Okay, so I read these books a long time ago, and just recently began re-reading the series. So forgive me if there are any noticeable errors concerning the story line. Also, I do not have a beta, so forgive me again for any minor errors you find while reading this. I just love this pairing, have to say.

Title: Discoveries

Author: Rachika

Date written and published: 07-09-2010

Rating: T for sexual implications and shonen-ai

Description: Darren is missing his home, and Mr. Crepsley decides to take him home. On the journey, Darren might find a new home…

NOTE: This story has references to Vampire Mountain. In this story, much of what happened in book five and six is the same, but for now there is no Vampaneze Lord, and Darren was pardoned and not made a Prince. He was allowed to re-take his trials and passed.

It was nearing dusk, and the sky was colorful. Painted with hues of pink, purple, yellow, and orange, Darren thought it looked like a scene from a painting. His blue eyes roamed the landscape, memories flooding his troubled mind. A picture his younger sister, Annie, had colored for him once floated to the surface and he felt the familiar clenching of his heart.

There was no avoiding it, he missed his family. Yet, for an unknown reason, he couldn't bring himself to cry. Often he would think of his old life, before being blooded, before the Cirque, and before anything had really changed. He was far from thrilled with his new life, but he couldn't say he hated it either. There were things he missed about the old times, but he was making the most of his life where he was. Mr. Crepsley had taken him to the Cirque in hopes of finding him a friend, and relieving some of the loneliness that plagued him. He had succeeded, though there was much to be desired. Evra Von and him had grown close, but it had been years since they were best friends. The snake man was now married with children, and was nearing thirty. Darren himself barely looked nineteen, and even though his mind and spirit had grown, it was inevitable that the two would grow apart.

He sat on a low branch of a tree, eyeing the deep green colors, feeling not quite up to par. As he watched the sun continue to sink into the skyline, he realized he hadn't felt happy in quite a while.

-xox-

Evra looked at his friend, concern etched into his green features. He hadn't realized how old Darren really was until this. He had gone looking for him to share a laugh or two before meeting up with his family for supper, but had instead stumbled upon the scene before him. Darren was just… starring out into space, sitting on a tree branch, looking somewhat depressed.

After a good hour of attempting to get his friend to laugh, or even come to dinner with his family and him, he realized it was no good. They weren't as close as they used to be, something that haunted him. While Darren had been away with Mr. Crepsley, he had seen and done things that he would make no mention of. His mentor, when asked, merely said it was for Darren to tell, if he ever would.

He now realized that while he looked older, he and Darren were the same age. And he shouldn't have let the fact that he had a family illusion him into believing he was more mature. Darren obviously didn't have room for a family at this point in time. He knew they had grown apart, and hoped to remedy some of that in the near future. But not today. Today, he couldn't even get the boy to look at him! So he had gone to find the only person that would be able to get Darren to react.

-xox-

"Good evening, Darren."

The half-vampire turned his face towards his mentor and companion, a look of mild surprise on his face. "Mr. Crepsley?"

The man frowned. "You did not hear me approaching?"

Darren replied with a frown of his own.

Mr. Crepsley sighed. "You have not fed recently." He eyed his assistant. "Why?"

Darren paused, not sure of what to say. He hated lying to the vampire. "I haven't had time."

"Do not lie to me, Darren." Mr. Crepsley frowned. "You have been sitting here all day. You have had time." His gaze softened as he stared at the younger man.

Darren turned towards Mr. Crepsley, the sky now dark behind him. "I'm just thinking. I'm allowed that, aren't I?" He saw a look of guilt flash across the vampire's face and instantly felt guilty himself.

Mr. Crepsley turned his head to the side, looking ashamed. "You are not happy here."

"No!" Darren nearly shouted, then flushed in embarrassment. "No, I'm fine, it's just…" He sighed. "I wonder how my family is doing. Annie would be seventeen now…"

The two stayed in silence for a while, neither really knowing what to say. Darren abandoned his perch to stand beside the older man. The wind ghosted around them, rustling the leaves of the trees. After watching the sun completely set, Mr. Crepsley spoke.

