced him off of the bed in search of something to rectify the problem. He didn't know what had happened, but he was absolutely sure it wasn't quite what was supposed to have happened.
Stumbling to his wardrobe he opened the door and fell to his knees, moving the pile of t-shirts and porn mags off of the mini fridge he had hidden below them. He had figured that if his mother ever came poking around his stuff she would move the t-shirts, find the porn and think that was all he was hiding. So far it had worked a treat. He pulled out two small blood bags and then put everything back the way it had been.
Getting downstairs to the microwave was even more fun than forcing himself out of bed, but somehow he managed it without taking a header down the steps. He pulled two mugs out of the cupboard, poured the blood bags into them and then put them both in the microwave. It only took a few seconds to heat the blood up enough to be drinkable and, once the microwave dinged, he grabbed one of then and downed it as quickly as possible.
The familiar feeling of complete bliss passed through him, leaving him leaning on the counter trying to scrape back together his wits, but it didn't last for long. Almost as soon as the craving retreated he felt it creep back again and he stood there for a while trying to figure out what was going on. It slowly dawned on him that the craving was not his own.
He looked at the mug still in the microwave and then lifted his eyes to the ceiling. There was only one conclusion in his head; he was feeling Tom's need and it was making him feel vaguely nauseous. Picking up the mug he walked back the way he had come, at least feeling steadier on his feet now even as he obeyed the urge to help his twin.
Tom was still lying on the bed, but his brother had flipped over onto his back and it was clear that Tom was only partially asleep now.
He placed the mug on the bedside table and then climbed back onto the bed. Tom didn't give much resistance when he pulled his twin into his lap so that Tom was leaning against him leaning against the headboard. Tired, confused brown eyes opened momentarily and looked up at him, but closed again rather quickly.
Reaching over, Bill picked up the mug of blood and held it a little way from Tom's nose.
"You need to feed, Tom," he coaxed gently, feeling the tiredness warring with the need in his twin. "Drink this and then you can go back to sleep."
Bill had no idea what had happened to cause the weird things that were going on between them, but he was more worried about getting Tom fed and comfortable than figuring it out just then. Tom groaned quietly and opened his eyes again, but it was clear to Bill his twin was not really with it. Holding the mug to Tom's lips, he carefully tipped it up and Tom at least opened his mouth to accept the liquid. He finally knew why Tom teased him about the things he did when he fed, because the moan from his twin was positively obscene. Shaky hands came up to hold the cup as Tom drank, but Bill made sure to keep control of the mug and make sure it did not spill. Trying to get the little spots of blood out of his bedcovers without his mother seeing was going to be fun enough as it was. At least he could claim that he cut himself shaving or something like that at the moment, but a mug full might be a bit much.
"Enough," he said, finding it quite difficult to pull the mug away against Tom's strong grip once the blood was gone; "there's no more."
[Still hungry,] was the somewhat garbled response he got, but what made him just sit there as Tom made a clumsy grab for the mug was the fact that the only part that had come out of his brother's mouth was a disgruntled moan.
"No you're not," he said, shaking himself out of the daze he was in as Tom's hand almost made him drop the mug, "that's just the blood high. If you have any more you'll be sick. You'll feel better in a second."
If the growl from his brother was anything to go by, Tom did not agree, but he put the mug back on the side and held Tom until resistance left his twin. His mind was still reeling at what he had felt from Tom, but part of him didn't really believe it had happened so he decided to try for himself.
[Better?] he thought directly at Tom, feeling stupid.
"Hmm," Tom replied and left Bill thinking that he might be going mad.
It couldn't be real, it had to be his imagination; they sensed things from each other occasionally, usually in a crisis, but this was so completely different. Then again a few weeks previously vampires had been so much fantasy as well.
"What happened?" Tom asked, voice not very clear, but Bill had no trouble understanding since he heard his brother on two levels.
"I don’t know," Bill replied honestly, trying to rationalise everything out; "but I think us being twins might have heightened the soul connection."
"So I didn't imagine seeing into your head?" was Tom's next almost coherent question.
[No,] Bill replied silently, needing to assure himself that last time hadn't been a fluke.
"Weirder than I thought," was Tom's opinion on the whole thing, but it was clear to Bill that his twin was beginning to fade again.
