Title: Salty Sweet

Crossover: True Blood/Twilight

Pairing: Franklin/Bella, implied Bella/Edward

Summary: Sweet baby, I need fresh blood. Franklin/Bella, True Blood/Twilight. One-shot. M.

Rating/Warnings: M – implied blood-play and sex. Includes some spoilers for Season 3 Episode 2.

Timeline: AU for True Blood, post New Moon for Twilight.

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer; True Blood belongs to Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris. Neither belongs to me; I'm only borrowing them for entertainment purposes. No profit is being made from this drabble.

Author's Note: Written to "Perfect Insanity" by Disturbed. Just quick piece I had to write after seeing Franklin Mott in Episode 2 of Season 3 of True Blood ;D I consider this a bit of a character study on him, to see if I can write him again sometime in the future. Keep in mind, I don't know squat about Franklin, so this is pretty OOC, and I'm making this up as I go, so bear with me here, folks. Enjoy!

Franklin never understood humans. Perhaps that's why he was so fascinated with them, and often chose them as lovers over other vampires. They were a mystery, they were unique – each and every one of them, different in their own way. Vampires are the same way, for a while, but after centuries of being around one another, they all turn into mindless, bloodthirsty beasts, no matter how hard they try and convince the human race of otherwise.

Franklin was no exception to this, of course. He would be a liar if he claimed he'd never lost control and let the beast take him over in the past. It was a welcomed release two hundred years ago, but ever since the Great Revelation, it was frowned upon to act like an animal and run wild. Respect came from self control, and Franklin was nothing if not a dignified vampire.

He entered Merlotte's Bar and Grill in Bon Temps, Louisiana, with little to no expectations. He'd only been in Louisiana once, back during the Civil War, so everything in this town was new to him. Nothing particularly stood out, unless you counted the sad little girl sitting alone in a booth.

Franklin could smell her scent (and her tears) from where he stood in the doorway. His eyes were immediately on her, studying what he could of her. She was young, very young indeed – around 18 perhaps. She was small, pale and fragile – her skin was so white it was almost translucent. Long dark hair fell in waves down her back to her ribcage, and when she looked up, the color of her eyes was an alluring shade of brown, like chocolate. Her cheeks were flushed an alluring pink and every time a tear escaped those eyes of hers, she'd wipe it away moodily. Nobody else saw the tears, except Franklin.

Well, he couldn't just let the little lady sit alone while she was upset now, could he?

He approached her booth with an air of confidence, and the girl looked up in surprise when he sat down across from her. Her fingers wrapped nervously around her glass of coke in front of her, and he just sat there for a few moments, waiting for her to speak first.

"Um, hi?" The young girl tried awkwardly, frowning at him.

"Hello darling, my name is Franklin Mott." He turned on every ounce of charm he had (and that was quite a lot, if he did say so himself). The young girl blinked a few times, surprised but interested. She blushed at his flirty tone with her, and Franklin could practically smell the saccharine blood beneath her delicate, breakable skin. He had to use a lot of his self control not to let his fangs obtrude and alarm the girl. "I saw you from across the bar, and noticed you were rather upset. I came over here to see if there was anything I could do for you."

From the other side of the establishment, over by the bar, Franklin noticed a blonde waitress watching them closely. From the corner of his eye, he could see it was Miss Sookie Stackhouse, the same girl in the photos that Franklin had found in Bill Compton's house. How interesting. Looking at the young girl, he could distinguish a certain resemblance between the two – cousins, perhaps? Franklin couldn't remember seeing in any of the clippings about Sookie mentioning a sister, only an older brother, Jason Stackhouse.

"You're a vampire, aren't you?" The young girl questioned, her eyes narrowed slightly. Franklin tilted his head slightly, and pressed his lips together to hide his amused smile. She was blunt. He respected that.

"What gave me away?" He mused, staring right into her eyes for an answer. She swallowed and averted her eyes, appearing deeply interested in her coke.

