Archive of Our Own

For over half an hour, Abolish had been staring out the window at the forest outside of the Thornvale Manor - which somehow hadn't been cut down even after over a hundred years of them living there. It was strange that something so impermanent as nature, so easily destroyed by a careless drop of a match, had survived while most of the town hadn't. The only things left from his childhood were his own home and the rees that surrounded it to block out any suspicious eyes.

A sharp sigh left him as he finally pushed himself up from his chair. He tore his gaze away from the window, digging his fingers into the wooden desk for a split second before he turned and headed out of his room. He needed to get out of the house before he spiraled any further.

A strange feeling had lingered in the back of Abolish's mind for the past week. It was like someone was watching him, raising the hairs on the back of his neck, and a slight shiver went down his spine every time he turned a corner.

A servant glanced up at him and nodded with a soft good afternoon, sir, and he mustered a small smile back. Everything around him was perfectly fine. He pushed open the door, cringing internally at just how much effort it took to move his limbs. Why couldn't he just relax when nothing was even happening?

His boots crunched the fallen leaves from the old, towering trees in the manor's front lawn. He stopped for a moment to stare at them; most of the leaves had fallen by now, and the leaves that were left were shades of orange and brown and yellow. He shivered as he dragged his gaze away from the trees that'd been so much smaller when he'd first moved in with Morcant.

It was the same time of year he'd left for Oakhurst.

Even if that'd happened so long ago - over a hundred years now, he kept reminding himself as if he could logic his way out of his emotions - he still felt off every single year around the same time.

At first, he'd thought that this was the same feeling, but it'd only gotten worse and worse until now. It was different. Heavier, sharper, like someone was digging a knife into his chest. He just wished he knew why.

The breeze ruffled his hair, half-white for several decades now, as he headed down the flower-lined path toward the road. Walking along the sidewalk, he kept his eyes ahead of him, doing his best not to stay on too high alert.

If he glanced around and tensed too much, people started to notice. Even if no one could ever explain why they felt uneasy around him, they always did, and he'd figured out a long time ago that he just needed to relax and people felt perfectly comfortable. Keep suspicion off of himself. It'd been easy back in Oakhurst, and it should've been even easier now that he had far more experience.

The only issue was that it was very difficult to calm himself whenever he felt every emotion at once all building up in his chest. He tried to swallow down his feelings, taking a deep breath of cool autumn air. It was like dousing a forest fire with a single bucket of water. His eyes flicked around the neighborhood, quiet and full of houses far too expansive and old for any normal human to live in.

Maybe he just needed to head downtown. Distract himself with all the people in the city - people who wouldn't spare him a single glance, too busy going about their own lives.

Blackwyn used to be a large, fancy town. It was a town for nobility; Morcant's manor had been far away from the main part of town, a huge property just like the other mansions there. Slowly but surely, more houses had been built, and now he could stare right at his neighbors just from the front lawn. Abolish didn't think he'd ever get used to it. At least the backyard was still fenced off.

As if he'd been struck by lightning, Abolish felt a sharp pain in his chest that stopped him dead in his tracks. He'd just exited the neighborhood, standing at the intersection, and the panic that flooded him would've ended up with him doubling over and gasping if he were even slightly less trained.

Instead, he took a deep, slow breath, turning around for a few long moments until he felt what seemed to almost be a tug in his chest. He was dragged forward, phantom fingers lacing through his ribs and pulling him along.

It only hit him after he'd started to walk that the pain was the exact same sensation he'd gotten whenever his sire had died. Agonizing and burning, pouring acid down his throat and filling his chest. The pain still made him want to vomit, even though Legundo had been dead for a very long time and the feeling probably wasn't related to him at all. It couldn't be.

And yet the sensation felt gentler somehow, although he supposed that wasn't quite the right word. Kinder, maybe. As if instead of having part of his heart torn out, someone had shoved the piece back in, albeit carelessly.

He shoved his hands in his pockets as they started to tremble. Like he had so many times since Oakhurst, he wished none of this had ever happened and he could just be normal.

Whenever his panic had eased up a bit, he realized that he had no idea where he'd been going. He still felt the gentle tug in his chest, which he continued to follow, although he slowed his steps to take a look at his surroundings.

He'd somehow found his way into one of the many small shopping areas right outside of the downtown area, with several run-down buildings that had weathered signs displaying names he didn't recognize. He continued along the sidewalk past a pizza place that he was pretty sure hadn't been there last time he'd been in the area, although it'd been long enough since then that he didn't quite trust his memory.

The pull in his chest led him further and further away from the places he usually frequented, his chest tightening for a completely different reason now. It felt like something was going to happen. There had to be some reason he was being dragged out here - a reason he was beginning to have suspicions about, as much as he really didn't want to believe his own intuition.

And then the feeling was gone as if it were never there. He stopped so quickly that he nearly tripped, heels digging into concrete. His head whipped around, his blood running cold like someone had dumped water over his head.