He wasn't sure if the comment was about him or the general experience, but he knew he wasn't going to get a sensible answer yet.
"Go back to sleep," he encouraged while trying not to freak about this new development.
Tom looked as if he was trying to rebel against the suggestion for a bit, but his brother's eyes slowly fell shut again as Tom lost the battle. It took about five minutes before Tom was fully asleep again and Bill just held his brother while Tom drifted off. Once he was sure Tom was completely out of it, he moved and then set about putting his twin to bed as well as he could.
====
Once Tom was tucked up safely, Bill walked downstairs and slumped into the sofa. He thought he had come to terms with the whole vampire thing, but this was pushing him even further and with Tom all but unconscious he had no one to lean on. Picking up his mobile he opened up his phone book and found Gackt's name, he pressed the dial button and then put the phone to his ear. It was early morning in Japan; he'd done the calculation in his head, and he only hoped Gackt was available to speak to him.
"Moshi, moshi," Gackt's familiar voice answered almost immediately, "what can I do for you, Bill-chan?"
Number recognition was a wonderful thing, it removed all the need for awkwardly figuring out who was calling.
"I turned Tom this morning," Bill said, doing his best to keep all his thoughts in order in his head; "it wasn't like you said."
"Is everything all right?" Gackt asked immediately, sounding concerned. "You are both unhurt?"
"We were both asleep for over twelve hours," Bill replied quickly, not wanting his friend to be too worried, "but I think we're okay now. After we woke up I gave Tom some blood and he's gone back to sleep now."
"Twelve hours?" Gackt sounded astonished.
Bill bit his lip, trying to come up with some way to explain what had happened in words. It was all very clear in his mind, but feelings didn't translate too well to language.
"I didn't just feel him," he said, working things out as he went, "I saw into his head; everything all at once and he felt the same. It was like we merged minds and I only just managed to make him drink before it knocked us both out. It was the most intense thing I've ever felt and that includes having sex with you."
There was a contemplative silence from the other end of the phone for a few moments.
"And has this connection remained?" Gackt asked.
"Not exactly," Bill said, doing his best to remain completely calm. "I can sort of feel him sometimes in the back of my head. When I woke up I was hungry and so I fed, but then I could still feel the hunger only it was Tom's not mine."
He paused, still not quite believing the rest.
"And I can speak to him in my head," he eventually revealed, "and he can talk to me, only I don't think he realised he was doing it."
"You're telepathic?" Gackt requested clarification in his usual tone.
"Yeah," Bill replied quietly, the full impact settling on him as Gackt described it so starkly.
"Is it constant or do you have to think about it?" was the next question, which Bill hadn't even considered before.
"I think it's like talking," Bill said after examining his thoughts for a bit; "I only heard Tom when he was trying to say something to me and I think he only heard me when I thought at him."
"Good," Gackt replied, "hopefully that means you're in control. I've never heard of anything like this before between vampires outside a soul connection, Bill-chan, but if you need me there I can be on the next plane."
For a moment Bill's thoughts latched onto the idea eagerly, but then logic came into play and he realised quite how difficult that would be to explain. Then if the press got hold of it the whole situation would be a nightmare.
"Thank you," he said and he really was very grateful for the offer, "but that might be too complicated unless something else happens. You've really never heard of this at all?"
"Never," Gackt replied with his usual straightforwardness, "but then I have never met twin vampires. Vampires are more psychically inclined and I have known others who see more in the minds of those they bite, but all were very old even compared to me. I would suggest that making your brother a vampire has simply increased what was already there. There is always a slight lingering bond between maker and child and this may be a variation of that."
Bill thought about that for a while and it gave him at least a little comfort that this wasn't completely extraordinary.
"Do you think it will fade?" he asked, finding that he was not sure if he wanted it to or not.
"I don't know, Bill-chan," Gackt told him honestly, "I'm sorry, but psychic tendencies tend to come out with age for vampires, not disappear. I developed my ability to see spirits in my second century and it has become clearer as I have lived longer. We are all diverse and I believe this may be unique to you and your brother."
Bill always prided himself on not being one of the crowd, but on this one he would have liked some more company. He felt a little guilty that he was glad Tom was part of this as well, but he couldn't help it.