"Would you like to see them?" Darren gave him a look of surprise, and he continued. "You could not talk to them, of course, but you could-"

"Yes." Darren smiled, and Mr. Crepsley was relieved. He nodded and continued. "Let me retrieve a few things from my quarters, and we will leave." He walked away, his strides strong. Darren watched him leave, still smiling. His heart pumped furiously in his chest, but he couldn't tell if that was from the excitement of the awaiting trip, the fact that the old vampire actually offered to go, or something else entirely.

Evra watched from the bushes, grinning to himself. So that was it. He stepped backwards, accidentally crunching a twig beneath his heel. He saw Darren automatically react, but didn't have time to speak. Darren rushed to him, grabbing his shoulder and slamming him against the trunk of the nearest tree. He had a fist pulled back, ready to let fly, but he saw who exactly it was he was holding and quickly let go, hoping he hadn't scared his friend.

"Evra, what are you doing here!"

The snake man grinned sheepishly. "Well, I was worried about you and…"

Darren cursed his luck. "I thought it was just Mr. Crepsley and me."

Evra grinned. "Is that why you spilled your guts to him? You like the vampire?" His voice was teasing, but the words struck a chord within his friend.

Darren's face flushed and he stepped backwards. "N-No! I just, I… Charna's guts!"

Evra made a funny face. "What?"

Darren chuckled, and instantly felt better. "Nothing. You should be getting back. Supper's probably over by now, you know."

Evra frowned. "Yeah, I guess." He turned to leave, then paused. "Are you leaving again?"

Darren nodded. "Yeah."

The man sighed. "How long this time?"

The assistant shrugged. "I dunno. He might just want to take me home for a bit. Maybe we'll travel, but I doubt it. We'll want time to be back before the next Vampire Counsel."

Evra grinned. "You vampires." He shook his head. "When you get back, though, we gotta hang out more man. I miss your company."

Darren grinned back. "You got it."

And they left it at that.

-xox-

Mr. Crepsley returned to the tree, bottles stocked and ready. He found Darren standing alone, looking up at the sky. He had been wondering when the snake man would take his leave.

"Darren. Are you ready?"

The half-vampire nodded. Mr. Crepsley automatically crouched down and allowed Darren to climb onto his back. Grasping his assistant's legs, he spoke. "It will be a long journey. It will take us a good five nights to arrive."

"I'll be fine if you'll be." Darren paused, grinning. "I wouldn't want to tire out an old man."

"Watch it," the vampire growled lightly. "I may just have to show you what this old man can do." With that, they took to the night, Mr. Crepsley flitting them to their destination.

-xox-

Darren stared at the blank television screen, waiting for his sire to wake up. They had been traveling for three nights, stopping at motels and inns during the day so Mr. Crepsley could rest. Darren would keep watch while his mentor slept, and he would sleep at night on Mr. Crepsley's back while they traveled.

He vaguely wondered why the older vampire was doing this for him. Did he feel sorry for him, or perhaps guilty about forcing him into such a situation? He didn't feel that it was the older vampire's fault any longer – after all, he was the one who stole the spider. He should have known there are always consequences to every action. But whatever it was, Darren was grateful. Though the dreams he'd been having recently were more than distracting from his excitement to see his family. They were, in fact, downright mortifying! He would jolt awake from a sexual dream, not because of what the dream was about, but who was in it.

Sexual dreams were nothing new to him. For a period of time he'd had dreams about Debbie Hemlock, and occasionally his dreams would wind in a woman he'd seen that he found attractive. But now he truly felt like he belonged with the Cirque du Freak. Not only because he was a vampire's assistant, and a half-vampire himself, but because he was dreaming of his mentor in ways he shouldn't dream of any man! He had to pray every night he wouldn't wake up with the old vampire's name on his lips.

