Chapter Text
When Alexander woke up his whole body was hurting . He was feeling sluggish and hot all over, like he had a fever. There was an unpleasant prickling underneath his skin, as if something was trying to crawl out of him. He tried to open his eyes, but closed them instantly, the bright light of the day sending shockwaves of pain through his skull. Everything was too bright, too loud, all his senses were on overload and it was unbearable. He tried to move one of his hands, eyes still closed, but another jolt of pain went through him, wrenching scream out of his lungs. He immediately winced at the sound, his ears too sensitive.
After a while the initial panic started to gradually subside. Alex willed himself to stop concentrating on pain and instead tried to focus on breathing slowly and deeply, forcing air through the burn in his lungs and his aching body. He was finally calm enough to think about his surroundings. Even without opening his eyes he was sure that he was somewhere in a forest. He was lying on the ground, there were twigs digging into his back and he could feel leaves that were stuck to his sweaty palms, but he couldn’t remember how he got here. There must had been a battle, now that he was more focused he could smell gunpowder in the air. He had to open his eyes, had to determine how badly he was hurt. The pain was still seeping through every cell in his body, becoming one steady throb, so he couldn’t pinpoint exact location of his injuries without seeing them.
Opening his eyes was an agonizing process. Since the last time he’d opened them his eyelids already managed to get glued together with tears and something else, something sticky, sweet-smelling and intoxicating. Blood? There was blood all over his face, he could feel it drying on his skin forming together with tears tracks down his temples and disappearing in his hair. Now that he thought about it, he could also feel blood around his mouth. In his mouth. He licked his chapped lips to get rid of the substance, then licked it again slower, tasting sweetness on his tongue. The pain in his body was fading, so he decided to risk moving his hand again. It wasn’t easy but after few attempts he was able to rise it up without crying in pain. He used his newfound mobility to reach to his eyes and began picking the dried blood out of his eyelashes. Soon he managed to pry his eyes open just a bit to get used to the brightness.
The light was still hurting his eyes, but now he could discern his surroundings. He was in a forest, like he previously thought, but he wasn’t on the battlefield. There were no bodies, no traces of fight taking place here, the grass and leaves next to him were fresh and undisturbed. Someone must have moved him, that was the only possible explanation. And judging by the fact that he could still smell gunpowder they didn’t move him too far. He sat down carefully, examining his body for injuries. There weren’t any. His clothes were bloody and torn apart and there were holes in his jacket that looked like they were made by bullets, but he wasn’t injured.
Only then he realized how clear and radiant all the colors around him were. It wasn’t the first time he saw that much blood, it wasn’t even second or third time. They were, after all, fighting in a war, there was blood and death all around them. But when he was looking at his soaked in blood clothes, his bloodstained hands, it was like he was seeing it anew. It was red, rich and beautiful with so many shades and tones intertwining together, it was like nothing he’d ever experienced. And the grass. He could see every little blade of grass with so much detail, he couldn’t believe it. Something happened to him. He didn’t know what and how, but he was different. He saw and felt everything more intensely than before, his senses were somehow enhanced, but how?
Before he could think about it any further he heard a small whimper coming from a few meters away. Curious, he turned around. There was a body lying in the grass not too far from him. He didn’t notice it before, too preoccupied with his own situation, but now the person was beginning to wake up. There was another whimper, followed by sound of rustling leaves and then the person screamed. It was the worst thing Alexander has ever heard. The scream was piercing through his skull, overwhelming and paralyzing him, it felt like his eardrums were about to break. He covered his ears with his hands to prevent the sound from drilling into his brain, but it wasn’t helping. As suddenly as it started the scream stopped and Alexander, finally able to think more clearly, realized that he knew that voice.
‘John’ he thought, new wave of panic rushing through him. John was lying there and he was in pain, he needed to help him. He tried to get on his feet, but immediately fell down, his legs still too weak to carry his weight. Instead he began to drag himself towards John, digging his hands into the ground and grasping at nearby trees for leverage. It took him more time than he wanted and when he finally managed to get close enough to reach his friend, he was drained and his whole body was once again in agony. All of that disappeared when he saw the state John was in. John was barely conscious, moaning quietly, his eyes half lidded and face pale. There was blood all over his face and torso. His shirt was shredded, only few pieces of fabric keeping it from falling off completely. Underneath, his chest was almost entirely covered with bruises that were blending together and coloring his chest blue and purple. On top of that John’s torso was littered with deep cuts and he had a bullet wound in his side.