"I've been around plenty of vampires before… I can just tell."

"You had a lover who was a vampire?" If she could be blunt, then so could Franklin.

He regretted his words slightly when she looked a little hurt. But she looked up from her drink and stared at him evenly back.

"I had a boyfriend who was a vampire, once, yes."

"Where is he now?"

She shrugged, playing with the straw of her drink. The girl tried to appear nonchalant, but Franklin had studied both people and vampires alike to know when someone was truly hurting beneath the surface. He prided himself on being somewhat of a person reader. The vampire had hurt this girl, very badly it seems, and not that long ago.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him in just over a year now." She flicked a stray piece of dark hair out of her face, and looked back up at him, her mouth set in a determined line. "I'm Bella."

Franklin smiled slightly, and took her hand from across the table. She looked surprised (and bashful) as he raised her hand to his lips and gently kissed it.

"Charmed." He whispered huskily, releasing her hand. She took it back and wrapped it around her coke glass so tight her knuckles went white. It seemed as if this human constantly had blood splashed across her cheeks, she was in a consistent state of embarrassment. Poor girl. But the smell of her blood was almost overpowering, and more than anything, he wanted a taste of her. He decided that he'd bed this virgin girl, he'd take her in every position he knew and take his time tasting her. The thought of it sent a pulse of blood straight to his groin, and he decided to cross his legs.

However, it was hard to concentrate on wooing with Sookie Stackhouse staring holes into the side of his head.

"The young woman over there, the blonde one by the bar." Franklin spoke subtly. "Is she of any relation to you?"

Bella looked surprised.

"Well, yeah, she's my cousin actually… how did you know that?"

Franklin shrugged, leaning back in his seat.

"She keeps looking over here; she's concerned that you're sitting with a vampire."

Bella flushed slightly.

"Sookie's boyfriend is a vampire, so I don't see why she'd have a problem with me talking to one."

"You don't say…" Franklin looked over at Sookie, who turned away the second he did, and busied herself with refilling ketchup bottles. He tried not to smirk.

"Yeah, his name's Bill Compton." Bella continued, watching him intently. "Do you know him?"

"Can't say I do." Well, it was true. He was hired to investigate Bill Compton, but he didn't know him, personally.

Miss Stackhouse chose that moment to practically bounce over to their table, notebook in hand, and a fake smile plastered across her face. Franklin turned slightly to look at her when she approached. She gave her cousin a nod of acknowledgment, before staring at Franklin. From what Franklin read, Sookie Stackhouse was a telepath, but she could only read human minds. She could pick up a single thought or image from a vampire if it was strong enough, so Franklin tried to keep his mind as passive and his intentions are pure as possible (it was incredibly hard to do, especially considering all the sexual thoughts he was having about her possibly legal possibly not cousin).

"Hello there sir, welcome to Merlotte's! I'm Sookie Stackhouse and I'll be your waitress this evening. Is there anything I can get for you? A bottle of Tru Blood, perhaps?"

No thank you, I'm saving my appetite for your charming little cousin.

"No, thank you, I'm fine." He opted for the first part of his sentence instead, smiling up at the telepath. She nodded curtly at the vampire, before turning to her cousin, a concerned look in her eyes.

"What about you, Bells, a refill? Or any food?"

"No thanks Sook, I'm fine." Bella gave Sookie a weak smile, but Franklin was somewhat pleased to see an irritated look in her eyes. Sookie gave her a not-so-subtle "you be careful" glance, before turning on her heel and bouncing away. I turned my gaze back to Bella, and smiled.

"Alone once more." He stared into her eyes, leaning forward with his hands clasped together. Bella took one look at the smoldering look he was giving her, and she shivered, impulsively leaning forward herself. Franklin's grin only widened.