This in itself made him wonder, question his own identity. Was he simply adjusting to his hormones, even though he'd had these dreams for years? Was he gay? Or did he just have feelings for his sire that were beyond simple companionship?

His attention was drawn to Mr. Crepsley as the vampire yawned and sat up, scratching the scar on his left cheek. He let a grin crawl to his mouth, but quickly tried to hide it when the old man looked at him.

"We are only two nights away," the man stated.

Darren nodded, letting himself smile again as he watched the older man re-dress, unknowingly allowing his eyes to roam over the other's broad, scar covered chest. "Yeah. You should feed soon, old buzzard. You're looking paler than usual."

Mr. Crepsley grunted as he sat down to pull his shoes on. "Yes, but so are you, and you have not fed either." He then stood and shrugged on his cape.

Darren stared at him in disbelief. "Yeah, but I don't need it as bad as you do. You've been flitting this whole time without blood. You need to feed soon."

Mr. Crepsley looked at him quietly. "Darren, are you concerned about this old man?" At Darren's blush, he continued. "You want to get home. I will not feed until then, there is no time."

The half-vampire stood sat shocked, looking up at his mentor. Mr. Crepsley sighed. "I am leaving. Are you going to stand there all day looking like a fish?"

Darren shook his head, slightly angry with his teacher. He looked into the vampire's face and frowned, realizing that unless he fed, the other wouldn't feed either. Unfair! Well, two could play that game. He stood, brushed off his shirt, and walked out the door, feeling his mentor's eyes boring into him.

-xox-

Darren grumbled in protest when he was set onto the hard ground, having been moved from his sire's muscular back. He cracked an eye open, still fuzzy with sleep. "Mr… Crepsley?" He bolted upright when his eyes landed upon his mentor.

Mr. Crepsley was kneeling on the ground, panting so hard he couldn't speak, his eyes shut. Darren noted the paleness of his skin and jumped to action, knowing exactly what was causing it. He pushed the vampire back against a tree, reached into the infamous red cape, and pulled out a bottle of human blood. He opened it gingerly and held it to the older man's lips. "Here, drink it!"

But the vampire managed to wheeze out a "No" as his eyes struggled to open. Darren cursed, opening one of Mr. Crepsley's eyes to make sure the older man was watching. He poured some of it down his throat quickly, not stopping to appreciate the wondrous effects it had on his own body. "Now drink, damn it!" He pried Mr. Crepsley's lips apart, holding the bottle to them. He watched the vampire sip slowly before sitting up and taking the bottle himself. He downed nearly the whole bottle, leaving only a few mouthfuls at the bottom. He then gave the bottle back to his assistant, silently telling him to drink the rest.

Darren, for once, didn't protest. After being assured his sire would be fine, he took a deeper notice to his own body. He felt much better – warmer, fuller, stronger… His senses were back to their sharp selves and he was quickly gaining energy back. He quickly swallowed the rest, enjoying the feeling of being back to his normal self, and returned the bottle to his sire.

Mr. Crepsley was grinning. A feral grin, really, something only to be seen on a predator. Darren felt his blood chill as he gazed at the familiar face. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks and he snarled. "You tricked me, you dirty bastard!"

The vampire tutted him. "No, I merely gave you the needed push. Darren, I could easily see your strength and senses fading. I know you are fine with drinking blood now, but you need to be careful. I will not risk your health again."

The assistant frowned, irritation settling within him like a giant bubble ready to pop. He wanted nothing more than to give the vampire a good deck in the nose. But deep within himself, he knew that Mr. Crepsley had only done it for his own good, afraid Darren's health would go downhill too fast and he wouldn't be able to save him. It had almost happened quite a few times, when Darren wasn't paying attention. So instead of gearing up for the fight he seriously wanted, he just glared at his sire.

Mr. Crepsley stood, brushing off his cape before squatting once more to allow his assistant to climb on. Darren did, though still irritated, and the two began their traveling once more.

-xox-

The second chapter will be coming soon. =D