"What should I do?" he asked, needing someone to tell him he wasn't doing it all wrong; that this was his fault was something which was all too clear to him.
"Just what you have been doing," Gackt reassured him. "Let Tom-chan sleep until he is ready to wake and call me if it takes any longer than the morning. No one could have predicted this, Bill-chan, try not to worry."
"I'll try," Bill promised, looking up at the ceiling and wondering silently what Tom would say about the whole thing; "thank you Gaku-chan."
The nickname still sounded strange when he said it, but it was what Gackt had invited him to call him, so he did. The Japanese propensity for changing names with endings was a bit mystifying, so he had just accepted it.
"If you need anything please do not hesitate to call me," Gackt replied; "you are part of my family now, Bill-chan. I will always be here for you."
"Thank you," Bill said again, feeling a little less out of his depth.
He looked up again.
"I think I need to go check on Tom now."
He didn't like having Tom out of his sight and he hoped that that was one thing that would be temporary.
"Of course," Gackt said, seeming to understand, "please give him my best wishes when he wakes up. Good bye, Bill-chan."
"Bye," Bill replied and after a moment took the phone away from his ear and hit the disconnect button.
Everything seemed somewhat less epic now, but he stood up quickly, wanting to make sure Tom was alright with his own eyes.
====
Bill woke up to find that his right arm was completely asleep and it didn't take him long to find out why; Tom was lying on it. At some point in the night his twin had rolled over and snuggled up beside him on his arm.
"Tom," he said sleepily and tapped his brother on the shoulder.
A grunt was the only reply.
"Tom," he tried a little louder.
A more disgruntled grunt.
[Tom!] he projected firmly into his twin's mind.
"Fuck," Tom said as he moved instantly, rolling away and putting his hand to his head, "not so loud."
"You were on my arm," Bill complained back, trying to ascertain if his fingers would still move.
He could tell the moment Tom's brain actually switched on, because his twin sat up and turned to stare at him.
"It's morning," Tom said, clearly confused.
Bill sat up and nodded.
"We slept all day yesterday and you slept all night as well, I've been asleep for a couple of hours I think," he replied as he looked at the clock.
"But we had a conversation last night as well, didn't we?" Tom countered, frowning.
Bill nodded.
"You were pretty out of it so I gave you some blood and put you to bed. How're you feeling?"
Since it was a serious question Tom took a moment to think about that.
"Fine," Tom said eventually, "and hungry."
"Good," Bill said, wondering if some of last night had been real, [fancy an omelette for breakfast?]
"Yeah, that sounds good, but if you want it to be edible, you better be cooking," Tom replied having seemingly not noticed anything odd about Bill's chosen method of communication.
"I wouldn't let you near a frying pan if my life depended on it," Bill replied, trying to keep the mood light.
It was a conundrum that he had no idea how to solve; how did he tell Tom what had happened. He didn't think Tom would overreact, but this was rather unusual so it was difficult to tell.
"I need a shower," Tom said, pushing off the bed and standing up.
"I'll start breakfast then," Bill offered, taking the way out for what it was and putting off the whole talk until a little later.
He had had a shower before finally falling asleep so he was quite happy to let Tom hog the bathroom and at least making breakfast would give him time to think some more. As Tom wandered into the hallway he stood up and quickly headed downstairs. Their parents would be back by midday so they had to have the talk before then, but they still had a few hours.
As he pulled out the ingredients for a very mean omelette, even if he did say so himself, he began singing to himself quietly. The song was a random one that his brain just pulled up and he went to work as if on a mission. He was in no way a gourmet chef, but he could throw together food when required and he fried off some bacon pieces before breaking some eggs into a bowl. When Tom finally walked in, the first thing Bill noticed was that his twin was humming the same tune he had been singing and Bill was pretty sure it wasn't a song Tom would have listened to.
Bill divided the omelette in half and put it on two plates before turning to placing one plate in front of Tom and one on his side of the table.
"Thanks," Tom said with a broad grin and dived in.
It seemed that becoming a vampire agreed with Tom, since his twin was in a great mood. Thanks to the thoughts going round and round in his head Bill wasn't quite so forward in eating and he picked at his omelette still mulling over what to say to his twin. It was only when his stomach gave an almighty growl that he actually put anything substantial in his mouth.