Alexander could feel his eyes moisten with tears. There was no way John could survive so many injuries. The wounds weren’t bleeding as much as he expected them to, some of them were already starting to close, but he lost too much blood to pull through. They were in the middle of a forest, there was no doctor and no medical supplies. He was going to lose John and there was nothing he could do about it.
“Alex” One word said by John in shaky, almost too quiet to hear voice pulled him out of his thoughts. His friend seemed to finally notice he was there. His eyes opened a bit wider and he tried to smile but winced instead. “Everything hurts” he whispered.
Alexander bit back a sob that was threatening to spill out of his throat. Instead he put his hand in John’s hair, and began to comb through them gently, forcing himself to smile reassuringly. If John were himself he would immediately see through such an obvious lie. Alex was never a very good liar and John knew him too well to fall for it. But now John was barely keeping his eyes open and his breaths were irregular and short. Alexander could see how much effort it took for him to keep breathing. He tried to say something, but he couldn’t force words out of his throat.
“John” he finally managed to say after clearing his throat, his voice hoarse from not using it for too long. “I’m here” He murmured, closing his other hand around John’s and trying to swallow down the tears. “Just keep your eyes on me and take deep breaths, you’ll be fine” He needed to do something. John was even paler now and his hand was ice cold. He would look like he was already dead if it wasn’t for his eyes that were still stubbornly gazing at Alex. Suddenly, his eyes widened, terrified expression appearing on his face.
“Your eyes. Blood.” John gasped, between heavy breaths.
Alexander frowned, confused. He disentangled his hand gently from John’s hair to run it across his face. There were fresh tears on his cheeks. He couldn’t remember when he started to cry. He was about to assure John that it was nothing, he was fine and John will be fine, when he glanced at his hand. It was stained with fresh blood. He was bleeding from his eyes. What was happening?
Sound of someone walking through the forest brought his attention back to his surroundings. He whipped his head around, trying to reach for his sword at the same time. It wasn’t by his side, it was still lying in the spot where he woke up. The footsteps where getting closer and now he could see a silhouette of a person coming out of the trees.
“Laf” he sighed, relief evident in his voice, when he recognized the Frenchman. “We need help, John is badly hurt.” Lafayette didn’t respond. He didn’t even seem to notice Alexander, as he walked past him to kneel on the other side of John’s body.
John’s condition was getting even worse. He could no longer keep his eyes open and soft, almost inaudible whimpers where leaving his lips constantly. He must have sensed Lafayette’s presence, because he turned his head towards the Frenchman, whispering his name before breaking into coughing fit. Lafayette shushed him, his hand stroking down John’s forehead to his cheek. After a minute John’s cough had finally subsided and he calmed down. Lafayette sighed, his thumb still caressing John’s cheek, before looking at Alex for the first time since he’d arrived here.
“He will be alright, mon ami. His wounds are already closing”
Alexander looked at him dumbfounded. “Laf, have you seen how badly he’s hurt? He needs a doctor immediately. We need to take him…” he was silenced by Lafayette’s index finger pressed to his lips.
“Alex, he will be alright” he repeated, looking him straight in the eye. There was something reassuring in Lafayette’s gaze, his brown eyes full of determination, but at the same time soft and caring, willing Alexander to believe him. “I’ll explain everything later, for now I just need you to trust me. Can you do that?” Alexander nodded his head slowly, eyes not leaving the Frenchmen.
Lafayette turned back to John, rising his upper body and lying it down on his lap. John moaned in discomfort at too much movement, but Lafayette only shushed him again and cradled his head in one hand. John was now in half-sitting position.
“What are you doing?” Alex asked. He didn’t like the thought of causing John even more pain and this manhandling certainly couldn’t be good for their friend’s injuries.
“I’m going to give him more of my blood, so he can heal faster.” Lafayette responded, looking back at him, dead serious. Alexander could feel his mouth opening in shock.
“What?!”
“Fais-moi confiance.”
Trusting Lafayette, that was something Alexander agreed to just a moment ago without hesitation, now it seemed like a terrible idea. Logically, what Lafayette was saying was insane, but there was small voice inside Alexander’s brain which was telling him that his friend knew what he was doing, that he wouldn’t hurt him or John. He was staring, stunned into silence, as the Frenchman bit into his wrist till he broke the skin.
The smell of blood hit Alexander’s nostrils and suddenly he realized how hungry he was. All of his senses focusing at once on few small droplets that were already falling down Lafayette’s wrist. Before he knew what he was doing, he was reaching across John’s body, trying to get a taste. It turned out that Lafayette had already anticipated this move. Alex didn’t even had a chance to get close to his wrist, before Lafayette’s other hand shot out to his chest and stopped him. Alexander wanted to struggle, to get closer no matter what, but then he saw dangerous glint in his friend’s eyes and froze. All of his senses were telling him to fight against Lafayette, the smell of his blood so sweet and inviting. But those eyes were staring down at him, willing him to obey, to accept Lafayette’s authority. Alexander was never the one to back away from a fight, but he didn’t want to fight the Frenchman. He sighed, his whole body relaxing, and sat back on the ground, Lafayette’s hand still on his torso.
