2. Chapter 2 (1/2)

part two - not the end, don't worry, there's more to come. it may be a little delayed, though.

disclaimer: not mine, don't own, don't particularly want (more freedom in fanfic, right?)

the next day, tuesday, robin was up before vlad was, and found himself joining bertrand as he ate

eakfast."you're up early." he grinned at the vampire."the early bird catches the worm and all that. only… i don't know, something more vampiric." bertrand seemed amused by that; the corner of his mouth twitched up into something approaching a smile."you really are obsessed with us, aren't you?" he nodded eagerly and the vampire continued. "well, if you're interested, vampires tend to say that the early bat catches the blood. and of course we mean early evening." robin could feel his whole face lighting up and knew he must look like a total idiot, but he didn't really care. this was amazing, a vampire – a vampire drinking real blood, no less – was really taking the time to explain things and indulge his enthusiasm in a way nobody ever had. even vlad had only answered his questions reluctantly."the early bat, that's so cool. there must be loads of vampire sayings, can you tell me some more?" bertrand seemed a little bemused, but he obliged with all the old vampire proverbs that sprung to mind. by the time they left the kitchen to go and train, everyone else was at school again.

bertrand had been more careful this time, but robin was still covered in dust from the floor by the time he called a halt to the session and bertrand was fairly sure there would be new

uises coming up soon. the boy didn't seem to mind; on the contrary, he complained when bertrand told him they had to stop."can't we just practice that last thing one more time-?""no. go and clean yourself up before vlad comes home and sees you.""he won't be back for hours yet-""i don't care. training's over." if he pushed himself any further, he'd hurt himself and then bertrand would be in trouble again.

the boy sloped off, but as bertrand settled in the throne room later he popped up again, in a new change of clothes and clearly fresh out of the shower. he didn't look up from his book."something you wanted?" robin was no doubt grinning, as usual."can you tell me some stories?" he closed the book and looked up at him."this isn't a story; it's just a book on vampire laws.""cool! but i meant… well, you've been around a bit, right?" it took a moment for bertrand to realise he was referring to his age and not making an assumption about his promiscuity. he nodded warily. "so you must have some stories to tell. what's it like, being a vampire? have you ever met anyone famous and, like, historical?"

vlad came in that day and dragged robin straight off to his room to read comics. after a few hours, though, they'd run out of comics and things to talk about. after all, there was only so long you could spend talking about how little everything had changed, and how much some things had when you really thought about it. then erin had turned up, looking for vlad, and robin had been almost grateful for the excuse to leave vlad to it. judging by the look on the slayer's face, he was abandoning his friend to a fate worse than staking, but it wasn't as if robin being in the room was helping.

instead, he found himself lying in his own borrowed coffin – still so cool – and pondering all the fascinating things bertrand had taught him. he was enjoying spending time with the older vampire and, unusually, the tutor didn't seem to have got annoyed with him yet. he hoped they could keep training tomorrow.

bertrand had been training the boy for two weeks now; he'd expected him to stop bothering the moment vlad and the others

oke up from school, but he was still there, sometimes attending vlad's sessions and sometimes arriving alone.

today, he had turned up to one of vlad's sessions without vlad, and bertrand was irritated. the chosen one had apparently taken off without a word to anyone last night, taking the slayer with him. well, that was fine; he could no doubt look after himself for a day. still, he could have let bertrand know. he told robin to come back in an hour, hoping that would give him time to work off his frustration enough to not risk injuring the boy. robin, however, just looked at him."you're angry." bertrand held in a hiss with difficulty."yes, i am. leave." robin hesitated for a moment, then patted bertrand's arm as he passed."don't overdo it, yeah? i'll be back in an hour."

he stared after him long after he heard him reach the top of the stairs. what on earth did the

eather think he was playing at, treating bertrand like a person, a normal person, with weaknesses like everyone else? it was getting under bertrand's skin; it felt nice. and bertrand wasn't one for niceties. he lashed out at the punch bag, at first with his bare hands. after a few minutes he picked up his stick, enjoying the reassuring solidity of the weapon as it struck its target.

robin

anagh,