"Something wrong?" Tom asked as he chewed on his first mouthful.
Bill frowned at that and slowly shook his head.
"Not wrong exactly," he said quietly.
Tom put his fork down even though Bill could clearly see just under half of his twin's share of the omelette still on the plate.
"Tell me," Tom said simply.
They had always told each other everything and Bill followed the instinct when encouraged.
"We're telepathic," he said, a little more bluntly than he would have liked, but he was at a loss as to how else to do it.
For a while Tom just sat there looking at him.
"Telepathic?" his twin asked eventually.
[Yes,] Bill replied, since he was pretty sure only a demonstration was going prove he wasn't losing it, [we can send and receive each other's thoughts. I don't know why it happened, but it did.]
He sat there letting the worry build as Tom stared at him. It was very disconcerting to be the centre of his brother's firm gaze and he was about ready to snap by the time Tom actually blinked. To his surprise his twin suddenly smiled.
[Cool,] Tom said cheerfully, shocking Bill into complete silence.
For a moment he didn't move and then he did his best to wrap his head around the situation. While he was doing so Tom went back to the omelette.
"Cool," he finally said aloud, "all you have to say is cool? This is so screwed up, I'm supposed to be the one that leaps in without looking and you're supposed to be the one that thinks things through and worries and all you can say is cool."
[Come on,] Tom replied seemingly taking to the mental communication like a duck to water, [we always wanted to be telepathic as kids; now we are. It is cool. It's weird, but it's cool.]
Bill couldn't really argue with that; it had been one of the things they had wished for when they were small. They had always been very close and they always had a handle on what the other was feeling, but this was that one step further although Bill couldn't say it frightened him. It began to dawn on him that he was worrying for the sake of worrying, which was really very unlike him and he finally stabbed a large piece of omelette.
[You're right,] he said, stuffing the forkful of breakfast into his mouth.
Thinking about it, he hadn't felt this right about something in quite a long while.
[Maybe I was in no state to worry so you felt the need to worry for me,] Tom suggested with a cheeky grin.
Bill just rolled his eyes and went on eating. Tom was right; it might have been weird, but it suited them really. If they'd been telepathic in school their teachers would have really known true terror.
====
Bill stared at his ceiling for what had to be the third hour in a row as he failed to be able to sleep. The day had been pretty normal once their parents had returned home, but it had gone downhill once Bill had decided to go to bed. They were supposed to be doing a live gig the next day; nothing big, just a small local gig that had been arranged quietly via the fan club to keep the home fans happy, but enough so that if he didn't get any sleep it wouldn't be good. He knew what the problem was as distinctly as he knew how to fix it and with a sigh he threw the covers off of his body.
Standing up, he picked up his pillow and headed for the door. Tom's room was literally next door and he walked in without bothering to knock. Tom was lying on one side of the bed and looked over at him as soon as he entered. There was no need to speak, they both knew that they seemed to have a problem and Bill walked over to the empty side of the bed. Throwing his pillow down, he lifted up the covers and climbed in, turning his back on his twin.
As if by one accord they both moved towards the middle until they were lying back to back. As soon as he came into contact with Tom, Bill felt the tension he had been feeling melt away and he was suddenly very tired. Closing his eyes he drifted off to sleep as if there had been no problem at all.
====
"Bill, you'd tell me if there was anything wrong wouldn't you, sweetheart?"
That was not really the question Bill expected when he made it down to breakfast the next morning. Having lost a few hours sleep, he wasn't really awake and it took him a few moments to banish the tune that had been wandering around his head and process his mother's question.
"Umm," was the closest he could come to a real answer and he just blinked at his mother rather stupidly.
"I saw you coming out of Tom's room this morning," his mother clarified.
"Oh," Bill said, glad that his mother was not referring to anything else, "nothing's wrong, I just couldn't sleep, nerves or something, so I went into Tom's room. Slept like a baby after that."
"And that's all?" his mother asked and looked him directly in the eye.
Lying to his own mother was not something Bill had ever been any good at and he didn't know what to say.