“Très bien” the Frenchman said, voice low. Why did he feel such an exhilaration from a simple praise? “John first, than you.”
Alexander watched fascinated as Lafayette turned back to John, and placed his still bleeding wrist between his parted lips. John, who was barely conscious through their exchange, suddenly came to life. His hand rised up to grab Lafayette’s wrist and pull it closer to his mouth. He was sinking his teeth into the flesh and drinking greedily. Alexander could see John’s wounds closing rapidly, bruises fading.
“That’s enough, John” he heard Lafayette saying after a while, tone commanding, but it only made John grip his arm even tighter. “Enough” he repeated, pushing John’s head away from his wrist, and gently laying him back on the ground. “Sleep, you need to get your strength back.”
He didn’t even need to say that, John’s eyes were already closed. He still looked pale, but all of his injuries were gone, and he finally looked peaceful. Except, that he wasn’t breathing.
“Laf, he isn’t breathing” Alexander could feel panic rising back in him.
“He doesn’t need to breath anymore” said Lafayette casually. He was now licking at the drying blood and wound on his wrist and Alexander was trying really hard to focus on the matter at hand. “You don’t need to breath, either” he added, glancing up at him.
Alex frowned, still not understanding what was going on. From the moment he woke up everything seemed so surreal. He could feel and see much more than ever before, his head was hurting from constant sensory overload. And the hunger inside him was growing stronger with every minute.
Lafayette sighed and stood up, offering his hand to him. “Come on, mon lion , I’m afraid I was neglecting you, but I needed to take care of John first. You must be starving by now.”
Alex hesitated, looking down at John’s motionless body, lying on the ground.
“He won’t be awake for at least another hour.”
Alexander nodded and took offered hand, standing up and immediately hissed at the pain in his legs.
“Je suis désolé. I didn’t give you enough blood before, that’s why you’re still in pain.” Lafayette pointed at the patch of fresh grass nearby. “Let’s sit down.”
“Can you tell me what’s going on?” Alexander asked as he sat, he’s legs stretched in front of him.
“Drink first” said Lafayette, offering him the same wrist, he’d offered John earlier. There was no trace of the wound form before. Alexander was staring at it, mesmerized by the sight of thin, blue veins running underneath the skin. “You have to bite into it” The Frenchman added, small smile playing on his lips.
Alex didn’t hesitate, his hands grabbing Lafayette’s forearm and bringing it closer to his face. Biting through the skin was surprisingly easy, his teeth feeling sharp like razors. And then he felt blood rushing into his mouth and he couldn’t think of anything else. Only thing existing for him was the sweet, intoxicating taste of liquid filling his mouth and running down his throat. He moaned as he felt warm pleasure spreading through his body, healing all his aches.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, when, through the haze, he heard Lafayette’s voice calling his name, telling him to stop. He didn’t want to, the blood was too good, he wanted more, but the voice was so insistent, telling him to stop over and over again, slowly bringing him back to himself. He groaned miserably, before pulling away to lick stray droplets running down Lafayette’s forearm and then let go of his hand.
“Bon garçon” Lafayette praised him again and Alexander was once more overwhelmed by the warm feeling in his chest that Lafayette’s approval gave him. That was definitely something new, probably connected to the whole drinking blood thing.
“Why do you keep saying this?” he inquired, willing the blush on his cheeks to go away and keeping his gaze down, on his friend’s wrist. The wound was slowly closing right before his eyes.
“Because praising you is the easiest way to control you” and as if sensing Alexander’s indignation he added “At least in the beginning, when your bloodlust is the strongest, you need to be controlled.”
“I don’t like being controlled” Alexander met Lafayette’s gaze, trying to keep anger that was slowly rising inside of him at bay. Something like regret appeared in his friend’s eyes for a moment, before he sighed, running one hand through his black, curly hair.
" Je le sais , Alexander. Believe me, I didn’t want this to happen, but you were dying!” Alexander’s eyes widened in surprise. “You don’t remember any of this, do you?” Alex shook his head silently, still trying to process this information. Lafayette grabbed his hand between his own two, before continuing. “There was a battle, we were fighting together. One minute you were there fighting alongside me and the next you were laying on the ground with bullets in your chest. I wasn’t prepared for this, Alex” he could see bloody tears gathering in the Frenchman’s eyes. “I didn’t want to lose you” Lafayette added quietly, before clenching his jaw and rising his voice again. “So I dragged you out of there and fed you my blood.”