The wind ruffled his hair again, gentle and oddly reassuring, guiding him back to reality. He took a deep breath and smelled several different kinds of food, his gaze flicking over to a couple food trucks that were parked not too far away, before he finally gave in and looked over at the building he'd stopped in front of.

Oh.

His knees went weak as he read the name of the business, brightly colored white and forest green, not nearly as weathered as the signs for other buildings around it. Doctor Legundo's Clinic.

That at least explained the feeling in his chest earlier, although it raised about a million other questions. About half of those questions were about whether or not he was dreaming.

He swallowed hard, eyes falling to the lit up sign on the door that read open. If his instincts or whatever this was were trying to get him to go in there, that was absolutely not going to happen.

It'd been over a hundred years since Oakhurst and he'd told Morcant over and over that he'd moved on from all of this. Morcant had never quite believed him, but the point still stood. He'd assured everyone in the organization that he hadn't become attached to anyone there, because he couldn't get attached to anyone. It wasn't just that it was against the rules, but it simply wasn't something he did, and even if he'd come all this way and his entire body was screaming at him, he couldn't go in there.

His legs nearly gave out from under him as he walked toward the door. It was glass, freshly cleaned. He tilted his head slightly to peer around the neon sign.

His eyes immediately fell on the person he'd never expected to see again. Legundo was standing behind the counter talking to someone Abolish didn't recognize, his faintly scarred forearms resting on the counter. His sleeves were rolled up, although he wasn't wearing his doctor's robes anymore, instead replaced with simple gray sweater. More hygienic. The thought was out of place enough among the wildfire in his head that it was almost enough to make him laugh aloud.

There was still a scar across his face, which Abolish questioned if the origin of it was different from the one he used to have. His hair was buzzed short the same way it always had been, gold-rimmed glasses reminiscent of the monocle he used to wear. Although he looked at least a decade younger, he still looked a good few years older than Abolish, which made his stomach flutter in a way it hadn't in a very long time.

His hand found the door handle and pushed it open, his heart skipping a beat when the bell above the door dinged quietly. Legundo's ever so warm green eyes flicked up to him, calling out, "Good afternoon."

Abolish let the door close behind him, glancing around the room. There wasn't anyone sitting in any of the chairs. When he looked back over at the counter, he noticed that the one other person there had the distinctive slightly pointed ears that even the least powerful vampires had.

So that was what kind of clinic this was. It was a relief that Legs believed in vampires this time, at least. He didn't know if he could go through all of that again.

Abolish wandered over to a chair and sat down. The dark red cushion gave easily under him, much softer than he'd expected, and he sank into it whenever he leaned back. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and folded them in his lap, brushing one of his thumbs across the other.

He tried to catch whatever Legs was talking about, but the conversation seemed to just now be ending. The vampire signed some form and then waved goodbye to Legundo, before turning to look at Abolish more fully. Abolish's heart jumped whenever the vampire's eyes went a bit wide.

"Are you-" They fell silent with a quick glance back at Legs. Clearing their throat, they managed, "Nevermind."

With that, they were hurrying out the door, and Abolish felt like he was going to throw up. The last thing he wanted was for someone to recognize who he was, much less someone who was clearly aware of who his sire was. He hadn't been aware that anyone outside of Morcant knew who Legundo was. What a horrible time to find that out.

Legs looked confused for a few seconds before looking over at him, and his heart dropped into his stomach.

"Do you know them?" he asked, and Abolish could only meet his eyes for a second before his gaze fell to his lap again.

"Uh, no." He squeezed his hands together. "I'm a bit, uh… Well known. Among vampires."

Legundo raised his eyebrow slightly out of the corner of Abolish's eye. "I see. Did you need help with anything?"

"I…" Abolish slowly sat up properly, reaching up to very casually run a hand through his hair, although he still couldn't look Legundo in the eyes no matter how much he kept telling himself to. "I don't think so, really. I just wanted to… take a look around."

Silence hung in the air between them, making Abolish's skin crawl. He really felt like he was going to throw up now. He rested his hand on the back of his neck, pushing himself to his feet and feeling his legs tremble even more.

He knew this was an awful idea going into it. If only he hadn't gotten possessed by his instincts, or whatever in the world had happened back there. He couldn't be allowing things like this to happen. He was the best vampire hunter in the entire organization, for God's sake.

And the organization would want him to leave right then. They wouldn't have wanted him in here in the first place, but they surely wouldn't want him sticking around. His fingers tugged on the curls resting against the back of his neck, trying to drag himself out of his head again.

"You seem really familiar," Legundo said suddenly, right once Abolish had already turned toward the door. He froze, all of his thoughts leaving his head as his vision unfocused, nails digging into his skin. "Have we met before?"

Abolish took a deep breath. His heart was racing, filling his ears with the sound of his own blood rushing through his veins. "I… Sort of. I think."

"Sort of?"

Legundo's voice was full of confusion, although there wasn't anything accusatory in it. There never was. He only ever wanted to help, even if he'd never done it right and everything he'd done left a bitter, regret-filled taste in Abolish's mouth, memories of his death replaying over and over.