"Morning, Mum," Tom all but bounced into the kitchen and saved him from having to answer the question. "Need me to hold your hand over breakfast, little brother?"
He took a swipe at Tom's arm for that, even if the diversion was getting him out of a hole.
"I can't sleep one night and suddenly everyone's a critic," he said dramatically and threw up his hands. "Next time I'll just sleep with the dog; he snores less."
"Well then I might actually be left with some of the bed," Tom replied in kind. "I had this much," Tom made a very small distance with his hands, "bed left by the time you sprawled."
Bill did his best to look completely affronted and they bickered all the way through pulling the cereal out of the cupboard, filling their bowls and moving to the table. By the time they stopped, their mother had given up taking any notice of them and Bill gave Tom a smile.
[Thanks,] he said silently.
[It is a brother's duty to save his sibling from the maternal inquisition,] Tom replied and then went to concentrating on eating.
Bill was very glad he had a brother he could rely on so completely. He wasn't quite ready to tell his mother the whole truth yet and she was always very good at wheedling out all the details. That was something for another day, or maybe never if he could help it.
====
[Feel that?] Bill asked as they waited next to the stage for the beginning of the concert.
The energy in the atmosphere was electric, even though there were only a couple of thousand fans in the audience. The small venue was packed out to capacity and it felt incredible.
[Wow,] was Tom's response, [no wonder you bounce around like a madman. Please, make sure I don't do anything stupid.]
[You won't,] Bill replied with a grin and let himself absorb the energy.
He knew from experience that when they made it on stage it would be ten times as strong and it paid to acclimatise first. Closing his eyes he ran over what he was going to say and what they were going to be playing in his head. The morning rehearsal had been virtually flawless so he really wasn't that worried. However, as he mentally prepared himself and felt the energy rising, he felt something inside himself shift. The ache in his gums told him what had happened.
Keeping his back to the other's he put his hand to his mouth and, sure enough, his fangs were almost fully descended. Not only that but his surroundings were brighter, which meant his vampire side was out and his eyes were probably glowing a lovely greenish colour. The main problem was that he hadn't encouraged his vampire to the surface at all and even as he tried he couldn't put it away.
[Bill, what's wrong?] Tom's mental voice sounded in his head; clearly he must have been broadcasting his shock.
[I can't put my fangs away,] Bill said, on the verge of panicking.
He had no idea why this was happening; it had never happened before, not even when he was getting used to the whole vampire thing.
[What happened?] Tom asked, walking up to and round him so that they were face to face.
[I don't know,] Bill replied, desperately trying to tuck his vampire nature away again, [it just happened.]
[Are you hungry?] was Tom's next question. [If you need to feed I can delay here while you head back to the dressing room. No one will mind if we're a few minutes late on stage.]
Bill shook his head; he wasn't feeling any need for blood at all which was why it was so strange. At least Tom seemed to be fine, which was a blessing.
[What are we going to do?] he asked; he couldn't go on stage looking like he was now.
Tom stared at him for a bit, obviously thinking, but not sharing any details.
[You really can't get rid of them?] his twin asked in what Bill thought was an incredibly calm manner.
[Nothing's working,] he replied.
[Can you sing with the fangs?] Tom asked next.
Bill frowned, but nodded; he had tried speaking with his fangs descended before and had had no problem.
[Then you go on like that,] Tom decided and made Bill blink at him in shock. [You look like you're wearing really good special effects makeup; the fans will probably love it.]
There was only one slight hitch to that plan.
[What about the other two?] he asked, not even daring to glance round. [They know I haven't been anywhere near special effects.]
[We'll deal with them afterwards,] Tom told him, clearly thinking on his feet. [It's not as if we could have kept this secret for much longer anyway; they've both noticed things about you and I can't play interference any more.]
Bill just stared as his brain froze at what Tom was suggesting.
[You want to come clean?]
[Bill, I think we have to,] Tom replied. [Georg already asked me if you were doing drugs once. You're hideous at keeping secrets from people you care about and Georg and Gustav have both noticed you have a stash of something. I was going to suggest we talk to them about it anyway, just not before the concert.]
It was like a light dawning as Bill had a revelation.
[That's why you were so insistent,] he said as it all suddenly made sense, [you knew this was coming and you wanted to be like me when we told them.]