It didn't take long for Bella to agree to fall into bed with Franklin. He was a very persuasive man. They left Merlotte's Bar and Grill, and checked into some seedy motel down the road. Not exactly special for Bella's first time, but she didn't really care, to be honest. Quite frankly, she'd be happy just to get the whole "virginity" thing over and done with. It might've been with a stranger, but Franklin certainly didn't disappoint. Being around for as long as he has, she doubted it was even possible for him to disappoint. Either way, what he did to her (the numerous things he did to her) made her feel good, wanted and somewhat special, so she thoroughly enjoyed their time together.

Well, until it was midnight, that is.

"It's my birthday." Bella whispered weakly, as her milky gaze rested upon the digital clock on the bedside table. 12:01 am blinked back at her. When 12:02 appeared, Bella felt an all-too familiar sting in her eyes, and she squeezed them shut, willing herself not to cry in front of the stranger vampire she just lost her virginity to.

"Is it, now?" Franklin spoke just as quietly as she had after a minute, removing his lips from her torso to stare at the digital clock. "How old are you today, darling?" He forgot to ask her how old she was back at Merlotte's, he now realized.

"19." She choked in response, finally opening her eyes. But the tears came, regardless of how hard she tried to fight them off. One warm tear slipped down her cheek, and Franklin sat up and caught it on his finger tip. He observed the salty liquid before his tongue slipped out from between his fangs to taste it.

"How tragic." He smirked tauntingly down at her, but Bella was so far gone in her own grief to respond to this, or even notice it. She was 19 today. 2 years older than Edward. It was exactly one year ago that he made the decision to leave her. Only one year? It seemed like an eternity. Next year she would be 20, and would never be a teenager again. Edward would always be one. The thought sent tremors of grief through her, and her heart beat so hard in her chest she almost cried out.

"… and intriguing." Franklin finished, appearing thoughtful as he pressed light kisses against her wet cheeks, his fangs lightly grazing them. "You turn the most endearing color when you're distressed, darling… and your heart beat is positively fluttering… perhaps I should upset you more often?"

He pressed his lips to the arch of her throat, sending a shiver down her spine into her very soul.

"Well, Happy 19th Birthday then, Isabella." He drawled, his English accent more pronounced than it had been before. His sharp fangs pierced the delicate skin of her throat and Bella gasped out loud. It was more painful than she expected it to be – maybe because she wasn't ready for it? But after a moment, the pain dulled and a numbing sensation spread over her – she felt strangely at ease. She hummed lightly as Franklin pulled away to stare down at her. The scarlet blood staining his mouth and protruding fangs would've been alarming at any other time, but right now, Bella just bathed in the sensation his bite had given her.

After a moment, Franklin finally spoke.

"Tell me, love, why your vampire left you? You're exquisite." He seemed to be in a better mood now that he had fed, Bella noticed bitterly. But she was too weak from her grief and blood-loss to argue with him – besides, arguing with Franklin never got her anywhere in the past, why would it now?

"Because I was human." She spat out the last word as if it was the dirtiest one she knew. Franklin raised his eyebrows at her questioningly. "And because I wasn't good enough for him."

Franklin barked a husky laugh.

"His loss, my gain, I suppose." He leaned in closer to Bella, his lips millimeters away from hers. She looked up at him, like a frightened mouse staring up at a hungry cat. She could feel his hot breath against her sore lips, and it tickled. Instinctively, Bella pushed up slightly to capture his lips. Small butterflies of both fear and arousal fluttered about in her stomach, though she wasn't sure which was stronger – her terror or her sexual excitement.

So they stayed that way for a small while, Franklin on top of her, Bella squirming beneath him, lips grazing each other's in a teasing, somewhat lazy fashion. Both too worn out from the sex (and Bella's blood loss) to do much else. Franklin glimpsed at the clock and was annoyed that it would be dawn in two hours.

'Already?' He tried not to growl. He knew his time with Bella was at its end, but he wasn't willing to let her go just yet. No, there was much to be learned from this sad specimen, and if Franklin were to leave without chaining her to him, it would probably be the last time Bella would be interested in seeing him. But he had to know her. She was crucial in his own little personal study of why vampires (himself included) fall in love with their food supply. And there was something about her, something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Sure, he'd been with humans before, but he'd never felt like this before. And more than anything, he wanted to figure out what all these bizarre feelings meant.