Abolish squeezed his eyes shut. Pressure built up at the back of his throat, making it difficult to speak, but he definitely couldn't leave now. He lost his chance to slip away unnoticed, and now there wasn't a way for him to back out of this conversation without the only person he'd ever felt anything like this for thinking he was crazy.

As if explaining any of this would make him seem less crazy.

He slowly turned back to Legundo, blinking open his eyes again. His sire - did Legs still count as his sire? - was leaning against the counter slightly, staring at him with his brow furrowed in thought. Abolish let his arm fall to his side again, counting the seconds to five before he finally forced himself to speak.

"This is going to sound crazy," he said slowly, "but, uh- Over a hundred years ago, um… About a hundred and forty now, I was still human, and I was sent to this town called Oakhurst. When I was there, I-"

"Oakhurst," Legs interrupted, his forehead creasing more. Abolish's stomach lurched at the sound of that coming from Legundo's mouth all over again. "I… I think I've heard of that town. I'm not sure, it's- The name is familiar, at least." His head tilted to the side slightly. "The same way you're familiar."

"Yeah," Abolish breathed, feeling his pulse jump again. He took a couple seconds to calm himself down, before continuing, "When I was in Oakhurst, the only way to leave was if I was turned and then cured, and… the cure back then, it required, uh- The death of the sire. So…"

Legundo's eyes went slightly wide. "Oh. I'm so sorry about that. That sounds… difficult."

Abolish wondered if Legundo remembered the feeling. His own sire had died as well. Had he felt Owen's death the same way, or had the turning been so different from Abolish's that he experienced it differently? Abolish had never had the strength to look into it.

"It was," was the only thing Abolish could force out, his voice catching against the sob in his throat.

Abolish averted his gaze to the tile floors. He studied the pattern, losing himself in the faint gold swirls etched into the pristine white floor. An image flickered behind his eyes, one of kneeling in this same spot years in the future, regretting how light the tile was as he tried to scrub deep red blood off of it. It was gone as soon as it came and left him shaking.

"And this-" he managed, trying to shove all his distracting, distasteful thoughts out of his head. "This is the part that's going to sound insane, but… you were my.. sire. I don't know if you just… reincarnated, or what happened, but I've had this.. feeling, this ache in my chest all week and then something led me here, I didn't… I didn't even know this place existed, and you were.. here, and I… don't know."

He forced himself to shut up. There was no amount of explaining that could make any of that sound logical, as truthful as it was. He shut his eyes tight as he felt the pressure against the back of his throat worsen. He hadn't cried for as long as he could remember; he certainly didn't want it to happen for the first time in years when he was out in public, definitely not while he was standing in front of someone who probably thought he was crazy.

"Your name. Abolish." Abolish's eyes snapped open again. "Did you tell me your name?"

His eyes rested on Legundo's face, although his vision refused to focus, his knees locking in place to keep himself from collapsing. Legundo remembered him. He remembered him. Somehow, impossibly, this was the same Legundo he knew over a century ago.

Abolish took a deep breath, praying his voice wouldn't sound too bad. "No. I don't… think I did."

He felt distantly embarrassed when his voice wavered. Legundo didn't comment on it, leaning back to stand up properly as he met Abolish's eyes, staring right into him and making his knees feel even weaker. "I guess that explains why you… seem so familiar. Weirder things have happened to me."

Legs gave a quiet laugh, and Abolish felt some of the tension melt out of him, although with it went the last of his willpower keeping him from crying. He hardly had time to bring his hands to his face before tears were beginning to slip down his cheeks, inhaling sharply as he fruitlessly tried to wipe them away.

There was a hand on his shoulder in seconds, Legundo suddenly standing in front of him. "Hey, hey- Look at me. You're alright."

Legundo's other hand settled on his cheek. His heart pounded emptily in his chest, barely able to lift his head enough to look at the man standing in front of him. "Sorry, I-"

"Don't apologize. You're fine, Abolish." A calloused thumb brushed across his cheekbone, swiping away some of his tears, only dragging out another pathetic sob. "How about we go somewhere… less public? So no one sees you like this."

Abolish could only manage a small nod in response. A shaky sigh of relief slipped past his lips as Legundo's arm wrapped around his shoulders, tucking him against his chest as they headed out of the front room and down one of the hallways. Soon enough, a door was pushed open for him, and Legs was guiding him to sit down in a chair just as comfortable as the ones in the other room.

"There we are."

A hand ran through his hair, his head still tucked against Legundo's chest. Nails scratched at his head and eased a bit of the ache in his chest. Legundo's fingers were calloused, his hands lightly scarred from however many long years he'd lived. They tangled in his dark curls and brushed through them, working out all the knots Abolish had unintentionally let build up for the past few days, until his sire's hand slid smoothly through his hair.

It took a while - he wasn't sure exactly how long, but it wasn't nearly long enough in his opinion, wishing he could stay curled up in the quietness of the room forever - for Legs to speak up again.