“What about John?”
“J’ai entendu son cri” he said, choking on the last word. It was terrible, seeing him struggling like that. Alex didn’t know what to do to help. He opted for putting his other hand, the one that wasn’t currently held hostage by the Frenchman, on the small of his back and running small, soothing circles with his thumb. It seemed to help, because Lafayette soon started again. “I… we… have very sensitive hearing. I’m usually tuning everything out as much as I can, but after I saw what happened to you” he paused and squeezed Alexander’s hand even tighter “I was listening for him, merci mon Dieu. When he screamed I run to him and brought him here. He was in even worst shape then you were and I was almost drained from giving my blood to you. So I gave him only a little, just enough to change him and keep him alive, and went for a hunt.” He hung his head. “It must have been awful to wake up all alone. Je suis navré.”
Alexander felt his chest tightening in response to grief in Lafayette’s voice. It was almost like he could feel his emotions, pain mixed with heartache from seeing his friends die, relief that they were still alive, fear that they won’t accept this, that they won’t accept him. He moved closer and hugged Lafayette’s back with one hand.
“You don’t have to apologize” he assured “You saved me and John.”
“You don’t understand, Alex. I promised myself I’d never change anyone.”
“So why did you do it?”
“Because I couldn’t stand a thought of letting my friends die, not when I could help it.” Lafayette sounded angry with himself. Alexander rushed to calm him down.
“It’s alright, I’m not mad at you. John won’t be either.”
Lafayette shook his head, strands of his hair flying loose from the ponytail. “Maybe not today, but ten years from now, twenty, once everyone around you will start to grow old and you won’t, you’ll hate me than. Vous serez détèste moi .”
They both fell silent. Alexr was trying to process this new piece of information. Some part of him, deep down inside, already knew that he was immortal now, but actually hearing it was entirely different. Hi thoughts were interrupted when Lafayette began to speak again, his voice once again calm and steady.
“Vampires” he answered the unasked question. “That’s what my maker called us. We drink blood, we don’t eat and we are immortal.”
“We can’t be killed?”
“We can, but only by fire and it’s still pretty difficult.” Lafayette turned his head towards Alexander, looking him up and down. “How are you feeling?”
“Different? Weird? It’s hard to describe.” It really was, even for a person who was as good with words as he was. So many sensations were hitting him all at once. His body didn’t change, but he felt like he was experiencing it for the first time. The annoying pain in his head was still there, still throbbing lightly underneath his skull, caused by different noises attacking him from every direction. He sighed. “Everything is too loud.”
Lafayette looked at him, considering. He let go of his hand and turned in Alexander’s half-hug to face him, then put his fingers on Alex’s temples and started massaging gently. His hands were pleasantly cold on Alexander’s warmed from all the blood he’d drunk skin.
“Close your eyes and focus on my voice” he said, his voice low, almost like a whisper. “All this noise in your head will drive you insane, if you don’t learn how to mute it” he continued when Alexander complied. “Are you focusing on my voice?” Alexander nodded. “Bien”
A s hiver run down his spine and he lost all the focus. “Please stop it.”
“Stop what?” Lafayette’s tone was amused. Alexander opened his eyes and glared at his friend.
“Whatever you’re doing with your voice.”
“It’s called compliment, mon petit. You don’t have those in America?” he asked, feigning sympathy.
Before Alexander could open his mouth to tell him, what he thought about certain Frenchmen pretending they don’t know what he’s talking about, he was shushed and told to close his eyes and focus once again. He growled in annoyance, but did as he was told.
“Now try to listen only to my voice, ignore all the background noise.” As Lafayette kept talking Alex could hear him much more clearly with every passing moment. Everything was fading until all he could hear was his friend’s voice, guiding him, instructing how to silence the noises. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but he felt much calmer and his head finally stopped hurting.
“I think it’s working” he whispered, not wanting to disturb the quiet. Lafayette hummed in agreement, his fingers slowly stilling on Alexander’s temples.
“Open your eyes” he instructed. “Not too fast, let them get used to the light.”
Alex opened his eyes and saw Lafayette looking at him intensely.
“Much better” he murmured, savoring the silence around him. Lafayette smiled softly.
“It’ll take some practice, but soon you’ll be able to mute the unnecessary noises and focus on what you want to hear.” His hands left Alexander’s temples and rested on his own knees. He opened his mouth to add something else when suddenly he froze, head tilting to the side, listening carefully.
“John is awake”