"Would you be interested in becoming my companion, Isabella?" He asked unexpectedly.

Bella stared up at him to ensure his seriousness (vampires had a sick sense of humor) but finding nothing but sincerity in those grey-blue pits of eyes.

'Beautiful…' Bella thought. 'He's strangely beautiful.'

"A companion?" Bella frowned, confused. "Like… a girlfriend?"

'Petty human terms.'

"Not exactly, more of a … lover, a friend, someone to travel with and spend their days with. Keep each other company. Companions, mates, whatever you want to call it… but far more depth than just girlfriend or boyfriend."

"Would you make me a vampire?" She blurted out before she had a chance to think it through properly. That was what Bella was sort of hoping for when she'd hopped into bed with Franklin Mott (she was well aware that she potentially had a death wish and would probably need therapy for this) but now that it was actually a possibility, Bella was full of excitement, and didn't think of the consequences of what she was saying. She didn't want Franklin to think she was just using him, did she?

Maybe once she was a vampire, she would forget about Edward. Something told her that that was a silly thing to expect, that she could never forget Edward, but looking up at Franklin, she decided he would be a nice distraction. For starters, he appeared to actually want her, unlike Edward himself. And the way her body responded to him was different from Edward's, far more primal. Like her attraction for this vampire went beyond something she'd ever felt before. Love she felt for Edward, there wasn't a word to describe how she felt towards Franklin. Besides, he wasn't as careful with Bella as Edward was, he didn't treat her like she was made out of glass, and that was strangely refreshing.

Franklin considered Bella's question for a moment with a thoughtful expression, not scolding her for her abruptness, which surprised her. He was strangely well-mannered and passive for a vampire (after you got to know him that was.)

"After a while, perhaps. Smart vampires usually take humans on as their companions – or mates – for a while to see if turning the human is worth it. I've been lonely for a very long time Bella, and you stir something… foreign inside of me… something I haven't felt in a very long time. And I'd like to explore that. Consider it the vampire equivalent of human dating."

Bella found herself smiling meekly up at him. It was the first time she'd smiled genuinely in a very long time. What did she have to lose in saying yes? The back of her mind was screaming her parent's names at her, but she ignored the voices. She hadn't spoken to her parents since she'd left Forks to come stay with her cousin Sookie in Bon Temps after Edward left (God knows they had tried to get a hold of her, though). Sookie was open to vampires so at least Bella knew she would still accept her. And she might actually have a chance to be happy with somebody. In the end, she had nothing to lose, and everything to gain from this opportunity.

"Then… yes, Franklin, I would."

Without another word Franklin's fangs broke the skin of his wrist, and his blood was offered to Bella. She didn't refuse it. Her lips touched his salty sweet blood and gently drank it, like a deer sipping at water. It was like an electric current was pulsating through them, automatically bonding them through the intimacy of sharing their blood. He was a part of her now, and she was a part of him. They would become companions, and eventually, Bella wouldn't be a feeble, pathetic human anymore. Things were certainly looking up now, and things didn't seem quite as hopeless as they once did.

For the first time in a long time, Bella felt completely and utterly… at peace.

Not my best piece, I'll admit, but this was really a bit of an experiment anyway. I couldn't really write Franklin Mott as he really is, as we currently know nothing about him in True Blood (he's only been in one episode!) so I hope you enjoyed my own personal OOC characterization of him. Seriously, if he ends up being like this I'm gonna start going around calling myself "Madam Alice" or something :P But I doubt it. Also, Bella's obviously a little OOC too, coz I can't really see her falling into bed with a vampire she just met (especially one with a presence like Franklin's, ooh mama) but eh, I've read worse. Don't forget to click the review button and tell me what you think!