"I… I've been feeling strange all week as well." Legundo's cheek rested against the top of his head. "It's hard to explain. It's- It's sort of like I was… born wrong, at least that's what I thought. As… dumb as that sounds." A weak half-laugh ruffled his hair. "Because I've always felt this hollow feeling that I didn't know how to fix, and I stopped trying to ask for help since nothing ever worked, but…"

Legundo trailed off for a few moments. Abolish sniffled a bit, managing to swallow down a sob and keep any more tears from leaving his eyes. He kept his eyes closed, pressing his face into Legundo's neck.

"You being here helps," Legs murmured at least, and Abolish's heart lodged in his throat when he felt a gentle kiss press into his curls. "I had a feeling I wanted to come here for a reason."

Abolish took a deep breath, fighting down another sob. He'd cried enough. He would certainly die of embarrassment later if he continued acting so pathetic in front of Legundo, so instead he murmured, "When I… met you, uh, for the first time, in Oakhurst, you- You didn't believe in vampires, or the supernatural, anything like that. I'm… glad you do, this time. It- It was a little frustrating, at first."

He forced out a short laugh, feeling his sire smile into his hair. "I can imagine. I didn't use to believe in vampires, uh- But I've seen a lot of things in the past few years."

"Yeah…?" Abolish slowly lifted his head, rubbing the last tears out of his eyes before blinking them open. Legundo leaned back slightly, staring down at him with an expression Abolish could only describe as soft. "I've- I've been through a lot since Oakhurst as well. It's been… a while."

"Over a hundred years is what you said earlier, right?" Abolish hummed in affirmation, the soft noise easier than trying to force out any words, one of Legundo's hands running through his hair again. "After work, how about you come over to my house and we can… catch up?"

Abolish nodded slowly, feeling butterflies flutter to life in his stomach; a light, floaty feeling spread through his chest, one he hadn't experienced since Oakhurst, sending warmth flooding up to his face. He hoped it wasn't enough to be visible. "Yeah, I'm… I'm free anytime."

Legundo's hand rested against the nape of his neck for a moment, calloused thumb brushing against the place where his curls touched his skin. He was still just as warm as Abolish remembered, and the soft touch made Abolish want to start sobbing all over again. He blinked more tears out of his eyes as Legundo responded.

"Perfect." The hand slid away from his neck to pat his shoulder a couple times. "Meet me here tonight at five, alright? I'm assuming you're… not a vampire, since I can feel your heartbeat?"

Legundo's thumb shifted to where his pulse was strongest, pressing just enough to send his head spinning. "No, uh- A half-vampire." He uncurled his legs and let his boots touch the floor again. "I can eat regular food and all, or I can drink blood, just… whatever, really."

"Which would you prefer?" Abolish's gaze flicked up to Legundo's face again, suddenly very aware of just how close they were. There was that same warmth in his eyes that had been there all the way back in Oakhurst, head tilted a little to the side, his glasses catching the overhead light just barely and making them look like they were glowing.

"Uh." Abolish blinked. He didn't think anyone had ever asked him that, although he rarely drank blood or ate raw meat anyways, so he told himself that it'd didn't matter all too much. "I… don't really care? I mean, I usually eat regular food, but that's just because most people don't keep blood in their houses."

Legundo tilted his head a bit more, then straightened up properly, letting go of him. "Well, I have whatever you want at home. I'll get you something tonight."

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that." Abolish pushed himself up, relief washing over him when his legs didn't shake. "I can eat before I come over, I don't usually eat much anyways…"

"I'm offering you a gift, Abolish," Legs said with a laugh, like it was the easiest thing in the world to say.

Abolish's small fangs dug into his lip for a second. They were still so close, and Abolish didn't dare look at his sire's face. The room felt all too small now, trying to push the two of them together - but at the same time, the last thing he wanted to do was leave.

"I mean, if you want to…" One of Legundo's hands rested on his lower back, leading him to the door again.

"I do." Abolish reached up and made sure his face was completely dry before he stepped out into the hallway. "I'll see you tonight, then?"

Abolish let his arms drop to his sides, stuffing his hands in his pockets again. "Yeah. I'll… see you tonight."

Clouds were starting to collect in the sky by the time Abolish arrived at the clinic, darkening overhead. His steps were slow and careful as he made his way up to the door. It was still fifteen minutes before Legs had asked him to come, but he was pretty sure he'd die of anxiety if he stayed home any longer.

He pushed open the door slowly, cringing a bit whenever the bell announced his presence. Legs wasn't at the counter, although he could distantly hear voices in one of the other rooms, so he walked over to one of the chairs and sat down.

He stared at the simple black and white clock up on the wall, which seemed to be moving impossibly slowly, seconds ticking by like hours. He could hear the second hand move faintly, with the lack of noise in the room. About a minute passed before he finally looked away.

He folded his hands in his lap, resting his elbows on his knees, occasionally glancing over at the door or looking around the room as if that'd make Legs magically appear. His heart was still racing, stomach twisted up into all sorts of knots. Maybe he should've waited a few more minutes.