Tom just gave him a half smile for figuring that out.
[Couldn't risk anyone trying to stop us,] his twin admitted with a shrug.
At that moment Bill felt even closer to Tom.
"If you two have finished communing, everything's ready," Georg's voice cut through his thoughts.
Bill couldn't help a little smile; his friend had no idea how close he was to the truth. The smile didn't last for long as he prepared to turn round, but he knew there would be no big problems before the concert. They might all be young, but they were professionals and they would not disappoint the crowd.
"Let's go," Bill said brightly and finally turned around.
He had just enough time to see the surprise on his bandmates' faces before he bounced past them towards the stage. His shades were hooked in his back pocket and he had intended on leaving them at the edge of the stage, but he slipped them on instead. If his eyes were going to be almost luminous, he decided he'd use them with dramatic effect and reveal them a little later. He could only imagine what concert reports would make of his current look.
====
By the time they performed the last set, Bill was really worried that he was never getting rid of his fangs ever again. Throughout the whole performance they had stayed very much in evidence and, as they finally piled off stage, he still couldn't put them away. The fans had loved them if the screaming had been anything to go by and when he'd taken his shades off he was pretty sure a couple of girls had passed out. Vampires obviously did it for some of the fan base.
The moment he hit the dressing room he went for his phone rather than anything else. He didn't care that it was the middle of the night in Japan, he needed advice and he needed it before he tried to explain anything to his friends.
"Bill-chan, what's wrong?" Gackt seemed to realise he wouldn't be calling in what was the early hours of the morning for Japan unless it was important.
"I've just had to do an entire concert with fangs, that's what's wrong," Bill said, possibly a little over excited by the whole thing.
He really didn't care that Georg and Gustav were standing across the room staring at him.
"Oh," Gackt said sounding more curious than shocked, "did it cause you problems?"
"Nothing that can't be explained away," Bill said, not happy at all, "but that's not the point. Why the hell can’t I make myself look normal?"
"When did it start?" Gackt asked in a reasonable tone.
"Just before the concert," Bill replied, hoping that there was an easy explanation, "when I was trying to sync with the crowd."
Gackt made a noise as if he was thinking.
"I'm assuming it's not blood related," his mentor said carefully.
"Nope, unless I need more since this morning and I don't feel like I do," Bill explained and wondered what could be going on with him now.
"Then I suspect it's sexual," Gackt said as if it was a perfectly logical conclusion. "When was the last time you had sex?"
"What's having sex got to do with anything?" Bill asked, really not following at all.
"Please, just answer the question," Gackt requested politely.
"I would have hoped you'd remember longer than this," Bill replied, finding himself in a very sarcastic mood; "I didn't think I was that forgettable."
There was silence from the other end of the phone.
"Bill-chan, are you saying that I am still the only person you have ever had sex with?" Gackt asked as if he had to be sure of the point.
"Yes," Bill said, feeling more than a little exasperated, "I thought you'd worked that out about me; I don't sleep around."
"And you have felt no urges?"
That almost made Bill laugh.
"I'm a teenager," he said a little more bluntly then he had meant to, "or course I've felt urges. I ignored them."
"Ah," Gackt said almost immediately, "then I believe we have an explanation. My apologies, Bill-chan, you have a stronger will than I realised. Vampires require blood to live, but we also crave sex, heightening the sex drive. I had assumed your instincts would take care of the matter and did not wish to burden you with the idea that you would seek out sex in a way you had not before, but it appears I was wrong. The sexual tension of the concert has excited your vampire half and because you have not indulged recently it has been driven to the surface. It will fade once you are out of such a sexually charged environment."
"Are you saying this will happen every time we do a concert unless I have sex regularly?" Bill didn't quite believe it.
"Yes," was Gackt's plain answer, "I'm sorry, I had not anticipated it would be a problem."
Bill lashed out and hit the side of one of the metal trunks in the room, letting out some of the tension that had been building up since Tom had asked him to change him. Everything was a little too much all at once and the metal crumpled under the punch.
"Holy shit," he heard Georg say, but he didn't look over.
At least he felt a little better after attacking the inanimate object. He wasn't usually a violent person, but just occasionally an outlet was a good thing.
