1. Chapter 1 (1/1)
inspired by a piece of advice i gave myself (but, like alice, didn't listen to) earlier: don't give any part of yourself to someone who may belong to another. bit weird, got away from me a little, but i hope you enjoy it.
disclaimer: not mine.
"stay away from the half-fang." his father had been very clear on that point. "she's not to distract you from your studies.""what have you got against erin? a couple of weeks ago you were complaining that i never used 'the old dracula charm' on the girls at school. surely she's better than a
eather. and i want her to be my girlfr-" the count cut him off."don't even think about finishing that sentence. have you learned nothing in all these years of my expert tutoring?" vlad quirked an eye
ow and his father sighed, rolling his eyes. "never pledge yourself to anyone who may be pledged to another." vlad stared at him blankly. "half-fangs, vladdy! do you want to throw your allegiance away, have it inherited by sires and grand-sires? no, not my son, and not the chosen one. you must stay away from her."
of course, once he'd gone against his father and kissed her, it was clear that erin was no more a half-fang than she was a dinosaur. he had no need to worry about losing his independence with her. but it also soon became clear that she wasn't what he wanted, and he was pretty sure that for her part she was settling for the wrong dracula sibling. they
oke up amicably enough, leaving him with no distraction from his training… no distraction from bertrand.
it was bertrand who was the problem, really. training was a pain, but when it was over for the night he was quite capable of letting it all fade from his mind – to his tutor's disappointment. bertrand, though, bertrand was always there. if not physically at the dinner table or taking a history class while mr grant bunked off down the pub, he was always prowling around the edges of vlad's awareness. the chosen one couldn't get him out of his head. more worryingly, he didn't want to.
it took him too long to work up the courage to admit this to bertrand - who, thanks to vlad's lamentable control over his telepathy, didn't even seem particularly surprised – but when he'd finally said it, he felt a sort of nervous relief. it was out in the open, now, and whatever bertrand's response was, at least it was said."bertrand, i… look, i really like you. i can't stop thinking about you."
the way his tutor's face darkened was unexpected, as was the anger as he almost snarled a response."don't be a fool, vlad." he turned away, presumably trying to control his sudden rage, and vlad took a step backwards."i'm sorry. i… forget i said anything… but…" he hesitated, "please don't be angry with me." bertrand didn't reply, fists clenched, and the chosen one wondered why he wouldn't look at him. "i can't tell you i'll stop thinking about you, though, i might always-""don't say it." bertrand's voice was harsh, as if he was forcing it to work with difficulty. "don't say you'll always anything, don't pretend this is anything more than a way to antagonise your father." vlad gaped at him, but he wasn't finished. "i'm not a traitor, vlad, i'll do most things you ask of me, but you go too far."
"what are you talking about?" bertrand turned to face him, then."i'm not a plaything, vlad, or a weapon." his frown deepened slightly. "well, not like this. i know your father will have told you exactly who you mustn't get attached to. he warned you off of being friends with erin and you kissed her. presumably he's now had enough of me.""bertrand, dad hasn't-""blood and garlic, just looking at you the wrong way, let alone kissing you, would be enough to get me staked. an ingenious plan, but no. you can't make me respond." he corrected himself, eyes widening slightly, anxious. "you wouldn't.""this has nothing to do with dad, he's never given me any reason not to promise to love you forever, if i wanted to-" he wouldn't promise that, though. he wasn't even eighteen years old yet, and he knew things might change. he didn't even know if what he felt was love."i'm a half-fang, vlad, you can't have feel-" vlad interrupted, suddenly realising what bertrand wasn't saying, what he hadn't said in the course of this entire bewildering conversation."if we were both of equal status and there was nobody in our way… can we just pretend that's how it is, for a moment?" bertrand hesitated, then nodded warily.
"right." vlad took a deep, unnecessary
eath. "i really like you, and i can't stop thinking about you." bertrand stared at him for a moment, a rabbit caught in car headlights. it was an unusual expression to see on his tutor's face, and vlad took a moment to memorise it before doing what he knew bertrand was hoping he wouldn't. "do you have any feelings for me? at all?""but we're not-" vlad narrowed his eyes at him and he gave up. "yes." vlad stepped forward, face lighting up."then why don't we give it a go? be… i dunno, together somehow?" bertrand was about to protest, he could tell, but then vlad was standing too close to him and he fell silent, allowing the younger vampire to run his hand along bertrand's jawline and pull him down into a kiss.
bertrand's self-control lasted an agonising four seconds before he succumbed to the feelings overpowering him and began to kiss back. they felt like the longest four seconds of vlad's unlife, terrified that he'd crossed a line, but it was worth it. they stood like that for hours, just relishing the new experience, wondering if there was indeed some way it could continue. at last, bertrand stepped back."it's not a relationship. as long as that's clear." vlad winced at the implications of that, but he nodded. he knew this was new ground for bertrand, who didn't do well with emotion at the best of times, and he wasn't going to push.
it had been over a year since they'd first admitted to having feelings for each other, and vlad felt things were going well. they'd had their ups and downs, as well as several extremely heated training sessions which had nearly ended in humiliation as the count came to check on their work, but they were… well, happy. or what counted for happy in vampire circles when everyone was constantly trying to one-up each other, anyway.
"bertrand," he began one day, "you know us. you and me. this thing we've got going." he winced; it sounded stupid even to his own ears."what about it?" bertrand sounded guarded, more on edge than usual."why can't we – i mean, couldn't we make it… you know, kind of official?""i don't know what you hope to achieve by doing so." yes, the older vampire was definitely avoiding his eye."i want to be your b-""don't." vlad cut himself off, bewildered by bertrand's vehement interruption. he remembered the objections he'd made before, back when he'd first admitted his feelings.
"is this to do with being a half-fang again?" bertrand nodded."people will never accept-" but vlad's mind was racing ahead, connecting the dots to older dots."you're trying to stop me pledging myself to someone…" he struggled to remember his father's words about erin, so long ago now. "…someone who may already be pledged to another." the older vampire sighed."my sire is long dead, vlad. i'm trying to stop you pledging yourself to me." that didn't make sense; he'd assumed, all this time, that bertrand didn't want him to be sucked into the thrall of his sire. if there was no-one else…"you're not married, are you?" the short, bitter bark of laughter that erupted from bertrand set his mind at rest on that count. "then… why?"
"you can do better, vlad. you deserve better than me. a wealthy, powerful vampiress who'll-""stop it, she sounds awful." he grinned, hand reaching up to cup bertrand's cheek. "that's all it's been? that's why we couldn't have a proper relationship?" bertrand nodded, and it was all vlad could do to keep his ecstatic laughter inside. "i want to be with you. maybe not forever, but maybe. i'm pledging myself to you, at least for now, whether you like it or not. you don't have to do it back."
the older vampire looked at him like he was crazy."i've always been yours." vlad didn't wait to hear any more, just wrapped his arms around his boyfriend – not quite the right word, perhaps, he thought to himself, but he'd work it out later – and kissed him.