Then the door to the hallway opened and two people stepped out. Abolish almost didn't register the other person, zeroing in on Legs completely. He sat up a bit too fast as Legundo walked back behind the counter, giving him a smile before looking back at his patient.

Abolish let out a slow breath, his shoulders sagging. He leaned back into the cushion once again and watched Legundo's patient sign a couple papers, talking with Legs about medical stuff Abolish honestly couldn't care less about.

The relief only lasted a couple seconds before his chest was tightening again because he'd have to actually talk to Legundo soon. He wasn't sure which option was worse - talking to Legs or not talking to him. Especially after so long, he wasn't sure exactly how to talk to him.

His eyes fell on the floor again. Running his thumb across the end of his sleeve, he tried in vain to calm his nerves. It really shouldn't be so hard, especially when Legs seemed as relaxed as ever, but here he was losing his mind over a simple conversation.

"Abolish?" Abolish's gaze snapped into focus at the sound of his own name, glancing up to see the patient already heading out the door. "You're a bit early. I apologize if I kept you waiting."

"No, no, you're alright." Abolish sat up straight, meeting his sire's eyes. There was a soft smile on his face, although it didn't quite reach his eyes, making Abolish's stomach twist. "Sorry if I, uh, showed up too soon."

"No, you're fine, Abolish. I'm just a bit tired." Legs stepped out from behind the counter, walking over to him. "I'm honestly grateful. You're a… welcome distraction."

His heart jumped a bit at the way Legs said that, with a look in his eyes that made Abolish's face feel just as warm as when they'd talked to each other earlier. "I'm glad."

He was grateful that his voice didn't shake too much, quickly standing up and running a hand through his hair. Legs glanced him up and down, eyeing the clothes he'd changed into; it really wasn't much, just a normal hoodie and jeans, but for some reason Legs was staring at him like he was wearing the most incredible outfit in the world. He'd fallen into the habit of wearing baggy clothes when he was younger, and that was still the most comfortable even now that his chest was flat.

"We can leave a few minutes early," Legs said after a moment, slowly pulling his gaze away from Abolish and looking over at the clock. A few minutes til five. "I'm sure no one will mind."

Abolish didn't protest, although his chest was still awfully tight. At least he'd been getting a meal out of it, even if he didn't think he could stomach anything at the moment with the way his stomach was twisted up. He silently rested his hand on the back of his neck and followed Legs to the door.

"How has your day been, Abolish?" Legs asked as Abolish's hands dropped to his sides again, Legs holding the door open for him. Abolish shoved his hands in his pockets, following Legs to the silver car parked ouside the building, which looked about as clean and tidy as Abolish would've expected.

"It's been… alright." He climbed into the passenger's seat, watching as Legs got into the car as well, leaning a bit against the door even though something deep in his chest ached to get closer. "I- It's been a lot, honestly. Definitely not the worst day I've ever had, but… overwhelming, I guess."

"I can imagine." Legundo turned on the car, and Abolish rested the side of his head against the window, dark hair obscuring some of his vision. "It's been a lot for me as well. What exactly did it… feel like? You said you felt like you were being pulled over here."

Abolish watched the cars go by for only a moment before he closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. "I don't know how to explain it. It just… ached, for so long, and then it started getting worse, especially since I… I thought it'd gone away, honestly. I didn't think about it much. And then it felt like…"

He trailed off, feeling the annoying pressure in the back of his throat again. He took a deep breath, pushing down the emotions bubbling up, forcing his eyes open again. Pulling himself back from the window, he sat up properly and folded his hands together in his lap.

"It started whenever I felt this… pain, in my chest. Like- It was the same feeling I got when, uh, you'd died. In Oakhurst." The words felt awkward in his mouth, but Legundo simply nodded.

"And then…?"

Abolish stared out at the road ahead of them. Legs turned smoothly around a corner, far gentler than when Morcant drove, and it eased a little of Abolish's worries. He wasn't all too surprised that Legs was a good driver - the man was almost always as careful as possible, although Abolish did worry slightly about just how quickly he might get upset. He'd certainly had anger issues back in Oakhurst.

He realized he hadn't ever really thought about what Legs would be like in the modern world; it wasn't like he'd ever expected that to be possible. Digging his fingers into his hands, he did his best to keep speaking, half-dragging the words out of himself.

"It's like someone just… grabbed onto my, uh, my heart, and started pulling me, but it- It was… gentle, kind of nice?" He felt heat slowly crawl up his neck. That sounded awfully romantic, didn't it? "And uh- Whenever I got to your clinic, it… disappeared, I don't know. It's gone now."

One of his hands slid up to grab onto a hoodie string, brushing his thumb against the worn fabric, faded to a dark gray now after owning it for who knew how long. He slowed his breathing to calm his heartbeat down to normal. It didn't work all too well, but for maybe a minute he felt slightly less panicked.

Legundo was silent for a while, past several stoplights and turns, to the point where Abolish wondered if he'd speak again before they got to his house. He wasn't sure if he wanted Legs to speak more or not. On one hand, he knew that Legs was probably going to ask a lot of questions about what he'd been doing for the past century, and he was definitely going to be questioned about Oakhurst. It wouldn't be the easiest conversation, and Abolish was already dreading it.