"Thank you, Gakuchan," he said after taking a deep breath, "I'll figure it out."
"Follow your instincts, Bill-chan," Gackt said in a kind tone, "they will not lead you astray."
Bill made a non-committal sound, he hoped Gackt was right.
"Sorry for ringing in the middle of the night," he apologised as he calmed down.
"I was not sleeping," Gackt replied and did not sound the least bit upset, "and I would not mind if I had been. Your wellbeing is more important than the time of day, Bill-chan."
Now he felt guilty, but he didn't say anything about it.
"Thank you," he said, "bye."
"Good bye, Bill-chan," Gackt replied, "stay well."
Bill let his eyes rest on the huge dent in the metal case as he pressed the disconnect button. It was a good thing the case was empty because there was no way anything inside of it wouldn't have been buckled beyond belief. There was no way to explain that away as anything normal. Very slowly he turned to look at the shocked faces of his friends and perversely it was then he felt his vampire begin to fade inside again.
"Oh fuck," Gustav said and seemed to succinctly sum up Georg's reaction as well.
"Unless you're offering that might not be such a good thing to say to Bill at the moment," Tom said, breaking the tension by walking past the other two and picking up a bottle of water.
"Tom!" Bill said as he started to blush.
"You just had a whole phone call about sex and now you blush," Tom replied unrepentantly.
Bill knew what Tom was trying to do, but it didn't seem to be easing the tension much.
"You're a vampire," Georg eventually said what no one seemed to want to say.
"Yes," Bill said simply.
"The Japanese guy?" Gustav added, catching up fast.
Bill nodded.
"Not 'guy', 'pompous, arrogant vampire'," Tom corrected and earned another glare from Bill.
Tom and Gackt had a truce, but they still weren't friends, something Bill intended to rectify, especially now.
"He's over four hundred and fifty years old," Bill defended the man he had come to be rather fond of, "he's eccentric."
Tom just shrugged and Bill looked back at the other two members of the band. Both looked rather nervous.
"I don't bite," he promised, holding his hands out in a peaceful gesture.
"You're a vampire," Georg said again as if that fact negated what Bill has said.
Tom reached over to Bill's bag and reached in, finding the small cool bag and the emergency stash Bill carried everywhere with him just in case these days. Bill just watched as his brother threw the single blood bag at Georg who caught it.
"That's what Bill's been hiding," Tom said simply; "not drugs; not alcohol, but blood. The stuff from the movies is all so much shit. Modern vampires use blood bags and a microwave; very twenty first century."
Georg examined the blood bag and then threw it back.
"Bill's also not the only vampire in the family," Tom continued and Bill saw his twin's eyes flash. "And before you jump to the wrong conclusion, I asked to be turned and I had to turn the emotional screws to get Bill to do it. I've been a vampire for two days."
"That's what's been different today," Gustav said as if he'd just had a revelation; "you're the same again."
Bill gave a little nod; there was no point in denying it.
"And we're kind of telepathic with each other now too," Tom said with a half smile. "Bill was all worried about it, but I think it's the way we've always supposed to have been."
"You can really hear each other's thoughts?" Georg sounded like that was astounding to him.
"Only when we think at each other," Bill clarified quickly; he didn't want any misimpressions; "like talking only just in our heads."
"Cool," Gustav said almost instantly.
"That's what I said," Tom revealed with a laugh.
Bill crossed his arms.
"Okay, so I'm the only one who was worried about it, can we drop it now?" he asked, since he could see this turning into a tease Bill session.
"Wait," Georg said looking from him to Tom and back again, "you were worried and Tom wasn't; isn't that the wrong way around? Please don't say you're swapping personality traits too."
"No," Bill said hurriedly, "god no, I can only just cope with my own character, I don't want any of Tom's."
He realised he was being, possibly, a bit overdramatic when the other three laughed at him, but it then occurred to him that at least Georg and Gustav were laughing rather than staring worriedly now.
[Nice once, little brother,] Tom said in his head.
[I was being serious,] Bill replied which made Tom laugh out loud.
"I'm going to shower and change," he said, turning and heading to the one place in the venue with a shower; there was no way he was getting any sense out of the other three now.
On to Part 2