But on the other hand, there was something comforting in the sound of his voice. It was grounding, tethering him to reality in a way he hadn't felt for as long as he could remember, even before Oakhurst. He hadn't even noticed the feeling until it was gone, the static that hung over everything like a thin layer of fog.

His gaze slowly slid over to his sire, swallowing down the million different questions he wanted to ask as his eyes traced along the jagged scar across Legundo's face.

Finally, Legs said, "Well, I hope it doesn't come back. I don't want you to be in any pain. "He glanced over at Abolish, meeting his eyes for a moment before quickly looking away again, and Abolish swore he could see a hint of red dusted across his cheeks. "I haven't really felt anything like that, exactly. Nothing as intense."

Legs pulled into the driveway of what Abolish assumed was his house; it was a simple one story, plainly colored building that certainly didn't draw as many eyes as Abolish's own home. It honestly wasn't much bigger than the little clinic Legs had built in Oakhurst. Something about it sent warmth through his chest again.

"There's always been this… emptiness, though." Legs parked the car, quickly getting out. "Although that's… gone now, mostly. I honestly didn't even notice at first because I'm so used to it, but whenever I looked at you, it was just… gone."

Abolish unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed open the door, finding Legs already right there to meet him, smiling down at him. The warmth spread to his face and he tilted his head toward the ground, staring at the beat-up combat boots he always wore. They were so out of place here.

Legundo's hand rested on his back, leading him up to the front door. His eyes caught the flowers in the garden; dying but still colorful petals, fading quickly as winter approached. "I'm… glad."

"Would you like something to eat, Abolish?" Legundo held the door open for him, and he swallowed hard. His stomach still felt awfully twisted up.

"Not… not right now." He stepped through, then hesitated in the doorway. His eyes met Legundo's and he gave him a small smile, pushing his glasses up a bit higher on his nose, calming Abolish just slightly.

"Something to drink, maybe?" Legundo gestured toward the living room, at the dark brown couch. Abolish walked over slowly, the hardwood floors underneath his boots feeling a bit strange, but he managed to sit down without looking too out of it.

"That'd be great, yeah." He rested his elbow on the arm of the couch. Legundo walked past him toward the kitchen, which was just past the living room and didn't look all too fancy.

"What would you like?" Legundo turned back to look at him, standing in the doorway. "We have water, tea, milk…"

"Tea would be nice." Abolish shifted a bit and leaned back against the cushion. The couch gave easily, a bit too big to really comfortably lean back in, although it was nice to lay down like this.

"Is raspberry tea fine?" Abolish hummed in affirmation, letting his gaze drop to his lap. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Legundo turn away and open up a cabinet, and eventually Abolish leaned his head against the back of the couch with a soft sigh.

Tracing his hand against the leather, he could feel plenty of scratches and indentions. One of his slightly sharp nails caught a small tear, and he ran the pad of his finger across it, lifting his gaze from his lap to look over at it. Plenty of vampires lived in this town, and Abolish wondered if this couch used to belong to one of them.

Legundo had said earlier that something had drawn him to this town, and Abolish could only question if it felt the same for him. Had he felt the same ache in his chest that had drawn Abolish to him? He hadn't done any research on the bond between sires and fledglings, since the mere thought of Legs had always made him feel sick with grief, and he had no clue whether or not it worked the same in both directions.

He pressed his thumb into the tear, careful not to make it any worse. The idea of doing research sent a wave of exhaustion through him. He dug his finger into the cushion just a little more when a thought bubbled to the surface of his mind, the idea of curling up in bed with Legs and falling asleep like he'd wished he'd done in Oakhurst.

He startled slightly when he realized Legs was holding out a cup of tea, suddenly on the couch next to him. He quickly sat up and took it, murmuring, "Sorry. I was… a bit lost in thought."

"You're alright, Abolish." He could hear the smile in Legundo's voice, although his brain wouldn't let him look over at his sire. Instead, he occupied himself with gently blowing on his drink, trying to calm his heartbeat with the soothing warmth radiating off of it. "So… How exactly has everything been going for you since Oakhurst?"

Abolish inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of raspberries. "I mean, there's been… ups and downs. It's been a long time since then."

He lifted the cup to his lips and took a small sip. He'd probably tried to drink it a little too soon, because the liquid burned his tongue just slightly, but he was quickly distracted with the way his mouth filled with the taste of raspberries and honey.

"Well, I of course don't expect you to explain everything, or we would be here all night." Legs chuckled softly. The sound was just as warm and sweet as the tea. "And I don't know if you still need to sleep as a… half-vampire, but I definitely do."

Some of the anxiety in his chest eased as the tea warmed his throat, spreading through the rest of his body. A slow, inaudible sigh left him, sending little ripples across the surface of his drink.

"I do as well. Not as often, but I haven't slept in… a couple days now, so I probably should soon." Some of his hair fell in front of his eyes as he tilted his head down a bit farther, obscuring his vision with black and white. "But uh, nothing like Oakhurst has ever really happened since then. Nothing… that crazy."

Oakhurst had been the strangest mission he'd ever been on. Nothing compared to it, not all the various times vampires had tried to kill him, not even the time when some cocky younger vampire had attempted to kidnap him about fifteen years ago. Maybe it was the curse, maybe it was how long he'd spent there. Something had been different about it.

He wondered if the difference was simply that Legundo had been there, and the feelings in his chest were turning him biased. He didn't want to consider that option.

Legundo nodded slowly. "Well, that's good, at least. I don't remember much of Oakhurst, just stuff that's… showed up in my dreams a couple times, and I don't know how much of that is accurate. But I know it wasn't a great experience at all."

"Yeah." Abolish took another sip of his tea. It was a little cooler now, the warmth much more tolerable, and he swallowed it down far easier. "I honestly don't remember much of what happened anymore, it's been so long. I'm sure I could go back and find all the old paperwork I wrote up about it, but… Most of it wasn't that bad."

He paused for a few seconds, his next sentence getting lodged in the back of his throat and refusing to leave. He shouldn't say that. Not when he'd practically just met Legs, even if the two of them had known each other for a hundred years deepending on how you looked at it. His hand trembled a bit where he held his cup, and he rested his other hand beneath it to keep himself from spilling anything.

He didn't even want to think about it, really. His eyes traced over the cup, an old cream-colored ceramic one, pretty red swirls long faded into a dusty pink. Brushing a thumb across one of the larger spirals, he told himself that he had to say something. He was good at covering up his emotions. He was good at not feeling anything in the first place.

This was the most frustrating week he'd been through in a very long time. But he felt his sire's weight shift a bit beside him and the words finally tumbled past his lips.

"I think-" He swallowed hard. "I think that… the only thing different about Oakhurst was that I- I got attached to people."

A weak, quick laugh escaped him, trying to cover up the confession. "And don't tell the organization that, because I've been telling them the opposite for years, but- There are a.. couple people from there who I got… attached to. I mean, I still have to visit a few people every now and then for work, but…"

His eyes slowly slid up to look at Legundo. He was completely still and quiet, having lowered his hands to his lap to rest his own cup of tea there. He was staring at Abolish and just listening.

It was different from how he'd looked at Abolish back in Oakhurst. It wasn't different in a bad way, though. Something clicked into place in the back of Abolish's head and he relaxed slightly again, like he'd been waiting for someone to look at him like that his entire life. And then he got the sudden urge to lean in closer, continuing to speak before he could dwell on that feeling.

"Especially you," he whispered finally. "I- I know that sounds… bad. I talked to Morcant not that long after it happened, and he said that.. the feeling never really leaves, you just learn to ignore it, and I… I did. I mean, I have the occasional nightmare or bad day, but- I forgot about it, mostly. Except there was always this ache in my chest, and I just… Everything else built around this hollow feeling in my chest and now it's just gone."

He didn't realize he was about to cry until it was already too late, a tear slipping down his cheek. He blinked a few times to clear his vision, only to feel an arm wrap around his waist, Legs suddenly far closer than he was previously.

"I understand, Abolish." Abolish fumbled to set his cup of tea on the side table, before pressing himself closer to Legs, tucking his face into his sire's neck. He smelled like bandages and antiseptic and blood and every other thing he'd smelled like back in Oakhurst, and for a moment Abolish was back there tucked in his arms. "I mean, if anyone could understand, I think I'm probably one of the only people."

"Yeah."

Abolish's voice was breathless, and he took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut for a few moments before he attempted to speak again. The logical part of his brain was telling him that he needed to get it together, stop crying and wailing like he was a child again. But the rest of him couldn't stop all the emotions clawing at his chest.

A small voice in the back of his head told him that this was normal, and he'd feel fine once he got all of his emotions out, but he really didn't want to listen to that. He'd been told not to ever do that his entire life, and he certainly wasn't going to start ignoring his training now. Even if he maybe wanted to just a little.

"What-" His voice cracked, and he quickly cleared his throat to cover up the mistake. "What's… been going on, with you? I- I noticed that you still had that scar on your face, you, uh.. had that in Oakhurst, too."

Legs squeezed Abolish against his side, and when his grip loosened, Abolish could only melt against him. His arms were just as strong as ever, chest broad and easy for Abolish to press his face into. "I got that whenever I was younger. I was drafted, and I… Well, it didn't go well, persay."

"Did you lose your eye?" Abolish blinked open his eyes, squinting up at Legs. Legundo stared down at him, green eyes soft as ever behind his glasses. Now that he looked at him, one of his eyes did look just slightly off, something Abolish had been too distracted to notice earlier.

"I did." Legundo raised his eyebrows slightly. "I assume I also had a missing eye in Oakhurst…?"

Abolish hummed in response, tucking his face into his sire's neck again. "You lost that one at war, too."

"History repeats itself, I suppose." Legundo's thumb pressed into his side, just above the waistline of his jeans, rubbing circles directly against his always so cold skin. A memory rose to the surface - Legundo's arms wrapped around him, holding him close as they whispered to each other about the cure and how they were going to get everyone out of there, tucked against each other with the excuse that it was snowing outside. It was enough to make his cheeks burn.

He was dragged out of his thoughts once more by Legundo's voice. "You said earlier that I didn't believe in vampires when I came to Oakhurst?"

"Yeah, you were… really skeptical. I just did my best to… play along, since I didn't want to upset anyone, and I…" He trailed off, swallowing hard as his face burned even more. He wondered if Legs could feel how much he must be blushing. "I don't know. It didn't happen… very quickly, but after a couple days, I just… Being around you was nice. And it- it still is. I didn't want to.. scare you off, by telling you I knew vampires were real, since you really didn't react well when Avid told you that."

Legs pressed a bit harder into his waist. His nail pressed in just slightly, and Abolish didn't want to think about the warm feeling that the faint hint of pain sent flooding up his spine. "I didn't grow up believing in vampires. It was only a few years ago that I… found out they existed." Warm lips pressed into his hair, his heartrate spiking and sending a brief shudder through him. "But that's a story for another day. I'm just glad you're here."

"I am too." He reached over and carefully settled his hand against Legundo's chest, digging his fingers into the soft fabric of his sweater. "I- I missed you."

His blood ran cold when he realized exactly what he'd said, but more importantly the way he'd said it. His throat was raw and he felt like he was going to cry all over again. He expected Legs to say something about it to him, but instead he just felt both of his sire's arms wrap around his waist, dragging him into his lap.

"I missed you too." Another kiss was pressed into his half-white hair, and he slowly lifted his head. His eyes landed immediately on the redness of Legundo's face. It took all of his willpower not to grab him and kiss him right there, but apparently his restraint was for nothing.

He felt a hand come to rest on the back of his head, and his lips were suddenly pressing against Legundo's. He hardly had any time to process what was happening, a soft gasp leaving him against his sire's mouth, before their lips slotted together and he dug his slightly sharp nails in even harder.

Legundo's fingers tangled in his hair, digging into the back of his head just enough to turn all of his thoughts to soup. He leaned in as close as he could until he was practically pinning Legs to the arm of the couch, grabbing at his sweater to pull himself up more. He shut his eyes quickly, a horribly embarrassing noise escaping him against his sire's lips, Legundo's grip on him tightening at the sound.

Abolish wasn't sure how long the two of them laid like that, eventually melting on top of Legs and letting the anxiety drain from his body. He slid his arms around the back of Legundo's neck with a soft sigh. Tilting his head, he broke the kiss for a split second to take in more air, before kissing Legs again.

It only lasted a couple seconds before Legs was tugging his head back slightly, just enough to murmur, "You have fangs?"

"Oh." Abolish blinked open his eyes slowly, letting his lips stay parted an inch or so. "Uh, sort of. I can't… turn people, but yeah."

The hand on the back of his neck slipped forward to rest on his chin. "They're so tiny."

He couldn't stop the quiet laugh that left him, a smile spreading across his face. "Yeah, I know. I'm not a… full vampire, so.."

Legundo's head tilted to the side slightly. "I'd like to know how exactly you became a half-vampire. Tomorrow, when you have more time to explain."

"Uh, sure." Abolish blinked a couple times, pulse jumping when Legundo's thumb brushed across his lower lip. It was enough to distract him from the realization that he didn't remember what had happened in the slightest, despite the way that his anxiety spiked just at the mention of his sort-of-turning, focusing on the warm touch of his sire rather than that.

"I assume it had something to do with your… organization?" Legundo's voice was gentle, so gentle. He felt like he could cry again if he thought about it any longer.

He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. "Yeah, it… it did."

"We can discuss it more tomorrow, once you've rested." Legs easily tilted his head down, lips pressing against his forehead briefly.

For a few seconds, Abolish was so caught up in all his thoughts about the organization, it didn't entirely register that he was awfully close to Legs now with their bodies pressed fully together. Clearing his throat, desperate to change the subject, he mumbled, "I, uh, I hadn't kissed anyone before. Before this."

Legs went completely still for long enough that Abolish worried he'd said the wrong thing, too nervous to look back up and check. Then Legs replied, a bit breathlessly, "Well, I'm- I'm happy I'm your first, at least, although I imagine this is a little disappointing."

"Disappointing?" A soft huff left him, lifting his head again. "Not at all, Legs."

Legundo tilted his head, opening his mouth like he was going to say something else, before Abolish silenced him with another kiss. Legs was quickly placing a hand on the back of his head again, grabbing at his curls and pulling him closer. His eyes drifted closed again, feeling his small fangs press against his sire's chapped lips.

"I really did miss you," Abolish whispered against his sire's lips after a few seconds, not opening his eyes quite yet. "A lot."

Legundo kissed him a bit more firmly for a moment. Legs smiled against him, and he couldn't help the soft laugh that left him. "I love you too, Abolish."